Spinney – Smith – Keating Families

Some research has been done regarding a family connection between Captain David Smith of Port Hood and a certain HANNAH SMITH (1750 – ?) who married a SAMUEL SPINNEY (1717 – 1784) at Granville, Nova Scotia.

It has been recorded in some family histories on the internet that Hannah Smith was born in Port Hood in 1750.  This is incorrect.  There are no early records of any Smiths in Port Hood before 1786 when the Loyalists settled here.  Captain David Smith had a younger half-sister, Hannah (b. 1750), the daughter of Gamaliel and Mary Cobb Sellew of Truro, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.  According to one record she married Oliver Bowley at Cape Cod and died at Provincetown, Massachusetts in 1813.

One family history states that Hannah Smith Spinney had a daughter Elizabeth (1769 – 1872) who married Redmond Keating and settled at Guysborough in the 1780’s with Loyalist settlers there.  Elizabeth’s daughter Elinor Keating married Peter Smyth (no relation to Captain David Smith) – a prominent merchant in Port Hood.  Elizabeth (Spinney) Keating died at Port Hood in 1872 at the home of her son-in-law Peter Smyth.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about the Smith / Smyth connection and the link to the Spinneys and Keatings in Nova Scotia.

Can anyone provide any records to make the link?  The Port Hood Smiths are well covered in Perley W. Smith’s book The Smiths of Cape Breton (1967).

Christmas House Tour 2009

The Chestico Museum was pleased to be a stop on the 2009 Port Hood Christmas by the Sea House Tour.  Greenery, candles and a multitude of decorations transformed the museum into a Christmas wonderland.  Nancy Hilton, along with a number of her music students, entertained with a selection of holiday tunes and cider and sweets were available for all who passed through the door.

The Chestico Museum & Historical Society would like to thank all who assisted with decorating the museum – especially our captains, Shannon MacDonald & Shannon MacDougall.  It was truly a magical evening.

Below are some photos from the event.  Click on a thumbnail to see a larger version of the image.

Society president Anne Beaton sold her wares.
The entrance to the museum was all decked out.
The fireplace was on loan from the Port Hood Co-op.
A.D. MacIsaac\'s cabinets never looked so good!
The research area was transformed!
Nativity scene by candlelight.
The organ was festive.
Nancy Hilton and her students by the piano.
A Christmas tree by the kitchen display.
A sled and skates by the front door.
Anne makes certain there\'s cider for everyone.
A second Christmas tree graced the stage.
A Christmas village graced a display cabinet.

An Old Fashioned Christmas

Christmas Eve
The Chestico Museum is pleased to be a part of the 2009 Christmas by the Sea House Tours.  This year the tours will take place on Sunday, December 13th between 6:00 and 9:00 PM.

Tickets cost $10 and are available at the following outlets:
Co-op, Port Hood
Home Hardware, Port Hood
Seaside Convenience, Port Hood
Wayne’s Variety, Judique
Freshmart, Mabou

Tickets will also be available the night of the tour for $12.

We hope to see you at the Museum as we capture the magic of an old fashioned Port Hood Christmas!

Bruce Beaton Induction Night

John Gillies and Anne BeatonOn Saturday, Novmber 7th Port Hood’s Bruce Beaton was inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame.  The awards ceremony was held in Halifax in the Grand Ballroom of the World Trade and Convention Centre.  Many of Bruce’s friends and family made the trip to Halifax to cheer Bruce on as he received this well deserved honour.

Bruce was nominated for induction by the Chestico Museum & Historical Society and his nomination was sponsored by Port Hood Area Development.  A number of local businesses also supported Bruce by purchasing ads in the souvenir program.  Those businesses were Zutphen Contractors, The Al MacInnis Sports Cenre, Port Hood Co-op & Ceilidh Fisherman’s Co-op, East Coast Credit Union and North End Building Supplies.  Strait Highlands Regional Development Agency, Football Nova Scotia, the Edmonton Eskimos and Scotia Fuels also purchased ads in support of Bruce.

In the above photo Chestico Museum & Historical Society President, Anne Beaton and Chestico News editor, John Gillies pose by the Bruce Beaton display on induction night.

Bruce Beaton Induction

Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame PosterOn Saturday, November 7th, Bruce Beaton will be inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame.  As the Chestico Museum sponsored Bruce’s application, we are quite excited about this event!

The induction ceremony will be held in the Grand Ballroom of the World Trade and Convention Centre in Halifax.  The reception begins at 6:30 and the cermony will get under way at 7:30.  Bruce Rainnie of CBC Charlottetown will be the Master of Ceremonies.

Tickets for the event cost $25 for adults and $10 for students.  Children 12 and under are admitted free.

For further information or to purchase tickets, please visit the the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame’s Induction Awards Night page.

We encourage everyone to come out and support Bruce as he receives this well deserved award!

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