archibald_king_macgillivray_big_alexander_mcleod
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| archibald_king_macgillivray_big_alexander_mcleod [2021/11/13 20:40] – created 104.129.124.35 | archibald_king_macgillivray_big_alexander_mcleod [2024/03/03 20:25] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1 | ||
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| //by Maj. Geo. (Duff) Mitchell, MC,CD,UE,// | //by Maj. Geo. (Duff) Mitchell, MC,CD,UE,// | ||
| + | |||
| Ontario' | Ontario' | ||
| byways which give us fascinating glimpses of its early history as well as its Highland and | byways which give us fascinating glimpses of its early history as well as its Highland and | ||
| - | Loyalist pioneers who settled there from 1784. | + | Loyalist pioneers who settled there from 1784. \\ |
| Some of these plaques, however, are decades old and are based on one or two old records | Some of these plaques, however, are decades old and are based on one or two old records | ||
| rather than on comprehensive research. Some bronze plaques shroud untold stories and | rather than on comprehensive research. Some bronze plaques shroud untold stories and | ||
| Line 13: | Line 14: | ||
| granted to Alexander MacLeod (1769-1850), | granted to Alexander MacLeod (1769-1850), | ||
| shepherded 40 Highland families from Scotland to Canada in 1793-1794. (See appended | shepherded 40 Highland families from Scotland to Canada in 1793-1794. (See appended | ||
| - | text of plaque.) | + | text of plaque.) |
| The MacLeod Settlement plaque was unveiled before provincial and local dignitaries on | The MacLeod Settlement plaque was unveiled before provincial and local dignitaries on | ||
| August 1St, 1965 by Alexander' | August 1St, 1965 by Alexander' | ||
| - | included the late "Prof. G.F.G. Stanley, Kingston„ Archeological and Historic Sites | + | included the late "Prof. G.F.G. Stanley, Kingston Archeological and Historic Sites |
| Board," | Board," | ||
| and Hugh P. MacMillan of " | and Hugh P. MacMillan of " | ||
| - | introductory remarks at the dedication ceremony. | + | introductory remarks at the dedication ceremony< |
| - | Alexander MacLeod became recognized as a prime .leader of Lochiel' | + | Alexander MacLeod became recognized as a prime leader of Lochiel' |
| - | Settlement" | + | Settlement" |
| - | Militia, in the War of 1812. - Hem was instrumental in founi:iing - the county' | + | Militia, in the War of 1812. He was instrumental in founding |
| - | Presbyterian | + | Presbyterian |
| - | minister for what later became St. Columba. Church. But the plaque that memorializes | + | minister for what later became St. Columba Church. But the plaque that memorializes |
| - | Alexander' | + | Alexander' |
| MacLeod Settlement. This neglect can be traced to the source used for the wording on | MacLeod Settlement. This neglect can be traced to the source used for the wording on | ||
| the plaque. It is based largely on Captain Alexander' | the plaque. It is based largely on Captain Alexander' | ||
| 1000-acre grant in 1838. By then he was the only surviving organizer of the five who | 1000-acre grant in 1838. By then he was the only surviving organizer of the five who | ||
| - | had directed the MacLeod emigration. | + | had directed the MacLeod emigration. |
| - | Hardship was the common lot of the Highland men and Women wh9.:_-emigrated. to | + | Hardship was the common lot of the Highland men and Women who emigrated to |
| - | Glengarry, but few endured the misfortunes and setbacks that befell:; ts MacLeod | + | Glengarry, but few endured the misfortunes and setbacks that befell |
| - | emigration. The survival of 36 out of the 40 families, | + | emigration. The survival of 36 out of the 40 families, |
| - | Glenelg (later | + | Glenelg (later |
| - | the experience and tenacity of all. the expedition leaders, but especially | + | the experience and tenacity of all the expedition leaders, but especially |
| comrades-in-arms whose remarkable contributions receive scant mention in Glengarry | comrades-in-arms whose remarkable contributions receive scant mention in Glengarry | ||
| - | histories." | + | histories< |
| - | Loyalist leaders | + | |
| + | ==== Loyalist leaders | ||
| The two stalwarts, Archibald ' | The two stalwarts, Archibald ' | ||
| Alexander MacLeod (1756-1836), | Alexander MacLeod (1756-1836), | ||
| in the upper Hudson River valley with their kin as young men, before the American | in the upper Hudson River valley with their kin as young men, before the American | ||
| Revolution. When colonial discontent burst into full-blown rebellion both enlisted in the | Revolution. When colonial discontent burst into full-blown rebellion both enlisted in the | ||
