Could this be Annie and Clarence Landry who died in the Halifax Explosion?

Hundreds of photos spread out in two homes, one in the United States and the other in Canada as cousins sift through memories of two brothers and their siblings, who survived the Halifax Explosion. The brothers are Joseph and Daniel Landry. The present meets the past, as younger versions of our grandfathers and their families lie in front of us. Images are photographed or scanned, then forwarded to each other with the hope that family members will be able to help us identify the people we don’t know.

Then this photo is discovered.. Could it be?

In an interview, a couple years ago, I had been told that Uncle Dan had a picture of  his wife Annie and their son Clarence who died in the Halifax Explosion?  Could this be them? 

How are your identification skills?  My cousin Linda Landry Horne and I would like to know what you think. Do you think this could be them? Why or why not?

The first picture below is the one we found that we think could be Annie and Clarence. 

The second is a copy of the "picture on the wall" that hung behind our great Aunt Anna Bella’s bed.  

Annie (Adams) Landry is in the back row - third from the right.

Gibson Girls of Cape Breton - Which one was injured? – Halifax Explosion

Photo by timkraaijvanger 

As I’ve work on my family’s memoir, A Picture on the Wall, there have been many unanswered questions like this one, “Which of the Gibson’s girls, Mary or Vernetta, were injured in the Halifax Explosion?"  If after reading about them below, you think you know or have an idea of  how I might find out, I’d appreciate your sharing either in Comments below or on Facebook.

In a conversation with my great Aunt Anna Bella Landry, she told me about her home at 38 Union Street and mentioned the people in the house at the time of the explosion. Not everyone survived, but “… the other woman with two children, they come from the second floor down to the basement and they got out.” Thanks to the help of family members and research, I’ve discovered that the woman and two children were Alice (Robertson) Gibson and her two daughters, Mary and Vernetta.

At 38 Union, the Gibson family - Joseph, Alice, Mary (about age 3) and Venetta (0-1) had recently moved in and lived upstairs across the hall from Daniel Landry and his pregnant wife Annie (Adams) Landry and their 18-month old son Clarence. Daniel’s father and siblings lived downstairs.

On the morning of December 6, 1917, Daniel Landry’s sister, 14-year-old Anna Bella Landry was at home on the first floor, doing household chores.

This was the morning of the Halifax Explosion.  To get perspective, I’ve interviewed family members and done extensive research. From this, it seems likely that after the two ships collided and the Mont Blanc caught fire and drifted into Pier 6 and about the time that barrels of Benzol heated up then exploded like rockets into the air, Alice probably looked out the window and thought the ship was about to blow up.  She better get herself and the girls out.  Alice then would have grabbed her two girls, brought them into the hallway then knocked on Annie’s door urging her to get Clarence and head out, because they were in danger.   Annie chose to stay and pray instead of leave.

This time of the morning was probably Annie’s usual prayer time and the possibility she could have seen the initial collision and a smaller fire,  she might have figured the fire would be out shortly like usual. 

Alice then took her girls and headed down the stairs as the Mont Blanc exploded.

The force of the blast shot Anna Bella’s limp body out of one side of the house then buried it under shattered pieces of their destroyed home mixed with fragments from the ship. The other side of the house imploded forcing everything within it downward.  In an instant - Annie, the child within her, and son Clarence were under debris in the basement not far from an overturned coal stove.  Somehow Alice and her girls wound up in a space below the foundation where she was able to get the girls out, but one of the girls was bleeding, she was badly cut about the head with shards of glass sticking out around it.

Sadly, Annie, her unborn child, and Clarence didn’t make it out.  (From Dispair to Hope)

Rescue workers were able to dig Anna Bella out.  Though injured, she’d live into her 100’s. (A Picture on the Wall)

After a short stay at Camp Hill Military Hospital, Alice Gibson and the girls went to live with her parents in River Bourgeois, Cape Breton.  Not long after, Joseph would join them.

According to medical records, the girl who was injured had four-inch and two-inch cuts around her head that had become infected and she would be scarred for life. Though there are several references in Halifax Relief Commission HRC#1960, the girl’s name was never mentioned.

If you know which girl was injured, or know a way of finding out, I'd appreciate your comments either here or on Facebook.

Genealogy information below:

Alice Robertson was born in 1894 in River Bourgeois, Cape Breton, Canada. Her parents were Andrew and Mary (Thibeau) Robertson.
Joseph Gibson was born about 1888 in Amherst, Nova Scotia to Thomas and Marie Anne (Thibeau) Gibson.
Joseph Gibson and Alice Robertson were married on 14 Feb 1914.
Around 1915 their daughter Mary Gibson was born.
Around 1917 their daughter Vernetta Gibson was born.

(Note: I’ve been unable to find Mary or Vernetta Gibson’s birth records and am using the 1921 Census to estimate their ages.) It might be helpful to know when they were born? 

