A History Of Cordelia Alley’s Family

A HISTORY OF CORDELIA ALLEY’S FAMILY

The Island Register (P.E.I.) lineage records (www.islandregister.com/aitken) lists the descendants of James Aitken (b.1609) – Laird of Rhys, Jockley/Auchenhay, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. Cordeia’s mother, Margaret Louden Aitken, appears at #6 while Cordelia is #20(iv) and #72 in the listing followed by the children of her marriage to John.

Additional information on the Aitken family is available on the website of the Prince Edward Island Genealogy Society – www.peigs.ca

Names of the Alley Family

Charles Aitken Alley who married Lily Stuart
George Douglas Alley who married Margaret Stuart
Anne Melinda Alley who married Nelson Hubert
Charlotte Cordelia Alley who married John Meiklejohn
William Beairsto Alley who married Eliza MacKenzie
Thomas Alfred Alley who married Isabell Fletcher
James Alexander Alley who married Rebecca Hunt
Robert Beaumont Alley not married – other notes say he was married with daughter Maie and son Donald
Hannah Isabell Alley not married
Catherine Ann Douglas Alley who married Benjamin Danby
Margaret Susanna Alley who married Thomas Brehaut

Francis Amelia Alley who married Duncan S McLaren
(Signs as Emily F McLaren – born 12.4.1852 – lived all her life in Cardigan initially with her Aunt Charlotte Alley – sister Melinda – sons Robert (farmed in P.E.I.) and Fred – daughters Cordelia and Winnie who lived at Montague P.E.I.)

The above is taken from correspondence to W D Meiklejohn from Charlotte’s aunt A M Hubert and her cousin Gertrude Danby written in the 1920’s.

Extract from December 2008 Newsletter

Cordelia’s family
James Aitken (1612-1687) was six generations prior to Cordelia on her mother’s side. Born in the Orkeneys, James was a royalist and with these connections he was elevated to the position of Bishop of Moray (1676-1680) and Bishop of Galloway (1680-1687). See Wikepedia – James Aitken – also the two bishoprics.

Extract from an exchange of letters between William B Alley (Cordelia’s brother) and AM Hubert (his sister) for forwarding onto Cordelia (called Dee) – written 30 October 1898 and as gathered by Bell Matheson on her Visits to PEI.

Cordelia’s mother was Margaret Louden Aitken. Margaret’s mother was Catherine Ann Douglas – grand-daughter of the Earl of Douglas and Ann O’Halloran.
Cordelia’s father (William Alley) was a grandson of Sir George Aitken M.D. (knighted for his services to medical research).
Captain Peter Alley honoured by Queen Elizabeth I with The Alley Crest for his services as Captain for Sir Frances Drake.
Other family names are mentioned – Judge George Alley who was expected to be the next Governor of the Island.
John Alley – Mayor of Chipping Wycombe – a suburb of London
William Alley – Bishop of Exeter

He ended his letter with these words
“As my heart still bends to my good friends
To my good friends of yore
And I turn with a sigh to the days gone by
And those that will greet us no more”
Your loving brother”

THE ALLEY DRESS (before the time of the sewing machine)
(Taken from the albums of Errol Jones)

Sometime near the close of the 17th century, an Irish girl named Ann O’Halloran was wooed and won by a Scottish Douglas. In those troublesome days of the late Stuarts, it would not have been at all unfashionable if the groom had chosen to carry off his bride without her consent, but the course of true love seemed to have run smoothly and for the wedding was prepared a trouseau which included a cream coloured silk dress all of Irish hand weave.

The beautiful dress all embroidered in small pink rosebuds was made with pannier and lace bodice. It was still in existence at the time of the death of Ann Douglas and became the property of her grand-daughter Catherine Ann Douglas. This lady married William Alley in Douglas Castle. Somewhere in their history the family moved to Ulster, the protestant section of Ireland. Then the children of William and Catherine Douglas Alley, (William, Thomas and later Charlotte) left Ireland and moved to Prince Edward Island, Canada, early in the 19th century. They carried with them the old dress which remained in the Alley family for five generations.
By the will of Miss Charlotte Alley, it became the property of Emily Alley McLaren of Cardigan, who gave it to her daughter Winifred Vickerson of Montague PEI.

