THE FAMILY OF JOHN McFEE AND CATHERINE MCNAUGHTON

(Written in 1954 by Arnold McNaughton)

        In the year 1800 the marriage of Catherine McNaughton and John McFee took place at Fiendrick, Scotland. They had thirteen children of whom ten had been born when they set sail for America in the early simmer of 1821 with Finlay McNaughton and his family. They settled at Hemmingford, moving in with Finlay and his family until they found a place of their own. The McFees tried several places and then finally settled on the so-called Dobson Road a few miles south of Hemmingford right near the United States border. John McFee was the only one of his family who came to this country. There were two McFee brothers, their parents having died when they were young children. The other brother went to war in the Low Countries (The Netherlands and Belgium today), but as he never returned he evidently was killed.

        The history of the Clan MeFee is interesting as to how it came into being. All the clans of Scotland at different times in their long history were in constant conflict with one another. The McFee Clan was the result of a dispute within the Clan MacDuffie. The section who won became the Clan MacDuff, using the first syllable of the name, while the defeated section became the Clan Mac Fie, using the last syllable. The latter went to the Island of Colonsay, where to this day the cemeteries are filled with headstones bearing the name MacPhee. There were several spellings for the Clan and it is believed that the John McFee mentioned above had used the old Scottish spelling of MacPhee. It was his eldest son Alexander who gave the new spelling of McFee to the family after they came to America, at the suggestion of his banker. In Scotland today, MacPhee is the usual spelling.

        After their arrival and settling down at Hermingford three more children were born; Malcolm and the twins, Charles and Peter, a total of thirteen children in all. On the birth of the twins Catherine died leaving John with this large family. His eldest daughter Jane undertook to look after the welfare of all her brothers and sisters. While Jane was still quite young, she was but seventeen years old, her brother, little Hugh, took smallpox which was common in those days. She took him out into the woods away from the other children and nursed him back to recovery, the result being that he lived and the spread of the disease came to an end. She was exceedingly efficient and very popular with all the younger relatives among whom she usually took the lead. She wasn’t handsome like her mother, Catherine McMaughton, nor as stylish and pretty as her cousin Louisa McNaughton (afterwards Mrs. Kutusoff Nicolson), but she was always the center of attraction, and everyone naturally went to her for advice and help. She did not marry until fairly late in life, as the care of her brothers and sisters occupied her entire attention,

        The eldest of the thirteen was Alexander, born in 1801. He had been trained, along with his brother Donald, for the Indian Civil Service and it had been their father's intention to move all his family to that country had not his wife, Catherine, put her foot down and refused to go She realized that in so doing it would mean separating her children from her, for the younger ones would have to be sent all the way back to Scotland to receive their education. She said that she would be willing to go to America with her brother Finlay, and so without further discussion the family agreed to their mother's wishes.

        In 1838 John McFee died at Hemmingford, and his family and their descendants have long since departed from this vicinity.

        Alexander McFee, the eldest son, married Catherine MeNaughton of Lachine. Her family and those of our family were not connected but they owned and directed a shipping line from Montreal. Alex founded general stores in Edwardstown and St. Chrysostome and for years lived at Russeltown, about ten miles west of Hemmingford. Later when he retired he purchased a farm near Franklin Centre where he died in 1867. He was survived by his wife and a family of four sons and two daughters. The eldest was Duncan, then the twins Donald and John, and a younger son Coll, all of whom remained unmarried. The daughters were Christina, who also remained unmarried, and Catherine, called Kate, who married James Edwards and lived in Washington, D.C. He was an authority on shorthand and first worked for the Canadian Government in Ottawa, going from there to Washington where he held an official position for many years. Donald, one of the twins, became superintendent of the railway running from Ottawa to Sherbrooke near the Canadian border and down to the coast of Maine. He lived in Lennoxville and went every day to his office in Sherbrooke. This railway was built by Joseph Pope, later Sir Joseph, who was a leading personality in railway development in Eastern Canada. In 1886 around Christmas time, when Donald was going from his office to his home at Lennoxville, he slipped and fell as he was boarding the platform of the rear car, and was run over and killed instantly. John, his twin, went to California where he died at Los Angeles in 1933. Coll, the youngest, went to Australia intending to join his Uncle Hugh who resided in Queensland at MacKay. He did not marry and never returned home.

