Dead in Halifax: Stories of Adventure, Scandal, Heartbreak and Heroism

by Craig Ferguson

An amazing array of people have lived – and died – in Halifax since the arrival of English settlers in 1749. In this book author Craig Ferguson recounts the life stories of fascinating characters as well as ordinary people with extraordinary experiences who are buried in downtown Halifax’s historic cemeteries.

The book features more than 50 individuals and their adventures ― from scoundrels to heroes, children to generals, fire chiefs to pilots, and everything in between. There’s new light cast on the lives of better known Nova Scotians too, including Robert Stanfield, Joseph Howe and Viola Desmond. Harsh realities emerge regarding the city’s past, as Craig Ferguson explores the segregation of African Nova Scotians even after death in a section of the Camp Hill cemetery.

This book will engage and inform anyone with an interest in Halifax’s colourful past.

264 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2022

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old burial grounds are awesome and I wish I could read every book about them

[Digitally Lit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily: My review of “Dead in Halifax” by Craig Ferguson.

4/5 stars!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Ever wander by a grave, and think about the life the person who rests there may have lived? I’ve done this my whole life, as I find cemeteries to be a haunting yet beauty spot. And one of my favourite things I’ve done to date is take pictures of graves I recognized my family name with, and make ancestral connections with those buried there. So when I saw this book on the @formacbooks website, it just felt natural to me that I must read it.

The author of this book, Craig Ferguson, does a very good job of exploring graves and telling their stories in the Halifax area. Graves from war veterans, Halifax explosion victims, and regular everyday people who have extraordinary stories just waiting to be told are explored in this story. I love history and I love detail, so this book was right up my alley, and the fact that I’ve actually visited some of these historic cemeteries makes it even better to me!

I think my favourite part of this book is more near the end, when there was a short bit on the Halifax explosion and some of the victims and there lives. It’s absolutely wild to me how life was lived normally, and then all of a sudden one day that changed. And took many people with it. It’s incredibly sad to me, and the fact that it was the largest explosion pre-atomic bomb era makes it even more wild, especially for somewhere I’ve been. Doesn’t seem real to me almost!

This was an extremely well written book and I was quite impressed with all that I learned. You never know who lies where you walk, and the people that are buried in the various cemeteries mentioned in this book in Halifax will be remembered due in part to the people who decided to share these stories.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in maritime history, specifically Nova Scotia and Halifax history, as well as people who like to learn about the lives of those who have since past.

This book was given to me by @digitally_lit for being an our stories matter youth ambassador!

#youthambassador #digitallylit #halifax #novascotia #bookrecommendations #bookreview

[Craig Colby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an engaging look at the tales beyond the tombstones. Ferguson's research reveals the lives and deaths of Haligonians starting with their tombstones. The book is a time machines, showing the reader what it was like to live in Halifax throughout the city's history. Pirates, bar fights, disease - they're just a few of the obstacles residents dealt with. The book lost a little for me near the end when it told the history of the cemeteries, however, I can see how this would be appealing to Haligonians.

Overall, a great read. Highly recommended.

[Joanna Calder · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fascinating account of the cemeteries of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and those who lie in them. I was extremely interested in all the tales.

But I struggled to finish it. The writing was terrible: repetitive, choppy, sometimes ungrammatical and occasionally unintelligible. Shame on the publishers for not putting this book through a rigorous editing process. The author is a video journalist; I hope his production values for his screen products are of a higher quality than this.

[Kaity Thoms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting! Learned a lot! Some repetition but overall good book!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book. A lot of history and story about the early years of Halifax.

[Mjkluio789 · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Kenneth Strickland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting content, not very well written though. Cant wait to go do some graveyard exploring of my own now though

[Rosanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting and historical information about Halifax, NS.