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Note: RH21/23/1, Folio 11 1795 On the 18 of August was baptised Alexr Murdoch lawfull son to Alexander Murdoch and Helen Barron in Wallheads. Sponsors Alexr Murdoch son to Gilbert Murdoch and Marjory Scot daughter to James Scot Achlug (unclear). ==================
Research from British Ancestors (courtesy of Sybella Souza): Next, I visited the Scottish Catholic Archives in Edinburgh to see if I could find any appropriate material that would help in finding the parents of John Alexander Murdoch. We know he attended Aquhorties and there are some Aquhorties records held in the archives under the reference CS2. Cs2/8-11 are various Status Animarum (similar to a census) for the mission between 1799 and 1825. Within this I found two lists of people at the mission both dated October 10th 1808. One appeared to be a draft and one the final list. I found the following entry
NameAlexr. Murdoch Age 13 Place of Residence Aquhorties, Inverury Employment Student Confirmed Yes Communicated Yes Mission whereon bornBellay (sic) Parents Alexr Murdoch, Marg Scot (this is an error as Marg Scott was listed as the sponser at his baptism, not his mother)
There was no John Murdoch listed, so I assumed that he was using his middle name of Alexander. This certainly seemed to agree with the brief, since his mother's surname was Scott (or Scot) and so she could well have been in the same Scott family as Andrew.
However, curiously, the "final" neater copy of this list, which at first appeared to be identical, had Alexander's mother as Helen Barron. I could find no explanation for this. It was mentioned in the brief that John may have been orphaned. I have no information to confirm this, but perhaps Margaret Scott was his mother, and Helen Barron was his father's second wife (or vice versa!). I continued to search further for information on John Alexander, but found nothing more that identified his parents. Item CS2/9/1 has lists of arrival and departure dates of the Aquhorties students and whether they passed or failed. Student number 33 was Alexander Murdoch and he arrived at Aquhorties on 16th May 1807 and departed on 5th September 1815. He failed. Another list in the same set of documents mentioned that Alexander was born in Enzie, Banffshire. Next, I looked at the documents held for Bellie parish, which is in the district known as Enzie. There were several lists of communicants, but these were not ordered, so there was no way to match families. I did note that the 1808 list of Easter Communicants for Bellie (Ref IM5/9/5) has a Helen Barron, aged 40 and a convert I did not find Alexander Murdoch or Margaret Scott, but they may just not have taken communion ---------------------
Was studying for the priesthood at Aquhorties in Scotland between 1807 and 1815. He was only 12 years old at the time, but I suspect it must have been like a boys school for young children destined for the priesthood. -------------
Cemetery plot says JA Murdoch died Dec 9, 1869, not 1868. I have the photo of the gravestone. ____________________________________
Immigrated to Canada, apparently alone, on the ship "Peace of Hull", arriving in Quebec on July 16,1817. (Ioc Black 2/6 (25 acres) Con 2, Drummond Twp, Lanark Co Ont ICS-2. (A DICTIONARY OF SCOTTISH EMIGRANTS TO CANADA BEFORE CONFEDERATION Vol 2)(ICS-Immigration Canada from Scotland. Selected records in the Ont Dep of Public records & Archives (now the Archives of Ont) 77 Grenville St, Queen's Park, Toronto, M7A2K9. Reel 154.) He received a land grant in Drummond, Upper Canada, on July 25,1818 (PAO). John Alexander settled first in the village of Lanark which is in the Lanark Twp of eastern Ontario. Lanark was originally a military settlement, but in the period 1818 -1822, it became a designated receiving area for a large number of impoverished Scottish immigrants, many of whom were weavers. Records show that in 1817 he was a clerk for the military administration. (He would have had access to information regarding all the new immigrants; perhaps this is how he met Jean). In 1822 he became the first postmaster for the area, a position he held until 6 July 1834. For many years he was a school inspector and was responsible for examining and certifying teachers. In the 1830's (possibly 1837) the Murdoch family moved to a small farm near Lanark Village, where John and Jean resided for the remainder of their lives. They were buried along with their infant son, Francis. Jean's parents, (James Hall and Jean Russel) are buried there, also. The cemetery is rather unkempt, but the Murdoch headstone has been well maintained. Census records show that John was Roman Catholic, but his wife and children were Protestant. This fits with the two versions of the story that have been told as to why John emigrated in the first place. Version 1: John planned to become a priest, deeded his inheritance over to the church and them changed his mind, but too late to get his land back. Version 2: The Murdochs are descended from a long line of priests; the eldest son (always called John Alexander) would become the priest. Apparently the church prohibition against priests marrying and having families was not rigorously enforced in the Highlands until many centuries after its' establishment; when the church decided finally decided to crackdown, John decided to move. No idea which story, if either is correct. Excerpts from Montique, A Social History of an Irish Township. 1780 - 1980 Glenn J. Lockwood, Published 1980, records a conversation between John Alexander Murdoch and a Presbyterian lady. Bell recorded among other things Murdoch stated the RC church was the only true church, therefor there could be no salvation out of it. All Protestants must parish unless they returned to the true church and that the priests still had the power of pardoning sins and working miracles. When she reminded him of the horrors of the inquisition, of the execution of the protestants in Britian and Ireland, he said these were all lies, patched up for the purpose of making the church odious. John and Jean had ten children: John Alexander, Jane, James, Helen Isabella, Elizabeth, Barbara Ann, Francis, Mary, Andrew, and Francis Hall. The McDougall history tells us John A lived in Perth and married there, later going on a farm on the Mississippi River. He was for many years public school inspector for the county of Lanark. His wife's family name was Hall and her mother spent her last years with Mrs. Murdoch. Source: Database of David Murdoch of Winnipeg _____________
Fochabers 5th Aprile 1895 Dear Sis (addressed to Mary Elizabeth Murdoch, daughter of John A. Murdoch and Jean Hall), Bishop Scott died at Glascow Dec 4,1846. Bishop John Murdoch who suceeded him died Dec 15,1860. Bishop John Gray, nephew of the above Bishop, Andrew Scott, who suceeded Bishop John Murdoch died January 14, 1892. Jane Murdoch (or Mrs. Green), sister of Bishop Murdoch died here on the 28 of January 1895 aged 87 years and 10 months. I am very truly, P.J. Weir address Very Rev Canon Weir Catholic Church (Bellie) Fochabers Morayshire
On the back side of the letter: Written on the side (by Mary Elizabeth Murdoch (daughter of John Alexander Murdoch and Jean Hall)): 1 John Alexander Murdoch born August 30th 1824 2 Jean Murdoch born 19 Aprile 1826 3 James Murdoch born 17th July 1828 4 Hellen Isabella Murdoch born 10th November 1830 5 Elizabeth Murdoch born 9th Feb 1833 6 Barbara Ann Murdoch born 30 the November 1834 7 Francis Murdoch born 10th March 1837 (drowned 11th June 1838) 8 Mary Elizabeth Murdoch born March 27th 1839 9 Andrew Murdoch born 15th Aprile 1842 10 Francis Murdoch born 5th March 1846
Bishop Murdoch - Father's cousin Father's Mother's half brother was Bishop Scott of Glascow ________________________
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