% 1)oijk family Of Vina l&w&rilskd uW«__i. *MJ.z. -oi by Louis J. Dafe^i HHCL - / l^» P.E.I. COLLECTION LIBRARY OF U.P.EJ. A (Doyle family of Prince Edward Island by Louis J. Daley ?£&& ,3>35 Copyright© 1992 Charlottctown LIBRARY USE ONLY For Evelyn, a good wife and a great friend. Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following Tor contributing to this work: Alvin Bcagan, Jack MacMillan, and Josie Jackman who told me about the Corrigans and the Walkers. Hughie Buchanan of Breadalbane, Margaret Palmer of Brain tree Massachusetts, and Joe Nantes of Maple wood Road, who told me about the William Doyles. John Cameron, Edward MacDonald and Father Art O'Shea for their editing advice. Anne Chisholm, secretary at the Basilica, for her patience in checking church records for information about the Doyles. The following people, who themselves lived on Doyles Point, taught me a great deal about life in the area and those who lived it: my aunt Margaret (Doyle) Campbell, my uncle Frank Doyle, Mary (Doyle) Murphy, Kathleen (Doyle) MacDonald and her husband Athol MacDonald and my cousin and friend Peter Doyle. A very special thank you to my mother Isabclle Daley who contributed so much information and advice in the production of this book. Her article on her life as a child on Doyles Point, which I have included, was a great inspiration to me. Edmund Doyle, of Sherbrooke P.E.I., Tim Doyle of Winnipeg and Tom Sullivan of the Kcrrytown Road who aided me with Piety Doyle and his family. Kathleen Doyle presently of Charlotte town and her brother Dr. Philip Doyle of Ottawa I who told stories about LP. Doyle, their grandfather. Colin and Jean MacDonald of St. Peters also were very informative, having known LP. personally. I Fred Driscoll, who contributed most of the information on the children of Margaret and , James Driscoll. Harry 1 lolman, Provincial Archivist and Douglas I-rase r, Genealogical Coordinator at the I P.K.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation for their advice on searching historical records. : Mary Lappin, a relative of Mary (Flynn) Doyle who visited the family of John and Mary ■)oyle on many occasions. E Hubert Murgnahan, present resident of Doyles Point for allowing me to "poke around" ■lis property. || Tom and Kmestinc Murphy of Cumberland told me of the Doyle connections in that Jarca. \ Margaret Quinn (daughter of Bill Doyle) contributed much information on the family I of James Doyle and Margaret Ilogan. It was Margaret who remembered her mother j talking to her grandmother (Margaret Ilogan) and from her memories of those Conversations, I learned about Augusta May and Mary Angelina. fcdelc Wesson of Lynn Massachusetts helped me greatly with Klizabcth (Doyle) Walker. PoRecuoRd When I first began this work, I wanted to determine when my Doyle ancestors arrived from Ireland. After finding and reading the obituary of my Gt. Gt. Grandfather James Doyle (died 1863), I wondered about such things as his burial site and the names of his twelve children. I then became curious about the life of James and those of his children. I had some knowledge of one child, James B. Doyle, my grandfather's father, and began a search for information about the others. I did not know so much as a name of any of the others. I began at the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation where I found census information, some baptisms, and a few references to newspaper articles regarding these people. I talked to many people, some of whom actually knew one or more of the twelve children. As I accumulated more and more knowledge of these people, I began to feel I knew them personally. Each new fact created other questions, driving me to delve further into their lives. Visits to the Courthouse in Chariottctown provided two documents of great importance to this story: the wills of William Lacey and James Doyle. Since the Doyle family was a member of the St. Dunstan's Parish in Charlottetown, I spent many hours searching the St. Dunstan's Parish Regis¬ ters. I also spent much time at the Provincial Archives, U.P.E.I. Library, and P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation studying land conveyances, old newspapers, court records, old photographs, magazines and books. Much was gained by writing letters to various Provincial and State archives. The informa- I tion from Ireland was obtained principally through a fine gentleman named [ Hilary Murphy, author of The Families of Wexford. It was all interesting, including the walks through the cemeteries with my I wife in search of some gravestone of significance—an exercise Evelyn calls I "graveyard stomping". What follows is the result of seven years' work. I hope I it will be of interest to other descendants of James Doyle and Margaret Lacey, I including my children Jennifer and Michael who have many more interesting I things to think about, at this time in their lives, than family history. The reader will notice that I have dealt principally with those Doyles who I lived on Doyles Point. The reason for this is one of time and availability of Iresearch materials. Louis J. Daley, 1992 InrRoducrion The name Doyle is a numerous one in Ireland. It is derived from the Irish O'Dubhghaill, literally meaning "descendant of the dark stranger". According to Hilary Murphy, a local authority on the subject, it is probable that the Doyles of Wexford were descended from Norsemen who were living in Wexford at the time of the invasion by the Normans, and were called "dubhghall" ie. "dark strangers" or "foreigners" by the native Irish. On Prince Edward Island, Doyles were among the early immigrants following the French defeat at Louisburg in July of 1758. Port Lajoie, the French Garrison near Fort Amherst in Rocky Point, fell to the British in August of that year. Most of the Island French were expelled by Colonel Lord Rollo with aid from five hundred British troops. Those remaining, principally a colony of three hundred at Malpeque which was too distant to bother with, ; formed the nucleus from which the Island's present day Acadian population i descended. The "Island of St. John" formally became a British possession in 11763 following a formal peace treaty between England and France. There arc ! no Doyles present in the British Census of 1798 but a few were here by 1816. Doyles settled in various parts of the Island. A number of Doyles and Laceys seem to have come to the Seven Mile Bay area about 1815-1817. Others came to the extreme western part of the Island and settled near Tignish or Miminegash. One settled at Little Sands near Wood Islands and several made their first homes in the Charlottetown area. The majority came from County Wexford although there were others from Kilkenny, Waterford, Cork, Monaghan, and Dublin. No doubt some came from Newfoundland. Did the good Father J.-L.-J. Calonnc [have any Doyles in mind when he wrote the following to Bishop Pierre Dcnaut [in 1800? The greater number of the Irish we have here bring with them nothing but vices, because they are the very dregs of Ireland and Newfoundland. They came [sic] to this place not because they emigrate, but because they have been expelled from their own country. (MacDonald 2) They were fishermen, farmers, blacksmiths, laborers, carpenters, serv¬ ants, and housemaids. Some had a little money but the most valuable commod¬ ity brought by those that prospered was a willingness to work hard to better themselves. Mermaid is a small community situated in Ixn 48, five miles southeast of [Charlottetown, the capital city of Prince Edward Island, Canada. It was in this [area that James Doyle settled in 1836. Doyles Point, as the farm came to be known, is located on the cast side of an inlet known as Fullcrtons Marsh (or Fullcrtons Creek), where it converges with the Hillsborough River. Much of the following story took place in this area. When the text refers to Lot 48, Fullcrtons Marsh, and Mermaid, the reader may assume —for our purposes— that they arc one and the same. Doylcs Point in Mcacham's 1880 Atlas 10 o ne James Doyle was a native of Adamstown Parish, County Wexford, Ireland. Of his life there, little is known. According to his obituary, he was born in 1796. One of the gravestones in the churchyard in Adamstown, may name some of his family: DOYLE. Erected/ by/Johanna Doyle of Adamstown/ in memory of her father/James Doyle who died 11th May 1817/ aged 61 years/ also her mother Mary Doyle alias/ Dillon who died 12 Apr. 1819/ aged 60 years/ the above Johanna Meylcr nee Doyle/ died 6th Oct. 1887. A January 1992 letter received from Father Thomas Doyle, Parish priest of ■Adamstown, describes the area: Adamstown is a small village of some twenty houses. It has a fine Catholic church, presbytery, and both primary and secondary schools. We have a community center, and three shops. The hinterland is very agricultural and very good, most of it St. Abban is the patron, and goes back to the thirteenth century. There is a stone in the cemetery which is supposed to date back that far. There is a castle close by dating from the fifteenth century built by an Adam Sevcreux. There is a large cemetery with many Doyle stones datingback to the 1700'sand 1800's. Our James may have been the son of James Doyle, who farmed eleven acres the townland of Raheenvarrcn, parish of Adamstown, formerly the curacy f Newbawn Parish. The landlord was Richard Browne Clayton. It is interesting 3 note that Margaret Lacey's family lived in the same townland, also on a small Prior to 1836, most of the Irish immigration to Canada was from southeast- Ireland. Thirty-five thousand Irish migrated to Newfoundland between 806 and 1836. They obtained ready employment in the fishery there. The fish lad a ready market to supply the sailors and soldiers fighting in the Napoleonic rs. When these hostilities ended in 1815, many of the Irish moved to New Brunswick to work in the lumber woods, and some moved to P.E.I. These people were called "two-boaters", due to the fact that they left homes twice before finally settling in P.E.I, or N.B. Many Irish, however, came to the Island directly, during these years, from the southeast ports of Ireland, principally Watcrford, Cork, and Dublin. (MacDonald 7) 11 James emigrated in 1816, possibly on the Harriot which made two voyages from Dublin to P.E.I, in 1817. (During the year 1816 the first Roman Catholic church was built in Charlottetown. It was a small wooden structure built on the site of the present Basilica.) He was twenty-one at the time, and like many of the soollcd "Prc-faminc Irish" (those who came prior to the Irish Potato Famine of 1845-47), was no doubt attempting to find a better life for himself in Canada. Ads in local papers said that tradesmen were required in large numbers in Canada. It is possible that our James was working in Dublin in 1815. A London merchant named Louis Desmond contacted a number of tradesmen (seventy- seven In all) and enlisted them to travel to St. John's, Newfoundland on the brig Concord, whose Master was John Stobc. One of these tradesmen was definitely a James Doyle. When the ship arrived in St. John's, forty-four of the seventy-seven passengers were ill. St. John's had just suffered a devastating fire and was in no condition to accept sick people who would put further strain on their already dwindling resources. A court order was thus issued instructing the Master to take them to Miramichi, where the ship was bound. Since the captain refused to take them without further payment, the Magistrate James Blackic, altered their passport so they could travel to Halifax aboard the Kitty. They probably arrived there in July or August, 1817. (Byrne 9) The voyage from Dublin, or another Irish port such as Watcrford, would probably not have been a pleasant one. Travel was by boats under sail power, built to carry lumber from Canada back to Britain. To make the voyage more profitable, they were crudely outfitted to carry passengers on the voyage back to Canada, most often a six week journey—after they got started. Immigrants would often have to remain on the crowded quays for days awaiting a favorable wind. We can imagine young James in the milling crowd, exchanging information with others about their hopes and fears for life in THE DEPARTURE 12 Canada. These large crowds were targets for many criminals who would try in many ways to rob them of their precious money—the money which had perhaps been gathered from many relatives. (It was common practice that one family membcrgo out to Canada and earn the fares forothcrs to emigrate.) The worst of these con-men, called crimps and (outers, prided themselves on their ability to lead unsuspecting travellers to a lodging house to await sailing time. There the immigrants often became drunk and were robbed and/or picked up diseases which were spread among their fellow travellers aboard ship. The cost of a ticket, about a half-year's wages, was raised in a number of ways. Some saved the cost of fere themselves. Others borrowed it from a group of relatives. Some landlords paid passages of tenants to allow the landlords to enlarge their landholdings. Still others were in "workhouses" (a place which provided food and shelter in times of famine—a sort of poorhousc). Sometimes workhouses provided funds for people to emigrate. That young James Doyle paid his own passage is indicated by him on the 1841 Census. Shipping regulations stated that three passengers could be transported for every five UP ON DECK >ns of ship. Since an average vessel was about 250 tons, we can expect that James came out on a vessel with 149 other passengers. Temporary births in the I holds of these lumber vessels were ten feet long and five feet wide. Each accommodated up to five adults who slept in shifts. During bad weather, hatches had to be closed, sometimes for up to a week. Emigrants normally brought their own food with them to procure cheaper fares. Food consisted M chiefly of potatoes, rice, water and oatmeal. When James wasn't sick he was probably very bored. Entertainment on deck, when they occasionally got there, consisted of singing, dancing, and bowling. (Power) Because ships often carried more passengers than the law permitted, immigrants were often deposited at any convenient spot along the coast of P.E.I, before the ship entered port. This allowed the captain to enter port with only the number of passengers the law allowed. 