8}] Land and By Air

Why the MacDonalds left Scotland, I do not know. They landed at St. Ann's, Cape Breton, late in the 18th century. As the Acadians had been exiled in 1758, there seemed to be some free land on Prince Edward Island. My great-great-grandfather, married to a cousin of Giant McAskill, and a group of Scottish settlers moved to the South East of Prince Edward Island, on land between the county line and Pantons. My great-great-grandfather took up residence (a farm I still own) - at the shore where there was an old French wharf. With the shifting of the sand banks, the old wharf can still be spotted. At that time, two brooks flowed out together giving a good flow of water; there was a good growth of marsh hay, which was good food for the cows, sheep and horses.

My great—great-grandfather was a tailor by trade, which he combined with clearing the land. His son was a blacksmith, all I know of him was that he was killed when he was going along the wooded trail on horseback in a storm, and a tree fell and killed him. Murdoch MacNeill (Hughie’s father) told me a story of sleeping in a bed and he could not keep the quilt over him, as it kept falling on the floor. The next day they used that quilt to cover my great-grandfather’s remains for a time.

My grandfather was a mason who cut the grey stones which surround Charlottetown City Hall. One can see a similar pattern of grey stones he cut for Sturgeon Church and the Court House in Georgetown.

My grandfather lived in Georgetown for two years while working at the Court House - I think my father was born while the family was there.

10