Dead in Halifax

Whether you live in Halifax, have visited the Nova Scotia capital, or just love a well-told tale of the past, this is a book you’ll enjoy. And if cemeteries make you a bit uncomfortable, don’t worry — author Craig Ferguson, a television writer, felt that way at first, too.

Curiosity eventually led him to start the Dead in Halifax Twitter (now X) account to memorialize the people buried in Halifax’s cemeteries. In doing so, as he writes, Ferguson learned that history isn’t distant, it’s right here among us. “And sometimes, it’s six feet underground.”

In his book Dead in Halifax, each short entry describes a fascinating life that Ferguson has studied, adding details from newspaper stories, letters, journal entries, and other archival material to the basic information on a gravestone. His lively writing style makes stories of ordinary people and prominent figures equally enjoyable.

There are entries for brewer Alexander Keith, hairdresser turned civil rights icon Viola Desmond, and Prime Minister John Thompson, yes, but also for young John Power, who died “lost in the woods”; for Hilda Lacon, who survived both the Halifax explosion and the sinking of the Titanic; for members of the all- Black No. 2 Construction Battalion; and dozens more.

Ferguson also describes Halifax’s various historic burial grounds, some of which extend out of sight beneath the city’s downtown. For a modern audience that might take these sites for granted, he explains the significance of places such as Holy Cross, the first Roman Catholic cemetery, and the Coloured Section of Camp Hill Cemetery. The result is a touching, funny, and often surprising way to learn about the history of Halifax and its former inhabitants.