McMillan's Ireland Quebec Ontario Minnesota
I knew very little about my McMillan family genealogy when I began my search in 2009. I found an index for death records for Dad's Grandfather and Grandmother at the Minnesota Historical Society website, and ordered copies. Some information on the death certificates is wrong.
I subscribed to ancestry.com to find out more about my Great Grandparents. From the death records, I knew William John McMillan, Sr was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His wife was shown as maiden name of Annie Todd, although we now know it was actually Anderson Todd.
Photos of Portraits of William John McMillan and Anderson (Todd) McMillan
(Photos of Portraits Courtesy of Bob Baker
& enhanced courtesy of Paul Tidemann)
I found an index for a Canada marriage record for William John and Anderson. This showed a Miss A Todd married William McMullin March 23, 1867 in Nichol Township, Wellington County, Ontario. The record shows William's parent's as John McMullin and Margaret Orr. Miss Todd's parent's were shown as Matthew Todd and Helen Drummond. The marriage record showed Miss Todd was born in Scotland, and indicated William was born at Montreal, Quebec.
Note: the spelling of McMillan varied on different records. I believe in Ireland it was McMullan, in Canada sometimes shown as McMullen. John and Margaret signed a William John baptism at Quebec City as "McMullian", and I found notary records John signed as McMullian. Great Grandpa, William John apparently changed the spelling to McMillan at some point. This may have been done to avoid confusion in Fergus, Ontario where there were other William McMullen's. So far, we haven't worked our ancestry back to Scotland. My male lineage Y-DNA is showing our McMullans may have gone back 1000 to 2500 years in Ireland. There is the possibility of some back and forth to Scotland, we aren't aware of. We need closer Y-DNA matches with someone with known ancestry to really define our family's movement.
Next, I was able to find an original birth record for a second son John and Margaret named William John. The name was spelled McMullen and McMullian on this record. John McMullian signed as the father, and I believe Margaret Orr signed as Margaret McMullian. There is an "x" noting "her mark" by her name, but I think it was intended for the last witness' name Jane Leeson. This child was shown as William John McMullian at birth, born August 24, 1847, and baptized November 7, l847. His baptism was at The Holy Trinity Cathedral (Anglican denomination) in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. This would have been William John McMullen "the first".
Sadly, William John McMullen "the first" died July 3, 1848 at Quebec City. Below is the death record:
Originally, I thought the William John born in 1847 was our Great Grandfather, but now I know it was a brother. It's obvious William John was an important name since John and Margaret repeated the name. Great Grandpa William John was born January 1, 1849, and baptized at a Methodist Church in January, 1852. Here's his baptism:
Note John McMullen was said to be a shoemaker and at Bytown West (now Ottawa), Ontario at the time of this baptism. It took quite a few years, but I did find John transcribed as Mullen at Hull, Quebec on the 1852 census. He does show as a shoemaker and is with a number of other shoemakers. This is the last record we can be sure was our John, so we don't know his fate. Family lore indicated John died a few tears after arriving in Canada. The first I'm sure they were in Canada was a lease record at Quebec City dated May of 1847. I did find a few newspaper records showing mail waiting for a John McMullen to pick up at Bytown, but don't know if it could have been for our John?
William A Johnston was a witness at the baptism. Margaret, William John and Arthur were all with the William A Johnston family on the 1852 census in Montreal. William Johnston was a pensioner and a son was a tailor. William was born at County Fermanagh, Ireland. I've wondered if this Johnston family may have been related to either Margaret or John?
Trying to take the ancestry back, I found there was a marriage record for John McMullan/McMullen to Margaret Orr in Downpatrick, County Down, Ireland. I have a copy of a written record showing they married May 2, 1844 at the Holy Trinity Cathedral (Church of Ireland denomination), in Downpatrick, County Down, Ireland. St Patrick's remains are buried in the graveyard of this Cathedral. (Margaret's parents were David Orr and Catherine.) She was born in County Antrim, Ireland perhaps December 7, 1822. We don't know where John was born. He may have been born between 1820 and 1824 in Ireland.
