In this year of Our Lord,
ninetten hundred and sixty four, when the people of Prince Edward Island
are commemorating the notable events which took place in their capital one
century ago, it is appropriate that the spotlight of history be turned on
this province. Already historians have given to the public their studies
of the Province's history and of the role played by it in the making of
our country. It is fitting that a part of the program of the annual
conference of the Catholic Historical Association this year should be
devoted to certain aspects of the history of the Roman Catholic people of
Prince Edward Island. This paper will deal with the life and times of the
outstanding Catholic layman in the early history of this province, Captain
John MacDonald, the founder of the First Scottish Catholic Settlement in
Prince Edward Island.
For two score years... from
1771, when he first came into contact with the then St. John's Island, to
1811... the year of his death - John MacDonald played a leading role in
the affairs of the Island. As the organizer and leader of one of the
largest emigrations to its shores, as one of its principal military
figures and as a leading citizen in some of the social and economic
queastions and controversies of his day, John MacDonald deserves the
attention of later ages. Added to this is the fact that his sons took
prominent roles in the political, military and religious affairs of their
generation. Of all of his descendents only the name of his grandson,
William C., later Sir William C. MacDonald, has survived the passage of
time, and that principally by gracing containers for tobacco and not, as
it rightfully should, for its bearer's benevolance and generosity in the
aid of education. It is indeed thus to subject the forebear of this
family, John MacDonald, to the scrutiny of history.
John MacDonald was born at
Glenalladale, Scotland, in the year 1742. He was the eldest son of
Alexander MacDonald of Glenalladale and Margaret MacDonald of Scotus. The
MacDonalds of Glenalladale were the senior cadet branch of the Clan
MacDonald of Clanranald. The Glenalladale MacDonalds occupied the eastern
section of Clanranald territory and "became the hereditary guardians of
Clanranald and the natural managers of their affairs." As such they
constituted a sort of buffer state between the Clanranalds and any
belligerent neighbors who might from time to time have designs on
Clanranald property and territory.
John MacDonald was probably too young to remember, but,
when he was a child of three yearn, a quite extraordinary visitor appeared
at his father’s home at Glenalladale. This was Prince Charles Edwart
Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie", who had recently landed on Scottish soil
and who was to ignite the highland Clans in a last heroic effort to
recover the British Crown for the Stuarts. It was on Glenalladale
territory at Glenfinnan that Charles raised his standard, and among his
first adherents were Clanranald men, notably Alexander of Glenalladale and
his uncle Angus MacDonald of Borrodale. In the Campaign that followed,
Alexander MacDonald served as a major and second-in. command of the
Clanranald regiment. He commanded this unit in the attack on Edinburgh;
and he fought in the later battles of Falkirk and Prestopans, and in the
final decisive battle at Culloden.
But it was during the aftermath of Culloden that Major
Alexander MacDonald was especially to distunguish himself. Although
seriously wounded and in spite of further danger to himself and his
family, be became the principal guardian of the fugitive prince, and for
almost two months conducted him from one Highland retreat to another until
finally he saw him safely aboard a ship for France. As a result of his
being "out in ‘45" Alexander MacDonald of Glenalladale suffered the loss
of his cattle and the destruction of his property. But his bravery and
exploits during and after tho campaign won for him the esteem and
admiration of his compatriots and the reputation of being one of the
outstanding lairds in the Western Highlands.
In 1756, when he was fourteen years of age, John
MacDonald left Glenalladale to enter the seminary in Ratisbon, Germany.
This institution was conducted by the Benedictine Monks of St. James
Abbey, Ratisbon, for the education of Scottish youth. It is a matter of
interest whether John MacDonald’s enrollment at this seminary signified
any intention on his part of studying for the priesthood. On this point,
while the normal practice was to accept those destined for the priesthood
or religious life, it seems that it was not unusual to enroll boys who did
not have this intention, especially if they were from select families.
A son of Alexander of Glenalladale would surely qualify
on this count.
Also, the name of John MacDonald is not listed among
the student. of this seminary who applied for admission to the Benedictine
Order.
There is some evidence that John completed the regular
course of studies at Ratisbon. But, more than likely, it was broken
towards the end by the death of his father in January 1761, and the
necessity of his returning home to take over the administration of his
father’s estate at Glenalladale. That his education was not of inferior
quality, at least in languages and the classics, may be discerned from
this student’s ability to speak, read and write seven languages and the
apparent ease with which he referred to the classical authors.
