Tag Archives: West Earltown

The North Colchester Railway

 

A plan for several railroad routes to connect North Colchester to Truro – 1890 (Colchester Historical Museum Collection)

After confederation in 1867, Canada’s future prosperity and sovereignty were thought to lie in a network of railways between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts with spurs and loops to include growing communities away from the main lines. The Intercolonial Railway connecting Halifax, via Truro, to Central Canada was established in the early 1870’s. It expanded upon local railways between Halifax, Windsor and Truro as well as a railway system in Pictou County linking the industrial towns.

In the mid 1870’s another project was proposed to construct a short line between Pictou and Oxford Junction which connected Scotsburn, Denmark, Tatamagouche, Wallace and Pugwash to the outside world. The project was fraught with financial difficulties but eventually went into operation in 1889.

With the main lines from New Brunswick to Halifax and Cape Breton functioning along with the Short Line from Oxford Junction to Pictou, further regional lines were being explored. It must remembered that this was long before cars and trucks were being imagined to transport people and freight from rural villages to the major towns and beyond.

The idea for a railway through the Cobequid Mountains to the Northumberland Strait was considered as early as 18601. At that point, the proponents suggested, it would afford the shortest route between Halifax and Charlottetown. It was only 129 miles from downtown Halifax to the Brule Corner wharf whereas it was 175 miles between Halifax and the port of Pictou. Brule Harbour was more easily navigated than the narrow river channels approaching Tatamagouche. In winter, the mails and freight could be sledded across the Strait in a straight line to Charlottetown. Tatamagouche had some “goose holes” that didn’t adequately freeze for heavy traffic. By the 1860’s, Brule was already being used to convey passengers and mail to Prince Edward Island with help from a stage coach service out of Truro2.

In the end, the idea was shelved in favour of a link by the Nova Scotia Railroad between Stellarton and Pictou. Pictou was, to be fair, a shire town with a mature port in place and a rail link with nearby New Glasgow would be a bonus to the domestic economy of West Pictou. One would imagine the costly pier style bridge across the upper reaches of Pictou Harbour was an engineering challenge yet so were the 15 or so miles of steep grades through the Cobequid Hills near Earltown. The Pictou link was completed around 1867 and interfaced with a substantial shipping to major ports in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

In 1890 Provincial Engineer Dr Mitchell Murphy came to North Colchester to survey potential routes from the Short Line through the Cobequid Hills to Bible Hill. area.

Brule Harbour figured prominently in all the routes explored. At that time the wharf at Brule Corner was a busy spot with resident sea captains, foundry, a cannery and was a convenient port for the shipment of timber to the United Kingdom. Brule’s nearest access point to the Short Line was at Denmark, four miles inland. Both Earltown and New Annan were well-established farming and lumbering areas at the time with far larger populations than today. It was likely felt that rail access would further enhance the prosperity and standard of living for these inland communities.3Brule Harbour figured prominently in all the routes explored. At that time the wharf at Brule Corner was a busy spot with resident sea captains, foundry, a cannery and was a convenient port for the shipment of timber to the United Kingdom. Brule’s nearest access point to the Short Line was at Denmark, four miles inland. Both Earltown and New Annan were well-established farming and lumbering areas at the time with far larger populations than today. It was likely felt that rail access would further enhance the prosperity and standard of living for these inland communities.

The most easterly option explored began at Brule Corner crossed the Denmark road and proceeded south to the east of the settlements along that road. It joined up with the Short Line at the Denmark station and then continued due south to Mountain Road and eventually MacBain’s Corner. Crossing the Scotsburn Road, it followed the Nabiscamp Brook through the valley to Rossville, cut behind the Presbyterian Church and struck off above and behind the MacIntosh farm. It emerged again to the east of the Earltown Village cemetery.

Judging from the photographs of the day, it would have followed the Berichan Road down behind the DOT garage and cut along the side hill towards the Kemptown Road. To avoid the grade of Gunn’s Hill, the route appears to go up the Kemptown Road and then follow the ravine to the south of Highway 311 to Sutherland Road. Beyond Sutherland Road it would have followed the MacGill Brook behind the farms on the Summit until it reached the North River. From there it followed the banks and descending grade of the North River and then on to join the ICR near Marshall’s Corner.

A proposed centre route shows a spur starting at Brule Harbour and heading southwest to a point near Ferguson’s Crossing on the Upper River John Road where it would have intersected with the Short Line. From there it would continue through the forest to Balfron and cross what was then the main road near the Simon Cameron Road. It would cross the Waugh River near Balfron Hall. This would likely have warranted a siding as there was an active grist mill, sawmill and tannery at nearby Urquhart’s Bridge. The route would then follow to the west of the present 311 to a point behind St. Andrew’s Kirk at The Falls and later cross the main road to follow the course of the Waugh River through the valley to West Earltown. At the end of the Ferguson Brook Road, it was to tack to due south and follow what is now an electrical line right of way through the pass to Nuttby and would have emerged behind the Baptist Church. From there it follows the same route as the first option. One would suspect that a station or platform siding would have been constructed at Ferguson Brook Road to serve Earltown Village, four miles to the east. One can also imagine a “whistle stop” at The Falls to serve the mill and stores in that community.

