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Note: ably on the Glenelg Peninsula in the old County of Inverness. He may have been born west of the village of Glenelg, at Immergradden in Glenelg. His son, Farquhar, and Rachel MacRae apparently lived at at Kirkton, near the village of Glenelg, and their first daughter's baptism is recorded there.
Douglas A. Robbins--a family researcher in Ontario who descends from Donald Og McCrimmon, Sr. (abt. 1755-1830) and Donald Og McCrimmon, Jr. (1790-1890) who emigrated to Canada in 1816 -- indicated that John McCrimmon (b. abt. 1759) was a brother of Donald Og McCrimmon, Sr. (b. abt. 1755). While this does not prove a connection, it allows for some speculation.
Donald Og., Jr. (b. 1790) wrote a brief autobiographical sketch in which he indicated that he was born at Immergradden in Glenelg, Inverness, Scotland, in the same house in which his father (Donald Og, Sr.) was born. He stated that his ancestors left "Dunvegan on the Island of Skye (Eilean A Cheo) in the early years of 1700" and he stated that "Swordland at the head of Glenmore" was their home until the time of the 1745 rebellion when it was burned down by the King's troops who suspected the McCrimmon family of being Jacobites and supporters of the cause of Royal Charlie. They then moved to the home at Immergradden in Glenelg where he was born.
The place that Donald Og, Jr. styled "Swordland at the head of Glenmore" would certainly be Suardalan, which is indeed near the head of Glen More, between Glen More and Glen Beag, near the road from Glenelg to Ratagan, and only about 5 miles due east from the village of Glenelg, and only a couple miels east of Immergradden. There apparently is hardly anything there today more than a remote stone house called "Suardalan Bothy" that is used by hikers. I will note that there is apparently another "Swordland" on the eastern end of the Isle of Skye, and another "Swordland" on the north shore of Loch Morar, about 18 miles south of Glenelg.
If Douglas Robbins' claim is correct that John McCrimmon was (b. abt. 1759) was the brother of Donald Og McCrimmon, Sr., (b. abt. 1755), this would seem to indicate that they were both sons of Duncan MacCrimmon. (Douglas Robbins erroneously indicates that this Duncan was the same Duncan, son of Ian Dubh McCrimmon, son of Malcolm McCrimmon, son of Padruig Og McCrimmon, son of Patrick Mor McCrimmon, son of Donald More McCrimmon, son of Padruig Doun MacCrimmon, son of Iain Odhar MacCrimmon, son of Angus McCrimmon. Ian Dubh McCrimmon did have a son named Duncan, but he was a generation younger than the Duncan who would have fathered children in the 1750s.)
Correspondence with Miss Madeleine McCrimmon of Vankleek Hill, Ontario, indicates that the father of Donald Og was Duncan Ban McCrimmon, b. abt. 1726, and that he was brother of Domhauld Mor Ruaidh McCrimmon (b. abt. 1720), tacksman at Suardalan, both of them being sons of one Donald McCrimmon who was born abt. 1690 of Immergradden in Glenelg. See notes under these older generations.--NMS
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John McCrimmon (b. abt. 1759) married Catherine (b. abt. 1769) by 1783. Catherine's maiden name seems to have been McCrimmon (although some researchers indicate that it was McRae). The couple had at least seven children. The eldest, Farquhar, was born about 1784 or 1785. John was a weaver, and he and his family lived in the district or parish of Glenelg, in the old county of Inverness. The village of Glenelg looks across the Sound of Sleat to the Isle of Skye.
In July 1815, at the age of 56, John McCrimmon booked passage to Ontario, Canada on the ship Eliza, Captain Telfer. Among the 123 emigrants were 25 single men or households from the peninsula of Glenelg, including twelve McRae familes. The only McCrimmons were John and Catherine and their children. The passengers were loading in July 1815, and the ship sailed on August 3rd from Greenock (in Renfrewshire, i.e. the port for Glasgow), but apparently had to return to port three times for repares before finally embarking. No official arrival passenger list is known, although there is a fairly complete record of persons who booked passage.
One McLeod family and one Campbell family from Glenelg (with a number of others from that vicinity) took passage on the Baltic Merchant, Captain Jeffreys, in 1815.
The Eliza Ship's passenger list shows:
John McCrimmon, age 56, farmer, formerly weaver, of Glenelg, Inverness (paid deposit of £20.04)
wife Catherine, age 46, Glenelg, dau Catherine, age 17, Glenelg dau Christine, age 15, Glenelg dau Mary, age 13, Glenelg, son Patrick, age 8, Glenelg. dau Rebecca, age 3, Glenelg, Three more sons of John McCrimmon also emigrating on the Eliza, (the relationship to their father was not specified, but Donald and Duncan were noted as brothers):
Farquhar McCrimmon, age 28, with wife Rachel (McRae) and their baby Catherine, of Glenelg
Donald McCrimmon, age 24, Glenelg, bachelor of Glenelg
Duncan McCrimmon, age 22, Glenelg, bachelor of Glenelg
"...four ships provided for the emigrants finally arrived in the Clyde early in June, but embarkation was delayed in part by the loss of eight sailors to the press gang. The ships were the Atlas, the Baltic Merchant, the Dorothy and the Eliza. The Eliza sailed on 3 August with 123 emigrants. Twenty-five of the families came from the peninsula of Glenelg, which included twelve McRaes, three McCuaigs, and five McCrimmons, who were all either heads of household or their wives, and twelve families from Knoydart. ... The 1815 assisted emigration was designed to attract to Canada not the poorest members of the community, but men of modest means. Of the forty-one men from Glenelg, 80% were farmers." (The People of Glengarry, Highlanders in Transition, 1745-1820 by Marianne McLean. McGill-Queen University Press, 1991, pp 154-157)
The Eliza's date of arrival is not known. It had not arrived by September 27, but was probably not much later.
I was informed that Dianne Childs has a letter written by Gordon Drummond (already in Ontario, Canada) who wrote to England in 1815 because he was concerned that the ship Eliza had sailed so late in the season. The Eliza had not arrived by September 27 when the letter was dated. She stated that the Eliza had to return to port three times for repairs. I have read other accounts that the Eliza sailed three weeks after the other transports.
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John McCrimmon settled in Prescott Co, Ontario and his name appears in the Ontario Land Records books there. By 18 Jun 1824, he and his family were living at West Hawkesbury Twp., Prescott Co., ONT the front half of Lot 8 conc.7. West Hawkesbury is about 50 miles east of Ottawa. This is very near the communities of Vankleek Hill, McCrimmon, Dunvegan and Lochiel, Glengarry Co. where other McCrimmons and McLeods settled.
It is believed that John McCrimmon died about 1824 as Land Records show that his land passed to his sons that year.
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Information from Dianne Childs (shared through Bonnie Meyer) shows land abstracts for “John McCrimmon” in the Land Office Records, Ontario:
-Land book H 1808-11 p348
-Land book J 1816-19 p481
-Land Book M 1819-20 p ?47
-Hawksbury Upper Canada Land Petitions M 12 p92 1819 [original land grant]
-Land Book M 1824-26 p55 [Donald, Duncan and Farquhar on same page]
-Kenyon 1843 Upper Canada Land Petiton K2/21
-Upper Canada Lnd Book index 1848-50 p 636
-Upper Canada Land Petition Mc5/183 1850-[notes son Farquhar]
-Upper Canada Land book 1855-58 p607
-John and Lachlan McNeill 1857 Lochiel Upper Canada Land Petiton Mc8/81
Note: John McCrimmon was born about 1759 in the Highlands of Scotland -- prob
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