Sketches of Old Glengarry, 1889

The Glengarrian, 25 Oct 1889

Old Glengarry

Sketches illustrating the early settlement and history of Glengarry

Relating principally to the Revolutionary War 1776-83, the War of 1812-14 and the Rebellion of 1837-8

By JA Macdonnell (Greenfield)

UE Loyalists

A reference to the “Old UE List” compiled by the government by direction of Lord Dorchester shows the original UE Loyalists in the province.  In many instances, however, instead the township being given, it is merely stated that lands were allotted in the eastern district.  My only plan will, therefore, be to insert the names of all who appear to have settled in that district, showing the respective townships when given, and omitting those who are stated to have settled in townships outside Glengarry.

The list was prepared in pursuance of the order-in-council of 9^th November, 1789, wherein it was stated that it was his Excellency’s desire, “to put a marke of honour upon the families who had adhered to the empire and joined the royal standard in America before the treaty of separation in the year 1783 to the end that their posterity may be discriminated from future settlers as proper objects by their persevering in the fidelity and conduct so honourable to their ancestors for distinguished benefits and privileges.”

That list is preserved of record in the Crown Lands Department, and it shows that the name of the clan which gave its name to Glengarry outranked in numbers any other individual name in the province, and that there were more Loyalists of that name than any four English names combined in the whole province. But though there were more Macdonells from Glengarry in Scotland than any others, there were representatives of almost every Highland clan.  A list of the names will prove it, and as the statement has been made by one who professes to speak authoritatively on the subject, and to know whereof he speaks, and writes that “the Scotch and Irish element in the UE Loyalists is too small as compared with the preponderating English and German to be taken into account.”  I give it:-

There were Andersons, Andrews, Armstrongs, Bethunes, Bruces, Campbells, Camerons, Carrs and Kerrs, Chisholms, Christies, Clarks, Crawfords, Cummings, Edgars, Fergusons, Frasers, Grants, Gunns, Haggarts, Hays, Malcolms, Millers, Morrisons, Munroes, Murchisons, Murrays, Macalpines, Macarthurs, Macaulays, Macbeans, Maccallums, Maccrimmons, Macdonalds, Macdonnells, Macdougalls, Macphalls, Macgillies, Macgregors, Macgruers, Macintyres, Macintoshs, Mackays, Mackenzies, Maclarens, Maclauchlans, Macleans, Maclennans, Macleods, Macmartins, Macmasters, Macmillans, Macnabs, Macnavins, Macnaughtons, Macneils, Macnishes, Macphees, Macraes, Robertsons, Ross, Roses, Scotts, Stewarts, Stuarts, Sutherlands, and Youngs.

This, I submit, is a fair representation of those who to-day comprise what the author of this essay, Mr George Sandfield Macdonald, BA of Cornwall, is pleased to designate as the “Keltic” population of the province of Ontario. For further information on the subject, and a comparison of the numbers of the “Kelts” with the English and Germans amongst the Loyalist settlers of the eastern district I refer him to Lord Dorchester’s list.

The statement to which I have referred, however, is not the only one in this singular essay, which was read before the Celtic Society of Montreal, which requires explanation and correction.  We are gravely informed that the “Keltic” settlers in Canada of the period spoken of (the early settlement of Glengarry 1783-6) had no mental qualifications to entitle them to take rank with the founders of the American Plantations”, that “unlike the Puritans of New England, the Catholics of Maryland, the cavaliers of Virginia, the Huguenots of South Carolina and the followers of William Penn, the compelling force leading to change of country was in contrast to the motives of a higher order, as in those cases,” that “long subjugation to the despotism of chiefs and landlords had numbed the finer qualities and instincts,” and that “even the physique had degenerated under oppression.” We are told, too, that an analysis is required of the generations which have succeeded the original settlers, psychological and sociological no less, to grasp the full significance of the lives and actions of those he is pleased to consider “distinguished individuals,” and the “people” among whom they deigned to move, which was a very gracious condescension on the part of these distinguished individuals, seeing that “the experience and ideas of the people were confined within the smoke of their own bush fires.” Now all of this may be very fine writing, and display a large amount of culture, but it is very grievous nonsense nevertheless, and a most uncalled for and gross calumny on the men who left Scotland and settling in Canada, after fighting through the war, were largely instrumental, not only in preserving it by their prowess, but developing it from the primeval forest to the fruitful land it is to-day.  Their descendants will neither credit nor relish the unworthy sneers at the stunted limbs and intellects and ignoble motives of those whom they have every reason to look back with pride, and who laid the foundations of the homes and institutions we now enjoy.