The third option is the same between Brule and Balfron Hall after which it turned westward towards Central New Annan. Between the New Truro Road and Central New Annan, it would have made a sweeping turn to navigate the grade and follow a dale through to the crossroads at East New Annan. From there it followed the New (or Old) Truro Road through the hills to MacCallum’s Settlement and on to Marshall’s Corner.

The scheme lay dormant for a few years until the Midway Railway, the operator of the line between WIndsor and Truro, was granted the exclusive franchise to extend their line northward through the Cobequids to the Northumberland Strait. The survey continued to be updated with an extensive review of the 1890 survey in 1901 followed by a meeting in Earltown in November at which time “… a committee was appointed to interview the directors of the M.R. (Midland Railway) of N.S., with a view to securing their aid in promoting a line to be called the North Colchester Ry., and to run between Truro and Brule. It was also decided that the committee should draft a bill for the next session of the Provincial Legislature and the Dominion Parliament next year.”4

The Provincial Government of the day was very anxious to see this happen and it would appear that they were more enthused than the residents of Earltown. Whether it was a matter of political opposition, fear of expropriation or general apathy, there is no narrative of these events either orally or in Sutherland’s “Rise and Decline of the Community of Earltown”.5

A view from Ross’s Rock on the west flank of Spiddle Hill overlooking the Waugh River valley at West Earltown. This photo is from the collection of Edmund Haskett-Smith, an surveyor from Britain who came to Tatamagouche and worked on some of these surveys. He employed a photographer by the name of Adams from Truro. In the days before satellite images and topographical maps, the photos were likely used to illustrate the lay of the land to company officials and government bureaucrats. Haskett-Smith collection courtesy of John Crawford

The February 1903 issue of The Railway and Shipping World trade magazine reports that “Surveys have been completed for a railway from Truro, N.S., where a connection would be made with the Midland Ry. to Tatamagouche across the Cobequid Mountains, about 35 miles.” The reporter goes on to explain “Some years ago surveys were made for a line from Truro to Brule over much the same country and it is understood that the first 18 miles of this old survey, (from Truro), will be followed. This would carry the line to Earltown, from which point P.S. Archibald, CE, recently made a survey via the Waugh’s River, a little to the west of the survey to Brule, and crossing the Oxford branch of the ICR about a mile above the railway bridge at Tatamagouche.”6

In June of 1903, it was announced that the Waugh River route had been chosen subject to minor modifications. The junction with the ICR Short Line would be about a mile east of Tatamagouche Station and a spur would run north to the narrows of Barrachois Harbour7.

 

It would seem Brule had lost some of its strategic importance by that point whether through a reduction in harbour traffic or it just made sense to connect up with the Tatamagouche Station. This route seems to be the chosen one but not the shortest. By looping east, much like the current 311 highway, there was more exposure to the populated areas of the Waugh River valley than across the mountain to East New Annan.

Here is a (link) to a map showing the four routes contemplated. Without precise historical maps of the routes, this is my attempt to plot the potential routes while respecting the topography of the area.

The project was likely the subject of much excitement at the time and probably generated some healthy skepticism. Like the Short Line before it, capital for such a difficult terrain was not forthcoming anytime soon. These connector lines were heavily dependent on Provincial and Federal subsidies. A few years later, the writing was on the wall that internal combustion engines would adequately serve those inland communities. The writing was also on the wall that the farms of Earltown and East New Annan were vacating at rapid pace. However it is fun to imagine what things would be like today had the project gone forward.

  1. The Railway and Shipping World April 1902 as reproduced in the Dominion Atlantic Railway Digital Preservation Initiative (DARDPI) ↩︎
  2. Fun fact: In 1864 delegates from Nova Scotia travelled to Charlottetown to attend the conference that would begin the process of creating Canada. The delegates traveled from Halifax to Brule Corner by stage coach from Truro through Earltown to Brule Corner where they boarded a vessel for Charlottetown. Per “A History of Brule and Brule Point” ↩︎
  3. Beeler, Donald A History of Brule and Brule Point, 2008 ↩︎
  4. The Railway and Shipping World November 1901 as reproduced in the DARDPI ↩︎
  5. One wonders about the politics. This was a pet project of Liberal Premier George Murray. Murray, while a descendant of the Sutherlandshire diaspora, probably didn’t have a lot of support in Earltown where there was a predominant conservative affiliation from the times of the colonial elections. We will talk about politics in a later post. ↩︎
  6. The Railway and Shipping World February 1903 as reproduced in the DARDPI ↩︎
  7. The Railway and Shipping World June 1903 as reproduced in the DARDPI ↩︎

Hugh MacLeod – Patriarch of The Falls

On June 25th, 1821 Hugh MacLeod and his four children caught their last glimpse of their native hills of Eastern Sutherland from the deck of the Ossian bound for Pictou in far off Nova Scotia.  Until May 30th of that year, the family had lived for generations in the declivity they could see on the horizon, the river valley known as Strathbrora. 

