Camp Hill Cemetery
Encyclopedia
In 1844 Camp Hill Cemetery on Robie Street in the heart of Halifax, Nova Scotia
, Canada
replaced the city's first cemetery known as the Old Burying Ground
that had been established almost 100 years earlier in 1749. Originally run by private company, the cemetery is now owned and administered by the Halifax Regional Municipality.
As a cemetery in the provincial capital, Camp Hill became the final resting place for many of Nova Scotia's elite. Officials did allow for the burial of Black Canadian
s, albeit in a segregated section of the cemetery. In the 1990s it was pointed out that the graves of African-Canadian veterans of World War I
, unlike other white Canadian veterans, were marked by nothing more than flat white stones. This situation has since been rectified by the federal department of Veterans Affairs.
There are also 17 graves of Norwegian
sailors, soldiers and merchant seamen in Camp Hill Cemetery who died in Nova Scotia during World War II
. These men were at sea when Germany
invaded Norway in 1940. The King and government of Norway ordered the more than 1,000 ships at sea to go to Allied ports.
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
replaced the city's first cemetery known as the Old Burying Ground
Old Burying Ground
The Old Burying Ground is an historic cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is located at the intersection of Barrington Street and Spring Garden Road in Downtown Halifax. It was founded in 1749,the same year as the settlement, as the town's first burial ground. It was originally non-denominational...
that had been established almost 100 years earlier in 1749. Originally run by private company, the cemetery is now owned and administered by the Halifax Regional Municipality.
As a cemetery in the provincial capital, Camp Hill became the final resting place for many of Nova Scotia's elite. Officials did allow for the burial of Black Canadian
Black Canadian
'Black Canadians is a designation used for people of Black African descent, who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The term specifically refers to Canadians with Sub-Saharan African ancestry. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin...
s, albeit in a segregated section of the cemetery. In the 1990s it was pointed out that the graves of African-Canadian veterans of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, unlike other white Canadian veterans, were marked by nothing more than flat white stones. This situation has since been rectified by the federal department of Veterans Affairs.
There are also 17 graves of Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
sailors, soldiers and merchant seamen in Camp Hill Cemetery who died in Nova Scotia during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. These men were at sea when Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
invaded Norway in 1940. The King and government of Norway ordered the more than 1,000 ships at sea to go to Allied ports.
Notable interments
- Enos CollinsEnos CollinsEnos Collins was a merchant, shipowner, banker and privateer from Nova Scotia, Canada. Upon his death he was acclaimed as the richest man in Canada. He was born to a merchant family in Liverpool, Nova Scotia...
(1774-1871), privateer, merchant, banker - James De MilleJames De MilleJames De Mille was a professor at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, and an early Canadian popular writer who published numerous works of popular fiction from the late 1860s through the 1870s....
(1833-1880), novelist, educator - Abraham Pineo GesnerAbraham Pineo GesnerAbraham Pineo Gesner was a Canadian physician and geologist who invented kerosene. Although Ignacy Łukasiewicz developed the modern kerosene lamp, starting the world's oil industry, Gesner is considered a primary founder. Gesner was born in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia...
(1797-1864),inventor of kerosene; a primary founder of the petroleum industry - Simon Hugh HolmesSimon Hugh HolmesSimon Hugh Holmes was a Nova Scotia politician, publisher and lawyer. He was the fourth Premier of Nova Scotia for ten years.Holmes was born in Springvale, Nova Scotia, in Pictou County...
(1831-1919), lawyer, journalist, politician - Joseph HoweJoseph HoweJoseph Howe, PC was a Nova Scotian journalist, politician, and public servant. He is one of Nova Scotia's greatest and best-loved politicians...
(1804-1873), journalist, statesman - Alexander KeithAlexander KeithAlexander Keith was a Scottish born-Canadian politician, Freemason and brewer. He was mayor of the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, a Conservative member of the provincial legislature, and the founder of the Alexander Keith's Nova Scotia Brewery.-Biography:Keith was born in Halkirk, Caithness,...
(1795-1873), brewer, politician - Jonathan McCullyJonathan McCullyJonathan McCully was a participant at the Confederation conferences at Charlottetown, Quebec City, and in London, and is thus considered one of the Fathers of Canadian Confederation. He did much to promote union through newspaper editorials. For his efforts, he received a Senate appointment...
(1809-1877), educator, statesman - Peter NordbeckPeter NordbeckPeter Nordbeck was a silversmith born in Germany. He worked in the West Indies in 1815 and moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1819. Nordbeck partnered with another silversmith, Henry Mignowitz, before forming his own company. He is considered to be the most skilled local silversmith of his day...
(1789-1861), silversmith and jeweller - Harry PiersHarry PiersHarry Piers, was a long-serving and influential historian and curator at the Nova Scotia Museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Piers was born on February 12, 1870 in Halifax....
(1870–1940), museum curator, historian - William James Stairs (1819-1906), merchant, banker, politician
- William Machin StairsWilliam Machin StairsWilliam Machin Stairs, was a merchant, a banker, and a statesman. He was born and died in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada....
(1789-1865), Bank founder, merchant, statesman - Robert StanfieldRobert StanfieldRobert Lorne Stanfield, PC, QC was the 17th Premier of Nova Scotia and leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. He is sometimes referred to as "the greatest prime minister Canada never had", and earned the nickname "Honest Bob"...
(1914-2003), Premier of Nova Scotia, Federal Opposition Leader; one of Canada's most respected politicians - William Valentine (1798-1849), painter
- John Taylor WoodJohn Taylor WoodJohn Taylor Wood was an officer in the United States Navy who became a "leading Confederate naval hero" as a captain in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
(1830-1904), Civil War Confederate Naval Officer, grandson of President Zachary TaylorZachary TaylorZachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
, nephew of Confederate President Jefferson DavisJefferson DavisJefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis... - Sir William YoungWilliam Young (politician)Sir William Young, KCB was a Nova Scotia politician and jurist.Born in Falkirk, the son of John Young and Agnes Renny, Young was first elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1836 as a Reformer and, as a lawyer, defended Reform journalists accused of libel...
(1799-1887), politician, Premier of Nova Scotia