fine print in a burial register - seems to recount several generations

Question

https://www.ancestry.ca/family-tree/person/tree/12676875/person/192341867313/hints

Sorry that it is behind a paywall!  I'm interested in the burial on the left-hand page, second from the bottom: Elizabeth McMillan.  

The priest seems to have taken the time to outline her family tree including her father and his father, then it looks like he follows the descent of another son, culminating in something i can't read.  I'm getting very curious about it!  Then the priest mentions that Elizabeth is the widow of her husband John Kennedy, and proceeds to outline his family tree a bit as well!

Can anyone read the entry?

Cheers; Happy 2022!

Shirlea

Answer 1

It looks like "Elizabeth McMillan widow of John Kennedy son of John of Donald of John of Donald of Findlay.

Answer 2

What I got in transcribing (there are unreadable to me sections) is:

The fourteenth day of March eighteen hundred 

forty seven the undersigned priest buried in the

burial ground of St Raphaël the body of Elisabeth 

McMillan daughter Hugh son of Duncan the father 

of John the father of Donald __________ & widow of John Kennedy

son of John son of Donald son of Findlay. She departed the day before

yesterday at the age of ninety five or six in _________

Comments

Looking at other burials, the priest seemed to have done some lineage for most people. That sure is a useful thing to have done.

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That priest should be canonized just for that.

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 I agree, Roger, big thank you to that priest!

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Doug, the bit you can't read is the part i can't read either and I'm very curious.  

Is it a Concession number?

Does it start with Cornwall, but why would he misspell it with just one L at the end?  

Is that Donald somehow famous enough that it is significant that Elizabeth is his cousin?  Are the missing words indicating what Donald is known for?

What i see is Cornwal SS RR oo 20.  The bottom of the 'f' from the line above is interfering with the oo 20 part.

Please tell me what you see in that spot.

Cheers

Shirlea

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I see pretty much what you see although I think the oo is or. If you look at her husband's line, it ends in "RR?or 27" and I think her father's line ends in "or 20." These look like some kind of reference to another place or register book. I'll do some more digging.

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I stated that incorrectly. Her father's line ends in the RR?or 20. Her husband's line doesn't have that annotation but after her age I think it is "in Charge or 27."

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I wonder if the "In Char" is referring to Charlottenburgh township.  I wonder that because other entries in the diary say "In Lanc" (Lancaster township) and then a number.

I guess i will have to surrender to the necessity of understanding the concession numbering system if i am going to get anywhere researching in this community.  

Anyone know where to start?

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I think you are likely correct. I'm not familiar enough with Ontario. If these were in Québec, it would be much simpler since they don't tend to abbreviate and will also include the word for parish

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This map https://maps.library.utoronto.ca/hgis/countymaps/Stormont_Dundas/Stormont_merge.jpg

has some tantalizing features.  For example, in the Charlottenburgh township, there are a few RR things.  One seems to be River aux Rasins.  Another seems to be a series of Concessions named 2nd Con. N. S. R. R.  IIIrd Con. N. S. R. R. etc.  That seems a lot like SS RR....

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i might have to take this course:

https://www.genealogicalstudies.com/eng/courses.asp?courseID=8

Can anyone recommend it or share their experience with it?

Answer 3

The priest is  likely Fr. John McDonald pastor of St. Raphael, Church in Lancaster or Fr. Ewen McDonald whose records are archived in Toronto.

I have the four generations before John Kennedy 1751-1823 and four generationst descendant.

Answer 4

The best map resource for Ontario (IMO) is the Canadian County Digital Atlas Project by McGill University.

You can find a Map of Charlottenburgh Township under Glengarry County. Click through to make it bigger. I had a look at it and there's hardly a lot without a McDonald on it, LOL.

If you look at the bottom of the map (what would actually be the West side if it was orientated), you will see the Concessions marked out, I, II, III, etc. I am at a loss to define the "I.L." suffix on the west side, and the "SSR" and "NSR" on the east side.

See also this article.

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Comments

Wow, that is a great resource from a fantastic project!  Searchable by resident's name, even!  Wow!