The Cemeterians are Back - Let's See What They Dig Up!

Wallace

As a pass time goes, I'd say roaming through old cemeteries comes pretty close to the top of my list.  Today, I was about as happy as I could get.  We left Amherst early and headed over towards Wallace where I was searching for a very old graveyard - home of some of my Loyalist ancestors.  Wallace is a pretty little town on (what else?) Wallace Bay but when the Peers and Teeds arrived it was called Remsheg and they were the Remsheg Grantees.

Graves of Alexander Peers & Mary
Bolding

We crossed the causeway to North Wallace and followed the signs to the Loyalist Cairn which was erected to mark the 225th anniversary of the arrival.  Beside the Cairn is an old road that had been freshly mowed and so we followed it up the hill to the old Dotten Cemetery - which was about 3/4 km walk through fields of wild flowers.  There are about 30 stones in the clearing and a cozy little park bench right in the centre.   Most of the stones belong to the Dotten Family but off to one side we found the graves of my 4th Great Grandfather and Grandmother, Alexander Peers and Mary Bolding.  Alexander died in 1816 and Mary in 1808 but the stones are in remarkable condition and I was thrilled to find them there. Today someone unknown lovingly cares for this beautiful little spot and they are owed a big THANK YOU!

The Whirligig Cafe

After such great luck, we stopped at the Whirligig Cafe in Wallace for lunch and were treated to the greatest meal - Ann had blueberry pancakes and I had the fish cakes and beans - all home made and delicious!  I particularly liked the relish they served with the fishcakes, but on asking, found it was Habitant Chow Chow, right out of the bottle.  It is a warm friendly little restaurant with an amazing view out over Wallace Bay and is decorated with beautiful hand hooked rugs and local photography.  Stop there, for sure, if you are in the area.

After lunch we headed to Wentworth to seek out another branch of the family - that of  the Bragg boys' mother Matilda Swallow.  We, of course, began at the cemetery - the very one, in fact that did in our air conditioner last year.  With more care taken in where we drove, we were rewarded with a plethora of Swallow tombstones and a bunch of Teeds, as well.  Then we followed Swallow Road up Swallow Hill to where the old homestead was.  Lush, healthy farmland, for sure.

On our way down to Truro, we went through a 10 km construction zone where we had a pilot driver who was trying out for the Indie 500.  You might be able to go 60 down a narrow lane with a big drop off on each side if you're driving a Honda, but in a Motor home....  Let's just say, I owe the province of Nova Scotia for about 10 traffic cones, and Ann some dry underwear.

Speaking of Ann - who else but your best friend would tromp through cemeteries the way she does with me!  It's a gift!!!

To be continued.....

Old Dotten Cemetery, North Wallace, Nova Scotia