Inbound and Outbound Migration – PEI and the Meiklejohns
Inbound and Outbound Migration – Prince Edward Island
The migration from the Highlands of Scotland, the Sutherland clearances, occurred after the losses to the English and the banning of the clans. For these reasons and for other conditions that existed at the time there was a large migration of Scots to the maritime provinces of Canada.
Many immigrants subsequently decided to move on to other lands. An example was the way in which the New Zealand government sought migrants in the 1850’s.
The P.E.I. Island Register quotes from the publication ‘An Island Refuge’ –
“Off to a New Land”
In the 1850’s, The Agent for New Zealand in Prince Edward Island made an offer to Islanders as follows:
“Land Offers to all Persons of Good Character and Sober Steady Habits who will emigrate at their own Cost from this Island to Auckland”.
Unused land in New Zealand had been purchased from the Maori natives by the N.Z. Government for this settlement, and all over the age of 18 who settled would receive 40 acres of land by paying 10 pounds to the agent. If applied for by a Parent or Guardian, children would receive 20 acres.
To understand why people took advantage of this offer, one has to understand the political climate of the mid 18th century here on P.E.I. Land was a major issue, as much of it was in tenures, and held by landlords, making it difficult for the young to obtain land. There was also the lure of the adventure of going off to far exotic places.”
The organised migrations such as the Waipu settlers from Nova Scotia were an example.
James Strange Meiklejohn (b 1807) settled in P.E.I. after sailing the globe for several years. He married Catherine Mustard (b 1805) in Pictou, Nova Scotia on 27 September 1831. Between 1832 and 1847 Catherine gave birth to seven sons.
James worked for Arthur and Thomas Owen in their shipyard on the Cardigan River P.E.I. James and Catherine had a farm at Roseneath withinin Lot 53, an unincorporated area within Kings County on the eastern end of P.E.I.
James built four ships on his own account –
Isabel built 1852 tonnage 130 Tons
Bee built 1853 tonnage 96 Tons
Success built 1854 tonnage 199 Tons
Registered 1 November 1854 – one deck,two masts, length 99 feet, width 21 feet, depth on hold 12 feet – Brig – registered PEI – transferred to Liverpool registry in 1855 – Builder J S Meiklejohn at Three Rivers
Union built 1856 tonnage 131 Tons
Registered 13 May1856 – one deck, two masts, Carvel, square stern, Brigantine, length 91 feet, width 21 feet, depth in hold 11 feet
Sold to Merriman & Clarke of Sydney on 20th day of February 1858
Owner/Builder J S Meiklejohn of Three Rivers PEI
It was the Union on which he took Catherine and six of his sons other than John to New Zealand in 1857. The Union was sold in Sydney N.S.W. in February 1858 before travelling onto Auckland where they arrived on the 16th of March 1858.
John, who had married Charlotte Cordelia Alley in July 1856, stayed on in P.E.I. before also leaving for New Zealand late in 1860.
The NSW maritime authorities of the time registered that the brigantine Union arrived into Sydney on the 20th of February 1858 with the following onboard –
Master – James Strange Mucklejohn
Catherine Mucklejohn + 2 children
Chief Officer – Edward Balkeley
Cook -Robert Mucklejohn
Carpenter – James Mucklejohn
Second mate – Alexander Mucklejohn
Seaman – William Mucklejohn
Able seaman – Henry Mason
The Sydney Morning Herald issue of 22 February 1858 noted that the schooner ‘Sybil’ (103 tons) had been cleared for departure to Auckland with the following onboard –
Captain Kelly
James Strange Mucklejohn
Catherine Mucklejohn
Messrs A, W, R, L & S Mucklejohn
Mr and Mrs T Dodd
3 children (assumed to include Susan Dodd who was to later work for the family as governess).
Additional information on the Mustard family is available on the website of the Prince Edward Island Genealogy Society- www.peigs.ca
The Cardigan River along with the Brudenell River and the Montague/Valleyfield River make up the Trois Riviéres (Three Rivers) which flow into Cardigan Bay.
History of the Three Rivers area with particular reference to the township of Montague which is a short distance from Cardigan and Roseneath and Lot 52 where James & Catherine were to set up home in the early 1830’s
Montague’s history begins with the formation of Prince Edward Island. The area around Cardigan Bay is one of the youngest on the Island, and is composed of Permian deposits, formed 280 million years ago. Many years later, humans moved into the area; first the Paleo-Indians, then the Shellfish People, and finally the Micmaq tribe, who were to exist on “Abegweitt” for many years before the arrival of the European.
In 1731 a company was founded in France to organise farming and fishing on Isle St. Jean. The founders planned to sell their products at Fortress Louisburg, the Cape Breton stronghold of the Arcadians, and bought 3,000 acres of land. This land was located where the present day Montague and Brudenell Rivers flow into Georgetown Harbour.