        The second son of John McPee was Donald, known as Major Donald He bought a farm northwest of Hemmingford where he and his family lived for many years. The original stone house which he built still stands, but has long since passed out of the family ownership. Its situation is exactly two miles north of the old homestead of Finlay McNaughton.

        Donald was a member of the militia who were stationed in Odelltown at the time of the Rebellion of 1837. It was during that time that he met and married Maria O'Dell, and their family consisted of three sons, Joshua, Donald and John, and five daughters, Catherine, Mary, Eunice, Jane and Samantha. Joshua married Frances Breckinridge whose sister Isabella had married Duncan Young, second cousin of Joshua, They had three children, but the younger two, Stella and Albert, died as young children from scarlet fever, Charles survived and was married to Catherine McNaughton of Hemmingford, daughter of Captain Donald of Hemmingford, and so were second cousins once removed. They went west, first to the Dakotas where they had a farm, and in later years to Winnipeg where members of their family are still living,

        Donald, brother of Joshua, lived on his father's farm, and with him his sister Jane who kept house for him. Neither married and in later years they sold their home and retired to the village of Hemmingford where they lived on West Street and died over a quarter of a century ago. John, the younger brother, never married. Of the sisters of Joshua, Donald and John, the two elder, Catherine :and Mary died in their early teens and Jane never married Eunice married Robert Wood of Hemmingford who unfortunately contracted tuberculosis and died on the French Riviera in the south of France leaving no family.

        Then came Samantha who married Joseph Hare of Covey Hill. They went to the western United States and after much travelling set up a home in Nebraska, giving the name of Hemingford to the community they were to begin, in honour of their home town in Canada. It will be noted that Hemingford, Neb., was spelt with one "m" and still is if you see it in print on the map of that state. Our Hemmingford in Quebec Province was originally spelt with one "m" also, but at some unknown time since then the second "m" crept in. The Hares lived there for several years, Joseph owned a newspaper and publishing business. Later they moved to the Dakotas where they died some years later. They had a large family of nine children and there are but two unmarried grandchildren. All contacts between the Hare family and the relatives in the east were lost many years ago and only shortly before Christmas 1953, with the help of the Postmaster of Hill City, S.D., was I able to get in touch with Charles Hare, youngest son of the family who now lives in Missoula, Mont.

        Other surviving in the family are Dr. Carlisle Hare of the Dakotas, and Stella. One of the family, William, was killed many years ago in Washington State by a train.

        The next son. of John McFee was Duncan, but he died at the age of sixteen in Scotland just about a year before his parents left for the New World.

        Jane came next whom I have already mentioned. She was married around the year 1840 to Alexander Dewey of St. Remi, Quebec. They had two sons, Hugh and Finlay. Hugh, the elder died at the age of twelve of typhoid fever. The younger son, Finlay studied at McGill University, graduating in Theology then taking the postgraduate course at Princeton which is famous in the annals of the Presbyterian Church. His first charge was at Richmond, Que., from which he was appointed pastor of Stanley Street Presbyterian Church where he remained until his death in 1914. He married Eliza Coull and they had three children. The eldest, Alexander, passed away in 1953 in New York City. The others are Rev. Dr. George F. Dewey of Montreal and his sister Elsie who teaches school.

        The next of the McFee family of thirteen was John, named for his father. His wife was Eliza Gordon and they bought a farm four miles west of Russeltown on the road to Franklin, in Quebec Province. Also on this road lived Charles Gordon and his family, his wife being Anne Edwards. It was her brother James Edwards who married Catherine, daughter of Alexander McFee. John and Eliza had three sons and three daughters the eldest of whom, Catherine married John Thompson and for many years they lived at Havelock Corners. Then they went west and settled at Sainte-Croix Falls Wis., where they brought up their family of five sons and one daughter. The second of John's family was Charles who managed the farm with his father and married his cousin Christina Young of Oak Plains. They had a family of six sons, and while they were still quite young, Charles died, followed shortly afterwards by his wife. Their family moved to Western Canada and Washington State some time after the First World War.

        The third child of John McFee and Eliza Gordon was Malcolm who went to Sherbrooke in the Eastern Townships of Quebec Province where he learned railroad work. His mother's brother James Gordon was associated with Sir Joseph Pope in Sherbrooke, and so Malcom went to them to learn this trade. Some time later he went to Seattle Wash. where he had a successful career of railroad building. He took his youngest brother John into partnership, for the latter had been trained in office work, first by his uncle Coll McFee and then by his cousin Alexander McFee, Coll's eldest son. Malcolm married his sister Catherine's (Mrs. John Thompson) sister-in-law Mrs. William Thompson, the former Louise Nason. They had a family of five children, John, Joel, Donald and Malcom, of whom the last died at birth. Their daughter Jean is now Mrs. Robert Raichle.

