THE FAMILY OF DONALD BAIN

(Written in 1954 by Arnold McNaughton)

        I now return to the family of the three Johns and their brother Donald at Hemmingford, Like the many Johns in the family, all the Donalds had to be given a nickname too so that one could tell who they were talking about. This Donald was known as Donald Bain (pronounced "Ban"), He was born in Scotland in 1790, possibly at Lochaber, Inverness-shire, and had married Marion Cameron.

        Their granddaughter, the late Isabella McNaughton of Hemmingford, couldn't recall when her grandparents and their family reached America but she supposed it must have been around 1841. The voyage which took the full three months and a number of days was indeed a sad and tragic one for the family. Of their seven children, all of whom were very young, two daughters died on the way over and were buried at sea. Details are lacking to explain clearly what happened, but the journey was believed to have been very stormy. After arriving at Quebec they proceeded to Montreal and thence to Hemmingford. They settled west of the village near the home of Finlay McNaughton where they built a log house. Some years later the house was bricked.

        The elder son Donald in later years built himself a frame house a mile further west where he brought up his family. His eldest child Henry was killed at the age of eight at Champlain, N.Y., one Sunday afternoon while on a picnic, Sarah remained at home and died in 1947 across the road from her father's farm. Donald, called Danny, was the third child. He died several years ago. His widow resides at Riverview, near Ottawa, and their son Melville Donald lives in Ottawa. Willie was the youngest son. He was married twice. He lived in the United States where his four children were born. There were three sons, Donald and Howard of Danville, Vermont, and Maurice by his first marriage. After Willie’s first wife died he married Florence Robinson by whom he had one daughter Marion, now Mrs. Raymond Belville of St, Johns bury, Vermont.

        Donald Alexander, second son of Donald Bain, continued to operate his father's farm after the latter died. He was about fifty years of age when he married Agnes Young who was twenty-six years younger. They had five children, Peter, Duncan, Andrew, Ronald and Bella. Peter and Bella alone survived and never married. Peter stayed on his father's farm and Bella kept house. In 1881 they lost three sons from black diphtheria. Two died the day after Christmas and the third the following day, Peter escaped the disease and died in the winter of 1949 Bella was born in the autumn after her brothers died, and four years later their father died leaving their mother very much alone. Peter was only eleven years old and almost immediately took over the farm. With Bella's death in Oct. 1953 went the last of the Hemmingford McNaughtons as descended from Malcolm of Balamaneck, Scotland.

        Duncan, the fourth son of Donald Bain, remained a bachelor and died at Hemmingford. Christena, Donald Bain's only surviving daughter, married John Keddy and resided near Hemmingford where they brought up their family of eight children of whom one is still living, Jeannetta, Mrs. Bennett, of Beverly, Mass.