Sunday's Obituary ~ They Cleared the Land on Which He Wed

This obituary is from my great grandmother's scrapbook of newspaper clippings, which is quite tattered and crumbly. Undoubtedly, it appeared in a newspaper from Down East, perhaps from Truro. It would not surprise me if she had these clippings, if not the entire newspaper, mailed to her in the States, so that she could keep up with family "down home."

As the obituary so eloquently states, John W. MacKay was the eldest son of my third great grandparents, Alexander and Eleanor Mackay. making him my 2d great great uncle. He was the brother of my great great grandmother, Isabella "Bella" Fulton MacKay, of whom I have written earlier.

I love the floral language of this obituary, like "passed away very peacefully,"

"he leaves to mourn the loss," and "he spoke a word of comfort to the bereaved ones," and, lastly, "a profusion of flowers showed to what esteem our neighbor was held."

John William Mackay (1866-1945) is buried in the Burnt Hill Cemetery, Upper Stewiacke, Colchester County, Nova Scotia, along with his wife of 50 years, the former Emma Jane Deyarmond.

J. William MacKay tombstone, Burnt Hill Cemetery, Burnside, Upper Stewiacke, Colchester County, Nova Scotia, Canada (http://canadianheadstones.com/ns/view.php?id=15669  : accessed 27 May 2013.)

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Below is a portrait of the Alexander MacKay family. This eldest son is standing in the middle back, to the right of my great great grandmother Isabella.