Ros Escott's Family History Pages
The information on this page is from many sources. I have done a
lot of research myself, in New Zealand, Nova Scotia and Scotland, and
in the Australian newspapers on Trove. I have also have communicated with members of the
extended family in various parts of the world. I am especially
greatful for the assistance provided by the late Betty Powell in the
Waipu Museum in New Zealand. More recently, DNA research is solving
some mysteries and creating others.
Please
contact me
if you have
additions, corrections or questions, and particularly if you are
related to our branches of the McLeod, McDonald, McGregor or
McKenzie families.
McLeod (also McDonald, McGregor and McKenzie)
As far back as I can trace (to the 1700s), all four branches of my grandmother's Scottish ancestors came from the north-west coast of the Scottish Highlands. Generations of our McLeod ancestors were tenant farmers on Clachtoll, Assynt in Sutherlandshire - on the north-west coast of Scotland (northern red dot on map on the right).
My great-great-great grandfather, Donald ‘Squire’ McLeod, was born in 1781 on Clachtoll and died on 16 May 1879 at South Gut, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. On 14 March 1802 at Clachtoll, he married Jannet (Jessie) Munro (1780 Clachtoll - 1852 South Gut, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia). They are thought to have had 9 children:
- Mary McLeod: born c.1803
Clachtoll; married John Fraser in Nova Scotia and they had 6
children; died 1871 in Waipu, Northland, NZ.
- John Donald 'Arichat' McLeod:
(see below)
- Barbra McLeod: born 1806
Clachtoll.
- Murdoch McLeod: born 1809
Clachtoll; married Isabella MacDonald in Cape Breton, Nova
Scotia and they had 7 children; died 1863 in Auckland, NZ.
- Dolina McLeod: born c.1813
Clachtoll; married Roderick Fraser in Nova Scotia; died 1889 in
Whangarei, Northland, NZ.
- Luther McLeod: born c. 1817
Clachtoll; married (1) Joanna McLeod and they had 4 children;
married (2) Mary and they had 5 children; married (3) Flora
McKay; he died 1855 in Nova Scotia.
- Annie McLeod: born c.1819
Nova Scotia; married Angus 'Timber' McLeod in Nova Scotia and
they had 8 children; died 1900 in Ingonish, Cape Breton, Nova
Scotia.
- Isaac McLeod: born 1821 in
St Ann's, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia; married Euphemia Todd
Laurence in 1835 in Nova Scotia and they had 6 children; died
1888 in Strathlorne, Nova Scotia.
- Pauline McLeod: born 1824 in
St Ann's, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia; married widower Roderick
McFadyen; died in 1910 in North Ingonish, Cape Breton.
Donald 'Squire' McLeod and his wife Jessie did not migrate to New
Zealand. It may have been because Jessie was unwell (she died soon
after), or it may have been because he had had a falling out with
the Reverend Norman McLeod. Four of their older children, and their
families, migrated to New Zealand and the youngest four stayed in
Nova Scotia with their families.
Jessie McLeod nee Munro died on 21 October 1852 at South Gut, Cape
Breton, Nova Scotia. Her husband Donald 'Squire' McLeod died at age
97 on 16 May 1879 at South Gut, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
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John Donald 'Arichat' McLeod (1803-1886) and Anna McGregor (1805-1879)
My great-great grandfather, John Donald ‘Arichat’ McLeod, led a long (83 years) and interesting life. His first 15 years were with his family on Clachtoll Farm, on the coast in Assynt, Scotland. He would have attended the local parish school, as education was valued by the Highlanders. He would also have learnt to sail and handle boats.
In July 1818, at the age of 15, John left Scotland forever and sailed with his parents and 6 siblings to Pictou, Nova Scotia on the Perseverance.
In the following years, John would have been busy helping his family build a house and establish a farm on Middle River, up-river from Pictou, only to pack up and move to St Ann’s on Cape Breton Island in 1820, where they started clearing the wilderness all over again. We do know that John would at least have had one day of rest each week, as these Scots were very observant – on the night before the Sabbath they even overturned the troughs which collected the maple sap, so as not to 'work' by collecting the Sunday dripping.
