A Month of Scottish Gravestones - John Rae

John Rae was born in Orphir, Orkney, on 30th September 1813. As a young teen, Rae studied medicine at Edinburgh University and the Royal College of Physicians, qualifying at just nineteen years old. 

Rae’s father worked for the HBC as an agent and so John signed on to be a ship’s surgeon on the HBC's ship, the Prince of Wales. However, his return trip became untenable due to the ice in that part of Canada in the winter, so the young Rae  accepted a job as surgeon and clerk at Moose Factory. He remained there for 10 years. 

While in Moose Factory, Rae spent a great deal of time with the indigenous community where he learned to make snowshoes, travel by sled, forage for food and make warm clothing. These skills were invaluable for his later Arctic expeditions. 

Rae was tasked with mapping the Artic and set out to learn surveyor skills. He later made a series of expeditions to map the Arctic and also to look for Franklin’s lost expedition. One discovery that became critical was learning that King William Land was not a peninsula as everyone had thought, but was, in fact, an island. The body of water he discovered was named Rae Strait, after the explorer. And this was the last link in a navigable passage to the Northwest: a series of open channels that connected the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. 

On each expedition, Rae once again relied on his relationships with the local indigenous communities. One community taught him the value of insulating his home with snow to keep the winds and water out. At an Inuit community, he learned about a group of 40 men who had been stranded on King William Land and had died. Many had resorted to cannibalism in order to attempt to stay alive. He also learned that the ships Franklin had used were ill supplied for any possible adversity, having carried a large library, player piano, silverware and tinned food. None of which were of much use when stranded in the frozen arctic. While the group had attempted to navigate an inland waterway in hopes of finding a settlement, they had not been successful. Their boat was discovered and several skeletons were also discovered nearby. 

When Rae returned to England and met with Franklin’s wife, she was horrified at the thought of her husband turning to cannibalism and so dismissed Rae’s findings altogether. This then altered the information recorded in the history books. Rae was ignored as the person to discover the Northwest Passage and instead, that accomplishment was wrongly assigned to Franklin.

Orkney is incredibly proud of their famous son. A statue of him watches over Stromness Harbour. There is a permanent exhibit retelling his story at the Stromness Museum. And there is a carved memorial to John Rae inside Kirkwall Cathedral. Rae is buried in the kirkyard at the Cathedral and has a rather unassuming headstone for a man who played such a prominent part in history.

In the Trenches

On a visit to Port Moody, we decided to visit the Railway Museum. The railway was an integral part of bringing BC into Canada and connecting not only east to west but also BC to the major trading and financial centres of Toronto and Montreal. 

Visiting old train stations provides a glimpse into the past and one few of us can truly understand. Train travel now isn't the same as train travel then. Then it was less hurried, more glamourous, an adventure awaited. 

Out back of the museum, the staff had re-created an army trench. This totally fascinated me. I love experiential learning. It is the best way for people to truly understand. This re-created trench provides experiential learning for the grade school children in Port Moody but also for anyone visiting the Railway Museum. 

People don't have to imagine what life in the trenches was like. They can experience it first hand. 

A Day Steeped in History

 With the lockdown and everything being placed on hold, I have been a bit remiss in blogging. Of course it is hard to have subject matter when every minute of every day of every month of .... is the same. 

In May, I flew to BC for a long overdue cousin reunion. Like everything else in 2020, this trip had been mothballed. Now being fully vaxxed, and with daily case numbers no longer being headline news, I was ready to head out. However, I didn't take my laptop so blogging remained on mothballs. 

I spent a whirlwind six days in BC. Three on Vancouver Island and three on the Mainland. 

Once back on the mainland, I had the chance to spend a day at Fort Langley. This was an incredible glimpse into history for me. I have spent a great deal of time reading about, researching, writing and speaking about the Hudson's Bay Company and to now get the chance to wander around an old HBC fort was just an unbelievable experience. 

Fort Langley was built in 1827 as an HBC outpost. It also set the pathway for BC becoming a Crown Colony (1858). 

Workers and traders arrived by canoe or HBC company boat. 

It was through this trade window that aboriginal trappers would hand in pelts, hide, and fresh fish in exchange for guns, spices and tobacco. 

The HBC outposts were relatively self-sufficient little communities. They had a store

a blacksmith

a cooperage 

and homes for the workers (the workers were known as 'servants') 

This shows the inside of a typical servant's home with the living area on the main floor and the bedrooms upstairs

The furs were pressed and packaged for shipment back to England where they would be sent to Europe and to be sold

The fish were salted and packed in barrels and then were also sent back to the UK for trade with Europe 

Fort Langley was just one small part of the HBC trading company and larger trading network. The company had posts right across Canada, and after the amalgamation with the North West Company, the posts extended into the US as well. 

The day was informative and helped bring so much life to my understanding of life in an HBC trading post. The day was also a fabulous day steeped in history. 

Halifax Explosion 100 Years Later

Few events in history have scarred the psyche. The Halifax Explosion was one of those events. Even a century later, the Explosion marks a time when innocence was lost, families were ripped asunder and the face of a city, and indeed a country, were forever changed. 

Early on the morning of 6 December 1917, a cargo ship laden with high explosives collided with another ship in the “Narrows” The Narrows is, essentially, a strait which connects Halifax Harbour to Bedford Basin.  

A fire on board the cargo ship ignited the explosives on board causing an explosion that devastated the Richmond district of Halifax. It is estimated that 2,000 people were killed by the blast, the debris, the fires or the buildings that collapsed. Another 9,000 victims were injured. People were blinded, lost limbs, suffered burns.

The blast of the Halifax Explosion was the largest man-made explosion prior to the development of nuclear weapons. Nearly all structures within half-mile of the Narrows were obliterated, including the heart of the industrial area of Halifax. A tsunami created by the blast wiped out the community of Mi'kmaq First Nations people who had lived in the Tufts Cove area for generations.

As genealogists are wont to do, a wander around the cemeteries is a sobering experience. Fairview Lawn Cemetery, more famous for its Titanic Grave Site has a large area of seemingly untouched ground where remains of unknown victims of the Explosion are buried.

Mt Olivet, a Catholic Cemetery, has yellow surveyor sticks marking the graves of victims of the Explosion. Where no grave marker exists, the sticks stand in rows. Names are marked on the sticks marking the victims.

There is a permanent exhibit in the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic commemorating the devastation.

A full century later, the scars are still evident and the shock and pain still raw. The Explosion forever changed the face and the history of Halifax. 

April 6 Recognized as Tartan Day in Canada

    On Oct. 21, 2010, the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, announced that Canada will now officially recognize April 6 as Tartan Day.

    "
    Tartan Day originated in the late 1980s in Nova Scotia, where it was declared an official day by the provincial
    "By officially recognizing this Day, we encourage Canadians all across the country to celebrate the contributions that over four million Canadians of Scottish heritage continue to make to the foundation of our country," said Senator John Wallace, who recently introduced a bill in the Senate in support of nationally declaring Tartan Day. In Canada, Tartan Day is celebrated on April 6, the anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath, the Scottish declaration of independence. Tartan Day celebrations typically include parades of pipe bands, Highland dancing and sports, and other Scottish-themed events.government. It then spread across the country, with many provinces joining in. This marks the first time the Day has been recognized by the federal government.A tartan represents a clan, a family, and a community, and is an enduring symbol of Scotland that is cherished by Canadians of Scottish ancestry," said Minister Moore. "Many Canadian provinces and other countries already celebrate Tartan Day. As well, through Tartan Day, Canadians will have an opportunity to learn more about the various cultures that comprise Canadian society."