They were not alone on this adventure. They were one of twenty-one households all from the same parish of Clyne in Sutherlandshire and some would become their neighbours in the new land.

On the morning of May 30th of that year, and not without warning, an eviction crew under the direction of the Sutherland Estate began the removal of the final inhabitants of the Strathbrora.  There had been previous evictions in Clyne and several folks left voluntarily the previous year for either Caithness to the north or the colonies in North America.  Most of those families had the financial means to acquire farms elsewhere or pay passage across the ocean.  The last remaining group first delayed the action by claiming an exemption brokered by their minister[1] when eviction became a possibility.   Although small lots had been offered near Brora, the remaining inhabitants waived the offer and were prepared to mount a resistance. [2]

While the actual work of eviction was carried out by some thuggish characters in the employ of the estate, a small regiment was dispatched to the area as a violent resistance was expected. In most cases, the families gathered their belongings and left while the more militant fled through the back country to Caithness.  As was the pattern, the homes and crops left behind were burned to discourage people from returning.

Assurances from their minister aside, the evictees of 1821 were mostly of limited means otherwise they would have emigrated to Pictou during the previous two years.  By 1821, a son of their former laird, Joseph Gordon, an Edinburgh lawyer, had raised funds to subsidize passage to Nova Scotia.  The funds were primarily raised by his brother George Gordon, a merchant in Bombay, India. 

Between May 31st and June 25th, Hugh MacLeod and his family made the journey south to Cromarty in Easter Ross.   No legends were handed down as to how they lived during this three week time period but other accounts would suggest they lived in the open or sought shelter in byres of people along the way.  

The manifest of the Ossian’s voyage lists Hugh MacLeod, age 50,  as head of a party of six adults which would most likely include his wife, Mairead Sutherland, and four known children:  Marion, Margaret, Donald and John.  The fare was four Guinies and half for each adult which equates to $102 Canadian dollars in 2024. [3] 

The departure of an emigrant vessel from the port would draw spectators both acquainted and just curious.   As the sails snatched a breeze and proceeded to glide from the bay, many on shore would be greatly affected and brought to tears.

Pre emigration

The MacLeods, as a clan, were primarily based in the Northwest Highlands and Islands.  It is not known how they came to be in Clyne in the 18th century or if they even had ties to the main clan.  Hugh and Mairead (Margaret) first appear in the Old Parish Register in 1799 presenting their daughter Marion for baptism.   They are listed as living at Kilbraur.   This residence was also listed for the baptism of Margaret and Donald.   By the time John came along, the residence was noted as Dalvait and Hugh is noted as being a tailor.

Hugh is not listed on the various rent rolls as a direct tenant of the Estate. Most likely he was a subtenant.  Pre-clearance Strathbrora was arranged in a manner that tenants or sub-tenants would have a strip of arable land along the river and grazing privileges in the back country.  For a subtenant, this would not be a substantial farm hence the need for Hugh to ply another vocation as he did tailoring.

Hugh’s likely marriage around 1798 at age 31 would suggest that he likely served in the military like many of his neighbours and fellow emigrants.  

Arrival in Pictou – Now what?

It is not known how long it took the Ossian to cross the ocean to Pictou but the time would be measured in weeks.  Whatever the exact date, summer was well along and there would be no crop that year.   The scene that greeted the passengers would be much different than their countryfolk would have seen back in 1773 or even in 1803.   Pictou was now a well-established town accustomed to a stream of emigrants landing on the wharves and looking for directions to a possible new home.

Hugh Denoon, a former emigration agent in the Highlands, was now employed as the land agent in Pictou doling out acreages of unsettled land along the Northumberland watershed.  The land agent would assist with preparing a petition to the colonial government for a grant of land.   In the meantime, he would direct migrants to the main settlements receiving settlers.  By 1821 this could be the upper settlements of Barney’s River, the upper settlements of the Middle and West Rivers of Pictou or the headwaters of rivers ending at River John and Tatamagouche.

