ClengarryHistorical Societv

Clengarry
Historical
Societv
iJlutiet'1
&hn Qlu'ga*g ffti'rc'i''"/
.f,lnronJ'ia, 9nturio
1 5th.A nn u aVo
l l u m e1976
andYearbook
of 1g7SActivities
Gl e n g a rryS cottishMuseum ,Dunvegan.
C . E . B roomhal l
l{
Nor'westers' Museum, Williamstown.
&hn Qlnrgarrg ff{i,,rnrir,,l '{:'l'
*K /"tr,,*rlr,,,'. i-')',
CONTENTS
''','r
Page
OUR MUSEUMS
by G. E. Broomhall and A. R. Wall
OFFICERS,
DIRECTORS
and CHAIRMEN - 1976
_ 1975
FINANCIATREPORTS
by A. I. Lloyd MacMillan ..
PRESIDENT'S
REPORTON 1975ACTIVITTES
by C. E. Broomhall
ROtt OT FORMERPRESIDENTS
tET THE PIPERS
PLAY
by the Hon. Mr. /ustice K. C. Mackay
HORSEAND BUGGYDAYS
by RhodesC. M. Crant
A GTENGARRY
WORTHY
from The Montreal Cazette
EMINENTGTENGARRIANS
f r Hfl o sr Ro M....
DR. ER'CA. MACNAUCHTON
RHO Df SC. M . CR A N T ....
DR. WILFRED
/. /OHNSTON
DR. /. RUSSfLLHARPER
THIRTYYEARSOF TRACING ANCESTORS
b y P at r ic ia
M . B axe n d i n e.....
VAttEY OF THE SHADOW
by lohn Chisholm
GTENGARRY
HOME
Front cover
2
5
I
9
12
14
15
15
17
18
19
22
24
oFFrcERS,DTRECTORS
AND CHATRMEN- 1976
OFFICERS
PastPresident:
Pre si d ent :
Vi ce -Pr es ident :
RecordingSec:
Co rre sp onding
Secretary:
Treasurer:
DIRECTORS
Al e xa n dr ia:
Ch a rl o tt enbu
r gh:
Ke n yo n :
L a n ca st er :
L o chi e l :
Ma xvi l l e:
CHAIRMEN
A n ti q u eF air :
Arch i ves :
Ce n e a l o gis t :
H e ri ta geCanada:
Hi g h l a ndCam es :
Mu se u m s :
Nor'westers:
Du n ve gan:
Pro g ra m m e
and
Pu b l i c it y :
Refreshments:
YearbookEditor:
A lic e C ra n t (M rs .D u n c a n )R R 1 ,Wi l l i amstow n
C. E d .B ro o m h a l l R
, R 1 ,A l e x a n d ria
V el maF ra n k l i n(Mrs .Ke i th )R R l , M axvi l l e
.G .E .)R R 1 ,A l exandri a
E v eBro o mh a l (Mrs
l
931-1367
s25-3872
527-5533
52s-3872
Harri e tM a c K i n n o n(M rs .W.A .) B o x 4' 16,A l exandri a
Cr a c eM a c l e o d(M rs .D .N .)W e s tl ey' sP oi nt
525-1934
347-3388
S is te rM . C l a i reMa c d o n a l d o
, .s .c .A
, l exandri a
Lorn eH a l l ,A l e x a n d ri a
S us a nC l a rk(Mrs .L i n d e n )R R 2 ,M a rti ntow n
A r c h i b a l dC . M a c D o n e l l Wi
. l l i a mstow n
J oh nA. M a c l e n n a n ,R R l , M a x v i l l e
Philip Ross-Ross,
Box 250,Lancaster
Wilfrid St. Pierre,Lancaster
Marjorie Crowley (Mrs.V.F.)RR3,Dalkeith
O s i eV i l l e n e u v eM.P
,
.P.,M a x v i l l e
Hild aS c o tt(Mrs .W .C .)M a x v i l l e
525-1369
525-2550
528-4501
931-1016
527-5496
347-2494
347-3210
525-3448
527-2159
527-2994
K ayArn o tt (M rs .C .R .)P.O.B o x 1 0,A ppl e H i l l
ls a b e M
l o rto n (Mrs .H .P.)R R 1 ,D al kei th
Alex. Fraser,RR1,Lancaster
Dr . W i l fre dJ o h n s to nR
, R 1 ,Ma rti n tow n
Harri e tMa c Ki n n o n(M rs .W.A .) B o x 416,A l exandri a
A . J .L l o y dMa c M i l l a n ,R R 3 ,D a l k e i th
527-2860
525-3827
527-2363
528-4292
525-'t934
874-27'12
J oa nJ o h n s to n(Mrs .W.J .)R R l , M a rti ntow n
Hug h D o u g l a sR
, R 1 ,Wi l l i a ms to w n
Russ e lMo
l rri s o n ,D u n v e g a n
528-4292
347-3410
527-2130
Cr a n t Ma c C i l l i v ra yR, R 1 ,D a l k e i th
A ma n d aMa c C i l l i v ra y(Mrs .C ra n t)R R 1,D al kei th
B es s i eC l i n g e n(Mrs .E .)Al e x a n d ri a
Ceorge R. Arnott, Box 10,Apple Hill, KOC180
525-3472
525-3472
525-1
353
527-2860
GTENGARRY
HISTORICATSOCIETY
FINANCIATREPORT
1975
HistoricalSociety
Receipts
Ba l anc e,
J an.1s t ,197 5
Fe e s. .
Donations
YearBook
An ti ques F air . . .
HeritageCanadaFees . .
Ontario Crant .
GeneralAdvertising
Napkins,cards& books .
Cl e n g ar r yP ipeB andh o n o ra ri u m
C h u r c h Hall . .
Fl o a tex pens es . . . .
Mu sic F es t iv al, 197.4
Postage,
printing & stationery
Conventionexpenses
Mi scellaneous . . . . .
324'1.72
409.00
22.00
97.1s
1371.18
93.00
500.00
281.44
$6,01s.49
Ba l a nc eon hand Dec .3 1 s t.1 9 7 5
Expenditures
54.00
679.71
305.73
2'18.20
1216.77
60.00
50.00
15.00
8.90
113.97
150.00
72.04
Vp44.32
$3,071.17
DUNVEGANMUSEUM
FINANCIATREPORT
1975
Receipts
Balance,January1st,1975
Ke n y onG r ant
On ta rioCr ant .
Ontario Crant .
Ad mi s s ions
& S ales
Sales
Mi scellaneous . . . . .
Acquisitions
Curator'ssalary.
Asst.Curator'ssalary
Ma i n t enanc e& s uppl i e s
Advertising
382.36
300.00
1312.00
927.00
914.90
238.85
5.00
30.00
800.00
335.40
1248.36
89.87
$4,080.11
Balance,Dec. 31st,1975
Expenditures
$2,503.63
$1,576.48
(Note: Not in ledger,DunveganMuseum Maxville Bank balance- $4.g3).
NOR,WESTERSMUSEUM
FINANCIAL REPORT
1975
Receipts
Bafanceon hand January1st,1975
D o n a ti on,M r s . A lic eC ra n t .
DonationNor'westersBeaverClub .
Arts & CraftsReceipts
Ontario Crant .
Ontario Grant .
Museum Receipts
Ma i n te nanc e& O per a ti o n s
Acq u i s it ions
Curator'sSalary
Curator'ssalarv .
Assistant
Expenditures
2158'37
150.00
500.00
17.53
1734.00
3979'00
1495-75
1894.36
115.20
920.00
98.00
320.00
N esting Ch airs
$10,034.6s
Bafance
on hand,Dec.31st,1975..
$. 34?.56
$6,687.09
bankbalance
Williamstown
$26.28)
(Note:Not in ledgerNor'westers
HISTORICATSOCIETY
GTENGARRY
SUMMARY
December 31st,1975.
3071.'t7
1576.8
6687.09
Clengarry Historical Society balance
Dunvega n
Nor'westersMuseum
$1\3A A
Ba n kb alanc e,Dec .31 ,1 9 7 5 .
lessoutstandingcheques
Pluspetty cash .
Pl u sOnt ar ioG r antc he q u en o t d e p o s i te di n 1 9 7 5
7367.63
15.85
$r,351?s
3.96
3979.00
$11,334.74
(No te : Not inc ludedin l e d g e r$ 4' 83
D unv eganM us eu mMi x v i l l e B a n kb a l a n c e
$26'28
Museum bank balance
Nor'we.-sters
N ot t o be inc lud e di n l e d g e rb a l a n c ec a rri e dfo rw ardto January1st,1976.)
(si gned)A . I. Ll oydMacMi l l an
Treasurer
Auditor's certification:
I haveexaminedthe booksand figuresfor the fiscalyearended the 31stday of
December,1975and hereby certifythat they are correctlystated'
(si gned)JohnA . Fraser
A udi tor
PRESIDENT'SREPORT_ 1975
C . E . BROOMHALL
The past year has been a singularly successful one for the Society in every respect.
T his h as b ee n d ue , in lar ge par t , t o t he e; r t hus ias t icp a r t i c i p a t i o n b y a n i n c r e a s i n g n u m ber of me mbe rs in all our pr ojec t s and f or t his we a r e g r a t e fu l .
T he g en era l mee t ings t hr oughout t he y ear wer e m o s t i n t e r e s t i n g a n d v e r y w e l l a t t ended . Th e sea so n s t ar t ed in Febr uar y wit h a m ost e n j o y a b l e " p o t l u c k " s u p p e r , p r e cedin g the an nu al m eet ing and elec t ion of of f ic er s.
A t ou r April me eting, M is s J ennif er Har per t old u s h o w s h e h a d s o r t e d , r e s t o r e d a n d
reprod uced th e old glas sphot ogr aphic negat iv est h e S o c i e t y h a d b e e n g i v e n . f r o m t h e
st udio of th e ea rly Alex andr ia phot ogr apher Dunc a n D o n o v a n . M i s s H a r p e r i l l u s t r a t e d
her talk with a se ries of t hes e phot ogr aphs t hat dep i c t e d e a r l y l i f e i n t h i s a r e a f r o m t h e
cradle to the grave.
O ur Ma y mee ting was addr es s edby a long- t im e r e s i d e n t o f t h e c o u n t y , M r . C a m p b e l l
F ras er,wfro g ave us a s c holar ly r ev iew of Clengar r i a n s w h o h a d b e e n m e n t i o n e d i n
literatu re thro ug ho ut t he wor ld.
S iste r Cla ire Ma cd onald r elat ed t he his t or y of lo n a A c a d e m y a n d B i s h o p A l e x a n d e r
Macd on ell, its fo un der , at our J une m eet ing, giv ing u s a n i n s i g h t i n t o t h e e a r l y d a y s o f
educatio na l fa cilitie s and pr oblem s in Clengar r y .
T he Se pte mbe r m eet ing was in t he f or m of a pic n i c s u p p e r a t t h e N o r 'w e s t e r s ' M u seum follo wed b y a f as c inat ingt our of W illiam s t ow n w i t h v i s i t s t o h i s t o r i c S t . A n d r e w 's
United Ch urch, th e J ohns on M anor Hous e and St . M a r y 's c h u r c h , w h e r e t h e h i s t o r y o f
each wa s rela ted by t he pr es ent inc um bent .
Mr . Alla n An de rso n, a f r ee- lanc e br oadc as t erwit h C . B . C . w a s t h e s p e a k e r a t t h e O c t ober mee ting . He h as m ade a det ailed s t udy of Ral p h C o n n o r a n d r o u n d e d o u t h i s t a l k
w ith a tap ed do cu m ent ar y . M r . Ander s on gav e t he t a p e s t o u s a t t h e c o n c l u s i o n o f h i s
talk, for which we a r e m os t gr at ef ul. They ar e now i n o u r a r c h i v e s f o r a n y u s e t h a t c a n
be ma de of the m.
O ur Novemb er m eet ing was pr im ar ily a bus ines sm e e t i n g p r e p a r a t o r y t o t h e A n n u a l
meetin g in Fe bru ary. lt was enliv ened, howev er , by a h u m o r o u s s k i t p u t o n b y a g r o u p
of wo men from St. Andr ew' s Chur c h, W illiam s t o w n . T h e s k e t c h w a s e n t i t l e d " M r s .
B eth un e's Se wing Cir c le" and depic t ed a c hur c h w o m a n 's g r o u p i n t h e l a t e e i g h t e e n
hundre ds d iscussin gt he people and pr oblem s of t h e i r p a r i s h .
Ou r re gu lar me etings would not hav e been s uc h h a p p y e v e n t s w e r e i t n o t f o r M r s .
B essie Klin ge n an d M r s . Cr ant M ac G illiv r ay who s o g r a c i o u s l y p r o v i d e d r e f r e s h m e n t s
at th e "social h ou r" f ollowing our m eet ings .
