Fiddling Giants - A line of MacLeans from Nova Scotia to PEI

Scottish carved relief  1500s

Ask the question if there is a difference between an Irish fiddler and a Scottish fiddler - ye better duck!! 

Our tale begins at Lake Ainslie - a freshwater lake located on the west side of Cape Breton with small communities settled around the lake.  It was settled by Scottish immigrants around 1820 and in the early days, the Catholic families were on the west while Protestants settled on the east side.  

This lake, the area, the home, must have had been special as some descendants were given the name 'Ainslie'.

The man who caught my attention was Big Angus MacLean, the son of Scotsman Laughlin MacLean and Catherine MacKay born in 1826 at Lake Ainslie, Nova Scotia. 

It appears the MacLean family were a bit nomadic at first - could be Laughlin was chasin' fish or decidin' where to put his hat.  
 
The story told by others is that the family were in Cape Breton, landed in Pictou for a time and then off to Prince Edward Island.  

While the clan were in Pictou, Big Angus fell for our Jennie Arbuckle, the daughter of Ole Willie Arbuckle & Mary Vincent.  The pair were married abt 1852 and had 4 children together: Cassie, William, Mary & Laughlin. Sadly, Jennie died a mere 10 years into the marriage at age 28.  


A couple of years later, Big Angus was ready to remarry and plans were made. 

As the story goes, he showed up the day of the marriage only to be standin' alone!  Well, 'whit's fur ye'll no go past ye', so he asked a girl named Mary McKay who happened to be standin' there - off they went and had 9 children!  

It wasn't until after their daughter Joanna was born in 1883 when the whole kit and caboodle moved to PEI for good despite havin' been back and forth the past couple of decades.

Big Angus was exactly that - big.  It is reported that he stood 6ft, 6in tall and weighed in at 300lbs and given that he was a farmer turned stonemason - strong to boot! I have trouble imaginin' this big man nimble enough to play a fiddle!  

The fiddle and/or pipes goes back to Laughlin and their kin before and was lovingly passed down to many MacLeans of this line - especially in Angus's youngest son with Jennie, Laughlin.

Angus Leslie MacLean, 1984

Laughlin Jr had a son Angus Leslie who played the fiddle and so did Angus' sons - Danny, Jimmy, Clarence and Charlie.  

"The music, you know, was in all the MacLeans. My grandfather and my father and all the way back. My grandfather made [my first violin] for me. He made violins and bagpipes and everything, and fixed them all up himself. Big Angus MacLean, they used to call him. Big Angus - I'm called after him."

"Belfast People" - Angus Leslie MacLean, pg 204

Gentle giants given to creatin' quite a ruckus at any ceilidh!

Rugged Yukon Pioneers

The Mason Family Home, Tangier, NS

 Capt Peter Mason (1836) and Lydia Arbuckle (1840) were married in 1862 at Tangier, NS and went about creating a home and a family of 11 children.

Two of those children weren't like the rest!  They became pioneers of the Yukon!

The brothers were Cleveland 'Reuben' (1865) and Willoughby 'Bill' (1871).  Reuben had settled in Fort Yukon in the late 1890s and was a part of the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898.  Bill followed suit in the early 1900s.  Together they clawed out a rugged lifestyle along the Porcupine River.

Reuben by his Porcupine River cabin with his catch

The first two articles for Rueben, from the Fairbanks Miner, 17 Jun 1938 & 23 Jun 1937 (pg4) highlights his lifestyle and the third reports the decline of his health, 22 Apr 1947

Unfortunately he did not recover and he died 2 Oct 1954 in Seattle.  He was buried with his brother at the Hudson Bay Cemetery in Alaska.  

Obit from the Fairbanks News Miner, 7 Oct 1954

courtesy of Mitzi Reynolds

 

Rube Mason at Shuman House abt 1937

When you look at the picture of the brothers in the link below, you can certainly see the family resemblance; however, Bill was reported to have been 6ft tall and broad shoulders. Fort Yukon Bunch  

In Bill & Beatrice's wedding picture of 1926 below, Rube appears taller than Bill  but note the hill Rube is on (left of bride).

Willoughby Mason & Beatrice Birmingham Wedding Pic

Willoughby's Passport Picture

Willoughby abt 1891

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, 13 Dec 1935

courtesy of Mitzi Reynolds

 Beatrice Birmingham, late teens - she went on to create the "Alaska Friends" in Seattle for Alaskan visitors and it has since been turned into a care home.

u/k Seattle Newspaper

A couple of pioneering men who risked their lives in the wilderness and led extraordinary lives! 

I would like to thank Mitzi Reynolds from Fort Yukon for sharing her wonderful collection of articles and pictures!

Capt James Mason & Abigail Arbuckle

Abigail Mason (1829) was also the daughter of Ole Willie Arbuckle and Mary Vincent and she married Capt James Mason, the son of Thomas Mason & Anna 'Nancy' Hirtle.  They had 11 children together including the infamous 'Matrimonial Gang'! 

 

The Evening Mail, Wednesday, 18 December 1905, p. 9.(New Glasgow Chronicle)

courtesy of Jody Marie MacKeil

The death occurred at a late hour Friday night (November 24th) of Mrs. Abigail Mason, widow of Captain James Mason and daughter of the late Wm. Arbuckle, of Ponds, Merigomish. Mrs. Mason had not been in good health for some time and three weeks ago she underwent a surgical operation from which she recovered sufficiently to leave her bed, but on Thursday was taken with a relapse and gradually grew worse. Mrs. Mason was 75 years old and is survived by eight sons and three daughters to mourn their loss of a kind and loving mother.

Capt. James Mason was a native of Halifax county and for many years was interested in the merchant service, plying between Halifax and West Indies, being captain and owner of several vessels. The death of Mrs. Mason is also mourned in the United States, where six of her children reside none of whom were able to reach Merigomish in time for the funeral. One of them arrived after the internment, bringing with him a memorial wreath from New York.

A W Mason - A Mystery

 John Mason (1828), the son of William Mason & Catherine Hutt, married Charlotte Arbuckle (1826), the daughter of Old Willie Arbuckle & Mary Vincent.

According to an ancestry tree, they were married in 1853 at Merigomish, Nova Scotia but that might be an error based on the birth of their first two children - one in 1847, the other in 1851.

I completed the 2nd oldest, George A (1851-1921) and was working thru the rest of the children when I stumbled across this obituary - their daughter Charlotte is Mrs Forbes

Eastern Chronicle, 28 Dec 1923
Mrs. Kenneth Forbes has received the sad news of the passing away of her brother, A.W. MASON in Tuscon Hospital, Arizona. He was home this summer and returned about two months ago to Arizona. He contracted pneumonia, lingering for two weeks. Mr. Mason was born at the Ponds, Merigomish, seventy-six years ago. He left home when but eighteen. Since that time he has made his home in Old Mexico and Arizona where he was interested in copper mining etc., having vast interests in mining stocks in Old Mexico. Mr. Mason while on his visit home was in excellent health. The news comes as a shock to his many friends. He was a brother of the late George A. Mason, Mrs. Fleigher, Pictou, Mrs. Spindler, Ohio, USA, James in Alberta and Mrs. Kenneth Forbes of this town.

I still can't figure out what the initials are and I can't find any records for him.  I am leaning towards the W being William given that both grandfathers were Williams but the A is a mystery.....who was this boy who left home so early and found success in the copper fields?


[update Sep 2017 - AW was Angus William]