Glossary

Angelus: five minutes pause for prayers at noon announced by the sound of a conch by the nuns or the church bell in later years.


Foreign Protestants: Settlers brought over by Edward Cornwallis to farm in Nova Scotia. Germany in the 1750s consisted of small dukedoms and principalities, and wars raged with France. Men were often forced into service. The majority of the Protestants who emigrated came from the Upper Rhine and from the neighbouring country of Switzerland. They were industrious, thrifty and fine craftspeople. During the years of 1750 to 1752, many settlers came from the Palatinate region and the duchy of Wurttemberg and from Montbeliard in France and Switzerland. The British referred to all of these settlers as "Palatines." Since their names were difficult for the English to pronounce and spell, the majority were changed and written the way they sounded. For example, Schlagentweit became Shaunwhite or Slauenwhite and Biguenet became Bigney. Later surnames were changed to avoid confusion. In Terence Bay for example the Christian name "Harrie" became a surname. The family is actually descended from the first Slaunwhite family to settle in the area. The descendents of Harry Slaunwhite became known as "Harry or Harrie" making it easier for the neighbours to distinguish one Slaunwhite from another.


Bowery: Place for social events such as dances


American-Irish Fenians: Because of discontent in Ireland caused by poverty and anti-British sentiment, the Fenians organized to gain Ireland's independence from British rule by force. In the US, pro-Irish emigrants were also dedicated to the overthrow of British rule on the North American continent. Following the American Civil War, Irish-Americans, many from the ranks of the Union Army, planned to invade Canada, a British colony. Bands of Fenians crossed into Canada only to be met by the Canadian militia who had been expecting the invasion. The Fenians were repelled.
By 1914 the Fenian influence became the Sinn Fein organization, started by a former Fenian. Its aims were an economic and politically self-sufficient Ireland.


Conscripted: Being drafted into the military.


Jiving and Jitterbug: dances associated with jazz music of the 1930s and 1940s


Privateering: In the early 1800s, this was a legal occupation with laws to govern its practice of one ship setting out to capture other vessels as prizes of war. Fair game were vessels owned by a citizen of a hostile nation. Legally captured ships were auctioned off to highest bidders with profits (less court costs) going to the privateer.


Privateers: Armed private ships commissioned to cruise against the commerce vessels of perceived enemies or hostile nations. American Privateers ransacked undefended villages. Their vessels would land and loot Nova Scotia settlements, a declared neutral colony. In 1780, an American privateer raided Lunenburg and carried off Magistrate Creighton. The presence of the Royal Navy did not prevent American Privateers from raiding British merchant vessels.


Puncheon: A measure of liquids or a cask usually of 120 gallons.


Quintal: a one hundred weight


Reciprocity: Between 1854 and 1866, the trade of certain goods between Canada and the states with no tariffs (taxes) imposed on the goods at the border.


Skylarking: having fun with one's mates or being mischievous.


Sprawls: not really fighting but being rough with each other.


Weir: A fish trap made of willow branches and this method of fishing was taught to the settlers by the Mi'kmaq.