Either John or Margaret was younger than 21 years of age at marriage, since the marriage record indicated they were married by license and with consent of parents. John may have been younger than Margaret at marriage. The marriage record for John and Margaret shows 2 witnesses named Hurst. William George Hurst was a shoemaker in Downpatrick in 1852, and I found he migrated to Australia where he owned an Inn. Daniel Hurst was the other witness, but I think the name was transcribed wrong and should have shown Davud Hurst. John McMullan was also a shoemaker. One research helper thought John may have been Catholic, but we have no evidence of that yet. If that were true, she said this could have been considered a "mixed marriage". Margaret was shown as Wesleyan Methodist on the 1852 Quebec Census, and remained that denomination on Census records.
Marriage record for John McMullen and Margaret Orr
(Note: this appears to be a transcribed record.)
Photograph of the Sampler made by Margaret Orr in 1833 at 10 years of age:
(Photo of sampler Courtesy of Bob Baker)
Photograph of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Downpatrick, County Down, Ireland below:
I also found a birth record for a Son of John and Margaret McMullan born in Downpatrick, Ireland in March of 1845 and baptized in April 1845. This was Arthur McMullan. This record indicates that John McMullan is a shoemaker.
The family emigrated to Canada sometime between 1845 and 1847. This was during the period of what is referred to as The Great Famine in lreland. Over a million people died in Ireland, and probably a million or more people died in transit aboard ill equipped ships, or shortly after they reached their destination. Many left Ireland for other countries, so by death and immigration the population dwindled from over 8 million, to perhaps 5 million or less. We don't know for sure why our family left Ireland. It would seem John may have been in the process of trying to establish himself as a shoemaker. I would assume very few could afford to purchase shoes during the Great Famine period, when many were starving to death in Ireland.
I have found the City Directory for Montreal for 1850 that shows our John McMullen as a shoemaker in Montreal. I've found no listing for John after 1850, but the 1851 directory is not available. He is not on the 1852 directory. John and Margaret were apparently at Quebec City until sometime in late 1848, when they moved to Montreal. There was an older John McMullin who was an Irish shoemaker at Quebec City, but I don't know if he could have been related to our family? The Quebec City marriage record for the older John McMullin shows he was from County Antrim, Ireland.
In 1849, there was what was termed a shoemaker's strike in Montreal. Shoemaking was becoming mechanized, and individual shoemakers were fearful of losing business to shoes that could be sold cheaper than they could make. Shoemakers raided mechanized shoemaking businesses, causing a great deal of damage to equipment. Some were arrested and tried. I found one group was found innocent, but some may have had to serve time for this event. I've never found John connected to any of this. It seems possible to me John left the area in search of a place he could practice his shoemaking trade more lucratively. I believe Margaret and the two boys stayed behind in Montreal, until John could establish himself elsewhere, first making a try at Hull, Quebec.
After several months of searching, I found an 1851/52 census for Margaret, Arthur, and William John. (Note: the 1851 Canada census was actually taken January of 1852.) They were in Montreal at the time, but John was not shown on the census. Margaret still shows as McMullen and married. In 1851 she was living with the William A Johnston family who were also Irish. I can't be sure what happened to our John McMullan after 1852? However, it seems they may have had a Son David McMullen, who was born in Kingston, Ontario about 1853 or 1854. So far, I have not found a birth record for David.
I've searched extensively for a death record for John McMullen, and can't be sure when or where he may have died. It's possible he died between 1852 and 1861, or? A family book indicated he died of tuberculosis 3 years after arrival in Canada, but we've found a lot of information in the book is wrong.
I communicated with the Anglican Church Archives in Kingston, Ontario, but they could find no record for a death of John McMullan. I also communicated with Archives for the area of Bytown and Ottawa, Ontario and Hull, Quebec and they have no record of a death either.
I have saved some records for a John McMullen, who was a shoemaker, and had been on census records near Kingston, Ontario on the 1861 census and later in Brampton, Ontario on the 1871, and 1881 census records. This John died in 1882 in Brampton, Ontario. He was lrish. We don't know if this could have been our John. I found there were many Irish John McMullen's in Canada at this time. Also, if ages were correct on census for the Brampton John, he was a little too young. If this is our John, he and Margaret apparently went their separate ways. I'll continue to seek our John out to determine his fate. It does not appear our John was on the Kingston, Ontario directory for 1855 or later. I haven't found any directories for Kingston prior to 1855.
