Mac Aulay Family of South Uist & Benbecula

Discussion: Hallo Cherie ::::

Maybe something here may be tying in to what you have been researching about your Mac Aulay family

I have in my own family history a Mac Aulay lady who had married my ggggg-grandfather Angus Martin ( born ca 1760 ) of Benbecula.
She was a Catholic but Angus was not, but their children, they had at least three sons, John (my gggg-grandfather), Sandy (Alexander) and Angus were all raised as Catholics. John drowned working the kelp on Benbecula ca 1840, but his two brothers emigrated to the same part of the world - PEI , where you are from. They settled in a place Three Rivers, which I now believe is called Cardigan , PEI. (My direct ancestor John's widow Mary (nee Morrison) and her children emigrated from Uachdar to Grand Lake, CB in 1841. Along with their Uncle Neil Martin, from Balivanich.

Sandy Martin married a Mac Lellan lady, and Angus Martin married a Maggie Mac Issac, and they all lived in Three Rivers, PEI.

Sandy Martin (Alexander ) had at least three daughters in PEI, Sarah, Mary and Margarete.The last daughter Margarete, died on 4th July 1903 in Cardigan, at 83 yrs old, it said that she had first immigrated to PEI in 1820, with her father (Sandy?) who was nicknamed on Benbecula the " Fair Tailor".

I do not know how many different Mac Aulay families were living on
Benbecula at this time. But if the accepted tradition is correct, that it was first the two Mac Aulay brothers ( who were merchants?)
that moved there from North Uist, then the local Mac Aulays living there, must all have been related in some way or another. Presumably, they were also all Catholics on PEI ?

Kindest Regards :::: Norman Martin

Norman: Apologies but I should have spotted this post years ago. Iain Ban the tailor was my 4x g'grandfather and a MacLellan. He emigrated first to Grand Lake, Cape Breton in 1825 and in 1828 moved on to Launching, PEI. The story is that Iain Ban MacLellan had ten children. One of his granddaughters who accompanied him was the young MacAulay girl who later married Sandy Martin. One of Iain\'s children was Mary, who married Angus MacMillan at 12 Torlum and they were my 3x g'grandparents. Angus\' sister Flora married Roderick another son of the fair tailor and they were the last of that MacLellan line to leave Benbecula as they were on the ill-fated Lulan in 1848.

I have Allan born c 1780 married to Mary MacEachan. Don't know where either were born. They had Jane (my gggrandmother) b abt 1800 in Bornish, South Uist possibly & died 9th Feb 1880 in North Lochboisdale, South Uist. Jane married Alexander Steele abt. 1823 in Bornish. They were catholic. They had:
(All born North Frobost, Howmore, S Uist)
Margaret - abt 1825
Angus - abt 1827
Donald - abt 1829
Mary - abt 1831
Janet - 13.06.1833
Una (Hannah) - 26.06.1836
Allan - 21.02.1838
Archibald - 01.12.1841
Marion - 15.12.1842
Donald - 26.01.1848

I have found no info. on Allan & Mary to date and wonder if they emigrated and if so - where to? Would love to know who Allan's parents were.

If anyone can place any of this info. in their tree I would love to hear from you on:

annebarr38@hotmail.com

Regards,

Annemarie.

Hi Norman:
Thank you so much for taking the time to provide us with all this information.

My mother called me just a few minutes ago to say that she saw this post and so we thought we should send a response right away -sorry it's so late.

I understand that quite a few of our relations are from the 3 RIvers - Cardigan area. Our family settled in Tracadie Cross, PEI about 200 years. We can definately trace our family back to Alexander McAulay & his wife Rebecca O'Hanley who were both from South Uist. They had at least 4 children born in PEI - Angus and Dugald around 1810 and at least two other children. At one time there were many MacAulays on PEI. Trying to connect who Alexander's parents were is our problem. Of course, PEI wasn't PEI when they moved there. Records are pretty good from the 1850s onwards but not very good around the late 1700s and early 1800s.

Not all MacAulays on PEI were Catholics. Dr. Angus MacAulay, who was involved with the Selkirk settlers in 1803 was Presbyterian and from the isle of Skye.

Do you know the first names and when about the two MacAulay brothers moved to Benbecula?

Also, my mother pointed out that the MacAulays and Martins continued to get along - apparently there were several MacAulays married to Martins in PEI. My mother is checking her records and we will send another post with this information later this week.

Thanks again,
Cherie & Sarah (MacAulay)