Correction sense blog was posted: Joseph Gibson was born about 1888 in Amherst, Nova Scotia not in 1890 in Amherst, England - to Thomas and Marie Anne (Thibeau) Gibson.

Uncle Jimmy Landry – Played Hooky – Halifax, Nova Scotia

My great Aunt Anna Bella Landry Bradley has left me with many stories about her family’s life in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  What follows is one of them, a story about her bother and my great Uncle Jimmy and his sometimes mischievous nature. It starts with a quote from Aunt Anna Bella and then my account using additional information that she and others have given me.

Photo by Paul Brennan at Pixabay.com

 “I remember when we were in school and Jimmy use to like to get out of school once in a while; play hooky on school. Well we had truant officers in them days you know, came to the house…  And this truant officer came to my mother and he was giving it to my mother… We all lived in the same place, the same house, up and down.  Dan come out and said you don’t do nothing to my mother. You get the hell away from here… and don’t come back here, he said. Then the guy took off. See that’s how protective Dan was of my mother.   My brother Dan, your Uncle Dan, Yeah… But don’t you dare come back here, Dan said. He took off. “ – Anna Bella Landry Bradley*

The truant officer and youngest son Jimmy were walking up to the Landry’s home at 38 Union Street. This isn’t the first time he’d found Jimmy out of school and he was furious as they made their way to the front door. Jimmy is slightly behind him staring down at the ground as the officer repeatedly bangs hard, with his fist, on the front door. A few seconds later, mother Charlotte answers the door.  As the officer yells at her about her parenting skills, she backs up.  A door can be heard opening on the floor above her.  Charlotte’s second eldest son, Dan, having heard the man’s verbal assault on his mom, rushes down the stairs. The truant officer looks up in horror as he sees this enraged muscular build man making his way down the stairs. Dan’s yelling, “You get the hell away from here and don’t come back here.”  The officer takes off down the street.

Moments later, after their mom and brother got over the shock, Jimmy would have been punished. She was strict.  Even though he disliked school, Jimmy made it to tenth grade, which was the furthest of any of his siblings; not bad for the early 1900’s.

 Did you like school? How about play hooky?

For more stories about Aunt Anna Bella Landry Bradley and her family, check out the following links:  From Despair to Hope;  The Armouries, a Great Uncle, and the Halifax Explosion;   A Father's Love;   A Picture on the Wall;

*The quote has been edited slightly in grammar and tense to its help flow.

Thank You Dad for Our Canadian/American Connections

Thank you, Dad:

Gerald "Jerry" Landry (1930-2000)

For treasuring the Country and people of your father and mother’s births.

Joseph Landry (1889-1994)
Gladys Nicholson Landry (1902-1988)

For taking your parents and your younger sister Evelyn to Halifax, Nova Scotia to be with family.

Evelyn and Gladys Nicholson Landry

For taking Mom to Halifax on your Honeymoon. She loved them, too!

Joan and Jerry Landry - 1954

For taking the time to get to know your Canadian aunts and uncles.

Myrtle Nicholson Landry (1899-1965)
Daniel Landry (1891-1968)

Abraham "Abe" Landry (1899-1998)
Edna Nicholson Landry (1907-2001)

Note: Three Landry brothers married three Nicholson sisters.

Having double cousins made it easier to cover both sides of your family at the same time. 

For getting to know your first cousins, as well.     

     

Helen and Leo Landry, Jerry Landry, Percy Landry, Ron and Shirley Landry Moore, and Edna Landry

   For inviting our Canadian relatives to the United States and the joy their visits brought us.

Back Row - Jerry and Joan Landry, Harold Babineau, Leo, Judy, and Helen Landry.
Front Row: Muriel Murray, Abe, Joe, Edna, and Gladys Landry, Shirley Landry Moore, Evelyn Landry Kirvan, and Percy Landry

Most of all, thank you, Dad, for fostering my desire to be close not only to our relatives here in the United States, but across our northern border as well. You left this world 19 years ago, but your legacy lives on. It began when your took our family to Halifax when I was eight. It grew even deeper when I had the privilege of living close to the Canadian border for several years and was able to visit on a regular basis.

Muriel Murray, Cal Shook, Leo, Edna, Abe, and Percy Landry

Since the photo above was taken, I’ve made several trips across the border from Halifax. Nova Scotia to River Bourgeois, Cape Breton.  I've been blessed to meet and get to know members of our ever-expanding Canadian family.  Shout outs to the Landry, Bouchard, Nicholson, Moore, Mulcahy, Murray, Bates, Jollimore, and Horne families. Love you all.

