Alexander Gunn (1801 – 1883)
Our family comes from one of Donald’s sons. Alexander Gunn was born March 25, 1801 in Kildonan Scotland.
It appears that Alexander and the rest of his family were cleared from the upper reaches of the Strath of Kildonan in the clearances of 1819 and that they resettled near the coast.
The Militia Role of 1826 shows an Alexander Gunn under 30 years of age living in West Helmsdale The parish records show that Alexander Gunn of Helmsdale married Christian Bannerman of Marrel, Loth on March 19, 1828. This marriage is registered in both Loth and Kildonan parishes.
The LDS Ancestral File shows that Christina Bannerman was christened April 10 1799.
The couple settled in Marrel, in Loth Parish. The parish records list a child, Alexander, born to them June 14, 1829.
There was a considerable increase in the number of families emigrating from Sutherland in the years 1829 to 1832. This was due to economic hardship in Scotland and favourable reports from kin who had made a life for themselves in North America.
Formal Canadian immigration records for this period of time do not exist. There are a few passenger lists and records of various emigration societies that have survived.
Emigration records from the Sutherland estate papers show only one Alexander Gunn. Alexander Gunn of Marrel left in 1830. His family numbered three individuals. Alexander’s croft was taken over by a William Polson.
It is my assumption that this is the Alexander Gunn who shows up on the list of settlers in West Gwillimbury.
Corroborating evidence is that the Bark Canada arrived in Quebec City on August 10, 1830 from Cromarty. Later records show that this port was the embarkation point for emigrants from the Sutherland estates.
Furthermore, the records for the steamship, John Molson, traveling between Quebec and Montreal on August 11, 1830, has 3 listings Alexander Gunn with a wife, as steerage passengers. There is no record for a child, but an infant would not have required a ticket for the voyage. Also listed as passengers are other names that appear in the Loth and Kildonan records: Sutherland, Ross, Gunn and McKay.
