Today I added a headstone photograph (taken 2005) to the page of St. Matthew’s Anglican Church Cemetery, Baker’s Road, Marie Joseph, Guysborough County, NS.
Effie Mae
Westhaver
1879 – 1966
I had seen this headstone a few times on my walks through the cemetery and until today, I didn’t know the history behind it. It’s not your typical headstone, and I knew no connection to the community with the Westhaver name, so it piqued my interest. Some mysteries about Effie still exist—such as where was she born—but many other questions have been answered.
Effie Mae Clark (or Clarke) was born in 1879 according to the headstone, but in January 1881 if the 1911 Canada Census is to be believed. In the spring of 1911, she was 29 years old and living with her husband George Westhaver, who worked as a labourer at a local mill, at Marie Joseph. Three children lived in the household: George Jr. (age 3), Amy (age 2) and Robert (age three months). Also, Bessie J. MacKay, only 13, lived with them as a domestic servant. Perhaps Bessie was a niece of hers or George’s and they had taken her in.
Three birth records connected with Effie and George were found on the Nova Scotia Genealogy website. They include:
- Amy Eliza Westhaver: Born December 3, 1908 at Marie Joseph
- Robert Irwin Westhaver: Born February 16, 1911 at Marie Joseph
- Lewis Alexander Westhaver: Born June 18, 1913 at Marie Joseph
I also found one death record.
- Anna Patricia Westhaver was born March 30, 1919 at Marie Joseph, NS. She died of pneumonia on November 30, 1930, at home. She was 11 years, 8 months old. She was buried Marie Joseph on December 3, 1930. I wonder if she was buried alongside her mother at St. Matthew’s.
Effie and George’s son Robert Irwin, who went by Robert Irvine, served as a sapper with the Royal Canadian Engineers in the Canadian Army. He was killed in action on August 10, 1944 in Calvados, France. He was married to Jean, who was living at Timmins, Ontario, at the time of his death. He is remembered on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial website.
Effie passed away in 1966, and her husband George passed away in 1972. He is buried in St. James United Church Point Cemetery, Sheet Harbour, Halifax County, NS. Their daughter Amy Eliza married Jack W. Winn (1907 – 1981); she died in 1994. George A. Jr., who was born in 1907, married Kathleen Agnes Logan (1909 – 1956); he died in 1978.
UPDATE: This is not yet confirmed, but I believe I found Effie in the 1891 Census, living in Marie Joseph with her parents, Annie and John, and siblings John and James. This suggests Effie was born in Marie Joseph.
1891 Census Canada, Nova Scotia, Guysborough County (#32), Marie Joseph
Taken April 18, 1891
Page 17, Family 82, Lines 13 and 17
Everyone in the family was born in Nova Scotia, including John and Annie’s parents. All were Baptist
- Clarke, John, male, age 54, married, head, miner
- Clarke, Annie, female, age 37, married, wife,
- Clarke, John, male, age 20, single, son, miner
- Clarke, Effie, female, age 12, single, daughter
- Clarke, James, male, age 8, single, son
Alphabetical Birth Records Search
Progress: Searching for surnames starting with the letter A, page 22 of 29
Transcribed
Allen, Ruth Isabelle: Born: September 27, 1910 at Liscomb Mills, Guysborough County, NS, the daughter of Mary Florence Ryan and Charles Allen; married Mr. Johnson; died after 1969.
Liscomb Mills 