Intrigue in the Archives! The other day I was going through some records when I noticed a reference to a sermon book of a Rev. John James Teasdale. We have lots of sermons here at the Archives so that’s nothing out of the ordinary but what caught my eye was a note about a possible bullet hole through the book of sermons. When I pulled out the book, sure enough, there was a rather suspicious looking hole in the book. I’m not an expert on guns or bullet holes by any means but after doing some “thorough research” (i.e. walking down the hall to talk to my co-workers), it seems likely that a bullet was what caused the hole. Don’t take my word for it though, you can see and decide for yourself if you scroll down the page.
Rev. Teasdale was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia in 1839. He was ordained as a Methodist minister in 1862 and served in various Maritime churches including Yarmouth which is where these sermons were preached. Teasdale would later become president of the Nova Scotia Conference. He passed away on May 31, 1910 in Ontario. The Maritime Conference Archives acquired 10 books of his sermons from Dalhousie University who had in turn purchased the books from an antiques dealer in Smith’s Cove, Nova Scotia. It’s hard to say when the book was damaged, the sermons were dated 1891 so at least we know Rev. Teasdale was alive long after that date. I’m hoping that it was just someone doing some target practice and that no one was actually injured. In any case, it certainly makes for a mystery…
