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Selkirk Settlers Identified from Past and present of P.E.I., Skye, and Hebridean Pioneers, and Other Sources.
Arrived on Board the "Dykes" unless otherwise mentioned.
View List Reconstruction for the "Polly" The following is an attempt at an accurate passenger list reconstruction for the "Dykes", the second of the Lord Selkirk's trio of vessels to arrive on Prince Edward Island in 1803. The "Dykes" arrived with her passengers, and Lord Selkirk aboard two days after the arrival of the Polly.
This is an ongoing project - If you know of any other passengers known to have been aboard, or for any of the Selkirk Vessels, and can document their arrival, please let me know. There may be some errors in the following listing - I am not infallible, but it has been checked thoroughly against the original texts. Use is as a guide only.
If you have any additional information which might help in this project,
please contact me at: Dave Hunter, - [email protected]
Known Settlers Arriving on the "Dykes":
- Findlay Macdonald, wife Jessie MacKinnon, Point Prim 1
Charles MacWilliam, blacksmith2
- John F. Cameron, sons Alexander, Dugald, Allen3
References:
- HP: Hebridean Pioneers, 1957, by Malcolm A. MacQueen.
- P&P: Past and Present of Prince Edward Island, 1906, "A concise review of its early settlement, develpoment and present conditions, written by the most gifted authors of the province", edited by the Hon.'s D. A. MacKinnon and A. B. Warburton.
- SP: Skye Pioneers, 1929, by Malcolm A. MacQueen.
- SPEI: From Scotland to P.E.I., 1990, 1993, the Prince Edward Island Genealogical Society.
- Various Newspaper Reports: as referenced below, many of these provided by the research of Donna Collings, [email protected]
Footnotes:
1 "Among the emigrants on the Dykes in 1803, were Findlay Macdonald and wife, Jessie MacKinnon, both from the Isle of Mull, Scotland. They settled in Point Prim. They had six sons�." HP, Pg. 35. (sic) - It has since been pointed out by Mary Jane Summers that the information in the book is incorrect, that indeed there were 6 children, but one son, Hector and 5 girls, Janet, Mary, Margaret, Catherine and Ann.
2 "Selkirk saw to it that one of the most useful craftsmen in building a new community came out with the settlers. This was the skilled blacksmith, Charles MacWilliam, of Kirkcudbright, who was on the same ship as Selkirk, himself [Note: Selkirk came on the Dykes, which arrived two days after the "Polly"]." HP, Pg. 14. [Gordy McCarville notes that the Guardian, Aug 07, 1974 had a reference to Rev. A. MacLean Sinclair's notes of 1890 where the Rev. lists Charles MacWilliam was a blacksmith from Kirkcudbright. Children: Thomas, Robert, John, James, Charles, William, Andrew, Mary and Hugh, killed in Miramichi.]
3 The arrival of John Cameron can be documented best through the research of Helen Cameron of Charlottetown (GGGGreat granddaughter of John F Cameron).
"My CAMERON ancestors arrived with Lord Selkirk on "The Dykes" on August 9th, 1803. The known members of the family who arrived then were John F Cameron, and his sons Alexander, Dugald, and Allen. Nothing has been found, so far, to indicate that other family members arrived at that time. The following documentation has been found to confirm their time of arrival on P.E.I. Lord Selkirk mentions a Cameron family several times in his Diary of 1803-1804, and makes particular reference to Dugald Cameron. The following references are of particular interest.
Pages 2-3. Monday, August 8th -- "made land at 5 in the morning ....... the wind coming round to the west, I took the boat and went on shore with Mr Shaw, Cameron and the two MacDonalds ......."
Page 4. Tuesday, August 9th -- "on passing Point Prim, a vessel appeared lying in Orwell Bay just at the situation I had pointed out for "The Polly" -- sent off Cameron with the little boat to see if it is the Skye ship ..........."
Page 28. Monday: August 15th. "Before leaving the Settlement to go to Charlotte Town, two of the Camerons and two others of the Mull party being there, I desired Jo McDonald to go down along with them & to point out to them the half clear spot on Pinette Point -- or else the opposite side of the bay towards Point Prim. ----- They returned however not satisfied with either. ............. The fact that Dougald Cameron who had the most to say was always bent on Canada so that on their return they spoke as fairly off, and anxious to proceed to Quebec. All the passengers of the Dykes seemed joined in this resolution ................I paid all the rest the money they had deposited with me, & left them enquiring for passage to Quebec. .............In a few days however I learnt that they had taken lands from Major Holland at Tryon River -- Camerons had got 600 acres -- Rent 6d per acre in perpetuity......................."
The father, John F Cameron, received 200 acres of land from John F Holland in Lot #28, Augustine Cove, as confirmed by land transaction L11 F432-435 dated August 26, 1803.
His son, Alexander Cameron, received 250 acres of land from John F Holland in Lot #28, Augustine Cove, as confirmed by land transaction L11 F429-432 dated August 26, 1803.
His son, Dugald Cameron, received 150 acres of land from John F Holland in Lot #28, Augustine Cove, as confirmed by land transaction L11 F421-424 dated August 26, 1803.
Confirmation of their arrival with Lord Selkirk was also found in the death notice for the youngest son, Allen. The following death notice was taken from "The Summerside Journal" dated January 6, 1870 (pg 3), under "Died" - "At Augustine Cove on Sunday the 12th Dec, Mr Allen Cameron, in the 87th year of his age. He was a native of Ardnamurchan, Argyleshire, Scotland, and came to this Island with Earl Selkirk in August, 1803, and was the last survivor in Prince County of the passengers who came to this Island at that time."
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