Donald McKenzie, my 4th great grandfather was born in Scotland in 1787. He married Mary Catherine Clunas on May 30, 1812. That same year Donald and Mary, immigrated from their home in Scotland to New York and lived there for a short time. Donald and his wife moved to Nova Scotia, Canada where their first child Donald McKenzie II was born on May 1, 1813. Between May of 1813 and June of 1817, the family moved to Malahide township in Middlesex County (now known as Elgin County), Ontario, Canada.
There was quite a bit going on in Malahide Township during this time period. In fact, the township was organized, only a few short years before in 1810.
He chose a property which today is in Elgin County in adjoining townships, Dunwich and Aldborough (today called West Elgin) when his petition for 5,000 acres was granted in 1803. It was May 21, 1803, that he landed at a spot which has been called since Port Talbot and built a log cabin. Nearby,
- The settler must erect a "good and sufficient building" of at least 16 x 20 feet, to be occupied by the owner or a "substantial" tenant
- 10 acres had to be cleared and fenced within 2 years
- 1/2 the road had to be cleared in front of the lot
- No tree was to be left standing within 100 feet of the road
Lesson Learned: I love the study of history and genealogy and when you can place one of your direct ancestors in a time period of such great change and exploration, it is a truly humbling experience. Donald McKenzie and his young wife left their home in Scotland to find their place in the world and worked hard to settle in an untamed land. I believe that this McKenzie strength and pride still shows in my family today. I am proud of the McKenzie name and honored to call it my own.
You must be proud he was able to fulfill the conditions to own the land.
Have you ever seen any connection between the Talbots of this region to the Talbots (Talbott) of Virginia or Kentucky?
Lisa, I haven’t done any research on the Talbot line except for this post. The McKenzie family is my relation. However, the seems to be a lot of information out there about Thomas Talbot.
My grandmother, Mary Mckenzie was married to Carl Briley of Atlanta , MI. She died of ‘consumption’ when my father was 5 yrs. old. She was very pretty & also from the Atlanta, Rust area. There were 5 children, 4 sons & 1 daughter. My 4x Great Grandfather Homsteaded in the Atlanta, Vienna Corners. Part of Briley Township. Great story just like yours. We have a Briley family history that began with Allen Briley who had a homestead just as you described. Each generation had one son who had 10 children as my father did. Many, many Brileys’
I’m glad you enjoyed the blog post. I am familiar with the Briley Family, although not directly connected.
Rebecca
Researching the Clunis families of Pictou, Nova Scotia. Was there a link between either the McKenzie or Clunas families to Pictou when Donald and Catherine moved there from New York and before their move to Ontario? Did Donald by any chance immigrate to Caledonia, Livingstone Co., NY in 1812?