Ou r en try in th e a nnual J uly 1s t par ade in Alex an d r i a w a s o r g a n i z e d b y R u s s e l lM o r rison . On e o f th e old buggies f r om our c ollec t ion at th e D u n v e g a n M u s e u m w a s p o l i s h e d
up and d rawn by a p air of well gr oom ed hor s es ,ow n e d a n d d r i v e n b y M r . c i l l e s L 'E c u yer. So me yo un g lad ies f r om Laggan Sc hool, s uit ab l y a t t i r e d i n o l d f a s h i o n e d c o s t u m e s ,
added appreciably to the attractivenessof our "float".
Our ten t bo oth at t he M ax v ille Highland Cam es w a s a g a i n a m e e t i n g p l a c e f o r f r i e n d s
from ne ar an d fa r an d net t ed a t idy s um t hr ough t h e s a l e o f Y e a r B o o k s , R a l p h C o n n o r
books, serviettes, etc., and is a credit to those who helped throughout a very hot day.
T his is o ne of o ur pr ojec t s wher e a num ber of m em b e r s c o u l d a s s i s ta n d t h o r o u g h l y e n joy the experience.
T he An tiqu e Fdir i n ear ly Sept em ber was , again, a g r e a t s u c c e s su n d e r t h e a b l e d i r e c tion oi Mrs. V. Cro wley , at t r ac t ing m any ex hibit o r s a n d a l a r g e t u r n - o u t o f p o t e n t i a l
buyers, re su lting in a s ubs t ant ialinc r eas et o our c r e d i t b a l a n c e .
Throughout the year some of our members attended Workshops of the Ontario Historical Society, regional council meetings of Heritage Canada and local historical
events. Two oi our Past Presidents,Mrs. Harriet MacKinnon and Major Grant Maccillivray, were interviewed on a "New Faces" T.V. program over Station C.J.O.H. The
program a lso fe atu r ed t he Clengar r y Pipe Band a n d d a n c e r s a n d o t h e r C l e n g a r r i a n s ,
Two of our members,Dr. Wilfred Johnstonand Dr. RussellHarper,were honoured by
b e i n ga ppoint edt o t he Ord e r o f C a n a d afo r th e i r c o n tri buti onito C anadi ansoci etvi n
th e i r re s pec t iv feields .
Ou r YearB ook swer e d i s tri b u te dto a l l m e m b e rsa n d the remai ni ngcopi essol dto the
p u b l i c .T hatt he ent ir ee d i ti o n h a sb e e n s o l d o u t i s i n di cati veof i ts i ppeal and congratu l a ti o nsm us t be ex t e n d e dto th e e d i to r a n d a l l i n v ol vedfor the spl endi dj ob don6.
"A short historyof Clen SandfieldChurch, 1BB0-197S,"
written and producedbv Mr.
C a mp b ellF r as erwas
, p re s e n te dto u s fo r o u r a rc h i v es,by the author,i or w hi ch w e are
g ra te fu l.
Both our Museumshad a very successful
year, thanksto dedicatedcommittees.We
were fortunate in procuring the servicesof two young ladiesas curators;Miss Becky
cl e me nt sat t he Dunve g a nMu s e u m a n d M i s s s te p hani eThomasat the N or' w esteri ,
b o th h av ingm us eum o l o g ye x p e ri e n c ew h i c h e n h a n cedthe attracti veness
of the museums.
The cheesefactoryat Dunveganwas in operation severaltimes during the summer
a n d w as v er y popularw i th v i s i to rsA
. h y m n -s i n ga, p i cni c for the K i rk H i l l U .C .W .,a
sp i n n i ngex hibit ionand te x ti l ed i s p l a ya n d a c ra ftd e m onstrati on
w ere hel d throughout
th e se as on.
A dv ic eon d i s p l a ya rra n g e m e n ts
w a s p ro curedfrom Mrs. paul i neH al [ Muse u m A dv is er ,O nt ar io M i n i s try o f C u l tu re a n d R e c r eati onand three ol d mi l l stones,
fo u n d at t he bot t om o f a c re e k b y Mrs . Ve l m a F ra n kl i n,w ere moved to the museum
g ro u n dsand s et - upasa n i n te re s ti n g
o u td o o re x h i b i t.Thanksto Mr. & Mrs. R usselMorl
ri so n ,to ur sof t he m us e u mb y g ro u p so f s c h o o lc h i l d r enw ere madepossi bl ebeforethe
su mmers eas ons t ar t ed l.t i s h o p e d th a t w e w i l l b e a b l eto acqui rea l og bui l di ng,to exte n d th e pr es entm us e u ma n d p ro v i d e m u c h n e e d ed addi ti onaldi sfl ay spacei n the
co mi n gy ear .
At th e Nor ' wes t er sM' u s e u m,a l a rg ec o l l e c ti o no f h a ndcarvedmi ni aturesof ol d farm
e q .u i p m ent . was
pr es e n te db y Mr. R e u b e nR o s sa n d permanentl yhousedi n a speci al
cabinetbuilt_forthe purpose,.
the costof which wasdefrayedthrough the generoiityof
th e Beav erClub. S ev e raal d d i ti o n a le x h i b i tsw e re d onatedand a quanti tyof stacki ng
chairs.werepurchasedso that the facilitiescan now be used for meetingswhen rel
q u i re d .T he k it c hen is n o w fu l l y e q u i p p e da n d , th ro ugh the generosi tyoT Mrs. A l i ce
cra n t, t he m ain hallan d k i tc h e nh a v eb e e nti l e d .T h e Wi ne & C heeseparty,w hi ch now
se e msto be es t ablis h eads a n a n n u a le v e n t,w a sa g a i na greatsuccess,
thanksto the effo rts o f Dr . and M r s . W i l fre dJ o h n s to nT. h e d i s p l a yroom w as usedfor schooldi spl ays,
Je n n i fe rHar per ' sDono v a np h o to g ra p h sa n d C l e n g a rryC raft Festi val s,
throughoutthe
se a so n .
Th e S oc iet yhas at la s tfa l l e n p re y to i n fl a ti o nw i th the cost of produci ngthe Y ear
Book sky-rocketingto the point where an increasein membershipfeesis neiessary.As
a re su l tt he f ee s t r uc t u reh a sb e e n a m e n d e dto $ 5 .0 0si ngl eand $7.00fami l yfor annual
me m.ber s hips
and 950.0 0fo r a l i fe me mb e rs h i pT. h i swi l l enabl eus to mai ntai nthe hi gh
sta n d ar dof t he public a ti o na n d p ro v i d efre e c o p i e sto al l our members.Our membersh i p d u r ing t he y ear in c re a s e dto a to ta l o f 2 0 5 ,a s c o mparedto' 190the previ ousyear
a n d wi th t he inf luxof p e o p l ei n th e c o u n tys h o u l dc o nti nueto i ncreasei n the future.l t
i s i n te res t ingt o not e t h a t o u r m e m b e rsa re w i d e s p read,some as far as N ew Zeal and,
b u t a l l h av ean int er es ti n th e S o c i e tya n d C o u n ty .
Ou r Cons t it ut ionoutl i n e sth e o b j e c ti v e so f th i s So ci etyas fol l ow s:(1 ). To s t im ulat eint er e s ti n l o c a l h i s to rya mo n g d i s tri ctresi dentsby hol di ngmeeti ngs
with addresses,
lectures,papersand discussions.
(2 ). To d is c ov erand c o l l e c tma te ri a l sw h i c h ma y h e l p to establ i sh
or i l l ustratethe hi sto ry of t he Count y .
(3). To provide for the preservationof such materialand for its accessibility,
as far as
may be f eas ible,t o a l l w h o m a y w i s h to e x a mi n eor studyi t.
(4). To promote the preservationof historicalbuildings,monumentsand markers.
6
That we have been successfulin meeting most of these.objectives in the past year
is
due to those members of the society who h'avegiu.n to *ittindty.nJ g"n"rously
* theii
time an d ta len ts.
The,work that these good. people have shouldered can be lightened and our
efforts to
more tully meet the Society'sobjectives can be realized throu!h the active participation
in our.projects by more members of the society. After all, it"is your society
and onlv
""''
through the active participation of all members ian *e fuliy reaih
In closing, I must thank all members of the Executive and Committee
"uiori".tiuur.
Chairmen for
.
their generous help and support in guiding the society through i successfulyear.
ROTLOF FORMERPRESIDENTS
Hu g h P . M ac M illan,A l e x a n d ri a
HarrietMacKinnon(Mrs. W.A.) Alexandria
lan McMartin, Martintown
John D. MacLeod,Dunvegan
HarrietMacKinnon (Mrs.W.A.) Alexandria
Major Grant MacCillivray,Dalkeith
Marjorie Crowley (Mrs. V.F.)Dalkeith
Alice Crant (Mrs. Duncan)Williamstown
1959and 1960
1961and 1962
1963and 1964
1965and 1966
1967and 1968
1959and 1970
1971 and 1972
1973 and 1974
tET THE PIPERSPLAY
Re m ar k sof t he Hon . M r. J u s ti c eKe n n e thC . M a c kayupon openi ngthe 27thannual
Gl e n gar r yHighlandCa me sa t Ma x v i l l e ,Au g u s t3 ,1 9 74.
, ri e n d s ,
Mr. Chair m an,Honou re dC u e s ts F
It is lessthan two hundred yearssincefathersin the ScottishHighlandsgatheredtheir
fa mi l i esabout t hem a n d to o k th e m i n to e x i l e to a n unknow n l and. D epri vedof thei r
by rapaciouslandlords,they had brought littlewith
homesand mostof their possessions
could not be taken
them when they came up river to Clengarry.But one possession
{rom them, the heritageof their race; a heritagewhich is perpetuatedin the ancient
so n g sof t he Highland si ,n th e i r g a m e sa n d i n th e m u s i cof the pi pes." N othi ng" ,w rotea
g re i t Fr enc hm in," c an e q u a lth e d e l i c i o u ss a d n e sosf the C el ti cmel odi es,l i ke enunci at]o n s from abov e,t he y fa l l , d ro p b y d ro p , u p o n th e soul and passthrough i t l i ke the
me mo r iesof anot herw o rl d " .
. nns an ai te so, bha
Th a ir isair nan c uan ta ng u C l e n g a rryth a n a i gmo ranC hai dhealA
u ra , a n n a n C a n a d ath u a s .
i a d a 'l or gdac haidhea n
a i g m e u d a n o b ai r.Oi r bha a choi l l eai r feadhan
Bh a m - or andhiubh t ro m -c ri d h e a c h
chual asai r son a' cheuduai r,ai r
d u th a i c h,agusbha na c l a c h a nm o r. Ac h a o n fh e a s g ar,
tra i g h Loc hgar r yf,uai m a o n a P h i o b a i r.D h ' fh a l b ha n trom i nnti nn l ei s an ceol mi orb h u -i l eacsho, agust ho i s i c hi a d a i r a n o b a i r,a ri n n G l eanngarrymar a tha e an di ugh.
ar
Th a n a piobanI t ha s i n n a c l u i n n ti n na n d i u g h , a to i rt n' ar cui mhne,bui dheachas
sin n se ar an.
When the earliestsettlersarrived in this district,the sceneasfar asthe eye could see,
was one of denseblack forests.lt is told that when they first took stock of their future
h o me t heir hear t ss an k .T h e y h a d b e e n p ro m i s e dfree {armsby emi S rati onagentsand
their feelingsof disappointmentwere bitter. Many of them, strong as they were, sat
d o wn i n t hJ f or es tan d * e p t te a rso f d i s i l l u s i o nT. h e n,i n the eveni ng,by the shoresof
L o chCar r yt her e was h e a rdth e s o u n do f a l o n e p i p er pl ayi ngthe anci enttunesw hi ch
had inspiredtheir forefathersto great deedsof courage.Their spiritsroseand they and
l re s ti nto the ferti l efarml andw hi ch w e
th e i r childr ens et abo u t to tu rn th e p ri m e v a fo
seeabout us today.
shoul dmai ntai nthi s
s i ghl anders
o f th o s ec o u ra g e o u H
It i s m eet t hat t he de s c e n d a n ts
great heritageof song and musicby meansof theseGlengarryCamesand bid, as.tfiey
io, a Highlandwelcohe to all, whaleverbe one's source.For it is a heritagewh.ichbelongs no1 only to Scots,belongsnot only to those who now live in Clengarry,but bel o n g sto all m ank ind.
t
ementque l ' anci enneal l i ance
s e l a n g u efra n E a i ssea c h e n 6gal
Qu e nos c onc it oy e n d
persistetoujoursdansl'amiti6des canadiensde descendance
entie la Franceet l;Ecosse
dansce coin historiquede notre pays.
et franEaise
6cossaise
, d e c l a reth e s e,the 27thA nnualC l engarryH i ghI h av et he honour ,M r. C h a i rm a nto
l a n dCam es ,of f ic iallyo p e n .
SL AY .
L ETT H EPIP ERP
HORSEAND BUGGYDAYS
WHAT DID PEOPTE
WEAR?
RhodesC. M. Crant
To p leas et he ladie sth i s c h a p te rw i l l b e a b o u t c l o thes.