14 'Cujo Between 1816 and 1834 James is a mystery. Possibly he landed in Newfound land, orone of the other Atlantic Provinces and worked there for a while before coming to P.E.I., or he may have lived in Charlottetown or another part of the Island. His obituary says he emigrated "to this island" in 1816. Records arc scarce during the early 1800's, particularly for obscure common people like lames. The St. Dunstan's church records for 1821-1830 have been lost. Two interestingjames Doyle stories exist from that era. The first occurred in the St. Eleanors area north of Summersidc. Whether or not cither of these Stories refers to our James, we cannot say for sure. James Doyle and Thomas Tobln Indicted for Murder In July of the year 1829 two laborers, James Doyle and Thomas Tobin, both of [whom were from the St. Eleanors area, were indicted for murder in Charlotte- town. These two laborers, who had worked together on a fishing schooner, got Into a fight with Patrick Lamb at the home of James Kehoe in St. Eleanors. The men had been drinking rum and playing cards and, in a drunken ■rgument, had beaten and kicked Lamb so badly that he died of injuries [received, principally from a ruptured bladder. (This was discovered when the [deceased was disinterred two days after his burial. The post-mortem examina¬ tion was held on a bench in an apple orchard nearby.) The trial was held in Charlottetown on December 11, 1829, and is ■escribed in one of the local newspapers. Witness Michael Whclan said he had known the deceased since he had come here in 1815 (close to the arrival date Af our James). Doyle and Tobin were convicted of manslaughter. Insentenc- pg them the Judge said it was "murder of the blackest dye" and implied that he jury was too lenient. Since it seemed to the judge that Doyle was the most responsible for the fatal injury by virtue of a series of kicks to Lamb after he had Been knocked down by Tobin, Doyle received the toughest sentence. SENTENCES Doyle: branded on one hand and six months in the Charlotte¬ town gaol(jail). Tobin: branded on one hand and two months in the Charlotte¬ town gaol. They were branded before the court and taken away to jail. (Doyle fpmbably spent part of his sentence in "Harvey's Brig", built in 1830, it was located on the eastern end of Pownal Square.) (p.E.I. Register 12/15/29) l«5 £%t*. HARVEYSBRJG This jail served the people of Prince Edward Island until the 1911 jail was built on Longworth Avenue. A Thomas Tobin, native of Ireland, died in Charlottetown age 53 July 8, 1848. "He had been a member of this community for many years." (Examiner 07/10/48) Another incident occurred in the Seven Mile Bay area near Borden. James Doyle Shot By His Brother Martin Martin Doyle and his brother James had adjoining properties near Tryon P.E.I. James had swine which on occasion, apparently because of poor fencing, decided to feed in and root up a field the ownership of which was in dispute. Both James and Martin felt they owned the field, which had a pile of stumps in the middle. On May 14, 1831 James was out sowing seed in this field from a bucket. Martin and his wife Catherine were working in the same field. While sowing grain James was fired upon from behind and struck in the head by four grains (pieces of shot), twenty-five marks being made in his straw hat. He turned to sec Martin rising from one knee with a gun in his hands. Martin then said "I have fixed you at last!" and walked away. James replied," Yes you have murdered me." James then walked the 100 yards to his home where after being attended to by a doctor, was thought to be at death's door. After spending three weeks in bed, he managed to regain his health. James had Martin charged with attempted murder. He was found "not guilty," chiefly because of the testimony of many character witnesses. (Royal Gazette, February 28, 1832.) 16 [According to Rev. A.Ii. Burke, among the first settlers at Seven Mile Uay ivere James Doyle, Martin Doyle, and Thomas Doyle. He states further that Father Morris used to "hold station" at the home of Martin Doyle. Father James [\ Morris was based at Charlottctown from 1836 until May 21,1838. (MacMillan 23)] Was one of the above James Doyles, our James? Based on the available evidence we cannot say one way or the other. We do know that in 1841, according to the British Census, there were four James Doyles living on P.E.I. Of the life of our James Doyle between 1816 and 1834 a number of things can be deduced from later census records and from death records. On September 29, 1826, Pierce Lacey died in Charlottctown. He was the father of Margaret Lacey, the girl James would marry. He had therefore come to Canada from Wexford prior to that, probably bringing his family with him. The name Pierce (Piety) was used many times in the Doyle family and therefore it is important to note that it was from this man that the name, in all likelihood, derives. The members of this Lacey (Lacy) family were: PARENTS Pierce (Picry) Lacey (1771-1826) Catherine Margaret Gaffney ( ? -1845) CHILDREN Margaret married James Doyle (1811-1897) Anastasia married Lawrence Murphy, Lot 65, Cumberland (?-1882) William unmarried (1816-1843) Lawrence* unmarried (1820-1839) Pierce (Piery) married Margaret Mooney [Daughter of Patrick, Lot 37] (1823-1889) / is important to realize that names of early emigrants on P.EI. vary in eir spelling. Lawrence is sometimes spelled 'Ixiurence", and I have found Wbe same Doyle spelled both 'Doyal" and "Doil". The reason for this was that the early Irish and Scottish working class immigrants were uneducated mecause of the situation in their homelands. Ihe English who dominated I them would not allow them to have schools of their own. In order to be educated they had to renounce their religion and swear allegiance to the \English King. As a result, when an immigrant couple went to the priest to move a baby baptized, the priest might ask "Is that spelled D-o-NP" Not , knowing how to spell, and to avoid embarrassment, they probably always replied " Yes", whether he said Doil, Doyal, or Doyle. Spelling had yet to be Wregularized", and little importance was attached to it Members of the above Lacey family were born in Ireland. The Adamstown parish register, in County Wexford, contains the birth records of William, j Lawrence, and a Mary. The reader will notice how all of these given names of 17 the Laccy family appear in the next generation among the Doylcs. Some will appear in the fourth and fifth generation. It is possible that Mary Laccy, who married John Mutch of Mermaid, was the Mary contained in the Adamstown register, baptized Dec. 10,1817,achildofPierccLaccyand Catherine Gaffncy. A headstone marking the grave of Piery Laccy, Margaret's father and Lawrence Lacey, Margaret's brother, who died at age nineteen, still stands in the old Roman Catholic cemetery #1 on the St. Peters Road. William and his mother are probably buried there also. Many of the Irish immigrants were too poor to erect gravestones to the memory of their loved ones, and the church records of burials back then cither never existed, or have been lost. For these reasons it is difficult to know where people were buried. In 1828 James Doyle, thirty-two years old, married a seventeen year old Chariottctown native, Margaret Laccy. (Catholics at that time did not have the right to vote, but they were allowed to marry!) The wedding would have taken place in the first wooden church, erected in 1816 at the site of the present Basilica. A simple log structure, this church was built with money solicited from local Catholics. One who gave a donation of 5 pounds (a considerable amount in those days) was John Doyle. The officiating priest would have been Father Fitzgerald who served in Chariottctown during that year. (Burke 7) James by that time would have a friend to act as best man, possibly the above mentioned John Doyle, a tailor and businessman who ran a hotel, Tbe Hibernia, located where the Golden Wok Restaurant now stands, on the corner of Pownal and Grafton Streets. Margaret Laccy's recently widowed mother would no doubt be in attendance, possibly with her reluctant twerve- ycar-old son William in tow. The small wedding party may have gathered at the hotel, and had dinner served by John's wife Catherine. The bride and groom could well have spent their wedding night at that establishment, or simply gone to James' current lodgings. The farm which would become known as Doylcs Point, was occupied at this time by an Irish family from County Cork by the name of Daley. The Point farm was leased in 1799 by Jeremiah Dailcy, a farmer who later lived in Chariottctown. He is listed as a "gentleman", suggesting that he was a man of some means—an owner of property. Jeremiah had purchased the lease from James Cunningham, one of the original proprietors of Lot 48. (After the British defeated the French, and the French setUers [Acadians) were expelled in 1758, the British Government decided to hold a lottery for the land of St. John's Island [P.E.I.]. The Island had been surveyed into 67 Townships (or Lots), of approximately 20,000 acres each by Surveyor General Samuel Holland in 1764-1765. Sixty-four of these lots were actually "up for grabs". Those eligible to enter the lottery were people of influence with the king. Some were politicians, others military men, still others were merchants or civil servants. The lottery was held in London England July 23, 1767. James Cunningham and his partner Samuel Touchct drew Lot 48. This meant that they owned Lot 48, provided they fulfilled certain obligations, and were called "proprietors".) IK The Dalcys who occupied the point were possibly relatives of the alxivc mcntioncdjcrcmiah Dailcy. One membcrof this family, Patrick Daley, married Jane Mutch, daughter of Major Alexander Mutch of Mermaid, and this family later moved to Lot 16. Their oldest son, William, was born at Doylcs Point in 1828.(Mutch 11) Dcsccndcnts of this Daley family still live in Summcrsidc as I write. Doylcs Point was purchased from the heirs of Jeremiah Daley by Lieutenant Governor Edmund Fanning (second governor of P.E.I.) in 1800. PEL LOT MAP James and Margaret probably spent their first married years in Charlotte- wn, possibly living with Margaret's family. Life in Charlottctown at that time a far cry from today. There were no streetlights, for example, and the only i light available to those travelling the streets after dark was thrown by windows [with lamps within. Also, many of the ditches were open sewers, which I overflowed during periods of heavy rain. Needless to say, James and Margaret [ probably didn't take many romantic strolls at night in Charlottctown. The I young couple was probably delighted to hear the news that Catholics were given the right to vote in 1830, news they might have heard from the town fcrier. Most likely they heard the news by word of mouth, since, like most Irish ■mmigrants, neither could read nor write. The post office pictured in the sketch on the next page, was situated on I Water Street, second house west from the corner of Prince. It was erected prior I to 1780, and although used as a post office for only a short time in the early ■800's, the building was known to survive into the 1930's. In the early 1800's, I|B list of those having mail at the post office was published in the newspaper. J The name James Doyle appeared on several occasions. This mail could have I originated in Ireland, or perhaps in the Boston area. (James' obituary requests ||lhat two Boston papers publish the death notice.) According to a book entitled Pioneers on the Island, at very high tide fthc river overflowed the land very nearly up as far as the post office. This same ■ source, in describing old Charlottetown, says "There was a town well on many ■corners... wooden pump with wooden troughs for watering horses." (Nrchaut IQ EARL Y POST OFFICE 22) An interesting aspect of this post office, is that Frank Doyle remembers his father, John, getting a contract to demolish such an old post office in 1936. Frank helped with the demolition. Recreation at that time consisted of horseback riding, shooting, fishing, and going for picnics in cither wagons or boats. Snowshocing was popular in winter.(Stcwart 16) For the poorer people, most socializing was done at gatherings of family and friends. An insight into this type of gathering is found in a description of early "ccilidghs"[sic]. There was a great interest in these neighborly visits, and there were rarely any dull moments. The Irish people were particularly adept in the rapid fire, but friendly, needling that represented quick and clever thinking, skill in repartee, nimblencss and adroitness in debate; wit and humor provided keen enjoyment as the flow of conversation moved around the circle of friends and neighbors, who never lost their sense of good fellowship. (Brehaut 64) It was probably family occasions such as the 1834 marriage of Margaret's sister Anastasia which were most important to them. Anastasia married a farmer from South Shore, Lot 65 (Cumberland) by the name of Lawrence Murphy. Since many of the Murphys came from County Wexford, they may even have come out on the same vessel. 