Français Home | Research Facilities | Shelburne County Archives and Genealogical Society - Library and Archives Shelburne County Archives and Genealogical Society - Library and Archives 168 Water Street, P. O. Box 248, Shelburne, Nova Scotia, B0T 1W0 Telephone 1-902-875-4299. Fax 1-902- 875-3267 gencentre@ns.sympatico.ca http://nsgna.ednet.ns.ca/shelburne/index.php Hours of Operation Winter Hours: Monday, Wednesday & Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Closed Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays Summer Hours: Monday to Friday: 8:45 to 4:45 Saturday: 9:00 to 4:30 Research Fees Non-members: $5.00/day. Members & Students: Free Membership Fees Individual: $15.00/yr or $225.00 lifetime Family: $20.00/yr or $300.00 lifetime Student: $5.00/yr Institution/Organization: $15.00/yr General Information Our acclaimed archives and library has extensive holdings including rare and out of print books, family genealogies and a searchable documented data base with over 70,000 individuals who have a Shelburne County connection. There is a large collection of books and documents pertaining to Loyalist and Mayflower lineages and to local and adjacent county history. Three microfilm readers, a microfiche reader and printer, and a photocopier are available, as well as microfilms of indexed church records, indexed census records, local newspapers and local history. Original Shelburne school records have been digitalized. Many issues of magazines such as the Mayflower Quarterly, the New England Genealogical and Historical Register, the Canadian Pilgrim, The Loyalist Gazette, The Nova Scotia Historical Review and the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia Journal are available for hands-on research. Our indexed newsletter, which is published three times a year and is available free to members, can be searched for many interesting articles. A large collection of local newspapers is also available to researchers. Research for clients, unable to do hands- on research, is available for a $30.00 per hour fee. The research is compiled by a certified genealogist who donates her services to the society. Archivist and genealogical researcher, Kim Walker, will answer your questions and guide you in your research. Upcoming Events Founding Families who Came and Stayed in Shelburne, Nova Scotia 1783 -1787 - 27 June 2007 - Osprey Arts Centre - 7pm - By Eleanor Robertson Smith UE. Publication detailing the early families that settled the area and includes two generations of each family, their properties, occupations, wills, etc. A number of their houses remain as heritage homes, as do their heritage gravestones and their names are retained in land promontories, lakes, brooks, streets and court records. Readings will be given by descendants of Loyalist, Black Loyalist, Slaves, Ship Builders, Disbanded Soldiers, etc. Shelburne Arts Council will have a display by artists who are descendants. Other artifacts on display will be those loaned by the Black Loyalist Heritage Society from the archeological dig at Birchtown, Shelburne County. Loyalist Gatherings - Tea and Displays Every Thursday during July and August - 2-4pm Shelburne County Archives & Genealogical Society. Weekly teas and family displays featuring Loyalist families. Refreshment will be served by hosts and hostesses in period dress, depicting Loyalist ancestors. This will be an interactive afternoon where visitors can learn about early life in the late 18th century and also discover family roots. Remarks and Rough Memorandums, Captain William Booth Royal Corps of Engineers ...Shelburne, Nova Scotia 1785,1787, 1789 - 17 July 2008 - Osprey Arts Centre - 7pm Booth´s rough memorandums depict people, their lives and activities, their gardens, medical practices, details of a funeral and prices in early Shelburne. This transcription is unique and an important reference tool to researchers. Barry Cahill, an independent scholar writes: The Booth manuscript is among the most substantial and important but least known and least consulted documents of Loyalist Nova Scotia. As a historical resource it is comparable only to the diaries of Simeon Perkins, published in a five-volume edition by the Champlain Society some forty years ago. It is also uniquely important for the study of Birch Town, the Black Loyalist metropolis, and its leader, Stephen Bluck. Skits will be provided by the Basement Theatre local actors groups, depicting scenes from the diary, with Bluck in conversations with his landlady, his servant, military personnel, etc. The New Jersey Volunteers local reenactment group will also favour the audience with a military drill. Well known local musician Robbie Smith will perform a rendition of two songs written by William Booth while he resided in Shelburne. Brian Ogilvie, a member of the re-enactment group will have a display of his authentic hand crafted powder horns. Provincial Registered Centennial House Tour with Heritage and Contemporary Hooked Rug Display - 19 July 2008 Enjoy a tour through a local home built in 1907 by master ship carpenters. Original features and architecture typical of the era can still be seen throughout this provincially registered heritage home. Visitors will be guided by rug hooking enthusiasts who will describe the different forms of rug displayed and demonstrate the techniques used, for example Mi´kmaq designs using natural dyes. Refreshments will be provided. Graveyard Tours - 15, 22, 24 July 2008 Spend the evening on a guided tour of several of our local graveyards. Discover the meaning of the symbols and images found on the stones and the materials used to make the stones. Our period dressed guide will enlighten you about the lives of these early ancestors. Shelburne´s Gideon White Family Papers - September or November 2008 - Launching - Digitalization project by Nova Scotia Archives. White, Capt. Gideon, Born in Plymouth Massachusetts in the year 1752; died in Shelburne 10 September 1833 and is buried in Christ Church Cemetery. Gideon, as master of the ship "Appollo", traded at various ports in Nova Scotia including, Ragged Island [now Lockeport], in 1779. He served as an officer on the British side for seven years. The 20 June 1784 muster roll for the Duke of Cumberland's Regiment shows that Capt. Gideon White was granted 850 acres at Chedabucto, Guysborough County. Instead of settling there he came with 22 men of the regiment to Shelburne later in 1784. Here he was granted town lot "H" #2 in St. John's Division and water lot "C" #44 in North Division. He took an active part in the community as a merchant, farmer, ship owner, deputy Naval Officer [#579], "custos rotulorum" ,justice of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, judge of the Court of Probate and his distinctive signature is found on many deeds and other records. He was elected in a by-election as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia for Barrington Township [March 1790 -1793] The White Collection of Manuscripts in the Public Archives of Nova Scotia contains 1561 items including account books, copies of business and family letters written and received, the earliest Shelburne newspapers and local events providing a vivid description of the early days of Shelburne. This collection is presently being digitalized and will be launched at Shelburne in 2008 as part of the celebration of the 225th Anniversary of the arrival of the Loyalists in Shelburne. September Event at which we will be participating is a meeting and workshop on September 19 and 20 of the Nova Scotia Colony of Mayflower Descendants. Lost Mariners of Shelburne County Volume 3 - 18 October 2008 - Book launch, reading. To commemorate those mariners lost at sea who came from the Baccaro, Port La Tour, Barrington areas of Shelburne County as well as those missed in the previous volumes. A much requested book. We will be depending more that usual on our volunteers to help out with these events. If you find something you would be interested in helping out with please give Kim a call at the centre. Due to the rising cost of postage if anyone who is currently receiving their newsletter by regular mail and would like to have it sent by email please let Kim know at gencentre@ns.sympatico.ca We will be sending them in a PDF format this month which is easily opened with adobe reader and widely used. For further information about any of our events, please contact the center at (902) 875-4299 or gencentre@ns.sympatico.ca