In 1824, John Donald McLeod married Anna McGregor in Sydney, Cape Breton. She was the fifth child of Donald McGregor and Mary McRae who had both been born in about 1770 in Gairloch, Rosshire, Scotland.
In 1825, John Donald McLeod set up a business in partnership with a J. Nood in Sydney, Cape Breton Island. They had a store and trading activities – timber, fish and fish oil were the primary articles of trade. The McLeod's had their own jetty in the South Gut of St Ann's Bay and John traded regularly with the French settlement of Arichat on Isle Madame in the south of Cape Breton Island; hence his nickname (the placename Arichat is derived from the Micmac Indian Nerichat "the camping ground"). Much later in New Zealand, John Donald McLeod also had store in Auckland, the first store in Waipu, and the first store in Whangarei Heads. He also purchased a beautiful peninsula of land at Whangarei Heads to be farmed by himself and his sons.
Between 1827 and 1846, John and Anna McLeod had 12 children, although not all survived early childhood:
- Ann McLeod: born 1827 in St Ann’s Glen, Cape Breton; married
Donald Stuart of Nova Scotia and they had 7 children; she died
1897 in Whangarei Heads, NZ.
- Murdoch McLeod: born 1829 in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia; he died
1847 in Nova Scotia, age 18.
- Mary McLeod: born1831 in St Ann’s Glen, Cape Breton; married her
cousin Murdoch McLean of St Ann's and they had 8 children; she
died 1887 in Waipu NZ.
- Jessie McLeod: born 1832 in St Ann’s Glen, Cape Breton; married
George Ross of Scotland and they had 7 children; she died on
1884 in Auckland NZ.
- John McLeod: born and died 1834 in St Ann's, Cape Breton, Nova
Scotia.
- Donald McLeod: born and died c1836 in St Ann's, Cape Breton,
Nova Scotia.
- Margaret (Maggie) McLeod: born c1838 in St Ann’s Glen, Cape
Breton; married her cousin Donald McLean of Nova Scotia and they
had 2 children; she died on 1864 in Northland, New Zealand, age
26.
- Alexander McLeod: born 1840 in St Ann's, Cape Breton; he died
1846 in St Ann's, Cape Breton.
- John Alexander McLeod: born c1841 in St Ann's, Cape Breton;
married Frances Wykes and had 4 children; died 1919 at Whangarei
Heads, New Zealand.
- Alexandrina 'Lexy' McLeod:
born c1843 in St Ann’s Glen,
Cape Breton; married Alexander Ronald Ross of Nova Scotia and
they had 10 children; she died in 1930 in New Zealand.
- Donald John McLeod: born 19 July 1845 in St Ann’s Glen, Cape
Breton; married on 25 Dec 1866 in Whangarei NZ to Margaret McDonald,
born c1848 in Boularderie, Cape Breton; they had 5 children. Both Donald
and Margaret died young; he died on 11 Aug
1892 in Ballarat Vic and she died a few years later on 26 Feb 1896 in South Yarra Vic; they are both
buried in the McLeod family grave in St Kilda cemetery.
- Joanna McLeod: born 1846
in St Ann's, Cape Breton; she died 1852 in St Ann's, Cape Breton.
My great-great grandfather
John Donald McLeod died on 27 Jul 1886, seven
years after his wife Anna McLeod née McGregor
had
died on 29 March 1879. Both are buried in the lovely old Pioneer Cemetery in Whangarei Heads, Northland, New
Zealand.
How they got
to New Zealand is another story . . .
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Donald McDonald (1808-1874) and Margaret McKenzie (1819-1885)
My great-great grandfather Donald McDonald was born on 6 May 1808 in Gavaich, Gairloch, Scotland. He had at least two siblings and his father Murdoch McDonald was a tenant farmer at Garvaich. It is not known when Murdoch and his family went to Nova Scotia, but we do know that Donald McDonald married Margaret McKenzie in 1834 in Nova Scotia. Donald's occupation was stated as farmer, but he was also a Justice of the Peace. He appears to have been a community leader and was one of the first settlers to take up land (210 acres) in the Waipu area in New Zealand.
