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THE MACDONALD FAMILIES OF MARSHFIELD

In the early 1800’s there were two families with the last name of MacDonald living in the Marshfield area, only one of these families remained in the area and buried their loved ones in the Marshfield Pioneer Cemetery. If the other family buried their dead in the area there is no record of this, that is not to say they didn’t, as early records of deaths are very hard to find and if no stone remains in any of the cemeteries, then there is no way to know where they were buried. In the Marshfield Pioneer Cemetery there is a whole area with no stones and we can only guess that maybe some were buried here.

We know James MacDonald and his wife Catherine McDonald came from Scotland and both are buried in the Marshfield Pioneer Cemetery with some of their family. We don’t know what year they emigrated, nor do we know if all their family came with them. We know the ones that did come settled and married into the Marshfield families, worked the land and raised in some cases large families.

We know John MacDonald and his wife Isabelle Stewart came from Perthshire, Scotland around 1820 and first settled in the Marshfield area. They had a large family, many of them married into families in the surrounding areas and went to settle in those areas. We have not been able to find a record of them being buried in the area but I believe that John and Isabelle are buried somewhere in the Marshfield Pioneer Cemetery and the stone was no doubt of Island stone and is gone. This family has been researched or at least part of it has been by Elva MacLeod, Dr. Peter MacDonald and myself, Linda Harding.

It is unknown if James and John were related. It would seem likely that they were as they both settled in the same area, they both named their children with similar names, they were both born around the same time frame, which leads me to think they were, maybe, cousins? Maybe brothers?? We know from Dr. Peter’s research in Scotland who John’s parents and grandparents are but little else and without more research in Scotland we are only guessing.

One item I found interesting is John’s grand— mother, Anne MacGregor, was reported to be a sister to Rob Roy MacGregor the outlaw and while reading over the MacGregor family tree compiled

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by Andrew B.W. MacEwen, I note Matilda Blanche MacGregor is a descendant of the same Rob Roy MacGregor. These MacGregors were in Lot 33 (Black River) as early as 1802. Would this be why the MacDonald Family came out, reports from relatives about the area?

Whatever it was that took these families to Marshfield we may never know, what we do know is one family settled and then moved on to other parts of Prince Edward Island, leaving little or no trace of being there. The other family settled, stayed and is buried here. This family was the propagator of several doctors, lawyers and government representatives. One being Dr. Charles H. Best, co-partner of Dr. Banting and together they discovered insulin. This family also have some who moved on to the States, other parts of Canada and other areas of Prince Edward Island, but in nearly all cases they came back to be buried in Marshfield.

(See the section, Marshfield as I Remember from 1860, for information about both families.)

Submitted by Linda Harding The genealogies of the two families follow:

first that of James and Catherine who remained in Marshfield, then that of John and Isabelle.

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Highland Perthshire, the Heart of Scotland.