X Marks the Scot - An on-line community of kilt wearers.

   X Marks Partners - (Go to the Partners Dedicated Forums )
USA Kilts website Celtic Croft website Celtic Corner website Houston Kiltmakers

User Tag List

Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 31
  1. #1
    Join Date
    5th July 11
    Location
    Inverlorne
    Posts
    2,570
    Mentioned
    4 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    MacDonald or Gillis from Isle of Lewis - circa 1804

    My ancestor Angus McDonald was a native of Lewis Scotland who was born around 1796 and emmigrated to Nova Scotia in 1804 as a lad. He came with his father Malcolm, his brother John and a sister who died enroute.

    Malcolm left a wife and other children behind on Lewis. This wife's maiden name was Gillis and she, according to our family lore, was the daughter of a Reverend Gillis.

    I have been unsuccessful in tracking down Angus' birth record or any reference to Reverend Gillis on Lewis but if anyone has a connection or a lead, I'd love to hear from you.

    Slàinte,

    Nathan
    Natan Easbaig Mac Dhòmhnaill, FSA Scot
    Past High Commissioner, Clan Donald Canada
    “Yet still the blood is strong, the heart is Highland, And we, in dreams, behold the Hebrides.” - The Canadian Boat Song.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    15th March 12
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    2,024
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Nathan View Post
    My ancestor Angus McDonald was a native of Lewis Scotland who was born around 1796 and emmigrated to Nova Scotia in 1804 as a lad. He came with his father Malcolm, his brother John and a sister who died enroute.

    Malcolm left a wife and other children behind on Lewis. This wife's maiden name was Gillis and she, according to our family lore, was the daughter of a Reverend Gillis.

    I have been unsuccessful in tracking down Angus' birth record or any reference to Reverend Gillis on Lewis but if anyone has a connection or a lead, I'd love to hear from you.

    Slàinte,

    Nathan

    Nathan,

    Have you tried the online facilities of the National Archives of Scotland: http://www.nas.gov.uk/familyHistory/ ?

    Last time my wife and I were in Edinburgh, we did use the NAS search rooms and had some success researching her MacEwen ancestors who came to PEI in the late 1700's.

    Good luck with your research.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    5th July 11
    Location
    Inverlorne
    Posts
    2,570
    Mentioned
    4 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by JohntheBiker View Post
    Nathan,

    Have you tried the online facilities of the National Archives of Scotland: http://www.nas.gov.uk/familyHistory/ ?

    Last time my wife and I were in Edinburgh, we did use the NAS search rooms and had some success researching her MacEwen ancestors who came to PEI in the late 1700's.

    Good luck with your research.

    I did paid searches on Scotlands people and Hebrides people recently and came up blank. The National Archives site recommends those two databases for online research.
    Natan Easbaig Mac Dhòmhnaill, FSA Scot
    Past High Commissioner, Clan Donald Canada
    “Yet still the blood is strong, the heart is Highland, And we, in dreams, behold the Hebrides.” - The Canadian Boat Song.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    16th September 09
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    3,979
    Mentioned
    1 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    I got myself a free trial of Ancestry.ca recently and have been pursuing my own genealogical research too

    By pumping your info into their search engine, I at least came up with a full name for the wife of Malcolm, mother of Angus, and daughter of the reverend: Margaret Gillis. No other info, unfortunately.

    Also, might this be Angus' tombstone?

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	vd!BWUfHwkUUCl8XEKnB0Kl6p7fKC6dG7!8AxtBEkUOOhOOu9L57PWesIqNe_Sez.jpg 
Views:	8 
Size:	89.5 KB 
ID:	12394


    Cemetery name
    St. Mary's
    Name on headstone
    Angus MacDonald
    Birth
    About 1796 - Lewis, Scotland
    Death
    23 Nov 1860 - Malignant Brook (Maryvale)
    - Justitia et fortitudo invincibilia sunt
    - An t'arm breac dearg

  5. The Following User Says 'Aye' to CMcG For This Useful Post:


  6. #5
    Join Date
    5th July 11
    Location
    Inverlorne
    Posts
    2,570
    Mentioned
    4 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Thanks Colin! That's my brother's tree. I took that photo of the tombstone. That's where we hit the wall. I can't get back in Scotland unless I find a record for one of them there.
    Natan Easbaig Mac Dhòmhnaill, FSA Scot
    Past High Commissioner, Clan Donald Canada
    “Yet still the blood is strong, the heart is Highland, And we, in dreams, behold the Hebrides.” - The Canadian Boat Song.

  7. #6
    Join Date
    6th February 10
    Location
    U.S.
    Posts
    8,180
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Nathan View Post
    Thanks Colin! That's my brother's tree. I took that photo of the tombstone. That's where we hit the wall. I can't get back in Scotland unless I find a record for one of them there.
    Very cool!

  8. #7
    Join Date
    16th September 09
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    3,979
    Mentioned
    1 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    One problem I've found in my own research is that when what-is-now-Canada was just a colony of the British Empire, people from the old country didn't need to be naturalized as immigrants, so there is less documentation in that regard. My latest angle is to try to find grants of land by the Crown, which can contain information about the emigrant's place of origin. This works for my family because they were farmers and settled in an area that was on the frontier of the colony, in the Upper Ottawa Valley.

    Finding this information has meant taking a lead from Ancestry.ca to an old index of land grants that is on microfiche at the library. Once I sorted out the citation, it points to Letters Patent that are held in the Quebec Archives. I've now sent a request to them for copies and am very thankful that I speak French because their order form is not available in English

    Maybe something like that could work, if your family was granted Crown land?

