The History of the Muir Family

The following website is dedicated to telling the story of
John & Elizabeth Muir
of Sanday, Orkney, Scotland; of Welland, Ontario, Canada;
and Brant Township, Bruce County, Ontario, Canada.
This History of the Muir Family has been assembled using available photographs and records.
It is by no means a complete history - just a good start!
John Muir was born in the Parish of Lady, Sanday, Orkney, Scotland circa 1800.  His wife, Elizabeth (Betsy) Smith, was born in Caithness, Scotland circa 1802.  They probably married around the year 1825.

According to the 1841 census (dated June 6th 1841), the Muirs lived at Rock Houses, in the Parish of Cross and Burness.  The family consisted of the following members:

  • John Muir, fisherman and head of the household, born 1800
  • Betsy, wife of John, born 1802
  • Jean, daughter, born 1827
  • Betsy, daughter, born in 1831
  • Janet, daughter, born in 1833
  • Mary, daughter, born in 1839
The census indicates that other members of the Muir family may have lived with them at Rock Houses. 
  • Robert Muir is identified as another head of household.  He is listed with his wife, Jessie, both of whom were born in 1816.  Robert and Jessie had two daughters: Jessie, born in 1839; and Betsy, born in 1841.  The occupation of Robert Muir is “Fisherman.”
  • John Scott, aged 30, is also listed as a head of household.  With him is Barbara Scott, aged 25.  John Scott is also identified as a fisherman.
  • Two others found at Rock Houses in 1841 were Helen Muir, a Straw Plater, aged 40; and Margaret Peace, aged 10.
The exact relationship of these people is not known.  What is possible is that John Muir, Helen Muir and Robert Muir were siblings.  It is also possible that Barbara Scott was born Barbara Muir, and hence another sibling.

By the time of the 1851 census (dated March 30th 1851) John Muir and family lived near Hanover, in the Parish of Burness.  The census states the following for the Parish of Cross and Burness:

  • John Muir, aged 52, born in Parish of Lady, Farmer of 7 acres
  • Betsy Muir, aged 49, born in Caithness, Farmer's wife
  • Betsy Muir, aged 20, born in Cross and Burness, Farmer's daughter
  • Janet Muir, aged 18, born in Cross and Burness, Farmer's daughter
  • Mary Muir, aged 12, born in Cross and Burness, Farmer's daughter

 
Clearly, the 1851 census does not include reference to daughter Jean.  Although it is possible that she was deceased before the 1851 census, the most likely explanation is that, at the age of 24, she was already married.  Further proof of this is found in the form of photographs taken in Sanday in 1915.  In that year, two sons of Janet Muir (Jim and Jack Flett) traveled to Scotland to visit relatives on the Island of Sanday.  In the photo found right, Jack Flett (2nd from the left) and Jim Flett (right) are seen with member of the Dearness Family.  It is conceivable, then, that Jean Muir, or one of her children, married into the Dearness Family.

 
On the back of the photo found left, it states that Jim Flett is seen standing before the birthplace of his mother.  It is most likely that all of the Muir sisters were born in this house.

 
In 1852 John & Betsy Muir, as well as Elizabeth, Janet and Mary, moved to Canada.  At first they settled in or near the town of Fonthill in Welland County, Ontario.  It would be in Canada that their three remaining daughters would marry:  Elizabeth married Peter Grant; Janet married James Flett; and Mary married Thomas Tulloch. 

 

Janet (Flett), Elizabeth (Grant), and Mary (Tulloch) Muir

 
By the late 1850's, the Muirs had made one last move, this time to Brant Township, Bruce County, Ontario - not far from the town of Walkerton.  Although the Muirs seemed to live on Concession 9 North Durham Road in Brant Township, it seems very unlikely that John Muir owned property as no record of ownership exists. John Muir died on February 20th 1890 aged 90; Betsy died on January 30th 1894 aged 92.  They are laid to rest together in the village cemetery in Malcolm, Ontario.

 
The Family of Elizabeth (Muir) & Peter Grant

Elizabeth Muir and Peter Grant
(Photo taken in Welland, Ontario)
 Around the year 1855, Elizabeth Muir married Peter Grant.  He was born in Inverness, Scotland in 1815, and came to Canada in 1836. The year after he arrived in Canada, he fought on the Loyalist side against William Lyon MacKenzie's Rebellion of 1837.  Before coming to Canada, Peter Grant studied law, knowledge he used to serve as a Justice of the Peace in Ontario.

For many years Peter and Elizabeth made their home on Lot 28, Concession BF, Gainsborough Township, Lincoln County.  (Today, this farm is located on the southwest corner of the intersection of Wiley and Vineland Roads, in the Town of Pelham.) Here they raised a family of four children:  Elizabeth Ann; Mary; Margaret E. and Peter Muir Grant.  Peter Grant passed away on April 17th 1890, at the age of 75.  Elizabeth passed away on April 27th 1899, at the age of 67.  They are buried together in Dawdy's Cemetery (now called Hillside Cemetery) in Pelham.