A contingent of Clyne immigrants arrived in Pictou in 1820 with a noticeable proportion taking up land in the Earltown area including The Falls.  Consequently, it made sense for the MacLeods to head in that direction where there would be some familiar faces with experience in pioneering.  Hugh was a given a ticket of location on the Tatamagouche River.[4]  A petition dated February 5th, 2022 describes Hugh MacLeod, about 50 years of age, wife and 4 children emigrated from Scotland in 1821.  MacLeod asks for land at Earltown. He was approved for 200 acres.[5]  This eventual grant was located on what is now known on the Spiddle Hill South Road approximately a half mile north of Highway 311 at  West Earltown  The grant straddled the river, included some potential meadowland on the east side of the river and extended up the slope of Spiddle Hill.

Across the river on the hill, three generations of the “Black” Robert MacKay family put down roots.  They were fellow passengers on the Ossian and hailed from Aschoilbeg near Dalvait.  To the east was land granted to Robert and John Baillie of Clyne who chose not to settle in Earltown and likely settled in Pictou County.

While most settlers were very content with the land they were granted, ownership being something neither they nor their ancestors had ever experienced, Hugh later petitioned the government to exchange his grant for another location.   The land, he explained, was wet in places and was situated in a valley that was very susceptible to early frosts.   His request was denied and the family remained at West Earltown for the time being.   In 1830 John and Susannah Moore[6] started selling off their substantial reserved land grant at The Falls.  In that year individual deeds were granted to each of Donald MacLeod and John MacLeod.   Donald, his wife and one child were settled on their land at the time of the 1838 census but John was still living on the original farm at West Earltown with his bride, infant son, mother and sister.

The John MacLeod homestead with Donald MacLeod’s homestead on the hill across the river. Note an earlier dwelling in the foreground between the current house and the barn.

The elder son Donald settled on the west side of the river and a homestead was established on MacLeod Road where it exists almost 200 years later.  Many will identify this as the John Will MacLeod property.   The younger son, John, acquired 150 acres on the east side of the river.  The homestead was on site of the current house and barn which is still owned by descendants.

Homestead of Donald MacLeod as seen today from the local community hall. It looks much the same today as it did 100 years ago.

Immediately to the south of Donald lies the homestead of Hugh’s eldest daughter Marion and her husband William Sutherland “Ban”.   The barn still exists on the shoulder of Highway 311 at the junction with the Gil Sutherland Road. This lot was also acquired from the Moore family in 1830.

Hugh died on April 13, 1830 at his home at West Earltown.   He transformed his family from being lotters or sub-tenants to collective owners of a picturesque 350 acre chunk of The Falls. It is interesting to note that the neighbours on either side of this lot were former residents of Kilbraur, Hugh and Mairead’s original home. William Sutherland “Ruaidh” lived to the north and Gilbert Sutherland “Square” to the south.

   Over the following four generations, the tentacles of this family wove its way through the majority of the local inhabitants of The Falls. Almost nothing is known about Mairead Sutherland.  She would appear to be living in 1838 and the head count of Donald’s family in the 1861 census would indicate she was still on this earth at that point.   Hugh’s stone in Murray Cemetery makes no mention of his wife.   It is worth noting that Hugh is the first recorded adult burial at that location.

[1] The minister was Rev. Walter Ross.  Ross was not well liked by the common folk having been appointed by the Countess, as was the case in those days, and was more attentive of his four legged flock than the two legged variety.  He was often absent from duty which led to the catechists being the true spiritual leaders in the community.

[2] Hunter, J. (2015). Set Adrift Upon the World. Casemate Publishers; and direct correspondence with Dr. Hunter is the primary source for the events surrounding the evictions from Strathbrora

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[3] Campey, L. H. (2002). Fast Sailing and Copper-Bottomed. Dundurn. Appendix B

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[4] Tatamagouche River was the description in early documents in The Falls and West Earltown.  The name did not survive and the river is Waugh River and named after an early settler of Tatamagouche.

[5] Whiston, Norris  (2009) Northern Colchester Land Grants

[6] Susannah was the daughter of Dr. John Harris, Truro, one time shareholder in the old Philadelphia Company that owned most of West Pictou and the hilly sections of North Colchester.   Their prior stature enabled the descendants of Dr. Harris to acquire some strategic land grants throughout the regions.   John Moore was a miller and had grants on steams suitable for constructing mills.  The Moore’s settled near the junction of the West and East branches of River John.

I

The Catechist of Coiranscaig – Part II

We ended part I with George, Catherine and young family arriving in Pictou and being dispatched to Earltown.

It was August in 1822 when the Baillie family, along with others from their home parish, set out from Pictou to find their new home. Old friends and familiar faces were to be found along the way in the Caribou District, West Branch and finally in the Berrichan. The Caribou people were already well established. The Berrichan people, particularly the Baillies of Kilbraur, were two years into the pioneer experience.   Most of this group migrated down the Waugh River valley towards Tatamagouche and extended the 1821 settlement of West Earltown towards The Falls.

