Margaret McArthur
ID # 4277, (1781-1844)
| Mother | Christianna (--?--) |
| Birth | Margaret McArthur was born in 1781 at Scotland. |
| Marriage | She married John Buchanan. |
| Death | She died on 13 March 1844 at Branchton, Dumfries Township, Gore District. |
| Burial | She was buried at High Park Galt, later moved to Section 2, Mountview. |
| Note | Margaret's relative, Donald, or 'Dan' McArthur settled in Dumfries. Hon. James Young states that 'Dan' was in Dumfries Township from the earliest days. His nickname appears to have been Dan. Census records place his birth in Scotland. It seems reasonable to place the births of his sisters in Scotland as well. Descendants of Dan believe him to be Margaret's brother. This is possible and he is so shown in this tree, but, alternatively, he may be her nephew. And therein lies an obscure story. James Young, in his history of Galt and Dumfries, shows a Dugald McColl coming to Dumfries with the Harvies and Buchanans. A correspondent found an obscure paper written by two ladies back in the 1950s and they discuss this branch of the family. (See MacLachlan Clan Pioneer Family, Jane Cruickshank Clark and Jeannette G. McLachlan Wilson, compiled up to 1952.) In it, they tell of an Archibald MacLachlan who came to New York State from Scotland with his wife Mary McArthur. Archibald was horribly murdered by a deranged man wielding an axe. Fortunately for Mary, she had grown children and so the family managed. The story is that when the original group came to Dumfries, Mary along with some of her grown children, including daughter Isabella who was married to Dugald McColl, came with them. Isabella and Dugald remained in Dumfries, but Mary and her children moved on to Malahide Township, near Aylmer, not far from Lake Erie. Mary died on January 12, 1850 and is buried in Burdick Cemetery in Malahide Township. Her age is given as 80. If accurate, this would mean she was born in 1769. We are fortunate to have the paper describing the emigration from the standpoint of the McArthur-MacLachlans. From it, it seems that at least to some extent the migration of the original settlers from Caledonia, New York, to Dumfries Township in Upper Canada, was an extended Mcarthur family affair. We could reasonably infer that Mary and Margaret, born in 1769 and 1781 respectively, were sisters. Or we could infer that Margaret and Dan, born in 1781 and 1796 respectively were sister and brother. It's not impossible that Mary and Dan, born in 1769 and 1796 were sister and brother, but it does seem a bit of a stretch. |
Children of Margaret McArthur and John Buchanan |
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| Last Edited | 19 Jan 2024 |