I seem to remember someone looking for the surname PATTERSON in Winnipeg. I don't know if this message mentions the right one, but thought I would forward it on to the Winnipeg list anyway with the hopes that it might be of help to the searcher. ----- Original Message ----- From: Ted and Carole Larson <tlarson@usfamily.net> To: <SCT-ISLAY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, January 03, 2000 2:28 PM Subject: [SCT-ISLAY] Gilchrist > Here is a pretty good reason for all the Gilchrist information in the > area of Fenelon.. John Gilchrist, who died in Scotland, had by the > 1840's, 5 sons in Fenelon. Of these Ronald ( 4 sons, 7 daughters) and > Donald (7 sons, 3 daughters) had large families born between 1845 and > 1878. I'm attaching excerpts from a letter that I received from Belle > Gilchrist (granddaughter of Ronald) this year. There are a few items in > this letter that I feel may be questionable. "A little is family > folklore." > > Dear Ted > Ronald Gilchrist 1808-1889 son of John Gilchrist and Elizabeth Calder > was a sailor, crossed the > ocean several times between the Island of Islay, off the west > coast of Scotland and Canada. Islay is an island about 20 miles by 20 > miles with hills up to > 1600 feet, locks rivers. > > The Gilchrist farm located where the Glenegedale airport is now, not far > from Port Ellen and > across from Bowmore. Bowmore has a curious circular church built in > 1767 by Campbell Lord of Islay. Killnaughten cemtetery 8 or 9 miles from > Port Ellen has many > McDougalls, Gilchrists, Calders, and McMillans stones and an old > chapel in ruins and broken stones. Only the word spouse is on most > tombstones so families are > hard to trace, however one was found that is on the family tree. > "This is the burying place of Ronald Gilchrist 1794 (I believe book says > 1808 - Ted), tenant of > Glen I Dale (Norse spelling) also here lies Margaret MacAllister, > his mother who died April 27, 1789 at aged 89 years." Another stone to > James Gilchrist died in > 1843 aged 37 years. In 1972 Donald McMillan from Glenarm spent > time walking around Port Ellen and district. (He is not living now). > > Ronald Gilchrist was married to Janet Cameron (1824-1908) from the Isle > of Islay in Canada. > Janet's father had died so the uncles (Camerons) took his wife, a > Douglas and four children with them to Canada. (1. John, 2. Laughlan, 3. > Janet and 4, James). > The mother was ill and unable to continue the voyage up the St. > Lawrence, so was left with her oldest son, John in Lachine, Quebec where > she later died and was > buried there. John Cameron was taken by a friend, the head of a > lumber company to the Mississippi, USA, where a town Cameron is named > Cameron after him > (folklore?- Ted). Janet was 7 years when they crossed the ocean in 1831. > > Laughlan was 11 years. > > In 1843 most of John Gilchrist's family came to Canada except John and > Elizabeth and one daughter, Margaret > who was married to John Campbell in Scotland (Islay). One child > Mary had only one hand and lived with Donald at Islay corner but owned > 50 acres of land off > Ronald's 200 acres near Glenarm. Donald bought Lot 16, Con 2, 200 > acres, Fenelon Township from the crown in 1843. In 1846 he sold 100 > acres to his half brother > John. In 1859 Donald granted 6 1/4 square rods at N. West angle of > his 100 acres to RS no 2, Fenelon for the erection of a log school. It > was here that Ronald's > family in the 50's and 60's attended school where no one was > allowed to speak a work of Gaelic. A new brick school was built in 1972. > > Donald's half brother John died rather suddenly. He was married to > another Gilchrist, a sister > to John Calder Gilchrist, leaving one daughter Diana who married > Alex McNabb. Diana's family was Ann Patterson, Winnepeg, Jessie Minty, > Lindsay, Margaret > Hancock, Lindsay, Colin McNabb, Manitoba, and John McNabb, Manitoba. > > Another brother of Ronald and Donald was James who died while harvesting > at Donald's. He was > the first buried in Glenarm Cemetery in Ronald's plot. The deed for > the cemetery is March 11,1867 but the land was sold in 1865. > > The Donald Gilchrist family moved west to Alberta in 1910 (some went > earlier , note from Ted) > to a spot near the border with Sask, which is named Islay. Donald > died in 1908 and his wife Mary McDougall was brought back later for > burial in Glenarm cemetery. > Lizzy Gilchrist and her aunt Mary (one hand) stayed in Woodville, > Ontario and Mary is buried on the Alexander Gilchrist plot in the > Glenarm cemetery. He owned a > farm in the Glenarm district but always lived with Donald. He was > in the Black Watch before coming to Canada. No wife here. > > I don't know where the mother, Elizabeth (Calder) Gilchrist was buried. > As you pointed out she > was at Donald's for some time. When she first came she brought > enough money to buy horses to use instead of oxen. If she was buried in > Canada, I think, over > the years, I would have heard of it. I personally knew so many of > the descendants, the John and Christie Smith's. He was my mother's > brother. She was a > Murchison. The Colin McMillans. Big Laughlin's descendants. Some living > in > Lindsay. Some didn't even know her name, but most knew of the uncles > who went south, John's > brothers. John who had married Diana McNeil and Elizabeth Calder. > > We were, and Bessie and Bella (Hughie McFadyen's daughters, > grandchildren of Ronald Gilchrist) > were, always told not to eat choke cherries and drink milk at the > same time as that's what they blamed for James' death (brother of Ronald > and Donald). Those > farms had a lot of choke cherries along the fences. I'm hoping that > you can fit some of these stories into your family tree. Our aunts, > Jessie Liscum and Annie > (daughters of Ronald), a nurse, who had retired to Victoria first > sent us what information they had. In fact I saw a picture of their > uncle John Cameron who > went to Mississippi. It was framed, so saved. > > Sincerely Yours, > Belle Gilchrist > > (I took out some parts which did not pertain to family in Canada. > Laughlin Cameron, Islay, > Woodville, was married to Anne Gilchrist, a sister of Ronald. Janet > Cameron (neice of Laughlin was married to Ronald Gilchrist). Don't ask > me what the cousin > relationship would be. Two of Janets brothers went south to Alabama and > Mississippi and the third, Laughlin stayed and had a large family in > Elgin Township. I found > traces of one in Alabama but have not found the other. - Ted) > > > ==== SCT-ISLAY Mailing List ==== > > You can find older, archived messages from this mailing list by > visiting: > > http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~steve/islay/archive1.htm - and starting > in april 1999, you can > access archived messages at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/ISLAY-L > > > > > ==== SCT-ISLAY Mailing List ==== > Anyone who has books relating to the Isle of Islay are welcome to participate in our "Virtual Library" for Islay, visit: > http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~steve/islay/library.htm >