| - | st Regiment of Foot (Fraser' | + | 71st Regiment of Foot (Fraser' |
| - | Britain in 1776. =Big' Alex's father, | + | Britain in 1776. 'Big' Alex's father, |
| in the British forces aboard Royal Navy ships blockading the St. Lawrence to prevent | in the British forces aboard Royal Navy ships blockading the St. Lawrence to prevent | ||
| - | 2/ | + | arms and supplies being smuggled to American rebels.<sup>iii</ |
| + | |||
| + | Like its forerunner the Old 78th Fraser Highlanders, | ||
| + | and Quebec under General Wolfe in 1759-1760, the 71st gained fame campaigning from | ||
| + | Brooklyn, NY, to Savannah, Georgia, and back north until October 1781. Then, | ||
| + | outnumbered three to one by 7,000 Frehch and 12,000 American troops near Yorktown, | ||
| + | Virgjnia, the British forces under Lord Cornwallis capitulated and were interned in | ||
| + | camps, albeit with their personal weapons for game hunting, These Highlanders suffered | ||
| + | severe hardships; "in less than 12 months they had marched and countermarched nearly | ||
| + | 2,000 miles ...." With peace concluded in 1783, the 71st. | ||
| + | Regiment was soon disbanded | ||
| + | with honours at Perth, Scotland, but prisoners of war such as ' | ||
| + | comrade Archie, awaited discharge there in mid-May 1784.< | ||
| + | Returning to Inverness-shire, | ||
| + | emigrant John ‘Gibraltar' | ||
| + | in 1782. Archie returned to kin on north Mull, Argyllshire, | ||
| + | McLean (c1768-c1790), | ||
| + | Ballochvoy near Tobermory in December 1785, but daughter Ann McGilvray (sic) was | ||
| + | born at a nearby hamlet the following October 9th, and son, Donald, at Kilbeag in the fall | ||
| + | of 1788.< | ||
| + | prospects in Canada with ' | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==== Emigration saga ==== | ||
| + | |||
| + | In 1791, according to their denied petitions, for land and Loyalist status of April 1834, | ||
| + | Archie and ' | ||
| + | explore Glengarry' | ||
| + | MacLeod, five McGillivray and 19 other clan families. | ||
| + | The next year the two veterans sailed back to Scotland, rejoining the other emigration | ||
| + | leaders — Kenneth MacLeod (1745-1815) of Moyle, a tacksman of Glenelg parish, his | ||
| + | young son (later Captain) Alexander MacLeod (1769-1850); | ||
| + | (c1733-1794) of Glenelg' | ||
| + | for Sea. ' | ||
| + | ship, but late in the long voyage he became ill and died shortly after reaching Glengarry. | ||
| + | His wife, Mary McRae (c1734-c1793), | ||
| + | Some 150 men, women and children set sail from Glenelg' | ||
| + | a ship chartered by the co-leaders at Greenoch. Mid-way across the Atlantic a violent | ||
| + | storm so damaged the ship that it was forced to return to Greenoch. On August 2< | ||
| + | families were transferred to the brig Argyle of 145 tonnes. Barely four days at sea, the | ||
| + | //Argyle// lost her upper masts and sailing in a violent gale and was forced into Lamlash, Isle | ||
| + | of Arran, for repairs before finally making a stormy fall crossing of the Atlantic. (Built in | ||
| + | New Brunswick in 1789, it mounted two guns, but its crew of 12 may have been from | ||
| + | Greenoch.) \\ | ||
| + | it is hard to grasp the hardships these would-be settlers endured over the next three | ||
| + | months at sea in a small vessel. Crammed below decks in rough, unheated spaces, fetid | ||
| + | from foul air, so that some nursing mothers, children, aged men and women succumbed | ||
| + | to the haydships and were buried at sea. Finally, braving a " | ||
| + | excessively cold weather off Prince Edward Island," | ||
| + | Charlottetown on November 2< | ||
| + | In May 1794 most of the MacLeod contingent set sail again, although a few decided to | ||
| + | settle near Charlottetown. The 115 or so aboard schooner //Charlot// reached Quebec on | ||
| + | June 3< | ||
| + | up to Glengarry. The few more emigrants who set off a weeklater on he schooner //John//, received their Glengarry lots almost two months later. | ||
| + | On arrival each family received a 200-acre lot certification, | ||
| + | 1794. They begin with the five key organizers in this sequence for Lochiel | ||
| + | Norman(d) - Lot 27.7th Concession; Kenneth - L.19.7; his son Alexander - L18.6; ' | ||
| + | Alexander - L33.7 — all MacLeods; — and Archibald McGilvrie (sic) Lot 17,6. ' | ||
| + | Alex delayed settling on his lot until his dying father was buried in the Lancaster | ||
| + | cemetery. This Archives of Ontario (PAO) record is referenced in The People of | ||
| + | Glengany.< | ||
| + | Kenneth' | ||
| + | survived and he was secondly married in December 1796 to Margaret (Peggy) Cameron | ||
