Butler & Henderson clock

The illustrious Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC, has an interesting pillar and scroll clock in its collection. The paper label inside states that it was manufactured by "BUTLER & HENDERSON, Annapolis, Nova Scotia." The O'Dell House Museum collection also contains one of these clocks.

Although the word Annapolis (or sometimes Clements) is always printed on a BUTLER & HENDERSON clock, there is no real proof that the clocks attributed to William Butler and James F. Henderson were actually made in this province. What we do know is that the clock movements were supplied by the Terry Company of New England. Was it the type of clock that Thomas Chandler Haliburton's character Sam Slick peddled in Nova Scotia between 1825 and 1835?

Louis Jeremy's wood carvings

Louis Jeremy was a Mi'kmaq born in Brickton, Nova Scotia, about 1879. As a child, his family moved to Tupperville and it was there that he honed his skills as a woodsman and wood carver. He was known for creating a wide variety of delicately carved and highly decorative pieces, ranging from violins and picture frames to household items like woven baskets and furniture. His carvings were usually finished with a light coloured natural finish and decorated with either natural dyes or a burned design. While he did sell his creations, they were just as often given to friends or traded for needed commodities.

The majority of Louis Jeremy's carvings reflected his extensive knowledge of the forest and his life as an avid outdoorsman. As a hunter and trapper he made his own traps, bows and arrows, birch bark moose and deer calls; he also designed his own guns. Perhaps his most renowned creations were his canvass-covered canoes made from birch bark and spruce. These canoes were said to be able to handle the roughest of waterways.

After living in Maine for a number of years, Louis Jeremy and his sister moved back to the Bloody Creek area in 1934. He died in 1950, but Louis Jeremy has left us with a legacy of beautifully and intricately carved wood that still inspires people today.

The Foster midgets and their chairs

During their married life, Thomas and Elizabeth Foster of Hampton, Nova Scotia, had eleven children, three of whom were midgets - two girls and a boy. The girls, Catherine and Victoria, were born in 1865 and 1871 respectively. Known publicly as the Fairy Sisters, the girls were featured at Boston's Union Hall with their parents in 1872. Victoria died in 1874, Catherine a year later, and both are buried in the Hampton Cemetery.

Their brother Dudley, known publicly as Prince Tiny Mite, was born in 1878, lived to be 17 years old and reached a height of 27 inches as an adult. He also toured various countries with his parents, and on one occasion had an audience with Queen Victoria. The photograph shows two chairs once belonging to the Foster midgets. These and other personal items, as well as a more complete story of these remarkable children, can be found at the museum.