The Glenaladale Trust PEI hosts gathering of descendents
In 1772, one year before the Hector brought Scottish highlanders to Pictou, Nova Scotia, the brig Alexander carried 215 passengers from Lochaber and Uist to the shores of Tracadie Bay, St. John’s Island, now PEI. John Macdonald, 7th Laird of Glenaladale led the expedition of his clansmen and women at a considerable personal cost. His Catholic Clanranald folk were experiencing economic and religious persecution in the generation after the Jacobites at Culloden were defeated in 1746. My own direct ancestor, Angus of Borrodale, had welcomed Prince Charles Edward Stuart into his home at the glorious beginning and the harrowing escape of the “Bonnie Prince” after his ill-fated bid to replace the House of Hanover on the throne of Great Britain. The severe and punitive suppression of the Jacobite Highlanders was felt for decades, not least in the proscription of highland dress and the use of bagpipes.
Captain John Macdonald of Glenaladale (as he came to be known from his service to the Crown in the Highland Emigrant Regiment in the 1776 American War of Independence) sold his Loch Shiel property to a cousin to finance the emigration. He bought 20,000 acres around Tracadie Bay (up the Hillsborough River from Charlottetown) and established his own estate on 529 acres at the head of the Bay known to this date as “Glenaladale”. Rents were difficult for Captain John and his heirs to collect, the tenants wanting to own their land would even squat on farms or migrate to other parts of the Maritimes. The “land question” in PEI would not be settled until well into the 19th century.
An extraordinary story unfolded in 2014 when a group of descendants of the Alexander settlers noted that the Mackinnon family had the Glenaladale estate up for sale. With the tenacity of their ancestors this little committee formed the Glenaladale Trust and convinced the provincial and federal governments to support the acquisition of this landmark property. The project attracted hundreds of volunteers and expert guidance from organizations like the National Trust for Canada. The story is captured expertly in the five part series Saving Glenaladale. The Glenaladale Trust’s vision is explained:
Through phased development, Glenaladale will become a premier destination for rural culture, community engagement, and living history. A vibrant educational and cultural centre will include a diverse range of activities focused on ancestral connections, cultural experiences, and agricultural and environmental sustainability.
Glenaladale’s history touches all of the Island’s early inhabitants: the Mi’kmaq, Acadians, Scots, Irish, and English. The festival in June welcomed descendants from the estate’s two extraordinary families the MacDonalds and the MacKinnons. The MacKinnons had bought the farm in 1902 when Capt. John’s great grandchildren moved on to other pursuits. Fox farming, inn-keeping, and rum-running on Tracadie Bay added to the folklore of this building through the early 20th century.
During the 2022 Festival, the Tracadie Cross Community Hall was the venue for a barn dance as well as evening entertainments: the Barra MacNeills, and West of Mabou were joined by local musicians. The afternoons saw attendees checking out where they came from in the genealogy workshops. The old Glenaladale school house, which had been relocated and renovated, hosted talks on pertinent cultural and historical topics with professional and amateur historians and even a tartan expert who has recreated the Glenaladale Macdonald tartan from remnants from the 18th Century! Stories of life at Glenaladale were related by those who had lived there in previous decades.
The closing ceremony was particularly poignant as we gathered under the larger Celtic Cross at the Scottish and French Pioneer Cemetery in neighbouring Scotchfort PEI. Reminiscences were shared by Committee members, a blessing was given by the parish priest, and a Mi’kmaq elder quipped that his people helped the Scotch pioneers through not just the the first two winters, but last winter as well. On a personal note, I was privileged to pipe the lament Lochaber No More at the closing of the ceremony, a tune that dates back to the 18th century leaving of the Highlands for the new world. My grandfather D.B. Macdonald chaired the committee that erected the Celtic cross in 1922 on the 150th anniversary of the emigration.
Include a visit to Glenaladale next time you are in PEI. Take a tour of the 19th century brick house built by Sir William Macdonald on behalf of his brother Archibald. Sir William was Captain John’s grandson who went on to found Macdonald’s Tobacco and became a great philanthropist to McGill University, Guelph Agricultural college. So interested was he in progressive agricultural methods that he built Canada’s largest barn at Glenaladale, which unfortunately was a victim of arson in 1905. Capt. John MacDonald and his grandson, Sir William C. Macdonald, are recognized as persons of national historic significance.
Glenaladale Trust hosts a small museum and sponsors fun activities like the Rum Running Festival October 1 2022, book launches, and much more.