| + | (c1775-c1835+). She was born on Sir John Johnson' | ||
| + | Cameron (1725-1824) of Clunes (UEL) and Mary Cameron (1739-1831) of Glen Nevis, | ||
| + | Scotland, who gained fame safeguarding their rose bush, off which the ' | ||
| + | was developed, from -the UK to Kingsborough, | ||
| + | Canada. \\ | ||
| + | For Archie ' | ||
| + | of much relief and joy, tempered with sad thoughts of those who had died on the way or | ||
| + | arrived mortally ill like ' | ||
| + | New World five times in 20 years, as settlers, soldiers and then as scouts and organizers | ||
| + | of the MacLeod emigration. | ||
| + | ==== Vital road-making ==== | ||
| + | Glengarry tradition has it that Archie ' | ||
| + | leadership role with these MacLeod emigrants. In Gaelic ' | ||
| + | or foreman. The abilities of Archie ' | ||
| + | arrived on the Glengarry frontier, when he was named road-master to supervise the first | ||
| + | all-weather road construction across the county. \\ | ||
| + | A major undertaking was construction of a military and service road that Upper Canada' | ||
| + | Governor, John. Graves Simcoe, had called for. The road later called the King's Road | ||
| + | was opened through the province west and east of York. It crosses Glengarry along a | ||
| + | stony ridge through Charlottenburgh and Lancaster Townships, avoiding the latter' | ||
| + | swamps to the south. (Because the new arrivals included two other Archibald | ||
| + | MacGillivrays in Glengarry, Archie' | ||
| + | This King's Road was a major project not only for defensive needs but also as access to | ||
| + | grist and other mills so vital to the pioneers. The Montreal-York section was not fully | ||
| + | opened until 1812 but it was the main road across Glengarry until after the First World | ||
| + | War and remains an important provincial Highway #18. \\ | ||
| + | Archie ' | ||
| + | 1810 because he was re-assigned to oversee construction of a Military Road that ran | ||
| + | north from Lancaster town through Alexandria (now Highway 34). These two main | ||
| + | roads cross at Brown House Corner, so named for a popular stage-coach hotel diagonally | ||
| + | opposite the log home of Archie ' | ||
| + | War of 1812 meant Archie ' | ||
| + | Regiment in Captain Alexander' | ||
| + | and two sergeants, Finlay McIntosh and Archie ' | ||
| + | Officer.< | ||
| + | played a key role in MacLeod' | ||
| + | service as road-master. | ||
| + | ==== Family ties ==== | ||
| + | Loyalists and their descendants from the MacLeod emigration have left their marks upon | ||
| + | the Glengarry scene. \\ | ||
| + | Archie ' | ||
| + | likely died by then, but sister Ann wed Duncan MacMillan(1782-1841) in January 1809 | ||
| + | while wintering at her father' | ||
| + | happy event, as he had also done for Archie and Catherine' | ||
| + | Church, in Williamstown. Duncan' | ||
| + | 1794. In 1810 my ancestors Ann and Duncan | ||
| + | ' | ||
| + | In 1797 Donald ' | ||
| + | Catherine (MacDonell) and Donald McMillan (UEL). Their ten children all married, | ||
| + | including sons ' | ||
| + | dynasties. \\ | ||
| + | The only son of Ann (McGillivray) and Duncan MacMillan, became known as ' | ||
| + | the Hook' MacMillan (c1819-1896) when he lost his right arm at age 28 in a threshing | ||
| + | accident. He married Ellen MacLeod (1828-1907), | ||
| + | Township, and they settled on his father' | ||
| + | children. With a hook he "could chop wood, plough, mow, and was considered the best | ||
| + | teamster in the county." | ||
| + | "He was a very congenial spirit, one of the good old stock, always kind, generous and | ||
| + | neighborly ...." There were 120 carriages in his funeral procession — one of the largest | ||
| + | ever held at St. Columba Church.< | ||
| + | Ann and Duncan' | ||
| + | (1794-18664), | ||
| + | Breadalbane, | ||
| + | who was to receive his father' | ||
| + | other 170-acre section of this lot north of the King's Road was sold in 1840 to lawyer, | ||
| + | later Ontario' | ||
| + | Archie ' | ||
| + | deny his claim in 1836. About 80 that fall, Archie deeded most of his Lochiel lot to son, | ||
| + | Donald ' | ||
| + | After their first child was born, John Munro set up his smithy at MacGillivray Bridge, | ||
| + | Charlottenburgh, | ||
| + | coopers, were important to pioneers of that era. My great grandfather, | ||
| + | Monroe (1842-1936) was the second son born at MacGillivray Bridge in a family | ||
| + | of ten. After junior school there he lived with his maternal grandmother Ann and learned | ||
| + | Gaelic in upper grades at Kirkhill, but quit school at 14 to clerk in a store at Buckingham, | ||
| + | Quebec, for seven years, where he learned French. Settling in Cornwall he was store | ||
