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Research in Other Countries => Canada => Topic started by: Jehane on Sunday 16 January 11 15:11 GMT (UK)
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Hello:
Looking for a Dan (Donald) McDonald of Uachadar, Benbecula, Parish of South Uist that immigrated with his family to Cape Breton sometime after the 1841 census because the family is still listed there.
Parents were Norman McDonald and Jessie MacAulay and children John, Catherine, Angus and James left Cape Breton and came to Prince Edward Island. They settled around lot 59. Looking for information on Dan McDonald in Cape Breton. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
Thanks, Jane
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Do you have more information as to dates that you are looking at. Also any dates would be helpful and any other info that you may have would make it easier to look for information. Births of children, place in Cape Breton, when the family moved to PEI and where would all be helpful.
The name McDonald is extremely common in Cape Breton.
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Hi Valeriec:
The family came to Cape Breton around 1833 according to family lore but they are still listed in Uchadar, Benebecula during the 1841 census. The family settled in lot 59 Whim Road, PEI.
Other family members who came to PEI were
John McDonald --1833
Angus McDonald--1831
Catherine McDonald--1833
James McDonald--1820 my direct decendant
The family immigrated to Cape Breton then some of them decided to come to PEI. Dan McDonald stayed in Cape Breton and raised a large family. One of whom I have heard was a minister.
Norman McDonald Dan's father fought at the Battle of Waterloo. There was also a daugther Ann listed in the 1841 census no idea what happened to her.
Thanks for your interest
Jehane
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Do you have an approximate date of birth for Dan (Donald) and what was the occupation of Norman. That could help narrow down your Dan (Donald).
Do you have the census details for the McDonald's in PEI in 1881 as they are available on the LAC site (PEI, Kings, Lot 59)? You can also find the 1891 census at this site as well as the WW1 Attestation Papers. In most cases you can view the original pages.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/index-e.html
You can search the 1901 and 1911 Canada census and view the original pages through the split view section at
http://automatedgenealogy.com
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Dan's birthday would have been between 1820 and 1835 in South Uist.
His father Norman was a farmer on PEI and family appear in 1881-1911 census in PEI.
In 1911 census Angus and John are still living in lot 59 and may ancestors still living there.
My ancestory James McDonald married a Mary Ross and was a farmer living in lot 59.
thanks, Jane
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www.novascotiagenealogy.com
Historical Vital Statistics
You can search BMD's at this site and can narrow it down by county. the counties in Cape Breton are
Cape Breton, Inverness, Richmond, Victoria. I would start searching the deaths for Dan/Donald Mc/MacDonald in those counties. In some cases place of birth will be listed, occupations and parents. It will take a long time to search through the records but is probably your best bet. I would also check for any Norman's as if there was a son, the name would probably be Norman followed by his mother's name for a female child then his brothers names for other children. It is a long shot but worth looking. I would also look at the census info on the LAC site for 1881 and see what pops up for his name and his children's names to see if you can get a match. Some of the immigration dates and country of birth are listed on the census. If his father was a farmer, that was likely his occupation as well. If you find anything that may match in a particular area, then look at the rest of the McDonald's in that area to see if anything matches.
I will keep looking for information and sites for you.
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I haven't found your Donald McDonald but have found other Mcdonald's from North and South Uist at the Historical Vital Statistics site that could narrow down your search in Cape Breton. Is it possible that other member of Norman's family may have also immigrated from Scotland. I have found Mcdonald's in the Catalone and Cow Bay areas of Cape Breton.
Norman Mcdonald
b. North Uist
d. 1875, Catalone, Cape Breton Co., age 48
father: Ewan McDonald
Informant: John Mcdonald
Where registered and name of Registrar: Catalone, Norman Mcdonald
Ewan McDonald
b. Catalone, NS d. June 18, 1915, age 68
(could possibly be son of Norman)
continued on another post
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Donald McDonald
B. Scotland
d. 3 Dec. 1869, Catalone, age 57
father: Neil McDonald, farmer
the following are all on the same page:
line 62, Donald McDonald, d. 16 Jan 1871, age 4, Catalone
father: Norman
Informant: Norman Mcdonald
Line 63, Angus Mcdonald, age 84, widower, farmer
b. North Uist d. Mira Bay Feb 1871
informant: Norman McDonald
line 64, Donald McDonald, age 53, bachelor
b. South Uist d. 3 Feb 1871, Catalone
father: Angus McDonald
Informant: Norman McDonald
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line 66
Donald McDonald, age 50, single
b. North Uist, Scotland
d. 19 May 1871, Cow Bay, Cape Breton
parents: Donald and Catherine
farmer
line 76
Alexander McDonald, age 80
b. South Uist, Scotland
parents: James and Margaret McDonald
d. Barrasois 30 May 1871
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I don't want to mislead you into thinking this is your family but there could be a connection. This could help narrow your search area in Cape Breton to a smaller area and if it doesn't pan out, you can increase your search area.