I have heard people speculateas to what would most surprisea personwho died
seventyyearsago if he or shecould come backto earthand seeMartintownor anyother
placeas it is today.Most people would guessthat it would be carsand trucksand tracto rs a n d aer oplanesa n d th e te l e v i s i o ns e tsa n d th e radi osand the T.V . antennasand
th e maz eof polesand w i ri n g a l o n go u r s tre e ts .
N o . lt would be t he s i g h to f w o me n a n d g i rl si n s h ortsand sl acks!
Eve nbac k in t he ol d d a y sp e o p l e re a d s c i e n c efi cti on,Jul esV erne,H .C . W el l sand
o th e r aut hor s T
. hey k n e w th a t i n v e n to rsw e re w o rk i n g on aeropl anes
and automobi l es
a n d w ir eles sc om m un i c a ti o n
a n d a l l o u r m o d e rn i n v enti ons.In fact steamautomobi l es
h a d b een in ex is t enc e
. l l o ons
a l m o s ta h u n d re dy e a rsBa
w ere a commonpl ace.
N apol eon
Bo n a par t ehad as s em b l e da b a l l o o n a rm y to i n v a d eE ngl andal mosta hundredyears
before,but the weatherhad not co-operated.
But never,exceptfor a few strongminded women like Jeanned'Arc, Mary Queen of
Sco ts,B elleB oy d t he s p y ,a n d C a l a mi tyJ a n e ,a n d a few l i ke them, had w omen of the
WesternWorld worn trousersopenly in public. There alwayshave been a few women
who more or lesssuccessfully
masqueraded
as men. A noted Britishgeneralwho served
in Canadawas suspectedof being a woman. ln Asia, of course,women have always
worn trousers.
Bu t n o one s uppos e dth a t o u r fe m a l e sw o u l d e v e r adopt mascul i nedressunti l they
d i d i t a nd it wasa t er ri b l es h o c kto th e w o rl d a n d e s p eci al lMarti
y
ntow nw hen they fi rst
a p p e ar edin pant s .
Accor dingt o t he s t o ryI h e a rd ,w h e th e rtru e o r n o t, i t startedw hen JohnB l oomer,the
Un i te d S t at esCons ul i n C o n s ta n ti n o p l e
(l s ta n b u l )re turnedto A meri caw i th hi s w i fe
a b o u t t he beginningo f th i s c e n tu ry .T h e b i c y c l ec ra zew as i n ful l sw i ngal l over N orth
Ame ri c aand E ur opeat th e ti me . M rs . B l o o me rd e c i d edto go cycl i ng,so shedonnedher
fu l l b a ggyT ur k is ht r ou s e rsa n d to o k to th e c y c l e p a ths.The w omen and gi rl sof N ew
Yo rkth oughtt hatwasa w o n d e rfu li n n o v a ti o ns o th e yc opi edthem,but not for l ong.The
sti cks,s t ones ,m ud an d h o rs e ma n u re a n d n a s tyw ords fl ew l i ke hai l and i ndi gnant
p o l i ce m enhauledt he i n d e c e n th u s s i e o
s ff to j a i l .
Th a t ended pant sf o r w o m e n fo r a ti m e b u t th e l assi es
al w aysget thei r ow n w ay i n
th e e n d. F or s ev er aly e a rsth e n e w " Bl o o m e rs "b e c a meundergarments
and reti redunder layersof petticoats.
Skirtsin the early 1900swere very long, sweepingthe floor, also sweepingthe dust
and the mud. I am told that two petticoatswere worn under them, lesswas indecent,
more an affectation.
It w ast he er a of t he " H o u r C l a s sF i g u re ."W o me n w ore thei r corsetsso ti ghtthatthey
b u l g e dout abov eand b e l o wth e m u n ti l th e y h a df i g u resl i ke an hour gl ass- or a bumbl e
bee. I am told that they tied the ends of their corsetstringsto the bed post and then
p u l l e dt ill t heir wais t sw e re fa s h i o n a b l sy m a l l .M i s sS a rahA i n B eckstead
i radthe smal l est waistin Martintown,seventeeninches.
To fur t her im pr ov e th e i r s h a p e sth e y w o re b u s t f orms.50Cat E atonsi n 1901and
h wer e wi re p a d sw o rn o n th e i r d e rri e resunder thei r petti coats
b u stl e swhic
,
al sol i sted
in Eaton'sCataloguefor 1901at from 25Cto 60C.lt is saidthat MissEllen(Nell)McPhadd e n w or e a bus t leunt i l h e r d e a th i n I th i n k 1 9 1 7 .
In those days Martintown streetswere not paved and when it rained they were a
morassof mud. As a child I was often amusedwatching ladiescoming home from a
sh o p pingex pedit ion.Th e y w o u l d b e h o l d i n g a n a s sortmentof parcel sand tryi ng to
h o l d their s k ir t sand pe tti c o a ts
u p o u t o f th e mu d a t the sameti me. D ow n w oul d drop a
p a rce l.S he would ben d to p i c k i t u p a n d a n o th e rw oul d fal l .S hew oul d grab for that
a n d h er s k ir t hem and l a c e -e d g e dp e tti c o a ts
fe l l i n th e mud. B y the ti me shegot home
the poor lady would be hot, botheredand bedraggled.
Cirls wore enormousmassesof hair on their heads,puffed out over their foreheads
l i ke th e Cibs ongir lsin th e p i c tu re sa fa mo u sa rti s to f the peri odnamedC i bsonpai nted.
We may wonder how any girl could grow such masses
of hair.The secretwasthat it was
cu t o ff Chines ehead sa n d i m p o rte dfro m C h i n aa n d made i nto " rats and sw i tches"to
b e p i n ned int o t he he a d so f o u r g i rl s .
Th e ywer e held in p l a c ew i th c o mb sa n d h a i r p i n s ,someof them very fancy.
Ol d e r wom en wor e th e i r h a i r d o n e u p o n to p o f th ei r headsi n buns,al socal l edtopknots. In a few yearsthe topknots were moved back and down to the napesof their
necks.There is a story about a famous New York preacherwho preacheda sermon
a b o u t t opk not swhen th e y fi rs t c a me i n to fa s h i o na n d w ere consi deredvery i ndecent.
H e to o k f or hist ex t ," To p k n o tC o m e D o w n !" A fri e n d askedhi m w here i n the B i bl ehe
fo u n d s uc ha t ex t . He re p l i e d ," H e th a t i s u p o n th e house-topshal lnot come dow n."
H e cu lledout wor dst o ma k e h i s te x t. Oh w e l l ,th a t w asnot the fi rstti me that the B i bl e
hasbeen mutilatedto make a text and it won't be the last,I suppose.
In cold weathereverywoman and girl carrieda muff to protect her pretty little hands.
In w a rm weat hert hey c a rri e dp re tty fa n s .A s th e re w as no ai r-condi ti oni ngthe fans
h e l p e dt o k eep up a lit tl ec i rc u l a ti o no f a i r i n th e s ti fl i nghot churchesand theatres.
A l so
a p re tt ygir l c ould m akee y e sa t th e b o y so v e r th e to p of her fan.Modern gi rl stake noti ce !
Ol d er wom en wor e h a tsw i th o s tri c hfe a th e rsc u r l ed around the bri m. Therew ere
h u g e o s t r ic hf ar m s in So u th A fri c a .Y o u n g w o m e n w ore w i de-bri mmedhats hel d to
th e i r h eadswit h im m e n s e l yl o n g h a t p i n s .I a m to l d that i n the ci ti esi t w asdangerous
to w a l k t he s t r eet son a ra i n yd a y w h a t w i th l o n g h a t pi ns and poi ntedumbrel l ari bs.
Fo r a t im e egr etf ea th e rsp i n n e d to th e h a tsw e re very fashi onabl then
e
E dw ardB ok
th e fa mousedit or of t h e L a d i e sH
' o m e J o u rn ael x p o sedthe horri bl efactthat the feathe rs w er e t or n f r om t h e b re a s tso f l i v i n g b i rd s a n d law sw ere passedforbi ddi ngthi s
cru e l ty.
L i ttl e gir ls dr es s edl i k e th e i r mo th e rs ,s k i rtsa l i tt l e shorter- about hal f w ay betw e e n k neesand ank l e s H
. a i r i n c u rl si f i t w o u l d c u rl , or i n brai ds,al socal l edpi g-tai l s,
p o n y tails ,or jus t loos e .
On h er f our t eent hb i rth d a ya g i rl p u t u p h e r h a i r a nd l et dow n her ski rt,i n fact putti n g u p t he hair and le tti n gd o w n th e s k i rtw a sa s i g nof grow i ngup.
Strangeto say little boys up to five yearsold, and sometimessix, seven,even eight
or nine were dressedexactly like their sistersin dresses,lace edged petticoatsand
d ra wer s wit
, h long ha i r i n ri n g l e ts p
, i g -ta i l sp, o n y ta i l sor l oose.l t i s sai dthat thi s custo m o r iginat edin A nc i e n tD a y sa n d w a ss u p p o s e dto f ool the demonsi nto thi nki ngthat
th e b o y swer e wor t hle s sg i rl sa n d s o n o t w o rth s te a l ing.W omen Li bberstake noti ce!
It was a cartoonistnamed R.F.Outcalt who liberatedlittle boys from petticoats.He
d re w a v er y popularco mi c s tri p fo r th e n e w s p a p e r s,
B usterB row nand hi s si sterMary
Ja n ea nd t heir B os t onBu l l T e rri e r,T i g e .W h e th e r h e i nventedi t hi msel for borrow ed
the idea from some dressdesignerOutcalt portrayedBusterdressed,from top to botto m, i n a wide s ailorh a t w i th a ri b b o n ,a l o n g b l o u s ew i th the ski rtdow n to hi s knees,
b l o o merpant sunder n e a tha n d b l a c k s to c k i n g sa n d b utton shoes.The i deacaughton
and in a short time boys had discardedpetticoatsfor ever.Poor Mary Janenever made
mu ch s t ir in t he wor ld b u t w h e th e r i t w a s a c o -i n c idenceor not B ostonB ul l Terri ers
l i ke Ti g ebec am et he ra g e .
When he was nine a boy graduatedto shorttrousersor pantsand when he wassixteen
h e g re w up and wor e l o n g tro u s e rsl i k e h i s d a d .
Wh en lit t le boy s beg a nw e a ri n gBu s te rB ro w n s u i t sa versi onfor gi rl sw i th a l onger
ski rt ca m e out . T hen u n b e l i e v a b l eru mo u rsb e g a nto come out that i n the ci ti esl i ttl e
g i rl ssom et im eslef t of f th e l i ttl e d re s sa n d j u s t w o re the bl ouseand the l i ttl ebl oomers.
In 1 9 1 3t he m inis t er ' sl i ttl e n i e c efro m th e c i ty c a me to vi si t hi m. I thi nk she w as ten.
On e d ay s hewalk eddo w n s tre e tw i th o u t h e r d re s s j,u st the bl oomersand bl ouse.
Be l i ev eit or not t ha t w a s th e w o rs t s h a k i n gMa rti ntow n got unti l the earthquake
struckit forty-oneyearslater.Thismaysoundincrediblebut modernpeopledo not comprehendthe ideaspeople had even sixtyyearsago.
To ke ep on wit h t he fa i r s e x ,a b o u t 1 9 1 0g i rl sb e g a nto w earthe mostri di cul ousdress
e ve r i nv ent ed,t he hob b l e s k i rt. l t w a s a l o n g d re s sw i th a w i de stri p of cl oth about
eighteenincheslong sewedaround the bottom hem. The wearercould take a stepof
10
n.otmore than eight inches.Naturallyshe did not walk very fast.lt was very difficult
to
buggy or a street car, jnd as for automobilei there *.re oniy a i.* nui
..1'lb__,."]:,"
th e y m us t hav ebeen a p ro b l e m.
.Ever ygir l f r om f ou rte e nto th i rty g o t h e rs e l fa h o bbl eski rt.B etterbe dead than out
of fashiontrhen the ly11tic.fashion-wasrep.lacedb.ythe split skiii. Th. lr;iu; ;;.;it
to o k t he s c is s orand
s s l i t th e i r s k i rtsu p o n e s i d eto the knee.Thatexposeda consi der' a b l ea m ountof pr et ty l a c e .T h e o l d p e o p l ea n d th e c l ergyroared,,i l ndecentl,, B ut the
l a ssi edidn'
s
t c ar e.
Th en c am et he F irs tC re a tWa r a n d i n th e c i ti e sth e femal emuni ti onw orkersbegan
w e a ri ngov er allsbut , h a v i n gn o fa c to ri e sMa
, rti n to wnpeopl ew ere sparedthat shoc[to
th e i r m or als .
. Bu t,ev enwor s e,s ki rth e m sb e g a nto ri s e !U p a n d u p and up evento the knees.somebody wrote a parody on the Cliarge of the Light Biigadewhich becamea recitation
p re ce .
"Half an I nc hl Half a n In c h U p w a rd !
