Nova Scotia/PEI Livingstone Research

[Livingstone_PEI]

Hi Donald

I'm afraid there are no government death records from that time. I have found this webpage which pretty much sums up what is available. When I get back to the archives, I will see if I can find anything in any of the newspapers, but that can be a slow process.

http://globalgenealogy.com/globalgazett ... zfd71j.htm

Barry

[Canadian Livingstone]

Hi Barry,

The 1901 Census indicates that Joseph Livingston age 67 of Lot 53, kings County PEI was born in Prince Edward Island in 1834 and his wife Mary was born in Scotland. Beyond Joseph and his probable family connection to early PEI pioneers John and Sarah Livingston,as your will info indicates a connection to Nova Scotia Livingstons is very difficult to prove and I am not sure there is a Nova Scotia connection. His father could very well have been Alexander as you believe a son of John and Sarah.

Regarding your PEI Livingstone family however you have a PEI 1867 obituary clearly indicating your great-great grandfather Colin Livingstones earlier origins at Whycocomagh, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The Whycocomagh Livingstons lived in very small community in Inverness County, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in the mid 1800's being only one family, one householder farmer ALexander Livingston born abt. 1814 in Mull, Scotland and Colin being a only few years older I would assume with some certainty that Alexander and Colin were brothers. Whether Alexander and your ancestor Colin were brothers of nearby farmer John Livingston Jr. born abt. 1800 or 1808 died before 1861 of neigbouring community of Mull River who interestingly was married to the (Catharine) sister of Alexander's wife Ann cannot be proven it is just something that I suspect may be the case. Dr. St. Clair from his Mabou/Mull River research I dont think is not convinced of this though I think there is some evidence to support the possibility of this.

regards,

Donald

[Livingstone_PEI]

I'm sorry Donald I posted the wrong collections Canada link, where it lists Joseph being from Nova Scotia, and his son John and family are on the upper page. I'm pretty sure I didn't see this before. That is where the theory of the Nova Scotia connection came from. It just seems odd and more likely a census taker would assume he was born on PEI and not ask, than an obscure entry that he was born in Nova Scotia. It is the only census that says that, I just don't want to close the door on that theory.

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/data ... nln5ne83r1

Barry

[Canadian Livingstone]

Hi Barry,

Well the group of us have tried to establish a few facts regarding the pioneer Nova Scotia and PEI original Livingston pioneer families but to be sure there is lot which not precisely clear to us regarding possible Livingston family connections and certainly it always open to theories. For my part I am still challenged to prove without any doubts that the Mull River and neighbouring Whycocomagh Livingstons of Inverness County, Cape Breton, Nova scotia were infact related though the information I have seen has led me suspect this to be the case . Because I cant absolutely prove it I guess it would be a "theory" as well. It is my understanding from Dr. St. Clair that Alexander Livingston of Whycocomagh, Cape Breton and his family had in their possession and original copy of a letter of reference from Mull,Scotland officials for a John Livingston and Catharine Campbell of Kilninian Parish, Mull which suggested to me that Alexander b. 1814 in Mull came into possession of that because his parents were the John Livingston and Catharine Campbell mentioned in the letter of reference that left Mull for the port of Pictou, Nova Scotia in 1821. Why else would Alexander of Whycocomagh an original copy of the a private document of John Livingston and Catharine Campbell of Kilninan Parish, Mull . I have a copy of this letter of reference from Dr. St. Clair. If Alexander's parents were infact John Livingston and Catherine Campbell the other question is did they settled at Mull River around 1824. Certainly the time frame is about right but Dr. St. Clair in his book leans toward another John Livingston who was married to a Mary Campbell who he believed settled at Mull River around 1824. So there are some clues as I say that make think it was a John Livingston and Catharine Campbell that actually settled at Mull River, Inverness County near Whyccocmagh but I cant be 100 percent certain because of lack of proof and conflicting theories and information. Without solid facts one is stuck with only a theory I am afraid.

regards,

Donald

[Livingstone_PEI]

Hi Donald

Most times we seem to have more questions than answers.

Hypothetically speaking......

We have one census saying that Joseph was born in Nova Scotia. The rest of the census documents say he was born in PEI.....the law of averages is on the side of being born in PEI. Just another big question why one says born in NS....kinda obscure. If he was born in Nova Scotia we have no way of knowing which part of Nova Scotia. There were Livingstons living all over NS in the mid 1800s. Joseph was the grandson of John Livingston of Lot 53.....the 1803 one from Fort William. Does anyone have a Joseph Livingston in any of your collection of info born in 1834? I checked the website of NS births and came up empty. Why was Joseph living with his grandmother? This is curious too.....like I said lotsa questions and few answers, but I will keep looking.

