Today I added one headstone to St. Mary’s Anglican Church Cemetery in Harrigan Cove.
McDonald
In Loving Memory
William J. McDonald: 1876 – 1950
his wife
Ella Blanch McDonald: 1884 – 1954
This headstone is an example of facts ‘not being written in stone’. Ella’s death certificate clearly states she died in 1955, not 1954. Her death record states she was born in 1884, and her marriage record suggests 1885 as a birth year.
Ella Blanch died January 30, 1955 at Moosehead, Halifax County, NS. According to her death record, she was born either June 4th or June 20th, 1884. Both numbers are recorded, and neither are crossed out. Taking the age at death (70 years, 6 months, 30 days) into consideration, she would have been born on June 31, 1884 (using Ancestry’s Age Calculator), but that’s not one of the options, so the closest one to it is June 20, 1884.
Ella was the daughter of Maria Mosher, born Moosehead, and Samuel McDonald, born Harrigan Cove. She married William Joseph McDonald at the tender age of 15 years old on January 6, 1900 at Harrigan Cove.
William Joseph’s birth record states he was born October 4, 1875 (not 1876 as carved into his headstone) at Harrigan Cove. He was the son of Leveina (though the spelling of the name is difficult to read on his birth, marriage and death records) Parker, born Owl’s Head, Halifax County, NS, and Charles McDonald, born Harrigan Cove. William died on September 15, 1950, at Moosehead, at the age of 75 years, 11 months, 1 day. He had been a fisherman for 56 years.
Birth, marriage and death records were all found at Nova Scotia Genealogy, and transcribed to this site.
Harrigan Cove 