His wife Margaret née McKenzie was born about 1814, the eldest of 8 children (her parents are described above). She and Donald had 13 children (and 46 grandchildren!):
- Murdoch McDonald: born 1835 in Boularderie, Nova Scotia;
married Margaret Cameron of Lochalsh, Scotland; they had 4
children; he died 1898 in Auckland NZ.
- Norman McDonald: born 1837 in Boularderie, Nova Scotia;
married Margaret Morrison of Nova Scotia; they had 9 children;
he died 1895 in Auckland NZ.
-
-
- William McDonald; born on 16 Mar 1844 in Boularderie, Nova
Scotia; married Isabella Fraser of Nova Scotia; they had 8
children; he died 1930 in Auckland NZ.
-
Margaret McDonald: born 1847 in
Boularderie, Nova Scotia; married Donald John McLeod
of Nova Scotia in Whangarei NZ on 25 Dec 1866; they had 5
children; she died on 26 Feb 1896 in South Yarra, Victoria,
Australia.
- John James McDonald: born about 1848 in Boularderie, Nova
Scotia; he died 1918 in Auckland NZ.
-
- Alexander McDonald: born 1850 in Boularderie, Nova Scotia.
-
- Colin McDonald: born 1855 in Waipu NZ.
-
-
My great-great-grandfather Donald McDonald died on 28 Dec 1874 at Waipu NZ. His wife Margaret McDonald née McKenzie died on 12 Jun 1885, also at Waipu NZ. They are buried in the Waipu Cemetery with many other Scottish Nova Scotians from their community.
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Nova Scotia to Australia
Six months in a leaky boat . . .
Preparations were made for the trip -- the settlers had to sell
their land and wind up or liquidate their extensive business
affairs.
Two ships were built by the McGregor brothers, the Margaret and the Highland
Lassie, with everyone on the community helping in whatever way
they could.
My great-grandfather, John Donald ‘Arichat’ McLeod, his wife Anna and
their 8
children sailed on the Margaret. His parents, Donald 'Squire' and Jannet (Jessie)McLeod were amongst those
who decided not to leave Nova Scotia; in part this may have been
health-related, as Jessie died only a few months after they sailed. Donald 'Squire' McLeod
had also had a falling out with his brother-in-law Rev Norman
McLeod; they were not on speaking terms and Donald may have decided
it was prudent to stay where he was. However, it must have been a
wrench to farewell several of his children and their families when
they left for the other side of the world, knowing they would never meet again.
After calling at the Cape Verde Islands and at Capetown, the
Margaret reached Port
Adelaide on 11 April 1852. There, Rev McLeod found a letter from his
son Donald, saying that he had gone on to Melbourne. They
investigated the possibility of securing sufficient good land that
was not too far inland, but were disappointed. A few decided to
remain, but most left with the
Margaret on 27 May,
arriving in Melbourne on 4 June 1852. The ship was sold as had been
pre-arranged before they left Nova Scotia.
Melbourne was another disappointment as the gold rushes had increased the demand for and price of land. The new settlers easily found work as there was a huge demand for both trade skills and merchants, but they were forced to live in the midst of violence, crime and disease in the vast canvas town that had grown up along St Kilda Road. Typhoid fever broke out and many died; Rev McLeod lost 3 of his sons within 6 weeks. Many of the younger men went to the goldfields and some were quite successful -- it is said that several Waipu NZ farms were bought with money earned on the Australian goldfields.
Meanwhile,
the second ship being built in Nova Scotia, the
Highland Lass, had been
completed. She was a 179 ton brig and had expected to set sail in
December 1851, two months after the
Margaret, but she was
caught in ice that closed the harbour until the spring. The
passengers were already on board and had to go ashore for the
winter, staying with friends or returning to their old homes if they
still had them. She finally sailed on 17 May 1852 with 136
passengers and crew, had a three-week stop in Simon’s Town, Cape of
Good Hope, and arrived in Adelaide on 6 Oct 1852. The
Margaret group had
already moved on to Melbourne.