U p Cr eept he S k ir t so f M o th e r a n d D a u e h te r!
Un til T hey B ot h S ho wH a l f a n In c h
H a l f an I nc h M or e Th a nT h e y O u g h te r!
Si n c et hen s k ir t sha v eg o n e d o w n i n d u p mo re th an once but gi rl sdi d not startw eari n g p a nt sunt il dur ing th e S e c o n dW o rl d Wa r.
wo m en c ar r iedpara s o l w
s h e n th e y w e n t o u t i n the sun,and goi ng bareheadedw as
mo re or les sf r ownedo n , a n d h a tsw e re a b s o l u te l ynecessary
i n" church.
Me n did not go bareh e a d e de i th e rb u t th e y h a di o t akethei r hatsoff i n church,except
so l d i e r sS. oldier swor e th e i r c a p so r g l e n g a ri i e si n c h urch.
So m eold ladieswo re th e i r w e d g es h a p e dw i d o w ' sbonnetsal l the ti me i ndoors
and
o u t. M r s . M c Cas k illdid a n d I th i n k Mrs . C re s s w e d
l l i d but I am not too sure,shew ore i t
w h e n o ut any way .
Cl e r gy m enand und e rta k e rs(m o rti c i a n sw) o re fro c k coatsand si l k hats.pri estsw ore
a n o d d f lat t is hhat har d to d i s c ri b e .
Oth e r wis em ens 'c l o th e sh a v e n o t c h a n g e dto o m uch.Trousersand coatsmuch the
same.as.today and also vestswere a.lways
worn. No man ever even thought of taking
o ff h i s s hir t no m at t erh o w h o t th e d a y .
Fo r sunday sm en wo re a ro u n d e dh a rd fe l t h a t c a l l eda,,H ard Tack.,,Forl essformal
w e a r th ey wor e a s of t d e rb y h a t, w h i c h a re s ti l l i n u s e.
Du ring t he hot wea th e rm e n w h o c o u l d a ffo rd th em bought strawpanamahatsi mp o rte d f r om S out hA m e ri c a .
i n th e s u mme rs u n e v e ry o n ewore w i de fl oppystrawhatsof the
,, Fo rw or k ingo. ut doo rs
"cows breakfast"variety.
Yo u n gm en of t en wo re h a rd fl a t s tra wh a tsc a l l e d,,boaters.,,
t",,t.were purchasedfrom the Cornwall storesor from Eatonsand Simpsons.
A
n ch m an m ight get h i s m a d e b y F ra n kR u s s e lth
^ Y^in_tl e t ai l or.
_ Th e .highes tpr ic ed s u i t l i s te di n Ea ro n si n 1 9 0 1w a s g20.the l ow est$3.50,navy bl ue
Engljshserge.Hats,hard tacks,ran from 91.50to $2.00,Fedora,SZ.OO
to $2.50.'Atall
si l k h a t $6. 00.
. .5h9e1,best patent leather,$4.50,Kid 93.50,Calfskin$2.50ro $3.50.The Working
Ma n 'sf av our it e,dir r pr o o f, e a s yfi tti n g ,a n d d u ra b l e$ 1.25.
A ma n who want edto s h i n e i n th e s o c i a lw h i rl c o ul d buy a si l k hat for
$6.00,a ful l
dresssuit with tails (No tuxedoslisted)for $19.00,a white shirt with stiff bosom .OO.
Sf
jus t c o mi n gi n to .u s e ,m o s tm e n w o re w ool l entrousersfo;.* " rki ng
. o ve r allswer e
a;d
fo r wo rk boot sm anys ti l lw o re th e l o n g l e a th e rb o o tsseeni n pi ctui esof U ncl e
S am.
Eve r y onewor e jewe l l e ry T
. h e l a d i e sd i s p _ l a y emdu c h more than they do today.so Ji d
,
th e me n. G old c ollarb u tto n s ,ti e .p i n s ,c u i f l i n k s ,a n d t hose* no r,i Jl ti ttte.Jne/naJ
th e m set wit h a diam o n do r p e a rl .T h e rew a sa m a n i n the U ni tedstates,.,D i amon' d
Brady" who was famousfor his displayof jewers.Everyonewho could scrape,t .;i
ih;
Toley wore a gold watch and a gold chain. The ladieswore little gold waichei and
chains.pinnedacrossthe bosomsdf their blouses.The men wore he"avygold watchei
in the left hand pocket of their vestswith a gold chain acrossthe front.
(Co n ti n uedon page13 )
From the Cazette
M ontreal, October 19'l2
WORTHY.
A GTENGARRY
Mr. Ceorge H. Macgillivray Had Noted Ancestry and a Long Life.
T he dea th o f Mr. Ce or ge H. M ac gilliv r ay t ook plac e a t h i s r e s i d e n c e ," D a l c r o m b i e , " i n
the T ownship of Cha rlot t enbur g, c ount y of Clengar r y , o n t h e 3 0 t h d a y o f S e p t e m b e r .
M r. Macg illivra y, wh o was bor n 31s t M ar c h, 1837, was t h e f o u r t h a n d _ y o u n g e s ts o n o f
the lat e Ho no rab le Joh n M ac gilliv r ay , by ls abella M c lea n , d a u g h t e r o f t h e l a t e H o n o r able Neil Mclea n, of St . Andr ews , in t he c ount y o{ St o r m o n t , f o r m e r l y a n o f f i c e r i n t h e
Royal High lan d Emigra nt Regim ent , dur ing t he Rev o l u t i o n a r y Wa r , a n d l a t e r i n t h e
R oyal C an ad ian Re gime nt of Foot , t he f ir s t r egim ent w h i c h w a s r a i s e d i n w h a t i s n o w
the provin ce o f Onta rio, and whic h s er v ed on t he es t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e B r i t i s h A r m y
f rom 1796till 18 02 ,wh en all t he f enc ible c or ps in t he a r m y w e r e d i s b a n d e d . M r s . M a c gillivray wa s also a siste r of t he Honor able Ar c hibald M c l e a n , c h i e f j u s t i c e o f t h e C o u r t
o f nppeal of th e fo rmer pr ov inc e of Upper Canada, and o f C o l o n e l A l e x a n d e r M c L e a n ,
of Cornwall, who , in e ar ly lif e had s er v ed in t he Roy al N e w f o u n d l a n d R e g i m e n t d u r i n g
the war o f 18 12 -14a, nd lat er was f or m any y ear s a pr om i n e n t m e m b e r o f t h e L e g i s l a t u r e
of Uppe r Ca na da , fo r the c ount y of St or m ont .
Mr. Macgillivray's father had c om e t o Canada in 179 8 . H e w a s s t a t i o n e d a s a w i n t e r ing partn er in th e old Nor t hwes t Com pany at Lak e At ha b a s k aa n d F o r t D u n v e g a n i n t h e
Peace River District, fo r t went y y ear s bef or e his s et t le m e n t i n G l e n g a r r y i n 1 8 1 8 ,a f t e r
the amalg ama tion of th e Nor t hwes t Com pany , wit h t he H u d s o n 's B a y C o m p a n Y . ,i v h e n
h e and ma ny oth ers o f t he par t ner s and of f ic er s r et i r e d f r o m t h e s e r v i c e a n d b e i n g
Highland Scotchme n, d et er m ined upon s et t ling wit h t h e i r f e l l o w c o u n t r y m e n i n C l e n g- airy. He wa s a fterwa rds a m em ber of t he Legis lat iv eC o u n c i l o f t h e p r o v i n c e . .
T he gra nd fath er o f the gent lem an jus t dec eas ed, M a c g i l l i v r a y o f D a l c r o m b i e , w a s
t he you n ge st officer in t he Clan Chat t an Regim ent at C u l l o d e n a n d t o o k t h e r e g i m e n t
o ut of act]on , a ll the senior of f ic er s being eit her k illed o r w o u n d e d . A l l t h e o f f i c e r s a n d
men of the re gime nt wh o wer e k illed wer e bur ied in t r e n c h e s u p o n t h e f i e l d o f a c t i o n ,
whereof the g rave co m m em or at ing t he ev ent and c o v e r i n 6 t h e r e m a i n s i s s t i l l t o b e
seen, and is kno wn as "t he well of t he M ac gilliv r ay s. " l t i s a n e x t r a o r d i n a r y i n s t a n c e
of longevity tha t a p erson dy ing in- 19' 12was t he gr an d s o n o f o n e w h o h a d f o u g h t f o r
P rince-Cha iles Ste wart at Culloden in 1746,an int er v a l o f 1 6 6 y e a r s , a n d w h i c h i n o r dinary c aseswou ld ha v e c ov er ed f iv e gener at ions .
Mr. Ge org e Macgilli v r ay ' s elder br ot her , Neil J ohn M a c g i l l i v r a y , w h o w a s b o r n i n
Clengar ry, Up pe r Cin ada, in 1827, upon t he deat h o f h i s f a t h e r i n 1 8 5 5 , b e c a m e t h e
chief-of fn" itin of his nam e and pos s es s edof t he Hig h l a n d e s t a t e so f D u n m a g l a s sa n d
E aster Abe rch ald er in lnv er nes s hir e, Sc ot land, f am ily e s t a t e s t o w h i c h h i s f a t h e r h a d
succeede d sho rtly b efo r e his deat h. He r es ided in M on t r e a l f r o m 1 8 7 0 u n t i l 1 8 8 0 ,w h e n
he remove d to In ve rne s s hir e,Sc ot land, and died at Du n m a g l a s so n t h e l 8 t h N o v e m b e r ,
1886.
Mr. Ce org e Ma cg illiv r ay had him s elf alway s r es ide d i n C l e n g a r r y u p o n t h e f a m _ i l y
property in Cha rlotte nb ur g, f r om t he day of his bir t h t i l l t h e d a y o f h i s d e a t h . H e w a s f o r
ovei thiity yea rs the cle r k bf t he Towns hip of Char lot t e n b u r g , h a v i n g p r e v i o u . s l ys e r v e d _
in the c ap acitv o f re eve f or s ev er al y ear s - He was in a d d i t i o n t h e a d v i s o r a n d f r i e n d o f
his neighb ors a nd tra nsac t ed m os t of t heir bus ines s ,t h e r e b e i n g n o n e o t h e r i n w h o m
they so e ntire ly o r more des er v edly t r us t ed.
He wa s marrie d in 1870 t o M is s c ar r ie Holm es , a d a u g h t e r o f M r . J a m e s H o l m e s , o t
Mont rea l, who se bro the r , Benjam in Holm es , was t he f ir s t p r e s i d e n t o f t h e B a n k o f M o n t real, an d the o nly child , M is s Car r ie Holm es M . ac gilliv r a y-, n o w s u r v i v e s .
Mr. Macgillivriy * a r'u m an of c har ac t er s o high an d 'o f a t t a i n m e n t s s o c o n s i d e r a b l e
and unusua -lth at it wa s in m any r es pec t st o be r egr et t e d t h a t h i s e n v i r o n m e n t h a d b e e n
so circumscribe d a nd h is s pher e of inf luenc e s o lim it ed . H e w a s , h o w e v e r , t h e y o u n g e s t
son, and fa mily e xig en c ies had or iginally nec es s it at e di t . I n l a t e r y e a r s i t w a s a m a t t e r
of choice and preference upon his own part.
12
I
)T
)
I
In the respect and regard of his neighbors he had his reward, nor was that regard
confined to 'his ne igh bo"r salone, but ex t ended t o al l w h o h a d i n a n y d e g r e e . h i s a c quaintan ce an d in istil l higher ex t ent t o t hos e whos e p r i v i l e g e _ i t w a s t o b e a d m i t t e d
ihto nis intimacy and friend'ship. He was the last in Glengarry of a good old stock and
t he county will,'in de ed , be f or t unat e if t hey k now his l i k e a g a i n .
The foregoing article from the Montreal Cazette of October 7972 was discovered in
the recordi of fhe Church of St.Andrew and 5t. Paul, Montreal, by Mrs' Katharine Maciean Arnott with the cooperation of Mrs. Lorna Bosshart, administrative manager of the
church.
The article reads in part, "lt is an extraordinary instance of |ongevity that a person
dying in 1912 was the'grandson of one who had fought for Prince Charles Stewart at
Cuttoden in 1746,an interval of 166 years."
'1976,the /ast survivThis pattern runs in the family, because Katharine Arnott is, in
was wounded in
who
article,
in
the
mentioned
ing gra'ndchildof the Alexander'McLean,
th"e"Warof 1812,an interval of 164 years.She is a/so the great-grandchild of the Nei/
McLean, mentioned in the article, who served in the Revolutionary War, an interval of
200 years.
I
\
.
l
'
I{
Horse and Buggy Days (continued from page 11)
S hirt colla riwere iepar at e f r om t he s hir t and wer e f a s t e n e d o n w i t h c o l l a r b u t t o n s ,
one in fron t a nd on e' behind. As t he c ollar went r ig h t u p t o t h e c h i n i t w a s a f e a t o f
streng th an d skill to p ut on a c ollar . As of t en as not o n e w o u l d d r o p a n d . r o l l u n d e r t h e
bureJu , the n a ll too of t en t he poor m an would f o r g e t h e w a s a g e n t l e m a n a n d s a y
strong word s.
