So where are all the additional children?

[CelticAnnie]

So this is what I know (from mainly Scottish parish records and Canadian censuses):

William McDonald, born about 1782 in Scotland -- a plasterer by trade -- married Sara Davies in Inverness on 6th January 1806.  They had the following children (that I have been able to trace):

Thomas (baptd 1806 Inverness)
Duncan (baptd  1808 Inverness)
Alexander (bapt 1809 Inverness)
William (born c1817)
Sarah Ann (born c1823)
Margaret (born c1824)
Jane (baptd 1826 Inverness)

Trees on Ancestry name a couple other children but without any source records.    I refuse to count them.

William was still living in Inverness in 1828.

William's son Duncan married Ann Jordan in Ontario in February 1834.  (No idea whether the rest of the family had emigrated to Canada by this time.  For what it's worth, none of them were witnesses at the wedding).

The next record I have found relating to William is the 1852 census, which has him in Perth, Lanark County, Canada -- by which time he is widowed.  (I have found no record of his wife's death in either Scotland or Canada).  I cannot find any reference to any additional children that he might have had after arriving in Canada. 

His daughter Jane's 1906 obituary, however, refers to her having been "one of a family of thirteen children".

So who are these other children, and where were they born?! 

Please can anyone suggest any additional (and preferably free!) Canadian sources (ie aside from census records and what Ancestry throws up) that I can hunt in for further references to this family?  Or can anyone else find any additional children (with firm sources, of course!) for William?

Many thanks.

CELTICANNIE

[*Sandra*]

Have you got obituaries for the other children apart from Jane ?

His daughter Jane's 1906 obituary, however, refers to her having been "one of a family of thirteen children"

Is this Jane Logie - 1827 - 1906 (married Walter in 1867 Goderich Township, Huron) ?

Passenger lists are few and far between before 1865.
Chances are William McDonald born 1782 has passed away between 1851 - 1861 census.


Is this the family in 1851 Lanark County Ontario.


Willm Mcdonald   70 Plasterer,
Margaret Mcdonald   26 marries Dickson
Jane Mcdonald   24 marries Logie.
Dun Mcdonald   40 Farmer and Plasterer. marries Ann Jordan.
Ann Mcdonald   39
Wm Mcdonald   17
Elizabeth Mcdonald   15
Dun Mcdonald   13
Geo Mcdonald   9
Sarah Mcdonald   7
Joseph Mcdonald   5
and other listed on the same sheet
Mary Quigly   29
Jas Quigly   5
John Wilson   2
Christy Brown   65
Edwd Tovey   27
Rebecca Tovey   23
Margaret A Tovey   3
Mary Tovey   1
Bridget Tovey   9
Esther Wrathall   25
Robertson Mason   28
Sarah Mason   29   (macdonald)
Helen Mason   5
Wm Mason   3
George Wrathall   41
Mary Wrathall   32
lopton I Wrathall   14
Harriot Wrathall   11
Robt Wrathall   8


Sandra

[*Sandra*]

This looks like info for Duncan and Ann

Duncan McDONALD - 27 Jan 1808 Inverness, Scotland., Scotland, United Kingdom
Death Date 19 Sep 1895   Bathurst, Lanark Co., Ontario, Canada
Spouse Ann Agnes Jordan
Child:   
Duncan McDONALD
Elizabeth McDONALD
George Henry McDONALD
Joseph D McDONALD
Sarah McDONALD
William John McDONALD

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46092303/agnes-macdonald

Can't see any other burials for MacDonald born between 1809 - 1817 mentioned at Elmwood.



The son William John McDonald 17 Jan 1835 Perth, 12, Ontario, Canada
Death Place possibly Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada
Father Duncan McDONALD Mother Ann Agnes Jordan
Spouse Isabel Jane Ritchey and Sarah Smith
Child:   
Henrietta Harriet McDONALD
William McDONALD

Sandra
Sorry have to pop out

[Lisa in California]

…William McDonald, born about 1782 in Scotland -- a plasterer by trade -- married Sara Davies in Inverness on 6th January 1806.  They had the following children (that I have been able to trace):

Thomas (baptd 1806 Inverness)
Duncan (baptd  1808 Inverness)
Alexander (bapt 1809 Inverness)
William (born c1817)
Sarah Ann (born c1823)
Margaret (born c1824)
Jane (baptd 1826 Inverness)…

I cannot find any reference to any additional children that he might have had after arriving in Canada...

There seems to be a gap between Alexander and William and a shorter gap between William and Sarah Ann.

Could this child somehow fit in to your family:
Scotland births & baptisms
Macdonald (Male)
Baptism Date: 19 Aug 1824
Baptism Place: Inverness, Inverness, Scotland
Father: William Macdonald
Mother: Sarah Davies

[*Sandra*]

One child referred to on an ancestry tree was Elizabeth McDonald born 1815 - died 10 March1871 Lanark Ontario.  Seems to have married a James Cameron. ??
No details on the death certificate for husband and or father/mother/Informant.

There is a Alexander McDonald  aged 42 years, servant on the 1851 census for Lanark Ontario.
No proof yet though

Sandra

[brigidmac]

Could he have had any children from an earlier marriage .

Could any of the other families with him in 1851 be married daughters

[Lisa in California]

Did all of the children that you could trace immigrate to Canada?

[*Sandra*]

From ancestry tree - Margaret Hill McDonald seems to have married William Douglas Dickson probably 26 December 1857 Renfrew Ontario (source seems to be a journal belonging to William Dickson)
Died 5 November 1895 -  Goderich, Huron, Ontario, Canada

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134670952/margaret-h.-dickson

Referred to as Margaret H McDonald on daughter Agnes Ballentyne Dickson marriage.

Sandra

[Lisa in California]

I have a few (Irish, no Scottish) ancestors who settled in Ontario in the early 1800s.  While everyone has different circumstances for their own ancestors, I’ve experienced the following, which might be something to keep in mind for research in Ontario during that time (you most likely have already experienced it):

Passenger lists are sketchy from that time period. (I’ve found very few lists for any of my ancestors.)
Births could have occurred at sea or on the way to Ontario (such as in New Brunswick or Quebec).
Government vital records were not required (I believe they started in Ontario in 1869).
My families followed Irish naming patterns; perhaps your McDonalds followed a naming pattern as well.
Church records are very helpful.  Very few of my ancestors “changed” religions.
Occupations were more often than not handed down generations.
Don’t use exact spelling (I’ve found Stuart, Stewart, Stuard, Steward).
Expect errors in census returns (examples: immigration years, birth years, Jos. instead of James, etc.)
Check all census pages (if they lived in a small town). Some pages were so faint or had bad penmanship that they weren’t accurately recorded.
Burial records could include additional facts.
If you find one family in a census return, look for others to be nearby.
Internet searches are helpful, trying different combinations for: surname, town, occupation, unusual given names, exact (in your case, Scottish) birthplace, vital events, etc.

All of the above has helped me.