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Messages - Chris_RiverRaisin

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Clackmannanshire / Re: James Alexander m. 13 Dec 1754 Clackmannan, in Armagh, Ire by 1858
« on: Sunday 31 July 22 23:06 BST (UK)  »
I would simply add that the same James Alexander who married Mary McVey in Clackmannan in 1754 also had a fourth son named James Alexander in 1773 with his second wife (after Mary McVey) named Helen White/Whyte.

The Memorials of the Earl of Stirling (volume 1, pages 300-01) say that James Alexander senior died in 1802. There is no mention of James Alexander (1754-1802) or his sons moving to Ireland, though at least one son, John Alexander (1758-1821), almost certainly died at Loughgall, county Armagh, as a death record for that Church of Ireland parish shows. His eldest brother Alexander Alexander definitely stayed in Clackmannan, where he remained a tenant at Broadcarse. Apart from marriage records (all from Scotland), Alexander's two younger brothers Thomas (born 1768) and James (born 1773) left no known trace in Ireland, so far as I can tell.

John Alexander (1758-21), who settled at Loughgall, seems to have married a wife named Sarah and to have had up to four sons -- James, William, Henry and John -- who were all paying tithes in 1821 in Loughgall parish. My ancestor was John, who married a Sarah Berry. I'm still working on details of the other families: hope this helps.

2
Inverness / Re: McDonald - Urquhart & Glenmoriston
« on: Wednesday 27 May 20 20:52 BST (UK)  »
As you may know, Commodore Alexander Grant (1734-1813) of Detroit and later Sandwich in Upper Canada was the first Grant of Glenmoriston known to have settled in what became Upper Canada.

He had also served in the Seven Years' War -- as a lieutenant in the 77th regiment -- but became involved in the Provincial Marine and commercial shipping after the war:

http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/grant_alexander_5E.html

He always referred to John Grant (1749-1817) of Lachine, one of the putative sons of Black Peter and Janet Grant of Duldreggan who came to Canada, as his nephew and even (because the latter's parents had died) his 'adopted son'.  This John Grant grew up partly in the Commodore's home; they subsequently had a close and successful business association.

The most plausible connection between them is through Alexander Grant of Glenmoriston's aunt, Isobel Grant (born 1696), who married Alexander Grant of Shewglie (died 1746).  Their daughter Hannah Grant (born 1717) married Aeneas Grant (1702-79) of Duldreggan; she was a first cousin of Alexander Grant (1734-1813) of Glenmoriston.  Hannah and Aeneas Grant's daughter Janet Grant of Duldreggan (born 1736, died after 1766) was almost the same age as Commodore Alexander Grant (1734-1813) and the mother of John Grant of Lachine.  It is not difficult to see how the older officer might have come to see the younger relative as his 'nephew'.

It would be great to continue this exchange directly: once again, my email is above.  If you are interested, I will send you my summary of the Grants of Glenmoriston who settled in Upper Canada before 1790, once it is updated.

I find it useful to organize those who settled here into confirmed family groupings, as follows:

(i) John 'Ian Mor na Catheran' Grant (1725-83), rumoured to have been a natural son of Ian a' Chragain, with his son Angus 'Ballagooey' Grant (also mentioned in the Fonda records) and other children;

(ii) Commodore Alexander Grant (1734-1813) of Glenmoriston and his large family;

(iii) Donald Grant of Craskie (1744-1806) and family, including his connections to John McDonell of Baldrom, who was by all evidence older even than John Grant 'the Big Robber';

(iv) John Grant (1749-1817) of Lachine, his siblings and children;

(v) John Grant (1737-1802) of Duldreggan, who only arrived in Canada in 1786 with many children; and

(vi) many others for whom we have documentation, often from their service in the American war, some connected to these preceding five branches, and others not.

You are absolutely right that things got confusing in Glenmoriston after 1745-16; with so many farmers transported or making themselves scarce (and some killed), it was natural for people to come from further east (in Knoydart) or north (Glen Urquhart) to take over remaining farms.

This happened again after the 1771-75 period, when many more (including most of those listed in the groupings above) emigrated on the Pearl and other vessels.

The first census records for Glenmoriston (from 1841) only establish whether the individual was born 'in county' -- meaning in Inverness-shire -- which most were.  But the 1851 records break the place of birth down still further, showing that very few by that time (after several waves of displacement) had actually been born in Glenmoriston:

http://www.glenmoriston.org.uk/Glenmoriston/Census/1851%20Census.php

But the Glenmoriston, Craskie and Duldreggan/Duldreggan families were distinctive, as were the structures of some of the families that came with them; by sharing analysis and pooling our evidence and other resources, we should be able to reach some sound conclusions down the road.

