historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...
. He was a long-serving and influential historian and curator at the
Nova Scotia Museum
Nova Scotia Museum (NSM) is the corporate name for the 28 museums across Nova Scotia, Canada, and is part of the province's tourism infrastructure. The organization manages more than 200 historic buildings, living history sites, vessels, and speci ...
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
. Piers was born on February 12, 1870, in Halifax.
He became the second curator of the Nova Scotia Museum in 1899 when he succeeded David Honeyman. Piers also served as librarian of the Provincial Science Library from 1900 and as Deputy Keeper of Public Records of Nova Scotia from 1899 until 1931, when the
Public Archives of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia Archives is a governmental archival institution serving the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The archives acquires, preserves and makes available the province's documentary heritage – recorded information of provincial significanc ...
opened. He did extensive work with
Jerry Lonecloud
Jerry Lonecloud (July 4, 1854 – April 16, 1930) Biographi.ca was an entertainer,
documenting Mi'kmaq people's culture and history. He died on January 24, 1940, and is buried in Halifax at
Camp Hill Cemetery
Camp Hill Cemetery is a cemetery within Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located on Camp Hill, adjacent to Robie Street.
History
In 1844, Camp Hill succeeded the city's first cemetery, the Old Burying Ground, which had been established alm ...
. He was succeeded as curator of Nova Scotia Museum by Donald Crowdis.
Piers was an active writer publishing on a wide range of subject from the history of the military to the habits of the
winter wren
The winter wren (''Troglodytes hiemalis'') is a very small North American bird and a member of the mainly New World wren family Troglodytidae. It was once lumped with the Pacific wren (''Troglodytes pacificus'') of western North America and th ...
, a tiny bird found in Nova Scotia forests. His last book, "The Evolution of the Halifax Fortress 1749-1928", was published in 1947 just after his death and played a key role in restoring the
Halifax Citadel
Citadel Hill is a hill that is a National Historic Site in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Four fortifications have been constructed on Citadel Hill since the city was founded by the English in 1749, and were referred to as Fort George—but only ...
and
York Redoubt
York Redoubt is a redoubt situated on a bluff overlooking the entrance to Halifax Harbour at Ferguson's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada, originally constructed in 1793. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1962.
History
York Redou ...
.
Piers was also known for his assistance to other authors. In 1893 he edited Mary Jane Katzmann's Akins Prize-winning ''History of the Townships of Dartmouth, Preston and Lawrencetown, Halifax County, N.S.'' posthumously for publication."Lois K. Kernaghan, Katzmann, Mary Jane (Lawson) , Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, Web, May 5, 2011. History and fiction writer
Thomas Raddall
Thomas Head Raddall (13 November 1903 – 1 April 1994) was a Canadian writer of history and historical fiction.Halifax Chronicle Herald'' noted, "Many called him a 'human book of knowledge'. His tall stately figure was familiar in the community life of Halifax and he played a prominent role in numerous activities in the City and Province.". Piers' museum work was multi-disciplinary, collecting artifacts and
specimen
Specimen may refer to:
Science and technology
* Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount
* Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository ...
s for human and natural history. His collection documentation set high standards of research and description that were ahead of their time and stand out today as instructive examples of
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...
work. A Parks Canada historian in recent times lauded him as a "renaissance man of this province's cultural history. It matters not where the modern researcher penetrates — history, archaeology, material culture, geology, botany — it is almost certain that you will find his footprint of decades ago. At a time when nobody else cared, he and his museum did, and between them they preserved and recorded much that would otherwise have vanished utterly."William D. Naftel, ‘’Prince Edward's Legacy, The Duke of Kent in Halifax: Romance and beautiful buildings’‘ Formac, Halifax (2005)
He was a long-term member of the
Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society The Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society is a historical society in Halifax, Nova Scotia that was founded in 1878 and is the second oldest in Canada (The Literary and Historical Society of Quebec is the first.) The Society is a voluntary organizatio ...