Looking forward to our continuing friendships and adventures to come,
Cal

The Armouries, a Great Uncle, and the Halifax Explosion

The Armouries, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Notman Studio Collection - 1899

Architecture has always intrigued me and a two-foot thick walled structure resembling a medieval castle, called the Armouries, is no exception. Its imposing presence towers above the North Commons in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Magnificent turrets adorn its rough red exterior.  Inside is a large room in which troops assemble and spectators can watch from a walkway above.  Currently, the Armouries is undergoing repairs and renovations; some of which occurred during the Halifax Explosion.

On the morning of December 6, 1917, a collision between two ships in the harbor had leveled the sections of Halifax and Dartmouth closest to the blast. South of the main blast, the Armouries sustained minor damage to its roof and western wall, but its structure remained strong. This structure and the military men who slept in its barracks on its grounds were about to help in the relief effort.

As these military men and other rescue workers made their way through the city, extricating people from the ruins, smoke was rising from the munitions shed at Wellington Barracks, located on the edge of the devastated area. Shouts could be heard to head for higher ground.  Thousands fled to the North Commons: some on foot and others in various modes of transport from wheel barrows to horse drawn carts to automobiles.  The area on the North Commons between the Armouries and the long barracks, several feet away, were soon jammed with hundreds of bloodied people who were barely clothed. Among them was my great Uncle Abraham (Abe) Landry who was 18 years old.

Like many on the Commons that day, Uncle Abe had been injured by flying glass and debris when the ship exploded.  His left side caught the worst of it since it was facing the window when the blast occurred. After arriving at the Commons, a medical person removed the larger shards of glass but left the smaller ones. Then, without anesthetic, 15 stitches were used to close the big gouge in his arm.  Once this was completed, it was on to the next casualty.

Uncle Abe, along with others on the Commons, would be given shelter at the barracks of the Armouries where they received a blanket and some warm broth.  He and others could be found thanks to the record keeping of military personnel who placed the names of those being sheltered on the doors where they were located. Along with the barracks housing the homeless, the Armouries would become a food depot.

Note:  To see the Armouries' barracks click on the link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rdb466/8272877877/in/photolist-dTXBjn-dU4f4G-dB3Ent-99oDRQ-ng9BnK/ Thank you, Ross Dunn for putting this photo on flickr!

I would love to be able to see the front of the barracks, also known as hutments. If you've seen them online or have a picture of it, could you share it with me?

Other sources:

The Halifax Explosion December 6, 1917, Graham Metson - includes The Halifax Disaster by Archibald MacMechan

Archibald MacMechan - Halifax Disaster Record Office Materials

Positive Life Lessons from the Halifax Explosion

Positive life lessons are replacing the horrors of the Halifax Explosion that have run through my mind as I research and write my family’s memoir.

1.  Be thankful for what you have because it could be gone in an instant.

2.  Doing acts of kindness during someone else’s tragedy, is lifesaving.

3.  When everything appears to be lost, look around and be resourceful because what you need might be close by.

4.  We are braver and stronger than we ever imagined.

5.  Individuals can survive and thrive after experiencing unspeakable horrors.

Maybe you've read about this tragedy or have experienced your own, feel free to add your positive life lessons by commenting below.

Aftershock – a quest to prove a man’s innocence – Halifax Explosion

In the book, Aftershock, Janet Maybee was on a quest to prove a man’s innocence. That man was harbor Pilot Francis Mackey.

Photo of  Francis Mackey
by http://www.pilotmackey.ca/

On December 6, 1917, two pilots, Francis Mackey and his good friend William Hayes were assigned to guide ships safely through Halifax Harbour.  Mackey was given the Mont Blanc, a munitions ship, and Hayes, the Imo, a cargo ship.   Early that morning, both ships headed into the harbor from opposite sides.  While in the narrowest section of the harbor, their two vessels collided.  As the ships separated, a fire started on the Mont Blanc. Over the next 20 minutes, the fire spread causing its cargo to explode.

Prior to the explosion, Mackey and the men aboard the Mont Blanc abandoned ship and made their way to shore.  All but one member of their crew survived. Hayes and the captain, on board the Imo, perished.  The sections of Dartmouth and Halifax closest to the blast were leveled - nearly two thousand lives were lost. There was a public outcry for answers to this horrific devastation - someone should be held accountable.

In 2007, Janet Maybee would buy a house in the north end of Halifax, on Cabot Street. She discovered that, not only had the house survived the Halifax Explosion, but there was a family connection to the man who was forced to carry the blame for the explosion, Francis Mackey. Janet promised Mackey’s last surviving daughter, Mona Mackey Homes, that she would do her best to clear her father’s name.  Janet set out to do so, with the passion of a defense attorney.  Extensive research, interviews with family members, and the unearthing of “newly exposed government documents” are revealed in her book Aftershock.

This book has been an inspiration to me, as I continue my research for my family’s memoir.  When I think of giving up because I’ve hit another road block, her work encourages me to keep going.  The answer might be in the next search or maybe in finding the right people to connect with.