Title and statement of responsibility area
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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
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1873-1948 (Creation)
- Creator
- Spicer (family)
Physical description area
Physical description
- 2.2 m of textual records
- 48 photographs and other material
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Jacob Spicer (1821-1896), descendant of Loyalist Lt. Robert Spicer and Priscilla (Chomondelay) Spicer, inherited the family land at Spencers Island, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia and married Mary Reid of Advocate Harbour in 1846. They had the following children: George D. (1846-1937, m. Emily Jane Morris and had five children: Minnie, Lawrence, Emily, George W., and Stanley W.), Almira (b.1849, m. Charles Hatfield 1866), Johnson (1850-1922), Antoinette (b.1853, m. Jacob Samuel Williams in 1871), Dewis (1857-1936, m. Emma Baker Parsons in 1879 and had six children: Wylie, Philip, May L., Wilena Jean, E. Carlyle and Gertrude), Maria, Edmund (1862-1926), Ellen (b.1864), Kempton (b.1866), and Blanche (1869-1956, m. Captain Levi Atkins of Greenborough in 1889 and had four children). Jacob and Mary Spicer's four sons, George, Johnson, Dewis and Edmund, were all master mariners and became known throughout the area as the "Big Four".
Custodial history
Family records and artefacts were found in the Spicer family home when it was purchased by Harold Lister of Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. The first accession in 1997 was purchased from Lister as part of a joint acquisition with the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. The 2007 and 2009 accessions were also purchased from Lister, the latter through a bequest from the late Wendy L. Thorpe. The 2008 accession was transferred to the Nova Scotia Archives from the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic; it was formerly in the possession of Stanley Spicer, who received the items from other family members as well as John C. Crowe and Capt. John Parker.
Scope and content
Fonds consists of correspondence, diaries, and other records created and accumulated by the Spicer family, the majority of which relate to Captain Dewis Spicer. Includes letters from his family and business associates, 1873-1918, and his diaries, 1876-1936, describing his life at sea and at home including daily weather and activities. After his death in March 1936, the diaries were briefly continued by daughter Gretchen, followed by son Earl Carlyle ("Carl") until 1948. Other records in the fonds include two diaries of Emma Spicer kept while at sea with her husband in 1880 and 1882; correspondence between Spicer family members, including letters from Dewis to Emily and letters written by Carl Spicer to his parents during the First World War; notebook of poems and songs; financial records; pamphlets and other published material; certificates and other personal documents; ephemera; and photographs of ships and Spicer family and friends. Other family members represented in the fonds include Jacob Spicer, Wylie Spicer, Johnson Spicer, and George Spicer. Fonds also includes shipping documents relating to ships Colchester, Savona and Charles S. Whitney, along with related documentation. Some of the records document the wages of the sailors on the vessels, provide details about towage and dry dock work, and give information about the ownership of the ships.
Notes area
Physical condition
Includes: 41 photographs and 7 negatives.
Immediate source of acquisition
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The items are arranged chronologically where possible.
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Associated materials
Records relating to Dewis Spicer and his shipping activities can also be found in the Spencers Island Company fonds. Related records also exist in the George D. Spicer fonds.
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Access points
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Name access points
- Spicer, Dewis, 1857-1936 (Subject)