From Little Boats: A Short History of the Township of Yarmouth

Olaf Uwe Janzen is an associate professor of history at Sir Wilfred
Grenfell College, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

As stated in the preface, this book is “an attempt to provide an
overview of an area and some of its people.” Covering the period from
1759, when the Township of Yarmouth was created, until 1880, when it was
replaced by a municipality, the book describes the people who settled
the township, the growth of its economic and social landscape, and some
of its history. Unfortunately, and notwithstanding the disclaimer in the
preface that “this is not a definitive history of the Township,” the
book’s subtitle is misleading; the book is less a “short history”
than a “short chronicle,” with all the drawbacks that entails.

A profusion of one-sentence paragraphs and Sweeney’s propensity for
“firsts” (first firms, first churches, first sidewalk, first
firehouse, first newspaper, and so on) give the book an antiquarian and
descriptive focus, not an analytical one. Where interpretation is
ventured, it is frequently obsolete, as in the explanation for the
decline of Yarmouth’s sailing fleets. Of course, even a chronicle can
provoke questions, perhaps even arouse some curiosity. Yet Sweeney does
little to provide direction for further information. Thus, we learn that
the Reverend Jonathan Scott clashed in the 1770s with Henry Alline, “a
New Light evangelist [who] did much to shape the directions of many in
the province,” but we are told nothing more, either about Alline and
Yarmouth’s response to Nova Scotia’s Great Awakening or about
Alline’s clash with Scott. An intriguing point is made, and never
developed—even a nondefinitive “history” could have done more!

Nor will frustrated readers necessarily find their own answers by
consulting Sweeney’s sources. Most are severely dated, though there is
strong suggestion within the text that Sweeney used some modern sources.
Thus, in her discussion of Yarmouth’s 19th-century role as a major
shipping port, one detects the influence of the Atlantic Canada Shipping
Project, especially the late David Alexander’s analysis of the port of
Yarmouth between 1840 and 1889. Yet the complete absence of references
denies readers the opportunity to pursue the few tantalizing clues
Sweeney lays down, thereby defeating her intent “to encourage others
to explore this areas [sic] fascinating past.”

Except for curious tourists and Yarmouthers looking for Christmas
stocking-stuffers, I would discourage anyone from purchasing this book.