Jenny (O’Hanley) McQuaid, formerly of Naufrage, recently released a book on the genealogy of St. Margaret’s Parish, Kings County, Prince Edward Island.
The seeds of the Parish were planted at Naufrage, Lot 43, with the arrival, either in 1772 or before 1783, of five Scottish families from the Outer Hebrides.
In the first years of the 1800s, out-migration to north eastern Kings County from both Scotland and P.E.I. communities in Lots 36, 37, 38, and 39 – Tracadie, Pisquid, Savage Harbour and more – necessitated the establishment of a parish to serve them.
In 1803 or 1805, depending on which history source is used, locals built their chapel at Bear River shore, a mile north from where St. Margaret’s Church stands today. In later years, people of Mi’kmaq, English, French, and Irish origin settled in the parish. A cluster of the Monaghan settlers made their homes in the north Bear River district of the parish.
The book includes the family trees of all households of the Parish from 1772 to 1890 along with maps from Meacham’s 1880 Atlas of Prince Edward Island identifying the properties on which householders resided beginning with the first householder on a particular property and continuing with each succeeding householder on that property.
The book also includes selections of history and folklore pertinent to each community of the Parish.
For information on how to obtain a copy of the book call Jenny at 782-377-2190 or email Ellen at [email protected].
