In a previous post, I told the birth story of Kate Darroch, Archie and Mary’s daughter. She was named after Mary’s sister, Kate Milloy. This post tells about Kate Milloy and her husband, Donald McMillan. They were the first of the Milloy or Darroch families to come to Canada.
The 1800s were turbulent economic times in Scotland, especially in the Highlands and Islands. Stories abound of the infamous Highland Clearances where landlords evicted crofters. Recent research shows, however, that instead of being forcibly evicted, most Scots left of their own volition. They were ambitious and anxious to improve their economic standing. In March of 1822, Donald and Kate (Milloy) McMillan moved to Upper Canada (later to be named Canada West, and finally Ontario). This story starts, however, in 1821, Clachan.
Mary’s sister, Kate, bustled into the house with her usual sense of energy and vigour.
Kate smiled at her one-year-old namesake, “How’s my favourite niece?” Little Kate quickly smiled back.
Mary said, “Thank you for coming over, Kate. You’ve been such great support to me!”
“We Milloys like to stick together...which sounds ironic since Donald and I are moving to Upper Canada."
“And leave the rest of us here? What about this 'stick together' bit?”
“Our biggest responsibility to our family is our own children. The economy is collapsing here, and the potato blight will likely hit again this year. Our children have no future here.”
“But siblings are family—we can get through this together.”
“Mary, that’s just it. Most of our siblings are thinking of coming, too. Plus Mom and Dad.”
Mary’s voice cracked. “And leave me here alone?”
“Why don’t you come with us?”
“Archie would never agree to leave Clachan. Plus, I have a wee one.”
“And we’ve got four under the age of twelve. Look, Mary, you’ll never be completely ready. The land is cheap and plentiful. Why don't you join us?”
Mary was silent as tears filled her eyes. She finally said, “I wish I could!”
The above scene exemplifies the dilemma families faced as they considered moving. The branches of family trees are intertwined, so when one family leaves, there is an inevitable severing somewhere, whether it be siblings, parents, or in-laws. Most Scottish families never returned home even for a visit, so these were difficult decisions. In the case of the Milloys, Mary’s sister Kate left in 1822, her parents in 1829, and most of her siblings emigrated within the decade of that time, leaving Mary in Scotland.
Scottish emigrants preferred Australia, the United States, and British North America. Donald and Kate selected British North America. When they arrived in 1822, Upper Canada would have been unrecognizable from what it is now. Back then, it was a treed wilderness. Their story is in the “History of Erin Township,” in which the following excerpt is found:
Following the survey of the township about 1820, the surveyors were not impressed with the wilderness, and refused to accept the property [in lieu of pay], saying that it was of little value.
At this time, Donald McMillan of Argyleshire, Scotland, was hearing glowing accounts of Canada, and determined to try his fortune there. Originally he intended to settle in the Niagara Peninsula, but due to attacks of the ague, and other hardships, he decided not to stay. One day he was discussing his troubles with an old soldier who said he held the right to 100 acres of land in one of the new townships recently surveyed, and he would sell it for $25.00. After some dickering, Mr. McMillan bought the land for $20.00.
He made the trip on foot to Toronto, where he secured the ticket for his lot, number 19, in 9th concession, Erin Township. The ticket was a small piece of cardboard that must not be lost, for it was the only indication that he had bought a piece of land.
On an inspection tour, Mr. McMillan liked what he saw, and the Indians seemed friendly. Upon returning to the Niagara Peninsula, he purchased a yoke of oxen, made himself a cart with wheels of blocks sawed from an oak tree on which he loaded his household articles, his wife, and younger members of the family. The older boys, aged from six to ten years, drove their few cattle. The journey took two weeks, and became very slow for the last ten miles, where they were obliged to cut a trail through the unbroken forest.
Since Mrs. McMillan was the first white woman in the area, the Crown made a gift to her, of lot 18, con. 9.[1]
The McMillan family cut a path through the last ten miles of forest to arrive at their homestead.
In the next few years, families flooded into Erin Township, many from Argyll. Among them were Mary’s parents and most of her siblings, along with their cousins and families. Mary, however, would remain in Clachan and not see her beloved sister for almost forty years.
We will now return to Clachan to explain the long-held Darroch "tradition of the stone." It reveals a clue about why Archie Darroch stayed in Scotland, in spite of Mary’s desire to leave.
References:
[1] "History of Erin Township." Town of Erin. November 27, 2007. Accessed October 26, 2014. http://erin.ca/.
[2] Photo credit to Andrew Philips Postmedia Network