Park House, Portree,

Isle of Skye, Scotland,

I was glad to receive your second letter with such detailed account of yourself and your relatives and ancestors in PEI., which is very interesting to me, but before sending a reply I was desirous to see your cousin Mrs. Mary Ann Matheson whose father Donald Matheson was married to your grand uncles daughter Jane, the elder of that name and who lived at Glenmore, a crofting township in this parish of Portree. I saw her two days ago and read your two letters to her. She was much interested in them and desired me to say that, during the war she expected some of her relatives to visit Skye, but that to her great surprise none came. She is of the opinion that your father was a son of her grand-uncle Angus, son of Norman, son of Malcolm Stewart. A nephew of mine, (James Murchison) when a clergyman in Foxwarren, Manitoba, joined the army and served in a Labour Battalion in France during the war, and visited me twice and was much interested in hearing of his relatives here and elsewhere. He is now settled at Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan and in a letter he wrote me in August sent me information about Murchison’s in PEI which he received from Samuel Martin a native of PEI who is minister at Haniota, Manitoba. It is valuable that I copy it. It largely supplements information in a letter I wrote to John J. Stewart a few days ago. It is as follows: - "In August 1803, three ships arrived at PEI from Scotland, conveying immigrates brought by Lord Selkirk. In 1767 the Island was divided into 67 lots with the exception of 1 lot reserved for the King, and was given in one day to persons who had claims on the British Government. Those grantees did not fulfill the conditions of their grants, and the land was sold. Some of it was sold to Lord Selkirk to become the owner of Belfast. The immigrants came from Skye, Rosshire, Argyll-shire, Inverness-shire and Uist. There were about 800 in all. The "Polly" left Portree with 565 on board including a piper named Hector Campbell. The ancestors of the Murchison's of Orwell are still called MacPhail in Gaelic. The children of Neil Murchison were John, Simon, Malcolm, Donald. Donald was married to my aunt Annie Campbell; and my uncles, Malcolm and John Campbell were married to Euphemia and Janet Murchison sisters of Donald. I am quite sure that the Murchison's of Cape Bear are related to those of Point Prim. They landed at Belfast and worked their way down on this point. And Mt. Buchanan is between Belfast and Point Prim."

I hope you have been restored to ordinary health again. Seek the Lord’s guidance and submit to his will and place your trust in Him and he will never fail you. Your mother will long to see you. I hope she survives. I am able to walk about town for a little in fine days and attend church when weather favors it will be a pleasure if I be spared to have good news of you again.

Angus Murchison