How did Donald McGillivray come from Scotland, where he was born about 1832-33, to Port Robinson and Hamilton, Ontario, 22 years later in 1854? Did he come with family as a young person, or as an adult? (For details of Donald's marriage and family from 1854 on, see here.)
The following is my reconstruction of Donald's early years. Afterwards, I will critique the evidence in support of my hypothesis.
The baptismal records of Kilmeny Parish, Islay, Scotland contain this entry: "Donald son to (blank) McGilvray and Anne McDuffie, Balachlavan, baptized 26 Feby 1833"1 . The blank space for his father's given name is filled in, with a different hand, 'Donald or Peter'. (Image)
The parish register would normally note if a child was illegitimate, so we can infer that the child's parents were married. In the Islay records there is no record of a marriage between Anne McDuffie and a McGillivray, but this is explained by the fact that there are no marriage records extant for Kilmeny parish. Ballachlavan is a croft near the ruined site of Finlaggan, the seat of the MacDonalds, 'Lord of the Isles'. According to the Book of Islay, Ballachlavan belonged to the churchyard of Finlaggan and was "the worst wadset in the countrie"2 .
The phrase 'Donald or Peter' is not easy to explain, nor is the fact that it was filled in later. It is obvious in this section of the Kilmeny parish register that record keeping had fallen behind. Entries from 1829 to 1833 occur on the same pages and not in chronological sequence. Perhaps at this point the entries were being copied from scattered notes or from memory, and Anne and her family had already left the island. There is no suggestion that the father had come to Canada with the McDuffies, so he had either died or deserted his family.
Anne McDuffie was born in 1811 at a croft called Balole in Kilmeny parish to Alexander McDuffie and Marion (or Anne) McLelland. Her baptism on 18 March 1812 was recorded in the Kilmeny parish register3 . The spelling of the surname McDuffie was replaced by McPhie or McFee later in the century and in Canada.
In 1836 Anne emigrated to Canada with her parents, her brother William and a sister, Catharine4 . They joined an older brother Peter in Oro township, Simcoe county, who had emigrated earlier.
Andrew Hunter5 , the historian of Simcoe County, writes:
The earliest settler on the townline of Medonte and Oro was Peter McPhie (McDuffie in the lists) who came in the twenties and settled on Lot 1, Con. 9, Oro, near Coulson, when all around them was the forest wilderness. He was one of the very first of the Islay settlers to arrive in this country. He died in 1848.
Peter received title to his 200 acres of land as a free grant on 20 Feb 18326 .
Many Islay families settled in Oro and the adjoining township of Medonte in this period. The date 1836 is significant because 1835 was a year in which both the potato and grain crops failed, causing great hardship in the west of Scotland7 .
In Anne's obituary, someone wrote about that voyage:
It took nearly four months to make the journey from Islay to Oro, three months of which were spent on the ocean. Each family had to supply a sufficient quantity of food to support them while on board ship, but owing to limited accommodation and length of time in making the trip, many of the passengers were compelled to place themselves on half rations or less before reaching their destination. But her father was a prudent man and made ample provisions for his family and gave assistance to others who were less fortunate. The roads from Toronto north were very bad and travelling had to be done mostly on foot, so that several unpleasant days were spent on that part of the journey.
A few years after arriving in Oro, about 1839, Anne married Alexander McLean who was from Esknish in Islay, a croft not far from Balole. Alexander McLean was born in 1809. Their farm was on Con. 8, N1/2 Lot 3, Oro Tp. (Her sister Catherine McPhie married Alexander McKerroll in 18428 . Their farm was across the road in Medonte Tp.)
Annie's obituary in the Barrie Examiner9 adds something about her character:
. . . the deceased was greatly esteemed and held in the highest regard for her kind, gentle and loving disposition. . . . In religion the deceased was a Baptist, and one of the early pioneers of that denomination in Oro. Her Bible was her daily study and her whole life was modelled upon and consistent with the teaching of the Master. Her mind was clear to the last and just before "falling asleep in Jesus" she remarked that to be absent from the body was to be present with the Lord.
Alexander and Anne had eight children, among them Christina McLean, born in 1841, and John A. McLean born 29 Feb 1848.