Presumably it was on reaching his majority in 1763 that
John MacDonald became the eighth Laird of Glenalladale. Moreover, he was
chosen "Tanist", or second-in-command of the Clanranalds. In reference to
this appointment, his son wrote:
It was sound judgement, varied learning. and high
rank and standing among chieftans of the Clanranald family that he was
selected as the "Cashnier", which in the Gaelic language
signifies the guardian or the next in rank to the chief, being a tranfer
of power In his absence, or when he is incapacitated in case of age or
illness, to command.
He was singled out among the Clanranald chieftains. It
was a mark of confidence in him.
Sometime during the next few years the young laird of
Glenalladale married for the first time. His first wife was a Miss
Isabella Gordon, of Wardhouse, the aunt of the famous 19th century British
admiral, Sir James Gordon. John MacDonald was early widowed, his wife
dying in childbirth. The only child of this marriage survived its mother
but a few months.
"The year 1770 is memorable in the annals of the Scotch
Mission for a bitter persecution directed against a number of poor
Catholics in the Western Highlands..." So begin, the account of a
melancholy situation which was developing in the Western Highlands in 1770
and which would culminate in the emigration of many Scottish Catholics
under John MacDonald to St. John’s Island. The circumstances may be
recounted briefly. The island of South Uist was divided between MacDonald
of Clanranald and Colin MacDonald of Boisdale, who besides his own
holdings had a large tract of land in lease from Clauranald. Boisdale had
abandoned Catholicism and had embraced the tenets of the Established
Church. In an effort to force his Catholic tenants to give up their faith
he launched a series of measures designed for this purpose. The first was
an attempt to undermine the Catholic beliefs of the children in the school
administered by him. This was followed by the banishment of the Catholic
missionary on that and by a formal demand that Catholic tenants renounce
their faith under penalty of the loss of their homes on thu island. The
reaction of the people was immediate and unanimous. They
rejected Boisdale’s threats and made immediate plans
to quit South Uiat.
This situation and a similar one that followed on the
Island of Muck constituted a threat to the very existence of Catholicism
in the Highlands. In the face of this peril to the faith of their people,
the Roman Catholic bishop. took immediate steps. In July, 1770, Bishop Hay
expressed his conviction that the only remedy for the persecuted people
would be emigration to America. According to the Scotichronicon, the chief
promoter of this scheme at this time was John MacDonald of Glenalladale.
That he was already deeply committed to this plan in midsummer 1770 is
indicated by Bishop Hay:
Worthy Glenalladale affirms that he will sell all for
that end and go himself along with them. His conduct indeed, upon this
occasion is exceedingly edifying; he seems to inherit all the zeal of
the primitive times, as well as the piety of his own worth ancestors.
Bishop Hay proceeded to investigate the financial
implications of obtaining land in America for the people of Uist and
concluded that at least 2,000 pounds would be required. He was able to
report in October of that year that Glenalladale had agreed to raise this
sum by mortgaging his estate. That negotiations for the purchase of land
were soon under way is revealed through the Bishop, writing from Edinburgh
the following month: "...Glenalladale is already here, in order to treat
of a place of settlement with the Lord Advocate who has large tracts of
land in St. John’s Island, Lawrence River — a most excellent soil and find
climate..." There is evidence that the actual purchase was effected
shortly after, probably early in 1771. In the spring of 1771, Donald
MacDonald, the younger brother of Glenalladale, led a party of about a
dozen men to St. John’s Island to sow grain and to prepare for the main
emigration which was to follow. Donald returned to Scotland later that
autumn with reports which were, according to Glenalladale, "the best
Accounts that I could wish, & in particular of our Lot, as the first or
Second best of the whole for trade, Fishing, & Agriculture." Apparently
Donald’s report of things on St. John’s relieved Glenalladale of some
doubts concerning the wisdom of the project, and the two brothers
proceeded with the planning of the emigration.
The problem of financing such an undertaking still
plagued its organizers. Bishop Hay contributed what he could from his own
meagre resources and turned to England for further aid. He drew up a
statement explaining the origins and development of the persecution on
Uist and sent it to Bishop Challoner, Vicar
Apostolic of the London District. Bishop Challoner launched a public
subscription among Catholics in
England, and raised the substantial sum of 500 pounds. It
was desperately needed, for, as Glenalladale was to find out on a trip to
Uist in February, 1772, the Catholics on that island
were destitute and totally incapable of meeting the expenses of a voyage
to America. Apparently Glenalladale offered to raise the balance on his
estates, and plans for an emigration the following
spring were completed. On March 1772, Glanalladale
was able to report from Greenock;
Several settlers have agreed to
goe to our Lot — Our
Method is to give them by Lease for ever a
certain Number of Acres, such as they can manage
easily, they paying us a small yearly quitrent
out of it, & furnishing themselves all
necessaries & Passage only that we must direct &
assist them to carry it on — a number of other
people and our own friends have joined after
this manner to the
number of 214 Souls, Men,
Women and Children.