Margaret McDonald
nee McKenzie’s
elderly parents Murdoch and Arabella McKenzie were also on board the
Highland Lass.
Murdoch McKenzie died in Adelaide on 10 Mar 1853, a few
months after they arrived. He was age 76 and the cause of death was
given as “decay of nature”. He had been born in 1777 in Gairloch,
Scotland and he and his brother had been weavers, although he
appears to have taken up farming in
Nova Scotia, perhaps out of necessity. In about 1812 he had married Arabella McKenzie
and they had 7 children, all of whom came to New Zealand with their
families; this was probably the reason why the elderly parents also
made the trip. Arabella McKenzie died on 12 Nov
1883 in Waipu NZ, at the age of 95.
Australia to New Zealand
In the end, they chose Waipu in the north of New Zealand as the
most suitable area for the new settlement. They chose Waipu over
other suggestions, including in the South Island, as it was suitable
for fishing, ship building, and farming. There was also sufficient
land for the
Gaelic-speaking community to remain together to worship with their
minister, the Rev Norman McLeod.
My grandmother's parents Donald John McLeod and Margaret McDonald were quite young at the time of this adventure and probably had little or no memories of it. Although both their death certificates record their place of birth as Nova Scotia, Donald McLeod’s grave in St Kilda cemetery erroneously records that he was "of Auckland".
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Further information about this great migration can be found at:
The Waipu
Museum in New Zealand tells the story of the Great Migration,
when almost 1000 people completed a remarkable migration from
Scotland to Nova Scotia to New Zealand, to establish a close knit
and highly successful Gaelic speaking community in Waipu, Northland.in New Zealand tells the story of the Great Migration,
when almost 1000 people completed a remarkable migration from
Scotland to Nova Scotia to New Zealand, to establish a close knit
and highly successful Gaelic speaking community in Waipu, Northland.
-
The Gaels Fare Forth by NR McKenzie, first published 1936, now in print through Southern Reprints
-
The Lion of Scotland by Neil Robinson, first published 1936, now in print through Berlinn
-
The Book of Secrets by Fiona Kidman, published 1994 by Vintage NZ
(a historical novel covering 3 generations of women, set in the Scottish Highlands, Nova Scotia and New Zealand)
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Donald John McLeod (1845-1892) and Margaret McDonald (c1848-1896)
My great-grandparents Donald John McLeod and Margaret Anne McDonald were married in Whangarei, New Zealand, on 25 Dec 1866. They were bachelor and spinster. They were both recorded as being of full age; but later records indicate that they were 20 and 18 when they married (her year of birth is hard to establish because her age varies on various documents). Donald’s occupation at this time is given as storekeeper. Later he would be listed on documents as insurance agent, inspector for life insurance company, and company manager.
Donald John McLeod and Margaret née McDonald had five children. The first four were born in Waipu NZ, but the family had moved to Australia just before their last child was born.
- Margaret Anne 'Maggie' McLeod: born on 3 Nov 1867 in
Waipu NZ; she married Richard Andrew Escott of
Cornwall in 1893; they had 7 sons: Bruce, Les, Keith, Doug,
Gordon, Stuart and Wallace; Maggie died on 4 Jul 1940 in
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Donald Alexander McLeod: born Feb 1869 in Waipu NZ; Donald died
from a ravaging form of TB on 4 Mar 1890 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
He was the first of three of the McLeod siblings to die of TB at
an early age.
- Luther John 'Lu' McLeod: born 1872
in Waipu, NZ. He was an accountant in Sydney and was involved in
an import business with his brother-in-law, my grandfather
Richard Andrew Escott. Lu died of Phthisis Pulmonalis (TB) on 5 Jun 1901 in Sydney, NSW, Australia.
- Rhoda Jessie McLeod: born 1875 in Waipu, NZ;
she married Arthur Livingstone
Johnson in 1896; they had one daughter Vivian; Rhoda
was seriously ill with pulmonary phthisis (TB) for 2 years
before she died on
17 May 1901 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. She had come to
Melbourne from Gippsland to attend the opening of the first
Australian Parliament. (Rhoda is pictured on the right)
In 1926, her daughter Vivian Johnson married Tom Dalzell Bolton, the brother of her school friend Helen Bolton who had married my uncle Doulas McLeod Escott. Vivian and Tom Bolton had no children, and Vivian died in 1939, at age 40; she had severe arthritis. Meanwhile, Douglas McLeod Escott had died in 1933, aged 32, leaving a young son Douglas.
