Bette Smith>Mildred Cameron>Stella Knox>Wm Wallace Knox>Margaret Anderson>George Anderson (my 3rd great grandfather)
We know precious little about our Anderson ancestors. We do know that they were Baptists who followed their minister, John Gilmour, to Canada from Aberdeen, Scotland in 1832. George Anderson, his wife Elizabeth Philp, two children, William and Alexander, came first to Montréal where George worked as a sawyer. George and Elizabeth’s daughter, Elizabeth, was born during the crossing to Canada.[i] George’s brother, Alexander, purchased Lot 10, First Concession, Clarence Township, Russell County, Ontario in 1833. George was widowed in 1834 and at some point he and his children joined Alexander in Clarence. George and Alexander’s sister, Jane Anderson, immigrated about 1838 with her son John Knox.
Another person who came with the Andersons in 1832 was Isabella Marshall. At least one descendant has stated that Isabella was George and Alexander’s mother. In our book, I questioned that relationship based on her birth and death dates. The only information we had on Isabella was taken from the Anderson monument in Clarence Cemetery.[ii]
If the dates on the marker are correct and Isabella was Alexander, George and Jane’s mother, she would have been 47 years old when Alexander was born (1794), 57 when George was born (1804) and possibly 63 when Jane was born (ca 1810). It’s not impossible, but it is unlikely. In light of this, when I wrote the story for our book, I presumed she was their grandmother.
Another puzzle concerned the transfer of land following Alexander’s death in 1847. He died without making a will. From 1848 to 1854, a number of transactions appear on the Land Register for Lot 10, First Concession. Transfers occur between George Anderson, John Knox (Jane Anderson’s son, aged about 12 years) and someone named James Anderson.[iii] Initially, I believed Alexander had a son, James, who was the sole heir. However, my newest research indicates this is not true. The recording of entries in the Register seems very sloppy and likely there are errors. We would need to see the actual deed documents to sort this out. However, laws governing the property of persons dying intestate were as follows: A wife or child would inherit first. If Alexander had no wife or children the property then went to his parents. If they were deceased the property would be divided equally between any living siblings. If they too were dead, then their portion would go to their children. It seems clear from the following evidence that Alexander died without issue and the heirs include only siblings and the child of a sibling.
The use of a Power of Attorney to transfer land involving ” James Anderson Heir” made me believe that James may have been a brother who remained in Scotland. I looked at Quebec notarial actes on the off chance that a power of attorney had been enacted in that province. What I found was a Release which led me to a James Anderson in Banff, Scotland.[iv] The image is an excerpt from the notarial index of T.-B. Doucet, Notary Public in Montreal.
A transcription of the full text of the Notarial Acte[v] for the Release is as follows:
It sounds from the language of the release that George was extremely vexed with James. It certainly took some time—basically six years from Alexander’s death in 1847 to the final release in 1854—to settle what was not a very large estate. The February 2, 1854 date of the release is the date provided for the deed transfer from James to George for Lot 10, First Concession. I expect that George paid James for James’s share of the land.
While I still did not know James’s exact relationship to George, I now suspected he was a brother. Further research on Scotlands People (government website) came up with an 1841 census report for James in Sherriffhaugh, Boharm, Banffshire. (Note that In the Release, George refers to Sherriffhaugh as “The Shirra” which is a colloquialism for “sherriff”.) James was a sawyer by occupation.[vi]
More importantly, I found a death registration for James in 1858. You’ll note that he was 74 years old, so born ca 1784. His parents are listed—William Anderson and Isbel Anderson (maiden name Marshall). The information was provided by James’s son.[vii]
So there you have it. I was wrong. Isabella Marshall was the mother, not grandmother. Margaret, Dorothy and I all agree that it is still unlikely that Isabella was born in 1747. A date closer to 1757 or 1767 would fit. The monument marker in Clarence Cemetery went up decades after her death and memories may have dimmed as time passed. Dorothy and our cousin, Dana Way, are beginning research about the monument itself to see when it was erected and who paid for the installation. As you can see, we will leave no stone unturned in order to bring you the family history.
[i] C.C.McLaurin wrote that his mother, Elizabeth Anderson, was born on the sea voyage from Scotland to Canada. He also states that the family immigrated 1832. See C.C. McLaurin, My Old Home Church in Rural Ontario, Edmonton: Institute Press, 1937, p 112. Accessed on http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/bibliography/6110/reader.html#129, 7 Apr 2022.
[ii] Photograph © Cliff Seibel. Dana Way (dcway16), shared the photo of Anderson-Marshall Monument and transcription on Ancestry.ca, 15 Aug 2018.
[iii] Ontario Land Register, Historical Abstract/Parcel Registration Book, Clarence, Russell (50) OS Lot 10, Concession 1, Images 156-7. Accessed on https://www.ontario.ca/page/overview-land-registry.
[iv] Extract from Notary Index, Source Citation: Bibliothèque Et Archives Nationales Du Québec; Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Collection: Fonds Cour Supérieure. District Judiciaire De Montréal. Cote Cn601. Greffes De Notaires, 1648-1967.; District: Montreal; Title: Doucet, Théodore-Benjamin (1839-1867), Image 332 of 2016. Accessed on Ancestry.com, 23 Mar 2022.
[v] Copy of Actes de notaire, 1839-1867. Source Citation: Actes de notaire, 1839-1867, Théodore-Benjamin Doucet : Notary, Montréal (Québec : district judiciaire). Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (Repository). Accessed on Familysearch.org, 23 Mar 2022.
[vi] 1841 Anderson, James, (Census 141/7/1 Image 1 of 9), ©Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland. Accessed on scotlandspeople.gov.uk, 24 Mar 2022.
[vii] 1858, Anderson, James (Statutory registers Death 128/35), ©Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland. Accessed on scotlandspeople.gov.uk, 24 Mar 2022.
Tatting the Family Threads... 