George took a 200 acre parcel on the west facing slope of Spiddle Hill. At the top of this slope is an outcropping of rock much reminiscent of the Carrol Rock near Coiranscaig in Clyne. This familiar looking landmark probably convinced George that this would be home.   According to tradition, he chose to clear the hilltop rather than the more fertile valley bottom next to the river.

In addition to the rigors of establishing a viable farm, George assumed a self appointed role of a Highland catechist.   It would be many years before the mother church would secure a permanent minister for the growing district. Thus George had a potential mission of several hundred souls to nurture.   In the years to come, William Murray and Joseph MacKenzie, both trained catechists, settled in the Earltown area and lightened the load.   However, George did not contain his zeal to Earltown. As evidenced by the marriage of several descendants into the Gaelic Presbyterian community surrounding Wallace in Cumberland County, it appears that he was a regular apostle to Kirk people in that area.   There were also strong associations with the Caribou District in Pictou.

“Records of Grace in Sutherland” relates how George Baillie “by his holy life, he continued to adorn the doctrine of God his Saviour” in North America. “One day, it is affirmed, he had occasion to go to a place some distance from his new home. On his return, he completely lost his way in the pathless forest. In his helplessness, he had recourse to prayer, and when he rose from his knees, he saw a strange dog approaching and fawning upon him and then moving in a certain direction. He followed the sagacious animal until at least he came in sight of his own log cabin.”[i]

In addition to weekly prayer meetings and catechising in the settlers’ homes, he continued to exercise his debating skills at four day communions in the scattered districts of North Colchester and Pictou. It was reported in a paper in the 1840’s that “prominent among the men speaking to the question at a recent Tatamagouche communion, was the venerable George Baillie of Earltown, whose grasp of the doctrines could match or exceed that of the attending clergy”. Therefore, George was a powerful speaker in both Gaelic and English, as Tatamagouche would not have conducted their communion in the tongue of the Gael.

Not everyone was enamoured by his religious zeal. An elderly lady once related to this writer that George Baillie was a regular visitor to her grandfather’s home.   Although her grandfather was an elder and pious, he dreaded these visits and would have the whole family hide in the hopes that Baillie would move along to the next farm.   Although the clergy describe him in the most flattering of terms, he could be very dour and not bashful about rebuking parents and children alike for lapses in their scriptural knowledge or attention to family devotions.

When a church structure finally came to Earltown, both the Kirk and the Free Church, George was one of two elders elected to represent The Falls District of the Earltown Congregation under the auspices of the Free Church of Scotland.

Of his family, his eldest son, Alexander, settled the lower 100 acres of his grant beside the river. Alex was more commonly known as “Doctor Baillie”, supposedly due to a practice of setting broken bones. His eldest daughter Christy married Alexander Sutherland, “Laughing Sandy”, of MacLeod Road. Several tales survive of “Laughing Christy” who apparently had the second sight for which her Grandmother Baillie was renowned.  Four daughters, Margaret, Ann, Mary and Elizabeth, married in the Wallace area as did a son John. Their youngest son, Dan, was a successful farmer at Balfron.

The August 12th, 1854 edition of the Presbyterian Witness gave notice of his death: “At Earltown, June 26th, Mr. George Bailie, age 72 years. Mr. Bailie was a native of the parish of Clyne, Sutherlandshire, Scotland. He gave evidence early of a saving acquaintance with God, and at the early age of 23 he became a member of the Church of Scotland. He emigrated to America in the year 1822 and on this side of the Atlantic he still maintained his Christian profession.   Possessed of an exceedingly retentive memory….”[ii]

His remains lie in Murray Cemetery, in the shadow of his home on Spiddle Hill.

 

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[i] Munro, Rev. Donald, “Records of Grace in Sutherland”, Free Church of Scotland 1953 (A biographical collection compiled by Rev. Munro of Rogart in the mid 1800’s)

[ii] Presbyterian Witness, August 12, 1854 Microfilm   PANS

Iii Interview, Mrs. Gladys MacDonald, 1982

Cnoc na Gaoithe

As one travels towards Earltown from The Falls on the 311, one notices a ridge at the head of the valley. This same ridge is part of the view when entering West Earltown from Central Earltown. In the 19th century it was commonly known as Cnoc na Gaoithe, (pronounced Croc na Gee), and later became known in English by its translation, Windy Hill. It is named after a similar hill in the Parish of Clyne located to the north of Loch Brora and near Dalfolly. It was the ancestral home of several first settlers in West Earltown. There were once eight homesteads in this remote area. Most were vacant by 1930. They were served by the church at The Falls, the Brown School at West Earltown, and, for a period of time, a store at the end of the road leading into the settlement. Most of these people were buried in the Murray Cemetery. The first four homesteads along the main route through the settlement were settled by an extended family in 1821. They were the three Baillie brothers along with their sister who was married to a MacKay. We will notice their particulars as we proceed along the road.