At findagrave there is a John last name spelled as McMullian buried at Saginaw, Michigan. This John would have been close to the right age, but he doesn't show as a shoemaker. I did acquire his short obituary with little info, more like just a record of death. He was Irish and had lived in Canada before being in Michigan. He had a son, Michael McMullian. There was an older Michael McMullan in Saginaw also, perhaps a brother to this John. Future researchers may want to look into this John McMullian further.
I found Margaret was on the 1861 census in Toronto, Ontario. At this time her husband showed as John Hinds. All children on the census showed as surname Hinds. There was William John, Arthur, and David who are our McMullen's, although we have no proof of David's birth. The census indicated 2 boys were absent from this census. The family history book we have explained the boys all ran away from home at some point. I think David was too young to have run away in 1861, but I'm pretty sure Arthur and William John were gone by this time. The family history indicated that William John was 11 when he left home, and in 1861 he would have been 12. It is said he had no further education past the fourth grade.
Several Toronto directories listed John Hinds from 186l up to about 1863 as a Tinsmith and Parasol Maker. On the 1864 Toronto directory, Margaret Hinds shows as a widow, and she is operating her own second hand type of business.
I did find a record for Bytown, Ontario showing John and his first wife Mary Ann Hinds were charged with an assault on a brother of John Hinds. However, the charges were dropped. A directory for Kingston, Ontario in 1858, listed John Hinds, a tinsmith, so he had lived in Kingston.
Note: As an aside, there was a John Breckenridge born at Ayrshire, Scotland on the 1861 census with John and Margaret Hinds who was shown as a laborer. In my searches, I found there were other Breckenridges in Canada who also went back to Ayrshire, Scotland. This other Breckenridge family worked back to a wife who was a Todd and her father also had the name Matthew Todd. Coincidence?? This Todd line had a writer/poet who had published a book about the poet Robert "Robbie" Burns, who had apparently been friends with some from the same Todd line. Could our Matthew Todd have been related to this Todd line? Something to keep in mind for future research!!
A marriage record showed Margaret Hinds married MatthewTodd in 1865 in Toronto (the records showed Matthew's last name as Dodd, but we know it was Todd). This was instrumental in finding Margaret on the 1861 Census. Matthew and Margaret lived at Matthew's home in Fergus, Wellington County, Ontario after their marriage.
Margaret was our Margaret Orr who was first married to John McMullan in Ireland, and Mother of William John McMillan. Matthew Todd was the Father of Anderson (Annie) Todd. Ellen (Drummond) Todd was Anderson's Mother who died in 1863 in Fergus, Ontario and is buried at Belsyde Cemetery.
William John McMillan and Anderson Todd married in Nichol Township in 1867 (Nichol township and Fergus are the same). There is another account in the family history book, but I think William John and Anderson likely became acquainted due to William's Mother and Anderson's Father marrying.
I don't have a birth record, but I know Mathew Todd McMillan was the first child of William John and Anderson (Annie) born in 1867 in Fergus, Ontario. I have the birth record for my Grandfather, William John McMillan Jr born in 1869 and Robert Orr McMillan born in 1871, both also born in Fergus. I believe the other children (except Margaret) were born at Fergus or Palmerston, Ontario. Margaret was born in Breckenridge, Minnesota.
Records show that William John McMillan Sr was a sailor, then a carpenter while living in Fergus. A family history account explains Anderson didn't want William to be around such a tough group of sailors. The carpentry was said to be digging cellars for homes which William John found very difficult. Sometime in the 1870's he became a brakeman, then a conductor for a railroad out of Palmerston, Ontario which is not far from Fergus.
Note: Robert "Bob" McMillan, son of Gilhome McMillan who was the son of Mathew Todd McMillan shared information in his possession. Bob shared information with me his Mother had collected from Great Grandpa, W J McMillan's Great Northern Railway file. That shows William John had been employed in 1863 on the schooner Brooklyn that ran from Buffalo, New York to Chicago, Illinois. William John reported that he was 16, but he would have been 14 in 1863, so he may have fudged his age after he left home at eleven. But, from my searches it seems the Brooklyn wasn't put into service until 1864. Perhaps, he worked on a different vessel earlier? Lore indicated his older brother, Arthur, served during the Civil War. I have suspected Arthur and William John left home together, and thought they could have worked on the same vessel. There is a Civil War record for an Arthur McMullen who enlisted with the Union in 1863 at Buffalo, New York, for a heavy artillery unit. There is lore that Arthur served on a ship, and this unit did serve as guards on ships. Future researchers may find more from the National Archives about this Arthur McMullen. As I recall, this Arthur showed as born in Canada and ours was born in Ireland, but he may have reported that way on purpose.
