Robert Baxter Scotland to Nova Scotia

[Angela Burns]

Hello.  Looking for any help on my Baxter family. 

Robert Baxter born 1752 in Scotland, died in 1814 in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada and  married Ann Frizzell on 1 Aug 1780 in Windsor Nova Scotia, Canada.  He had many children listed as Margaret, John, Hugh Oliver, Hannah Moore, Daniel, Oliver, Sarah, Thomas, Robert, Ann.  All born in Nova Scotia, Canada.  Family history is that Robert was born in Scotland and maybe in the area of Kintyre Peninsula, but have not found anything to suggest that this is true.  Also don't know of any siblings to Robert.

Doing many searches (and of course Robert is such a common name) I have come across a Robert Baxter born in Markinch, Fife, Scotland on 30 Sep 1752 to Robert Baxter and Margaret Small (they were married on 15 Dec 1749 in Markinch, Fife, Scotland.  They are listed in the IGI site with and indexing number of C11447-4.  Does anyone have any info on this Robert Baxter to suggest that he may have come to Nova Scotia before 1780? 

I understand it isn't much to go on, but any help is appreciated.

Thank you.

[aghadowey]

Have you been in contact with the West Hants Historical Society yet? They are really helpful and might have some information or suggest other local resources.

http://www.westhantshistoricalsociety.ca/about.html

[Angela Burns]

I have been to their site and to the actual society, but found nothing more than what I have.  It seems that my Robert Baxter was "The progenitor of the Hants County Baxter family appears to be Robert Baxter....The Windsor records included in St. Paul's (Windsor, NS) list the marriage 1 Aug 1780 of Robert Baxter and Anne Frizzel."  Also "the Surname Baxter is not in the index of the surviving census records for the 1770's for NS."  Both of these quotes were taken from "Notes on the Baxter Family of Hants County, NS" compiled by L. S. Loomer.

I do so want to find out where Robert came from to see how far back I can go and why Robert decided to come to Canada....

Thank you for your tip though...any help is so greatly appreciated!!!

[sancti]

Maybe he moved during the Highland clearances

Year of the Sheep
Another wave of mass emigration came in 1792, known as the "Year of the Sheep" to Scottish Highlanders. The people were accommodated in poor crofts or small farms in coastal areas where farming could not sustain the communities and they were expected to take up fishing. In the village of Badbea in Caithness the conditions were so harsh that, while the women worked, they had to tether their livestock and even their children to rocks or posts to prevent them being blown over the cliffs.[2] Others were put directly onto emigration ships to Nova Scotia (Antigonish and Pictou counties and later Cape Breton), the Kingston area of Ontario and the Carolinas of the American colonies. There may have been a religious element in these forced removals since many Highlanders were Roman Catholic. This is reflected by the majority representation of Catholics in areas and towns of Nova Scotia such as Antigonish and Cape Breton. However almost all of the very large movement of Highland settlers to the Cape Fear region of North Carolina were Presbyterian.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Clearances

[Angela Burns]

Thanks for the tip, but he was here and married in 1780, so unlikely. 

[flst]

" Another wave of mass emigration came in 1792"

According to the link the clearances began in the 1760's.
flst