A tip when checking pages. when you find a name of interest, scroll down the entire page to see if any other surnames or place names are of interest.
When checking my Crowes and Blenkhorns, I went through every name and was able to piece families together through area, parents, occupations, and informants. It is time consuming but worthwhile in the end.
Good luck.
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http://www.capebretongenweb.com/Cemeteries/cem38.html
Loch End Cemetery, Catalone
You can view the transcriptions at the above site. Lots of MacAuleys and McDonald's with connections to North/South Uist
Cape Breton Roots
http://capebretonroots.com/directory/
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Thank you so much for the information and the tips I will check them out. I appreciate any leads.
Regards, Jane
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Hi,
I have looked at some online directories for Cape Bretton and the number of McDonalds is astounding.
This may be clutching at straws a bit, but how about trying to follow up on the "son was a minister" angle. Was the family Presbyterian? There is a book online (Free) called the History of the Presbyterian Church in Cape Breton.
http://www.archive.org/details/thehistoryofthep00murruoft
In the left hand pane, you can click "read online" and it pops up with a search box. There are lots of McDonalds in this book (you will see little balloons on the bar at the bottom of the page), but there are biographical sketches of many of them.
It looks as if it wasn't unusual for the ministers to have obtained degrees from Dalhousie University and from the Presbyterian College (both in Halifax NS). I don't know if either of these institutions have yearbooks online - or class photos/bios.
This may help narrow down options or confirm a family that you think may be right - if you can tie it to a minister??
I know this lead is a HUGE longshot, but it might help -- ??? :)
Good luck - this is a tough one for sure.
RK
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FOr some reason, the link I just sent isn't "connecting". I'll try to post it again:
http://www.archive.org/details/thehistoryofthep00murruoft
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Thanks Kitty quite sure they would be Presbyterian. Apparently the minister Cousin Dan McDonald came to PEI to so a service. I'll check it out.
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When you read through the book mentioned in the previous post, there are 2 separate McDonald ministers.
Rev. Kenneth J. McDonald
b. Port Morien (Cow Bay)
He grew up in Big Hill, St. Ann's, primary education at Big Hill School, secondary Education at Baddeck and Sydney Academies, went to Queen's University for Arts and Theology, graduated in 1894 with B of Arts and 1896 Bachelor of Divinity, licensed by the Presbytery of Sydney in June 1896. In November 1896 he was ordained and inducted into Knox church, Beaverton in the Presbetery of Lindsay. Four years later he became minister of Port Morien. His ministry was short, he resigned his charge and went west and then to First Church Galt in the Presbytery of Guelph.
There is a full chapter on the other McDonald minister who was born in the late 1700's and came to Nova Scotia and also to PEI. I won't go into details except to say it is worth reading the chapter in case it relates to your family.
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Yes, there is quite a lot in the book about this Kenneth McDonald.
There is also a second Donald McDonald - who is younger that the first one you mentioned. On page 88, it talks about his education etc.. He is mentioned several more times in the book too. His age and dates make him a possibility.
A.J. McDonald is mentioned on 76 and 192. He was born in 1866, so also a possibility. There is a bio of him too.
There are a couple of Johns mentioned - with no bios...and a Sandy too (again, no bio).
The book is quite interesting because each section seems to talk a bit about the early Presbyterian settlers in the area. On page 135, it mentions some McDonalds from North Uist. I wonder if these would be the ones in the census records Valerie gave you. Maybe this will help tie up some of that information - I hope it fits with your family.
It doesn't take too long to read through the book, and I hope it helps. I would suggest having a map next to you... I have only been to Nova Scotia once, so I am not familiar with the smaller towns and parishes either!!
RK
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Thanks for all the info been to Nova Scotia lot's of times but I'll still need a map:)
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Just a note to anyone looking for the family in Benbecula. Norman, Jessie and family were not in Uachdar but in the Uachdar of Gramsdale. Uachdar in this context just means rather than literally the cream, the upper (part). There is not much inn it geographically but I think the upper part of Gramsdale will have been up on the hill or ridge a mile or so east of the centre of the then township of Uachdar and overlooking the original inn and landing place for the ferry that served Benbecula from Carinis when the tide was too high to use the North Ford.