        The fourth child of John and Eliza McFee is Eliza who is now in her ninety-ninth year and lives at Vancouver, Wash. With her daughter Catherine. She married John O'Neill of Covey Hill Que., and they went to Portland, Ore., to live shortly afterwards. They have two daughters. Hazel, Mrs. Chauncey Price, who lives at Carson, Wash., and Catherine, Mrs. Chester Dykeman, of Vancouver Wash.

        The fifth child of John and Eliza McFee was Angeline who married her cousin John Young, brother of Christina Young, the latter having married Angeline's brother Charles. They had a family of seven children, of whom. Duncan of St. Lambert, Que., survives.

        John McFee or Jack as he was called was the youngest of tae six McFee children. He married his first cousin Louise Gordon .and they had three daughters, all of whom reside in Seattle, Wash.

        The next of the thirteen children of John McFee and Catherine McNaughton was Finlay who died as a baby in Scotland where he was buried

        Mary McFee, the next child, was married to Robert Pullar whose property was adjacent to her father John McFee’s farm on the Dobson Road near Hemmingford. They went to eastern Iowa to live and their family consisted of three sons, John, James and Robert, who never married and Catherine who later married Charles Popple Metcalfe They lived in Montreal where they had a large family of ten sons and three daughters. The eldest was Henry who passed away a short time ago at Winnipeg. He had six children, of whom Vivian, the eldest died at the age of nine. The youngest daughter married Minto Young, her cousin, and they live in Winnipeg. Jane, the eldest Metcaife daughter, taught school in Montreal for many years, and she is the only member of this family I ever remember having met. She often visited Hemmingford and was full of family history. After Jane came her brothers Robert and Charles who died several years ago leaving young families, and then there was Melbourne or Mel who married his cousin Kitty Hamilton, great-granddaughter of Finlay McNaughton of Hemmingford. Percival died as a baby and Coll lived but two years. Catherine or Kate, Mrs. Annett, lives in Montreal and Sydney resides in Calgary, Alta. Thomas married Minnie Burd and their three sons live in Winnipeg and Toronto. Gertrude died as a baby and Eric the youngest of all the family died when a young man. His wife, Gladys, resides in Montreal. Their son Alexander lives at Lethbridge, Alta., and their daughter Catherine lives with her mother. Many of the older generations of the Hemmingford relatives remember the Metcalfe brothers and sisters very well, for as young people they often visited the community.

        After Mary McFee came Hugh, who as you remember earlier in the story had suffered smallpox as a baby, and his sister Jane, Mrs. Dewey, nursed him back to health. He never married but sailed for Australia where he settled at MacKay, Queensland, and made successful investment there. He never returned home and died there many years ago.

        Finlay McFee, son of John and Catherine McFee, was given the same name as that of his elder brother who died in infancy in Scotland. He spent several years in business in London, Ont., where he married an Irish lady, Margaret McCormick. They had a family of six, three sons and three daughters, the second of whom Peter was killed when he was thrown from his horse in his fiftieth year. He never married nor did his brothers, Alexander, the third son, died at the age of sixteen. Some years afterwards Finlay and his wife returned to Hemmingford from London, Ont., where he founded a hotel and a general store which was operated after his death by his eldest son John who was also Postmaster of the town of Hemmingford. Quite late in life he married his secretary, Emily Parkinson, but they had no family. The McFee girls were Margaret, Maria Louise and Catherine, of whom the eldest married William Buckley of Montreal. He was an Irishman from Galway County. They had one daughter Marion who entered the Civil Service at Ottawa in 1919 doing legal research work for the Department of Labour for many years until she retired a few years ago. After Margaret came her sister Maria who did not marry but assisted her brother for many years in his management of the Post Office at Hemningford. The youngest, Catherine, married Frederick Scriver of Hemmingford, but she died soon after at the age of 40.