 
Elizabeth Ann Grant was born on October 15th 1856.  On January 24th 1882, she married Allan Berlin Rice, of Thorold Township.  By the time of the 1901 Census of Canada, Elizabeth and Allan Rice lived in Toronto, with their son, Allan Gordon Rice.  Elizabeth passed away in Toronto on  August 14th 1947; Allan (who was born November 19th 1858) passed away on August 3rd 1950.  They are laid to rest together in Prospect Cemetery.

Allan Gordon Rice (known as Gordon) was born on September 15th 1884, in Thorold Township, Welland County.  After moving to Toronto, Gordon was able to pursue his education in the medical field.  Eventually he became the official surgeon of the Grant Trunk Railway in Toronto, as well as a highly respected physician in the community.  On June 1st 1911, he married Amy Augusta Doner.  Together they had three children:  Alan Doner (born in 1912); Margaret Elizabeth (born in 1915); and Amy Isobel (born in 1919).  Sadly, Gordon Rice passed away on May 20th 1920, not yet 36 years of age.  His funeral was well attended.
 

  • Alan Doner Rice married Margaret Jean Young on August 13th 1935.  They had five sons:  Gordon, Ronald, Barry, Peter, and Michael.  Jean Rice passed away on February 22nd 2003.  Alan Rice passed away on January 25th 2005.
  • Margaret Rice married Bernard Roger Holden on April 21st 1944.
  • Isobel married George Alan Barron on July 9th 1943.  They are the parents of Barbara Barron.

 
Mary Grant was born on August 28th 1860.  She never married, but lived with her siblings in Toronto.  For example, she is found living with her younger brother, Peter, in both the 1901 and the 1911 Census of Canada.  By 1930, the City of Toronto directory listed her as living at 354 Clendenan Avenue, the same address and Elizabeth and Allan Rice.  No listing for Mary is found after 1937; presumably, she passed away in that year.

 
Margaret E. Grant was born on March 11th 1862.  She married Eugene Ellinwood Garner of Thorold Township, Welland County on December 28th 1892.  He was born on September 4th 1852, and passed away on March 13th 1912.  Eugene and Margaret had no children.  At the time of her husband's death, Margaret also moved to Toronto, and lived either at 354 Clendenan Avenue, or with her brother, Peter.  She passed away in 1963.

 
Peter Muir Grant was born on September 27th 1865.  He married Florence Ida Henderson (born January 21st 1873) on September 27th 1899.  Peter and Florence moved to Toronto soon after this, eventually coming to live at 494 Runnymede Road.  Peter was involved in the real estate business.

Peter and Florence raised two children:  Margaret MacDonald and Donald Henderson Grant.  Peter died at his home on February 4th 1945; Florence passed away there on December 26th 1958.
 

  • Margaret Grant married Gordon Stephens.
  • Donald Grant studied at the University of Toronto, graduating with a BA in 1926.  He then went on to study law, being called to the bar in November of 1929.  On March 14th 1930, he married Ethel May Patterson.  They had no children.  Ethel died in Mexico in 1982, some time after her husband.

Peter M. Grant, Laird of Runneymede

 

The Family of Janet (Muir) & James Flett can be found at The Flett Family Online


 
 
The Family of Mary (Muir) & Thomas Tulloch
Mary Muir married Thomas Tulloch on February 7th 1859.  Like the Muir family, the Tullochs originated on the Island of Sanday, Orkney.  When Thomas first met his future wife, he was working as a shoemaker for James Flett.  Upon his marriage, his boss became his brother-in-law.  When the Muirs and Fletts moved from Welland County to Bruce County, the Tullochs came with them.  The exact sequence is unknown.  However, Thomas Tulloch did purchase his farm in Brant from the Crown, something which must have happened around 1856.  His marriage to Mary Muir, in 1859, took place in Welland.  It seems most likely, then, that the Tullochs did not take up residence in Brant Township until at least the spring of 1859.

The farm that Thomas and Mary owned was located at Lot 18, Concession 9 North Durham Road, in Brant Township.  It was here that the Tullochs would raise their large family:  William, Elizabeth, John Muir, Thomas, Janet, James Alexander, David, Alexander, and Mary Isabelle Tulloch.  Thomas Tulloch passed away on his farm on April 23rd 1925, at the age of 97.  At the time, he was the oldest resident in Brant Township.  Mary passed away on March 13th 1938, at her daughter's home in Toronto.  She was 99.  Thomas and Mary Tulloch are laid to rest together in the Town of Walkerton Cemetery.

