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Lauchie Mor MacIsaac & Family Eigg Mountain Area

Lauchie Mor MacIsaac & Family Eigg Mountain Area

Posted: 26 Feb 2010 7:50PM GMT
Classification: Query
Hello,

I am desperately trying to find anyone who is researching or knows anything about a family of MacIsaac's who came from the Isle of Eigg to Antigonish circa 1823 or so. Lauchlin, Malcolm and two Johns came to the area called Eigg Mountain/Pleasant Valley and settled there in the mid-1820's. I know that their father was Ruairidh MacIsaac (possibly from the Isle of Muck) and Lauchlin was married to Catherine MacDonald on Eigg in 1818, prior to coming to Antigonish. I would be so appreciative of anyone who can help me with this mystery. I have actually contacted many people that live nearby in Antigonish town, but nothing has panned-out so far. Thanks for your help! Andrew in Vancouver, WA

Re: Lauchie Mor MacIsaac & Family Eigg Mountain Area

Posted: 9 Jan 2013 11:49PM GMT
Classification: Query
Hi Andrew....

There are a number of MacIsaac's who would be direct relatively to this family still living in Antigonish. Lauchie MacIsaac is would be your best contact. The old homestead is still in existence/or able to be found. I am a direct relative. You may want to start there.

Re: Lauchie Mor MacIsaac & Family Eigg Mountain Area

Posted: 4 Mar 2013 4:12AM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Macisaac, McIsaac
Thank you for the reply. I would really like to talk to the Lauchie you mentioned, or anyone else with more info about this family group. I have not had much luck with this side of my family research. If you have more info on whom to contact and how to reach them, I would be very grateful. Thank you for contacting me,

Andrew

Re: Lauchie Mor MacIsaac & Family Eigg Mountain Area

Posted: 4 Mar 2013 8:43AM GMT
Classification: Query
Hi Andrew, I am Lauchie's son, strangely enough, my name is Andrew. Dad does have a lot of info on the subject and his siblings have even more. I have been to the old homestead, basically a pile of rocks, but the outline is there. It sits on MacIsaac's lake.
Dad's father was Angus MacIsaac,
his father was George and his father before him was George. They re-located to the Cloverville area after Pleasant Valley, all within the district of Antigonish. I am currently living in Ontario but if you check Nova Scotia Vital statistics online, you will be able to bring up the 1911 census. You will see, George MacIsaac, sons Huntly etc...

Re: Lauchie Mor MacIsaac & Family Eigg Mountain Area

Posted: 4 Mar 2013 1:55PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: MacIsaac, McIsaac
Andrew, thank you so much for replying. I would love to ask a few questions of your Dad or any of his siblings, if possible. I had to rebuild my McIsaac line from scratch, as my mother had no real contact with her dad, and her dad's mom, Mary McIsaac, died when my Granddad was 2 or 3. Anyway, I don't want to bore anyone with the story of my McIsaac lineage, but I sure would love to see if Dad or your aunts and uncles might have information about any MacIsaac's that moved to the U.S. early on. Fr. Rankin's History mentions that one of Lauchie Mor's sons, John, was in Pennsylvania with a family - I think that this John is the same person as my g-g-g-grandfather. I just need help to determine if anyone ever heard from him after he moved away from Pleasant Valley/Eigg Mountain. Thanks again for your contact, and I would appreciate any information or contacts you could supply. Kind regards, Andrew B.

Re: Lauchie Mor MacIsaac & Family Eigg Mountain Area

Posted: 30 Apr 2015 6:20PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 30 Apr 2015 6:40PM GMT
I am Tessie MacIsaac-MacFarlane. I grew up in Clydesdale, just the other side of the hill from Eigg. I am a direct descendent of Laughie Mor. I can tell you, you are close but your dates are a little off. Laughie came on the Dove in 1810. He settled on Eigg in Antigonish County. He was known as a quiet Christian man, noted for his strength. He once carried a full barrel of mackerel up the steep hill to his shanty at the top of Eigg. His son Angus was born in Scotland or on the crossing. Settled with him on Eigg was John "Og", a cousin. His brothers settled elsewhere, rear Georgeville, Cape George and possibly down to Creignish Cape Breton. THis is how it goes. Son of Laughie, Angus married Anne Mooney from Clydesdale, their son George married Margaret "Loddie" MacDonald of Maryvale. Their son Angus married first Sadie Wallace then Mary Catherine MacPherson. Their son Huntley is my father. My Father's brothers are Laughie, Gerald and a sister Donna, and half sister Teresa. Our grand uncle Danny (also a son of George)was a great story teller and before he died I wrote down what he had to tell me of the family. Of note was that Laughie's father was Rory (you use the gaelic spelling which by the way means Red)Also, my Aunt Teresa is history scholar, and my Dad, well he just makes things up. Ha! There is a map that shows all the families of Antigonish County and where they lived including the MacIsaacs on Browns Mountain which is where they moved to as they left Eigg and levitated closer to Antigonish. It was compiled by a Man named Church from Halifax in the late 1800's. We have no idea why he did this. Myself, my Dad and a number of cousins have copies of this map. Robert MacIsaac is a cousin and he has done a lot of research into the family. I know that Anne Mooney bought graves at St Ninians cemetery when Angus died. I know they have a son Peter buried in Arisaig behind the Church. The burial of Peter (14 yrs old) in arisaig leads me to believe that Laughie Mor is there as this would follow the custom of the time. A child was often buried in the family lot. We know that one of Angus and Anne's sons enterd the North West Mounted police and defected down into Montana because in those years police couldn't be married. There is a great lot os knowledge about among us all. Let's have a reunion and do what we do best. Tell Stories!