I suspect that the family left too early for there to be much of a trace remaining though some of the younger children may have been picked up by the Old Parish Register, which was the Protestant record of the day. Quite a few families in that area had drifted in from North Uist and, if I read the posts aright, Norman and family were Presbyterian. That makes North Uist an almosr certain origin as until just before that, Benbecula was overwhelmingly Catholic bar a few families imported by the Factor, Duncan Shaw and Norman cannot have fallen into that category as he was an agricultural labourer and not a tenant. In fact I am a bit surprised at that status as, if he was indeed at Waterloo then he would have been in receipt of an army pension which, in cash starved Benbecula, was wealth indeed and attractive to the late Clanranald estate because it guaranteed the rent could be paid.
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Hi Angusm:
You are very correct they were from Uachdar of Gramsdale during the 1841 Scotland census this was confirmed by me by George Sanford Jr.
I also wondered if they had North or South Uist roots but they were from North Uist. Waterloo is old family folklore so maybe Norman never was at the battle. Norman and Jessie were of an advanced age to immigrate so maybe having their family come first was the factor.
Norman's wife Jessie MacAulay was from a Catholic family in North Uist but on PEI she's buried in the Protestant cemetery in lot 59 (Lower Montague).
Most of the family after settling in lot 59 were quite successful farmers one family having a century farm that would have been in operation by 1864 before Prince Edward Island joined Canada as a federation. My direct decendant James MacDonald lived on the next farm and he married a Mary Ross.
Thanks so much for your email. Any information you can give me is much appreciated.
Thanks, Jane
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May have information you are looking for. I am descended from John's (James' brother) line.
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That's wonderful new! What do you have?
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Would you like to email me your info? So excited to hear from you!
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Sorry this has taken so long but the computer and I are not the the best of friends. Daniel married a Mary MacInnis and they had one son Norman. Norman married a Catherine MacDonald and they had a family of twelve. Their eighth child was Alexander T.a minister of the United Church of Canada, he had a daughter and two sons.I know who the daughter is and had expected to talk with her this morning but she must have moved so the search is on again. I have all the names that are missing from this brief summary but no idea how to e-mail them to you.
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Hello colene and welcome to Rootschat :).
Once you have made 3 postings on here you will be able to use the Private Message (PM) system on Rootschat to exchange e-mail addresses with Jehane. One more reply here to just say "Hi" will do it.
Then to send a private message click on the little green scroll under Jehane's name and you will be able to send your message. Please do not post your email on this public part of the forum .. a moderator will remove it in order to prevent spam or other misuses of same.
Regards
Polarbear
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Do you have any knowledge of where Daniel's parents came from? Who was the Mary MacAulay that was said to have brought them here?
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Do you have any knowledge of where Daniel's parents came from? Who was the Mary MacAulay that was said to have brought them here?
I think that Norman McDonald was from North Uist and Jessie MacAulay from South Uist. Some of the children were born in South Uist at least Catherine was it's stated on her tombstone. Never heard of Mary MacAulay probably a relative of Jessie I assume.
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Just found this site and all these informative posts! I am also interested in the Dan McDonald connection in Cape Breton.
I have some info related to this family, the John McDonald who came to lot 59.
From his family bible --
John McDonald was married to Catherine McInnis by Rev. Alex Munro of Valleyfield, PE.
They had eight children and raised them on the farm that would be designated as one of the Century Farms in PEI. (Farmed by the same family for 100 years -1867-1967)
Their family: Norman born June 9, 1861, Angus Martin born June 5, 1863, Neil born July 21, 1865
James born Feb 24, 1867, Daniel L born March 19, 1869, Jessie Margaret born April 14, 1871 (died March 3, 1864)
Elizabeth Catherine born May 4, 1873, and another daughter also named Jessie Margaret born March 15, 1875.
Norman had a first cousin affectionately called "Cousin Alex". He lived in Cape Breton and made regular visits to his family in PEI. He was a minister.
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Great to hear from you. I know where the family farm is and have seen it. I do remember the sign that was there for the family farm that show it was in the family for over 100 years. Catherine MacInnis is also a relative on my fathers side. John McDonald had a brother James and he would be my direct direct decendant on my mother's line.
