22 Kate MacTavish

Kate MacTavish, daughter of William Smith and Mary Elizabeth MacTavish, was christened, in Gaelic, in the old Smith home by beloved Belfast minister Reverend Alexander MacLean Sinclair. Her name was Katriona. After two teenage trips to Bostonfor work, Kate returned to her community and, in 1916, married Newtown farmer Duncan MacTavish. Mr. MacTavish died in 1957.

Kate still lives on the MacTavish property and today makes a homefor her grandson Donnie, who works the family farm with his father Sinclair MacTavish. New crops of soybeans have been added to the traditional yields of potatoes and hay.

I he deed of the place is here. It was made out to Isabella MacTavish by Lord Selkirk in 1817... .

It was all woods, all woods then. All this was all woods when they started-I think the first house must’ve been a log cabin. But it was built across the road there on the other side because there’s a low place in the land there and they find lots of cultivating [tools]; bits of iron and things come up you know.

My mother... remembered when it was woods right up above where we have the garden there. Then they cleared it all. Didn’t they have courage? They planted a few potatoes between the stumps and then planted some oats and reaped them with the reaping hook. Cut it with the reaping hook.

Summer, 1903

I was born across the river there in the house that’s gone now.... It was [my father’s home]. He died the first day of July and [my sister] died the 1 1th

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