Mapping and Civil Service - Samuel Gaskin
Samuel Gaskin’s Contributions to Nova Scotia Geology 1950-1977
Working in the mapping unit of the Department of Nova Scotia Mines and Minerals from 1950 to 1977, Samuel Gaskin appears to be the first African Nova Scotian to work in the provincial geoscience department. Samuel’s knowledge and technical expertise in mapping providing an important contribution that positively impacted Nova Scotians through advances in maps for geoscience, tourism, and natural sciences.
Early Years
Samuel’s father and mother both immigrated from Barbados to Nova Scotia in 1903/1904. This was a period of increased immigration from Barbados to Nova Scotia, with many workers going to Cape Breton to work at the Dominion Iron and Steel Company.[1] However, Abraham Gaskin (1881-1951) initially worked as a carpenter in Halifax[2] and then with his wife Lillian owned a shop on Brunswick Street in the mid-1920s, when Samuel (b. 1926) and his brother Kenneth Gaskin (1922-1967) were born.
Gaskin's Liniment
The Gaskin name in Halifax during the early 1920’s was also associated with “Gaskin’s Menthol Liniment” (Figure 1), produced by Philip Gaskin and his brother Hugh, pharmacists who were also prominent cricket players in Nova Scotia during the time.[3] Shortly after Philip left Nova Scotia in August of 1923, an advertisement for a competing brand, Vicks VapoRub (Figure 2), featured a testimonial from “Mrs. A Gaskin of 2 Brunswick St. Halifax, N. S. says: I find great relief in the use of Vicks. I inhale the vapors for hoarseness and other cold troubles and it gives excellent results. Vicks is the most valuable household remedy I have ever used.” Dec. 23, 1923.
This testimonial from Lillian Gaskin, Samuel’s mother, was likely of interest for the print ads due to the potential for similarity in name of the competing brand.
Figure 1 : Hugh Gaskin, a member of the Sydney Cricket team during the 1912-13 season, (Beaton Institute/Cape Breton University) and Gaskin’s Menthol Liniment ads in The Evening Mail (Halifax) on Dec 30, 1920 (centre) and Feb 17, 1921 (right).
Figure 2 : Vicks VapoRub ad in The Evening Mail Dec. 23, 1923 - featuring testimonial from Mrs. A. (Abraham) Gaskin, who was Lillian Gaskin, mother of Kenneth, Samuel Gaskin.
Life on Brunswick Street
Abraham had a previous marriage and family with Miriam (Jones). Abraham and Miriam were married in 1906 and their first son Marcus was born the year later. There were other children although sadly, several died a young age. The family would have also experienced the Halifax Explosion of 1917. Miriam died in January of 1919, from illness perhaps associated with the Spanish Flu. In 1921, Abraham and Marcus were living at 2 Brunswick Street,[4] the same year that Abraham married Lillian (Rawlins). Marcus graduated from Grade 10 in 1928 and had been part of an exhibition of carpentry work done in St. Patrick’s School.[4]
Abraham and Lilian had a shop at 746 Brunswick Street in 1925. In March of that year, the shop was burgled by two young boys who were later charged and convicted. A newspaper article describes stolen goods from the shop included “women’s wearing apparel, soap, tobacco, stationary, handkerchiefs, etc.”[6] A shop in Halifax run by a Black family was not likely common in 1925, and the children’s early years were likely surrounded by the articles and activities associated with the business. Another newspaper article mentions there was a legal disagreement in 1930/1931 regarding property on Brunswick St. and Abraham was fined $100 to pay to Davison.
In the 1931 Census the Gaskin family was located at 2 Brunswick Street. Abraham is listed as owning the dwelling valued at $3000, occupation of “Peddler notions” and the religion of the family listed as Plymouth Brethren. The family members included:
| Name | Age |
| Abraham | 54 |
| Lilian | 44 |
| Marcus | 24 |
| Kenneth | 8 |
| Samuel | 5 |
| Phyllis Grena | 2 |
Samuel’s older brother Kenneth attended Bloomfield High School in 1939 (Figure 3). Later, when this school was merged with another, Kenneth was then a member of the first graduating class of the new Queen Elizabeth High School in 1943 (Figure 4). In later years, Kenneth worked as a secretary and clerk, and was an active member (Recording Secretary, Army) of the Nova Scotia Civil Service Association (now NSGEU) when he died in 1967.
Figure 3 : Bloomfield School 1939-40, Kenneth Gaskin backrow fourth from right.
Figure 4 : First Graduating Class of the new Queen Elizabeth High School, 1943. Halifax Regional Municipality Archives. Kenneth Gaskin back-row, second from left.
Samuel in the Intelligence Corps
Samuel was recruited into the Canadian Intelligence Corps of the 3 Intelligence Company, Halifax[7], and was among the earliest recruits, joining in 1951 and served until at least 1968 (Figure 5). He had established expertise in aerial photography and mapping, being part of the team that won three trophies for intelligence competitions held at Camp Borden (Figure 6).
Figure 5: Members of the 3 Intelligence Company (Halifax) at Camp Borden, 1968. Kneeling: WO1 Samuel (Sammy) GASKIN, Sgt. Alfred E. (Al) BROWN, Maj. William (Bill) LANDRY, Sgt. Edward (Ed) D. KIRBY, Lt. Sherman R. VEINOTTE, Lt. L.A. (Al) MCAULAY.
Figure 6 : Samuel Gaskin, Lt. Sherman Veinotte, and Alfred Brown, with the trophy award for aerial photography interpretation in 1967. The award was original wooden Thunderbird carving by well-known West Coast Kwakwaka'wakw artist Henry Hunt (1923-1985).
