A French version of this text is available here. Special thanks to my dear friend and cousin Lois Thornton Eldridge for her help in the translation of this text and to Sylvie Bédard from BAnQ Québec for the research done in the archives.

© Marc St-Jacques

I remember a particular moment when I was a child when, during a car ride, my mother took the time to tell us about the different buildings that we saw on Wellington Street in Ottawa: the Parliament, the Supreme Court of Canada, etc. One of the things she told me is rooted in my memory :

If you want to know more about your great-great-grandfather Archibald McAllister, you can come and do some research here.

She showed me the big building with small square windows where the National Archives are housed. It was very impressive for the young boy that I was. Of Archibald, I only knew that he was the first McAllister of our lineage to come to the country. It seems natural to me to dedicate this first blog post to this family which I have often heard of as a child.

The Canadian history of our McAllister branch began on October 10, 1886, in Quebec City. Archibald and his wife Eliza arrived on the Sarmatian that had departed on October 1^st from Londonderry, a port in the north of Ireland. They were accompanied by their three daughters (Mary, Sarah and Ellen who will be known as Nellie) and they were going to Ottawa as evidenced by the list of passengers. The oral history of the family tells us that Nellie was born on the boat. However, the passenger list tells us that she is one year old. She would have been born in Ireland.

Where will they be located exactly? Hard to say since we did not find any notarial act of land purchase concerning Archibald McAllister. In addition, the mention of Ottawa in the passenger list is confusing: it may refer to the city of Ottawa or the County of Ottawa, which at that time covered the whole territory of the Outaouais (from Hull to Maniwaki, including Pontiac and Petite-Nation). Fortunately, the baptism of the couple’s children gives us an important clue.

The first baptism we find is that of Archibald McAlister who will be known as Archie McAllister. The baptism takes place in St. Stephen Church, Chelsea, on May 22, 1887. It is mentioned that his father is a laborer and that his parents live in the parish. The godfather is James Kimmons and the godmother is his mother Margaret Kimmons. The father of the child signs the baptismal certificate. This baptism also confirms that Eliza did not give birth to a child on the boat during the crossing because we know that the date of birth of Archie is May 19, 1887 and that the date of the arrival of the boat is October 10, 1886. So, we can deduce that Eliza was pregnant with Archie during the crossing.

The second child born in Canada is also baptized at St. Stephen’s in Chelsea. James Alexander was baptized on April 25, 1889 and is known as James. Archibald then claims to be a Watchman and the meaning of this profession remains to be determined in the context of the late nineteenth century. Archibald lives in the parish with his wife Eliza. James’s godfather is John Reynolds and his godmother is Mary Jane Carroll.

The third child born in Canada is William Samuel McAllister who is known as William. He was born on January 16, 1891 and was baptized on January 25, 1891 in Saint Stephen, Chelsea. It is stated that Archibald is a laborer and still lives in this parish with his wife. The godparents are Charles McClosky and Bridget Field.

These three baptisms show that the family is living in Chelsea Parish. In the 1891 census, we find the family in the southern part of the Township of Hull which is included in the Chelsea Parish. The census shows that both parents and the two oldest children can read and write and lists the three children born in Canada. We see that Archibald works in a sawmill. It is this little piece of information that gives an important clue about a more precise place of residence of Archibald and his family.

Archibald’s family is listed near several families whose heads work in a sawmill. One of these families, that of James Hyde and Alice Burke, is already in the township of Hull in 1881 and is still there in 1901. Thanks to the census of 1901, it is possible to know on which lot this family is established. The lot in question is part of Lot 9, Range 9, Township of Hull.

The map above shows the location of Lot 9, 9^th Range of the Township of Hull. We see that this lot is crossed by the Gatineau River. It is subdivided into several parts, part of which (9b) is located on an island in the middle of the river. These lots belong to the company Gilmour & Hughson. This puts us on a very interesting track to continue research on this family in the future.

Archibald and his family stay in Chelsea for a while. Francis John is the fourth child born in Canada on January 21, 1893 and is known as Frank. On February 5, his baptism is recorded in the registers of St. Stephen of Chelsea where his parents live. His father claims to be a laborer, his godfather is John Kenney and his godmother Bridgit Murray.

