Liverpool
Nova Scotia, Canada

Step into a Nova Scotian home of the late 1700s. Imagine Liverpool Harbour full of ships.

The property of Simeon Perkins runs down to the harbour where his wharf and store are located. One of his vessels sets out to intercept an American privateer. Another vessel has arrived safely from England with the latest Wedgwood dishes, and some fellow members of the legislature have come to deal with the politics and trade of the day.

Simeon Perkins is best known for the diary he kept from 1760 until his death in 1812. These accounts provide vivid details of everyday life in a colonial town, including the building of his house, now Perkins House Museum, in 1766.

During the epidemic of 1800-1801, he described in the diary how his family was inoculated against smallpox:

My family are Inoculated by Mr. John Kirk, all in the left hand, between the thumb and forefinger, tho not in that Loose Skin, but on the hand, by making a Small Incision, and Laying an Infected thread into it about 3/8 of an Inch in Length. He then put a Small Square rag, doubled, and over that a bandage, to Keep it in place. My wife Stood the operation Very well. Some of the children were faint.

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