Too Many to Mourn: One Family's Tragedy in the Halifax Explosion

Barbara B. Aitken is a public services librarian in the Douglas Library
at Queen’s University, a board certified genealogical record specialist, and a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists.

The Halifax Explosion, caused by the collision of a munitions ship and a
relief ship in Halifax Harbour, occurred in the early morning of
December 6, 1917. The terrifying explosion was followed by devastating
fires and a tidal wave and flood. In Too Many to Mourn, the tragic story
of the Halifax Explosion and its aftermath is told through the
experiences of the Jackson family, who lived in Richmond, Halifax’s
north end. Within five minutes of the explosion, 46 of the 66 family
members were dead and 19 of the remaining 20 were badly injured.

James Mahar, the son of one of the survivors, set out on a family
history quest three years ago. He and his wife Rowena, who acted as the
chief researcher, pored through the records of the Public Archives of
Nova Scotia and the Halifax Relief Commission, cemetery records, city
directories, and various north-end church records. They have used those
sources to re-create the everyday lives of the Jackson family members
before the explosion and the devastating events that forever altered
their family and their close-knit community. They have included in their
book many photographs from the public archives, along with family
photographs and maps showing the streets of Richmond affected by the
explosion.

This meticulously researched and well-written piece of family history
is highly recommended for Canadiana collections in academic and public
libraries.