McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Creed, George, 1829-1899
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1829-1899
History
George Silas Creed was born on May 27, 1829, in Lockhartville, Kings, Nova Scotia.
He was a postmaster living in South Rawdon, Nova Scotia. A few Mi'kmaq carvings found on the shores of Kejimkujik Lake, Nova Scotia in 1873 and documented by Joseph More sparked his keen interest in Mi'kmaq culture and inspired him to visit the site. He drafted the first detailed records of the carvings along the shores of Kejimkujik Lake and McGowan Lake. He completed his work in 1887-1888. Creed used a special method by tracing the outline of the petroglyphs with an aniline pencil and pressing moist paper against them. Moisture helped transfer the pencil ink onto the paper. This technique created a mirror or inverted image of the carvings. Creed was the first to document rock art in Nova Scotia. Compelled by his desire to preserve those fragile depictions from harsh weather conditions and vandalism, he created a work of legacy. These rock pictures, or petroglyphs, record the lives of the Mi'kmaq and the things they saw around them, including people, animals, daily activities such as hunting and fishing, and traditional clothing of the time. The McGowan Lake carvings are now underwater due to a hydroelectric dam built in the 1940s. Creed’s invaluable tracings are kept at the Nova Scotia Museum.
In 1853, he married Elizabeth Dimock (1831–1897). He died on February 1, 1899, in South Rawdon, Hants County, Nova Scotia.