Jean-Pierre Roma, one of the members of the company, went to this location and in 1732 built a town on Brudenell Point which he named Three Rivers. The group of buildings, which he constructed in the “piquet” style, included a company house, fishermen’s quarters, a bakehouse, a storehouse, a forge and stable, and residences for the ship’s officers and crews, labourers, overseers and tradesmen. Each house had its own garden where cabbage, turnip, wheat and peas were grown. Wells were dug, and a stone jetty was built off the point. In order to make it more accessible, roads were built to connect the new community to with Cardigan, Souris, St. Peters and the capital, Port la Joie (now known as Charlottetown).
Roma wanted to make Three Rivers the centre of a commercial and fishing empire, but he was not encouraged by his partners, who refused to give him further financial support. As a result Roma became sole proprietor and commandant of the town, which prospered due to his strict economy. In 1738, they were expecting an abundance of harvest when the land was laid waste by a plague of field mice. Roma later devoted himself to a study of the mice to prevent such disasters.
Europe was at war in 1745, and as a result, the English in North America attacked Louisbourg. On the way to the fortress a British ship stopped in Three Rivers. Roma was taken by surprise and offered no resistance, fleeing into the woods with his family while Three Rivers was looted and burned to the ground.
During Samuel Holland’s 1764-65 survey of the Island, a Lieutenant Robinson was dispatched to map the river system in detail. Montague river was named in honour of either George Brudenell, Fourth Earl of Cardigan and Duke of Montague; JohnMontague, Third Earl of Sandwich; or Montague Wilmot, the Governor of Nova Scotia and St John’s Island at the time of Holland’s survey. The Three rivers area did not see significant settlement again until a group of Scottish immigrants settled in 1803 near the old French site, re-naming it Brudenell.
During the thirteen years of Roma’s settlement, the area as we now know as Montague lay undisturbed. The town was known as lot 52 and Lot 59 after Holland’s survey. Lot 59 (the south side of Montague) had not been included in the lottery as it had been previously granted to group of men engaged in the fishery who had made improvements to the land. David Higgins, part of that group, made attempts to establish a community by building a sawmill and a gristmill, and clearing 30 acres for a farm. Higgins ran into financial difficulty, though, and while procuring supplies he was captured by an American privateer. Due to the cost of his ransom, he ran out of money and had to sell his share of the land. The population of Lot 59 decreased from 32 tenants in 1774 to 15 in 1820.
Lot 52 (the north side) had been drawn by 3 people, all by the name of Douglas. The settlement was neglected until 1775, when it was taken over by people named Tead, Dodd, Curry and Fontenalle. They, too, did not bring out settlers (part of the requirements for ownership of lots), so the land reverted back to the Crown for dispersal.
One of the first permanent settlers in Montague Bridge was John Aitken, who arrived in Lot 59 in 1775. A 1798 census for that lot shows other settlers by the names of Young, Clark, Keoughan and Creed had also established themselves. In 1804 Joseph Ball made a map of the village of Montague Bridge (as it was then known): there was a wharf on the south side, a bridge and road to Charlottetown, a road to Wightman’s Point, three lots of land owned by a Dewar and two different MacDonalds, thirteen lots owned by Patrick Stephens and land owned by John Lemon.
In the 1820’s over 800 settlers came into the Three Rivers area, although some of the area around Montague, including Lots 51 and 52, were slow to colonize. Andrew MacDonald owned land in Lot 52, and in 1806 brought 50 settlers in, eventually attracting more through Royal Gazette advertisements. He gave the newcomers the choice of purchasing land outright or buying on a long term lease. Much of the settlement occurred in Lots 59 and 53. Conditions were often very different from what the settlers had expected when they left their homelands. Much of the area was deep wilderness, and many of the inhabitants had developed very rough appearances. There were very few close neighbours and little exposure to the church.
In 1832 (about the time of JSM’s arrival in the area) another survey added the names of Lambert, Beers, Clay, Annear, Collins, O’Halloran, Watson, Rourke, Lannon and MacDairmid to the list of inhabitants. By 1840 there were at least 4 small clearings settled in the south side of Lot 59. At the same time, there were a few settlers in Lot 52, and a rough bridge was built to link both sides. It was made from logs and whatever was at hand, and eventually fell into disrepair and was replaced by a stronger wooden structure. The decision to build a bridge is the reason for Montague’s existence today. The inhabitants were given twenty pounds by the Commission of Roads and Bridges and were required to build the bridge themselves.
Montague Road first appeared on maps in 1851, showing the growing importance of the town. It connected Montague Bridge with Brudenell Bridge and linked Lower Montague with the
Charlottetown Road, an important link to Charlottetown. This helped increase the exportation of farm products and logging material. Mills became very important, with three being established in the area. A sawmill owned by Phillip Beers operated in Brown’s Creek. Donald Campbell has alumber and grain mill on the other branch of the Montague River.
Sourced from the Monatgue Library.
Background to the ecology, heritage and culture of the region can be found at the following websites:
Three Rivers Heritage Assn – www.isn.net/~heritage
Early French settlers on P.E.I. – www.romapei.com
Great Canadian Rivers – www.greatcanadianrivers.com/rivers/threerivers
Researched by Des Meiklejohn