The Baillies were raised on the Cnoc na Gaoithe in Clyne. Their home was supposedly on the opposite side of Strath Brora from other Baillies that came to the Earltown area around the same time.   They were certainly among the evicted of Strath Brora . Their land grant petitions suggest they came over in 1821.  They made their way to the Lovat – West River Station area where other Baillie families were already established.   There is a strong family tradition that they were near relatives to the Baillies that arrived in those settlements around 1814. They requested land in the West River area but were instead pointed to West Earltown, the preferred gathering place for Sutherland evictees in the early 1820’s. An older brother, Donald, chose to settle on the summit of Spiddle Hill on the farm recently restored by Edwin Cameron for buffalo pasture. The remaining siblings took a block of land along the ridge of Cnoc na Gaoithe.

Today one gains access to this area from the Kavanagh’s Mills Road. About 700 meters from the 311 highway, a road turns off to the left and heads south. About 500 meters along that road one comes to a cross road. The one to the left is a lane into the Robert Baillie grant. Part of the clearing is now a gravel pit however the ruins of the house were in existence as recent as 1990. Robert Baillie, (1799-1871), was a son of Alexander and Janet Baillie of Cnoc na Gaoithe, Clyne. He lived as a bachelor at this location for several years establishing a viable farm. Around 1833 he married Margaret Murray, (1812-1839), then living across the road from Knox Church. She was born to William Murray “Ardachu” and Margaret MacKay in Rogart and arrived in Earltown with them in 1831/32.   The 1838 census shows that Robert and Margaret had three children. We have only been able to identify one, that being a daughter Margaret, wife of Hugh MacKay “Uhr” of MacKay’s Hill near Kavanagh’s Mills. Margaret, wife of Robert Baillie, is buried with her parents in Earltown and is memorialized by an elaborate table stone. There are no markers for children of this marriage but one wonders if the unknown children expired along with the mother due to a virus. Left with at least one small child, loneliness, necessity and hopefully love led to Robert’s second marriage to an Isabel MacKay. Isabel was born in Scotland. Her grandson Geordie Sutherland “Macin” claimed that she belonged to the Uhr MacKays at Kavanagh’s Mills. If that is the case, she came to Nova Scotia subsequent to 1841 with a sister in law, Annie MacDonald MacKay, and her family as well as a clan of MacKays known as the Boodles.  The Boodle MacKays settled near Earltown Lake.   By this union, Robert had Margaret, (Mrs. George Sutherland “Macin”), Mary, Annie, (Mrs. Tom Mattatall of West Tatamagouche), Robert Jr., and Alexander.

Robert Baillie Sr. died in 1871 and the farm eventually went to his son Robert. This Robert married Isabella MacKay, “Black”, daughter of “Kicking” George MacKay and Janet MacKay “Deacon”, West Earltown.   Robert and Isabella, as well as his widowed mother, moved to Malagash in the late 1880’s. They had Jessie, (Mrs. Walter Craig of Niacom, Sk.), Bessie, (Mrs. Louis Langille of Waugh River), and Melville Baillie who died at Pashendale, France, on November 2, 1917 in the service of King and Country.

The Baillie’s sold this farm to Neil Murray of Earltown. Neil was a nephew of Margaret Murray Baillie, Robert Sr.’s first wife. Neil, (1854-1924), was a son of Donald Murray “Bible” and Janet MacKay “Tailor” of Earltown.   He had a first wife, name unknown, and a son John by that marriage. His second wife was Christena MacDonald, daughter of Neil MacDonald and Janet MacIntosh of North River. In addition to farming, Neil also operated a store in the house for the surrounding community.   Neil and Christena had four children: Maude, (Mrs. Charles Douglas, North River), Mamie died young, Gordon, (m. Catherine MacLeod of The Falls), and lived at Upper River John Road. The youngest child was Mabel, wife of Dan Robert MacLeod, The Falls and Trail, BC..  Neil spent his final years with his son Gordon on the River John Road.

The Alonzo, (Lonnie), Sullivan family were the next to occupy this farm. They were formerly of North River. In later years they built a new house near to the junction of the 311 and the Kavanagh’s Mills Road. Members of that family still live on parts of the original homestead.