Thomas Tulloch and Mary Muir 
(Photo taken in Walkerton, Ontario)

 
William Tulloch was born on February 8th 1860.  On May 6th 1885, he married his neighbour, Jenny McKerracher.  Together they would have five children:  Jean Cameron, Mary Eleanor, Alexander John, Thomas Gordon, and Donald Leslie Tulloch.
  • Jean Tulloch was born on August 16th 1887.  She married Alexander Archibald McGregor on October 12th 1914.  They were the parents of Donald and Frances McGregor
  • Mary Tulloch was born August 14th 1889.  On August 3rd 1920, she married Dr. Harold William Hoag.  Harold Hoag passed away in Toronto on September 24th 1944.  Mary continued to live in Toronto until her own death, around 1970.
  • Alexander Tulloch was born on August 23rd 1892, and passed away on November 25th of the same year.
  • Tom Tulloch was born on January 25th 1896.  He married Leta Mae Sinclair on September 20th 1930.  By 1935, Tom worked as an undertaker in Haileybury, Ontario.  He and his wife had four children:  Marjorie Mae, Mrs. Max Dayman; Glenna, Mrs. Victor Fountain; Jean; and Thomas William Tulloch.
  • Donald Tulloch was born on April 18th 1902, and passed away on May 14th 1912.
William Tulloch passed away in Haileybury, Ontario on October 6th 1946.  His wife passed away there on January 26th 1960.  They are buried together in the Town of Walkerton Cemetery.

 
Elizabeth (Bessie) Tulloch was born on September 28th 1861.  In Walkerton, on February 25th 1885, she married William James Lewis (1858-1903).  They had three children:  Arthur Thomas, Walter James, and Mary Elda Dorthea.
  • Arthur Lewis and his wife, Grace Amelia Jordan, had two children, James and Audrey.  Audrey and her husband, B. R. Thomson had one son, Alan Thomson
  • Walter Lewis and his wife, Kathleen, had two sons, John and Ronald
  • Elda Lewis married Charles Shearer
Bessie Lewis passed away in Toronto on February 1st 1961, nearly one hundred years of age.

 
John Tulloch was born August 26th 1863.  He married Margaret Ada Mitchell on September 10th 1904.  They had one daughter, Flora.  John Tulloch passed away in Hamilton, Ontario on July 18th 1925.

 
Thomas Tulloch was born October 6th 1865.  His wife was Sarah (Sadie) Greenway, whom he married on June 30th 1903.  They had three children:  Robert John, Mary Elizabeth Evelyn, and Bernice Isabella Tulloch.
  • Robert was born on June 22nd 1904.  He married Ann Elizabeth Yates, and lived in Toronto, where he passed away on June 13th 1945.  He and his wife had no children.
  • Mary was born on August 10th 1907.  On September 18th 1937, she married Frederick William Aurich.  They would have three children:  Carolyn, Thomas and John.  Mary Aurich passed away in Toronto on January 11th 1975.
  • Bernice was born in 1910.  She married Alban Patrick Knecktel on November 9th 1935, and had one son, Alban Baird Knechtel.  Bernice Knechtel passed away in Toronto on December 16th 1940.
Sadie Tulloch passed away in Toronto on January 14th 1943.  Thomas Tulloch passed away there on May 7th 1946.

 
Janet Tulloch was born on February 9th 1869.  She married Alfred Cornwell (1858-1937) on August 20th 1890.   They were the parents of Arthur Braybrook Cornwell.
  • Arthur followed his father into the mercantile business, operating a clothing store in Toronto.  He also dealt with real estate.  Arthur and his wife, Eileen, had two children:  John, and Ann Janet, Mrs. James Alexander Davidson.  Arthur died in Toronto around 1952.
Janet and Alfred also had two children die in infancy:  David Harbart, born August 28th 1891; and Alfred Gladstone, born March 4th 1906.  Janet Cornwell died in Toronto on April 9th 1943.

 
James Alexander Tulloch was born on April 28th 1870.  He passed away on October 8th 1875.  He is buried in the Village of Malcolm Cemetery.

 
David Tulloch was born on November 23rd 1872.  He remained a farmer in Brant Township his entire life.  He never married.  He passed away on March 31st 1952, and is buried in the Town of Walkerton Cemetery.

 
Alexander Tulloch was born on September 29th 1877.  Like his brother, he remained in farming, and never married.  He passed away on July 27th 1941, and is also buried in the Town of Walkerton Cemetery.

 
Isabelle Tulloch was born November 9th 1879.  She married Malcolm Macintyre (1876-1931) on  June 26th 1912.  Together, they had two sons:  John Thomas and William Arthur malcolm Macintyre.
  • John Macintyre and his wife, Frances, had three children:  Margaret Isabelle, Malcolm John, and Ellen.
  • Bill Macintyre, and his wife Evelyn, had three children:  John Alexander, Robert William, and Kenneth Malcolm.
In 1955 Isabella married harvey Brocklebank (1877-1969).  Isabelle lived until April 6th 1988, when she passed away at the age of 108.  In a family noted for the longevity of its members, she holds the disctinction of being the longest living member of the Muir Family.