Evening Reflections

 

Last evening at 8:30 from our deck in Granville Ferry. 

... Sometimes words are not needed.

In Search of Ghosts

 

Yesterday we took a drive down the road several kilometers. We were on a search for a graveyard, that until recently had been abandoned. It is known as the Mariner’s Burial Ground at Port Wade. The entrance sits hidden among the brush at the side of the road. 

However, once out of the car, one could see there was an old laneway through the overgrown bush. Recently it had been cleared enough to let one pass through. The clearance had been undertaken by a dedicated solo rescuer of forgotten cemeteries in Nova Scotia.

We trekked along this laneway, climbing over a fallen tree and ducking under overhanging branches. It was a little distance and as the water of the Annapolis Basin came into sight through the trees, one wondered if ever there would be a graveyard in this tangled wood.

But there it was , two small clearings surrounded by trees and brush, sitting close to the water’s edge. And several of the stones, going back well over 100 years, were still clearly marked. 

And there standing adjacent to another marking his wife's death, was the stone we had come in search of: Captain John Johnson, died 1843. This was the father of the man by the same name who is supposed to have built our house.

Our house is reputed to have been built “c.1844”, the year after the Senior John Johnson died. However, when the house was rescued from demolition in 1991, documents found in the walls suggested that the Senior Johnson had lived with his son in the house before he died. Indeed it is suggested that before 1844, there was a smart Cape House on the site, perhaps built in the 1830s.

Over the years, the house was added to, perhaps in the 1860s, and then tarted up about 1905 with bay windows and a turret and perhaps a bigger rear wing than one that may have been added in the 1860s.

The person who rescued the house in 1991, states that although it was not exactly a restoration, but rather a salvation and renovation, he attempted to return it to a semblance of its former self. He also added a large rear room overlooking the water with grand decks.

But in seeking out the past, one often comes upon confusing or inconsistent information. Captain John Johnson Jr. had four children. One document indicates that a son, also named John Johnson, died at sea at the age of 22 on his way from England to Cuba in 1865. Another document states this son "died of billious fever on board this vessel in 1866 en roye between Newport, England and Cardenas, Cuba (Armstrong & Wagner, pg 72, 184)" and a further document states that this same son, who was "unmarried", was murdered at “St John harbor”. Perhaps the story of his death at sea was simply a cover-up of what was viewed as a seedy death. We may never know the true story there.

These ghosts all had vital lives and were important people in their day. Their memories should be preserved. Indeed, there was even a schooner built here in Granville Ferry in the 1870s named the John Johnson, presumably named after this well known sea Captain who owned and managed many barques and schooners during his lifetime.

At any rate, the house, which is now our home, passed out of the Johnson family in 1874 to a succession of owners. At some point it became a tenement with three apartments. Eventually, this led to its neglect and near demise. When it was purchased in 1991, it had been vacant for many years.

Thankfully, someone with vision, took on the task of it’s regeneration. And today the house sits proudly on a knoll overlooking the Annapolis River. Gone are the wharves and the schooners and the flurry of maritime activity. The shore has eroded. But there is still a good life to be had here. So we honour those who were good stewards of this property and are grateful that those who were not have passed forgotten.