John McDonald and
Christina McDonald
Introduction
Archibald McDonald was born in St George, Prince Edward Island on 25th June 1837. He was baptised by Father John McDonald and his parents are named as John McDonald and Christina McDonald.
From old Scotland to new Scotland
Captain John McDonald of Glenaladale was a landowner on the banks of Loch Shiel. He was a young man at the time of the Battle of Culloden and 1745 rebellion but, after receiving education in Germany, became a leader for the highland Roman Catholics in that part of Scotland. He purchased a tract of land on Prince Edward Island and gathered 210 people from the lands around Glenfinnan and the islands of North and South Uist and set off across the North Atlantic.
The settlers moved into land in Queen’s country where Captain John McDonald created a new estate, also called Glenaladale, near a town called Tracadie, but also called Scotchfort. Additional migration from highland Scotland took place over the next 50 years, but at the same time the community in Prince Edward Island fragmented from the original settlement and moved to new lands.
Families including MacDonald’s, MacPhees, McCormack’s and Walkers established a community at Launching Place on the coast of Prince Edward Island under the guidance of a Father McEachern. These were farm lands where the people lived in a similar. The community built a church, St George’s and parochial house and also had a cemetery. Father McEachern moved on in 1836 and was replaced by Father John McDonald , the son of Captain John McDonald of Glenaladale.
John McDonald and Christina McDonald
It is difficult to find further information about John and Christina McDonald – both of these first names were very common in the McDonald family at the time. However, the registration of there sons Archibald (1837) and Peter (1839) in the St George's parish make it highly likely that they were part of the community of Launching Place.
The only other found reference to John McDonald and Christina McDonald is in the entry of the Marriage register for Archibald's wedding to Mary Lamont