Many men wo re nig ht c aps t o bed, s o did s om e old fa s h i o n e d l a d i e s .M e n w o r e t h e o l d
f ashio ne d nig htshirts. - W hen I was about t en I s aw t h e p i c t u r e o f a m a n i n p y j a m a s i n a
magazin e. I Fa d to a s k t he gr own- ups what k ind of a n o u t l a n d i s h g a r m e n t t h a t w a s .
E veryo newo re he av y * oollen under * ear in t he win t e r a n d s o m e c o n t i n u e d t o w e a r i t
all su mmer. Mo st shiit s had c hes t and bac k pr ot ect o r s a n d t h e d r a w e r s h a d d o u b l e
backs.Ma ny pe op le, howev er , c hanged t o c ot t on un d e r w e a r i n t h e s u m m e r . B u t i n 1 9 2 5
I w ent to he ip a 'ne ighbour dr aw in his s heav es ; he w a s w e a r i n g a s u i t . o f . t h e h e a v i e s t
w oollen u nd erwe ar, c hes t pr ot ec t or and bac k c ov er i n g a n d a l l i n t h e b l a z i n g s u n f o r i t
w as a swe lterin g h ot day . No doubt t hey wer e St anf ie l d 'sM a k e . T h e H o n o u r a b l e R o b e r t
S t anf ie ld'san ce Jto rsm ade t heir m oney out of woolle n u n d e r w e a r '
A few mon ths late r I s aw t he m an dr iv ing t o t own i n h i s s h i r t s l e e v e sa n d t h e s a m e
underwea r on a bitte r ly c old day wit h a wind t hat wou l d c u t t h r o u g h s t o n e . H e c o u l d n 't
have h ad a ny fee ling s or k new when it was hot or c o l d .
Rubber boots wer"ea new thing. The first I saw were in1907 when Mr. Russellbought
his two child ren a p air of r ubber boot s apiec e.
B ut the most pe cu liar gar m ent of all was t he long w h i t e . c o t t o n s m o c k w h i c h w a s u s e d
bef ore o ve ralls'ca me inlo pr ot ec t t he c lot hes while w o r k i n g . I n e v e r a c t u a l l y s a w o n e
in G le ng arry b ut in 1925 | s aw a t een- age boy pit c h i n g h a y j u s t a c r o s s t h e b o r d e r i n
niShter"bec'wh ile clad in a s m oc k . A s m oc k was jus t lik e a k n e e l e n g t h w h i t e c o t t o n
diess. Th e wome n of t hat er a m us t hav e had a lot of l a u n d e r i n g t o d o t o k e e p t h e i r m e n f olk cle an .
T o s um it up we ma y s ay t hat people wer e war m er a n d i n m a n y w a y s m o r e c o m f o r t ably d resse d in th e ol d day s t han t hey ar e now.
Mr. Crant has been kind enough to permit us to publish this chapter from his new
book "HORSE AND BUCCY DAYS ,N MARrINTOWN'"
13
EMINENT GTENGARRIANS
Ethel LouellaOstrom
by Harriet MacKinnon and Ewan Ross
Eth elis one of t hos er a rep e rs o n sw h o h a sw o n th e l i ki ngand respectof al l w ho know
her, not becauseof a spectaculardeed or a lifetime of such deeds,but becausein her
l o n g l i fet im es hehasgi v e nh i g h q u a l i tys e rv i c eto w h atevercommuni tyshehasl i vedi n.
Fo rtu nat ely
m os tof he r l i fe h a sb e e n l i v e d i n C l e n g arry.
Sh e hasnev er held p u b l i c o ffi c e ,y e t s h e h a sa w e l l i ntegrated,educated,i nformed
a n d i n quir ingm ind.
Sh e nev er m ar r iedye t th e c h i l d re nw h o m s h e ta u g ht,thei r chi l drenand thei r chi l d re n 'sc hildr env is ithe r i n Ma x v i l l eM a n o r.
She never soughtfame yet she is well known from end to end of the Scotssettlement
ce n te r edon Clengar ry .
yet those w ho thi nk
5 h e n ev er c ons c iou s l yb e c a m ea l o c a l h i s to ri a no r geneal ogi st
they are, for yearshavegone to her for help and advicefrom her vaststoreof knowledge of Clengarryand its people.
She never wrote anything for a wide audienceyet some of Canada'sbetter writers
h a veb e en pr oud t o c a l l h e r fri e n d a n d a d v i s e r.
Sh e bear sa nam e of D u tc h -C e rm a no ri g i n y e t s h e i s more S cotti shthan most w i th
Sco tti s hnam es ,f or wa s n ah e r a u l d m i th e r a M a c Gregorand rel atedto the Munros,
Ma cl e o ds ,M ac M illansa n d - o h w e l l , to j u s t a b o u t al l the cl ansi n the C ounty.
Sh e 'sam ongt he s ele c tfe w i n th e c o u n tyw h o a re w el l pastthei r 90thbi rthday(E thel
had hersback in 1972)yet she is one of the youngestin spirit.At 92 she took out a Life
Me mb er s hipin t he Cle n g a rryH i s to ri c aSo
l c i e tya, fte r havi nghad a ratherseri ousheart
attackand an operationpersonshalf herage often try to bypass.The heartattackforced
h e r to g iv eup her hom e i n A l e x a n d ri a(w i th i tsU n i o nJacknai l edto the w al l by the front
d o o r) w her e s he not on l y k e p t h o u s eb y h e rs e l fb u t grew a gardenas w el l though she
h a d to s iton a s t oolt o w i e l d h o e a n d tro w e l .T h e o p e r ati onw asa mi nor thi ng that kept
h e r i n b ed f or about t w o d a y sa n d o ffi c i a l l yi n b e d fo r fi ve.
Sh e .i squit e c apableo f c o n d u c ti n ga c o n v e rs a ti oanl mostenti rel yi n quotesfrom E ng l i shp oet sr angingf r om Sh a k e s p e a re
to N e d P ra ttb u t hasone bl i nd spot- sheknow s
n o th i n gabout t he wor d " Q U l T " .
sh e i s f em inine,t her e fo reb y d e fi n i ti o na l a d y ,y e t s hei ssomethi ngmore- a graci ous
Iady.
Eth e l ' sf at her , ls aacB ro c k O s tro m w a s fo r y e a rsi n busi nesson A l exandri a' Mai
s n
Stre e t.T wo of his s on s l a te r c a me i n to th e b u s i n e ssw i th hi m. They had a i ew el l erv
store,they fixed watchesand clocks,they had a drug store,for yearsihey operatedthe
l o ca lte lephoneex c han g ea n d C l a re n c ew a s B e l l ' sl o c albusi ness
managerti l l hi s death
i n 1 9 6 4.one of E t hel' sb ro th e rs ,s ta n l e yw a s d ro w n e d w hi l e surveyi ngfor the Grand
Tru n k P ac if icup in No rth e rnOn ta ri o ,tw o o f h e r b ro t hersservedi n W orl d W ar l . The
yo u n g es tboy , Har old b e c a mea b a n k e ra n d i s s ti l l l i v i ngi n V ancouver.E thel ,the onl y
g i rl b e cam ea t eac her .
Th e l s aacB r oc k nam e c a me w i th th e Os tro m sw h e n they cameto A l exandri a.
They
h a d se t t ledup on t he Ba yo f Qu i n te a n d b a c k i n th e earl ymonthsof the w ar oI 181i .
Ma j o r Cener alS ir ls aa cB ro c ko n h i s w a y to W e s te rnOntari ospenta ni ght at the Ostro m h om e - t hey wer e p ro mi n e n tp e o p l eth e reto o - and beforehe l eft he l i ftedthe
b a b y.from it s c r adle an d g a v e i t a k i s sa n d h i s b l e s si ng.That baby w as E thel ' sgreat
g ra n d fat her .
Ethel'sbrother, Clarence,took pictures,he collectedold picturesand old mapsand
old books and informationof all sortsand filed it all systematically
over a period of at
least30 years.After Clarence'sdeath Ethelwascuratorof this collectionwhich she kept
in lockedsuitcases
closeto the front door where they'd be sure to be savedin caseof
fi re . Th o ughClar enc ea s s e mb l e th
d i s c o l l e c ti o n i,t i s n ot possi bl eto thi nk of i t w i thout
rememberinghow Ethelpreservedit and made it availableto thosewho neededits help.
She knew everythingthat was in it too, aswell as manyfootnotesthat were bestnot put
on paper.
(C o n ti n uedon page17 )
14
EMINENT GTENGARRIANS
Dr. Eric A. MacNaughton
Not long afterI met Dr. MacNaughton,tasked the wisestphysicianI haveever known
if he knew Dr. MacNaughton.Hisieply was,"Eric?The bestchest manin the country."
A brief accountof the iric MacNaughton storyfollows, written by a f riend.
On r et ir em entf r om s u rg i c apl ra c ti c ei n M o n tre a lE ri cand hi s w i fe C eci l returnedto
Tow nshi p..
h i s n at iv eClengar r yi n 1 9 7 1to i i v e i n a n o l d i a rm h ousei n Lancaster
ancestry,the youngestof a large happy
He was born in igOt of ScotchPresbyterian
fa mi l y .His gr eat gr an d fa th e r,a n a ti v eo f Ke n mo re,S cotl and,emi S ratedto C l engarry
a b o u i 1400ind is - bu ri e di n fro n t o f St. An d re w ' sChurch i n W i l l i amstow n.H i s father,
, e s e c o n dchi l d of A l exanderMatheson,w ho
Al e xanderm
, ar r iedC h ri s ti n aM a th e s o n th
e mi g r at edf r om E din b a n el,s l eo { s k y e a n d .i sb u ri e d i n the cemeteryatD unvegan.
H i gh S chooland of both hasmany
H! w ent t o r he loc a lru ra ls c h o o la n d Wi l l i a ms to wn
happy memories.As valedictorianfor his high schoolclasshe recallspayingtribute to
, . W.J .C.B arrett,w hi ch markedl yi mproved
th e l i n dly dis c iplineo f th e n e w p ri n c i p a lMi
stu d yhabit s .
Ad mir at ionf or t he a b i l i tya n d d e v o ti o no f h i s d o ctor w hen he had typhoi d feverat
i n 1920,though
a g eo f 16 m ay hav ehe l p e di o d e c i d eh i sfu tu refo r w h en he matri cul ated
p Q u e e n ' sh e e l e c te dto g o t o McC i l l to studymedi ci ne.
a i a rd ed a s c holar s h ito
w i th.peri odsof
y e a rsw e re n a p p yo n e s ,n e v er dul l , i nterspersed
Th e under gr adua te
feverishactivlty in preparationfor examsand on graduationwas delightedto be accepted at the Montreal Ceneral for three yearsof post-graduatetraining i.nSurgery.
In i e rnswer e not paida t th a t ti m e b u t s o m em o n e ywasmadeby gi vi ng.bl oodoccasi ona l l y.By t he s um m ero f 1 9 2 9h e h a d c o m p l e te dh i s s urgi caltrai ni ngand consi derabliyn
d e b t t o his f at her ,he w a s l o o k i n gfo r a fu l l ti m e j o b.
50 mi l es{ rom the nearest
In Sept em berof t h a t y e a r th e C .l .P .C o . o f T e m i scami ng,
. ocal hospi taland
h o sp it aiand only by ra i l , o ffe re d h i m th e p o s i ti onof runni nS a.l
. e went north w i th the basi cnecessi ti es
d o i n g em er genc ys ui g e ry ,w h i c h h e a c c e p te dH
planningto staya yearbut this stretchedout to ten. As the great
to stirt a ne"whospita-[,
took a yearoff.to
depressionof the 30'sfided oul he becamerestlessand in 1937-1938
for the
stu d y in E dinbur gha n d a fte r h i s re tu rn to C a n a d apassedthe exami nati ons
( C) in 193SA. d e s i ra b l ep o s to n th e s u rg i c alstaffof the MontrealC eneralH osF.R .C. 5.
p i ta l bec am eav ailab l e
a n d h e re tu rn e dto Mo n tre a li n S eptember1939at the ti me w ar
wa sd ec lar ed.