The dress whose quaint and voluminous style stamps it as belonging to a late Stuart period has been worn with great pride on a few occasions by nieces of Mrs McLaren – once to a masquerade ball by Ellen Steeves of Summerside and as always occasioned great awe and admiration.

Emily Alley McLaren has also inherited a silver cup which bore the Douglas Crest – a bleeding heart pierced by two arrows. She later presented this to Brenton P Alley, son of Alexander James Alley, the last owner of the Alley Mills at Cardigan. William Alley, son of William Alley and Catherine Douglas Alley, founded the Alley Mills in Cardigan, PEI. A brother, Thomas Alley was judge of the Supreme Court of PEI in Charlottetown and was father of Dr Arthur Alley.

Extract from February 2009 Newsletter

Cordelia’s family
The history of the Barstow/Beairsto family includes the following about Cordelia’s grandfather, George Aitken (1779-1857)
‘In 1798 George decided to look for a wife and in his dugout canoe, with his horse swimming beside him, he crossed the Montague River (PEI) and after hiding his canoe in the bushes, mounted his horse and followed the Indian Trail until he arrived at West River, Lot 31, Queens County. At a spinning frolic he chose a girl (Hanna Beairsto) whom he had noticed helping her father thatch a roof. They were married the next day on Aug 11, 1798 and he took her back to Lower Montague. In 1815 George bought 190 acres adjoining the first 100 for 154 pounds sterling. On the stream running through this land he built a gristmill. One day he found five grains of oats, which appeared to be different. He sowed and re-sowed these grains until he had sufficient to not only supply his neighbors but so that shipments of black oats were sent to England and sold particularly well during the Crimean War.
“In 1843, the Old Stone House was finished. It was patterned after the family home in Scotland. “The nine-room house has stone walls of 36″ thickness, which rise from the basement floor to the peak of the roof. At each end of the house, a chimney was built into the stone wall. Unfortunately the fireplaces were bricked in when it became fashionable to have stoves. The huge beams of the square cellar are of juniper. Oak was also used in the construction of the house. In the centre of the building and facing the river is the front entrance. The hall is lighted from the long narrow windows on each side of the door. The paneled door is a Christian door, so called because of the panels from the shape of a cross over an open Bible. Most of the doors in the house are of this type. The two large front rooms each contain a three mullion six sash window. Also the dormer window directly above the front door is the same type. Many of the panes of glass are original and have a brighter sheen than our modern glass. One unique feature of the house is the recess in the wall beside the hallway window where the double lensed telescope has always been kept. A quick and complete view of the river was possible in all daylight hours.” The house still stands today in Lower Montague and is still being lived in by the Aitken family. – “The Aitkens of Kings County, Prince Edward Island by Alice Fraser.
Accomplishment: Developed Black Oats/Aitken’s Oats’

From family archives

The obituary in The Colchester Sun (Truro, Nova Scotia) in January 1914 of Cordelia’s brother W B Alley (son of William Alley and Margaret Aitken) born 1837 – decd 1913

W B Alley Passes To His Rest Beyond

Founder of The Colchester Sun and 36 years Its Editor.
Man of Splendid Physique and Noble Character, He Leaves Place Hard to Fill.

