Margaret McGregor b. 17 Nov 1834 Beckwith Twp, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada d. 4 Dec 1934 Carleton County, Ottawa Municipality, Ontario, Canada: Lanark County Origins

Margaret McGregor

1834 - 1934 (100 years)

Name	Margaret McGregor
Birth	17 Nov 1834	Beckwith Twp, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada
Gender	Female
Census-Household Member	1861	Beckwith Twp, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada
	Canada
	Role: Household Member
_UID	5BDC761CC9764454B18A71E9A4778F68478A
Death	4 Dec 1934	Carleton County, Ottawa Municipality, Ontario, Canada
	Story of Sturdy McGregors Who Came Here in Thirties Mrs. Alex. Cameron of Ottawa, aged 98. Tells About her parents and other Relatives who settled in Beckwith and in Glengarry a Hundred Years Ago - All were Great Walkers - A Fine Story of the Pioneer Days Told by Remarkable Lady. Mrs. Alex Cameron of Ottawa, at the age of 98, is a remarkable lady. At that advanced age, she possesses all her faculties in a remarkable degree. Her memory is wonderfully clear. She can read without glasses. Mrs. Cameron came toOttawa from Carleton Place, but a large part of her life was spent up in Beckwith township. It was in Beckwith that Mrs. Cameron was born in the year 1834, juar rqo month after her parents had settled in Beckwith. It is Beckwith she likes to talk about. Mrs. Cameron was a mcGregor before her marriage - Margaret McGregor. She was a daugher of Mr. and Mrs. Alex mcGregor who came out from Perthshire in 1834. The McGregors went to Beckwith chiefly because Mr McGretor's oldest brother had settled in Beckwith, about ten years earlier and had held land for him for several years awaiting his coming. Urged to Come A sister of Alex McGregor, a Mrs Peter McEwan, has also been located in Beckwith and liked the place. Both had urged Alex McGregor to come to these parts. So it came about that in the early fall of 1834, Alex McGregor came out as far as Montreal with a party of relatives and others from Perthshire who were going to settle in Glengarry county. The parties separated in Montreal. Alex McGregor and his young wife took the boat for Bytown bringing with them a considerable number of boxes and barrels full of things they would require in their new forest home. They had been well instructed as to what they would require by the older brother and Mrs. McEwan. Walked to Franktown At Bytown the McGregors hired a waggon to take their stuff as far as Franktown via the Richmond -Perth road. Mrs Cameron tells that after the waggon had been loaded it was so full that ther was not room fo either the driver or the young couple and all three were forced to walk all the 35 odd miles to Franktown. The party spent the night at Richmond and the next day they continued to Franktown where the second night was spent at Burns' hotel. Out to Beckwith The next morning early a son of Mrs. Peter McEwan came to Frnaktown with a couple of waggons driven by oxen and the McGregors were driven in more or less comfort the remaining seven miles to the 7th line of Beckwith where the mcEwans were located and where Alex mcGregor's land was awaiting him. The McEwans had already been three years in Beckwith. Bought a Clearing The land that was awaiting Alex MGregor was a bush land. Soon after the arrival of the young couple Alex McGregor found an opportunity to purchase a partly cleared farm with a shanty on it and did so. He got it for $500. That location was alson on the 7th line of Beckwith. When the mcGregors came to Beckwith they had with thgem a spinning wheel and reel and many other helpful house-keeping articles. The couple bought a yoke of oxen and two cows. Spoke Gaelic When the McGregors first went to Beckwith practically all the settlers were Scotch and most of them spoke Gaelic as the language of communication thoug most of them could speak English. Hardy People These early Scotch settlers were certainly hardy people . It is on record that in 1837 Mrs. Alex McGregor's mother and father (Mr. and Mrs John McGregor) who had located in 1834 in Glengarry walked all the way from Glengarry to Beckwith, a distance of over fifty miles to see how their daughter was getting on. Jusst what road they follwed from Glengarry is not clear, but Mrs Cameron says they came through Osgood township and stopped there with friends over night. The following day they came to Bytown and then followed on foot the same route their daughter had followed (on foot) three years before. In due time the elderly couple reached Beckwith and received a great welcome. They stayed two months and helped with the harvest. Ten of a Family Going back to Alex McGregor and his wife, we can tell that they raised a family of 10 - four boys and six girls. All but two are dead. The two alive are Mrs. Alex Cameron, Ottawa, aged 98, and Mrs Peter Robertson, of Carleton Place, the youngest child. Many McGregors Mrs Cameron tells that in Beckwith there were 3 families of McGregors all from Perthshire, but none related. In this connection, it is pointed out ther were various McGregors in the family of Alex McGregor and his wife. Mrs. Alex McGregor had been a McGregor and strange to say, her mother, who married a McGregor, had been a McGregor, yet none of them were cousins or otherwise intermarried. Murphy's Falls The nearest town to the McGregors was Muphy's Falls (now Carleton Place).. That was eight miles away. Perth was 14 miles distant. By a direct line Perth was much closer but the many great swamps in the district made the travelling round about. An interesting story of Mrs Cameron's marriage will be found in another column.
Burial	United Cemeteries (Maplewood-St Fillians-Pine Grove), Beckwith Twp, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada
Person ID	I50672	Lanark County Origins
Last Modified	27 Nov 2023

Father	Alexander McGregor, b. 1804, Perth and Kinross, Scotland d. Yes, date unknown
Mother	Catherine McGregor, b. 1811, Scotland d. Yes, date unknown
Family ID	F17339	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family 1 Alexander Cameron, b. 1 Jan 1825, Beckwith Twp, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada d. 4 Aug 1892, Carleton Place, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada (Age 67 years)

Children

+	1. Annie Cameron, b. 1858, Beckwith Twp, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada d. 15 Jul 1895, Elmsley North Twp, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada (Age 37 years)
	2. Catherine "Katie" Cameron, b. 1861, Beckwith Twp, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada d. 18 Aug 1896, Carleton Place, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada (Age 35 years)
	3. Jane E. Cameron, b. 1865, Ontario County, Ontario, Canada d. 1887 (Age 22 years)
	4. John Hugh Cameron, b. 7 Mar 1870, Beckwith Twp, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada d. 15 Mar 1939, Sturgeon Falls, Nipissing District, Ontario, Canada (Age 69 years)
	5. Alexander Malcolm Cameron, b. 8 Apr 1873, Beckwith Twp, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada d. 23 Jan 1955, Ottawa, Carleton County, Ontario, Canada (Age 81 years)

Family ID F17338 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Last Modified 4 Mar 2024

Family ID	F20980	Group Sheet \| Family Chart
Last Modified	4 Mar 2024

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Margaret McGregor

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