He openedan of f ic ea n d b e g a nw o rk a t th e h o s pi tal sand McC i l l . H ow ever,the w ar
wa s o n ev er y one' sm i n d a n d h e j o i n e d N o . 1 4 C a n adi anC eneralH ospi talw hen i t w as
recruitedin igeO.lts main dutiesthe first yearwere the provisionof medicalservicesto
th e tr ainingc ent r esi n th e a re a .T h a t w i n te r w a s s pent i n S t. Jerome.In earl ysummer
1941No. 14 recruitedits nursingstaffand preparedto move.He waspromotedto Major
a s se c ondin c om m a n do f i ts s u rg i c adl i v i s i o n .
l n J une1941
, in a la rg ec o n u o y b fC a n a d i a ntro o p sthe uni t sai l edfor E ngl andw herei t
operateda large hospitalnear i-{orleyin Surrey.Here this 1200bed hospitalwas conthat survi ved
ve n i e nt t o t he-Cana d i a nArmy a n d re c e i v e di ts s h areof the casual ti es
D i e ppe.
destri i f r e t alt of 1943N o . 1 4 l e ft E n g l a n db y s h i p i n a l argeconvoyforan undi scl osed
ti n a tion.A f t er a f ew d a y sth e y p l s s e dGi b ra l ta ra n d nati vesfrom the south shore.appeared in row boats.They were not friendly and raisedclenchedfistsso it seemedsecrecywas now a myth. The following eveningthe convoywasattackedpV d'.vebombers
a n d two aer ialt or pe d o e sh i t N o . 1 4 ' ss h i p .O rd e rswere gi vento abandonshi p,nursi ng
sistersto the life boats,the rest to scrambledown nets on the side of the ship to rafts.
Afte r a r at her hec t i cti me a l l w e re p i c k e d u p b y a nothertroop shi p and a.destroyer.
Th e y ar r iv edin lt aly to s e t u p a h o s p i ta ln e a r N a p lesw i th equi pmentsuppl i edby the
Bri ti s h.E r ics t ay edin l ta l y u n i i l s p ri n go f th e { o l l o wi ngyear.thenbackto E ngl andasLt.
Co l . in c har geof s ur g e ryto a 1 2 0 0b e d h o s p i ta lj,u st arri vedfrom C anada.
(Continuedon page18)
15
EMINENTGTENGARRIANS
RhodesC. M. Grant
, t M a rti n to w n ,th e y o u ngestson of JohnM. Grant,Lai rd
I w a sb or n M ar c h B t h ,1 9 0 0 a
t a u ghterof John R hodesS mi th,both
an d h i s wif e t he f or m e r C h ri s tyS m i th ,y o u n g e s d
p a re n tsbeingof Unit ed Emp i reL o y a l i sdt e s c e n t.
Wh i l e a c hild I s uf f ere dg re a tl yfro m w h a t w o u l d n o w be di agnosedasal l ergi esbut as
ou r o l d c ount r ydoc t or h a d p ro b a b l yn e v e rh e a rdth e w ord I w asfortunateenoughto
gro w u p wit hout pr ope rtre a tm e n ta n d g re w o u t o f th e m mysel funti l I w asenti rel yfree
s f young peopl ew ho are sufferi ng
of th e m . I m ent iont his to e n c o u ra g eth e th o u s a n d o
fro m a l l er giest oday .
As I w as unablet o go to s c h o o lre g u l a rl ym y mo th er and si stertaughtme my l essons
a nearrecordfor l ow marksi n
wh e n I w asundert he w e a th e r.As a s c h o l a rI e s ta b l i s hed
ari th me t icand gr am m a r.T h a tw a s p a rtl yb e c a u s eth e teacherscoul d not read my w ri tH i gh S choolfor
i n g . N e i t herc ould l. A f t e r p a s s i n g
th e E n tra n c eI a tte n dedW i l l i amstow n
p a rt o f a t er m t hen m y h e a l thb ro k e d o w n a l to g e th e rand I had to l eavethe hal l sof
l e a rn i ng.I was not s or r y ,n e i th e rw e re th e te a c h e rs .
I found that outdoor work agreedwith me so for severalyearsI worked on farmsand
on th e telephoneline a n d i n a g a ra g ea n d c l e rk e di n a storeand drove the rural mai l .
Th e n i n 1926I t ook o v e r th e o l d fa m i l yfa rm a n d w orked i t ever si nce.
s nd carri edi t on ti l l 1968w hen I
In 1 934| inher it edm y fa th e r' si n s u ra n c eb u s i n e s a
so l d i t to M r . Lloy dRozo no f Wi l l i a ms to w n .
of S tA ndrew ' s
In my y oungerday sI se rv e da s p re s i d e not f th e Yo u ngP eopl es' S oci ety
Pre sb yt er ian
Chur c h,Ma rti n to w n .I w a se l e c te da n E l derof the C hurchi n 1943and w as
to the GeneralA sap p o i n tedCler k of S es s i o ns h o rtl ya fte rw a rd sI. w a sC ommi ssi oner
se mb l yof t he P r es by t e ri aCnh u rc h i n C a n a d ai n 1 9 6 6and agai ni n 1969.
ln 1965the HorticulturalSocietyof Martintown askedme to write a short historyof
the village.lt startedout as a twenty page sketchbut Srew into a full scalebook, "The
Sto ryo f M ar t int own,a Pi o n e e rV i l l a g e ,"w h i c h w a s fi rst publ i shedi n May 1974and i s
n o w i n it s s ec ondedit io n .
Church in Martintown", which
This was followed by, "The Storyof the Presbyterian
wa sp u blis hedby t he C h u rc h i n 1 9 7 5 .
No w my nex t book , " H o rs e a n d B u g g yD a y si n Marti ntow n,"i s at the pri ntersand
sh o u l db e c om ingout th i s s p ri n g .
I mu s t s ayt hat I f oun d th e m o s t s a ti s fa c ti oonf a l l i n farmi ngand, strangeas i t may
so u n dto m oder n peop l ew h o h a v e a h o rro r o f m a n u all abour,I al soenj oyeddi ggi ng
w hen qui tti ng
p o st h o l esf or t he t elep h o n ec o m p a n y T
. h e rei s a fe e l i ngof achi evement
ti me com esand y ou lo o k b a c k o v e r a ro w o f h o l e sw hi ch you havedug yoursel fw i th
p i ck,sh ov eland c r owb a r.
Be tweenm y wr it ing,a n d c a rv i n gw o o d e n fi g u re sa nd a l i ttl e { armi ng I manageto
ke e p my s elff air lywell o c c u p i e da n d h a p p y .
Readerswho wish to obtain thesebooks should write to Mr. R. C. M. Crant, P.O. Box
57, Martintown,Ont. K0C 150.
EMINENTGTENGARRIANS
Dr. Wilfred f. fohnston
"Fo r c ont r ibut ion,b o th i n p e a c ea n d w a r, to th e d evel opmentof oral ,body and surg i ca lp r os t hes es . "
Ti 'rt i r t he c it at ionon th e a w a rdo f me mb e rs h i pi n th e Order of C anadato D r. Johnston
o f Ma r t int own.
They choseC l engarryfor thei r
Wi l f and his wif e J o a na re n o t n a ti v eC l e n g a rri ans.
housethat w asknow n years
i
n
the
l
i
v
e
th
e
y
fa
rm
i
n
g
.
fu
l
l
-s
c
a
l
e
se co ndc ar eer ,whic h i s
re
s
tored'
b
e
a
u
ti
fu
l
l
y
h
a
s
b
e
e
n
w
h
i
c
h
Hall,
a
e
o
a
s
Cam
er
on
-'Or.
J ohnr t on' sf ir s t ca re e rb e g a ni n 1 9 3 8w h e n h e graduatedfrom McGi l l U ni versi ty
wi th a doc t or at ein de n ta ls u rg J rya n d th e g o l d me dalfor hi gheststandi ngi n hi s year.
Ori i ng t he W ar he s e ru e d w i th th e F i rs t C a n a di anS urveyR egi menti n E ngl and,
Si
- ci l v,lt ilv and wit h t w o C a n a d i a nC e n e ra lH o s p i ta l s.
l n 'fSaS ' n" r et ur ne dto p ri v a tep ra c ti c ea n d a l s oservedas C hai rmanof the D epartat McC i l l U ni versi ty'
me n t of E ndodont ic sP, h a i ma c o l o gayn d O ra l T h e ra peuti cs
at Queen
P
l
asti
cR econstructi on
o
f
D
e
p
a
rtm
e
n
t
i
h
e
c
re
a
te
to
helpe
d
D r. J ohns t on
aland body
,
p i ta l ,fo rm e d to d e v e l o p a n d p roduce surgi cal faci
'
Ma ry V et er ans Hos
prorih"r"r, that is, artificialdevicesto replacemissingparts of the body, to improve
. fi rs t th i s w a s ' a p p l i e dto w ar w ounded,and l aterthe cl i ni c
tu n ctionand appeara n c eAt
t a ti e n tss u ffe ri n gfro m d i sabi l i ti esresul ti ng.fromcancer,
mo ve d t o V c Cill t o a s s i s p
. e a l s os " ru e do n th e C l eft P al ateTeamof the Montreal
th a l i d om ideand ot he r c a u s e sH
C h i l d r en' sHos pit alwh e re h e w a s D i re c to ro f D e n ta lS ervi ces'
ln 1970he waselectedto the Senateof McCill Universityand wasappointeda Professo r Emer it us .
Wi l f and J oanar e n o w a c ti v e l yh e l p i n gto p re s e r veand enhancethe spi ri tof Gl en8 a rry .
EthelLouellaOstrom (continuedfrom page14)
Ethel'slife can be tr-rnua up: Shewas"bornFebruary22,1882'At 16 she graduated.
fro n l nl" *r ndr ia Hig h Sc h o o li h e n s h e to o k a s h ort busi nesscoursei n Ottaw a and
. 1 9 0 0s h ewasoff to Queen' sand graduatedi n
w o rk edf or a s hor t*ii l " i n Al e x a n d ri aIn
of a typhoid outb.reakat the college.which
was
because
1905.She misseda yearbut this
ki l i e done of E t hel' sb e s tfri e n d sa n d s e e msto h a v el ai d E thell ow for qui te a w hi l e.S he
fi ni shi ngi n the spri ngof 1907'Then
w e n t t o t eac her sc' ol l e g ei n H a mi l to ni n 1 9 0 5 -1 9 06
fo r six s c hool y ear ss h " eta u g h t i n p u b l i c s c h o o l sin W esternC anada.The C l engarry
Ne w s c ar r iedit em s w h i c h t6 l l o f h e r a rri v a lh o me from such pl acesas Y el l ow grass,
Mi l e s t oneand Y or k to n .T h a tw a s p i o n e e rc o u n trya nd manyarethe tal esthat E thelcan
te l l of dus t s t or m san d b l i z z a rd so, f p i c n i c sb y a s l oughand terri bl ei sol ati oni n w i nter
a n d of t he c us s edn e sosf b ro n c h o sa n d b u c k b o a rd sand of good nei ghbours.Then at
fal l of 1916shebeand..i n.the
Xmas1914s he bega nte a c h i n gh i g h s c h o o la t H a i l eybury.
sti l l
g a n h er long c ar elr i n Al e x a n i ri i H i g h S c h o o -l i t i astedunti l sheresi gnedi n' 1940,
B
ut
the
S
uperannuati
on
her.
behi
nd
y
e
a
i
s
o
f
te
a
c
h
i
n
g
w
i
th
3
3
58
b
u
t
i yo ung t hiig of
so w hen Mrs. Macl ean,
y ss h o rto f ti m e fo r a ful l pens_i on
Bo a rdiound ! he *ur a fe w d a'died
suddenly,Etheltaught for three weeks till another
ar Athole school
ihe teuche1.
te a c herwasf ound,e n d i n gh e r te a c h i n gc a re e ra ss h ehad beguni t,.i n a smal lone room
have been rich ones I think. Shewas chate.Lrntiy school.Ethel'syeirs of retirem-ent
from far and near
l a i n eoi t he big O s t ro mh o u s eo n Bi s h o pStre e -t fri endsand rel ati ves
beat a path to"her door; she was an avid gardenero{ both fruits and flowers;she fed
a n d w aic hedher bird sa n d to rme n te dh e ri q u i rre l s- they i n turn tormentedher. S he
l e n t a hand or adv ic eto g o o d c a u s e sb o th i n a n d o ut of church'
Mos t of E t hel' slon g l i fJ i s b e h i n dh e r, b u t i t i s d i ff i cul tto usea pasttensew henthi nkseemsto serve'
ing of her - only a presentprogressive
17
EMINENT GTENGARRIANS
Dr. f. RussellHarper
Pe rh apswe ar e ap. tt o th i n k o f o u r h i s to ryo n l y a s it i s recordedi n w ri ti ng.B ut, of
c o u rse ,muc h of our his to ryi s re c .o rd e idn p a i n ti n g sp, hotographs,
bui l di ngsand si mpl e
o b j e ctss uc has hous eh o l du te n s i l sa n d o rn a me n tsm a d eoi used by the ei rl v settl ers.
s uc
_ .-Cl e ngar r ians . hav
e ha n a c ti v ea w a re n e sosf th e i r p astthat D r. H arperandhi sw i fe
Elizabeth,
who live on th.esecondof Kenyon,mustfeel right at home,asthey havespent
most of their livesstudyingthe art, archaeologyand socialhistoryof canada.
Russellservedoverseas
i"ith the.RoyalCanidian Air Force trom1942to 1946.On his
re tu rn ,h e s t udiedat t he U n i v e rs i tyo f T o ro n toa n d o b t ai nedan M.A . degree.