20 'ChRee James and Margaret moved to the property in Mermaid, which became known as Doyles Point, in the year 1836. A sublease on the property had been purchased in 1831 by John Doyle, the tailor. A member of the B.I.S., John had leased this farm, then believed to be 100 acres, from John Mutch of Mermaid. Perhaps there was a blood relationship between James and John Doyle. Their home towns in Wexford, Adamstown and Oulart respectively, being within thirty-five kilometers of one another. John Doyle was to die on January 17, 1833. His ornate grave-stone still exists in the Roman Catholic Cemetery #1 on the St. Peter's Road in Parkdale, near that of Piery and William Laccy. When James and Margaret first occupied the farm on Fullcrton's Creek, in 1836, about thirty-five acres would have been cleared, the Patrick Daleys having lived there since 1798. The land had been previously cleared by the French, using oxen, prior to their expulsion in 1758. The French occupied lands had to be cleared of "second growth*—alders and smaller spruce which had grown on the once cleared land. The farm fences, built by the Daleys, would have to be mended and new ones built. Since the farm fields bordering the water had a vertical drop often feet to the shore in some places, they had [to be well fenced to avoid accidents. Young animals would be tethered to a Stake. Cutting wood for firewood and fenceposts and all planting and harvest¬ ing would have to be done by James, with occasional help from his wife [Margaret, when she could spare the rime from her domestic duties. In any case, by 1840 the Doyles had a farming operation which probably j provided them with all they needed to survive. They had sheep for woolen ftlothing, cattle for milk and meat; and wheat for flour. Pigs could also I provide a somewhat inexpensive source of meat as they were often fed table | scraps and potatoes. We can imagine the awe of the children as they watched I the billowing sails of the ships going up the Hillsborough River to pick up goods at Apple Tree Wharf (French Fort), Cranberry Wharf (Fort Augustus), And Mount Stewart. They would pass again on their return journey to pharlottctown. Mount Stewart was also the most productive ship building center on P. F.I. during the age of sail. All vessels built at Mount Stewart would have to pass the Doyle homestead. Later, steamers like the Heatber Belle would ply these waters. 21 Whcn they moved to the farm, James and Margaret had four children; Margaret, 7 yrs. old, Pierce (named after Margaret's father), 3 yrs. old, Catherine (named after Margaret's mother), 2 yrs. old, and Peter, an infant. These were followed by James in 1838, and Elizabeth in the year 1840. Like all Island children, they would amuse themselves picking daisies or black-eyed Susans for their mother, swimming in the river, and occasionally the boys fighting like hell with one another. In that year, the Doyles were probably paying rent to the holder of the lease, Catherine Doyle, widow of John the tailor, and owner of the farm until his death in 1833. The first home of James and Margaret was, no doubt, what later genera¬ tions called "the log house," later converted into a hen house and wood house. From a description by Margaret (Doyle) Campbell and Frank Doyle, the building was about twenty feet by thirty feet. It had four rooms, the roof having a square pitch. The first room ran two-thirds of the length of the building with a flu in the comer, about halfway along one outside wall. This was probably the original kitchen. A loft, accessible by a ladder, was above half of the house, with a small window to admit light. Three rooms were along the back and were probably used as bedrooms. The building had no foundation and was pinned together with wooden nails called "trenails". There also was evidence of plaster having been applied to the walls at one time. We can imagine the discussions that went on in this log house about who was going to sleep where and who took whose blanket! As many as twelve people slept in this small log house. In winter the house would be banked with seaweed and snow but would be very cold nevertheless. They seem to have been a very vigorous family, however, since no evidence was found of children dying during this generation. The following sketch of the Doyle cabin was done in the summer of 1992 by artist Marjorie Frizzellof Southport. Marjorie sketched the log house on the original site as it was described by members of the Doyle family. Note St. Dunstan's Cathedral, (begun in 1843), positioned where the present triple spires to the Bascilica now stand - to the immediate left of the group of three 22 .•.JUiLti. . »"-- -«>»^r 77/£ IOC HOUSE (C 1850) spruce trees. Although a cross would not have been visible from the Doyle I farm, the church itself most certainly would. Much time in fall and winter would be spent at the makingof woolen cloth, the family having fifteen sheep in 1841. John Stewart, in his history of the time | suggests that the average family manufactured two or three hundred yards of I cloth each year. (145) Living handy the Hillsborough River and Fullertons Creek had certain advantages. During the spring and fall the regular diet of these people would be supplemented with Canada geese, brant, and wild ducks from the creek. If James had a gun in the early days, it would have been a flintlock muzzlcloadcr, I possibly a "Brown Bess". This firearm was used by the British Garrison in [ Charlottetown. Early settlers acquired this gun from disbanded soldiers or I brought them from the old country. A cumbersome gun, some with a forty-two I inch barrel, early Island settlers often cut a length off the end of the barrel to I make a more easily handled fowling-piece. In spring, spawning smelts would yield both food and fertilizer. (It was the habit of many to plant a smelt with each potato.) Clams, oysters, and other shellfish would also be provided by the creek. Little of a slaughtered animal would be wasted as indicated by this description of blood pudding, a nutritious dish, if somewhat unappetizing when seen made. This was made from cow's blood, finely chopped suet, salt and pepper. It was then baked, stored in a cool |>lace, and sliced and fried when ready to eat. My mother remembers eating it s a child until one day she saw it being made. She could not eat it after that, have eaten it and found it quite tasty! Some insight into the toil of these early farmers may be gained from the >< The plows used by the early settlers had but one handle, and no one at¬ tempted to make a straight furrow. For forty years these crude and primitive implements were used, but in 1810 two-handled plows were introduced. Grain was cut with scythes and sickles, and threshed by beating it with flails on a wooden floor as Boaz did in the days of Ruth. Some farmers had hand-operated fanners to separate the grain from the chaff. Others made use of nature's winds. The first threshing machine arrived in 1828 and was driven by a tread mill, a cumbersome machine that developed power by horses walking on an inclined, endless belt. It was a dangerous engine; for sometimes the brake mechanism would fail, and the horses would go faster and faster until, at a wild gallop, a fall might result in broken legs or necks, or a worker might be severely injured, or even killed, in attempting to save the mill and the terrified animals. The first reaper appeared in the 1830's. This wonderful machine did not attempt to tic the straw into sheaves, and it was necessary for the harvesters to bind them with wisps of twisted straw. (Brchaut 61) It was also in 1841 that a census was done on the Island. In it, the follow¬ ing entry appears. 1841 CENSUS LOT 48 James Doyle 8R.C.'s 2 persons paid own passage 3 Persons native to Ireland 5 Persons native to P.E.I. 100 acres of land 40 arable produced last year; 60 bushels wheat 50 bushels barley 200 bushels oats 650 bushels potatoes 6 horses 8 neat catdc 15 sheep 7 hogs. "These farmers had no road 4 miles from Ch'town by water, 8 by land." 5 yrs of lease expired 20 yr lease Rent in currency 4 shillings Quality of land: 2nd best quality (The only mysterious thing here is that there were three persons native to Ireland. I have checked later census for Margaret, the oldest child, and found her a native ofP.E.l, not Ireland) Although they had no road, access to the water gave them a number of advantages. As a means of transportation the river proved very useful. For that reason farms that bordered on the river were more valuable. On the falling tide they could make a trip to Charlottetown a lot more easily by rowboat than overland with a horse and cart. They would make use of the rising tide to return jnTH^ZZZW**?"'"'"!""J rTa&SV -.!,-« 5##3$?2 np*iv»t«a jMrnu w*s»c; 24 to Mermaid. The time taken for such a trip was estimated by my uncle, Frank Doyle, to be an hour to an hour and a half. In winter the river ice made for an even easier trip to town. Once the river was frozen, the ice was "bushed" with spruce trees to mark out a safe trail. This trail could be followed even if it was snowing quite hard. Local people would be paid a small amount of money to do the bushing. A good horse could be "given its head' in a snowstorm and would take you across the ice in a safe, reliable way. In spring or fall travelling would be more difficult, due to the mud—or very dangerous if risking a trip over the fresh or rotting ice. On April 8, 1842, when the Doylcs had been living on the Point for five years, Catherine Doyle, widow of John, transferred and assigned to James Doyle all of her estate rights and interests in the lease (really a sublease) for 100 acres in Lot 48, for the sum of eighty pounds. (Queens County Conveyances, vol. 26 p.560-562) This agreement also states that James agrees to pay John Mutch, the holder of the lease a yearly rent of sixteen pounds. Both James and Catherine signed with an "X". (Catherine was at that time lacking in funds since her husband John had accumulated considerable debts during the last few years of his life.) The area of this farm was later determined to be 88 acres and not 100 as stated above in the land conveyance. It must have seemed huge to James and Margaret, compared to the farms of from five to fifteen acres they had known in Wexford! On July 18, 1843 the Doylcs were probably in attendance at the laying of the cornerstone of the new Catholic Church in Chariottetown which took place in the morning. This was followed in the afternoon by a parade to the site north of Birchwood School for the blessing of the new cemetery. ...A short time previous, the Bishop had purchased a plot of land situated on the North side of the St. Peter's Road a little way beyond the limits of the town. As it had not yet been consecrated, the present occasion was deemed a favorable time for the performance of the ceremony, on account of the presence of so many members of the clergy. Accordingly at 2 o'clock P.M., a large number of people again assembled at the church, where they formed in procession, and headed by the Benevolent Irish Society and the Temperance League, wit h badges and banners, marched to the site of the new cemetery, was then solemnly blessed by the Bishop assisted by the visiting clergy. (MacMillan 40) One can imagine the family getting into a boat to row to town that July morning, perhaps taking a picnic basket with them. What an adventure it would be for the children! That October, a Repeal meeting was held in Chariottetown and we know that James attended that along with his brother-in-law William Lacey. Also present at this meeting were two other natives of Adamstown Parish from whence James Doyle came, Martin Brennan and John Keating. The Repeal movement was an action begun in Ireland by Daniel O'Connell, to have the 25 legislation of 1801 called the "Act of Union" repealed. By this Act the Irish had lost their right to have their own parliament. Instead, they were to elect a number of M.P.'s to represent their views in the British Parliament. This movement spread to the colonics including Prince Edward Island. A complete list of those in attendance at that meeting may be found in Tbe Island Magazine, Spring/Summer 1987. WilliamLaccy, Margaret's brother, wasa laborer who also dabbled in other things. He was appointed a constable for Chark >t tct o wn and Royalty in the year 1839 and he also acted as agent for a Mr. John Carmichacl, who sold gravestones. It is quite possible that the gravestone for his father Piery, and brother Lawrence—still standing in 1992—was placed there during his tenure in this business. The following ad appeared in the Colonial Herald a local newspaper on July 29,1843. Headstones The subscriber offers for sale a lew good headstones, which will be sold and lettered cheap for prompt payment For further particulars, apply to the subscriber, at Mr. W. Laccy's, King St. or to Mr. K. MacKenzie, Chariottetown, by whom all orders will be promptly attended to. John Carmichacl. In December of that year, William Laccy, died. The local news pa per of the time reported it this way. Died. On Thursday morning last, Mr. William Laccy, of this town aged 27 years. Deservedly regretted. His funeral will take place on Sunday next at 2 o'clock p.m. where friends and aquaintences are requested to attend. <Tbe Islander Dec. 15,1843) This would have necessitated another trip to town, a tough trip in more ways than one with the river probably not yet sufficiendy frozen for travel. William was only twenty-seven when he died, just before Christmas, on December 19, 1843. He had lived on the south side of King Street on the easternmost block. The wake was probably held in his home. At that time, the body would have been washed and laid out by the older women in the family, his mother Catherine, and probably his sister Margaret. To some this may seem a gruesome task, but it can also be thought of as a final, very caring, gesture performed for a loved one. "Most of the coffins were made right at home. They were made of pine boards covered with black cloth (or white cloth if it were a young person)." (MacDonald 25) A wake at that time was a great social occasion, with lots of food and drink. There would perhaps be clay pipes passed around to the men after the meal, an Irish tradition. Mrs. Rita Walsh told me of wakes on P.LI, where such customs were carried on, the pipes costing a penny a piece. It was a custom to have homemade liquor called poteen, available during a wake in Ireland; but imported liquor, readily available on P.E.I, at that time, probably filled the local need. Young people were known to sneak pepper into the tobacco and snuff. They would then hide and wait for the results. 