Hi Listers A newbie here (to this list that is), I am seeking descendants of a prominent Halifax merchant James Black OXLEY 1820-1875 and Helen / Ellen MCDONALD 1833-1917 who married at Antigonish on 23 Sep 1850. Hopefully there will be some on this list. The marriage date and location comes from the birth registration of their son Ernest, the informant being James the father. The 1875 registration for their son Arthur Molesworth OXLEY says they were married 1852 but James was deceased by then (1875) and the informant on that occasion was their son Frederick Henry OXLEY. I have suspected for some time that Helen / Ellen MCDONALD was the daughter of Hugh MCDONALD & Helen / Ellen MACASKILL, of "Elmbank", Lower South River, Antigonish, but lacked proof. It didn't help that a database at Worldconnect said she was born at Halifax. However, other sources say that she was born Antigonish.. I think I now have enough evidence, via her son Harold's obituary (see below), that she was the daughter of Hugh MCDONALD & Helen / Ellen MACASKILL which was posted to the Nova Scotia mailing list. Towards the end of the obit it is stated that he was survived by a cousin, Judge PATTERSON of New Glasgow. He should prove to be Judge George Geddie PATTERSON who died at New Glasgow in 1951 and was the son of Rev George PATTERSON & Margaret MCDONALD. Margaret was a daughter to Hugh MCDONALD & Helen / Ellen MACASKILL. The implication of course is that Helen / Ellen MCDONALD & Margaret MCDONALD were sisters. <http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/nova-scotia/2002-09/1033124531> NOVA-SCOTIA-L Archives Subject: [NS-L] OXLEY, Harold - d. Apr 10, 1935 Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2002 08:14:38 -0300 Halifax, N.S., April 11, 1935 Halifax Daily Star Well Known Halifax Business Man Passes Harold Oxley Succumbs To Brief Illness Death claimed a prominent citizen of Halifax last evening when Harold Oxley passed away at his residence 259 Jubilee Road. Mr Oxley played an active part in many phases of the city life, and his death , climaxing a severe illness will be keenly felt throughtout the city and province. Apart from his association with the business life of Halifax, he was, in his younger years, an athete of considerable renown and even throughout his declining years maintained his interest in sport. He was in his 70th year. Born in Halifax, Mr Oxley was the son of James B. Oxley of River Philip, and Ellen MacDonald of Antigonish. He was president and senior partner in the firm of Grant, Oxley and Company, a member of the board of the Nova Scotia Building Society and was on the board of directors of General Trust and Executor Corporation. Mr Oxley throughout his life displayed an active interest in church work and was a member of the Session of Fort Massey United church. He was long identified with the work of the Poor Association and was a member of the board of the Halifax Industrial School. In sport he was a member of the Halifax Curling Club and a life member of the Wanderers Club. Besides his widow, the former Miss Janet MacGregor, daughter of the late Lieutenant-Governor MacGregor of New Glasgow, he is survived by one sister, Miss Affie Oxley, Bland street; a cousin, Judge Patterson, of New Glasgow; a niece, Mrs Constance Street, in England, and three nephews, Beresford Oxley, Seymour street; J. Morrow Oxley, of Toronto, and Captain Furness Oxley in England. Margaret MCDONALD & Helen / Ellen MCDONALD had plenty of siblings including Christina Ann MCDONALD who married William Alexander HENRY (his second wife) who was mayor of Halifax and a lot more more besides. Those who may have been looking for Helen / Ellen MCDONALD's ancestry possibly got as far as searching in Lairg OPR, Sutherland, Scotland if her father's details directed them to look there for his baptism there circa 1791, but then they may have drawn a blank This is because Hugh was baptised under the surname MCCOIRL. His parents were Angus MCDONALD & Ann ROSS but Angus was also known as MCCOIRL. The earlier children of Angus & Ann were baptised as MCDONALD when he was at a croft called Auldabreck (various spellings) and the later children were baptised as MCCOIRL when he was at a croft called Brecklead (various spellings), as was Hugh, the youngest of the issue we have found in Lairg OPR. The big clue is that an older sister Margaret, the eldest one we have found in Lairg OPR, had both names given to her as surnames, neither was a middle name. Here's where I come in: Hugh's brother, Finlay MCDONALD, also known as Philip, is my ggg-grandfather. He married Elisabeth ANDERSON and took most of his family to East Nissouri, Ontario circa 1830. Their eldest son Robert MCDONALD had gone to Nova Scotia earlier where he at first joined his uncle Hugh at Lower South River, Antigonish, Hugh being a merchant there. Later, Robert went to Cape George where he was a farmer and became Postmaster for many years, finally retiring to Antigonish the town. Finlay's son Angus MCDONALD was the only one of the issue of Angus MCDONALD & Ann ROSS not to go the Ontario or Nova Scotia. The story goes that his sweetheart Margaret MCCOLL did not want to go and they married at Lairg in 1830 and had a big family, residing at a croft called Tighcreag where they were enumerated in the 1841 and 1851 census. However, they emigrated to Victoria, Australia in 1853 where Angus became a farmer at Swan Bay. Their daughter Annie MCDONALD married Peter SINCLAIR at Swan Bay in 1876 and they went to New Zealand shortly after which is why I am a Kiwi. Their son Peter who married Harriet FURNESS in 1914 at Greymouth, New Zealand was my grandfather. Hugh MCDONALD & Finlay MCDONALD had quite a few other siblings. Thier brother William also took his family to East Nissouri , a near neighbour to Finlay, not long after Finlay. A sister Elspeth MCDONALD married a different Finlay MCDONALD and they lived at Milnclaren / Bualnatobrach at Lairg. Another sister Christina married Neil MCDONALD and lived at Lairg. Unmarried siblings were Margaret & Catherine (Kett, Kat) who lived at Lairg. We don't know what happened to another sibling Jean, or the identity of another sibling who was baptised 1777 but unnamed. Getting back to OXLEY - Apparently there were 10 issue to James Black OXLEY & Helen / Ellen MCDONALD but quite a few did not live long or died relatively early. What I can glean from the online Nova Scotia historical registers plus snippets from the internet about issue is that Frederick Henry OXLEY married Elizabeth Wilmot BLACK, James McDonald OXLEY married Mary MORROW and was prominent in law as well as being an author, Harold OXLEY married Janet Gordon MCGREGOR and was prominent in sport and business, and Affie Morrison MCDONALD was single and lived with her mother. Their mother Helen / Ellen died 1917 and was survived by Frederick, Harold and Affie. Peter Dillon Christchurch, New Zealand.