Sydney, Cape Breton Island
Nova Scotia, Canada

The Rev. Mr. Ranna Cossit was the first Anglican minister to live and work in Sydney. In the late 1700s, he became involved in a struggle for control of political power in Cape Breton, at the time a colony separate from mainland Nova Scotia.

In 1800, his archbishop put an end to a budding political career by transferring him to Yarmouth (which is about as far away as you can get from Sydney and still be in Nova Scotia).

He built his house in 1787, and it is believed to be the oldest in Sydney. Cossit lived here with his wife, Thankful, and their family. Six of the Cossit’s 13 children were born in this house. The refurnishing of the house is based on an 1815 inventory of Cossit’s estate in Yarmouth and illustrates the household effects of a family of the late 1700s.

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