        Coll McFee was the tenth child of John McFee and Catherine McNaughton and was a baby when his parents set sail for America in 1821. He was brought up in Hemmingford with his brothers and sisters. By the time he left school, his eldest brother Alex had two stores, one at Edwardstown and one at St. Chrysostome, Que. Coll and his youngest brother Charles went to work in the store at St. Chrysostome, and when he was twenty-four years old his brother Alex sent him to Beauhamois. The government had started to build a canal to avoid the rapids on the St. Lawrence River between Beauharnois and Valleyfield, and Alex saw a good opportunity to supply the workmen who were employed in the building of the canals.

        In 1846 Coll married his first cousin Catherine McNaughton, daughter of Donald, the lame schoolmaster of Havelock, and they settled in St. Chrysostome near the store. Seven of their nine children Elizabeth, Alexander, Kutusoff, Peter, the twins Catherine and Anna, and Coll were born there.

        In I860 they moved to Beauharnois where two other children Louisa and Donalda were born. Three days after Donalda’s birth their mother died leaving the father with nine children to care for. Aunt Jessie McNaughton, half-sister of Catherine, came from Havelock to be with the family for a time, and on her return home took Donalda with her where she lived for the next five years and many subsequent summers.

        The eldest son of Coll and Catherine McFee was Alexander, who was born in 1849. He went into his father's grain business, buying grain on the Montreal market and shipping it to Europe, the United States, and later to the United Kingdom. As President of the Board of Trade he was sent as a representative to the Coronation of King Edward VII in 1902. He married Catherine "Katie" McLaren in 1882 but she died within three months. Alex died in Montreal in 1917.

        The second son Kutusoff Nicolson McFee was named for Kutusoff Nicolson, husband of his cousin Louisa McNaughton, Finlay's daughter. Mr. Nicolson was a great friend of the McFee family and he and his family lived at Valleyfield, Que.. K.N., as he was known to his family and friends, married Jean Fielding at the age of sixty years. He died the next year at London, England. The third son Peter died at the early age of thirty-three. Some years before he had gone to Australia with his cousin Charles Metcalfe who left him there to establish new printing firms. Owing to ill health he came home and died at Winnipeg having gone there to visit his brother K.N..

        The fourth son Coll died at the age of six months.

        The eldest McFee daughter Elizabeth taught school for a number of years. She never married and in later years spent much time travelling abroad, especially in Europe.

        The twins Anna and Catherine were born in 1855 They taught school for a few years after which they went to Stuttgart, Germany, to study music at the conservatorium. They spent two years there and then returned home. Later Anna, who was interested in medicine, studied in Toronto, obtaining her degree there. Then she took post-graduate work at Edinburgh. She then became an interne at the Children's Hospital in New York City, and Catherine opened a school for girls there. Neither married. Their later years were spent in much travel. They died at Montreal, Catherine in 1942 and Anna in 1947.

           Louisa, the fourth daughter married H.K.S. Hemming and lived in Toronto, then Montreal, though for a number of winters she took her children Doris, Mrs. Buchanan, Harold and Clare, the late Mrs A.A. Scott, abroad to Europe and England.

        Donalda, the youngest daughter who is in her ninety-second year resides in Montreal and at the family home at Havelock. For some years she taught school. In 1895 she received a German degree as a Doctor of Philosophy, She had gone to Leipzig, Germany, to study and later to Zurich, Switzerland, taking her course in the German language. She was the first woman to receive such a degree.

        For many years she and her twin sisters travelled about Europe, Africa and parts of Asia. In 1937 they went to London for the coronation of King George VI, and the twins, then eighty-two years of age attended the Garden Party at Buckingham Palace. On one of their travels they visited Dunderave Castle, the ancestral home of the Clan McNaughton. Their brother Kutusoff had visited this castle at the turn of the century. At that time it was uninhabited and in ruins, though he and his brother Alex considered buying the property and restoring the castle. The plan never came to fruition owing to the impossibility of ever making any use of it.

        After their mother died in 1863 their father brought up his large family with the help of his eldest daughter. In 1880 he married a widow, Mrs. James, by whom he had a son Coll, and a daughter Julia, the latter of whom resides in Montreal.

        Getting back now to the last three of the thirteen children of John McFee and Catherine McNaughton, the first of the family to be born in America was Malcolm. He always lived at St. Chrysostome as he and his father owned a farm near there. He married Kate Monteith of Howick, but they had no family. Her sister Annie made her home with them and after Kate died she remained on with Malcolm, carrying on the home until his death.