| + | clerk for 13 years with ex-mayor, Wm. Mattice. He then opened an insurance business | ||
| + | which expanded across ten counties in Ontario and Quebec. After 30 years he was | ||
| + | " | ||
| + | his old firm retained his name. He was a Dunvegan Volunteers during the Fenian Raids | ||
| + | of 1866 and 1870; he received a medal and 160 acres of now profitable bush land near | ||
| + | New Liskeard, Ontario. \\ | ||
| + | Archie' | ||
| + | Lochiel when he wed Mary MacMillan (1804-1884) in March 1822. She was a sister of | ||
| + | ' | ||
| + | log house is believed to have been built about 1830, but has long since been sheathed | ||
| + | over, inside and out. This vintage homestead is still with the ' | ||
| + | and what tales it could tell! | ||
| + | Direct descendant Anne MacGillivray still occupies it with her mother, née Ruth | ||
| + | MacGillivray, | ||
| + | opposite Kirkhill United Church. With many MacGillivray and other kin present, as well | ||
| + | as the presentation of a fine plaque from the Township mayor, it Was a very special | ||
| + | occasion. We only regretted that Mrs. Myrtle (McGillivray) Stanger of Drumheller, | ||
| + | Alberta, the chief chronicler of ' | ||
| + | April 2003. \\ | ||
| + | John Duncan MacLeod (1901-1968), | ||
| + | Kenyon Township, graduated from Kemptville College. He held senior appointments | ||
| + | with Ontario' | ||
| + | farm and opened a seed-cleaning plant. \\ | ||
| + | John D., as he was known, was the prime mover in forming the Clan MacLeod Society of | ||
| + | Glengarry (later of Canada), and initiated preparation of //The MacLeods of Glengarry, 1st | ||
| + | Edition (1971)//. Revised Edition (1993) has a wealth of family history edited by | ||
| + | Madeleine McCrimmon, also a MacLeod emigration' | ||
| + | and advice were sorely missed after he was killed by a tractor in 1968. \\ | ||
| + | About 1840 ' | ||
| + | MacLeod (1810-1889) moved to share Lot 25.9th Kenyon. Norman, who had married | ||
| + | Captain Alexander' | ||
| + | Glengarry Militia during the 1837 Rebellion. Their son Alex served during the Fenian | ||
| + | Raids with the 39< | ||
| + | Roderick (Rory)' | ||
| + | (1871-1952). They had five children, of whom John D. was the most prominent in | ||
| + | Glengarry' | ||
| + | It would be heartwarming to think that, with the new millennium, perhaps the time has | ||
| + | come to erect a new plaque to supplement that on the " | ||
| + | would recognize the roles played by Sergeant Archibald ' | ||
| + | `Big' Norman and cousin Kenneth MacLeod, in | ||
| + | ensuring the success of the emigration and the parts | ||
| + | played by their descendants in building a prosperous | ||
| + | Glengarry. Failing that initiative, perhaps these brief | ||
| + | comments will serve to revive interest in Upper | ||
| + | Canada' | ||
| + | more aware of their fascinating and heroic heritage. | ||
| + | {{: | ||
| + | including members of several clans, emigrated from | ||
| + | Glenelg, Scotland, under the leadership of Alexander | ||
| + | MacLeod and landed at St. John's Island (now PEI) The | ||
| + | following year they came to Glengarry County and | ||
| + | petitioned for land. In August, 1794 the majority were | ||
| + | authorized to occupy 200 Acres each in the vicinity of | ||
| + | Kirkhill, which was for many years known as Glenelg. | ||
| + | Alexander MacLeod who was located on this property in | ||
| + | 1794, was instrumental in founding on of the earliest | ||
| + | Presbyterian parishes in Upper Canada here in Lochiel | ||
| + | Township. During the War of 1812 he served as a | ||
| + | Captain in the 2< | ||
| + | died March 4, 1850. // | ||
| + | Board of Ontario.// Erected by Clan MacLeod Society of Glengarry 1965. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ----- | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | ==== Endnotes ==== | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | 33-34. It irks this writer and descendant of Archie ' | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | little resemblance to | ||
| + | MacLeods 2< | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | family trekked north to settle on Lot 6.4th of Cornwall Township. but not without their prized rose shoots — claimed to date | ||
| + | back to Damascus in Crusader times. The rose flowers, stalks, leaves and hips were vital to pioneers as medicines, tea, | ||
| + | etc. He lived into his 100< | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | Spirits//, tells much more about Ann (McGillivray) and Duncan MacMillan' | ||
archibald_king_macgillivray_big_alexander_mcleod.1636836055.txt.gz · Last modified: 2024/03/03 20:25 (external edit)