- Clarence 'Clarrie' Stuart McLeod: born on 6
Aug 1878 in Grafton NSW (and named after the Clarence River). He
enlisted to serve in WW1 in 1916 at the age of 39; he served in
France; after the war he married Evelyn Mary
Vicars-Foote in 1923; they had one son Stuart
Richard John McLeod; Clarrie died 19 Sep 1962 in
Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.
Donald John McLeod died in Ballarat Vic, on 11
August 1892, age 45, of pleurisy pneumonia. His wife
Margaret McLeod née McDonald died a few years
later in South Yarra, Melbourne on 26 Feb 1896, age 47, of carcinoma
of the liver.
She married Richard Andrew Escott on 23 Oct 1893
in Christchurch NZ. They were both 25. She probably met him through
her parents, as her
father Donald McLeod was District Agent for the AMP Assurance
Society
and my grandfather at that time was travelling the country
districts as a representative of AMP. Later, my grandfather
went into business with her brother Lu McLeod, who was an
accountant. Their
first child, Bruce, was born in New Zealand on 8 Aug 1894. It is not
known whether they were both still living in New Zealand at that
time, or if RA Escott was travelling with his job or on one of his
many trips back to England. His father James Escott provided the
details to the Births Registrar.
The next child, Leslie, was born in Australia on 28 Jun 1896. Maggie
then accompanied her husband, with the two children (and a nurse) on
one of his business trips to England.
Both Maggie and her brother Clarrie each went on to have a long,
healthy life and escaped the family scourge of TB and the premature
deaths of both their parents. Maggie and Richard Escott had seven
sons, although they lost their eldest son Bruce at the age of 22,
probably to a form of TB.
Margaret Anne Escott née
McLeod died in Melbourne on 5 July 1940 from carcinoma of the
breast, arteriosclerosis and myocarditis. She is buried in the
McLeod-Escott family grave in St Kilda Cemetery.
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In 1890, she lost her 21-year-old brother Donald to TB. In 1892
her father died suddenly at the age of 45 and in 1896 her mother
died of cancer, aged 47. In 1901, her beloved 26-year-old sister
Rhoda died of TB,
after a long illness and then her 29-year-old brother Luther
died 3 weeks later, also of TB. Especially for someone who had grown
up in such a tight-knit family-oriented community, Maggie must have
been devastated to have lost almost all her family, and to lose a
brother and a sister in such a short period. Her only surviving
sibling was now her youngest brother Clarrie. (He served in France in WW1,
the man on the left in photo).
Maggie’s
children, life and travels are covered in more detail in the
Escott section on her husband. She was
extremely proud of her seven sons, whom she raised to be fine men.
She loved her many grandchildren and no doubt took delight in the
many girls born in the next generation, a compensation for the
daughters she didn’t have herself.
.jpg)
A Highlander wearing the tartan of
the McLeods of Assynt.
The Clans of the Scottish Highlands, RR McIan
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A 1774 map of Clachtoll (yellow borders).
Except near the coast, very little has changed in nearly 240 years.
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Why did my grandmother's ancestors leave the Scottish Highlands?
In the 1700s in the parish of Assynt, 300 families lived on a mere
300 acres of arable land. The staple foodstuff was meal and, after
1750, potatoes. Oats and barley were grown during the short growing
season of the Highlands, but most meal had to be imported because
local supplies were not sufficient. Black highland cattle were
raised as the only saleable product. They were not eaten by the
people, as they were much too valuable as an essential source of
hard cash. A few poor specimens of sheep were kept for their wool,
which was worked at home to clothe the family. Very rarely, a dish
of mutton might be eaten but this was an unusual occurrence. Tenant
farmers near the coast supplemented their diet and income with
fishing.
