The diary of Nehemiah Martell revealed interesting family history
Over the years, I’ve pretty well figured out how I fit into a Martell clan whose head was Charles Martell (1733-1819), of Main-a-dieu.
Only last week, however, I was organizing my genealogical files and I came upon excerpts from the diary of Nehemiah Martell. It had been in the possession of Cape Breton poet Helen MacDonald of Catalone. Nehemiah’s brief and scattered entries spanned the years 1862 to 1869 and whetted my appetite to learn more about him and so I repaired to Cape Breton University’s wonderful Beaton Institute.
I found that Nehemiah Martell was born in 1843, the son of Charles Martell and Flora MacCuish. His grandfather was Joseph Martell (b. 1775), the son of the famous Charles Martell, esquire – soldier, teacher, lay reader, justice of the peace. Nehemiah’s grandmother was Patience Phipps. Joseph Martell was the brother of Anthony Martell (b. 1782) from whom my mother’s family descended.
Charles and Anthony Martell lived in Mira Gut, in a large acreage on the Catalone side. By 1836, all the Mira Martells became Baptists. The Maritime Baptist claimed in 1906 that they broke away from the “rigid Episcopalians” because “the New Testamount had revealed until them a more perfect way.”
Nehemiah Martell began his diary when he was 19. Several entries show how Cape Breton’s industrial scene was changing. On Oct. 22, 1864, he says that, “Railway surveyors are plentiful around here. The line is about half done.” The line certainly pre-dated the S and L.
On Sept. 18, 1866, he says, “America and Europe have had a summer of great excitement. They have been joined together by the electric telegraph, The Great Eastern. They now can converse, although it is expensive, $5 a word.”
On June 15, 1867, he reported that “A stranger has appeared in the Mira River in the shape of a small steamer, the first steam vessel in Mira Bay.”
On Feb. 17, 1869, he wrote: “A novel and unexpected sight appeared in the Mira Bay today. Three steamers are engaged in the laying of the telegraph cable from Brest to Boston…”
He also talks of a tragedy, one which illustrates the isolation of Cape Breton and other places at the time.
On May 17, 1865, he writes: “A time of deep trouble for the United States. President Lincoln has been shot by an assassin. Every loyal heart mourns this good man’s death.” Note that President Lincoln had been shot 29 days earlier on Apr. 15, 1865!
Nehemiah Martell’s diary ends on Sept. 19, 1869. He sailed for Boston on Sept. 7. Fog and poor winds meant that it took the schooner five days to reach Canso. On Sept. 17, he reached Boston. In Boston, he worked for $2 a day and his board was $5 a week.
He never returned to Mira, although he longed for it. On Sept. 19, he said: “I went to the Baptist meeting hall this morning. I would give much to be with my friends in my own old house of worship in Mira.” That derelict meeting house is still standing on Horne’s Road.
Near the end of 1869, Nehemiah was swept overboard from a vessel in Halifax Harbour. The details of his drowning are unknown. Only a few scraps of his life story remain.
LeRoy Peach lives in Port Morien and may be reached at leroy_peach@yahoo.ca. His column appears every week
in the Cape Breton Post?