Returning to the road on the ridge, another road turns to the right opposite the Baillie – Sullivan land. It leads into a clearing currently under blueberries. It seems that this parcel may have been part of the Hector MacKay grant.  This parcel seems to have been settled around 1848 by Donald MacKay and his wife Mary MacKay. Mary was a daughter of John MacKay “Post” on Gunn’s Hill. Donald’s origins are vague but tradition claims that he was one of the Achlean MacKays in the Clydesdale.   Donald and Mary had six children, William, John, Alex, Christena, Catherine and Jessie. Alex never married and worked as a carpenter around Denmark, N.S. .  John spent the his final years at the county poor farm in North River. Catherine died at home in 1927. Christy took over the farm and was first married to an Angus MacDonald. To date we cannot trace Mr. MacDonald.   Christy’s second husband was Neddie Tattrie of French River. They had an infant son. This couple lived to be elderly and are buried in Earltown. The farm has been vacant since. A roadway through this farm eventually continued over the hill to the Corktown Road passing through the farm of John S. Baillie.

Back on the road along the ridge, one ascends a half kilometer into the remains of the Donald MacKay “Macomish” grant.   The origins of the name Macomish is now unknown. The name appears in the rent rolls of the Sutherland Estate in the early to mid 1700’s, a time when many of the families had unique Gaelic surnames.   Macomish may have been an old branch of the MacKay clan or a tribe that took the MacKay name towards the late 1700’s. This family lived on the west bank of the Blackwater, a river flowing into Strath Brora from the North. In 1820, prior to emigration, Donald was living at Dalvait near the mouth of the Blackwater. Donald married Marion Baillie in Clyne. As previously mentioned, she was a sister of the Baillie brothers on the adjoining farms. Marion had a daughter prior to her marriage, also Marion, who was raised in the MacKay household. This Marion married Alexander Sutherland “Loib Bheg” of Central Earltown. Together, Donald and Marion had a daughters Janet, who was born in Clyne and died unmarried in 1867, Christy, wife of James Sutherland “Loib Bheg” or Lake at Earltown Lake, Margaret, first wife of Hugh MacKay “Gouda”, West Earltown, sons Alexander and William.   Donald and Marion are buried in Murray Cemetery. This grant was divided between the two sons.

William was given the original homestead and Alexander occupied a portion further along the road. William MacKay “Macomish” 1827-1872, was twice married. His first wife was Isabel Sutherland “Loib Bheg”, daughter of Robert Sutherland and Eliza MacKay, Earltown Lake. They had Marion, (Mrs. William Sutherland “Macin”, Corktown), Eliza, (Mrs. Jim Sutherland, Caribou of The Falls), Dolina, unmarried, Robert died in 1883 unmarried, Dan, (Mary Heughan) and William. Isabella died in 1864 leaving William with a young family.

He married a second time to Ellen MacKay, daughter of Hector MacKay and Jane Sutherland, West Earltown. They had a son Hector who died young. In the late 1860’s William vacated the farm on Cnoc na Gaoithe and moved to the New Truro Road about three miles south of Tatamagouche Village. A number of properties along that road had become available for settlement at that time. It was flat and considerably more arable than the mountain properties. William died shortly after the move and the farm was taken over by his young sons. Dan, known as Dan Macomish, was the eventual heritor of the farm which later passed to his grandson, Freeman MacKay.

Alexander Macomish, son of Donald, cleared the rear part of the grant. He was married to Annie Sutherland, sister of William’s wife Isabel and Christy’s husband James.  She was also a half sister of Alex Sutherland, the husband of Marion Baillie. The Macomish MacKay and Sutherland Loib Bheg families were greatly intertwined likely due to some close connection back in Clyne. Alex and Annie raised a dozen children on that remote and marginal homestead.   Marion, (married George Sutherland, Sawyer), Betsy, unmarried, Dan, Eliza, Robert, Janet, William, Betsy, Christy Ann, Isabel, (Mrs. Robert Morrison, Vancouver), and Margaret, wife of Big Donald MacDonald of East Earltown.   Some of this family left home young and their whereabouts became unknown.   Some died single on the home farm. The last of this family was Donald who was also known as Dan Macomish. He was a bit of an eccentric and roamed the back country at night by lantern light. He spent his last years as a border with Hugh Alan and Minnie Sutherland, Balmoral.

These Macomish MacKay farms bordered on the farm of the Black MacKay’s and the clearings were open to one another at one time. The Black MacKay’s entered their homestead from the West Earltown side near the Devil’s Elbow.

At the back of the MacKay clearing a road branched to the south east and eventually entered the Morrison clearing. This farm would be to the southwest of the old Brown School at West Earltown. It was only inhabited by one family for a relatively short life. We don’t know what circumstances brought William Morrison to Earltown. He was born in Scotland in 1820. He first appears in the official records marrying Betsy MacDonald at Tatamagouche in 1851. Betsy was born in the Parish of Reay, Caithness in 1826. She was a daughter of Donald MacDonald and Jane Murray and came to Earltown in 1832.   She was a granddaughter of Alex Murray “Corrigan” of Spiddle Hill who later emigrated from Reay. William and Betsy’s farm, although remote today, was only a couple of properties away from her parent’s farm above Ferguson Brook Road.

