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Saturday 22 April 2017

John "Scotty" Paul (1899-1988)

This blog is called 52 Ancestors because I started in January 2014 with the goal of writing about one ancestor each week for a year.  It has turned into so much more than I ever thought and have made wonderful contacts with people all over the world who have found my blog.  Today my subject is John Paul, not my ancestor but he is someone's who may stumble onto this post with his story someday.

John Paul was always known as Scotty and I remember being surprised when I found out he had two real names and neither was Scott!  He lived at least 50 years with Nellie, Jessie and Bill Sinclair at 16-14-22 W1- four miles north of Oak River.

John Paul was born on February 28, 1899 in Rathen, Aberdeenshire in Scotland.  I was able to find the record of his baptism in the Espisopal Church at Lonmay on June 25th of 1899.    The church was built in 1788 and is still in use today.   His parents were James and Maria Paul and they lived at Mosside of Rathen Cottages in the 1901 census.  James would have been a farm worker.

Baptismal records show he had an older brother James (1897) and at least six younger siblings:  Mary Bell (1901), Maria (1905), Alexander (1907), William (1910) and twins Forbes and George born in 1915.

Scotty's name can be found on the ship manifest of "The Melita" as a 22 year old who was heading to Winnipeg with intentions of being a farm laborer for his uncle.  He landed in St. John, New Brunswick on April 19, 1921 - 96 years ago this week!

The 1970 Blanshard history book tells that Scotty worked for his Uncles Forbes and William Ironsides south of  Sidney, MB in the community of Arizona. These two men were his mother's younger brothers and their family was found at Boat of Bridge, Boharm, Banffshire on the 1891 Scotland census where their father James Ironsides was a gardener and their mother's name was Jane.

The online history of the community of Arizona (Manitoba) says Forbes arrived in Canada in 1904 and his brother Billy a few years later.  Both worked for prominent farmer A.C. Sharpley before farming on their own until the early 30's.  Billy went on the run a garage in Sidney as well as the general store. He died in 1958 but I don't know the end of Forbes' story following being on the 1945 Voter's list as a bartender in Rivers.  They were Scotty's only family in Canada that I know of and they died without marrying or having children either.

Scotty found work at Kemnay and Rounthwaite and then came to work at the Sinclair farm in 1936, shortly after the deaths of James and Elizabeth.  I assume it was Aunt Nannie that wrote the in the Blanshard 1970 History book that when they rented the farm to nephews in 1968, they kept the herd of Hereford cattle and were fortunate in having the help of a good stockman in John Paul.


That same history book says he spent the winter of 1953 in Scotland with his family and that in 1967, his parents celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary.  Yes, you read that right - 72 years of marriage and at least 8 children.  Scotty is pictured on the far right in the picture below of a wood sawing bee at the Sinclair farm in the early 70's.  The other men are Don Simms (my Dad), Stan Henry, Harry Clyne, and Gerry Sparling.



With the Sinclair ladies - Jessie (on the left) and Nellie


  

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