The late 1700s and early 1800s was a time of much change and
emigration from the Highlands. The French Revolutionary and
Napoleonic wars were being waged in Europe and the demand for wool
increased the price. Many of the English landlords engaged lowland
or sometimes English property managers with expertise in more
profitable sheep farming, to replace the traditional highland cattle.
They ‘encouraged’, often forcibly, the population to move off
suitable land. Under Scots law, there were only year-by-year
tenancies, so it was easy to raise rents to unsustainable levels or
to evict. In one case, the rent had increased from £5 to £20 over a
25-year period while income had remained almost stable.
The dispossessed Highlanders were 'resettled' in poor crofts or
small farms in coastal areas where farming could not sustain the
communities. They were a source of very cheap labour in enterprises
that were also controlled by the English -- large scale herring
fisheries for the London markets and the very profitable collection
and processing of kelp. Both enterprises involved back-breaking work
in freezing waters.
Not surprisingly, mass emigration ensued. Even those who had been
able to continue as tenant farmers were attracted by the opportunity
to become land owners in Nova Scotia, the American colonies and
later in Australia and New Zealand.
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Reverend Norman McLeod
A charismatic but controversial leader
Much has been written about the Reverend Norman McLeod who was
the spiritual, moral and community leader for the community of Western Scottish
Highlanders and Islanders that my ancestors became a part of.
There
is no doubt he was charismatic, despite being rigid, fervent and
at times vitriolic.
Norman McLeod was born in c1780 at Stoer in Assynt, Sutherlandshire.
He graduated from the University of Aberdeen with an Master of Arts
degree and then went to Edinburgh to do further studies in theology.
He became a teacher in Ullapool, but was dismissed because in his
fiery lay preaching he criticised the established church and its
ministers - he believed they were not strict or puritanical enough
in their religious adherence.
He emigrated to Pictou, Nova Scotia where he continued to draw large
crowds with his preaching and to make enemies by criticising the
ungodly ways of the townspeople and the local clergy.
McLeod and a some of his followers then moved to St Ann's in Cape
Breton, where he could establish his own remote community, away from
the sinful influences of Pictou. He served as preacher, teacher and
magistrate and encouraged more of the Scots who had been dispossessed
by the Clearances to emigrate and settle on Cape Breton.
His preaching attracted hundreds, but he became increasingly rigid
and vitriolic. Anyone who crossed him was declared 'persona non
grata' and they and their business had to be shunned by the
community - a practice which ultimately contributed to the demise of
its trading
capacity and viability.
After 30 years in Nova Scotia, McLeod led his people in search of a
new utopia, this time sailing to the other side of the world.
Eventually, nearly 900 'Normanites' from Nova Scotia settled in and
around Waipu in Northland, New Zealand.
Once again, McLeod, now in his 70s, had established a
community for his followers, where they could live together in
material comfort and his version of religious freedom.
The
Rev. Norman McLeod died at Waipu in 1886. He continues to be seen as
a controversial figure. His public denunciations of wayward
parishioners and anyone who disagreed with him earned him a
reputation as an autocratic demagogue. His parishioners, however,
saw him as a caring pastor and defender of the weak.
Today, McLeod's primary legacy is the Scottish community which still
thrives in Waipu and the surrounding districts.
Monument to Rev Norman McLeod
at Clachtoll, Assynt, Scotland.
Clachtoll
coast, Western Scottish Highlands.
3000-year-old broche (burial chamber)
on a headland at Clachtoll.
The back country of Clachtoll, where the Highland cattle were grazed
in summer, has changed very little since the McLeods
left Clachtoll nearly 200 years ago.
Loch Crocach which formed
the remote easten boundary of Clachtoll.
A remote sheiling on Clachtoll,
near Loch Crocach, which the McLeods would have used when the
Highland cattle were in summer pasture.
C17th mill at Altan na Bradhan, near Clachtoll, which our McLeods
would have used to gind corn. It had a water flume from the creek
which drove wooden paddles underneath the horizontal grinding
stones.
St
Ann's Bay, Nova Scotia
John Donald
McLeod's property at
Whangarei Heads, Northland, NZ
.JPG)
Donald McDonald's property at
Waipu, Northland, NZ