I would like to learn more about Cousin Dan's family.
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Thanks and a couple of questions. You mention the cemetery in Lower Montague. Have you seen the headstone for John McDonald? Is this the same area where you found the info on Jessie MacAulay? Is there a headstone with any info? or?
Also, do you have any pics of John and his brother(s)? I have a collection of old photos of John's family and there are a few individuals that I can not identify. I would be happy to share. Thanks.
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Hi guys,
I'm a decendant of Angus MacDonald (youngest son of Norman and Jessie). From Angus' son until myself, I have a pretty good idea and history of my family, but not much on Angus and his father's family. This thread has been wonderful so far, so thank you!
I was wondering if any of you know if Norman and Jessie had an affiliation with a particular clan back in Scotland? Also, if any of you have any scans of family portraits or anything at all, I would be extremely interested in seeing them! Thank you very much!
Cheers,
Jesse
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Sorry - by clan I mean clan branch, as in MacDonald of Sleat or MacDonald of Clanranald, etc
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Hello:
I think that Norman McDonald had North Uist roots and McDonald's from North Uist were connected to the McDonald's of Sleat. The MacDonalds of South Uist and Benbecula are of the house of Clanranald and are a different breed to the MacDonalds ‘of North Uist’ who really belong to Skye, being of the house of Sleat.
Landowners in South Uist liked the work creed of people of North Uist and I expect that's what drew Norman McDonald to work there and he met Jessie MacAulay.
Angus McDonald's house is still owned by the orginal family and I could get you a picture if you like.
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That would be amazing! Thank you!
I'm hoping to put together a good history of my family in Canada and maybe a little about before they left Scotland - and a picture of Angus' house would be perfect! I believe his son John Norman and his family (including my great grandfather before he moved to British Columbia) lived there with Angus as well, as we have records of him and his siblings living there with "grandpa and grandma".
Thank you once again for the information and your very kind offer!
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I would be a grandson of John Norman Mcdonald and live in the home place on the whim road
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You found your way here lot 59! Good for you! Do you have some pictures we could scan and send to jmac? Any old pictures of the homestead?
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I would be a grandson of John Norman Mcdonald and live in the home place on the whim road
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I would be a grandson of John Norman Mcdonald and live in the home place on the whim road
L-R W.m. Stodart, Fanny Colcraft - Gram's Sister, Tilly McDonald - Mother, Lilla McDonald - me, John N McDonald - Dad, Marion Stodart, Eliza McDonald - Grandma
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I would be a grandson of John Norman Mcdonald and live in the home place on the whim road
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I would be a grandson of John Norman Mcdonald and live in the home place on the whim road
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I would be a grandson of John Norman Mcdonald and live in the home place on the whim road
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I would be a grandson of John Norman Mcdonald and live in the home place on the whim road
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oh wow! ive been so busy with work the past few months i hadnt gotten around to coming back here until now! this is amazing!!! thank you so much!! john would be my great-great grandfather, through his son shirley, just in case you were wondering. this is wonderful thank you!
you guys are awesome.
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I thought maybe you might be interested in this:
The following account was written by Lilla (McDonald) Campbell, sister of Sherley A. MacDonald in February, 1977 and tells a bit about the family life in Prince Edward Island.
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Hi jmac_86
I enjoyed reading Lilla's account very interesting about Whim Road life at that time. She was our neighbour when I was growing up.
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I'm glad you enjoyed it! It's always interesting to read accounts from ancestors!
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Enjoying the story you sent that Lila wrote. Shared it with her grandson and her nephew lot 59 would like to correspond with you. He's lot 59 (Arthur's son and lives in the old homestead). Finding this quite interesting that we would get a Whim Road story from so far away thanks so much for sharing!
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Yes, kind of funny!
Next time I am home (which may not be for a few months...) I will see if my grandfather (Sherley's son, and Lila's nephew) has any more stories - or the rest of the one I posted on here, as it seems there was probably quite a bit more. Should I send Lot 59 a message? They are welcome to contact me in whichever way they would prefer!
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Sure send a message. Thanks
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Hey Jehane, I know it's been a few years since I posted in here... I will hopefully be in PEI at the end of next week for a day or two, and if it works out I would love to pop by the old homestead/family property. If this reaches you, would you be able to see if Lot 59 would correspond with me? I never received a reply when I sent that message (seems four years ago!). I may be able to get in touch through other family connections, but I will see!
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I will pass your message along to lot 59. Nice to hear your getting to PEI.