Re: Lauchie Mor MacIsaac & Family Eigg Mountain Area

Posted: 30 Apr 2015 6:25PM GMT
Classification: Query
Hello Cousin!! We have to organize a family reunion and what we call "A trip up the hill," with my Dad. Cloverville is not a correct location of MacIsaacs for us however. I have some great stuff if you are interested. Beware of Father Rankins book, there are some errors. Hope to see you soon.

Re: Lauchie Mor MacIsaac & Family Eigg Mountain Area

Posted: 9 Jun 2015 12:35AM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Macisaac, McIsaac
Hello Tessie,

It is so great to hear from you! I cannot thank you enough for contacting me! It has been years since I posted my original message, and I occasionally will come back through old posts to see if anyone has responded....and you did!
I always wondered if Fr. Rankin's info was not 100% correct! The ancestor I traced to the MacIsaac family from Eigg/Pleasant Valley, etc.. had little information to yield prior to his immigration to the US in the 1850/1860's. Since the listed "Gaelic" on one of the censuses in which he was enumerated, I was able to tell a bit more about him. When I found the Father Rankin book, and they mentioned a son John, who had moved to Pennsylvania, I knew I had found his family.
I found one relative years and years ago, who shared a couple of photos of John McIsaac with me, but I don't know much else about the family prior to his arrival.
I so enjoyed reading your email! I was picturing Lachlan heaving barrels of fish up the mountain, and recalling images I have of a short visit of Nova Scotia in the mid 1980's. It was so beautiful!
I would love to talk more with you (and hopefully one day take you up on your offer to take a "trip up the hill!" - it sounds good for the soul (and the heart rate!)
I know a lot about my line after the move to the US, but would love to learn more about the MacIsaacs who lived in Antigonish, and even how the family line back to the Old Country works out.
Any info you might know would be so appreciated. I was thrilled to see some of the other descendant lines you listed, too! So fascinating about the Mountie who went AWOL for marriage!
Unfortunately, the last MacIsaac in my line was my g-grandmother (who died of food poisoning when she was 20 or so in the 1920's, when my Grandad was a toddler). He never talked about her, becuaue he never really knew her.
Anyway, I could go on for a long while this way...mostly I am just so pleased you reached out to me, and that you are open to sharing info...I am, too. If you are interested at all, I have some photos, and other info of my McIsaac line after John came to the States.
I can't wait to hear more (and share what I have if you have questions/want to know).

Hope to hear from you,
Andrew (your "new" cousin!)

Re: Lauchie Mor MacIsaac & Family Eigg Mountain Area

Posted: 15 Jun 2015 6:34PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Macdonald, MacIsaac, Coady, McDermott, Weyman
Dear Tessie,

I was intrigued by the messages on this board as I try to find the link between my Macdonalds (small "d") and the MacIsaacs. My great-grandfather was Angus Macdonald, born in Antigonish in 1854 to John Angus Macdonald and his wife Catherine. I had speculated that her maiden name may have been MacIsaac due to some sketchy birth records from Antigonish. Anyway, after I took the Ancestry DNA test, I ran the results through Gedmatch, and the top DNA match was with a fellow named Joe MacIsaac whose family dates back to the ships of 1801. His side of the family eventually settled in Cape Breton, while mine were in the Antigonish area.

Angus Macdonald was a sea captain, as was his son John Angus, my grandfather. Angus was married first to Rosella Coady, who died at sea off of Montevideo. His second wife was Minnie McDermott of Saint John, NB. She also died young, and Angus married Joicy Weyman of Saint John. Angus died of ataxia in 1900 in Saint John. When he died, his obit in the Casket newspaper of Antigonish noted that he was survived by his mother, Catherine of Antigonish. That's about all I know. My cousin Donald S. Macdonald (the former Liberal Party leader) is a grandson of Angus and says our Macdonalds came from Eigg. Any insight appreciated!

Best regards,
Jim Condon
Colchester, VT
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