About the Project

About This Project

This project/website is a long-term effort to transcribe and publish the society columns of newspapers from communities in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia from the early 20th century.

Society columns recorded the everyday movements and experiences of ordinary people – visits with relatives, illnesses, social events, and marriages – much like social media does now.

These details are often absent from official records but can be valuable to genealogists and local historians researching people who may be difficult to trace, to understand how communities functioned on a day-to-day basis, and to add a little “life” into our family trees.

By creating a community-based archive of these columns, this project aims to perserve these fascinating historical sources and make them more accessible and searchable.

All transcriptions are presented as faithfully as possible and the source of each newspaper is cited.

Scope of this Project

This project focuses specifically on:

  • Items published in “Society” or “Social” (or equivalent) columns in local newspapers.
  • Communities within Annapolis County, Nova Scotia.
  • The years 1914-1919, with the goal of expanding to other years over time.

Transcriptions are published incrementally and organized by community and date. Coverage varies by newspaper and community depending on source availability and project progress.

This project does not attempt to provide a complete history of the county or its communities. Instead, it serves as a reference resource that others may use for their own research, interpretation, and storytelling.

Even when socially relevant, this project does not include things such as:

  • Obituaries or death notices
  • Marriage or hymeneal notices
  • Census or vital records
  • General news articles or editorials
  • Church minutes, school reports, or organizational records outside society columns

For information such as this, Annapolis Genealogy is an excellent resource and well worth exploring.

Sources & Transcription Methodology

The society columns are transcribed from original newspaper issues accessed through libraries, archives, microfilm collections, or digital newspaper databases.

Care is taken to produce accurate transcriptions, but please recognize that errors and omissions are inevitable. All work is being done by hand and not by using software such as OCR or AI in an effort to produce the most accurate transcription possible for easy searching.

Corrections are welcome, and updates will be made as soon as possible. To send corrections, please contact me.

The original spelling, punctuation, and phrasing are retained as much as possible to preserve the character of the source. Illegible or uncertain words are noted where necessary. Editorial notes will be kept to a minimum and clearly marked.

When handling names of individuals and families, I will:

  • Preserve printed names exactly
  • Not expand initials
  • Not infer maiden names
  • Index names under surname only (e.g. “Mrs. John Smith” will be indexed under “Smith”)

All transcriptions will be clearly cited so users can evaluate and verify the material.

Because the newspapers themselves sometimes contained errors, users are encouraged to verify important details using additional sources.

Project Status

This project is created and maintained independently by a local Annapolis County resident with an interest in genealogy and local history. It’s being undertaken as a personal research project and public resource, not as an official or institutional history.

The project started in January 2026 and will always be a a work in progress. Transcriptions will be published as they are completed as my time allows.

All transcriptions on this site are provided for research and educational purposes. Please cite this site appropriately when using its content in your own work.

I hope you enjoy looking back to learn about the lives of your ancestors and our communities as much as I do.