Barry

[Canadian Livingstone]

Hi Barry,

Just to be clear that I understand the 1891 Census also states that Joseph was born in PEI as does the 1901 PEI Census. It does however add additional information that may not be in other PEI census records and that is that his Mother was in PEI and his father was born in Nova Scotia. That part I did not see before. So I am pretty certain that Joseph was born in 1834 in PEI but his father could have been born in Nova Scotia which is interesting. The 1881 and 1901 census dont list which province the Joseph's mother and father were born do they? The 1881,1891 and 1901 Census all record Joseph a ship carpenter as being born in Prince Edward Island. I thought you meant that Joseph was born in Nova Scotia according to some of the census records. Joseph's father Alexander being born in Nova Scotia is likely only alluded to in the 1891 Census. Remember the forms varied in what questions were asked from decade to decade. I will check and see if that question regarding the parents was asked in 1901. The point is that yes is seems to me quite likely that the 1891 info could be correct that Joseph's father Alexander? was born in Nova Scotia, but whether that means that hisPEI Livingston family is connected to one of the Nova Scotia Livington families is not easy to prove from that information. But if correct then Joseph's father was born in Nova Scotia.

regards,

Donald

[Livingstone_PEI]

Hi All

I believe I have found another piece of the puzzle for the descendents of Colin Livingstone and his wife Catherine. Catherine's maiden name was Gillies. Ironically enough I found Gillies families living beside Colin's apparent brother Alexander in Whycocomagh. By searching names associated with the Gillies families that lived close; I have found that Catherine belonged to this Mull family, or at least everything matches.

Husband: Donald Gillies
Wife: Mary McLucas
Married: 21 Jan 1813
Children:
Colin (bap) 19 Nov 1814 -
Grace (bir) 21 Dec 1816 -
Roderick (bap) 9 Dec 1818 -
Catherine (bir) 22 Dec 1820 -
Barbara (bir) 29 Jul 1823 -
Barbara (bir) 15 Jul 1826 -
Jane (bap) 8 Dec 1831 -

This family would fit and I have found Roderick Gillies living close to Alexander Livingston and the birthyear is a close match. I have also found a mention of a daughter of Colin Gillies married in 1876, and it was in Margaree Forks where the marriage happened.

Everything matches and am pretty sure it is right.

Barry

[Canadian Livingstone]

Hi Barry,

Thats great that you have made a possible connection between the Gillies family that lived near to Alexander Livingston of Whycocomagh, Cape Breon and the Gillies family connected to your ancestor Colin Livingston. I was surprised to discover that we also have an descendant of Alexander Livingston of Whycocomagh participating recently in Clan Maclea Livingstone DNA Project. The lastest update. As i suspected all indicators are that Alexander of WHycocomagh, Cape Breton and his descendants were kin to a specific family group of highland Maclea Livingstons that lived at Mull, Western Argyll which the local family history indicated. This family shares characteristics with other Livingston families whose ancestors resided in Mull, Argyllshire without any doubt. So if what positive proof that Alexander and Colin were brothers you just need to find a Livingston cousin similarly interested in solving this family mystery.

regards,

Donald

[Livingstone_PEI]

Hi Donald

The DNA testing for our family is going to be done after the Livingstone family reunion we will be having this summer. On a side note it appears that we know where my GGrandfather's grave is. It is in the Dundas United Church cemetery, but it is an unmarked grave. I have to assume that his wife is also buried beside him. This provides another project that I will be addressing this summer at the reunion and that is to provide a permanent grave marker for Angus and Catherine. We will have a temporary marker setup for the reunion, but I feel it is important to have a permanent marker for future generations.
So far we have family members from the US and Canada attending and it is going to be a great time...everyone of us are very excited. We will be meeting many family members we have not met before and many we have not seen for a very long time. There is a nucleus of family members in the Oshawa, Ontario region and many of them are coming.
Any specific information regarding the results of the DNA testing for Alexander's descendents would be very helpful in tracking down our history as well. I am 99.99% sure Colin was Alexander's brother and if he is not, it looks like I am back to square one. If you have the document in a scanned document for John's crossing in the Adventure I would appreciate it. At first we were going to create a family book, including geneology, before the reunion, but now I think we are going to wait until afterwards and we can add the DNA information and also photos from the reunion. We will know by then if Alexander and Colin are brothers....I hope.

Barry

Barry

[Kyle MacLea]

Barry,

Pooling your money to add a gravestone to an ancestor's grave is something I want to do for one of my ancestors here in Massachusetts as well. It's a great thing that hopefully your family can all agree on.

As for DNA, you know to contact me when you're ready for that. I will note that since we already have someone from this line that we are hoping to "confirm" your relationship to, we're going to want probably 67 markers tested. For this cluster, 37 markers doesn't help us nearly as much--67 will help us tease apart close relationships, and hopefully show that the man already tested is your closest relative within the cluster. When you need information, let me know. (You used to be able to request test kits even before you paid as well, so if you found someone who was willing to test, but you needed to collect money, etc., you could always get a test kit, have him do the cheek swab, and keep it until you've collected the money as well.) (And also remember you get a discount over the public price when you joint through a Project--so choose Livingston as your Project when ordering.)

I've already commented to Donald that this coming together of different threads and evidence is great! I really would love to have you put together an article about this for our Clan Society Newsletter, The Parnassus, at some point!

Kyle=