Robert Alden Temple McNeill - ghost or berkus

Robert Alden Temple McNeill (1855-1919) is probably the most interesting person, next to Esther Cox, in the Great Amherst Mystery saga.  Born in Malagash, Robert McNeill was the son of a farmer and grandson of a shoemaker.  His grandfather Neil MacNeill was one of twelve brothers emigrating to North America from Scotland in 1800.  Most settled in Pictou County while Neil came to Malagash about 1801. As Robert’s grandson attests, “Old Neill MacNeill - I figure he was a genuine number one reprobate. He was called “Fisty”.  He had one hand and he lived to be 102 years old.”

 Neil had a son, Samuel (1823-1873), by his first wife who was Robert’s father.  Samuel married Susan Simpson (1828-1904) who bore him five sons and five daughters.  Isobella, Eliza. Arthur and Alma all died young.  William, Robert, Thomas, Samuel, Mary, Floretta, were remaining.  At the age of 14, Bob was chasing pigs and tripped on a rut, twisting his knee.  He walked with a crutch from that day forward.   Because his older brothers moved away, Robert returned to the family farm, caring for his mother.  To help look after his mother, Bob hired a young girl, Louisa Ann Ralph who later became his wife and bore him one son, Robert Nelson. 

Robert’s grandsons talk about farming in Malagash during their father’s life. At one time,  most farmers had a few milk cows whose product they sold to the Tatamagouche Creamery. They would sell a bit of beef, chicken and raise a few pigs each year.  Malagash was once full of working farms.  The cream from the dairy herd was sold and the milk fed to calves being raised for beef.  Some people even kept a few sheep.

Bob had a reputation in Malagash for being outspoken, and creating havoc with his neighbours.  He was known for having little tolerance for hypocrisy.  He was named after the well known and well loved Methodist minister Robert Alden Temple.

In “The Great Amherst Mystery” Hubbell relates that Esther tells of McNeill accosting her during an evening buggy ride and left the next day, never to be heard from. Only weeks later her troubles began.   In fact, we know that Robert returned to Malagash to assist with the family farm.  Is it possible that he took Esther for a ride to tell her of his leaving which caused her anger and distress over lost hopes?  Perhaps, like so much of her story, we will never know.

The photo below is of Robert, his wife and young son, courtesy of

Penny Lane

.

Carolyn Yates Ratchford and the Amherst Female Seminary

Maritimers have had a long term familial relationship with the New England states.  Almost everyone of my grandmother’s generation had a cousin or knew someone in Boston or New York.  Which is why Boston came to help when the Halifax explosion occurred and partly why hardly a shot was fired on the NB/US border during the War of 1812.  Carolyn Yates (1813-1889) of Albany New York had those same connections.  She probably met her future husband Charles Edward Ratchford of Parrsboro through her sister Alida who married Rev. William B. King of Windsor later a Parrsboro minister; and that marriage was probably prompted by a distant Parrsboro, New York family connection.  It’s a mystery that I have yet to discover.

Carolyn grew up in Albany with two sisters and one brother.  She can boast of a long lineage in New York to what looks like a prosperous family.  Descendants have wonderful painted miniatures of her and she was quite beautiful.  Carolyn and her sister Katherine were educated at the famous Emma Willard School for Girls in Troy.   It is her education that probably led she and her sister Kate to open the Amherst Female Seminary in Amherst Nova Scotia.  The school was run at a time when education had to be paid for and the elite of Amherst society sent their girls to Carolyn Ratchford for a well rounded education  Carolyn’s husband also ran a mercantile store on

Ratchford Street

in Amherst and was diligent in acquiring government appointments to supplement his income. Katherine herself was accomplished, publishing a book titled “A Course of Map and Terrestrial Globe Lessons with a Scripture Geography” printed in 1852.  I would love to find a copy of this book. 

Although Carolyn was an important figure in Amherst history, as was her husband’s family in Parrsboro history, it is her father that can boast of notoriety.  His claim to fame was a second marriage to the famous U S female educator Emma Hart Willard and subsequent scandalous divorce. Dr. Christoffer Yates (1799-1848) had four children with Anna Miller.  His only son Winfield (Carolyn’s brother) died of consumption at the young age of 18 and was deeply mourned by the family.  Considered a prodigy, Winfield is said to have studied Shakespeare at the age of 8 and at the age of 12 had compositions published in the local paper.

Carolyn and Edward Ratchford had three children, Julia Anne, Mary Alida and Charles Edward.  Katherine never married and is buried in Parrsboro with her father.

Ross Girls

I am fascinated by two maiden aunts on my fathers side.  I guess because they must have been strong women, to move to Pasadena California from little Oxford Nova Scotia.  Elspeth went first, arriving in California in 1903 at the age of  18 and Elizabeth later in 1909.  My father's mother was a sister to the Ross girls.

Elsie was a stenographer to a Superior Court Judge for Pasadena, G A. Gibbs.  Lizzie got her teaching certificate in California while living with an aunt and then moved in with Elsie and taught at McKinley School.   There are reports of the girls coming home in the summer to see their family in South Victoria at the old homestead.  It was said that the tall elegant aunts had the latest of fashion (being career girls with money to spend).    One summer, they brought with them a friend, Louis E. Sherwood (1879-1938) a Pasadena photographer.  Family suggested that Sherwood was a beau of one of the girls.  Louis never married.  However, I have a wonderful hand tinted photograph of the flax bales in the Ross farm fields by Sherwood.  Both my grandmother Margaret Ross Thompson and her sister Jean travelled to California and spent some time with the sisters.  It must have been exciting travelling on the train across the US to California.  Elsie died on August 7, 1936.  Elizabeth died three years later on June 26, 1939 at the age of 51. 

I must have gotten my height from Elizabeth who was only 5 foot 3; unusual for the tall Ross family of which my father took after.  I will tell you more about the Ross family and their homestead later.

Believed to be Ross girl in Pasadena.

Haunted Girl has arrived!

I helped my dear friend Laurie Glenn Norris publish a book about Amherst's most infamous girl, Esther Cox Shanahan titled Haunted Girl and we are launching the book at Cumberland County Museum and Archives in Amherst on May 12, 2012.  I am very excited.  This has been two years of work and there is so much to tell.  I hope to expand on some of the stories that I discovered about Amherst people here on my blog.  Esther was born in a small village called Eastville, near Stewiack, Nova Scotia, moved to Amherst as a teen where the poldergeist began to haunt her.  She later moved to Springhill Nova Scotia marrying Adam Porter, bearing him one child and later marring Peter Shanahan (Shannahan) and moving with him and his family to Brockton, Massachusettes.  Our book was published by Nimbus Publishing.  More about Esther and the mystery later.  Do you have your own Esther story?  Would love to hear it.