This, however, is a digression.  The facts are here to speak for themselves a refutation of the theories and allegations of the essayist – as well he might tell us that the men of the same generation who entered the Highland Regiments to which Pitt referred were feeble, and stunted of limb, with their finer qualities numbed and their instincts dwarfed by years of oppression and tyranny of “so called” chieftains.

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Farmers Get Busy! Montreal, 1914

Montreal Daily Star, 26 Sept 1914, page 14

Extend the wheat acreage – every spare grain will be needed abroad next year. Farmers get busy!

Organising my Evidence, 2018

I was talking a while back with some fellow genealogists, and one mentioned that she was going to do a “do-over” with one of her lines. This is not the first time I have heard about genealogists doing this.  It usually comes at a time when they hit a brick wall, become frustrated with what they have achieved, or when new information comes to light which makes them question all of their work.

I am not at the point that I would start-over completely, but I have been thinking that my sources getting away from me.  I was writing a biography of one ancestor and in going through my file, I saw documents I had forgotten that I had. So I decided I needed to do something.

First I should explain that in my working life as a historian in a private research firm I do a lot of work using databases.   We take the research we have done in archives, libraries and other repositories and organise them as a into a collection using specialised software, and provide the client with source information, dating, context and analysis in a database.  The software used allows the client to identify documents which address specific issues, or include specific individuals, etc.  All this to say, I am used to taking historical research and transforming it into a database, and to use the database to generate information, and organise it in order to write reports, etc.

In thinking of the multitude of documents and materials I have collected in the thirty-odd years of researching my family tree, I thought that perhaps I should treat these sources like I do with those at work. So this is how I have planned out my “inventory project.”  I have decided to take stock of all of my documents, notes, books, etc which were collected over the years, and organise them in a database – take a complete inventory of all my stuff and see what I actually have.

Everyone organises their material differently, and everyone absorbs information in different ways.  So what I am doing in terms of my database/inventory is suited to my needs specifically, and my experience of working with sources.  Please take what I say as an overall idea, and adapt how you see fit.

The process all begins with the questions that you want your documents to answer, and what you need to know about the documents’ creation in order to evaluate their accuracy and information. I took these questions and developed an excel chart which asks the questions I think are key to my research and the documents, and gives me the flexibility to enter every document’s relevance to different aspects of the research.

Family History Documents Inventory Template

The categories (columns) on the excel sheet were crafted to provide the basic source information, while also giving information on the subject, and the kind of information it gives. Below are the categories and an explanation of what purpose they serve, what is being asked and answered by the document.

Doc ID

This is a unique identification number I have assigned each document as it is being inventoried.  For physical documents I have written this number in pencil in the upper right hand corner of the document.  For documents that exist as digital, I change the file name to the document identification number. The document ID allows you to connect a document to the information you have created.

I decided when I started this process to classify the documents further by family line, using the first three letters of my grandparents’ family names, and followed by six digits.

For example:  LEI-000001, and so on.

Title

This is where you will enter the document’s title.  This is the title that appears on the document itself.  Some documents might not have formal titles, in which case you give it one.  To distinguish a created title they should include some kind of symbol or case which you readily identify.  I use square brackets for attributed titles.

Document Type

Knowing what kind of document it is, is important in assessing its relative accuracy in terms of your research.  Birth certificate, church baptism register or notice of birth in a newspaper – they all say the same thing, but were created under different circumstnces and for different purposes.  The context is different. That is reflected in this column. The beauty of the excel program is that you can create a dropdown menu to standardize your typology.  It makes life simpler.

Date

This category reflects the date actually written on the document.  If there is only a year, write that, if there is no date on the document write nd.

Assigned Date

If you think you know when the document was created, then put that date here.

Date Comments

This is where you write out how you came about your assigned date.  So if the date is deduced from when a person was known to have been born, did something at a certain date from another document – record that here.  For example if you have a newspaper clipping for a wedding report, but somehow the clipping doesn’t mention when it was published, but you know when the couple were married, then state that.

Subject – Person of Interest

This is where you put in the name of the person that the document relates to.  So if this is a baptismal register, write in the name of the child being baptised.  I capitalise the family name and then write the first name.

For example – LEITCH Gillian

In this column you can use the name as it is usually spelt – how you have the person listed in your family tree. If the document is a census entry, you can just use the family name alone.  This column will help you filter your database when you are looking for documents relating to a specific person.

Author

Who wrote the document?  If it is a parish register name the parish priest/minister, or state ‘parish priest,’ or ‘enumerator’ for the census, etc.

Recipients

If this was a letter, memo or email, it had a destination and that is the name that goes here.  If it is a census or a birth certificate then you can write ‘n/a.’