What became of Donald? Christina McLean's granddaughter, Lorna Harvie, tells the following story that she heard from her mother10 :
Annie McPhie had been previously married to a Mr. MacGillvray but we do not have a given name for him. However there was a child whose name was Charles11 . We have nothing about what became of his father but apparently Annie later married Alexander McLean and bore him seven children. The story goes that the boy was unhappy living with his mother and stepfather. Since his mother's family, the McPhies, were on the next farm to the MacLeans she took him out to the line fence between the farms and she told him he could either go back with her and live there or he could go the other direction to her brother's and live there, but whatever he decided was to be permanent. He decided to go to his uncles and was raised by them. From that date on no one seems to know anything.
Anne's family was living on Lot 1, Con 9 of Oro Township which backs onto the McLean farm. Living there were Donald's grandfather, Alexander McPhie (who died sometime after 1861), and Donald's uncles Peter (until 1848) and William with their families. (Peter married about 1840 and William married in 1842.)
From William McPhie's obituary12 , we learn why perhaps Donald was attracted to him:
[William McPhie] was a man of a most kindly disposition and considered it a pleasure to help a neighbour. In his later years he was very reminiscent and his listeners were always regaled with some interesting sketch of early days. In 1837 he served in the Rebellion as a volunteer. His Company was marched to Newmarket, and did garrison duty there for some time. . . . He was a staunch Presbyterian, for long years an office bearer in Knox Church, Oro, and one of the last to submit to preaching in English instead of Gaelic. In politics he was a Reformer. . . . He also brought up his brother's family.
The brother referred to in this obituary is undoubtably Peter who died in 1848 and who left behind three children at least. The reference to Knox church is also suggestive, because the McLeans were Baptist, while we know that Donald McGillivray was Free Church Presbyterian. Knox was the centre of life for the Islay emigrants13 and was 'Free Church'. William McPhie was an elder there14 . It is interesting to realize that Donald must have grown up speaking Gaelic.
Apparently Donald did not see himself spending his life as a farmer, and he probably left his uncle's home as soon as he was able to earn a living. We know that in 1854 he was a 'seaman'. John Ramsay of Kildalton states that it was common for the Islay settlers to work on ships on the Great Lakes to earn money to buy their farms15 . This is futher illustrated by a story found in the Oro Township papers. Alexander McKerroll and a John McKay tell the story that in the Spring of 1844, Alex, William McPhie and a neighbour, Hugh Reid, had crossed Lake Simcoe on "The Beaver" and were at Holland Landing on their way to the Lakes. There they met Peter McPhie, who offered William 100 acres of his lot in exchange for 'chopping' 25 acres of Peter's land. Peter sent William back to get started chopping, while the rest continued on to Buffalo. This is how William got title to the south half of Lot 1, Con 916 .
Despite the estrangement with his step family and Donald's early death in a railway accident in 1870, some tenuous links continued between the McGillivrays and Annie McPhie and her family. Ann Elson learned from her mother, Nettie Carruthers (1892 - 1962) and/or her aunt Margaret McIlroy (1903 - 1979) that Donald came from 'somewhere in Oro township'17 .
Another of Donald's granddaughters, Julia (McGilvray) Farley (1905-) recounted a connection between the McGillivrays and the McLean family in Orillia18 :
There were the McLeans in Orillia, just where they fit I do not know. Mother and Dad spent their honeymoon there. Dr. McLean M.D. his son was a dentist. In 1938 while we were up North, Mother, Dad and I went to their place, at that time they had a tea room in their home. After we had lunch we went into the living room and visited with Mrs. McLean Sr. and she spoke of Grandmother McG. One of the daughters was married to a judge. At that time she was in a wheel chair and lived in Toronto.I also had been to a High School dance in Dunnville, with a cousin and danced with a chap Murray Jamieson from Orillia and he was related to the McL. and when I told Mother she said he was a cousin. There was some connection with the Tudhope's of Orillia also.
Julia's parents, Albert Edward McGilvray and Millicent Amanda O'Dell, were married on 24 July 1889 which dates the honeymoon trip. Julia's father died in 1909, and her mother re-married. It is her step-father that she is referring to on the trip North in 1938.