Best regards,

Chris

End 2/2

3
Inverness / Re: McDonald - Urquhart & Glenmoriston
« on: Wednesday 27 May 20 20:51 BST (UK)  »
Thanks for all this, Kevin!  I've also read your 'Version 6 Craskie Line' on ancestry.ca: it's all very interesting and compelling.

Sorry for my delay in responding -- needles to say, I do not check this site often.

I agree that we do not yet know who the parents of Donald Grant of Craskie (1744-1806) might have been.

The fact that an elder son was called Duncan may, as you say, be a hint, although there is evidence Donald Grant of Craskie ('the weaver') also had elder sons named John and Alexander, who may or may not have come to Canada, and whose years of birth are unconfirmed.

In the Loyalist claims, evidence is given in 1788 by a 'John McDonell of Baldrom' (which I take to be Ballintrom on your map, just east of Craskie) who says that his son and son-in-law went 'at first' -- i.e. joined Sir John Johnson's regiment in 1776.

These two are almost certainly John Ban McDonell (1743-1831), who settled on lot 9 in Glen Road (on the south side of the south branch of the River Raisin) in Chralottenburgh, and Donald Grant of Craskie (1744-1806) who as you know settled on lot 13 of South Branch Road in the same township.

One hypothesis is that Donald Grant of Craskie was married -- probably as a second wife -- to John Ban's sister.

Baptismal records from the Dutch Reformed Church at Fonda on the Mohawk show that Donald and Nancy (or Anna) Grant had a son Donald (born April 26th, 1778) and a daughter Mary (baptized October 28 1780, aged ten weeks) in Fonda, near their lands on the Kingsborough patent.

In this case, if Donald Grant of Craskie the weaver (1744-1806) had a wife named Margaret, as is often claimed in the literature, she probably died before 1778 -- a conclusion the oral record (documented but without written death records) seems to support.

A second hypothesis is that John McDonell of Baldrom's wife was a sister to Donald Grant of Craskie's parent, though this seems somewhat less likely.

My own reading of your analysis and that of John E. Grant and others (Goulet, Gressel, Young etc) is that there are currently two plausible options for the identity of Donald Grant of Craskie's father.  He could be Alexander Grant (1710-43), younger of Craskie, the probable brother of Patrick (Black Peter) Grant (1715->61), or he could be a son of John Roy Grant (b 1705), who is often given as the brother of Isobel Grant (b 1702), who in 1720 married Patrick Grant VIII of Glenmoriston.

One issue that needs to be resolved is whether, as John E Grant and others have claimed, John Grant of Craskie (1663/71 - <1715) was also 'twice married' -- once in 1685 to Christian Grant (who was, controversially, his uncle's wife) with whom he may have had Patrick Grant (alive in 1737), 'elder of Craskie', and secondly around 1700 to Janet McDonell of the Cullachie family, with whom he has Isobel (born 1702) and John Roy (born 1705).

As for the distinction between John Grant of Craskie, who served in the Seven Years' War as a soldier in the 42nd regiment and subsequently received a Chelsea pension, and an Ensign Peter Grant, who was born somewhat later, I cannot comment because I have not seen the research carried out by our New Zealand colleague.

If you are willing to share this with me, my email is chris@chrisalexander.ca.

TBC 1/2
   



4
Inverness / Re: McDonald - Urquhart & Glenmoriston
« on: Sunday 30 September 18 22:15 BST (UK)  »
Peter and Skoosh,

Land was certainly an important part of the Highlander Loyalist calculation. But this factor does not fully explain why they would leave lots they had partially cleared in New York province in order to fight for the crown that had, after all, defeated them in 1746, ravaged their property, deprived them of language, clothing and traditions.

Some did stay behind in America, even in the frontier counties of New York. Many more joined the American side in North Carolina and elsewhere. But most of the Highlanders in Tryon, Charlotte and Delaware Counties joined the Loyalist cause for three reasons, in my view:

- loyalty to traditional leaders, in this case the tacksmen who had organized their emigration in 1773-75, as well as Sir William and Sir John Johnson themselves, who were their landlords, benefactors and unquestioned community leaders;

- loyalty to the crown, which was of course an article of faith for Jacobites, and after 1760 came to be identified with the 'Patriot King' George III, who had relaxed some of the post-Culloden restrictions and made the Earl of Bute, a Tory Scot, his first minister; and

- fear of repression, intolerance and abuse at the hands of the revolutionaries whom the Highlanders in New York identified first and foremost with New England Puritans who were hostile to their religion (mainly Catholic), homeland (North Britain) and politics (clan-based, honour-bound Jacobite and Tory).