Early in May, 1772, under the leadership of Donald
MacDonald some 210 emigrants — approximately 100 from Uist and the rest
from the mainland — sailed aboard The Alexander for St. John’s Island. It
was a well-equipped expedition. The people were "furnished with a year’s
provisions, tools, every other necessary, and credit." They had a doctor
on board — Dr. Roderick MacDonald, a cousin of Glenalladale's. And they
were under the spiritual care of a priest, Father James MacDonald, a
secular priest and an experienced missionary. After an uneventful voyage
of seven weeks they reached St. John’s and landed on the MacDonald’s Lot
36 at a place which they subsequently were to name Scotchfort and settled
at Tracadie.
The Laird of Glenalladale remained in Scotland in 1772.
Apparently he felt that his presence was required for some time in
Scotland.
For my own part, It is neccesary for the scheme that
I should continue at home for some time as yet, Supplying my brother in
the best manner I can, & receiving such Opprest people as offer
themselves to us from all Corners, but certain it is I cannot be fond of
the country after all I love best are away — Having greater Interest now
in St. John than in the Land. I have at home — It being a much better
climate and country.
But initial reports from his settlers in the New World
were to change plans and prompt his early departure. The settlers were
dismayed by the prospects of survival on such a place as St. John’s Island
and sent him an urgent request to go out and remove them to some more
promising location. Their state of mind was explained some years later:
What frightened Mr. MacDonald’s people to dispair was
the slender and starved appearance of grain
they saw almost everywhere, and that what the
servants had put into the ground the preceding year, instead of
thirty or eighteen returns, which all former accounts had assured from
the most superficial agriculture, scarcely promised two returns.
Glenalladale immediately took steps to order his
affairs in Scotland, and in mid-summer 1773 he left his native country for
St. John's Island. He went by way of Philadelphia, and purposefully so,
"in order to form a judegement of the country in general during, the
progress northwards." On his arrival at Boston he learned that a vessel
with supplies that he had sent out from Scotland the previous autumn had
never reached its destination. He was forced to purchase new supplies and
to ship them to St. John's. In the meantime, his brother had gone to
Quebec where he obtained a vessel-load of provisions. These shipments were
badly needed for the crops planted the previous summer had failed.
Glenalladale arrived to find his settlers disheartened and anxious to
leave.
By this time Glenalladale had no intention of leaving.
An appraisal of his territory on St. John's convinced him that his lands
compared favourably with what he had seen to the south. So he put aside
all thoughts of moving his settlers, and set himself to the task of
ordering the affairs of the colony. It would seems that his reputation and
leadership were what was needed most at this juncture, for from this point
the settlement made headway. Glenalladale took steps to lay a solid
agriculatural base by importing such livestock as horses, cattle, swine
and sheep for breeding purposes. He continued to support the settlers with
foodstuffs until they could raise enough on their own lands. There is
evidence that he provided some support for the Acadians and some Brittish
settlers on the Island who where in a destitute condition and almost
starving. The necessity of his having to do so suggests that life on St.
John's Island in those early years was hard - a far cry from the paradise
portrayed to entice would-be-settlers in the British Isles. It left many
of the early settlers disillusioned and discontented. Yet the settlers at
Tracadie were already "the best off where scarcely any one was tolerably
easy, and rather successful than otherwise... they were the chief support
and hope of the island..." It would be unwise to attend very much to such
optimisitc accounts as "The Uist people are doing extremely well on St.
John's Island". A more realistic view was expressed after a decade: "From
the difficulties incident to their situation, their progress was not equal
to what had been reported to some proprietors at a distance, and it was
thought too highly of even on the island. Still they were getting
forward." Theirs was a record of slow and steady progress. And the
principal factor in their betterment was one which other settlers lacked,
that they were under the guidance and direction of a very energetic and
capable prorietor, John MacDonald of Glenalladale.
One could conclude from this account that the prime
motive behind this plan of emigration was a religious one. This has been
the consistent interpretation of the several writers who have dealt with
this event, and the present writer sees no reason to take a different
view. There was a persecution; and the only apparent solution that would
protect the faith of the Uist people was emigration. To this end, the
Roman Catholic authorities bent every effort and strained every resource.