Gaskin Joins Dept of Mines
In 1950, Samuel Gaskin was hired along with Miss Eva Duncan as “draftsman for map compilation.[8] That same year the Department of Mines published a report “Preparation of Maps and Plans from Aerial Photographs”.[9] The report includes several photographs documenting the team’s work and equipment, including one photograph that shows Samuel Gaskin and Eva Duncan at the mapping desks (Figure 7). The Department had initiated a new project to produce an updated maps of Nova Scotia for registration of mineral rights. The Deputy Minister, J. P. Messervey, publishing a report of progress in 1952.[10]
Figure 7 : Detail of Plate XV from the report "Preparation of Maps and Plans from Aerial Photographs", 1950. Eva Duncan in front and Samuel Gaskin seated in the back.
The knowledge that Samuel brought from the Intelligence Corps would likely have been of value for these projects. The earliest map in which Samuel was a cited contributor is the Minerals of Nova Scotia Map of 1957 (Figure 8).
Figure 8 : Mineral Map of Nova Scotia, 1956[11].
A departmental photo shows Samuel with colleagues in the mapping group (Figure 9), including Don Bernasconi, Director of the Cartographic Section. Departmental Reports do not seem to mention his work or contributions directly, although Samuel’s salary is listed in the Public Accounts documents for “Drafting – Making Maps” was $4500 in 1966[12] and over $10,300 in 1977[13]. According to memories of retired members who worked with him (Figure 10), Samuel left the department soon after 1977, and died shortly after, the exact date of his death remains unknown. It seems Samuel and his extended brothers and sister (Phyllis) did not have any children so if he had kept any photographs or journals they are now unknown.
Figure 9 : Samuel Gaskin (left) with colleagues in the mapping section including Eva Duncan, and Don Bernasconi on far right.
Figure 10 : Members of the Nova Scotia Department of Mines, Mineral Resources and Geological Services Division, 1977.
Conclusions
The research behind this report started after seeing the photograph of S. Gaskin among the Departmental Portraits of 1977. I wanted to learn more about the man behind the portrait. With over 27 years of service to Nova Scotia geoscience, Samuel Gaskin had a tremendous impact on Nova Scotians through his service to map making in the Department of Mines.
The neighborhoods of #2 Brunswick Street (1921) and #750 Brunswick Street (1925) were two locations the Gaskin family lived and later had a store. Uncovering the history of Brunswick Street buildings and businesses in 1920-1930s is challenging due to several changes to civic numbers in 1950s. The location of the buildings and any historical photographs that might exist are yet to be established.
The history of Samuel Gaskin, growing up on Brunswick Street, among the family store, brings one more fragment of the story for considering the diversity and culture of Nova Scotia. Samuel likely finished high school several years after his older brother Kenneth, perhaps in graduating in 1945. Although some of Kenneth’s records known, those of Samuel remain to be located.
Working for the government for over 25 years, Samuel Gaskin made significant contributions to the mapping of Nova Scotia. His expertise of aerial photography and mapping were used to produce the maps of Nova Scotia used by industry, citizens, and tourism. These were the maps used to document the geology of Nova Scotia in the 1960-70s, a post-war era of rapid expansion of geology knowledge.
Author: Tim J Fedak, Curator of Geology, Nova Scotia Museum.
Special thanks to David Brown, a family friend of Samuel Gaskin, for providing information about his military service and photos and the DNR Library for the photo of mapping staff from the 1960s.
References
[1] Bonner, Claudine. Industrial Island – African-Caribbean Migration to Cape Breton, Canada, 1900-1930. Dalhousie Masters Thesis, September 2017. https://dalspace.library.dal.ca/bitstream/handle/10222/73916/Bonner-Claudine-MA-HIST-Sept-2017.pdf
[2] McAlpine’s City Directory 1907-08 p 145. Gasken (sic) Abraham, carpenter, 203 Grafton, h 205 do. https://archives.novascotia.ca/directory/page/?Place=&Letter=&Page=145
[3] Reid, John. The Life and Times of the Nova Scotia Cricket League, 1906-1914. Acadiensis 49(1):69-122. Janurary 2020.
[4] Census 1921 https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?app=Census1921&op=img&id=e002908946
[5] June 16, 1927 The Evening Mail (Halifax), pg. 20, “Display of Work By Boys Won Praise”. August 9, 1928, The Evening Mail (Halifax), pg. 18, “Showing of Student’s is Excellent”.
[6] March 26, 1925, The Evening Mail (Halifax), pg. 9 “Industrial Home Boys Arrested”. April 9, 1925, The Evening Mail (Halifax) pg. 18. “Youths Sentenced to City Prison”.
[7] Harold Skaarup, https://web.archive.org/web/20240625093940/https://www.silverhawkauthor.com/post/canadian-intelligence-corps-c-int-c-from-its-origins-to-1968
[8] Province of Nova Scotia Department of Mines Annual Report on Mines, 1950. https://0-nsleg--edeposit-gov-ns-ca.legcat.gov.ns.ca/deposit/b10577014_1950.pdf
[9] The Production of Maps and Plans from Aerial Photographs, Department of Mines, Nova Scotia. 1950. 13 pages.
[10] Province of Nova Scotia Department of Mines Annual Report on Mines, 1952. Maps of Nova Scotia pgs. 73-78. https://0-nsleg--edeposit-gov-ns-ca.legcat.gov.ns.ca/deposit/b10577014_1952.pdf
[11] https://novascotia.ca/natr/meb/data/mg/ofm/pdf/ofm_1956-109_200_cln.pdf
[12] https://www.statefunding.ca/wp-content/uploads/Archive/NS/1966_NS_PA.pdf
[13] https://www.statefunding.ca/wp-content/uploads/Archive/NS/1974_NS_PA.pdf