Dead in Halifax

Stories from the lives of the notable and the notorious who ended up in Halifax’s five historic downtown cemeteries

An amazing array of people have lived – and died – in Halifax since the arrival of English settlers in 1749. In this book author Craig Ferguson recounts the life stories of fascinating characters as well as ordinary people with extraordinary experiences who are buried in downtown Halifax’s historic cemeteries.

The book features more than 50 individuals and their adventures — from scoundrels to heroes, children to generals, fire chiefs to pilots, and everything in between. There’s new light cast on the lives of better known Nova Scotians too, including Robert Stanfield, Joseph Howe and Viola Desmond. Harsh realities emerge regarding the city’s past, as Craig Ferguson explores the segregation of African Nova Scotians even after death in a section of the Camp Hill cemetery.

This book will engage and inform anyone with an interest in Halifax’s colourful past.

LEARN MORE

FIND A COPY

ADD IT TO YOUR TBR

Join the Conversation Today...

WRITE A REVIEW

average rating is 4 out of 5, based on 1 votes, book lovers sharing their thoughts

100 % would recommend

Thanks for submitting a review! 😘

Emily Hunter

Location:

Prince Edward Island

average rating is 4 out of 5

Time Published

An amazing historic read

Ever wander by a grave, and think about the life the person who rests there may have lived? I’ve done this my whole life, as I find cemeteries to be a haunting yet beauty spot. And one of my favourite things I’ve done to date is take pictures of graves I recognized my family name with, and make ancestral connections with those buried there. So when I saw this book on the @formac website, it just felt natural to me that I must read it.

The author of this book, Craig Ferguson, does a very good job of exploring graves and telling their stories in the Halifax area. Graves from war veterans, Halifax explosion victims, and regular everyday people who have extraordinary stories just waiting to be told are explored in this story. I love history and I love detail, so this book was right up my alley, and the fact that I’ve actually visited some of these historic cemeteries makes it even better to me!

I think my favourite part of this book is more near the end, when there was a short bit on the Halifax explosion and some of the victims and there lives. It’s absolutely wild to me how life was lived normally, and then all of a sudden one day that changed. And took many people with it. It’s incredibly sad to me, and the fact that it was the largest explosion pre-atomic bomb era makes it even more wild, especially for somewhere I’ve been. Doesn’t seem real to me almost!

This was an extremely well written book and I was quite impressed with all that I learned. You never know who lies where you walk, and the people that are buried in the various cemeteries mentioned in this book in Halifax will be remembered due in part to the people who decided to share these stories.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in maritime history, specifically Nova Scotia and Halifax history, as well as people who like to learn about the lives of those who have since past.

I recommend this book.