St. Mary's Genealogy Research Centre at Sherbrooke Village

The St. Mary’s Genealogy Research Centre at Sherbrooke Village was founded in 2011 by a group of community-based genealogists and local historians in response to the need for a place in which to collect, preserve, and share the historic records and resources of the St. Mary’s municipal area (the western portion of Guysborough County).

A vintage black and white photograph from the early 20th century featuring a family portrait outdoors. In the center, an elderly man with a long white beard and mustache sits in a chair, holding a walking cane between his knees. Behind him stand two women with their hair styled in voluminous updos, wearing high-necked white blouses and long dark skirts. To the right, a young girl in a dark, patterned dropped-waist dress and a necklace stands with a somber expression. The group is posed on a grassy area.

The Research Centre is a volunteer-run organization operating under a Memorandum of Agreement with the Nova Scotia Museum & Sherbrooke Restoration Commission, with premises above the Village Treasures & Gifts Shop generously supplied by Sherbrooke Village.

In 2023 the Research Centre incorporated under the Registry of Joint Stock Companies as the non-profit Society of the St. Mary’s Genealogy Research Centre at Sherbrooke Village and, in 2024, was granted charitable status by the Canada Revenue Agency, enabling the Society to issue tax receipts for donations.

Gemini said A vintage black and white photograph showing five men posed at an industrial outdoor work site, likely a mill or railway yard. The men are dressed in early 20th-century work clothing, including wide-brimmed hats, flat caps, and overalls. They are positioned around several long metal rails, a large anvil, and wooden sawhorses.

In addition to the many materials donated directly to the Research Centre since its founding, the holdings include the gathered genealogical and archival materials donated to Sherbrooke Village over many years.

The Research Centre is an institutional member of the Council of NS Archives and information on many of its holdings may be found at the CNSA website MemoryNS.

A sepia-toned vintage photograph from April 1916 featuring two men in Highland-style military uniforms posing with musical instruments. The man on the left wears a long, heavy greatcoat and a Glengarry bonnet with a feather, holding a fiddle and bow. The man on the right wears a military tunic, puttees (leg wraps), and a similar feathered bonnet while playing the bagpipes.

For more information on the Society of the St. Mary’s Genealogy Research Centre at Sherbrooke Village, or to enquire about making a donation, please call (902) 522-2400 ext. 239 or email [email protected].