But what of the role of Glenalladale in this movement?
Was he drawn into this affair, and did he decide to sponsor the emigration
so wholeheartedly soley out of a desire to help the prosecuted Catholics
of Uist? Recently evidence has been published that suggests that
Glenallandale's involvement was more complex, that it resulted from a
multiplicity of factors. Prior to despatching the Alexander from Greenock
in 1772, Glenalladale wrote:
You know the precarious footing on which I was by a
friend persuaded to accept ofthe Farm of Keppoch - Misrepresentations
that were made of me by designing people to Lady Clanranald had like the
Overture this Security I promised Myself I might probably have of the
possession of it, & upon the whole alienated My Mind from the Factory or
any Dependance on that Family. So far that I was determined to take the
first Opportunity of throwing off the Same, Notwithstanding that she was
at least perfectly reconciled to me. This with the situation I saw many
of my friends whom I loved, like to fall into, & which their Children
could not avoid, Unless Some other Path was struck out for them made me
wish for a feasible Method of leaving the inhospitable Part of the
World, which has fallen to our share, allong with them - Emigrations
that were carrying on in Argyleshire about Campbellton, opened my Eyes
to the like Schemes, and my brother chanceing to come home & taking
Descriptions & Plans we saw of the Island of St. John's in the Gulph of
St. Lawrence, we both purchased at a venture from the Lord Advocate Mr.
Montgomery the best Lot to Appearance of the Whole Island.
This passage from a personal and soul-baring letter by
Glenalladale to his cousin and friend, Alexander MacDonald of Borrodale,
is indeed revealing. It shows that Glenalladale was unhappy in his
associations with the Clanranalds; so much so that he had determined to
sever the relationship. It also suggests that the economic and social
upheavals which were under way in the Highlands did not escape
Glenalladale. His caustic "Emigrations are like to demolish the Highland
Lairds, and very deservedly" indicates that he had little sympathy with
the post-Culloden lairds, who had lost the old patriarchal spirit and had
little interest, other than monetary, in their tacksmen and tenants. In
the light of his, one may conclude that social and economic factors had
initially disposed Glenalladale to emigrating
and that the religious persecution, something which he abhorred,
brought matters to a head and prompted him to act resolutely and
decisively.
Glenalladale’s work at Tracadie was soon to be
disrupted. In 1775 the War of the American Revolution broke out, and the
beginning of these hostilities was to have immediate repercussions on the
career of John MacDonald. The British authorities had some doubts about
the loyalty of the Highland colonials and took immediate steps to ensure
ther allegiance to the crown. That fears concerning the loyalty of John
MacDonald were groundless is indicated by his later explanation that "he
could not decline an example and exertion of loyalty specially required by
His Majesty when the dismemberment of the Empire was in question and
especially the dismemberment of the part to which the petitioner now
belongs." So, in June 1755, when he received a pressing request to join a
Highland regiment then being formed, and in spite of the no less pressing
need for his presence at Tracadie, he proceeded on active duty to Halifax.
The unit in which Glenalladale was to be commissioned
was the Second Battalion of His Majesty’s Royal Highland Regiment of
Emigrants, or more commonly, The Royal Emigrants. ‘ This regiment,
consisting of two battalions, was being formed under the command of
Lt.-Col. Allan MacLean who was commissioned by General Gage to enlist
Highlanders and other loyal subjects from any of the provinces in North
America. The First Battalion was organized by Colonel MacLean about Quebec
and on the northern frontier of New York from discharged men of the 42nd
Regiment, Fraser and Montgomery Highlanders who had settled in these
colonies after the peace of 1763. The Second Battalion was to have its
headquarters in Halifax and was to be made up of recruits from Nova
Scotia, Newfoundland, St. John’s Island, and from Highland settlers in
North Carolina. The command of the Second Battalion was given to Major
John Small, formerly of the 42nd Highlander. and then of the 21st
Regiment, an extremely popular officer among Highland men. Major Small’s
duties with the 21st Regiment required his continuance at Boston, and the
actual organisation of the Second Battalion was entrusted to Captain
Alexander MacDonald, a veteran officer who came out of retirement on
Staten Island to resume active service with the new Highland regiment.
This circumstance was fortuitous for future historians, as Captain
Alexander MacDonald was a prolific
correspondent and his letters constitute
the principal source for the history of the
Second Battalion." These letters extend over a three and one-half year
period, from June 1715 to January 1779, and present a detailed and an
extremely interesting account of the doings of the Second Battalion during
these war years. From these we are able to assemble a record of the first
half of the eIght year military career of John MacDonald of Glenalladale.