In the same parish registers, we find Elizabeth’s baptism two years later, on February 3, 1895. She was born a few weeks earlier, on January 16, 1895. Her parents still live in the parish of St. Stephen in Chelsea and Archibald declares to be a laborer. Elizabeth’s godfather is William Blair and her godmother is Christina Prestley.

A last child was born December 16, 1896 of the marriage of Archibald McAllister and Eliza McKinley: Thomas Henry McAllister. It is very likely that his parents feared for the life of the child since his baptism mentions that he was baptized under conditions on December 21, 1896 by the Reverend Father J. C. Laporte. The baptismal certificate also reveals that the family moved to the Upper Gatineau in the meantime. The baptismal certificate is recorded in the parish registers of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Maniwaki and it indicates that baptism took place at the « Great Point of the Joseph River ». The godfather and godmother of the child are Amable Nadon and Alphonsine Bertrand.

Thence, it is known that Archibald McAllister and his family settled in Upper Gatineau between February 1895 and February 1897.

A search in the Ministry of Lands and Forests fonds (E21) held at BAnQ Quebec allowed us to find documents that tell us about the precise location where the family is established. On October 6, 1899, Archibald received a rental ticket for lot 44 of Kensington Township. Before he can get this land officially, Archibald must comply with certain requirements and pay a fee. The 1901 census confirms that the family is settled on lots 44, range 6, in Kensington Township. It tells us that he is also installed on lot 43 located immediately south of lot 44.

The rental ticket of lot 43 obtained in 1895 by Pierre Rivet was transferred to James Millar before being transferred again, on October 15, 1909, to Archibald McAllister. According to the census however, McAllister already occupied the lot 8 years earlier. The lots of Archibald McAllister are directly south-east of the Gilmour & Company lands (Lots 44-49, Range 5, Kensington Township) as shown by a map of the Township of Kensington, 1865. The letters patent of the lots occupied by Archibald McAllister are issued August 2, 1910.

Let’s go back to the 1901 census because it contains a lot of information. Archibald is a farmer and worked for 6 months in the last year. He earned $ 108. The family has several children: Mary, Sarah, Agnes E [Nellie], Archibald [Archie], James, William, Francis [Frank], Elizabeth and Thomas [Thomas Henry]. The four oldest children worked as domestics. Mary and Sarah worked 12 months and earned $ 96 each. The census tells us that only William and Sarah speak French.

At the 1911 census, the family is still in Kensington Township. Sarah has been married since 1901 and no longer lives with her parents. All the other children are there: Mary, Nellie, Arthur [Archie], James, Willie [William], Frank, Thom [Thomas Henry] and Laiser [Elizabeth]. The census tells us that Archibald is a farmer and works on the farm while being his own boss. His son Archie also works on the farm and, in 1910, he worked 50 weeks of 60 hours and earned $ 300. The family is English-speaking, but Archibald knows French. The census finally indicates that Archibald McAllister, Eliza McKinley and their two daughters Mary and Nellie can neither read nor write.

The family is still in Kensington Township at the 1921 census, but this time, many of their children are married and live nearby. We learn some new information and among others the number of rooms in the house, three rooms. The census reiterates that Archibald McAllister is a farmer and owner of his farm.

The 1921 census also lists Archie and his wife Jessy [Catherine] and their children Orase [Horace] and Earl [Harold]. The next family is Elizabeth McAllister who married George Day and James McAllister lives with them. Archie McAllister and George Day are loggers in the yards and earned $ 600 in the year 1920, while James is a farmer.

Conclusion

What needs to be remembered from all this, firstly is that Archibald McAllister and his wife Eliza McKinley arrived in Canada on October 10, 1886 with their three daughters who were born in Ireland (Mary, Sarah and Nellie). They establish in Chelsea where five children will be baptized (Archie, James, William, Frank and Elizabeth). Archibald worked in the forest industry and lived near the facilities of the Gilmour and Hughson Company, with whom he could have business connections. Between February 1895 and February 1897, he moves with his family to the Upper Gatineau where their youngest child (Thomas Henry) was baptized in 1897. He obtained land from the provincial government in 1899 and lived there until at least 1921. This land is located in Kensington Township at a location named Joseph’s Farm. The full history of these people still remains to be discovered.

See the timeline of this family.