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This is an early Buckley's bottle but when it was produced is unknown.

This mixture proved so popular that on March 20, 1920, he began marketing the product. It wasn’t until Frank Buckley, William’s son, took over the marketing of the mixture that the product became an international success. That campaign was the awful taste add campaign.

The origin of the mixture, however, is not as cut and dry as the company might believe. In fact, both Amherst and Sydney, Nova Scotia, lay claim to the origins of the mixture. While Buckley’s Toronto Company claimed that he discovered the formula there, I feel the truth lies in a grey area. The Buckley family were traditionally healers, midwives, and pharmacists and it is likely that the mixture originated from a family recipe.

William Knapp Buckley was born in Wallace Nova Scotia on September 25,1889, to Lillian and Thomas Buckley. Wallace is a small community on the outskirts of Amherst. In the 1891 census, Thomas and Lillian Buckley lived in Amherst with their three children Ellen, Donald and William. Thomas’ occupation is listed as a wood dealer. This census states that Lillian was born in Nova Scotia but Thomas was born in New Brunswick. It is Thomas’ New Brunswick family that indicates the possibility of the origins of the mixture.

Thomas’ New Brunswick family date to an 1867 New Brunswick directory listing for a William Buckley. He was listed as “Buckley, William – Mill Settlement, Northumberland, cough syrup.” Clearly the Buckley family in New Brunswick were involved in the production and sale of cough syrup. Furthermore, several of the female members of the same family are listed as midwives. In the 1800s a midwife was not only responsible for the birth of children but also for caring to the sick and injured. These family occupations point to the likelihood that the original Buckley’s mixture was a family recipe.

What does this have to do with Sydney? In 1901 Thomas Buckley and his family are listed in the census as living in Sydney. Thomas’ occupation is listed as cattle dealer. His two sons would grow up to become pharmacists in Sydney before the out break of the First World War.

In 1907/1908 things get interesting. The pharmacy on the corner of Charlotte and Prince St, where NPC Comics now stands, was the Buckley Pharmacy. Locals referred to this as Buckley’s corner. It is listed as being owned by D.J. Buckley, William Knapp Buckley’s older brother. Donald Buckley is listed as an expert prescriptionist who took over the business from the Burns family.

The original location was the Burns & Son Pharmacy, shown here. Local legend claims that the Burns family were the originators of the original mixture. Many claim that the recipe was a Burns family recipe that the Buckleys obtained when they bought the Burns & Son business. However, I cannot find evidence of this claim.

In the 1911 census, Thomas and Lillian live of Brookland Street. Thomas’ occupation is listed as merchant. William, the only Buckley child still living with his parents, is listed as a druggist. If the Burns family created the mixture William would have been exposed to the recipe while working at his brother’s store. If it was a Buckley family tradition it is likely that he too would have been exposed to it at the Buckley pharmacy.

In 1914, William Buckley moved to Toronto to attend the Ontario College of Pharmacy. When William graduated he purchased his Toronto pharmacy. It was in this location that he began to mass-produce his mixture. Its creation credited to Toronto likely because he would have had to change the original recipe from a combination of ammonium carbonate, menthol, pine needle oil and Irish moss extract blended in a butter churn, to suit mass production and extend the shelf life of the product.

Clearly, the origins of the Buckley’s recipe, for William Knapp Buckley were tied to his time working in his brother’s Pharmacy on the corner of Prince and Charlotte, here in Sydney.

Vanessa Childs Rolls is a local historian who lives in Sydney. Her column appears monthly in the Cape Breton Post. She can be contacted at Childsrolls@gmail.com