Mentions

This column gives you a place to list everyone mentioned in a document. So for a baptism you should list the child, its parents, godparents, priest, etc – everyone mentioned in the baptism entry.  For the census you should list the entire household including visitors and servants.  List the names as they appear in the document – bad spelling included.

For documents that are essentially lists such as the census I limit myself to the family households and then say after they are listed – ‘not all mentions are coded.’  I then write a note in the Extra Notes why I did that.

Source of Information

This is where you put in the archival and collection information.  If you grabbed the document off Ancestry include Ancestry in the source information, but don’t forget to add where ancestry obtained the documents.  All of these databases online do provide source information.

Source information can include repository (such as Library and Archives Canada), a record group, file number, page number, date.

If you got the document as a part of a family collection, state it.  So if there is a letter you inherited, then state the source – collection of X, date of letter, author and recipient.

Summary

Here you summarize what the document tells you – its significance.  So if it tells you that someone was born a specific day – or that the godparents are actually also someone important, whatever is the most key about the document.

Geographic Location

Does the document tie the subject to a specific place? If it does here is the place to say so.  Because a lot of the families I have researched have moved around a fair bit, having a date connected to them and a geographic location is helpful.

Extra Notes

This provides the researcher a place to say why the document was collected, the value it has or has not, and anything else significant about the documents.

 

Excel includes a number of features which allow you to sort and filter your database.  This permits the information to be moved around – sorting by family, by date, by person of interest, etc.  And as with most electronic documents I can use the find feature to find specific individuals or places as needed.

While this process is not necessarily a “do-over” it is still a lot of work.  For me the act of inventorying my collection of documents gives me a better grasp of what I actually have; and conversely what I don’t have.  Having this information at hand provides me with a better idea of what gaps I have to fill in my research going forward.  I have also been able to cull duplicate documents.  I clearly have gone to the same place twice – not uncommon.  This has allowed me to organise my notes in a clear and concise manner.

 

Carma the Mystic hits a Brick Wall, 2018

 

John Edward Patrick Pauline was born the 13^th of May 1906, in Victoria, BC.  He was the second son of Herbert William Pauline and his wife Anna Elizabeth Doran.  I have not been able to find out much more about his life.  He was listed in the 1911 Census with his parents and brother William Frederick, and I have his death certificate, and burial information.  That is all the information I have from the scant primary sources.

And then there is this little nugget from a family history written by my cousin Kathleen:

Edward J – used to tell fortunes (Carma the Mystic)

[Paulin Family History by Kathleen Paulin, c1970]

Unfortunately there are no sources for this information.  It could come from family stories, overheard conversations, or direct personal knowledge (it is conceivable Kathleen knew him).I have tried searching the Victoria Colonist online for evidence of Edward Pauline or his alter ego Carma the Mystic to no avail.

According to his death certificate, John or Edward (census and Kathleen) was 44 years old when he died in 1951.  He was single, and living in Esquimalt.  His trade was listed as “retired waiter in restaurant.”  He had last worked this job in 1931.  His cousin S Hughes, who had the same address as the deceased was the informant.

So what to make of this information?  I think what is the most striking is that he was retired, and for 20 years.  Doing the math he retired at the age of 24.  As waiting tables has never been that lucrative a profession, questions arise as to how it is possible to retire, and retire so young.

It should be noted that 1931 is the same year his father died.  His mother died a year later.  Was half of his parents’ estates enough to sustain him?

Or is this where Carma the Mystic emerges?  Could he have pursued this career – but have it ignored on the official record?  Was S. Hughes protecting him, or protecting the family?

And so Carma the Mystic hits a brick wall.

Who was John Edward Patrick Pauline?

Union Brewery, Duke Street, Henley, 1874

Henley Advertiser 10 January 1874

UNION BREWERY, DUKE-ST, HENLEY

December 20, 1873

FREDERICK PAULIN begs to inform his kind patrons that he has this day disposed of his Business as above to Messrs Byles & Co, of the Greys Brewery, Friday Street, Henley-on-Thames, for whom he solicits a continuance of the favours upon him.

FP desires to express his very sincere thanks to those kind friends whose support he has received, and begs to inform those whose accounts are unpaid, that Mr Paulin of New Street, Henley, will receive them and all accounts of which he is indebted, in order that they may be examined and discharged.

Hair Dressers wanted, Henley-on-Thames, 1857

[I will subtitle this piece as – what do you do when you figure out your son will not enter the family business…….]

 

Reading Mercury, 25 July 1857, page 6

TO HAIR DRESSERS

AN ASSISTANT WANTED, with good character. (No Sunday Work) Apply personally or by letter PP, Mr Paulin, Henley-on-Thames.

