Cuthbertson Family
Morag-Cuthbertson-Nov-2015
maison John & Mary Cuthberston
Notes following a meeting with Morag Cuthbertson (Moncton, NB) – November 2015.
By GERMAINE MONTAGUE
John and Mary (MacNeil) Cuthbertson had 7 children: Donald (oldest), Jean, Douglas (Dougal), Effie (Euphamia), Annie, Neil and the youngest, Morag (Marion). They all immigrated to Canada at the beginning of the great depression, in 1930 it is believed, except for Douglas who had moved on his own earlier. Donald and Dougal were schooled in Barra for at least one term.
Morag was 5 going on 6 when they arrived in June, at Laval in Quebec. They were met by the Sisters of Charity and a nun accompanied them on the train until Bathurst, NB. The family then continued onto Moncton. They were met by the Taylors who drove them to Notre-Dame. They moved into a furnished home with a large lot, which they owned, and began to farm. Located on the North side of the Cocagne River, their property was located in an area known as Hays, in Notre-Dame. Morag went to the Hays School, just down the road from where she lived. She was good friends with school mate Jean Crawford.
Donald settled in Toronto, Ontario. He was a soldier in WW11. He married Mary MacLean and had 3 boys and 1 girl. Two of his children live in Toronto, one in Niagara Falls or Niagara-on-the- lake and one in Victoria, British Colombia.
Jean moved to Montreal and did not marry.
Douglas arrived in Canada on his own, at about 19 years old, and before the rest of the family. He eventually settled in Toronto. He was also a soldier during WW 11. He has 3 girls who live in Oshawa, Toronto and Campbellford.
Effie moved to Montreal and eventually to California. She never married.
Annie first went to Montreal and then to Forest, Ontario. She has 1 daughter.
Neil-Cuthbertson
Neil was a soldier in WW 11 and he was killed in action. He is buried in Italy. In the early 1960s, Morag visited Neil’s grave as well as relatives in Scotland.
Morag studied at a convent-school in Saint-Joseph, a collaboration between the Sisters of Charity Immaculate Conception and the Soeurs Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Coeur. During high school and in-between her living in Notre-Dame and Saint-Joseph, she was a student of Notre-Dame teacher Honoré Bourgeois. While she was studying at the convent-school, her mother died in 1943. She continued her studies at a Nursing School in Saint-John, NB and graduated in 1946. When Morag was born, her mother Mary was 46 years old. Her father John died in 1956. They are both buried in the Notre-Dame Cemetery.
John Cuthbertson had a brother, Angus, whose daughter lived in Inverlochy, Fort Williams, Scotland. His other brother William is buried in Montreal.
According to the Montreal Gazette, Marion (Morag) Cuthbertson died at the age of ninety-five on February 20, 2020. She was born in Perthshire, Scotland on September 2, 1924. She graduated as a Registered Nurse from St. Joseph’s Hospital in Saint John, NB. She worked in several hospitals in Montreal, QC and retired from the former Reddy Memorial Hospital. She is buried in Our Lady of Calvary Cemetery in Dieppe, NB.
Undated letter from Canada
Notre Dame
Kent County
N. B., Canada
Dear sister,
Just a note to say we are all well and still in the land of the living. Well, I am pleased this leaves us all well and liking our new home well. If Mrs Peter MacNeil came to this part of Canada, she never would want to leave. It is lovely and when the tide comes in in the afternoon and the river Gougan (Guéguen) fills up to the banks of the fields, houses on both sides of the river, you can imagine you are in Northbay, Ardveenish, on the other side with the white houses and wooden sheds.
I have nothing against this place but not a word of English in church on Sunday. All French. They have a lovely church but not big enough for the congregation there is here. I got Eoin’s letter a week ago so I told the woman that my uncle’s name was Roderick not John but she said … I don’t care you are that woman’s very image even your speaking … it does not matter they will do me no good to get to know them.
Donald is still at home as there is no work anywhere. In the meantime, he will likely take harvest work till work starts. He is dying to know the result of the games.
We had taken a good lot of hay about 23 tons which is very good considering the farm was neglected these few years back. The man that owned the farm sold rum. Then, he took an hotel room about 80 miles from this and left for 9 years. So, the place and the house were neglected but not a bad farm. There is as much as would pay the farm of heavy timber on it, if it was cut down, about 50 acres of pulp wood. John is on the old side of life now, to cut timber. What Dougal will do when he comes home next year? Donald does not like this place at all but if he was working, he would be different.
I am sure you are busy now getting ready for Annie’s wedding. Annie is quite right making a home of her own she stayed a good while with you. I wonder if she got the £1 Donald sent her before we left Lochbank? We had a letter from Non last week too telling us he is leaving on 19th for home.
Jeannie and Effie are working. Effie is going for nursing but won’t get an opening till March. .Jean is going to Montreal soon where she will make good money. Few places around here give good money for servants. There are so many French girls. Same for work in factory. Women work is cheap now.
Lizzie will be home and I do hope she will be lucky in getting a Northbay teaching job. She will be able to help you more when she is at home.
We can live cheap here beef is only 6s 7d also cod fish out of the sea 2d a lb. They tell us that we will get 500 herrings for 2s 2d in April, when the ice goes away off the river. They buy heaps of it and puts it on the ground for manure. We have had no rain for 3 weeks, until last night and it did rain. Today is dry and warm. I suppose where Dougal is they had terrible heat. We had a nice mild summer.
This is all my news at present, hoping you will write soon and let us know how you all are getting on.
With love to all neighbours and everybody. I am your loving sister,
– Mary Cuthbertson
