From Texas to Cape Breton: Woman finds 19th century atlas in Margaree home

An old atlas purchased in Cape Breton may be connected to a family in Texas.

Inside a storage shed just outside of Sydney, N.S., is an old book that Kayla Miller believes is a link to the past - and a connection between two places that are far apart.

“A couple of weeks ago I started a little business, and I decided to go do an estate sale up in Margaree,” Miller, owner of East Coast Thrifts, said on Friday.

In the basement of that home, she found a stack of magazines from the 1950s and discovered what appears to be a school atlas dating to the mid-19th century.

“I looked into it, and that copy of the geography book was only used between 1853 and 1866 and then they used a new edition,” Miller said.

Inside is an inscription that says, “To Maggie.” It’s signed, “Lizzie Bishop - Henderson, Texas.”

After some research, Miller believes it was written to a young girl from Texas named Maggie Yates. Miller also has a theory how those girls - and the book - ended up in Cape Breton

“It was during the Civil War era, and a lot of people ended up migrating here,” she said. “That is when we think maybe Lizzie Bishop came here with her family for safety.”

Miller has been in contact with a man in Henderson County to try to find some descendants in hopes of solving the mystery.

“He is looking into it, trying to help figure out exactly where maybe some family members are so we can figure out exactly what the story is and how that book got to Cape Breton,” Miller said.

The old atlas is normally wrapped in plastic behind a locked door but Miller decided to show it publicly to see if anybody could offer any clues.

“Hopefully with this, maybe someone comes forward and they have some information regarding this as well”, Miller said.

For now, it remains a mystery - one about 170 years in the making.

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