[George Paulin – Hairdresser, Henley-on-Thames]

The gift of intellect – Mechi’s Magic Razor Strop Paste, Windsor, England, 1833

Windsor and Eton Express, 29 June 1833 page 4

THE GIFT OF INTELLECT

 

A wealthy matron’s only son,

Was early sent to school;

But birch nor love as triumph won –

The lad turned out a fool!

And whilings whispered to annoy,

He was, and would remain a boy!

 

In this distress, and all in tears,

At Time’s and Money’s waste,

The afflicted parent – ‘mid her fears,

Quick thought of Mechi’s paste,

‘He sharpens all he has a hand in,

And why not sharpen understanding?”

 

A packet secretly obtained,

With many an anxious vow,

If her fond bosom’s hope was gain’d,

She rubbed it on his brow;

And quickly, as the story runs,

He made conundrums, spoke in puns!

 

‘A Miracle!’ the matron cried,

While neighbours ran in flocks,

And show’d to all with joyous pride,

The paste that sharpens blocks!

And thanks were voted, one and all,

To Mechi straight, at Leadenhall.

 

Wit heard the tale with envious thrill,

And soon, without compunction,

Besought the Gods ‘gainst Mechi’s skill

To grant a stern injunction;

But they refus’d, and still he thrives

To sharpen razors, wits or knives!

 

MECHI’S MAGIC RAZOR STROP PASTE,

Price 6d and 1s per Cake

May now be had of nearly all perfumers, stationers, chemists, cutlers, tobacconists, &c in the United Kingdom; and at the Manufactory.

No 4 LEADENHALL STREET

(four doors from Cornhill) London, where Mechi sells the best sirops, razors, scissors, table cutlery &c (as per catalogue gratis) on the reform principle of ready money, small profit, and good articles. Billiard and Bagatelle tables, backgammon, drafts and chess boards and Men, work-boxes, desks, dressing coach &c &c &c.

→ A very liberal allowance to the Trade – Country orders to come through the Travellers of the London Wholesale Houses.

Dictionary of Family Biography – Ernest Alfred Paulin

Ernest Alfred Paulin, circa 1890, c. G Leitch

Dictionary of Family Biography

Ernest Alfred Paulin

Ernest Alfred Paulin (1864-1912) was born the 22^nd of July 1864 in Henley-on-Thames, England.  He was the son of Frederick Paulin, brewer, and his wife Mary Cutler.  He was one of thirteen children, their fourth eldest, and their third son.  He would go by the name Pauline between 1886 and 1897.

As far as can be determined, Ernest received a decent education.  His eldest brother Frederick stated in an interview that he had attended Grammar school in Henley, and St Mary’s College in London.  It is assumed that the boys who were raised in Henley received similar educational opportunities.

The family lived in Henley-on-Thames until 1873.  Frederick Paulin, who had owned a brewery in Henley, sold it that year and used the profits to purchase the Union Brewery in Peckham, London. Frederick declared bankruptcy in 1874, and the family moved to the West Midlands.  The family moved around the area for a few years, settling in Acock’s Green by 1880.

It was in Birmingham that Ernest began his working life.  In the 1881 census he was listed as a clerk.  It was here too that his love for sports becomes apparent.  He was the captain of the Acock’s Green Star Football (soccer) club.  His brother Frederick played forward.

On the 9^th of March 1886 Ernest married Emma Jane Jennings at St Edburgha’s Church in Yardley.  She was the daughter of Thomas Jennings, butcher who also ran the Swan Pub in Yardley, and his wife Emma Newberry.

Not long after, the newlyweds were boarding the SS Adriatic in Liverpool.  With his brother Herbert Paulin and her sister Amy Jennings, they set off for North America.  They left the 12^th of April.

On the 25^th of October that year Ernest and Emma welcomed their first child, a daughter, Dorothy Mary.  Her birth was announced in the Victoria Colonist; her father was working as a reporter in the rival paper, The Standard.  He later became an accountant/bookkeeper for the firm of Matthew, Richards and Tye.

Victoria’s newspapers are full of Ernest’s activities.  He continued to be active in sports, competing in the city’s Caledonian games in the running high jump in 1887.  He was also the skipper of the Albion Cricket Club in 1892.  The whole family was musical, and Ernest was active in the Victoria Opera Company and was often noted in musical productions or performances.

