Tag Archives: MacIntosh

Fiddler MacIntosh

Robert MacIntosh 1819-1904

Robert MacIntosh
1819-1904   (Collection of Kathryn Sutherland, Mn.)

When not immersed in the never ending toil of farm and forest,  the Scots turned to the pipes or the fiddle to lift their spirits.  Every corner of the settlement had someone with the talent to play the melodies brought from the old country.

The most notable fiddler in the settlement during the 19th century was Robbie MacIntosh.  Robbie was born in Rogart in 1819, the eldest son of William and Betsy MacIntosh.  The family left Rogart in 1825 to come to Earltown and join up with William’s brother, Donald, who had come over a few years earlier.   This MacIntosh family settled on the west end of the Clydesdale Road – a short distance in from the Denmark road.  Robert was the eldest of six children and took over the family farm from his parents.  He had five siblings, none of whom married.

Robbie’s father was an accomplished fiddler in the Old Country and entertained his fellow passengers on the voyage to Nova Scotia.  Robbie took up the fiddle at an early age and became a well known musician.  He was in demand throughout Earltown and West Pictou at dances, fairs, folics and weddings.  He competed in contests and was often the victor.

His most noteworthy engagement was in 1860 when the Prince of Wales,  later King Edward VII, visited Halifax. A ball was held to honour the Prince and Robbie was invited to play the Scottish reels for the Royal Dance.  Robbie had an audience with the Prince and was given a tall silk hat from the Prince’s wardrobe.

Like many of today’s accomplished fiddlers in Cape Breton,  Robbie could step dance while playing the fiddle.  He was still able to master this technique at an advanced age.

When Fiddler MacIntosh became too old to look after the farm,  he went to live with the Graham family at the other end of Clydesdale.  He died in the care of the Graham family in 1904.  His grand silk hat was lost in a subsequent house fire.

Sources:

Interview:  Josie MacIntosh Graham  ca. 1980

G.R. Sutherland : “The Rise and Decline of the Community of Earltown”  1980

Map:   https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?hl=en&hl=en&authuser=0&authuser=0&mid=zWuNe7Aar9m4.ksfCUGlYm48k

Donald MacIntosh – Co-Founder of the Earltown District

Donald MacIntosh, 1763-1831,  along with Angus Sutherland “Prince”,  was a founder of the District of Earltown in 1813.  In fact he predated the naming of the community by several years and may not have been aware that he was creating a new district.

Donald, his wife Nancy Murray,  and four young children had lived in the Parish of Rogart, Sutherlandshire.   They farmed a croft in an upland township called Leatty which was located high above Strath Fleet.   People from Rogart had been migrating to Nova Scotia since 1773 so it was a logical destination for Donald when circumstances dictated that emigration was necessary.  By 1813 the Napoleonic Wars were over and sea travel was once again safe.  He arrived in Pictou and went to the Roger’s Hill area where others from his neighbourhood had settled.   At this point the closest ungranted land was located along the present day Pictou-Colchester county line.   His grant was located near what is now the junction of the Stewart and Clydesdale Roads and extended up the hill towards Gunn Cemetery.

Unlike his next door neighbour,  Mr. Sutherland,  Donald did not have the advantage of previous land clearing experience.  It is doubtful whether he had ever used an axe before coming to Nova Scotia.   There were other hardships such as starvation.  One historical account tells that during a particularly harsh winter, food ran scarce.  His neighbours were almost in the same circumstances.   Donald was ill at the time so it fell upon Nancy to walk to Dalhousie Mountain and get a bag of potatoes from relatives.  As it was late winter,  the crust on the snow was breaking.  It was reported that Nancy could be tracked for miles as her ankles bled from being chaffed by the broken crust.

Donald died at age 68 in 1831 leaving a widow and five surviving children.  In his will, he divided his farm with his eldest son Hugh getting the west portion and his widow and son John getting the east.   Hugh did not marry and appears absent for many years, likely working in the lumber camps.  John married Marion MacKay of Diamond whose people,  the Bratten MacKays, had come from Leatty as well.  Of Donald’s daughters,  Nancy married Donald MacDonald “Doolie”,  and Margaret married Kenneth MacKay Ächany of Central Earltown.

John’s son  Robert obtained the Hugh MacIntosh lot and another son,  Dan, retained the homestead.   Robert’s son Charles was the last to live on the MacIntosh grant.  It was vacated in the 1950’s.

These MacIntoshes were related to William MacIntosh who settled the Earltown end of the Clydesdale Road and to Donald MacIntosh who lived near Earltown Village.