As soon as Glenalladale committed himself to the
British cause, he began to raise a company from among his own people and
others on the Island" After bringing
this unit to Halifax, he proceeded to Newfoundland to recruit for the
battalion in that colony." In spite of the lack of support by the
authorities there he gained some recruits and brought them to Halifax.
Towards Christmas, 1775, Glenalladale was appointed Captain and made
company commander in the Second Battalion at Halifax. ~
This may have been a dubious distinction, for
the Second Battalion was in dire straits. First
of all, it suffered from the absence of
its commanding
officer. Secondly, it was poorly provisioned. There was such a scarcity
of clothing
and food, that the troops suffered from cold, hunger and
malnutrition, and
during the winter of
1776 many members of the Second Battalion met
their deaths. Finally, the battalion had not been accorded official status
in the British Army.
The officers had not received
any confirmation either of their pay or the
commissions promised them on enlistment or any of the other
benefits, such as half-pay on retirement,
which were normally accorded to regular officers. Glenaladale protested
against this
treatment and even threatened to turn his men over to other units and to
take the case to London if the situation was not remedied." It was
not until the latter part of February, 1776, that Glenalladale finally
received his commIssion.
He was to spend the next two years at Halifax. In the
summer of 1776, he was obliged to return to St. John’s Island to
straighten out some difficulties with his tenants, some of whom were
dissatisfied and were threatening to settle elsewhere." On his return to
Halifax he must have concerned himself with some of the loftier aspects of
the war, as he then addressed
a forty-four page memorandum to Secretary of
State Germain in
which he set forth his views on the future government of
America. It is
not known what attention, if any, he received
for his effort, on this level, in any
case, the loss of the war removed any
possibility of putting them to the test.
Late in 1778, GlenaIladale was
given command of a detachment at
Annapolis. During his term of command at this post, he was confronted by
an attempt to undermine the loyalty of his men. A Justice Patten harbored
a spy from New England and aided him in his efforts to infiltrate into
Glenalladale’s contingent and incite these soldiers to desert. By sending
out his own spies, soldiers who feigned desertion, Glenalladale was
successful in obtaining proof of Patten’s rebellious activities and thus
prevented any further threats of
this nature."
But, from Captain Alexander MacDonald’s letters we get
more than a chronological record of the battalion. The captain was quite
explicit in his appraisal and evaluation of his officers. Many references
to his friend and brother officer "Glen al a
del" illustrate clearly that he en
tertained a high regard for him. Glenalladale is "an ornament to any corps
that he goes into." But Alexander MacDonald was too much the veteran
soldier to allow friendship to blur his judgment. It may be viewed as
significant that Captain Alexander MacDonald, who did not hesitate to
speak his mind to superiors as well as subordinates, regarded Captain John
MacDonald as a competent, efficient and very capable military officer.
On December 25, 1778, the Emigrant Regiment was
regularized and placed on the British Establishment. It was now numbered
and was henceforth to be known as the 84th Regiment of Foot.
Unfortunately, little detailed information is available on the history of
the Second Battalion from 1779 to the end of the war when it was
disbanded. It is known that of the ten companies
in the battalion five remained in Nova
Scotia and five were incorporat.d into the armies of General Clinton and
Lord Cornwallis. Patterson reports that Clinton drafted these five
companies into his
army in 1776 and had them wtth him when he campaigned in the south."
There are
indications
that four of
these companies were in the Carolinas in
1881 and that at
least some of
these fought
at Eulaw Springs, Yorkton and
Savannah."
Such information, of course, tells us nothing of
the activities of Captain John
MacDonald during the final four years
of the war. It is known,
however, that he remained on active
service until late in 1783.
Several writers record one event in which he
distinguished himself.
During the American
Revolution an American ship of war
came to the
Nova Scotia coast, near a port where
Glenalladale was on detachment with a small
party of his men of the 84th
Highland Emigrants. A part
of the
enemy's crew having landed for the purpose
of plundering the people
of the
country, Captain MacDonald with his handful of men boarded the vessel,
overcame those who had been left to
take charge of her, belatad
the sails
and took her in triumph
into the harbour of Halifax. He then
returned with
a reinforcement and took the crews of
Americans and French all
prisoners.