26 In attendance was a delegation from the B.I.S., of which William was a ncmber. They would come early for prayers. Other mourners would be William's mother, sister Anastasia with her beau Lawrence Murphy from Lot 55, sister Margaret and husbandjames Doyle. Also Piery (Pierce) Doyle (10 yrs.) ind Anastasia's son Matthew (4 yrs.), each of whom were particular favorites af the deceased. Members of the constabulary were probably there since William had been appointed constable for Charlottctown and Royalty four years earlier. A large meal would be served at midnight and some people would lit up with the remains all night. In the morning, a hired horse-drawn hearse, or a simple wagon would convey the deceased to the small wooden church, built where the present St. Dunstan's Cathedral now stands, for the funeral mass. The coffin might even have been carried on the shoulders of a number of men. After mass they proceeded to the graveyard, led by members of the B.I.S. The new graveyard, near Birchwood (Cem#2), had been blessed that July past, but William was probably buried with his father Piery, and his brother Lawrence in the older Roman Catholic Cemetery on the St. Peter's Road in Parkdalc, (Ccm#l). Little did the mourners know that a similar procedure would be carried out for William's mother in two short years. The three Roman Catholic cemeteries used by the St. Dunstan's Parish over the years were as follows: Cemetery #1 is located in Parkdale, now the Anglican cemetery. This cemetery was used from about 1812 to 1843. Cemetery #2 is located north of Birchwood School on Longworth Avenue and was used between July 18, 1843 and August 4, 1884. Cemetery #3 is located near St. Pius X Church in Parkdalc and was blessed on August 4, 1884. It is still being used in September of 1992. 27 According to William Laccy's will, he accumulated some property in Charlottctown and elsewhere before his untimely death at the age of 27. His will names many of the family members, but unfortunately, also creates a bit of a mystery. He calls his still-living mother Catherine. His brother Pierce Laccy records his mother as Margaret Gaffncy in his marriage record. Doug Fraser, Genealogical Coordinator at the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation suggests that the most satisfactory explanation is probably that her name was Catherine Margaret Gaffncy. The church register in Adamstown calls her Catherine Gaffncy. In 1852 Margaret Doyle, the eldest daughter of James Doyle, married John Driscoll of Lot 48 and shortly thereafter Pierce Doyle, the eldest son, then twenty-three, left home to make his way in the world, trying his luck first as a tavern operator in Charlottctown in 1856. The year before, in 1855 Charlottctown became an incorporated municipality with its own police force and the power to tax. This meant the beginnings of sidewalk construction, gas street lighting, drainage and sanitary regulation. By the summer of 1863, the Doyle family living in Mermaid consisted of the following people: James 67, Margaret 52, Catherine 29, James 25, Elizabeth 23, Mary 18, William 16, Moses 13, Annie 8, John 7. All of these people still lived in the original log house. Well aware that the farm could support only so many, three of the family had already left to make their own way in the world. In October of 1863, Pierce Doyle married Johanna Sullivan, from Clinton (Kcrrytown Road), and took up residence in the rapidly-developing town of Summcrsidc. It was also in 1863 that James Doyle, the founder of our branch of Doylcs on P.E.I, died. His death notice appeared in the Charlottctown Vindicator, a local newspaper, on December 2, 1863: At Fullcrton's Marsh, Lot 48, on the 27th ultimo, Mr. James Doyle, in the 67th year of his age. He was a native of the Parish of Adamstown, County Wexford, Ireland, and emigrated to this Island in 1816. He was a kind husband and a loving father, and beloved by all who knew him. He died after an illness of four days leaving a widow and twelve children—7 sons and 5 daughters—to mourn his irreparable loss— [Irish American, Boston Pilot, New York Tablet, and Wexford papers, please insert.] (p.3) The burial site of our first Island ancestor is, as yet, unknown. He belonged to St. Dunstan's Parish in Charlottetown and the graveyard then in use was the pioneer cemetery on Longworth Avenue (Ccm#2). It is most likely that he was buried there. Unfortunately, there are no church records going back that far and many of the gravestones of that era have been removed. The records of both Vernon River and Fort Augustus churches have been checked and neither lists a James Doyle near that date. The will of James Doyle is of interest, not only from the point of view of who it includes but also who is not included. Those not included were probably "on their own" by the time their father died. Son James B. (third son) inherits the farm with all the stock of farming implements, with the exception 2H of 20 acres on the point, which James wills to his wife Margaret (Lacey)".. .for the term of her natural life. After her death to revert and become the property of my son James." His wife Margaret also gets two cows and two sheep and the north end of the dwelling house should she want it. The daughters received as follows: Catherine, (born 1834), 20 pounds; Elizabeth (born 1840), Mary (born 1845), and Bridget Ann (born 1855), 2 pounds each. Sons William (born 1847) and John (born 1856) will have clothing and schooling until they can do for themselves. ....It is my order that my family do live peacefully and agreeably together and I leave the injunction on my children, and particularly my son James, to be kind to his mother and to keep her comfortable the remainder of her life. To my son William, when he shall come of age, I bequeath the sum of twenty pounds. I order that none of these bequests be recoverable until after the space of five years from this date. To this my last will and testament I have set my ...and seal this twenty-sixth day of November one thousand eight hundred and sixty- three. Signed James X Doyle mark Witnesses; Patrick Duffy and Matthew Murphy (Sec Wills voL6 p.314 PEI Law Courts or Archives) It seems that James looked after the children who were still living on the farm The other siblings were on their own at that time: Margaret had married John Driscoll and was living on a farm in Mount Herbert, Lot 48, only a couple of miles from Doyles Point; Picry, a carpenter was living in Summersidc and llso married; Peter, a tavern operator, lived in Charlottctown on Richmond Street; Lawrence Patrick learning the blacksmith trade, possibly at a West River carriage shop near the home of his future bride; Moses, since he is not mentioned, had probably left home, although he was only eleven. (He will show up as a painter in Charlottctown in 1870.) James must be given top marks for taking care of business properly. He perhaps realized that dividing the land among his children was not a reasonable thing to do. As he knew from experience in Ireland, tiny farms are not viable. At this point, I will depart from an examination of the family as a whole and ■>ok at the life of each of the twelve children in as much detail as information fcermits. 29 Pour MARGARET DOYLE, First-born child of James Doyle and Margaret Lacey. Margaret Doyle was born in 1829. She lived on the farm at Doylcs Point with her family until 1852 when she married John Driscoll at St. Dunstan's church in Chartottctown. (John's father had died in a fall from the mast of a ship in 1832.) Her father and a lady named Bridget Cary were witnesses. This marriage took place in the new wooden cathedral begun in 1843. It was to serve the Diocese until a new stone cathedral was completed in 1907. A photograph of this church and the bishop's palace is in the photo section. The photo shows that the 1843 Cathedral was at right angles to the present Basilica. Margaret lived on a farm in Mt. Herbert with her husband Joh n Driscoll and raised a family of thir¬ teen. (The names of these children, and other statistical informa¬ tion, is given at the back of this book, with that of the other families). Margaret and John lived a quiet life on the farm and, as such, there is little information avail¬ able on them other than that found on church records, census reports, and gravestones. In examining a map of Lot 48 in 1880, one can sec the Driscoll farms and their proxim¬ ity to the Doyle place, f John Driscoll inherited the second farm in 1879. Shortly thereafter a 30 house was hauled on the ice from Mt. Herbert to Doylcs Point. Was the transported house from the second Driscoll farm? It was apparently quite common to haul buildings around on the ice in this fashion. The Doyle family would certainly be very excited at the prospect of moving from a small log house into a two-story 'modern" home. The second house was called the Pippy house, (named, in all likelihood, for it's previous owners or occupants) and was hauled on the ice from Mt. Herbert using a 'capstan* and horses. A capstan is a device with a vertical spindle around which a rope was wound. At right angles to the spindle was a bar or bars to which the force was applied, in this case by horses. Fullcrton's Marsh bridge was not completed until 1884, so the house could be hauled without the bridge being a barrier. PIERCE (PIERY) DOYLE, Second Child of James Doyle and Margaret Lacey Piery was probably the most successful in business of any of the children of James and Margaret Doyle. Because he was a town councilor in Summcrside and a builder of bridges, more information about him has survived. Census records indicate that Piery was born in P.E.I, in 1833. I can find no church record of this birth. He was, in all probability, named after his grandfather Piery Lacey. By 1856 Piery was on his own, living in Chariottetown and running a tavern. The year before, in 1855, gas streetlights were installed in pans of Chariottetown. Perhaps it was in or near this very tavern that an incident involving his uncle Piery Lacey, a local blacksmith, occurred. The Royal Gazette reported it this way. Police Court: July 7th Pierce Lacey for using lewd and profane language and behavior toward George Hix; convicted and fined 10s, with costs or to be imprisoned for 48 hours. (This was not to be the last legal encounter involving Piery Doyle and his clc Piery Lacey. Piery was not satisfied with life as a publican. Summcrside was a booming town in the 1860's and Piery, hearing this probably decided to try his luck there Hy 1863 he was living in Summcrside and married to Johanna Sullivan from the Kcrrytown Road in Clinton. They were living at the comer of Central Hid South Streets in 1864, and Piery s occupation was given as a "joiner". That jycar their first daughter Margaret was born and two years later they lost their first son, James Lawrence, as an infant. At this time Piery is described in the Book Roads to Sumrnerside. When the Progress editor set forth on that July day of 1866 to make a call on the shipyards, he also had a word to say on 'the workshops of Summcrside,' which conveys some idea of what a busy place it was....of Pierce Doyle he says 'He is what may be termeda handyman- cabinet maker, house builder and house mover. He is one of the progressive young men of Sumrnerside.' (MacLeod 86) 31 By 1870 Picry and Johanna had their own home on Church Street. It was also that year that Pierce did some work for St. Mary's Convent. The following arc excerpts from the Annals o/SL Mary's Convent, Summerside. August 17, 1870 The arrangements of our house caused some inconvenience. The community room served also as a dining room for the Sisters and boarders, as a classroom and a pantry. The Sisters had a pantry built and the room separated. The work was done by Mr. Pierce Doyle who charged only half price. April 1,1884 Piery builds a new convent in Summcrsidc. "The undertaking of building the Convent was given to Pierce Doyle for the sum of $3,700.00.' Piery was a very prominent builder and mover of houses and other buildings, not only in the Summcrsidc area but over most of the Island. In addition, he was a builder of bridges, wharfs and other marine structures. A partial list of his accomplishments is given in the Charlottctown Herald in September of 1886. ...the Summcrsidc Drill Shed; the Railway Wharf Summcrsidc; the