The Angus McDonald Family of the parish of St. Patrick, and later of St. Andrews, Charlotte County, New Brunswick
Though I have no connection to this McDonald family, I have encountered some information on them through researching my husband's family in New Brunswick.
Angus McDonald and his wife Catherine were buried in the Old Loyalist (Anglican) Cemetery in St. Andrews, along with their son, Donald. Those records are available online at https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2583621/memorial-search. This is what their stone says:
Sacred / To the Memory of / Angus McDONALD / Capt. in the North Carolina Highland RegT / And / Catherine, his wife / The former of whom died / On the 24 of April 1805 / And the latter on the 3d of Aug. 1800 / Also / To the Memory of / Donald McDONALD / Their son who died on the 16 Sept. 1815 / Aged 51 years / [epitaph] / A.C.D. McD. [footstone]
The records for All Saints Anglican Church, in St. Andrews, appear on Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (PANB) microfilm F1057. These records note that Mrs. McDonald, wife of Captain McDonald, was buried on Aug. 5, 1800. They also state that Angus McDonald was buried on Apr. 28, 1805, and Major McDonald was buried on Sept. 19, 1815. All of these records fit with the information given on the stone, as listed above.
This family is mentioned a number of times in the Glimpses of the Past series of newspaper articles. Article CIII - THE SEVENTY-FOURTH ASSOCIATION-Continued, in the Feb. 8, 1894 issue of the Saint Croix Courier, states that Angus McDonald was a captain in the 74th Regiment. However, this is corrected in a later article, CIX – THE PENOBSCOT ASSOCIATED LOYALISTS, Mar. 29, 1894, which states that he belonged to the Royal North Carolina Highlanders. An earlier article provides some information on his family: XCV – DIGDEGUASH, Dec. 14, 1893, written by Peter H. McCallum, a great-grandson of Angus and Catherine McDonald. The grant referred to in the first sentence, below, was in Digdeguash in the parish of St. Patrick.
"Captain Angus McDonald built the first frame-house that was built on the grant, ploughed the first ground, and settled on the farm now owned by the writer.
Captain McDonald owned a plantation in North Carolina. I have understood that he received his commission on account of raising a company in North Carolina in defence of the crown. He was a cousin of Flora McDonald, so dear to Scottish hearts, who also, with her husband, had emigrated to North Carolina, but who returned to Scotland at the close of the war.
Capt. McDonald afterwards moved to St. Andrews, living on what is now known as the Tupper farm, owned by Mr. Thom. Blakney. He had two sons-Archibald, who went to the East Indies and was never afterwards heard from; and Donald, known as Major McDonald; and three daughters-Mary, wife of Peter McCallum; Margaret, wife of John Campbell, of St. Andrews; and Ann, wife of James McMaster. Major Donald McDonald was a land surveyor. He owned the Tupper farm after his father’s death, and died there. His grave is marked by a headstone in the old burial ground in St. Andrews.
.....
My father has also shown me the graves of two negroes who came with Captain McDonald from Carolina, where they had been slaves on his plantation."
Article CIII - THE SEVENTY-FOURTH ASSOCIATION-Continued adds a little more information:
"Capt. McDonald, as before stated, was the first to break the soil in the new settlement in St. Patrick; and, after his removal to St. Andrews, he left his Digdeguash farm to his son-in-law, Peter McCallum, who, until the outbreak of the second American war, had been living at Schoodic Falls."
Angus and Catherine appear on one of the lists of early settlers in Charlotte County: the Return of Men Women and Children's names with Lieut. Colonel Stewart Settled in the District of Passamaquoddy, dated July 18, 1784. Though there are other people named McDonald on that list, it appears that only Angus among the men, Catherine among the women, and Anny and Archibald among the children over ten belong to this family. Angus appears on another list, Names of the Third Class that drew Lands at Digdeguash River 12th July 1784, which is found on LDS film 1430169. That list gives the number of people in each household, and confirms that the Angus McDonald household consisted of four people at that time. The son named Donald would have been about twenty years old in 1784, old enough to be on his own. He is likely the one by that name who appears on the "Third Class" list. From these documents, it appears that the other two daughters, Mary and Margaret, may have been born after July 18, 1784. That would make both of them much younger than their husbands, who were young men in 1784. However, it's also possible that they were left behind with other family members when this list was made.
Donald McDonald probably didn't marry. He was buried with his parents, and no spouse is mentioned there. According to "Early New Brunswick Probate Records 1785-1835", by R. Wallace Hale, he was living in the parish of St. Andrews when he died without leaving a will. Administration of his estate was granted to his sister, Margaret McDonald, on Oct. 2, 1815. By the time that a statement of account of the estate was filed, on Nov. 16, 1820, Margaret had married John Campbell.