Apart from this incident there is little direct
information on the latter half of his military service. But the following
data has been gleaned from other sources. Glenalladale was on duty at the
garrison in Halifax in the summer of 1781. Sometime after November of the
same year he went by way of New York to Britain to make representation.
concerning the disposition of his lands on the Island. He was in London,
presumably on the same journey, in the autumn ot 1782, and he was still
there early In 1783, and for the same
reason, the land question.
A question of interest remains. Was Captain John at any
time engaged in actual combat in the Thirteen Colonies? From this
chronology it appears that the only time he could have been with the
companies under Clinton
and Cornwallis was between 1779 and early
1881.
But the incident of the Nova Scotia coast likely
took place sometime after the beginning of 1779, for Captain Alexander
MacDonald would hardly have failed to report it if it had occurred prior
to that date. There is no mention in Glenalladale’s own references to
military duty that he ever served in the south. Likewise his son Roderick
would surely have included It in his account if it were the case.
It is this writer’s conclusion that Glenalladale was not numbered among
those that fought on what is now United States soil. The last two
years of his military service, after 1781 when "hostilities in America
were on the point of ceasing," were disrupted by the demands on him to go
to London to attend to his lands on the Island.
If much of Glenalladale’s military career has been
unrecorded, as a soldier he
was not to go unsung. Attention has already
been given to Alexander MacDonald’s appreciation of his ability and
competence. But it remained for his commander, Major Small, to make the
most explicit appraisal of Glenalladale the soldier. In an address to the
British government Small stated: "The activity and unabaiting zeal
of Captain John
MacDonald of Glenalladale In bringing an excellent company into the
field is his least recommendation, being acknowledged by all who knew him
to be one of the most accomplished men and best officers of his rank in
His Majesty’s service."
The cessation of hostilties in 1783 brought with it the
disbandement of the 84th Regiment of Foot and the release of Captain John
MacDonald to retirement on half pay. For him the war must have been a
disappointing and futile experience. For half of the eight years that he
spent on duty his own status and that of his regiment has been nebulous
and indefinate. The cause for which he had felt so strongly and to which
he had given his best efforets had been lost. Too, there was the personal
loss occasioned by the death in action in 1780 of his brother Donald, his
longtime associate. And if these seemed to have been wasted years, the
outlook for the future gave little reasons for optimism. His affairs on
St. John's Island were in the worst state possible. Most of his tenants
had left Tracadie and had taken up lands elsewhere. His lands had been
seized by the government in 1781 and sold to another proprietor, and
although he had taken steps to recover them, a final settlement had not
been made. Now in his forty-second year, John MacDonald had little to show
for the past thirteen years of hard demanding activity. As he turned to
take up once more his work at Tracadie, or rather, to begin a new stage in
his career, serious challenges awaited him.
When Captain MacDonald purchased Lot 36 in 1771, he
assumed the obligations of paying a yearly rental, called quit-rent, to
the crown. On lot 36, an area of approximately 20,000 acres, the rate of
rental was to be four shillings per hundred acres. Obviosuly, he gained
little or no revenue in the early years, and during his absense on
military duty the arrears for quit-rents accumulated. There is nothing
unusual about this as on only about fifteen percent of the townships were
the origional conditions met by their proprietors. Furthermore,
Glenallandale had fulfilled the condition that required that at least one
hundred persons be settled on a lot within ten years of purchase, and by
this he was distinguished from the majority of the proprietors. But
Governor Patterson made no exception for him and when , in 1781, he
directed proceedings against certain proprietors in arrears and sold their
lots, he included Lot 36.
Captain John had been kept in the dark about this
transaction; but when report of it reached him in Halifax in 1781 he took
immediate action. He went to England about the end of that year to arouse
the other dispossesed proprietors to fight Patterson. In a petition to the
crown to void the legislation of 1781 he pointed out that he had
under-gone great expense to establish settlers, and that as a proprietor
he had fulfilled his obligations until his wartime service made it
impossible to attend to his estate. He attaacked the administration
bitterly for its action and the manner in which it had carried out the
sale of lots. He took a leading role in the subsequent negotiations with
the British government which ultimately resulted in the revocation of the
law of 1781 and the return of his lands.
But there was still the heavy burden of quit-rents.
These were to keep Glenalladale in strained circumstances for many years.
It was presumably to meet the arrears on these that in 1805 he went to
England to dispose of his Estate. That he contemplated doing so is
revealed in a letter of Father MacEachern (later Bishop MacEachern) in
autumn of 1805:
I am sorry to have to inform your Lordship that
Captain MacDonald has sold all his property to some English farmers...