Malpequc Breakwater; the Souris Breakwater, the Stock Farm Build¬ ings; the West River Bridge; North River Bridge; Wright's Bridge; Bridge at Lot 10; Grand River Bridge (1873); South West Bridge Lot 16; Fullciton's Marsh Bridge; rebuilding of the Grand River Bridge 1879; Block to Queen's Wharf Summcrsidc; rebuilding of Queen's Wharf Summcrsidc after the August Gale of 1873; approaches to Ferry Wharf Charlottctown; the Summcrsidc Convent 1868; the new Summersidc Convent 1884; the Progress Printing Office Summcrsidc; the Eastern District School Summcrsidc; the residences of the following gentle¬ men, viz: Hon. William Campbell, New London; H.C.Green, Summcrsidc, John MacKcnzie do, Thomas Crabbc do, Neil McKclvic KifidKJ-* - • RESIDENCE OF SEN. H.C GREEN.J.P. BUILT BY PIERY DOYLE 32 do, l.t i c S A. M u ncoy do, Wm. Wickham do, Alex Grady do, C.B.Saundcrs (two houses); Peter McNutt, Kensington; Timothy Driscoll, Indian River, James Bernard, Malpcque; the stores and warehouses of Hon. John Lcfurgcy, Summcrside; David Rogers large warehouse, Summcrsidc; Schoolhouse Lot 14; and last but not least, the Dominion Building now finished. .... While occasionally we may express our preference for certain politicians on account of what we deem their meritorious public services, we certainly must accord to Mr. Doyle, who is no politician, the meed of being one of the most useful public men in Prince Edward Island. He is a large employer of labor, and thus contributes materially to the well-being of a numerous class in the community, while by his energy and skill he has done much to forward the progress of our Province. He is a man yet in the prime of life vigorous and generous hearted .... Picry worked in the Chariottctown area during 1883, '84, and '85 on the Prince St. Wharf, Fullcrton's Marsh Bridge, the North River Bridge, and 1 Wright's Bridge, East Royalty. He was probably in touch with his mother who > was living on Malpcque road at the time (about opposite to the Liquor Store at [ the Royalty Mall) where she lived with her youngest son John and his sister i Annie. He probably took great pride in building the Fullcrton's Marsh Bridge. He could provide jobs for local people and perhaps share an occasional meal with his brother James. He may have even stayed at the old home place at night. I can picture Piery and brother James smoking their pipes out on the doorstep after supper and reminiscing about their childhood on this farm. John Doyle, [my grandfather, would be about two years old at the time and might have been [playing nearby with his sister Gert, then five. Their older brother Leo, who was Jcight at the time, would die two years later. He may have sat listening to the I men that evening, enjoying the smell of their tobacco and conjuring up images ! produced by their talk. In 1887 Picry was elected to the Summcrside Town ■Council for the first of three terms. A story goes that while campaigning In a \ horse-drawn carriage, he met the local parish priest, Father Patrick Doyle, a I number of times. Each time the priest would say, "You'll be snowed under ■Mcry". After this happened a number of times, the 300 pound Piery, reputed ■to be rather hot-headed at times, said "Kiss me arse," slapped the horse with ■ the reins and was away. Picry must have been quite annoyed! Piery was reputed to speak his mind and could be harsh at rimes, qualities useful when handling a construction crew. But his generosity was mentioned I by many. My favorite such story is mentioned in the Maple Lea/o(J\i\y 1929. I [The author speaks of some of the old timers of Summcrside and their kind words and actions towards small boys. He says ...boys never forget these acts of kindness. Many times have groups of boys, without a penny in their pocket, crowded at the entrance to Ludlow Hall and lateral Market Hall, waiting for gruff but kind-hearted Pierce Doyle, who never failed to pay their way to the popular show put on by H. Price Webber, his wife, Edwina Gray, and the Boston Comedy Company. When Pierre [sic] Doyle showed up it meant a rush for the door, and then we would hear his loud voice, 'Get in there, every one of ye' and Mr. Doyle would settle with the man at the door.... (Maclnnis 218) Another display of his kindness was that he took into his home, for a time, his uncle Piery Laccy from Charlottetown. Piery was too old, deaf, and sick to look after himself. Piery Laccy was a blacksmith who seems to have been a bit of a rascal. Aside from Lacey's brush with the law in 1856, he had borrowed money from Piery Doyle. After many promises to pay it back, Doyle had to sell the Laccy property in Charlottetown, which had been given to him as collateral. Piery Laccy died in the Poorhousc in Charlottetown Nov. 30, 1889. He is buried in common ground in the Roman Catholic Cemetery near St. Pius X Church in Park dale (Ccm#3). Piery Doyle died in Summerside Aug. 24,1890, aged fifty-seven. He and his wife Johanna raised eight children, all of whom did well for themselves. He was buried in St. Paul's Roman Catholic cemetery in Summerside where his gravestone is very evident, the tallest in the cemetery. Prior to his death, he seems to have been planning to become a farmer. By 1880 he had purchased a three hundred acre farm in Cape Egmont, and was building a new home there. One of his last requests was that his family move to this farm to live. His will tells us that he died a man of some property. He had, among other property, three houses on Fitzroy Street in Summerside, a 300-acre farm with a new house, a number of horses and cattle, a property on Prince Street, a PIFRYDOYLF PROPERTY ATCAPF. F.GMONT(NOTF MISSPELLING) 34 property on Barrack Street, and two and one-quarter acres on the corner of Water Street and McEwen Road. The family must have been quite musical, since among his assets were a Grand Piano and an organ. He also had a Tine set of silver tea service, which it is believed he brought from'England when he journeyed there to get a clock for the town hall tower. This tea service was apparently borrowed on occasion when the Governor was entertaining large groups. He left $45 to his mother. Picry Doyle started out with nothing, carved a good living from the Island by working hard, and was a man of kindness. CATHERINE DOYLE, Third Child of James Doyle and Margaret Lacey Catherine was born on April 15,1834. Two years after she was born the family moved to Mermaid. She was probably named after her maternal grandmother Catherine (Gaffncy) Lacey. Kate, as Catherine was known, lived on the farm until she was thirty-six and then married John Corrigan. John, a native Irishman, had been married before. In January of 1864 he had married Mary Jack man, by whom he had a child, Catherine, born March 24, 1867 at Vernon River. John joined the P.E.I. Militia, taking his oath on May 4, 1867. At that time his wife Mary was "dangerously ill". In 1870, Catherine married John Corrigan at St. Dunstan's Cathedral in | Charlottetown, the witnessess being her brother James, and her sister Eliza- SAINTJOACHIM'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, VERNON RIVER ^S bcth. Catherine and John lived on a good quality farm in Village Green and raised three children—Catherine, (from first marriage), Alphonsc (Phonsic), and Andrew (Andy). This Corrigan family may have been at Mass that windy September Sunday in 1897 when a freak accident occurred. While standing with her mother waiting to enter for Mass, a twelve year old girl, Mary Genevieve Fraser, was struck and killed when a heavy ornament fell from the turret and struck heron the head. qCbartottetoum Herald, September 15, 1897) Catherine became sick in the early 1900's and one of the Driscoll girls, 'Gussie', came to look after her. Gussie was Catherine's niece, the child of Margaret (Doyle) Driscoll from Mt. Herbert. While nursing her aunt Catherine, Gussie fell in love with Phonsic Corrigan—the only trouble being she was his first cousin! Catherine died in 1910, and is buried in Vernon River R.C. Cemetery beside her husband. The grave is marked with a fine stone. Gussie and Phonsic applied for a dispensation so they might marry. Phonse went overseas in the first great war and when he returned in 1918 he found that the dispensation applied for, had not been granted. At that point he sold the farm to Bill Doyle, also a descendent of James and Margaret Lacey. After selling the farm, Phonsic went to visit his brother Andy in California. On his return he discovered that his dispensation had been granted about 1921. He and Gussie then married and bought a lovely fruit farm in Georgetown Royalty a former property of Captain McPhec, and grew apples and cherries, mainly for the market in Newfoundland. They were unable to make a go of it, however, and eventually Gussie died in the Chariottetown Hospital while Phonsic suffered the same fate at the Provincial San a few years later. THE FARM OF JOHN AND CATHERINE CORRIGAN, VILLAGE GREEN (Later the farm of BUI Doyle, son of James Doyle and Margaret Hogan) Footnote: This story about Gussie and Pbonsie departs front the original idea of concentrating upon the lives of the twelve children of James and Margaret Lacey. Readers might find it interesting nevertheless, there not being much information on their parents. 36 pvc PETER DOYLE, Fourth Child of James Doyle and Margaret Lacey Peter was born Apr. 26, 1836. One of his baptismal sponsors was Catherine Doyle, probably the lady who sold the lease for Doylcs Point to his fatherjames. This was also the year that the Doylcs moved to the Point. Peter, when he was eleven, may have heard older members of his family talking about a ship called the Lady Constable that came into Charlottetown 1 larboron May 21 st, 1847. This ship left Ireland carrying 444 people fleeing the potato famine. Unfortunately, many of those aboard became infected with typhus fever, twenty-five died on the voyage to P.E.I, and at least another eight died after she reached harbor. The chief way of socializing in those days was [ visiting neighbors and talking for hours. Irish news would always be of interest [to the early Doylcs. -O^ />c^ s?*1^ ^■Sie* » «• - .— As a boy Peter would have also seen sailing ships moving up and down the lillsborough River past the Point. By about 1850 he would have seen his first tcamer. Like the Doylcs who lived on the Point after him, he probably did omc waterfowl hunting, perhaps fashioning decoys out of mud and seaweed, and hunting with a muzzle-loader. The marsh seemed to play a big part in the ivcsof this family, providing food, banking for the house, and fertilizer for the lelds, as well as recreation. 37 Peter had moved away from the farm by about 1860. He married Helen Neil, daughter of James Neil and Mary Murphy in September of 1863, two months prior to his father's death. Like his brother Pierce before him, he opened a tavern. His establishment was on Richmond St., across from where the Confederation Center is now located. Since this was not a lucrative business, he tried his hand as a house roofer as well. Among other roofing jobs, he worked on a Chariottctown house in October of 1866 (at that time the home of Dr. Mackicson), which is still standing at 238 Pownal Street. (Rogers 195) In all probability, Peter helped to fight the fire of July 1866 which destroyed many of Charlottetown's wood frame buildings. After he had worked for a few years he had accumulated enough money to open a boarding house at, or very near, his tavern location, "next door to Fowl and Darrach's on Richmond St." (The Cbarlottetown Herald, June 20, 1883) A picture of the row of buildings in which the inn and tavern was located is found in the photo section. Peter was a member of the B.I.S. from 1870 to 1874. While a member, he attended many meetings and was always vocal. He is on record as having moved and seconded many motions. He probably had a bit of an Irish temper as well. The minutes of the annual meeting of 1874, record the following; "Before the meeting was adjourned, some dispute arose and Peter Doyle left the hall [saying] to strike off his name and that he would no longer be a member of the Society." (B.I.S. Minutes) In November of 1876 Peter borrowed $1000.00 from another merchant named James Currie in the form of what was called a chattel mortgage. Because the documents survived, we know what his possessions were at that time at the dwelling on Richmond St. Some of the items were one stud horse, (black color), one horse (black color), one cow, one wagon, one driving sleigh, two buffalo robes, two sets of driving harness, one set cart harness, six metal dish covers, plus stoves, bedsteads, lounges, towel horses, pictures, extension tables and many other items one would expect to find in a boarding house. (Chattel Mortgage # 2386 November 9, 1876.) We don't know why Peter needed the money, perhaps to pay off old bills or to modernize the boarding house. Peter and Helen had five children baptized between the time they were married and January of 1871. Much more than this we don't know. Peter died April 25,1878, one day before his forty-second birthday. Members of the B.I.S. "in regalia" attended his funeral on the 27th. He was buried in the Roman Catholic Cemetery on Longworth Avenue. The following year his family appeared on an 1879 St. Dunstan's parish census as follows: Mrs. Peter Doyle [Helen] 27, Boarding house, Richmond St.; James P., 14, St. Patrick's; Margaret, 12, St. Joseph's, Catherine, 9, St. Joseph's; Theresa Kchoe, 23- An interesting note: if Helen Doyle's age is correct on this census, then she married when she was eleven! 