https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-17922-63783-31?cc...Marriage record of a John Thompson m. Mahala Thompson 27 Mar 1887. The witnesses J. B. Shrewsbury and William Johnson may be a significant clue. Can you do a search for the area in 1880 to find any Nova Scotia families and/or johnson Families?
Steve Franey in Nova Scotia