Welcome, we are researching the following surnames: NICHOLSON, GERACE/I, PUSATERA, MASON, HILLSON, LEVINE, CLARK(E), LIVINGSTON(E), GRACIE, JACKSON, CROSSETT and WEBER. And a few more!
• The NICHOLSONs of Spryfield¹, Halifax Co., NS were in charge of the water supply for the City of Halifax for almost 100 years, starting in 1848 when the dam at Long Lake was built. Wm. Nicholson, Sr. was probably the first dam keeper. There were Nicholsons associated with the dam until WWII. William’s sons, George and Charles Jonah, were Keepers of the Dam in subsequent years; Charles was at the Chain Lakes Dam as caretaker and George was at Spryfield (Long Lake) as caretaker; Charles’ son, Charles Edward, took over as caretaker at Chain Lakes Dam after his father had the job for 40 years. Charles Jonah was also a cabinet maker and carpenter until he became Keeper of the Dam at Chain Lakes. George Hartlen, farther-in-law of Agnes Nicholson, was the Keeper of Dam at Spruce Hill Lake.
City workers now look after the water supply. They check for the buildup of any algae, or anything that might affect the quality of the water. No one person is stationed at the site any more. The dams on the lakes where the Nicholsons worked, are no longer part of the Halifax water supply, but Chain Lake is still protected by the city, in case it ever has to be used as a backup. There is a "pump house" there. If you get to Halifax for a visit, there is still evidence of the dam and the operation that was carried out at the Spruce Hill site which the Hartlens’ managed. The Keeper had to do periodic checks of the water, and would open the dam to allow water out, if the lake became too high. Nobody was permitted to use those lakes for swimming. Long Lake, where the original Nicholson family lived, was no longer used as "watershed" (that's the term they used for the lakes that were used to supply Halifax with water) after 1965-66. There were pipelines built as early as 1848, and so the Keeper would have to inspect them as well for damage or leaks.
Charles Clifford Nicholson, grandson of Charles Jonah, was serving in WWI with the CEF in Halifax at the time of the Explosion² and helped with the rescue efforts.
• We know most of the GERACE/GERACI/PUSATERA/BATTAGLIA side came from Termini Imerese, Palermo, Sicily, Italy circa 1880-1900 and settled in the Chicago, IL area. Most of the family was in the produce business, selling fruits and vegetables on pushcarts.
• The MASONs go back to the Revolutionary War in this country. Birney Mason (aka J.B. Mason), b July,1842, d after 1900 was in the Civil War, Co. F 37th Illinois Infantry and his father, Mathias Mason, was one of the first settlers of Vernon Township, Lake County, Illinois in 1835 and came from Clinton County, New York. The Mason family was quite active in the affairs of Vernon Township from the time the town was founded until the 1980s.
• The HILLSONs came from Balbieriškis, Prienai District, Lithuania, in the mid-to-late 1800s and settled in Bangor, ME; they had a shoe store in Waterville, ME for many years. The LEVINEs came from Riga, Latvia in 1890 and settled in East Boston, MA.
• The CLARK(E)/LIVINGSTON(E)/GRACIE group came from Scotland & England via the Atlantic Provinces, Canada and moved to Woburn, MA as well as other parts of New England circa late 1800s-early 1900s.
• The CROSSETTs & JACKSONs were living in Lowell, MA after 1843 and came from England (CROSSETT), Scotland and Ireland (CRANE); they worked in the mills in Lowell.
• We don't have much information on the WEBER branch, but we believe the WEBERs came from Germany to the Chicago area as well.
FOOTNOTES: ¹Thanks to Iris Shea of the Mainland South Heritage Society for providing this historical information. ²For more information about the Halifax Explosion, please visit the links below.
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