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Highland Clearances, those cleared from Strath of Kildonan, Sutherland after 1800

I am a descendant of brave men & women who endured great hardships in an effort that their offspring have better opportunities. My paternal heritage is largely from Kildonan Parish, Sutherland, Gunn, MacKay, Matheson, Bannerman, Sutherland, who came to North American in 1813 on the ship 'Prince of Wales'. The passengers were put out prematurely in the Hudson Bay where they endured illness and a harsh winter before travel south to the Red River settlement in 1814. Other Kildonan parishioners followed this route in the subsequent years.

My gr.gr.gr.grandmother Janet Matheson was a young bride in 1813. Her origins are yet unclear, whether of Kildonan, a nearby parish or from Ross & Cromarty. Anyone have Matheson ancestors who traveled to or through the Red River Settlement?

I would love to hear from others whose Scottish origins are from the Kildonan area from about the same time period.

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Comment by Katie Suek on December 4, 2021 at 12:58am: I am late to the thread here, but I am also a decendent of the families you mentioned, my direct line on my mother's side is Bannerman's (George) and Sutherlands (Christina). I am from the same line as John Diefenbaker, he and my great grandmother were very close (his first cousin). We are in Saskatchewan. But before ending up here, my ancestors fled Kildonan, settled in Red River, then went to Gwillimbury Ont after the Battle of Seven Oaks. I can't find any concrete info about George's family. There were lots of Bannerman's and they all seemed to use the same 6 forenames over the years so tough to figure out who belonged to who back in Scotland.

Comment by Cathie Morgan on June 24, 2011 at 9:25pm: Hello J. Gunn,

My Matheson ancestors arrived in 1815 with the third party. There is a Janet Matheson who married an Alexander Matheson on July 21st 1810. She was his second wife. My info says that they arrived at Red River between 1823 and 1825. Not the right person.

Another Janet Polson Matheson was 60 when she came with the third party in 1815.

My ancestors are Alexander and Ann who arrived in 1815. Their daughter, Janet, was born in 1817.

So many people had the same name all those years ago that it is sometimes hard to keep track.

Highland Clearances, those cleared from Strath of Kildonan, Sutherland after 1800

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