38 On February 20, 1884 a fire destroyed a row of buildings which had included Peter's boarding house. Where the family went to live then is only [peculation. The only trace of them that I have found after 1879 is James Peter, the oldest boy, at the St. Peter's home of his uncle L.P. Doyle in 1891. The 1891 Census listsjames P. as the nephew of L.P. and lists his occupation as a "ccaler." word perhaps should be "Sealer", that is one who hunts seals. James Peter d in Charlottetown Hospital in 1896. (.Charlottetown Herald, April 8, 896.) JAMES & DOYLE (Jini or "Big Jim" also known as Red Jim, or The Red Irishman) Fifth Child of James Doyle and Margaret Lacey Jim, the third son, lived on the home place, and died relatively recently—July 1922. More is therefore known about him, and hence his story is somewhat longer and intertwines with that of the others. James B. Doyle was born July 28, 1838 at Mermaid, two years after his family moved there. At that time the family lived in the log house, and in addition to babyjim, other children in the family would be Margaret (9)[ycars], Pierce (5), Catherine (4), and Peter (2). Jim was destined to be a farmer, and to live out most of his life on the farm where he was born. When his father died in 1863, Jim became head of the farming operation. His parents had accomplished much since their voyage from County Wexford. They had raised twelve children, all of whom seemed to know the importance of hard work and caring about others. Jim was twenty-five in 1863 when he inherited all of the farm except for twenty acres near the shore. That twenty acres had been willed to his mother until she should die. Jim did not marry until 1876 when he was thirty-eight, his bride twenty-one. The couple would have fourteen children over a period of 22 years. To help him on the farm immediately after his father died, he had brothers William and Moses and sisters Catherine and Elizabeth. The two youngest ^Children, Annie and John, would not be of much assistance for a while. Mary, ken eighteen, may have suffered from a mental illness. The Charlottetown Conference, the year following the death of James, would have caused some increased business for Peter and his new wife Helen (nee Neil) in their tavern and boarding house, as would the grand circus ■vhich visited Charlottetown that summer. It is probable, however, that life at 'Doyles Point that summer was little altered by the festivities. Jim or his mother may have received word from Piery in Summersidc telling that he was doing fine as a carpenter and that he and his wife Johanna had a new daughter Margaret. At this time Piery was building a house at 89 Summer Street for fThomas Crabbe, a local merchant. A memorable event for the young family occurred in the winter of 1864. On March seventh, the old chapel from St. Andrews was hauled down the ice from Mt. Stewart to Charlottetown. Five hundred men, both Protestants and 39 Catholics, and one hundred and twenty horses were used to pull the chapel past Doyles Point to Charlottctown.(MacDonald 55) We can imagine Jim and perhaps William and Moses, getting into a sleigh to head up river to watch and lend a hand when needed. The women probably brought hot food out to the workers. Help was certainly required when the chapel went through the ice at Apple Tree Wharf that evening. There it remained on the bottom until the following day. It is very probable that shelter might have been offered to some of the weary workers that night at the Doyle farm. (Many spent the night sitting by open fires along the shore.) At four the next morning Rev. Angus MacDonaid left Charlottetown with a large number of men and headed to the site of the sunken chapel. Lots of neighboring men lent a hand. It is a safe bet that James was among them, probably with his young brother William along as well. History tells us that at four p.m. that day they managed to get the chapel on the ice again and then hauled it to Charlottetown. (MacDonaid 56) One of the men with a team of horses was Dougald Macdonald from Peakes Station. His daughter Ellen Zita, would marry John, the son of Jim Doyle. Did Jim and Dougald meet for the first time during that event? One Sunday morning in July of 1866 when the family was rising for Mass, someone, perhaps returning from barn chores, would likely have yelled to awaken the others. The shout of alarm was because of an unusual sight in the sky over Charlottetown. Huge clouds of black smoke were rising from the city. This was the most disastrous of the fires which ravaged Charlottetown in the nineteenth century. Fires were inevitable in a town with so many wooden structures. Mass may have been forgotten as the men got into a boat and rushed to the aid of their friends in the city, includingjims' brothers Moses, Peter, and possibly Lawrence and William. Although the people fought the fire bravely, bucket brigades and hand pumps were no match for that inferno. The following is a brief description of that fire. Four city blocks were laid waste by a disastrous fire set, it was thought, by an incendiary. The Charlottetown Herald described the blocks the fire had ravaged: '...nothing remains to tell that they were ever inhabited, except blackened timber, smoldering ruins, and long rows of desolate, naked chimneys.' (Rogers 13) In the summer of 1870 Jim may have received news from brother Piery in Summerside telling James that he had recently completed a new convent and that he had more work than he could handle moving houses into Summerside. Jim perhaps replied that Lawrence Patrick and his wife had a new son born in January and that their sister Catherine had married John Corrigan and moved to Village Green. Their brother Moses seemed to be doing okay as a painter in Charlottetown. Between the years 1871 and 1874 Jim's brothers Moses and William and his sister Elizabeth all married. The family was saddened to hear of the death 40 of Moses in Charlottctown in October of 1875. By that time there was a good school at Fullertons Marsh according to the annual school report. Schools had been present in Lot 48 since 1834, so the children of James and Margaret Lacey probably learned to read and write, unlike their parents. In February of 1876, the family members assembled to celebrate the wedding of their brother Jim to Margaret Hogan. The bride was the daughter of Roderick Hogan and Mary Joy from South Shore (Lot 65). This wedding was held at St. Dunstan's Cathedral on February 15. It was a good time to have a wedding because the relatives of both bride and groom could travel across the frozen rivers to get easily and relatively quickly to town (the rough equivalent of a modern paved road). In addition, farm life was at a much reduced rate. The wedding guests would probably have returned to the home of the Hogans for a long night of eating, drinking and dancing. Someone would have had the foresight to run off the necessary quantity of moonshine. More than one wife might have to scold her husband into going home in the wee hours, (just when he was beginning to have fun!). Liquor was a curse to many of the Irish on P.E.I. For that reason there was a strong temperance movement among the Irish of P.E.I, at that time. It is equally possible, therefore, that the only alcohol available was to be had outside at someone's sleigh in the yard. I sus¬ pect that the Island tradition of keeping the drinks in the kitchen rather than in the front room may have stemmed from the temperance movement. In 1877 Jim and Margaret had their first child Moses Albinus. He was probably named after Jim's brother Moses, who had died two years earlier in Chariottetown. Unfortunately the young Moses died as an infant. In April of B878 a second child, Leo Albinus, was born, later that same month, Jim received word from Charlottctown of the death of his brother Peter. About this time a two-story house was moved on the ice from Mt. Herbert to replace the old log house, which would soon be converted into an outbuilding. My uncle Frank Doyle recalls that this house was called the "Pippy House". This event probably occurred between 1881, when a Pippy house appears on the Lot 48 ■nap in the 1880 Meacbams' Atlas and the completion of the Fullerton's Marsh bridge in 1884. We can imagine the excitement of the family at the prospect of moving into a new two-story house with a stone foundation under it, after living in a log house for so long. The previous fall, the hole would have toeen dug for the cellar and enough rock gathered for a foundation. The occupants of the farm on Doyles Point at that time and their ages were as follows: James (Jim) Doyle, aged 42 (Farmer); Margaret Doyle, aged 25 (Margaret 41 THE -PIPPY" HOUSE Hogan); Leo Albinus Doyle, aged 3; Margaret F. Doyle, aged 70 (Margaret Lacey); Anne Doyle aged 26; John Doyle aged 25(Carpentcr); Mary Doyle, aged 36. In February of 1882 my grandfather John James was born to Jim and Margaret. He remembered well stories of the house being transported on the ice, and it seemed a story important for him to tell. Jim's brother Piery may have lived with them for periods of time while building the Fullerton's Marsh Bridge in 1883-84. They may have had a visit from their brother William, who had recently begun operation of a furniture factory in Mt. Stewart. (William may have found it convenient to travel to Charlottctown, by boat or horse and sleigh, on the Hillsborough River, especially since his brother lived along the river.) Jim and Margaret had a new daughter christened Augusta May on March 10, 1883. On January 1, 1884, Jim and his mother had a legal agreement drawn up. Margaret (Lacey) agreed to give up all of the Point property willed to her by her husband, in exchange for a yearly rent of eighty dollars to be paid to her until her death. The rent was to be paid in quarterly payments of $20 with an additional $30 payment at her death to cover funeral expenses. (Queen's County conveyance # L19 F921) This agreement allowed her to move to Charlottetown with her own unmarried children, Annie and John. It is believed that her daughter Mary was committed to Falconwood at that time. Thus Jim and Margaret and their children John and May were left alone on the farm. This situation had the advantage of privacy but disadvantages from a labor viewpoint. It is probable that Leo Albinus died that year. 42 In the early hours of February 20, 1884 another major fire ravaged Charlottctown. We can imagine the concern of our ancestors living on the Point for their neighbors in Chariottetown. The men may even have "hitched up* and raced to town to lend a hand. We shall now depart those living on Doyles Point and will rejoin them in good time. & [ELIZABETH, Sixth child of James Doyle and Margaret Lacey Elizabeth was bom in Octoberof 1840, her baptism sponsors being Patrick Doyle and Johanna Doyle. While living on the farm as a child, she may have taken great delight in swimming in, and rowing the boat across Fullerton's Creek to visit neighboring children, as did Doyles of the next generation. When Elizabeth was thirty-four she married Angus Walker from the neighboring parish of Ft. Augustus. Angus was the son of John Walker and Effie MacDonald. By 1878, Angus and Elizabeth, or "Lizzie* as she was called, had a home of their own on what was then known as Bishop's Lane in Charlotte- town. This street was later called Bishop Street. On November. 13th, 1879 Angus and Lizzie went to St. Dunstan's Cathe¬ dral and "stood for" the Baptism of Margaret Gertrude, the new daughter of Jim Doyle and Margaret Hogan. This was i somewhat a reciprocal performance 'for them, since the previous March, Jim and Margaret had been the baptis- [mal sponsors for Clara Ann Lauretta ■Lottie), third daughter of Angus and [Elizabeth Walker. Angus was a very kind man and [full of fun, and also quite musical. It is [interesting to think of the family, which consisted of three girts and two boys kitting around the house listening to ■heir father play the fiddle. As they "*" grew older they probably danced to A/l AC*\~\ I MFDV ! his music at local dance halls. His fid- L _ _ _ ^ ' Idle was probably heard often at the Doyle homes as he was a good friend of both Jim and William. A carpenter [by trade, Angus is so listed in the 1881 ■Census. He must have been very tal- lented with his hands, since he was Bcnown to make fiddles, something Founders, Engineers £ Machinists, Steam Navigation Co.'s. Whari. Minuiinutm of STEAMBOAT, MILL t FARM B«o; rqaifpni vitfc REPAIRS Promptly Attended 4 3 which would require considerable skill. By 1887 Angus was working for Bruce Stewart and Company Foundry, as a pattern maker, a job merited by only the most skilled carpenters. He worked there until his death on April 12, 1925. Sometime between 1891 and 1896 Angus and Li2zie took into their home Lizzie's mother Margaret Laccy, who had lived for some time with her son John and daughter Annie on Malpcquc Road. On December 27,1896 Margaret Doyle nee Laccy died at the home of Angus and Lizzie Walker 5 Bishop Street. She had been born in Ireland in 1811 and died at the age of eighty-six. Margaret outlived her husband by thirty-three years, and outlived her sons Peter, William, Moses, and Pierce. The most probable location of the grave is the Roman Catholic graveyard near Birchwood. Although the Cemetery near St. Pius X had been opened in 1884, she would have, in all likelihood, been buried with her husband. The following Christmas Lizzie and Angus had another funeral. Thcir twenty-two year-old daughter Gertrude died at their home on Christmas morning. Her cause of death we do not know. Angus had the sad task of purchasing a family plot at the graveyard in Park dale on Christmas day (plot* 278). Four of the