The Late W B Alley

During our 27 years of journalism it has been our duty to record in these columns, and the columns of other newspapers, the deaths of many friends and acquaintances, but never has it been as hard as it is today for us to write of the passing of William Bearsto Alley, the founder and for 36 years the editor and publisher of “The Colchester Sun”, the old “home paper” and Liberal- Conservative standard bearer of this county.
The end came peacefully at 3.30 on the morning of Tuesday, December 30th, 1913 after a year of indifferent health and two weeks’ confinement to his bed. His splendid physical ability and magnificent fortitude was with him until the end. His stout heart and cheerful disposition which had made him a favourite with all with whom he came in contact, remained with him to the final death shadows, the prelude to the brightness of the perfect rest beyond.
He was a native of Prince Edward Island, a son of William Alley of that place, and was in his 77th year. He, early in life, was apprenticed to John Ingsy, publisher of the Islander, Charlottetown with whom he learned the printing trade, becoming a first class workman, and later, on one of the leading journalists of Eastern Canada. In 1866 he came to New Glasgow and associated himself with the late Robert McConnell in the publication of the Eastern Chronicle, and the carrying on of a general printing business. In 1871 he severed his connection with that organization. He was also a staunch member of the Independent Order of Oddfellows and the Independent Order of Foresters.
He is survived by his wife, his faithful, devoted, true helpmate, who was formerly, Miss E J McKenzie, also of P E Island. Had they been spared to each other till December 17th, 1914 they would have observed their the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage, Also in the home he is survived by his sister-in-law, Miss Mary McKenzie, to whom he was a brother in every sense of the word, and in return gave him the affection of a sister. He is also survived by one brother, Alexander Alley, in Saskatoon and four sisters.
His passing leaves a large gap in the fraternal, social and business life of the town. His fine physique, genial smile and kindly voice will be much missed in the market place and where men do mostly congregate. We who are left feel in every sincerity that a good man, a strong man has fallen in our midse, has passed out of our citizenship, and we will all join in extending deepest sympathy to the bereaved wife, brothers, sisters and other immediate friends.
“He is not dead. An angel form passing by bore him away, and we say he is dead”.

And now for a personal word or two. For more than a quarter of a century we were more or less associated with him in a journalistic way. Indeed, he stood sponsor for our entry into the fourth estate, and he impressed upon us principles that have stayed with us, one of which was to never give space to prize fight news or anything of that nature. We ever found him a true, kindly-hearted friend, whose judgment was always sound. When in 1910 we took up the editorial work of The Sun, we ever felt that he was the editor-in-chief, and that we were the subordinates; and yet he never dictated to us in any way in respect to the conducting of the paper, but he left his individuality upon it, and we never tried to get away from it.
Now that he has gone the responsibility that comes with his editorial mantle falling upon our unworthy shoulders is deeply felt by us. Our sincere wish is that it had fallen on more worthy shoulders, but nevertheless, while we continue as editor of the paper, we shall strive as best we can to emulate the example he set.
Our last parting with him was in the early morning of December 13th. He fully realised that the end was near, but there was no fear in the eyes, the expression, but, a calm, heroic resignation to the Divine will. His remark in respect of himself was “The strong man is laid low”. A few minutes previous he had taken leave of his old forman printer and friend, F W Henderson, and his last words he used in taking farewell to Fred: “I always like both of you. Be good boys. Good-bye old friend”. Twas but a few simple words, but they were powerful in effect, and will remain green in memory while life shall last.
Farewell, old friend – C.W.L.

DUNCAN & EMILY MACLAREN
Emily was Cordelia’s sister and also married a shipbuilder – Duncan (1843-1938). See elsewhere on this the website for letters from Emily to her NZ relatives.
Duncan was the son of Archibald and Margaret(Stewart) MacLaren and grandson of Donald and Elizabeth(Stewart) MacLaren who were part of a group called the “Brudenell Pioneers”. They had come from Perthshire, Scotland on 1803 and settled on the Brudenell River.
Duncan was a master shipbuilder, (learning his trade from shipbuilders in Georgetown) and many of the ships built in the Cardigan River were the result of his craftsmanship. He also built ships at Georgetown and at New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.
Duncan married Emily Frances Alley in 1874, built a house on the Cardigan River and became very involved in the affairs of the community. He raised four children, Robert, Fred, Dellie and Winnifred. He was active in the Presbyterian Church.