He h a sm adea gr eatc o n tri b u ti o ni n h i s c h o s e nfi e l d.A mong the areai w herehe has
s e rve dar e t he r es t or at i o no f L o u i s b u rgth
, e R o y a lo n ta ri o Mui eum, the A rt C al l eryof
On ta ri o,t he New B r uns w i c kM u s e u m,th e N a ti o n aG
l a l l eryof C anada,McC i l l U ni vei si ty
a n d Co n c or diaUniv er si ty .
He i s t he aut horof s e v e rabl o o k ss u c ha s ," p a i n ti n gi n C anada:A H i story" ," portrai t
o f a Pe riod:Not m an" ," Pa u lK a n e ' sF ro n ti e r" ", E a rl yF a i ntersand E ngravers
i n canada"
a n d "A P eople' sA r t . "
. This is a very brief sketchof some of RussellHarper'scontributionsto Canadianlife
that haveresultedin his electionasa Fellowof the fioyal Societyof Canada,the conferring on him by Guelph Universityof the honorarydegreeof Doctor of Lettersand in his
being investedas an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Dr. EricMacNaughton(continuedfrom page15)
. D. Day.arrivedand there were many casualtiesfrom Europe,up to 1G00at times in
the 1200bed hospital.
A p l e as inginc ident a lre w a rd .w a sb e i n g n a m e d C a nadi anA rmy Lectureri n S urgery
to addressthe BritishOrthopaedicAssociationmeetingin Decem6er1944on the Cina'd i a n tre a t m entof war in j u ri e s T
. h e fo l l o w i n gd a y h e w as on a Li bertyshi p bound for
An tw e rpand he r em ain e di n N .W. E u ro p ei n v a ri o u sc a paci ti es
unti l fhe w ar ended.
On re t ur nt o Canadah e w o rk e da t Qu e e n M a ry Ve terans'H ospi talasS eni orC onsul tant in.Surgery.At the Montrea.lGeneralHospitalhe resumedhis surgicalpracticeinterlYplu.dby the war yearsand becameassistantProfessorof Surgery"atMcCill in 1952.
Mainly interestedin thoracicsurgeryhe was appointed in 'l953"Diiectorof a new depa rtme n tof T hor ac ican d _ C a rd i aSu
c rg e rya n d re ta i n edthat appoi ntmentfor 10 years.
He wasappointedSeniorSurgeonto the Hospitalin 1959and on'retirementf rom t'eachin_g.positions
in 1963,due to the 62-yearage limit, waspromotedto the ConsultingStaff
o f th e Hos pit al.
Developmentof a cataractprompted retirementin 1971so where was there for Eric
and his wife, Cecil,to retire to but Clengarry.
'1 8
THIRTY YEARSOF TRACING ANCESTORS.
PatriciaM. Baxendine
The ScotsAncestryResearchSocietyin March 1975completed its first 30 yearsof
. heSo c i e tyw a s i n a u g u ra te do n Mo nday 19th March 1945at a l unch
tra ci n ganc es t r y1'
h e l d i n t he Nor t h B r it i s hH o te l ,E d i n b u rg ha, t w h i c h the l ateR t. H on. ThomasJohnston,
of Statefor Scotland,one of the founding Trusteesof the Society,waspresent.
Secretary
another
A ve ryg ener ousdonat i o no f O n e T h o u s a n dP o u n d sf rom the l ateLordR osebery,
fo u n d i ngT r us t ee,pr ov i d e dw o rk i n gfu n d sfo r th e S o ci ety,set up asa non-profi tmaki ng
body but entirely dependent on fees for its continued existence.Lord Roseberyremaineda Trusteeuntil his death in 1974and maintainedan activeinterestin the Society
th ro u ghoutit s f ir s t 29 y e a rc ,a b l y c h a i ri n ga C o u n c i l Meeti ng as recentl yas October
1972,when he wasapproachinghis 91stbirthday.
By th e end of M ar c h1 9 4 5o v e r o n e h u n d re de n q u i ri eshad beenrecei vedandenqui ry
one hundred and one, receivedin April of that year from Ottawa,was the first of the
many thousandswhich we have since receivedfrom Canada.The staff of the Society
fi n d tfi e wor k inv olv e di n te re s ti n ga n d e n j o y a b l e o
, c casi onal lfrustrati
y
ng,but never
d u l l o r rout ine,and a ve ry p l e a s a nat s p e c o
t f i t i s th e m anyfri endsw hom w e havemade
over the years.We find that many people come back for more researchon other ancestrallines after they have receiveda report on their paternalancestry,and find that
w h a t h a sor iginallybee n a m i l d i n te re s ti s n o w a c o mpel l i ngone.
The old parochialregistersof Scotlandare housedin the GeneralRegisterOffice for
Sco tl and,H. M . New Re g i s teH
r o u s e ,Ed i n b u rg l r,
w h e r e they are open to the publ i cfor
consultation,on paymentof certainfees.
There has been compulsoryregistrationof births,deathsand marriagesin Scotland
since1855.For at least300yearsbefore that time, however,there had been a systemof
p a ro chialr egis t r at ion
o f th e s ee v e n tsa d m i n i s te re dn,o t by the S tate,but by the C hurch,
a l th o u ghby no m eansa l l th e re c o rd s w
, h i c h mu s t u ndoubtedl yhavebeen made,surl o u nci lof the S cotti shC l ergy(R oman
vi ve du nt il 1855.A s f ar b a c ka s 1 5 5 ' la p ro v i n c i aC
Catholic)enacteda canon to establishparishregistersof baptismsand proclamations
of marriage.Shortlyafterwards,in early Reformationtimes,effortswere also made to
g e t b u r ialsr egis t er ed;a n d , i n th e C e n e ra lA s s e m b l yo f 1616- that i s duri ngone of the
- Royal'instructions'were issuedthat every minister
periodsof Episcopalascendancy
sh o u l dk eep a r egis t e o
r f b a p ti s msma
, rri a g e sa,n d ' d e functs' w i thi nthe pari sh.In practice this came to mean that they were kept by the sessionclerksand the pagesof the
re g i ster wer
s e oc c as io n a l lcyo u n te rs i g n e d
b y th e mi n i sters.In the sameyear (1616)an
Act was passedby the ScottishPrivyCouncil ordainingthat such a registershould be
ke p t b y eac hpar is hm in i s te r.Si m i l a ri n j u n c ti o n sw e re gi venboth by the S cotti shP arl i ame n t and by t he Cen e ra l A s s e m b l ya fte r th e re -e s t abl i shment
of P resbyteri ani sm
in
1 6 3 9Thes
.
epar is hr egi s te rs
w e re m a i n ta i n e dth ro u g h outS cotl andunti l the compul sory
re g i str at ion
of bir t hs ,de a th s a
, n d ma rri a g ew
s a s i n tro ducedi n 1855.
It must be realised,however,that there was no compulsionto registerand the records
are thereforeby no meanscomplete,and, in additionto this,there wasno specialprovisi o nfo r ot her denom in a ti o nto
s m a k eu s eo f th e p a ri shregi sters,
w hi ch meansthatthey
are basicallyrecordsof baptisms,marriagesetc.,of the familieswho were membersof
th e va r iouspar is hc hurc h e s ;a l th o u g h ,i n a fe w p a ri shes,
the sessi oncl erksw oul d appear to have either had some arrangementwith, or made specialeffortsto collectthe
i n fo rma t ionr egar dingo th e r d e n o mi n a ti o nsso th a t,fo r exampl e,one canfi nd headi ngs
i n th e old par oc hialr e g i s te rss u c h a s ' A L i s to f c h i l drenof secedersi n the pari sh' or
(p a rti cular ly
s w h i c h a re added the i nformati onthat the
in A ber de e n )p ro c l a ma ti o nto
couple concernedwere marriedby the EpiscopalMinister,Secession
Minister,etc.
Most parishes,where the extant recordsgo back to an early date, also suffer from
blanksin the recordsas, prior to 1855,there was not effectiveprovisionfor their perma n e ntpr es er v at ion.
S o mep o rti o n sh a v eb e c o mei l l egi bl ethroughdamp and w ant of
care,while still in the parishes,some have been 'eaten by mice'! othersdestroyedby
19
fire, like those of the Perthshireparishof Muthill where a note on the fly leaf of one
volume explainsthat it is a 'Registerof Births,etc., as the same could be recovered
from peoples'memoriesor their jottingsfrom 3d of August1704to1stNovember1760;
house
w i th
s
th e o ri ginalRegis t erosf th a t ti me h a v i n gb e e n b u rn t i n the S essi on-C l erk'
severalthings of his own". There are also two distinct periods where there is a very
noticeablefalling off in the use of the old parochialregisters;the first commencesin
1783when Parliamentpassedan Act imposinga stamp duty of threepenceon every
registeredentry of birth or baptism,marriage,and burial. The duty had to be paid by
th e i n for m ant sof t he e v e n ta n d th i s l a w ,w h i c h w a smostunpopul ar,l ed to a consi derevidencedby a yearly
able and progressivedecreasein the number of registrations,
The Act
drop of the amount collectedin duty as recordedin the old parochialregisters.
was eventuallyrepealedin 1794,but not without leavinga definite mark of incomplete
re g i str at ion
dur ing t he e l e v e ny e a rsi n w h i c h i t w a s o n the S tatuteB ooks.The second
period commencedin 1843with the 'Disruption'whichled to the formationof the Free
Church of Scotland,when many membersof the congregationsof the ParishChurches
(in somecasesthe entire congregation)'walkedout' to join the FreeChurch,and lasted
gap can,
until the commencementof compulsoryregistrationin 1855.The 1843-1854
however,generallybe bridged by use of the decennialCensusSchedulesand, where
available,by referenceto those of the FreeChurch registersas have been voluntarily
depositedin the ScottishRecordOffices.
As well as lossesby accident,it can be readilyappreciatedthat the parochialregiste rs,w hen k ept loc al l y ,w e re l i a b l eto b e mi s l a i do r l ost on the deathof a mi ni steror
sessionclerk. The 1854RegistrationAct, by which compulsoryregistrationwas introduced from 1stJanuary1855,thereforeenactedthat all the old parochialregistersdealby the C hurch
i n g wi th bapt is m spr
, o c l a m a ti o nosf ma rri a g ea, n d b u r i al sbe surrendered
and lodged in the Ceneral RegisterOffice of Births,Deaths,and Marriages,in Edinburgh, for permanent preservation.This wise provision has undoubtedly preserved
s
h,o n c e n o l o n g e ri n d a i l y u s e ,h a d they been al l ow edto remai ni n
ma n yr egis t erwhic
the custodyof the local ministersand sessionclerks,might well havedeterioratedand
become illegiblethrough lack of proper storageand some might even have been put
out for salvageor otherwiseirredeemablylost,as has indeed happenedto some other
local records.We are, therefore,extremelyfortunatein Scotlandto havesucha wealth
of materialof genealogicalvalue centralisedand readilyavailablefor consultation,although it is doubtful whether thosewho framedthe 1854Act would haverealisedwhat
greatusewould be being made of theserecords,whosepreservationthey had ensured,
over a hundred yearslater.
The extantold parochialregistersvary greatlyin antiquity,for examplefrom thoseof
, e C a n o n g a tep a ri shof E di nburghhasrecordsfor 1564
Erro l ,whic h c om m en c ei n 1 5 5 3th
to 1567but then a gap until 1600,to thoseof the Skyeparishof Kilmuirwhere the extant
recordsonly commencein 1823.The majorityof old parochialregistersdate backto the
e a rl yl 8t h c ent ur yand ma n yto th e mi d o r l a te rh a l f of the 17thcenturyw i th rel ati vel y
fe w su r v iv ingf r om t he 1 6 thc e n tu ry .
The informationcontainedin the old parochialregistersvariesgreatlyfrom parishto
parishfrom the barefactsof date of baptism,name of child and father,to entrieswhich
, th e rs ' o c c u p a ti o nth
g i ve n am esof bot h pa re n ts fa
s , e number of other chi l dreni n the
family and place of residencewithin the parishand all the variationsbetweenthe two
extremes.Information in marriageentries can vary from a note of the proclamation
money paid by the groom, to the very full, but unfortunatelyfairly rare entries,which
list agesand parentageof both bride and groom, the datesof their three proclamations
for marriage,the date of marriageand by whom they were married.Burialrecordshave
survivedleastwell of the three, many parisheshaving none, but here again they vary
greatlyin form from mortcloth dues,which merely give the name of the deceasedand
the date of paymentof the due, to some 19th century recordswhich give age at death,
occupation,causeand place of death, type of funeral, place of burial, cost,and also
placeof birth, maritalstatus,etc.