As his tenants have no leases, they must of recourse remove. In that
event our Church and many other things will be deranged in the Island.
The poor people have not wither to go. I received a long letter from him
wherein he says he is about selling the property and his reasons for so
doing.
A letter by the same person the following year reveals
that the deal was off:
Captain MacDonald has not sold any part of his lands,
but has not settled with his tenants. I cannot pretend to say whether
they will or not accept his terms. If they go off his lands, it will be
a distressing thing to them, and to our cause at large.
Unfortunately no reason is given for the decision not
to sell. But one may conjecture that by 1806 he had some hope that the
crown would cancel his arrears. For in December of that same year the
Assembly passed an address to the Lieutenant-Governor in which they
petitioned the Crown for the remission of the arrears in quit-rent on
Captain John's property. After this, that he was in improved financial
circumstances is indicated by his will, written in 1810, which shows that
his estate was secure and that there was but a comparitively small debt on
his property.
The letters of Bishop MacEachern previously quoted
suggest that there is another aspect of the land question which requires
attention. This was the system of holding land. It was Captain MacDonald's
plan from the beginning to give his settlers perpetual leases for an
annual rental. While they must have agreed to this arrangement, the
settlers were not reconciled to it. They had had their fill of landlorsism
in Scotland and, probably influenced by the propaganda put out to
encourage emigration, believed that they would be rid of such a system and
would possess land in freehold. To their natural discontent with rentals
was added the fact that Captain MacDOnald departed for military service
before they could be placed on their respective locations of land. So
during his absense many of his tenants migrated to other areas where they
could find better terms of rent, or land in freehold. This out-migration
from Tracadie was so extensive that he was to complain later that only one
half dozen of the origional settlers remained.
The position of these tenants is certainly
understandable. They were among those who "hated a leasehold system which
meant that they could not obtain a clear title to the lands they occupied
for either themselves or their children." So, at the first
opportunity to better their condition, they moved elsewhere.
With regard to his first settlers, one can have some
sympathy with Captain MacDonald's position. He had sacrificed his
resources and his security in bringing these tenants to America. He had
provided for them in those perilous early years, and he did this to a
degree beyond his commitment to them. He felt that they were indebted to
him. He was too much the product of the clan system, too much the
patriach, and too much of the nobility to break away from the old system.
As a result of this his estate, at great cost to him, was inevitably
drained of some of its best and most enterprising tenants. But it is
difficult to understand, much less justify, the fact that in 1806 his
people at Tracadie were in such an unsettled condition. On this score, he
was to leave a legacy of almost complete teancy that was to presist for
three quarters of a century, and was to cause no end of trouble to his
descendants and no little misery to the children of his tenants.
Sometimes after the resolution of the land dispute,
Glenalladale purchased lot 35. At Tracadie, he reserved some 500 acres for
his own use. That he carried on an extensive farming operation may be
discerned from the contents of a letter by him in 1806 in which he speaks
of "having to support with straw and hay this winter 120 heads of near
breeding stock, 16 large bullocks, 16 horses and 100 sheep... the period
being equal to about 6 months." His example in this respect must
have been an invaluable one for his tennants for they lacked an
agricultural background and had none of the experiences and skill in
farming which characterised many of the English settlers. Clark speaks of
these Highlanders as "no farmers" and as a people "who never had their
hearts in farming", and it was doubtless to such as these that Bishop
MacEachern referred when he spoke of those of his "hearers" who were
"struggling under the disadvantages of a new country and works to which
they were formerly entire strangers." In spite of these cultural
handicaps, the people made out, and by 1798 the total population on lots
35 and 36 had reached 275 couls. Even Stewart, writing in 1806, had to
acknowledge that "these lots are considerably improved".
The picture of the Tracadie settlement in those early
years of the nineteenth century which may be gleaned from the various
sources is that of a closely knit catholic community. The centre of the
community was Captain John's large home, New Glenalladale, "intended to
accommodate a priest or two or three with a schoolmaster." For several
years there was a resident priest, father Augustine MacDonald, a brother
of Captain John, who came out from Scotland in 1802 and served as pastor
until his death in 1807. Captain John's report in 1806 that "Sandy
Rhetland keeps the school" indicates that Tracadie boasted a school, a
unique institution for that period. At New Glenalladale Captain John
hosted his Highland friends, preserving the customs and festivals which
they had observed in Scotland. The feast of St. Andrews was the occasion
for a special assembly of Highlanders at the Glenalladale residence. Too,
that they were some outdoor diversions to break the monotony of the
settler's life is suggested by Captain John's reminder to his cousin of
the Black River, "where you caught many a trout, eel and perch, guzzled
many a draught of rum, cracked many a horse joke, swore like a trooper and
stunk like a Badger, in the Days of yore."