Later, Julia also wrote me19 :
Jimmie Jamieson was another person I can recall. I met him at a dance in Dunnville High School. He remembered Mr. McG. and also remembered sitting on his knee, while going to a picnic. Mother remembered the incident, although they were in Orillia (I believe on their honeymoon). Jimmie eventually ended up marrying Eva MacQuillen from Dunville. . . .A friend of mine married Chief Justice Wright, who knew Mary McLean and Trudy who was in a wheelchair, because of severe arthritis (she went everywhere and Mrs McLean kept us well informed about her). She made sure we all knew G. mother McG was a real character. With living with them mother also came to realise, what a character she was.
Who are these people that Julia had met? Annie's daughter Christina McLean married another Islayman, James Jamieson on 18 March 186120 . A grandson, Mel Jamieson, son of Peter, confirmed to me by telephone the substance of Julia's recollections. Another grandson, Harvie (known as 'Jimmie') Jamieson, son of Neil, lived near Dunnville and married a woman called Eva. Mel did not know the McGillivray family of Hamilton, but recalls his parents mentioning them. Fred Harvie's book also confirms the marriage of Harvie Jamieson and Eva McQuillen21 . However, since Harvie was born in 1897, the picnic could not have been associated with Julia's parents' honeymoon.
Annie's son, John A. McLean was first a teacher and then a doctor. He practised in Jarrett, Oro township and moved to Orillia in 1882. John McLean married Euphemia ("Effie") McKerroll (daughter of another Islay family and the niece of Alexander McKerroll) on 12 August 187322 . John died in 1930 and Effie lived until 1939, a year after Julia's visit23 .
Among their seven children were Florence and Ann who ran the Old Home Tea Room in Orillia; Wilhemina ('Mina') who survived three husbands, including Judge Denton, and spent her later years in a wheel chair; Alexander who was a dentist; John who was a doctor at Capreol; Effie who was a music teacher and Mary who married a Tudhope. Members of their family confirmed this information for me.
Other possible evidence of a connection with Orillia is that when Donald and Sarah's son John McGillivray was in poor health in 1885, he went to Orillia to recuperate. Unfortunately, he died there less than a week later. Perhaps he went to Orillia because Dr. McLean was a family friend and relation.
What we have is a family story and some childhood memories, preserved by people unknown to each other, which dovetail to create a plausible narrative with a serendipity that sometimes graces genealogy. One other piece of paper supports a link with Oro Township. However, we must acknowledge that there is no hard documentary evidence to place Donald McGillivray in Oro Township. School and church records are not available for Oro that far back. It is also disappointing that Annie McPhie's obituary does not mention her 'other' family.
On the other hand, this story confirms that Donald's children were true cousins of the McLeans and Jamiesons through his mother, just as Julia was told. It also accounts for the links that persisted down to her visit in 1938, including John's visit to Orillia in 1885 to recuperate; her parent's honeymoon in 1889; and Mrs. McLean's stories of Sarah McGillivray.
The transformation of 'Donald' to 'Charles' is unfortunate, but is easy to explain away, especially as the name 'Charles McGillivray' was associated with the untimely death of another relative in much more recent memory. The story of the unhappy boy was passed on from mother to daughter three times by the time it reached Lorna. Lorna Harvie's mother was born in 1882, twelve years after Donald had been killed. Lorna's mother was 14 when her own mother died in 1896, and 19 when her grandmother Annie McPhie died in 1901. Thus her sources of information were both gone before she was 20. By the time Lorna heard the story, over 80 years had passed from the actual events described.
If we accept that our Donald was the son of Anne McPhie, then the lack of family tradition now makes sense for two reasons - Donald was too young to have had any real memories of Islay; and his childhood was traumatic. He was unhappy with his stepfather, and his mother's 'tough love' might have created bitterness. His death at age 38 left little time for reconciliation.
In hindsight, we can see that Donald may have named his eldest son after his maternal grandfather, Alexander McDuffie, and his third and fourth sons after his uncle William McPhie who kindly consented to take him in.