All Saints Anglican Church records, as above, contain a marriage record for Ann McDonald and James McMaster, dated Sept. 6, 1792. "Early New Brunswick Probate Records 1785-1835" states that James McMaster of the parish of St. Patrick died intestate and the administration of his estate was granted to his widow, Ann, on Jan. 4, 1805. Ann died, also intestate, and the administration of her estate was given to her brother, Donald McDonald, on May 20, 1814. After Donald died, the administration of the estate was passed to John McMaster on July 20, 1816. I haven't been able to find a burial place for James and Ann.
Mary McDonald married Peter McCallum on Dec. 17, 1803, according to All Saints records. It was his second marriage. He had been married to Abigail Stone on Dec. 10, 1798, also according to All Saints records. Kirk McColl records, online at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~aek740/kirk-McColl.html, hold the baptism records of two children born to Peter and Abigail: Hugh, born Oct. 16, 1799, and Hannah, born Dec. 13, 1800. Evidently Hannah predeceased her father, as she is not named in his will. Peter and his second wife, Mary, had six known children: Archibald, Catherine, Donald, Peter, Margaret, and Angus. All six plus Hugh are mentioned in the will. The New Brunswick Courier reported in its May 24, 1845 issue that Peter McCallum of Digdeguash had died on May 19, at the age of 86. Peter and Mary were buried in the same plot as their son Archibald and family, in the Methodist/United Church Cemetery in the parish of St. Patrick. Those records are online at https://sites.rootsweb.com/~nbcharlo/cemetery/johnsonset.htm. Here are the family's records:
McCALLUM / Archibald McCALLUM / 1806 - 1873 / his wife / Cecelia A. McCALLUM / 1819 - 1855 / Peter H. McCALLUM / 1846 - 1912 / Charlotte A. MCALLUM / 1847 - 1918 / Flora M. McCALLUM / 1850 - 1883
[back] Grandparents / Peter McCALLUM / his wife / Mary McCALLUM / Children / Peter McCALLUM / 1812 - 1892 / Catherine A. McCALLUM / 1807 - 1892 / Augus McCALLUM/ 1817 - 1871 / Margaret M. McCALLUM / 1815 - 1886
I don't know when Mary died, and I have no idea of her age. Unfortunately the stones don't give any dates for Peter or Mary. Their son Archibald is listed in the above transcription as having died in 1873. However, it appears that there is an error either on the stone or in the transcription, as the Newspaper Vital Statistics series, available on the PANB website at http://archives.gnb.ca/APPS/NewspaperVitalStats/?culture=en-CA, has the following record for his death:
Date August 15 1878
County Charlotte
Place Saint Andrews
Newspaper Bay Pilot
d. Digdeguash (Charlotte Co.) 73rd year, Archibald McCallum.
All Saints records, as above, list the marriage of Margaret McDonald to John Campbell on Aug. 22, 1816. John died on Aug. 9, 1830, and was buried in the same cemetery as Margaret's parents and brother. The stone reads:
Sacred / To / The Memory of / John CAMPBELL / Esquire / Late merchant in Saint Andrews / [epitaph] / Born at Dalle in Craignish / Argyleshire, North Britain / he died / In the hope of a glorious resurrection / 9th August 1830 / Aged 68 years
John did leave a will, and according to "Early New Brunswick Probate Records 1785-1835", it was dated Jan. 9, 1826 and proved Aug. 16, 1830. He left all of his estate to his wife Margaret. That included property in five of the parishes of the county. The New Brunswick Courier reported the death of Margaret in the Dec. 19, 1840 issue. She died at the home of Robert Watt in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on Nov. 3, 1840, at the age of 70 years. That would suggest a year of birth of 1770, which if correct suggests that Margaret was indeed not with her parents when they were listed on July 18, 1784, as above. Margaret's will, dated Aug. 16, 1834, left all of her estate to a friend, James Rait. If Margaret and John had any children, they did not survive their parents. It is likely that Margaret was buried in Jamaica.
There is a land deed that names the heirs of Donald McDonald and that divides his land among them. This deed is found in the Charlotte County registry books, in Book I, from pages 294 through 298. This makes it clear that Donald had three sisters: Mary who was married to Peter McCallum, Margaret who was married to John Campbell, and Ann who was married to James McMaster. Before the date of this deed, November 3, 1826, both Ann and James McMaster had died. Ann's heirs were listed as John McMaster, James Allanshaw, widower of the late Jenet (McMaster) Allanshaw, Angus McMaster, and Charlotte McMaster.