In 1873 William and Betsy vacated their farm and set out with the family for the American West. They chose to settle in Ardoch, North Dakota, a new settlement in the Red River Basin. William died there in 1886 and Betsy in 1915. They had ten children. What is most remarkable about this family is that they kept in contact with their friends and relatives in Nova Scotia. Five of the family married people originally from Earltown who had somehow tracked them down. The family was later centered on the outskirts of Los Angeles with two sons owning citrus farms. An elderly relative from Idaho once told the writer of visits to the Morrison homes as a child visiting Los Angeles. They remained true to their roots, were keen on the Scottish obsession with genealogy, and sang the old Presbyterian hymns as a source of entertainment.

The children were:   Robert, (m. Isabel MacKay, Macomish) and lived in Vancouver; Christy, (m. Alex MacKay, Gouda), Grand Forks, North Dakota; Jane, (m. John Murray, Bonesetter of The Falls), Pine City, Mn; Margaret; John, a rancher in Dakota who retired to California; Alexander, a farmer in San Dimas, Ca., (m. 2. Johanna MacKay, Canada); Elizabeth; Donald, San Jose, Ca.; Peter, a farmer in San Dimas, Ca., (m. Ellen MacKay, Tailor).

Back on the road leading to Corktown, we next come to the first of two Baillie grants. The first was granted to William Baillie, (1798-1844). He was the ancestor of a branch of the Baillies nicknamed the Jaffries. William was married in Clyne in 1820 to Margaret Anderson.   She was born at Badnellan in Clyne. Her people remained in Scotland and are still living in the area today. Their first home as a couple was on Alt Na Mhuillan above Aschoile Beg.  Family tradition claims they lived for a short period of time in the West River area while William was securing a permanent home. While at West River, their eldest son was born in 1821. They had at least four children: Alexander, settled on the next farm; Nancy, unmarried; Margaret, the second wife of Alex Baillie “Doctor” of West Earltown; and William who continued on the home place.

William Jr. , (1830-1908), was married to Isabella Sutherland “Macin”, daughter of John Sutherland and Christy Ferguson. They raised a family of nine in this remote setting:   Margaret, Mrs. Dan MacLeod, MacLeod Road; Christena, second wife of Jim Sutherland, “Caribou”, The Falls; Annie, Mrs. David Murray, Kavanagh’s Mills; William died young; Georgie, unmarried; Catherine, Mrs. William Sutherland, “Dearg”, East Earltown; John S. Baillie, Corktown; Alex S. Baillie, at home; and Bessie Baillie, unmarried. Alex S. Baillie worked for a number of years in the United States and came home to look after the homestead around the time his parents could no longer manage. After their deaths, he moved with his sisters Georgie and Bessie to the old Henderson farm on Studivan Mountain. This is still a remote setting but was a considerable improvement over the farm on the far side of Cnoc na Gaoithe. Continuing on through the Baillie grant, we come to former homestead of Alex Baillie, son of William. He broke with tradition and married someone outside the Gaeldacht, Margaret Jane Tucker of Corktown. They also had nine children: William, Hugh and Alex died as young men on the home place, James went west and was never heard of again, Margaret married Joe Dunford of Wittenburg, NS; Elizabeth was first married to Finley MacDonald of the Berrichan and later married Murdoch Munro of Loganville Glen; George Baillie married Bella Ross Meagher and they took over her first husband’s farm at The Falls; Annie married Alex Sutherland “Macin” and lived on the Kavanagh’s Mills Road; and John Baillie who lived at Waugh’s River and was married twice.

At this point the crosses into the New Annan District and the community once known as Corktown. The next property was granted to Alexander Baillie, the youngest of the Baillie siblings to settle along this road.   Very little is known of this man.   He married a woman by the name of Annie and had at least two sons, William and Alexander.   William went to Londonderry, (then known as Acadia Mines), to work where he met and married Margaret Spencer. He later appears among the early inhabitants of Calgary. Alexander Baillie the younger, known locally as Alloch, continued with the homestead. He married Janet Baillie, (1842-1910), a daughter of William Baillie, “Quilly” and Helen Sutherland of Clydesdale. Janet, known as Jessie, was a distant cousin.   They had four children, Robert who lived near Trenton, N.S.; Alex William in Trail, B.C.; Christy, Mrs. John Pugh; and John.   John went by the nickname Johnny Alloch, was a bachelor, and worked in the lumber camps most of his life. He died in Truro and was buried at North River. The land at this point is extremely poor. The continues through Baillie’s Bog and emerges on the Old Nuttby Road in Corktown.

The locations on this map are approximate:  https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?hl=en&authuser=0&mid=zWuNe7Aar9m4.kZghunWViU_U