Donald McKenzie, Talbot Settler of Elgin County, Ontario, Canada

Rebecca Walbecq — Thu, 07 May 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Donald McKenzie (1787 - 1874)

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.

The gentleman credited with the settlement of Elgin county was Thomas Talbot.

Talbot emigrated to Canada in 1791, where he became personal secretary to John Graves Simcoe, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. After returning to England, Talbot convinced the government to allow him to implement a land settlement scheme along the shore of Lake Erie.

"Colonel Talbot". Licensed under Public Domain via Wikipedia.

Elgin County, Ontario, Canada - 1855 Malahide Township is highlighted

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,

he added a sawmill, a cooper shop, a blacksmith shop, and a poultry house along with a barn. When settlers began to arrive in 1809, Talbot added a gristmill as well. Wikipedia

By 1808, there were 20 families settled in Talbots region, by 1815 that number had increased to 350 families and by 1817 again had more than doubled to 804 families.

It was around 1817 when Donald McKenzie relocated to Malahide township as part of the Talbot settlement. A land petition dated September 12, 1831, states that Donald immigrated from Scotland in 1812 and in June of 1817 was given a lot of 100 acres, liable to settlement duties.

Based on my research, the settlement duties may have consisted of the following conditions:

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

14 years after Donald had settled in Malahide Township, the petition was submitted requesting that he be granted this land. The petition addressed to "his excellency" the King of England, is signed by both Thomas Talbot and Donald McKenzie.

Donald and Mary went on to raise their 6 children in Malahide Township, Elgin County, Ontario, Canada. Mary passed away in 1857 and Donald on March 7, 1874, both in the township that they helped to settle and lived to see prosper and grow.

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.

Malahide Township – Genealogist on a Journey

Donald McKenzie, Talbot Settler of Elgin County, Ontario, Canada