Dr. Rand

Dr. Silas Tertius Rand

Silas Tertius Rand was born May 18, 1810 in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia.

Rand had a passion for missionary work. His fascination with the Mi'kmaq language and culture led him to work as a missionary to the Native peoples. With the object of establishing a full-time Mi'kmaq mission he enlisted the support of the Protestant evangelicals of Halifax and they founded the Micmac Missionary Society on 12 November 1849.

Rand kept a diary in which he recorded the details of his life, including his visits to scattered Mi'kmaq bands and his supervision of the Mission community that the Society had established at Hantsport, Nova Scotia where he lived permanently from 1853. His refusal to ask for donations to support the mission resulted in his expulsion from the Society and its dissolution in 1870.

Rand was especially talented at languages and over the years mastered not only Mi'kmaq, but also Maliseet, and Mohawk, as well as French, Italian, German, Spanish, and modern Greek. He studied the customs, folklore and language of the Mi'kmaq and held the Native peoples of the Maritimes in high esteem. He produced scriptural translations in Mi'kmaq and Maliseet, compiled a Mi'kmaq dictionary and collected scores of legends, including the tales of Glooscap. His scriptural translations, Mi'kmaq dictionary and legends were all published.

Rand's work with the Mi'kmaq was recognized by three universities: Queen's University presented him with an honorary L.L.D. (Doctor of Laws) degree (1886); Acadia College with an honorary D.D (Doctor of Divinity) degree (1886); and Kings College with an honorary D.C.L. (Doctor of Civil Law) degree.

Silas Tertius Rand died at Hantsport, Nova Scotia on October 4, 1889.

*Source: Acadia University Library

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