www.clanlivingstone.info

Last night there was a program on BBC2 at 9pm called Highland Empire which I caught. It would be of great interest to some of you, especially Donald, as it dealt with the impact the Scots had on Canada.

The Hudson Bay Company hired Orkney men as employees because they found them be tough and well suited to the extreme weather that existed in that part of British North America. Selkirk obtained an extensive grant about 800 miles south of Hudsons Bay by the Company with the intention of creating a settlement made up of highlanders and Irish. The first party which arrived in 1812 were made up of those in the employment of Selkirk for the purposes of establishing the settlement. Later in the Fall of 1812 Selkirk's principal settler Alexander McLean, his kinsmen from Northern Mull and a group of other highlanders including my ancestor Miles Livington arrived at the settlement with the second party. regards Donald

I, too, saw Highland Empire yesterday evening. Both my husband and I were fascinated by it, particularly as we knew so little about this period. I hope it is shown on Canadian television soon as I am sure that all Canadians of Highland ancestry would be interested in it. Regards, Jill

Having come from the Highlands where forests were few and far between, the Livingstones and other highland families that came to British North America, must have been in awe of the virtually untouched natural beauty of the seemingly endless forests with pines, maples and oaks reaching extraordinary heights never before seen by a Scot. In June of 1815, my great-great-great grandfather Miles Livingstone left the Selkirk Settlement by North West Company Canoe and with his family endured a 1000 mile canoe trip travelling down numerous rivers and small lakes to Lake Superior one of largest freshwater lakes in the world, eventually making his way southward to Upper Canada where he and his family would make their final home. In course of this difficult journey, Miles, his wife Janet and their two eldest infant children would experience the natural beauty of British North America (Canada) as few Europeans had before. Regards Donald

Hi Jill, Glad that you enjoyed the program. There is a great Book devoted to the history of the SCots in Canada that we have at home and I wish I had bought a few more copies of it from the local Scotland store.

Hi there Donald! thank you for recommending Scots in Canada. Is that its correct name? It would be nice if Scottish TV eventually do a documentary of Scots in Canada. So many Scots have relatives in Nova Scotia, P.E.I. etc, etc that I am sure it would be of huge interest. Two of my grandfather's brothers emigrated to Toronto, but nobody in my family seems to know what happened to them, or whether they married or had families - rather sad really. Regards, Jill

As a side track to this subject, but a very interesting and relevant sidetrack, I would recommend the reading of James Hunter's book "Glencoe and the Indians". This book traces the geneaology of MacDonalds from Glencoe (1692), through Culloden to Dingwall and on to North America, the Hudson Bay Company and finally to the desperate struggle for survival of the Nez Perce and Sioux tribes. A quick guide to the subject can be found by just putting the book title into a websearch and finding a summary on the likes of "Electric Scotland."

An interesting piece from the author can be found here: http://www.electricscotland.com/history ... ndians.htm

Thank you for this link. It's very interesting. Having lived in North Dakota until I was 12 and in Oregon since then, I'm interested in both the Little Big Horn and the Nez Perce. I don't have access to the BBC so may not have a chance to see the TV program that was the starting point for this conversation. I'll make a note of it and watch to see if it comes out on tape or DVD.