The Patriot (Charlottetown, PEI)
Saturday, September 15, 1877
It is reported that the dead body of a young and good looking woman partially dressed and bearing marks of violence was found on the shore at Cape Traverse the middle of this week, and that none in the vicinity recognized the remains. Is it another mystery of the dead or will the coroner’s inquest clear it all up?
The Examiner (Charlottetown, PEI)
Monday, September 17, 1877
Body Washed Ashore – A Mystery
The body of a young woman, apparently about 18 years of age was washed ashore on Bell’s Point, near Cape Traverse on Thursday afternoon. She had every appearance of being a lady. The body was scantily dressed- a chemise, one skirt, and one jacket, with a belt around her waist. There was a mark or dent over one of her eyes, as if it had been done with a hammer. It is supposed by appearance not to have been long in the water. A coroner’s inquest was held on Saturday. The whole affair is thus far a mystery which calls for thorough investigation.
A dispatch to the Moncton Times from Cape Traverse, says, “The body is that of a young woman, picked up in tide wash on the 12th. Could have been no time in the water, as it was not decomposed or eaten by fish. No marks of violence on the body. The Coroner’s Jury returned a verdict of “found drowned.” The body was not identified.
Summerside Journal (PEI)
Thursday, September 20, 1877
An inquest was held Thursday last by Dr. Jarvis, coroner, upon the body of a female that had washed ashore near Cape Traverse on the day previous. The body was that of a young woman somewhere between 17 and 20 years of age. She was slimly clad, having nothing but a cotton chemise and a flannel petticoat upon her person. Her face was considerably disfigured. She could not be identified and a verdict of “found drowned” was returned. Her remains were interred in the Wesleyan Burying Ground, Cape Traverse.
The Wesleyan (Halifax, NS)
September 22, 1877
The body of a young woman apparently about 18 years of age, was washed ashore on Bell’s Point, near Cape Traverse, PEI on Thursday afternoon. She had light hair, small hands and feet and every appearance of being a lady. The body was scantily dressed – a chemise, one skirt and a loose jacket, with a belt around her waist. There was a mark or dent over one of her eyes, as if it had been done with a hammer. It is supposed by appearances not to have been long in the water.
Summerside Journal (PEI)
Thursday, September 27, 1877
The body of a girl found at Cape Traverse not long ago is said to be that of a foolish girl from Pugwash who had started out in a small boat, for what purpose no one knows, and the supposition is that it capsized with her, as girl and boat were missing about the same time.
Chignecto Post (Sackville, NB)
Thursday, September 27, 1877
The missing girl, Hurley [sic], who disappeared from Port Philip some days ago, it is believed is one and the same with the corpse of a young woman picked up two weeks ago at Cape Traverse. The girl had always been mentally clouded, and it is believed she went across the strait in a punt. A relative of hers has gone over to establish the identity if possible.
The Examiner (Charlottetown, PEI)
Monday, October 1, 1877
Detective Hutt of Halifax was in town yesterday. He leaves for Summerside this morning.
Chignecto Post (Sackville, NB)
Monday, October 11, 1877
The Girl Harney!
Foul Play Suspected!
Our readers will recollect that some weeks ago a girl aged about 16, was discovered missing at Port Philip, NS. An alarm was raised and parties of men searched the woods in the vicinity for some days, but finding no trace of her, the search was abandoned. About four weeks ago, the body of a girl was picked up at Cape Traverse PEI. An inquest was held on the remains but no evidence being forthcoming as to their identity, the jury returned the verdict of “found drowned” and the body was buried. The identity of the girl Harney and the body found was at once surmised by the people of Port Philip, and indeed the suspicions of certain persons that the girl had not been fairly dealt with found currency in rumors, which resulted in Detective Hutt taking up the case. He went to PE Island, had the body exhumed, established by the dress etc. to his own satisfaction that the deceased was the Port Philip girl, and then returning to Port Philip, had Mrs. Harney the girl’s mother, and Harney, the stepfather, arrested for murder. The preliminary examination took place yesterday in Oxford.
By telegram this morning
The examination of William Harney and wife, charged with murder of Mary Colburn, daughter of the latter, took place yesterday before Justices Oxley, Black, Carter and Hingley. Twenty-six witnesses were examined, none of whose testimony in any way implicated them.
Acknowledgements
In the two and a half decades it took me to complete this book, many people assisted and encouraged me along the way. My thanks and gratitude go to:
Robin Sutherland, former UNB instructor, who read an early version of the manuscript; Peter Dickinson, former Research Historian, Kings Landing Historical Settlement; Barry Cahill and Philip Hartling, Provincial Archives of Nova Scotia; Heidi Coombs, UNB Library; Dr. Sasha Mallally, Dept. of History, UNB; Jean McKay and Fred Horne, MacNaught History Centre and Archives, Summerside; Robert Hawkes, Physics Department, Mount Allison University; Rick Cotie, Canadian Coast Guard; Kelly Langille, Archives Assistant, Pictou County Genealogy and Heritage Society; the late Dave Dewar, Director/Curator, Wallace and Area Museum; John Boylan, Public Services Archivist and Jill MacMicken Wilson, Systems Archivist, Public Archives and Records Office of Prince Edward Island; Joseph Wickens, W.K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library, Dalhousie University; Dr. Allen E. Marble; Wayne Wright for information on PEI doctors; Bill Fairbanks, QC, for advice on preliminary hearings; the late John MacKay; writer Gerry Beirne for his helpful criticism; my sister-in-law Louise Ploude for translation assistance and my niece Elizabeth Glenn, who, with me, placed flowers on what we believed to be the drowned girl’s final resting place in Cape Traverse.
ARTSNB for providing me with a much needed Creation Grant in 2013; the anonymous reader with the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia Manuscript Review Program who made great suggestions; my best friend, Barb Thompson, who tramped the woods with Grace and me during hunting season and later shared her expertise on nineteenth-century clothing; writer Sara Jewell and her husband, Dwayne Mattison, who advised me about the River Philip and provided a lovely tour of the Rockley area; the long-suffering Fredericton Fictional Friends writing group charter members: Ana and David Watts, Josephine Savarese, Carla Gunn and Kathie Goggin, who read parts of the manuscript over and over and over again for so many years; and my online writing group friends, Nadine Dolittle and Kathy-Dianne Leveille, who gave me lots of great advice over many drafts.
My sister, Maureen Glennie, who aided me in the early stages of research; my father, Reg Glenn, for providing information on all kinds of useful things like express wagons, horses, mauls and other farm tools, how to raise and transport a house, and lots about life in general.
Grace Trenholm Speth for preserving Mary’s story in Lore of North Cumberland all those years ago, which captured my imagination and led to this book. I’ll always be grateful.
Whitney Moran at Vagrant Press for giving Mary and me a second chance. It was so nice to work with you again, Whitney, sorry about the sunburn; my editor, Kate Kennedy, whose patience, keen eye for detail, and deep knowledge of her craft made this a better book and me a better writer; Nimbus art director, Heather Bryan, for the wonderful cover.
Barry Norris, my sweetie, husband, and safe harbour, whose love and support enable me to write.
And my late mother, Annie Glenn. It’s because of her that I write.
About the Author
Courtesy of Dana Brown
Laurie Glenn Norris is a writer of historical fiction and non-fict
ion and holds an MA in art history. Her book Haunted Girl: Esther Cox and the Great Amherst Mystery was a finalist for the 2013 Democracy 250 Atlantic Book Award for Historical Writing and is currently optioned for film. She lives in River Hebert, Nova Scotia, with husband Barry Norris and their cat, Dinah. Found Drowned is her first novel.
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