family arc buried there, although no stone is present. Shortly after that, the family moved to 1 Orlebar Street. The following poem appeared in the Examiner two days after Christmas. Dearest Gertie thou has left us And thy loss we deeply feel But t'is God that has bereft us He can all our sorrows heal Yet again we hope to meet thee When the day of life has fled When in Heaven with joy to greet thee Where no farewell tears are shed Elizabeth (Doyle) Walker died August 9, 1914. •»■> Syc LA WHENCE PATRICK, Seventh child of James Doyle and Margaret Lacey Lawrence Patrick, later to be known as "L.P." Doyle, was the seventh Doyle child born at the Point. I could find no record of his baptism, but other documents confirm that he was indeed one of the twelve children of James Doyle and Margaret Lacey and was born in 1844. Lawrence left the farm when he was about twenty. He learned the blacksmith trade, possibly in the West River area, or perhaps from his uncle Pierce Lacey in Charlottetown. Lawrence married a Lot 65 giri, Mary Ann Currie, on Feb.2, 1869. She was the daughter of John Currie and Elizabeth MacDougall. Witnesses at the wedding were William Doyle and Catherine Currie, siblings of the bride and groom. By 1871 Lawrence had a home on Kent St. in Charlottetown and was working as a blacksmith. Moses, his 21 year old brother, was living in Charlottetown and working as a painter. Another brother, Peter, was operating a tavern on Richmond Street at that time. The three brothers probably met regularly, perhaps at Peter's tavern. The brothers and their wives probably greeted with a mixture of hope and scepticism, the idea of P.E.I, joining Confederation in 1873. At least the Island's railway debt was be¬ ing assumed by the Government of Canada which should help p.E.I.'s economy. In 1885 Lawrence purchased a property in St. Peters Bay, on the north side of the bridge for one 'thousand and fifty dollars. There he spent most of his working life as a blacksmith and wheelwright. He and his wife Mary Ann probably came to St. Peters about 1875, based on the fact that their first three children were baptized in Charlottetown. L.P. had a hard life in many ways. He and Mary Ann had five boys but lost two tragically to scarlet fever. The following notice appeared in the newspaper Island Argus June 13, 1876. AC " At St. Peter's Bay, on the 2nd inst. of Scarlet Fever, Adolphus L.F. aged 7 months and 4 days; and on the 3rd inst. Francis Lewis, aged 3 years and 1 month beloved children of Lawrence and Mary Ann Doyle." What a tragedy to befall a young family! (Having recently attended a funeral for a young child in St. Peters, I can imagine the sorrow there would be in that household at the time.) Two small white stones marking their graves still stand in the St. Peters graveyard, near those of their parents. (Although the boys were buried next to their parents, the stones were mistakenly arranged incorrectly when the graveyard was renovated to make grass cutting easier.) L.P. was a well respected member of the community and a fine craftsman, sculpting in metal, and making forks for mussel mud as well as regular blacksmith fare. He was a farrier too, no doubt, and loved horses always having at least one. Lawrence Patrick is not to be confused with Lawrence Doyle the poet and songwriter, who lived on the Fortune Road. This is probably how the nickname "LP." arose, to avoid confusing two men living in the same area and having the same name. He was reputed to have a bit of a temper at times. In a book called Tbe Farmer-Poet, the following appears. "Wilfred Larkin compared him [Lawrence the poet] one time to the other Lawrence Doyle—Lawrence P. Doyle, the St. Peters black¬ smith—who, he said was 'short on the grain, .... easily insulted'..." The 1881 Federal Census for St. Peters provides us with this description of this Doyle family. Doyle, Lawrence Blacksmith R.C. Residence 41 [Lot 41] NAME SEX AGE NATIVITY Doyle, Lawrence male 39 P.EJ. Doyle Mary Ann female 39 P.E.I. Doyle John male 11 P.E.I. Doyle Joseph M. male 9 P.E.I. Doyic George F. male 2 P.E.I. McWade Timothy male 20 P.E.I. Eight years after his two boys died and a year before he purchased the property on which he worked, L.P. had another shock when his wife, Mary Ami, died. Died at St. Peters Bay March 3rd 1884. Mary Ann (Curric) Doyle, wife of Lawrence Patrick Doyle in the 46th year of her age. She was attended in her last hours by his Lordship Bishop Maclntyrc, who administered the last Sacraments of the Catholic Church. He also celebrated high Mass at her funeral and pronounced the last words over her remains. (From a family paper provided by Kathleen Doyle of Georgetown and Charlottetown, and granddaughter of L.P.) The Daify Examiner says"... She 46 was an amiable and pious woman and her death is deeply regretted by friends ind acquaintances." (March 10, 1884) Present at the graveside, overlooking St. Peters Bay, were Mary Ann's brother ames, and LP.'s brothers, Pierce and William. The Doyle men had probably ravelled on the train together from Summerside and Breadalbane respectively. Two years after that, L.P. married a lady from the Souris area, Ellen Mullally. rhis marriage took place September 7, 1886 in Souris. They had no children. By 1891 John James Ernest, twenty-one, was working as a railway fireman and would eventually work his way up to chief engineer. Joseph, then nineteen, was working with his father as a blacksmith. Their youngest son George was only twelve and therefore not working. George would eventually take over the forge. Ernest moved to Georgetown and continue to work with the railway. Also living with them at that time was a nephew, James P. Doyle. James was the son of Peter Doyle, brother of L.P., who died in Charlottetown in 1878. Young James may have lived with L.P.'s family until his untimely death in the Charlottetown Hospital on April 2, 1896. He died of tuberculosis, then called "consumption", and was buried in the St. Peters Church cemetery on April 4, 1896. L.P. and Ernest were present at the burial. Gradually, more and more of the blacksmith work was being done by L.P.'s son George. L.P. purchased a large house on the South side of the Bay with seven acres of land. At this time he kept busy by driving the mail and breeding and racing horses. In conversation with Jean and Colin Mac Donald, children of Dr. Roddie MacDonald, I learned the following. Colin: "Frank Jay, from Morell, whose father was a blacksmith came to St. Peters after the first war and took over the forge. George was dead then. [George died in 1927 in western Canada]. The first twenty-five cents I ever earned 1 earned from L.P. for a day's work. It was about 47 1910 or 1912.1 was fourteen years old. LP. had a little farm in back a mile or so, near the end of the Anderson Road - a big field in the middle of the woods. L.P. sowed the oats and I came behind with the horse and harrow. It was good pay; at that time men were getting a dollar a day." Jean: "LP. drove the rural delivery mail. He had a buggy with a closed in front to keep out the rain." Colin: "He always had horses, particularly a stallion he kept for breeding purposes. Behind his house he had a high board fence. Must have been ten feet high. When us boys saw a man bringing a mare to LP.'s we'd go and peck through the cracks in the fence. (They both have a good laugh.) Jean: "Boys were the same then as they are now." Colin: "I guess LP. had a bit of a temper. One time when a marc wouldn't stand still L.P. said to her owner * God damn it man hold her steady or she'll lose her jump.' The boy peering through the fence next to me pissed his pants he laughed so hard." Jean: "Every time I went there Mrs. Doyle gave me sugar cookies. She was very kind." Colin: "She was a big woman with a wide behind. In those days they wore dresses that made them look even wider." Jean: "She used to buy gold-eye needles from me." When asked where she got the needles, Jean said "It was a gimmick. If you sold so many you got a prize. When you went into a house sometimes they would ask if you were selling anything. You wouldn' t say anything, j ust look at the floor. After a while they would buy some. They probably never used them." L.P. liked racing horses at the track at St. Peters. He also got quite deaf in his old age. According to Dr. Philip Doyle, his grandson, they used to blow a bugle to begin a horse race prior to the time of the moving starting gates. The horses would line up as best they could and when the starter thought things were right, he would blow the bugle. Some times there would be a false start and the bugle would sound again. Apparently LP. couldn't hear the second bugle and went completely around the track in his excitement to win the race. The following article appeared in thcDaity Examiner, Aug. 2,1892, and shows that horses were a big part of L.P.'s life: A correspondent at St. Peter's Bay reports: — "Mr. LP. Doyle, of St. Peter's Bay disposed of his beautiful gelding Barney D. for a handsome figure, Mr. Oliver Mason, the popular horse buyer, being the pur¬ chaser. Barney D. is well known among the sporting class in the country. In the three minute class at the opening of the Souris Driving Park last season, he captured the second place from a large field of fast horses making an exciting fight for the first place with the celebrated trotting stallion Neptune Lee record 2.38. Barney D. is a silky bay with black points, standing 16 hands weighing 1050 pounds, and a perfect picture in harness. Mr. Mason's many friends in this locality, wish him every success with his valuable prize, for it is one which he may well feel proud oflsic].' L.P. did quite well for himself considering his humble beginnings at Doyles Point in 1844. He died September 14, 1914 at St. Peters Bay at the age of seventy. He was buried in the family plot beside his two young boys and his first wife Mary Ann Currie. A stone marks the site. Like other members of this family, his children are outlined at the end of this work. MARY DOYLE, Eighth child of James Doyle and Margaret Lacey Mary was born the latter pan of June 1845. She was baptized at St. Dunstan's Cathedral, the sponsors being William "ahohnam"[sic] (Monaghan?) and Elizabeth Mervin. In 1881 she was living on the farm and listed as having no infirmities. Mary lived on the farm at Doyles Point with her family until about 1887 when her mother moved off the farm to Charlottetown. Mary would have been forty-two at the time of the move. It was probably at that time, that she was committed to Falconwood Hospital. She doesn't appear in the 1890 R.C. Census or the 1891 federal census living with her mother, sister Annie, and brother John. More than that we cannot say. Many records for this hospital were destroyed in a fire and it is virtually impossible to get access to any which do exist after 1900. One cannot help but wonder about reasons for her confinement. Did she have a congenital condition like Down's Syndrome, or perhaps something which developed later in life, such as Alzheimer's disease or schizophrenia? FALCONWOOD HOSPITAL AS LT WAS IN MARY'S TIME Did she ever stand on the front lawn of Falconwood, with tears in her eyes, Staring across the water? Her home at Doyles Point was quite visable from that vantage point. Mary died at Falconwood in 1928 aged 84, having spent the last half of her life confined there. She was buried in the family plot of her youngest brother ■ohn, in Cem.3, near St. Pius X Church, in Parkdale. 49 WILLIAM DOYLE, Ninth child of James Doyle and Margaret Lacey William was born to James and Margaret in September of 1847. He was baptized in Charlottetown by Rev. Malachy Reynolds, sponsors being William Feivcr and Bridget Donahoc. He grew up on the farm living in the log house all of the time he was there. William certainly seems to have been there at the time of his father's death in November of 1863 since he is mentioned in the will. He would have been sixteen at that time. "I order that my sons William and John shall have clothing and schooling until they arc able to do for themselves.... To my son William, when he comes of age, I bequeath the sum of twenty pounds.."(Wills, to16, pg.314) In 1871 William was living in Charlottetown and working as a block maker— a skilled woodworker who, among other things, made blocks, as in "block and tackle." Craftsmen with these skills were particularly important in the days of sailing ships, where so many were used in a ship's rigging. Others were used to raise heavy objects in warehouses, on farms and to load and unload ships. Sailing ships were beginning to fade from the scene by the 1870's, because of the introduction of steam power. Skilled carpenters, however, were still in high demand. In October of that year, William married Margaret Evans, daughter of shoemaker Patrick Evans and his wife Mary Collins who lived and worked at the comer of Dorchester and Weymouth Streets. To join in the celebration with them were William's brother Moses, and Helen Evans—probably the sister of the bride. William and Margaret had nine children the first of whom, Mary Adelaide, was born in Charlottetown in December of 1872. William got CHARLOTTETOWi.