In August 1887 Dorothy died of Cholera.  The following year, on March 5^th, they welcomed their first son, Harold Ernest.  He was joined by a sister Irene Belle on the 17^th September 1889, another sister Gladys Mary the 12^th February 1891, and sister Grace Melona on the 8^th of April 1893.  Sadly Gladys died March 13^th 1892 from whooping cough.

From interviews with his grandchildren, it was felt that Emma was not very happy living in Victoria.  She packed up the children and moved back to Birmingham, England.  Ernest followed.  This was after 1894.  He found work as an accountant.

In Birmingham they had three more children: Norman Frederick born 11 August 11897 (or 21 October – the date his mother insisted he was really born); Hilda Louise 25 January 1899 and Eric Cutler the 27 November 1900.  Eric died in September 1901.

The family moved to Ilford, in London around 1905-6, where Ernest worked as a salesman for the Oliver Typewriter Company.  The family then moved to Leigh-on-Sea.  The move was precipitated by Ernest’s diagnosis of tuberculosis.  It was believed that sea air would help.

In August 1912 Ernest travelled back to visit his family in Victoria, alone.  The trip was in hopes that the change would improve his health. It did not.  After several weeks in Victoria, he died on the 20^th of November.  He was buried at Ross Bay Cemetery.

Bibliography

Birth, marriage and death certificates

Scottish Field, December 1930

Oxon Brews: The Story of Commercial Brewing in Oxfordshire by Mike Brown, Longfield, Brewing History Society, 2004.

UK Census 1871-1881, 1901-1911

Canadian Census 1891

Daily Colonist, British Colonist, Birmingham Post

Shipping Records – manifest of passengers to the US; Canadian arrivals list; US Arrivals

Probate registry – England

Ross Bay Cemetery

 

Dictionary of Family Biography – Frederick Arthur Pauline

Dictionary of Family Biography

Frederick Pauline, as speaker of the BC Legislature, c. BC Archives.

Frederick Arthur Paulin(e)

Frederick Arthur Paulin (1861-1955) was born the 19^th of September 1861, in Henley-on-Thames, England.  He was the second child and first son of Frederick Paulin, brewer, and his wife Mary Cutler.  He was one of thirteen children.  He used the spelling Pauline from 1884 onwards.

Frederick received a good education, attending Henley’s Grammar School and St Mary’s College in London. The family lived in Henley until 1873, when his father sold the Union Brewery and used the profits to purchase the Anchor Brewery in Peckham, London.  When Frederick (Sr) went bankrupt, the family moved to the West Midlands, settling in Acock’s Green by 1880.

It was here that Frederick is shown in his first employ, as an accountant.  While in Birmingham he was the forward to the Acock’s Green Star football (soccer) club.  His younger brother Ernest was the captain.

In 1883 Frederick made the life-changing decision to emigrate to Canada. It is believed his brother George joined him.  The duo first settled in Winnipeg.  In an interview done years later, he said that he moved to Victoria after experiencing winter there. Once in Victoria he began using the spelling of Pauline.  There are no explanations as to why the “e” was added.

Frederick’s first job was as a reporter for the Victoria Colonist.  He then returned to accountancy, working first for S Leiser, then to J Piercy & Co on Yates Street.  He then went into partnership with Piercy.  It was a wholesale dry goods business.

On the 18^th of March 1890 Frederick married Charlotte Mary Mesher, the daughter of George Mesher, a contractor in Victoria.  Together they had three children: Frederick Charles (1891-1948), Francis Hugh (1895-1896) and Oliver William (1898-2000).

In 1911 Frederick retired from his dry goods business and went into politics.  He first served on Victoria City Council, and the Board of Trade.  In 1916 he was elected member of the Legislative Assembly as a Liberal, for Saanich.  While MLA and during the First World War, he served on a commission of inquiry into the BC provincial elections.  This necessitated a visit to BC soldiers serving overseas in 1917.  In 1920-22 he served as deputy speaker for the Legislature, and from 1923-24 he was the speaker.

In 1925 Mount Curly on the British Columbia/Alberta Border was renamed Mount Pauline in his honour.  That same year he was named BC Agent General in London, a post he held until 1931.  Frederick then settled down to a second retirement.

He died on the 30 June 1955, and is buried in Ross Bay Cemetery.

Bibliography

Scottish Field, December 1930.

www.electionsbc.ca/docs/rpt/1871-1986_electoralhistoryofBC.pdf  (30 Oct 2012)

Reading Mercury, Victoria Colonist

Wikipedia

BCGNIS – Mount Pauline

Oxon Brews: The Story of Commercial Brewing in Oxfordshire by Mike Brown, Longfield, Brewing History Society, 2004.

Birth, Marriage, Death certificates

UK Census 1871-1881

Canadian Census 1891-1911