To New Glenalladale in 1792 Captain John brought his
second bride, Margaret MacDonald of Guernish, Scotland. It will be
recalled that he had been widowed early in life. One or two writers have
stated that he had resolved not to remarry and had made his brother Donald
his heir; but that the latter's death in the Revolutionary War had
necessitated a change in plans. Whether it was as lacking in romance as
all this is not known, but there is every indication that it was a happy
and successful marriage. Four sons and one daughter were born of this
union. The first son, Donald, succeeded as head of the Tracadie Estate and
later entered political ife in the province. He was the father of Sir
William C. MacDonald. The second son, William, was lost at sea on his way
to study in England. The third son, John, became a priest. After serving
for several years in Scotland, he brought a contingent of Irish settlers
to the Prince Edward Island. His being a landlord conflicted with his
pastoral role and he later retired from the Island to serve as a pastor in
England. The youngest son, Roderick C. served as an officer in the British
Army. He was distinguished by his efforts to organize Highland societies
in the Maritimes for the promotion of the education of Scottish youth.
Their sister, Flora Ann Marie, married Alexander MacDonnell and lived at
Donaldston. Glenalladale and his wife spared no expense to give their
children the best in education. All of the boys were educated in Europe,
and Flora recived that training suitable for a young lady of the age
offered by the Ursuline Sisters at Qubec.
No account of Glenalladale's life and career would be
complete without some reference to his Catholicity. Reared in a staunchly
catholic family, and educated in a catholic institution, he ever reflected
this tradition. All references to him state that he was a sincere and
zealour Christian. His son has given us the pertinent observation that,
"He never made the slightest difference as to the religion of his
tenantry, clansmen, friends or acquantances", and he illustrates this by
relating that his father had subscribed to the building of the first
Protestant church in Charlottetown. It is from the same author that we
learn that Glenalladale was on one occasion offered the governship of
Prince Edward island, but that he refused it on account of the oath which
as a catholic he could not take. Captain MacDonald, it seems, had one
favourite apostolate and that was the training of boys for the priesthood.
In 1791 he proopsed a plan for raising money for the support of students
inclined to study for the priesthood. It was many years before this plan
was adopted, but it eventually was by the Bishop of Quebec, and, according
to MacMillan, it bore much fruit in the succeeding years.
The same author relates the story of another situation
when the views of Captain MacDonald and those of the ecclesiastical
authorities were not so compatible. This refers to Glenalladale's
opposition to some of the procedures pertaining to the building of the
church at St. Andrew's, and his appeal to Bishop Dennault of Quebec
against the policies of Father MacEachern. MacMillan is quite definate
that Glenalladale was seeking his own conviencance rather than the public
good. One might suggest that this interpretation was more categorical than
warranted. Certainly, a reading of MacDonald's statement of his position
inclines one to the view that he was sincere in his beliefs and that he
could have had sound reasons for the course he followe.
But the best insights into the Christian values and
beliefs which inspired him are given by his own writings. A prolific
letter-writer, he was never reticent about giving expression to his ideas
and views; and in his letters to his children he set down his innermost
thoughts and beliefs on matters of religion. A letter to Flora, written
for her guidance when she was a student in Quebec, is a veritable treatise
on the fundamental beliefs and moral principles of the Christian. That
Glenalladale was a man of unusual piety and spiritual perception may be
judges from the following exhortation which he wrote as a final counsel to
his children:
Morning and evening prayers never omit. Get copies of
short ejaculations which you will address to God through the day. Never
omit confession and communion once a month. Thus will you have a good
chance of saving your souls. If you neglect it, you will continue
passionate and quarrelsome, you will fall into serious difficulties and,
perhaps, into grievous sins besides disobedience. The frequent and due
recourse to the sacraments is the best cure and preservation against
such things...
When Captain John MacDonald wrote the above words he
was in the last year of his life. In the summer of 1810 his health began
to decline. Sensing that his illness was fatal he made a final disposition
of his property, bequeathing it equally to his wife and five children. He
devoted his final days to the prearation of his soul for eternity. Early
in 1811, at Tracadie, death came to the former VIIIth Laird of
Glenalladale, Captain 84th Regiment of Foot, Founder of the First Scottish
Catholic Settlement on Prince Edward Island - John MacDonald,
"Glenalladale". |