John and George Maxwell

John and George Maxwell
BornJune 18, 1864
Marble Mountain, Cape Breton
Other namesMaxwell Twins

John and George Maxwell or the Maxwell Twins (born June 18, 1864) were Gaelic-speaking fishermen and musicians, known for inspiring a character in Rudyard Kipling's story Captains Courageous.

The Maxwells were African Canadians who were born in 1864 to George and Mary Jane Maxwell who were originally from Judique.[1] They were two of six children.[2] The Gaelic-speaking family lived in Marble Mountain, Nova Scotia, the only Black family in the area at the time.[3] The twins were both singers and composers of Gaelic songs.[4] John played the fiddle and knew many traditional Scottish songs.[4]

Both brothers fished, worked in the local quarry, and farmed locally. They married—John to Jessie Pringle in 1897, George to Katie Fowler in 1903—and settled in the area.[1] After Jessie Maxwell died in 1910, John married Minnie Borden Desmond in 1914 and the couple moved to Truro.

  1. ^ a b Caplan, Ronald (June 1, 1981). "George Maxwell Family Stories". Cape Breton's Magazine (28): 17–23. Archived from the original on 2014-09-22. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  2. ^ Museum, Highland Village (March 6, 2015). "The Maxwell Twins (1997)". YouTube. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  3. ^ Archives, Nova Scotia (2017-06-27). "Highland Village, Iona". Nova Scotia Archives. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  4. ^ a b "The Maxwell Twins". Cabar Féidh. 2015-02-19. Retrieved 2024-02-04.