    Another way of going about it might be to look for a passenger list from the boat they arrived on? It helps that you know when they arrived and where.
    - Justitia et fortitudo invincibilia sunt
    - An t'arm breac dearg

  9. #8
    Join Date
    5th July 11
    Location
    Inverlorne
    Posts
    2,570
    Mentioned
    4 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by CMcG View Post
    One problem I've found in my own research is that when what-is-now-Canada was just a colony of the British Empire, people from the old country didn't need to be naturalized as immigrants, so there is less documentation in that regard. My latest angle is to try to find grants of land by the Crown, which can contain information about the emigrant's place of origin. This works for my family because they were farmers and settled in an area that was on the frontier of the colony, in the Upper Ottawa Valley.

    Finding this information has meant taking a lead from Ancestry.ca to an old index of land grants that is on microfiche at the library. Once I sorted out the citation, it points to Letters Patent that are held in the Quebec Archives. I've now sent a request to them for copies and am very thankful that I speak French because their order form is not available in English

    Maybe something like that could work, if your family was granted Crown land?

    Another way of going about it might be to look for a passenger list from the boat they arrived on? It helps that you know when they arrived and where.
    Thanks for the helpful suggestions. I can't find any boats that arrived in Pictou from the Highlands in 1804. Of course there must have been ships, but the records are not all online. We haven't been able to tie Malcolm (perhaps Calum) to a particular land grant but Angus inherited Roderick MacDougall's land grant after he married his daughter.

    My Canadian records are pretty up to date from Angus forward. What I'm looking for is probably:

    a) A record of birth or christening for Angus.
    b) A record of the marriage of Malcolm McDonald and Margaret Gillis in the Hebrides (prob Lewis, not sure which parish).
    c) A written record of the existence of a Reverend Gillis with a daughter Margaret on Lewis at that time. He may have officiated over several weddings and funerals etc.. so if he lived, there should be some paper trail.

    One issue is Margaret's name could be recorded as Maidread, Morag, Peggy... who knows...
    Last edited by Nathan; 19th June 13 at 10:56 AM.
    Natan Easbaig Mac Dhòmhnaill, FSA Scot
    Past High Commissioner, Clan Donald Canada
    “Yet still the blood is strong, the heart is Highland, And we, in dreams, behold the Hebrides.” - The Canadian Boat Song.

  10. #9
    Join Date
    16th September 09
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    3,979
    Mentioned
    1 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Nathan View Post
    Thanks for the helpful suggestions. I can't find any boats that arrived in Pictou from the Highlands in 1804. Of course there must have been ships, but the records are not all online. We haven't been able to tie Malcolm (perhaps Calum) to a particular land grant but Angus inherited Roderick MacDougall's land grant after he married his daughter.

    My Canadian records are pretty up to date from Angus forward. What I'm looking for is probably:

    a) A record of birth or christening for Angus.
    b) A record of the marriage of Malcolm McDonald and Margaret Gillis in the Hebrides (prob Lewis, not sure which parish).
    c) A written record of the existence of a Reverend Gillis with a daughter Margaret on Lewis at that time. He may have officiated over several weddings and funerals etc.. so if he lived, there should be some paper trail.

    One issue is Margaret's name could be recorded as Maidread, Morag, Peggy... who knows...
    Ya, alternate spellings make it tough, eh? The problem with trying to jump over the pond is the need to narrow it down to something smaller than "the Hebrides (prob Lewis)" or you'll be searching for records like a needle in a haystack. This is especially true when it comes to records that aren't online...

    Ancestry.ca shows some ship listings arriving in Nova Scotia from Scotland that might match your family. Not for 1804, but record keeping was a bit "loose" back in those days. For example, I have three different birth years for my 3 X great grandfather The brief ancestry.ca references come from:

    Whyte, Donald. 1986. A Dictionary of Scottish Emigrants to Canada before Confederation. Toronto: Ontario Genealogical Society.

    It's supposed to contain "Date and port of arrival. Name of ship, place of origin, place of destination, date of birth and death, parentage, occupation, and other historical and family data may also be provided."

    If you're ready to dig for records in the Hebrides, check out GENUKI: Scotland for a bunch of resources and links: http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/sct/
    Last edited by CMcG; 19th June 13 at 01:09 PM.
    - Justitia et fortitudo invincibilia sunt
    - An t'arm breac dearg

  11. #10
    Join Date
    6th February 10
    Location
    U.S.
    Posts
    8,180
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by CMcG View Post
    Ya, alternate spellings make it tough, eh? The problem with trying to jump over the pond is the need to narrow it down to something smaller than "the Hebrides (prob Lewis)" or you'll be searching for records like a needle in a haystack. This is especially true when it comes to records that aren't online...

    Ancestry.ca shows some ship listings arriving in Nova Scotia from Scotland that might match your family. Not for 1804, but record keeping was a bit "loose" back in those days. For example, I have three different birth years for my 3 X great grandfather The brief ancestry.ca references come from Whyte, Donald. 1986. A Dictionary of Scottish Emigrants to Canada before Confederation. Toronto: Ontario Genealogical Society. It's supposed to contain "Date and port of arrival. Name of ship, place of origin, place of destination, date of birth and death, parentage, occupation, and other historical and family data may also be provided."

    If you're ready to dig for records in the Hebrides, check out GENUKI: Scotland for a bunch of resources and links: http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/sct/
    Fantastic link, Colin!

    Cheers,

Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

» Log in

User Name:

Password:

Not a member yet?
Register Now!
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v4.2.0