A Murder of Crowes and Other Feathered Family - And a Bunch of Braggs

Annie, wife of
David Crowe

My friend Judy takes some amazing photos of crows, those feathered scavengers that live in every part of this county.  And, like Judy, I have quite a collection of Crowes myself.  Nearly 700 of my ancestors are blessed with the Crowe surname and this past few weeks, we've been capturing some photos of their last resting places.  Beginning with James Crowe who was born in 1715 and came to Nova Scotia in 1761, the family has prospered on the North Shore of the Bay of Fundy.  There is a town just outside Truro called Crowes' Mills and the name can be found on tombstones from Portaupique around to the Noel Shore.

Not to be outdone, we also have a long line of Swallows in the family.  Thomas

Swallow Road

Swallow jumped ship in Pugwash, married Hannah,  the daughter of our United Empire Loyalist forebears, Daniel Teed and settled in Wentworth in a place called Swallow Hill which is located, funnily enough, on Swallow Road.  Hannah and Thomas were the grandparents of our grandfather, John Thomas Bragg of Collingwood and Rockyford, Alberta.

Anna Haining Swan - giantess

Regal in name and of interest to history, the surname, Swan also pops up from time to time.  Anna Swan, the Nova Scotia giantess was one of our own and was famous around the world.

We have 12 Birds, 109 Cocks, 48 Eagles, 1 Hawke, 33 Martins, 4 Mallards, 2 Robbins, 176 Swallows AND 303 Marshes where they can nest and to keep everyone in line 203 Faulkners.

Fox Harb'r Resort

A Bunch of Braggs

Last evening, we ventured over to Fox Harb'r for dinner with John and Judy Bragg and were joined by cousin Charlotte who is visiting her son in Halifax.  We were also joined by David Hoffman who works with John and his wife Nina.  John, David and I are working on a secret, but very exciting project that, I'm sure, you will be hearing much about in the coming months.  It's a blockbuster!

It was great to hear about their trip to England and specifically their visit to the little churchyard in Chard, Somerset where Emanuel Bragg and Mary Woodland are buried.  They were the parents of John Bragg who came to Nova Scotia in the 1830s to settle at Windham Hill.  Emanuel and Mary were my 3rd Great Grandparents.

We had a great evening exchanging family stories, sharing a delicious meal and having some good laughs.  An enjoyable evening by all standards.

The drive home was a bit of an adventure, as well.  When the sun goes down in rural Nova Scotia, it gets really, really dark and we were travelling some pretty narrow and windy roads.  It began raining and, mindful of Charlotte's deer encounter 2 years ago, our speed was well under the posted limit.  My mother always told me to go to the bathroom before leaving home and I should have taken that advice.  The rain didn't help and by the time we got into Truro, I was feeling a little desperate.  Almost within sight of the campground, we encountered a railway crossing with all lights and bells going full tilt.  Uh! Oh!  Well, just my luck, it had to be one of the longest freight trains in the history of eastern Canada.  Fortunately, it FINALLY passed and we made it home, dry and in ship shape.  Good lesson!

This morning we are going to the RV repair place to see if they can find the breaker switch for the Air Conditioner - since the forecast for tomorrow is for low 30s with high humidity.

To be continued...........................