On the employment record, William John indicated he started as a Brakeman in Canada, and he lost an index finger and parts of two other fingers from that employment. After that he was a conductor in Canada. He started as a brakeman in Minnesota and became a noted conductor.
By 1879 William John was recruited by those representing James J HiII to work for a railroad out of Breckenridge, Wilkin County, Minnesota. Anderson and the children stayed in Ontario until 1880, when they traveled by train to meet up with William John in Minnesota. William John worked as a brakeman first, then a conductor for the railroad. William John's employer, James J Hill was born and grew up in Eramosa, Ontario which is in Wellington County. James Hill had left Canada by the mid 1850's.
William John obtained a farm which was said close to the railroad depot in Breckenridge. Family lore indicates James Hill gave him cattle to start his farm. It would seem likely the McMillan boys would have performed most of the farm work. It was noted in a book that William John had sold the farm for $10,000 and asked James Hill how to invest the money. He followed Hill's advice to invest in Northern Securities and prospered from the investment.
A map showing the land owned by W J McMillan is below, a little to the lower left of where the two railroad lines meet. The land was said close to the Breckenridge Depot. It's just below the ink splotch on this record, with the western line of the property on the Red River. Another tract of land next to it shows as owned by W T McMillan (perhaps a typo and should be either W J or perhaps M T for the oldest son Mathew Todd McMillan?).
I did find another location showing a piece of land owned by a W J McMillan. This was in the small town of Connelly which appears to be about 5 miles South of Breckenridge. I can't be sure if this was owned by our W J McMillan.
Below is William John McMillan's Naturalization record for 1888 (note: at this time when the Husband and Father was naturalized, the wife and children were automatically naturalized):
By the early 1890's (or earlier) the family had moved to St Paul, Minnesota. City Directories show the family had lived in several different homes in St Paul, and perhaps a year or so in Minneapolis. At one point in the early 1900's they purchased a beautiful home at 340 N Dale Street in St Paul.
Photo below of McMillan Family home located at 340 N Dale Street, St Paul, MN
(Photo Courtesy of Paul & Janet Tidemann)
William John McMillan Sr eventually served as the personal conductor for James J Hill's travels. In 1913 William John started the Great Northern Railway Veteran's Association, as a social outlet for retirees, and to assist with retirement funds. By 1916 the Great Northern contributed one million dollars to a Trust Fund as a beginning of the retirement program. I found a lot of newspaper articles where William John McMillan had organized annual birthday celebrations to honor James J Hill. He also organized meetings and events for the Veteran's group. (See the railroad and Veteran's Association section for articles about William John's work.
I wrote an article about the Veteran's Association of the Great Northern Railway for MNOPEDIA. You can google for that article and read it at the MNOPEDIA website.
Most of William John and Anderson's boys ended up working for the railroad. Mathew worked as a railroad engineer. William worked as a steam shovel operator for railroad construction. Robert went to Law School, but became a conductor for the railroad in Montana, and served in the Montana legislature. Stewart went to the St Paul Academy of Pharmacy, and was a salesman. Arthur was said to have been a railroad conductor. David was said to have been a railroad mechanic or machinist.
I have seen newspaper articles that indicated some of the younger McMillan boys served with a military unit in Minnesota. I'm unsure if this was a Federal or State military unit.
Annie McMillan was the only Daughter to marry. She married Grenville Baker. The Baker family moved to North Dakota for a number of years where their children were born. They moved back to St Paul in the 1920's. A Daughter of the Baker's, Annie Laurie Baker, wrote an account of the Baker families time in North Dakota. With that account, she also wrote a good deal about what she knew about our McMillan family. She indicated she was writing from memory and that some information could be wrong. Some is wrong, but we're very fortunate to have what she was able to share. I can share a copy of this book if anyone has interest.