My Surname Interests
Here, in particular order, are a few families that are of special interest to me:
Hickey - Prince Edward Island
- The Descendants of Peter Hickey & Catherine MacLellan of Indian River, Lot 18, PEI.
Peter emigrated from Ireland to North America, arriving in Prince Edward Island sometime prior to 1798, when he married Catherine MacLellan. She was the daughter of John MacLellan and Catherine MacPhee, who had emigrated from South Uist, Scotland, circa 1787. Peter and Catherine settled at Indian River, Lot 18, where Peter was a farmer. Of their children, most remained in or around the Lot 18 area but two of the sons relocated to West Point, Lot 8.
- The Descendants of John Hickey & Margaret Larkins of Darnley, Lot 18, PEI.
I am not descended from this family, nor am I aware of any relationship between them and the family of Peter Hickey of Catherine MacLellan. However, they are named in many of the same records, lived in close proximity to each other and, by virtue of those facts, have entered into my own research.
Gaudet - Prince Edward Island
- The Descendants of Joseph Gaudet dit Chaculot & Marie-Blanche Bourg of PEI.
Joseph was born circa 1740 in Tintamarre, near Beaubassin, Acadia (not far from present day Amherst, Nova Scotia). He was the son of Augustin Gaudet and Agnès Chiasson. Uprooted during the Grand Dérangement or expulsion of the Acadians, his family appears to have moved several times before finally settling in Prince Edward Island circa 1785. Joseph and his nephew, Pierre [see below], were the progenitors of the Gaudet surname on the Island following the deportations of 1755 - 1758. The majority of his descendants could be found in Tignish and Miscouche.
- The Descendants of Pierre Gaudet & Henriette-Catherine Doiron of PEI.
Pierre was the son of Paul Gaudet and Marie Bourg. Along with his uncle, Joseph dit Chaculot, he was a co-founder of the Gaudet lines on Prince Edward Island following the expulsion of the Acadians. His immediate descendants could be found mostly in Rustico and Tignish.
Rogers - Prince Edward Island & Nova Scotia
- The Descendants of David Rogers of Carmarthenshire, Wales, and NS & PEI.
This family consists of David, as well as six of his children, who emigrated from Wales between 1818 and 1839. Of the children, Joseph, Jonah, and Benjamin ended up in Prince Edward Island; David and Daniel Richard ended up in Nova Scotia (Cumberland County); and their widowed sister, Frances (Rogers) Reese, appears to have gone to New Brunswick before relocating in Cumberland County, NS.
Gourlie - Prince Edward Island
- The Descendants of James Gourlie & Helen Emma Layton of Summerside, PEI.
James emigrated from Scotland to North America around 1835. He went first to Boston before relocating to the Chatham and then Richibucto areas of New Brunswick. Around 1847, he moved his family to Green's Shore, now Summerside, on Prince Edward Island where he established the first general store in that town.
MacDonald - Nova Scotia
- The Descendants of Daniel MacDonald & Mary Jordan of Harrigan Cove, Halifax County, NS.
Daniel, married in Sheet Harbour circa 1846, lived in Harrigan Cove where he was a fisherman. Unfortunately, I know nothing of Daniel's origins as this is a new area of research for me. As well, there seems to be some confusion over the surname of his wife, Mary. Hopefully, as time permits, I will be able to work on this file and increase my knowledge of the family.
Bonnell - Nova Scotia
- The Descendants of John Bonnell and Abigail Putnam of Colchester County, NS.
John originally hailed from South Carolina and Georgia. Fighting on the side of the British during the American War of Independence, he was forced to leave the fledgling United States along with thousands of other United Empire Loyalists. He settled in the Stewiacke area of Colchester County, Nova Scotia.
It is not my policy to place large family files on the internet. The reasons for this can be found here.
However, I do have two family files available for viewing on-line at the Island Register:
Both of these files were originally posted in 1998 and, unfortunately, have not yet been updated. There are errors in the files. I would encourage people with connections to these two families to view the files on the Island Register but to contact me directly with any questions, corrections, or additions. I can likely provide more up-to-date information on most of the people listed.
For those interested in contacting me about my research interests, I should pass on a couple of small warnings:
- Most of my research covers the approximate dates of 1800 to the present. It is rare that I have gone earlier than that on my own, simply because few records exist in the Maritimes prior to about 1780 or so. In some cases, I do have information on the ancestors of the above people but most of it has been obtained through other researchers rather than through my own efforts. I prefer to concentrate my efforts where they will be the most effective, and that tends to be where there is a greater number of original sources still extant.
- Although I am capable of receiving and viewing GEDCOMs, I do not use any genealogy software for the storage of my own data. Granted, I probably should enter at least the basic information into one, for the indexing and search functions if nothing else. But, I have not done so and have no intention of doing so in the near future. All of my files are created from scratch in either MS Word or Rich Text (RTF) format.
- I am still behind in getting my information entered into a digital format. Most of my computer files are in the early to middle stages of development. Therefore, it is not possible for me to send anyone a file that is complete for any one surname. However, I am more than willing to exchange data on specific individuals or small family groupings - it may take me some time to get the data organized, though, so please be patient and bear with me.
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