In summary, we know the following to be true:
1.Kilmeny OPR 543/2; B 1820-54; LDS Microfilm 1041080
2.The Book of Islay, 1895. University of Guelph McLaughlin Rare Books Collection.
3.Kilmeny OPR 543/1; B 1802-19; LDS Microfilm 1041080
4.McEwen, Joanna comp., Kith 'N Kin: reminiscences, biographies, genealogies, photographs featuring Oro Township Pioneer families, (Oro Station, ON: Oro Township, 1978); North York Public Library, Canadiana Department, 929.20971317.
5.Hunter, Andrew F. A History of Simcoe County, (Barrie: History Committee of Simcoe County, 1948); Metro Ref Library 971.317 H78.11 (Hist open shelf)
6."Return of Emigrants and Others Located in the Townships of . . .Oro in 1833 and 1834 by Wellsley Hickey, agent for settlers", Ontario Archives RG01 Series CI4 Vol 023 Pg 008; MS 693 Reel 159.
7.Jupp, Clifford N. The History of Islay from earliest times to 1848, (Port Charlotte: The Museum of Islay Life, 1994).
8."Marriages at St. James Anglican Church Orillia 1841-1857" (no comp., place, pub., date); NYPL R 929371317M REF
9."Barrie Examiner", 7 Feb 1901, pg 8. Obituary of Ann McPhie.
10.Loreen Rice Lucas, letter to Russ McGillivray, 8 Feb 1995. The story was reiterated to me by Lorna Harvie in a phone conversation on 9 Sept 1995 and on a visit to her home on 30 June 1996.
11.I believe that the name 'Charles' is a mistake and the son referred to is our Donald. I believe that the confusion arose because Lorna's mother had another McGillivray connection - her paternal grandmother was a Mary McGillivray. Her uncle, Charles Jamieson, named one of his sons James Charles McGillivray Jamieson. He died aged 38 in 1912. The Islay parish registers do not have any Charles McGillivray whose mother was a McDuffie. In fact, only three Charles McGillivray have their baptism recorded on Islay - in 1795, 1810 and 1842 - and none of these could possibly be the one in the story.
12.The Orillia Weekly Times, 21 Feb 1901, pg. 8; Ontario Archives N39 R46
13.The Knox cemetery holds the remains of the older generations discussed here:Annie and Alexander McLean, and Annie's parents, Alexander McPhie and Anne McLelland. Although the church building has not been used since 1891, a service is held annually on the last Sunday in June. 1995 marked the 150th anniversary of Knox, Oro.
14.Knox Presbyterian Church 1845-1986 (Township of Oro, 1986). Simcoe County Branch OGS Collection, Barrie Public Library. There are no church records extant prior to 1859.
15.Ramsay, Freda John Ramsay of Kildalton, (Toronto: Coach House Press, 1967); Metro Toronto Reference Library 914.13803 R12 (Hist Desk 2)
16.Oro Township Papers, Lot 1, Con 9. Ontario Archives MS-658; Reel 363
17.Undated hand-written page now in the possession of Russ McGillivray
18.Julia Kathryn (McGilvray) Farley, letter to Val and Jim McGilvery, 23 Feb 1992. Original in possession of writer.
19.Julia Kathryn (McGilvray) Farley, letter to Russ McGillivray, 5 May, 1995. Original in possession of writer.
20.Simcoe County Marriage Register 1858-69; Ontario Archives; MS-248; Vol 1 (1858-66) Reel 14; Vol 2 (1866-69) Reel 14 and 15:
James Jamieson, 31, res. Orillia, b. Islay; par. Alexr Jamieson and Mary McGillivray; marr. Christiana McLean, 20, res. Oro, b. Oro; par. Alexr McLean and Ann McPhee; 19 Mar 1861; wit. Neil McLean, Oro; min. James Stewart; 1:71
21.Harvie, Fred W. The Harvies of Orillia, (July 1977); St. Catherine's Public Library, 929.20971 Har. Pg 136.
22.Ontario Marriage Registration 10399-73; Ontario Archives; MS-932; Reel 12
23.Monumental Transcriptions, Vol 1, Central North Simcoe County, (OGS 1977); NYPL Canadiana Dept 929.5 REC
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