JOHN McVICAR/MACVICAR 1834

[angusm]

It would have to be the library, I would think; as long as you have access to an inter-library loan service, there should be no problem in finding the North Uist vol 3. You might want to ask for a loan of Bill Lawson's History of North Uist while you are about it as it tells the story of the ousting of the MacVicars from their lands.

Ardnastruban and the other adjoining townships were stuffed with MacVicars and, given the predominance of MacDonalds in the MacDonald of Sleat owned island, it was inevitable that there should be plenty of intermarriages.

Angus

[ellenbrora]

HI Angus and Nanette

Thanks for spotting them in the Croft History - I have that one and had not thought to look.

The bad news Nanette is that Ann MacDonald, daughter of this Donald MacDonald and Flora Nicholson is noted as having married a John MacLean in Ontario.

The book is not always 100% correct, but it does rather throw a spanner in our works.

I've just popped in for a bite of lunch and have to go back out to work now, but will have a browse again this evening when I get home.

Nanette - google for Bill Lawson's website (don't have it to hand at the moment.

Google for Co Leis Thu?  which is the name of his family history centre on Harris - fabulous place by the way. A mine of local genealogical information.

Back later.

Cheers

Ellen.

[nannettel]

Hi Ellen,
Thanx for popping in and providing me withthis information.
I am on my way out to work too so I will check this out later this afternoon.
Ann is another of those names that are repeated a lot in the MacDonald family-so it is going to take some digging. I'm up for it!
Nannette

[ellenbrora]

OK I'm back Nannette (and spelled your name correctly this time - apologies for before!).

Having just reviewed where we are up to I'm a bit more hopeful about the Donald MacDonald and Flora Nicholson family we have found.

Reason being, you say that on the marraige extract you have him as John McViean - this could easily be taken as John McLean. Say them both quickly - they sound similar! Or with a Scottish accent they do anyway!

Right I'm off looking again.

Ellen.

[angusm]

Hello Ellen and Nannette: I see the temptation to equate McViean as McLean. However, don't you think that would only happen visually in trascription and not via speech? the first would surely not be pronounced to rhyme with McLane as the latter would be pronounced? And in any case there is surely no Gaelic name that would come close to anything I can make of McViean? I suppose MacIain is the closest or the possessive of MacBain, which would come out as McBhain [pronounced somewhere between McVarn and McVane] might not be too far off. Might it not be easier to guess at a second marriage not picked up by the croft history? Angus

[ellenbrora]

You are quite right Angus - there could very well be more than one marraige.  I'm busy trawling through the Ancestry freebie right now trying to find either or both! Or the immigration records for the MacDonald family or John MacVicar. But with little success I might add!

Have decided I'm going to ask Santa to upgrade my Ancestry membership to deluxe, as I really need to practice with the vast resources available - so much that I can't actually find what I'm looking for.  I'm reasonably au fait with all the Scottish stuff now, but all the rest is a bit of a quagmire. Oh well, I'll keep looking. Its all good practice for my ain folk.

I can't even find the marraiges noted in the croft history for 3 of Ann MacDonald's siblings, all supposed to be Ontario.

Nannette - do you know when John and family moved from Bruce County to Michigan?

Cheers

Ellen.

[nannettel]

Angus and Ellen,
Since I can't view the actual record I was thinking that maybe it was transcribed wrong. If you look at McViean the "e; could be a  misread "c" and the "n" could be a misread "r".
The first clue I have of when they moved to Michigna is by 1889 when son Angus E married in Huron Co, Michigna to Mary M(Minnie) March=12Jun1889.
Nannette

[ellenbrora]

Ever get the feeling you're going round in circles???

Ok, going on the basis of when all else fails go back to the beginning and start again.....

The IGI has an extract of the marraige of John McVicar and Ann MacDonald, 31 March 1863, Bruce Ontario.

Johns parents: Angus McVicar and Ann MacDonald
Ann's parents: Donald MacDonald and Flora Nicholson.

So Q.1 is what source did the John McViean name come from?
Q.2 - what source did Ann's mother's surname of McAly (or similar) come from?

The IGI shows no children's births for children of Angus McVicar and Ann MacDonald - not surprising, as many North Uist births of the era were not registered, and/or they were unlikely to have been Established Church of Scotland, more likely to have been Free Presbeterian.

However, there is on the IGI, a submitted marraige of Archibald McVicar (age 40) to Ann MacLean (age 30) in North Uist 03 Aug 1871, Archibald being the son of Angus McVicar and Ann MacDonald. This would loosely fit with the Archibald, age 20 in 1851.

Don't know where this gets us - precisely nowhere I think!

I'm off to sit down away from the pc and review the whole thing.

Ellen.

[ellenbrora]

Hi folks

Doesn't help us any, but just to let you know I have John and family on the US 1900 census at Grant Township, Huron, Michigan.

Says they came to the States in 1884. 

John (a farmer) is with wife Anna, daughters Sarah, b. Canada 1873, Mary b. Michigan 1885 and sons John b Canada 1880, Alexander b. Canada 1881 and Charles b. Michigan 1886.

Ellen.