Best regards,

Chris

5
Inverness / Re: McDonald - Urquhart & Glenmoriston
« on: Tuesday 04 September 18 15:27 BST (UK)  »
To pick up where I left off:

...the Grants of Glenmoriston and their McDonell/McDonald, Cameron, Ferguson, Chisholm and other friends, kin and relations from Glenmoriston were one of the most prominent groups of Loyalist settlers along the River Raisin in early eastern Ontario.

In the churchyard of St. Andrew's United in Williamstown the graves of Roderick McDonell (died 1809), Donald McDonell and others clearly indicate they were born in Glenmoriston, which they also spelled 'Glenmorrison'.

 would be grateful for any birth, baptismal, death or marriage records available from Glenmoriston covering the period 1700-1775.

6
Inverness / Re: McDonald - Urquhart & Glenmoriston
« on: Monday 03 September 18 17:11 BST (UK)  »
These McDonells of Glenmoriston were obviously related to several branches of the Grant family that also settled in Glengarry, Canada.

At least two of these settlers (and possibly several more) were children of Angus/Aeneas Grant (1702-79), of Duldreggan.

Others were children of John Grant (born 1707), of Craskie.

At the same a son of Patrick Grant (1701-86), 7th of Glenmoriston, was (starting 1792) a member of the Legislative and Executive Councils of the Province of Upper Canada.

Another famous figure, Big John 'the Robber' Grant, who returned from exile in Bermuda, was apparently also a loyalist, though he may have died before reaching Upper Canada.

These were all close relatives of Black Peter/Patrick Grant of Glenmoriston -- one the famous Eight Men who protected the Pretender.

A daughter of either Aeneas Grant of Duldreggan or of John Grant of Craskie was apparently married to John Macdonald of Dulreichart, who was the leader of this group of Eight Men of Glenmoriston.

John Macdonald of Dulreichart apparently also emigrated to America in 1774-75, and it is possible that he or his children were among the original settlers after 1784 in Charlottenburgh Township, Glengarry County, Upper Canada.

In other words, the Grants of Glenmoriston



7
Inverness / Re: McDonald - Urquhart & Glenmoriston
« on: Thursday 23 August 18 18:35 BST (UK)  »
I have identified nine veterans of the Revolutionary War named McDonell who settled in Canada who may have been born in Glenmoriston.

They all gave written evidence to the Loyalist Claims Commission for property they had left behind in the Mohawk, Delaware and Susquehanna valleys of New York province.

We have quite a lot of information on their descendants here in Canada.

But there is almost nothing about their ancestry, which was clearly in Glenmoriston -- around Inverwick, Dundreggan and Tomachraiskie.

A father of at least one of these emigrants may have been a William McDonald, but that's the only indication we have so far.

Many of the them inter-married with Grants from Glenmoriston, who were also part of the three or more voyages -- two in 1773 (including the Pearl), one in 1774 -- that brought them to America, then later (starting in 1775 for some, as late as 1784 for others) to Canada.

They were almost certainly farmers on the wades of Aonach and Duldreggan.  One or more may have been sons of Alexander McDonald/McDonell, who held the tack of Dalchreichart or Duldreggan up to the '45, was one of the Seven (or Eight) Men of Glenmoriston, and died in 1751.

One of them may be John McDonald/McDonell, alias Campbell, another of the Eight Men, who apparently emigrated to America in the period 1773-75.

This John McDonald/McDonell apparently married Elspy Grant.  He may have been born as early as 1715. (John McDonell of Ballroom -- see below -- clearly describes himself as too old to serve in the British army during the revolutionary war.)

The dates of birth would likely have been between 1725 and 1755.

Here are the names and identifiers, as we have them:

John McDonell of Dolegreggen (definitely Dundreggan)
John McDonell of Inveroucht (probably Inverwick)
John McDonell of Tomachraiskie
John McDonell of Baldrom
John McDonell of Auchingleen (possibly Achlain)
Hugh McDonell (1750-1836) of Glenmoriston
-- this Hugh McDonell married a daughter of Alexander McSorley Cameron, also of Glenmoriston
Duncan McDonell of Glenmoriston (indicated on claim)
Roderick McDonell (1742-1809) of Glenmoriston (indicated on claim; gravestone reads "a native of Glenmorisson"; died on May 11th 1809)
Donald McDonell of Glenmoriston (indicated on claim)

Anndra, would your database have any birth or baptism information for these farmers, or the names of their parents?  I would be hugely grateful for any assistance you can provide.

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