20
All old parochialregistersare not solelydevotedto recordingbirths,deathsand marClerk of Dumfries
by recordsof currentevents- the Session
riases.Someare enliv-ened
were held in the town one Sundayin1745,becauseof the
ru.'onartnur"o churchservices
causedby the troops of PrinceCharlesEdwardStewartgoing through.the
;lrrurb.il
to*n - recipes'to Cure the Biteof a mad Dog either in Man or Beast',for 'eyewater',for
from oak gallsand one sometimeswishesthat this latterrecipehad been used
int
ir"qruntly by"somesessionclerkswho would appearto.havewatereddown their
.or"-ade
ii go f urth e r! On e s e s s i o nc l e rk i n F i f e kept hi s personalaccountsi n
i n t to . lt
r-ongtt the" recirds of Births,Deathsand Marriages,so that we know how much he
much.he was paid-{ornavigafaid t6 have new whaleboneput in his wife's stays,how
There.i s
i i o n l e s s onss, om et ime si n m o n e y a n d s o m e ti me si n D utch gi n (smuggl ed?).
potiti..l comment like the following in the old parochialregistersof Invereskin
"u"n
May 1707:;'ftte tataltstateof Brittaincommencesfrom ye'lst of May by an unhallowedunion"
w i th th e r eply in a lat e rh a n d :,,Th e Cler k in a f at alm i s ta k e- T h e U n i o n T h e R i c h esand chi ef bl essi ng
of the C ountry."
for us to be given a certainamount of
Beforeresearchcan be initiatedit is necessary
i n fo rmat ion,s uc h as t h e n a me o f th e p a ri s h ,to w n , o r vi l l agei n S cotl andi n w hi ch the
emigrant ancestorwas born and at leasttheir approximate,if not,the exact,date.of
birt[. fhe startingpoint for all basicresearchis in the old parochialregistersof Births,
Deaths,and Mariiages (and, where appropriate,the Statutory"modern" recordsof
h r un fro m 1 8 5 5to d a te ).
,
th e seev ent s whic
On ce t he inf or m at i o no u tl i n i n gth e b a s i cfa mi l ytre e hasbeenobtai nedfrom the ol d
parochialregistersresearchmay-then(in.thosecaseswhere it is consideredthat more
turn to the w eal thof materi al
t he f am i l yc o n c e rn e dmi g h t b e a v a i l abl e)
i n fo rm at ion" on
housed in the Scottishilecord Office. Testaments(wills) can be particularlyuseful
detai land col ourful
(th o sepr ior t o 1800ha v e p u b l i s h e di n d i c e s ),a d d i n gg. eneal ogi cal
picturescan often be buili of the person concernedfrom inventoriesof their effects.
bn" *.n, who died in 1781,owned a bathingcap (valuedat one pelny), also an attic
full of empty claret bottles,possiblythe causeof his early demise!Then there are Sa,in"t - recordsof land ownership'unbrokensince 1617- and the Register.ofDeeds
which containsan almostinexhausiiblestoreof information,althoughDeedsdo present
one permanentproblem becauseregistrationcould take place yearsor even decades
when one party to a contractdied and
iit"tin" originai date of execution,"generally
oerhaosleea-ltangleshad to be resolved.In somecases,indeed,registrationmay never
all. This can be particularlyfrustratingwhen one finds referenceto
hauetaken"place"at
a Deed in ihe latter category,generallya marriagecontract,which one feels certain
beyonddoubt a
mu st hav e c ont ainedt h e o n e v i i a l c l u e w h i c h w o u l d haveestabl i shed
further link in the familytree.The ScottishRecordOffice alsocontainsa largecolle.ction
of private family papeis,in a sectionknown as Cifts and.Deposits(C.D.),which. are
e i th e ro n p" r - r nini lo a n o r a g i ft to th e n a ti o nfro m the fami l i esconcerned'W orki ng
in these requiresa lot of time a-ndpatience,but it can be very rewarding.
o_ver
This givesyou an idea of the sourceswhich have been at the Society's.disposal
the thiriy yearssinceour foundation.Our 30thAnniversarywascelebratedby an exhibition of the historyand work of the Society,on show in the ScottishRecordOffice,which
opened on Wednesday19thMarch 1975,the exatt date,althoughnot to the day,of the
i n a u g ur alm eet ingin 1 9 4 5 .
In "th isour
, .ann' luers ayrye a r,w e w o u l d l i k e to th a n k al l thosew hoseconti nuedi ntere st i n their anc es t r yha s ' e n a b l e du s to re a c hth i s l a n dmarki n our hi storyand to i nvi te
anyone whose interestmay have been stirred by this article_towrite to our Director,
Miss PatriciaM. Baxendine,at the Society'soffice, 20 York Place,Edinburgh,EH13EP,
Scotland,for detailsof our feesand procedureand the type of informationrequiredfor
i n i ti a tingr es ear c h.
21
VALTEYOF THE SHADOW
lohn Chisholm
A h u ndr ed and f if t y k i n s me ns ta n d i n th e b ri g h t s now about the l i ttl e farm-house.
Wi th i nt he f ar m - hous el i e sth e b o d y o f Be l l eJ o h nMc Rae,departedthi s l i fe i n her ni nety-secondyear.
Th e k ins m enar e m o s tl yb i g m e n . S o m eh a v e h i g h, fl ori d cheek bones,peakedred
eyebrows,straight-focussed
hard b'lue eyes. Others are black of hair, rugged black
b ro ws ,blac kc hins ,bla c ks ta re s .
Th e l it t lewhit e f ar m -h o u s ei s d i ffe re n tfro m fa rm-houses
el sew herei n Ontari o.W i th
i ts g l eam ingwhit ewa s h ,i t h a s a n a i r o f e x tra o rd i nary
substanti al i ty.
Look cl ose,and
y.ouseethat it is made of great squaretimbers,hewn out of treesof a size long since
departedfrom the old province.
Th e kins m ens t anda b o u t i n th e s n o w .T h e d o o rs o f the l i ttl efarm-houseare ooen.
Su d d enlyon t he s t ill,b ri g h ta i r ri s eth e h i g h v o i c e so f w omen, rapi dl ychanti ng. . . A t
th e d o or s ,in t he door w a y sa, l l k n e e l .
"Our F at herwhic
,
h a rt i n H e a v e n. . . ."
"Clory be to the Father,and to the Son . . ."
No m en' sv oic esm a r th e h i g h ,th ri l l i n gc h a n t.
Crossingthemselves,
the kinsmenriseto their feet. Out the door, in her casketborne
i n th e ar m sof s ixgr eatm e n ,c o m e sBe l l eJ o h n ,th e fo u rth generati on,
l eavi ngthe home,
th e i d ent ic alac r es ,t h a t F a rq u h a rM c R a e , h e r g re a t-grandfather,
l eaderof the fi rst
Hi g h l ander st o s et t lei n G l e n g a rryp, a c e do ff, s to o d u pon and decl aredhi s ow n, one
h u n d re dand t hir t y - s e v e yn e a rsa g o .
Acros st he hills m ov e sth e fu n e ra le s c o rt,w h i te h i l l stamedand ti l l ed,to the church
o f St. Raphael.O nc e a g a i n ,y o u a re s tru c kb y th e b e a uty,the substanti al i of
ty thi sstone
church, fit for a wealthycity parish.Yet, five yearsago, Glengarrycelebratedthe hund re d thanniv er s arof
y th e c h u rc h b u i l t b y B i s h o pM a cdonel l .
Be l owt he alt art hey re s tB e l l eJ o h n ,a n d re q u i e mmassi s sung.The pri esti s the greatgreat-grandson
of one of the immigrantHighlanders.In the sanctuarysitsFatherEwen
McD o n ald.( Hispeoplec a l lh i m Yo n e ,w h i c h i s E w e n ).C oon coathi di nghi s bl ackcl oth,
h i s h e ad bowed,f or he i s a g ra n d n e p h e wo f Be l l eJ o hn,there bel ow the al tarand the
fl a ri n gcandles .
Th e kins m enk neel i n g ,fi n g e ri n gth e b e a d sw h i c h cl atter gentl y on the pew rai l s,
stareahead not with sorrow but with a sort of pride in their eyes.The Latinwords are
su n g o u t ov er t heir un b o w e d h e a d sw i th a k e e n i n gnote the H i ghl andheartputs i nto
everysong it sings.
Led by the priestand young FatherYone (chaplainto His Majesty'sforcesin the last
wa r) Be lleJ ohn is bor n e o u t to th e c h u rc h y a rdth
, e fi fth and si xthgenerati onl ay B el l e
, s l e e pb e s i d eth e fi rs tgenerati on.
Jo h n ,th e f our t h gener a ti o nto
Fo r her gr av eis t hir typ a c e sfro m th a t o f An g u sBa na' Mhui nneal ,the ol d McD onal d,
who on the ship McDonald,led ashoreat Quebec,in September1786,fivehundredand
fo rty Highlander tso s e e k n e w h i l l s a n d g l e n sto h i d e thei r homesfrom the rel entl ess
p u rsu i tof E nglis hpolic y .
He r gr av eis only a f e w fe e t fro m th a t o f " Bi g F i n n a nof the B uffal o"McD onal d,son
o f An g u sB an;B ig F inn a nw
, h o , i n 1 8 0 8c, ro s s e dth e R ocki esw i th D avi dThompson,w ho
dwelt for eighteenyearsbeyondthe Rockies,and who now lieshere in St.Raphael's,
in
th e sa megr av ewit h his In d i a nw i fe .
Her grave,the newestone amongstmanythat are obliterated,of McDonaldsand Macdonellsand McRaesand Camerons,relictsof a people that are becomingsacredto the
Canadiannation.BelleJohn restsin high company,the lastof a mighty raceof men and
women, whose historyis perhapsthe most romanticin Canada'shistory,and is already
becomingone of the legendsof pioneer days.
22
BelleJohn was lsabel,the daughterof John McRae,and so, after the queer custom
, a s c a l l e dB e l l eJ o h n.S hew as born i n the earl ythi rth a t sti l l f lour is hesin C l e n g a rry w
ti e s,a nd t hus r em em b e re d" B i g F i n n a no f th e B u ffa lo" ,and hi s brother" B i g John" ,a
mi g h tym an, f ac t orof t h e H u d s o n ' sBa yC o m p a n y ,c ounsel l orto the C overnorof R u. hew asa chi l d and a fi ne young
p e rt'sLand,who liesbu ri e d i n N e w m a rk e ct e m e te ry S
wo ma nin t hos egr eatC l e n g a rryd a y sw h i c h R a l p hC o nnor hasrecorded,the daysw hen
Clengarrymen broughtout of the wildernessof the Ottawa,not logsbut mightysquared
ti mb e rsf or t he hullsof s h i p sa l l o v e r th e s e a so f th e worl d.
Fro m her f at hers he l e a rn e dth e G a e l i cs o n g sth a t c ameover i n that shi p McD onal d
on the returnof the H i gha n d h a v enot y et diedou t o f C l e n g a rryA. t b e e sa n d g a theri ngs
l a n d e rsf r om t he f or es te a c h s p ri n g ,s h e h a ss u n g th e songsthat her fatherssangfor
Pri n ceC har lie.S hewasa fa m o u ss i n g e ro f th e C a e l i csongs.
He r gr eat esst er v ic eto G l e n g a rryw a sh e r re v i v a la n d untangl i ngof al l the fami l yreand or iginso f th e p e o p l ew h o p i o n e e re dC l engarry.S henevermarri ed,and
l a ti o n ships
d e vo te dher s elft o t he s i c ka n d th e o l d , b e i n g k n o w n f or a radi usof tw entymi l esfrom
the McRae homesteadin every house in the country. She went with a family to Port
bei ng a pi oneerw oArth u r w hen t he t own w a sth e fa r e n d o f th e C .P.Rc. onstructi on,
ma n i n that r egion.
f
her
H e r funer alwasan oc c a s i o nfo r th e g a th e ri n go f th e cl ansnot onl y for hersel and
good works,but becauseshewasthe lastof a mightygenerationin a sequenceof mighty
g e n e rat ionsF.or t he c la n sd i e h a rd i n C l e n g a rry .
fhis is the first part of an article that appearedin The Toronto StarWeekly,lanuary 25,
1924. lt was preservedand submitted by Mrs. Elmer Edmunds (Hazel Mclntyre) The
King'sRoad,Martintown. The author was the late JohnChisholm,the lawyer.This excerpt is publishedby kind permissionof The Toronto !tar.
A BTESSING
TOR YOU
of Cod
May the Loving-kindness
be with you
now.
May the Compassion
of Christ
be in you
now.
And may the power of the Holy Spirit
leadyou.
now.
Amen.
23
HOME
GLENGARRY
You are my quiet haven,
Safeanchorageat last,
Where viciouswinds are craven
And turbulenceis past.
Your gentle slopesenfold me
With kindnessin your arms,
Your bird-songsnow uphold me
Unbowed in spite of harms.
Here woods and fieldsaround me
Cive hope for doubtingsoul.
The sun and starssurroundme
With faith to make me whole.
Fheselines first appeared on the editorial page of the Monteal Star.They were written
by the editor of this yearbook and are reprinted by kind permissionof the Montreal Star.
24