- DIRECTOHY Steam Furniture Factory, MOUNT STEWART, P. E. ISLAND WIIXIAM DOYLE. *■ PROPRIETOR Furniture Manufactured in First-class Stule. Planing: Sawing & Turning of Every Description Executed on tho most nituonablu tonns. JS- 1UMC THE sWMES.I _« Mount Stewart, P. E. Island so Elizabeth "Lizzie" Doyle (1840-1914) Angus Walker (1843-1925) Lawrence Patrick Doyle (1844-1914) William Doyle (1847-1895) jla*—i2x**l* Pierce "Piery" Doyle (1833-1914) James "Jim" Doyle (1838-1922) This church, the old wooden cathedral of St. Dunstan's Parish in Charlottetown, was built in 1843 and served the parish until the first stone cathedral was completed in 1907. This row of buildings on Richmond Street known as "Cheapside" housed Peter Doyle's boarding house. The exact building is not known, but it is probably one of the two on the far right. ivind of an opportunity in Mt. Stewart in 1877 and moved to that area. By 1881 ic had a steam-powered saw mill and furniture factory in operation. "Mt. tewart Notes Mr. Doyle has broken up the monotony, that so long reigned after a thorough repair) by getting his steam saw mill and cabinet factory into iill operation."(The Examiner, Jan. 24, 1880) The above ad appeared in the Charlottetown Directory about 1880. This umiture factory and mill did not work out for William. His decision to leave nay have been based upon a general decline in the economy of the Mount ewart area, as the shipbuilding industry faded. In 1880 the family had a home in Mt. Stewart and the 1881 Federal Census describes the family as follows: Doyle William 30 Block and Pump Maker R.C. Lot 37 Doyle Margaret 30 wife both born P.E.I. Doyle Mary A. 8 born P.E.I. Doyle James 6 born P.E.I. Doyle William 4 born P.E.I. Doyle Arthur P. 1 born P.E.I. Doyle John 22 Cabinetmaker born P.E.I. McWade Arthur 40 born P.E.I. Phae Sarah 21 born P.E.I. The reader will notice that the ages in census do not always correspond to those calculated from birthdates, or baptismal dates appearing in church records. This is due to a number of factors, including enumerator's errors and people giving erroneous information to the enumerator, perhaps to \appear younger.' In 1885 William took advantage of another opportunity, possibly on the advice of his brother Piery. He purchased 76 acres of land and a sawmill in Breadalbanc in that year from John Gillis, and the family went to live there, going to church at Kcllys Cross. There they remained. A child, Catherine Margaret must have died as an infant. Also the couple lost two boys, Lawrence Waltham, on Jan. 15, 1886 and Walton, on May 30, 1887. In 1891 the family consisted of William 43, Margaret 43, Ada (Mary Adelaide) 18, James Edward 16, William Millwood 13, Pierce P. (Moses Peter) 12, Arthur Patrick 9, John Emmctt 7, Chcchuc Minnc[sic], domestic (probably k Chinese servant). William and his family ran a sawmill and also did some farming. They sawed logs into boards for farmers and also made tobacco boxes for the Charlottetown firm of Hickey and Nicholson. Hughie Buchanan, an elderly resident of Breadalbanc, was living in the senior citizens home in Hunter River when I spoke to him November 4,1990. Hughie had this to say about the Doyles: I remember some of the younger Doyles. Their mill was located about one quarter mile from the village on the Elliot River just before it converged with the Dunk [river]. They used to make tobacco boxes 51 and had built a siding for loading and unloading things from the railway. My father used to unload mussel mud from that siding. The Doyle land lay on both sides of the railway twenty acres or so being on the far side. CHEW RICKEY'S BLACK TWIST — THE BEST CHEW Hickey & Nicholson Tobacco Co. Ltd. Phone 345 Charlottetown I remember Millwood, Emmctt, and a Cheveric girl (Margaret). One time my mother and father were following the road to Kelly's Cross and they found Mrs. Doyle's purse with her beads, money and all. She sure was glad to get it back. The Doylcs had been travelling to Kelly's Cross that day to church. The purse must have fallen out of the wagon. There were two houses and some barns there at the mill site. These were hauled up to the road. The big house is now used as a barn. Millwood and probably Emmett lived in this house. Decoursi [an Italian name], now owns the property and the house and barns near the road. The smaller house is now a few miles from Breadalbane. This was Jim Doyle's house, Cheveric lived there too. It is the first house on the left as you go towards Breadalbane from Highway Two. One of the boys worked for the railroad...had some trouble with his foreman, and left for the States. William died on Thursday July 11, 1895 at his home—which the Doylcs called 'Millstream Cottage"—in Breadalbane at the age of forty-eight. His wife Margaret (Evans) Doyle diedon August 11,1919. She had been born August 12, 1848 and was baptized "Susan" by the parish priest Rev. Malachy Reynolds. (It is not uncommon to find this son of name problem among early records. The child was baptized Susan but was called by her unregistered second name. It is one of the many difficulties encountered by researchers.) William's daughter Mary Adelaide, known as Ada, married William A. Cheveric, on October 17, 1905 at St. Joseph's Church in Kelly's Cross. Witnessing this ceremony were Arthur Doyle and Katie Doyle. The following February, William Chevcrie's sister Mclvina, married Millwood Doyle. This marriage took place at the Basilica in Charlottetown. William Cheverie was station agent at Royalty Junction at the time. He later took a similar job at Mt. Stewart, then at Breadalbane. The attendants at this wedding were Delia Walker, daughter of Angus and Lizzie and Wilfred Bradley of Kelly's Cross. The two couples lived in the same home together first in Breadalbane, and then in Maplewood, near Kelly's Cross. At Maplewood they had a small farm of fifty acres and Millwood had a carpenter shop where he continued to make tobacco boxes for Hickey and Nicholson. The furniture used in this home was built by William Doyle, the father of Millwood and Ada. Millwood farmed for a time at Maplewood but he and Melvina moved to Boston in 1923. William and Ada had one daughter, Margaret (Palmer), who now lives in foston. Millwood and Mclvina had no children. Joe Nantes, of Maplcwood, had an interesting story to tell about dillwood. Millwood and my rather, Johnny Nantes, used to go to Kcllys Cross to play cards at John P. Bradley's. They used to play for five or ten cents a corner and us kids would always ask dad the next day, how much he had won or lost. We'd keep track of it in a scribbler. Sometimes while playing cards they'd have a drink, maybe some moonshine. The ladies would attend on occasion. On one particular occasion Millwood had a little too much to drink and dad had to take him home. When he got Millwood home, his wife Melvina was in bed. My dad counted himself lucky, because—like many men in that situation—he figured that he would be blamed for Millwood's drinking. So, as quicUy as he could, he half-carried the man into the kitchen and plunked him down in a big chair that was there, sneaked out the door, and breathed a sigh of relief. The following day my dad learned the rest of the story. Before going to bed the night before, Millwood's wife Melvina had made a big batch of dough in a very large dishpan-type container. She set the dough on the chair to rise, and Millwood sat in it for the night. During the night the heat from his body helped the dough to rise. Well, you can imagine the scene which greeted his wife when she came down to the kitchen early the next morning! 53 Seven MOSES DOYLE, Tenth child of James Doyle and Margaret Lacey Moses was born in May of 1850 at the family farm in Mermaid. He was baptized at St. Dunstan's old wooden cathedral, built in 1843. His baptism sponsors were Peter Paul and Ann Murganon [sic]. When Moses was sixteen he would have witnessed the fire which destroyed much of the Charlottetown area on July 15, 1866. The 1870-71 directory tells us that he had left the farm, was living in Charlottetown and working as a painter. In September of 1873 Moses married Mary Ann Maclsaac, daughter of Donald Maclsaac and Margaret Curry. At the age of twenty-five Moses died in Charlottetown. We do not know his cause of death. He was buried at the old cemetery near Birchwood on the twenty-first of October 1875. Those attending his funeral were probably his mother, sister Annie, brother John, and wife Mary Ann. His brothers Lawrence and William and their wives Mary Ann and Margaret might also have been there. Mary Ann, the widow of Moses, may be the Mary Ann Doyle who appears in the 1881 Census in Lot 50. If so, she was living at the home of Peter Maclsaac in the Vernon River area with a six-year-old son James. She does not appear identifiably in the 1891 census, as Mary Ann Doyle. Did Moses and Mary Ann have a son? There is no baptism on the Basilica records to indicate that is so. The following baptism docs occur however." Dec. 30,1874,1 baptized James born 26 inst. of unknown parents. Sps [sponsors] Helen Doyle." Was this Helen, the wife of Peter? ANNIE DOYLE, Eleventh child of James Doyle and Margaret Lacey Annie is the most elusive member of this family. She was born in 1855 presumably at the farm in Mermaid and yet there is no record of her baptism at the Basilica, St. Andrews, or St. Patrick's in Fort Augustus. In 1863 Annie (Bridget Ann), then thirteen, is mentioned in her father's will, as being the recipient often pounds. She was definitely living on the farm at the time of the 1881 census. Annie moved to town with her mother and brother John and lived with them until 1891. They lived at 69, and later 110 Malpeque Road. 54 From this point Annie is a mystery. She may be the Annie Doyle who narricd Simon Wooldridgc on July 12,1892 inTracadie. If so, she is buried at Corran Ban. She may also be one of a number of Annie Doyles buried in Charlottetown since that time, none of whom 1 could verify as being our Annie. OHN DOYLE, rwclft h child of James Doyle and Margaret Lacey was the youngest of the children of James Doyle and Margaret Lacey. Born 1856, John was seven when his father died. He lived on the farm with the family until the time his mother moved to town. John must have had some training in carpentry early in his life since he is listed as a carpenter at the age of twenty-three, while still living at home. This makes one think that old James, John's father, may well have been the James Doyle, carpenter, who came out from Dublin via Newfoundland on the ships the Concord and the Kitty. Pierce certainly did well as a carpenter, as did William. We can imagine that the boys got some early instruction on the farm in how to properly use a level and a plumb bob. When my mother (Isabelle Daley) lived on the "old place" there was a lot of old furniture, some of which was probably made by the Doyles. My aunt Margaret (Doyle) Campbell remembers two old cradles, one of which was made of cherry wood, which were discarded when her family moved to Charlottetown. John probably went to town to work occasionally while he was a young man, gaining both skill and some much needed money for the family. John would have witnessed the fire of 1866 and also probably gained some work because of it—a circumstance which would repeat itself later in his life. Sometime between 1881 and 1887, John moved to Charlottetown where he lived with his mother and sister Annie. The federal census of 1891 calls John a "house carpenter". He was destined to remain such throughout his life. William Shama, a grocer who lived near John, says "John worked for himself. He never worked for a contractor. You called him if you wanted a small job done." This is probably generally true, although Frank Doyle says that John worked occasionally for his nephew Leo Doyle, a Charlottetown contractor. A disastrous fire swept through St. John's Newfoundland on July 8th and 9th 1892, burning over half of the city. The business district and most of the homes of the middle class and poorer people were lost. A massive relief effort was mounted both on P.E.I, and other parts of Canada, and in the U.S. The need for carpenters was evident. John probably saw the opportunity both to help the people, and to gain employment. This probably accounts for his move ■here in late 1892 or early 1893. John may have met his future wife, Mary Flynn, on the boat to Newfound¬ land or sent for her after getting a job in St. John's. Mary was the daughter of John Flynn and Johanna Lamphicrc fromTracadic, P.E.I. She was probably the "domestic" listed as living in the home of Michael Trainor in the 1891 census. |Tt is also possible that John and Mary may have met when John was called to fix a couple of sticking doors or to install a lock in the home of Mr. Trainor. 55 These were the kinds of jobs done by house carpenters. They were married at St. John the Baptist Basilica in St. John's Newfound¬ land on Sept. 23rd, 1893 by Rev. John Scott. Their address while in St. John's was Long's Hill. In 1894 their first daughter, Mary Louisa (Louise) was born. Baptism sponsors were Anastatia [sic] Murphy and William Henderson. In December of 1895, a son was born to them whom they named Ambrose Frederick. Sponsors were James Greenane [sic] and Annie Reardon. They had returned to P.E.I, by March of 1897. We know this because of the death of thcir youngest child, and only son. "In this city, on the 4th inst., Aged 1 year and 4 months, son of John and Mary Doyle." (Examiner, Saturday March 6,1897) The term "inst." appearing in this notice occurs in many such death notices in the early days. It is short for the Latin instant meaning 'of this month'. As the above notice indicates, John and Mary were living in Charlotteto wn again in March of 1897. They continued to live out their lives in this city. Between 1897 and 1904 John and Mary had three more daughters, Margaret, Frances, and Joan. None of the girls married and except for Joan, all lived at home with their parents. The following is a paraphrased description of the family given to me by Mary Lappin, a relative of Mary Doyle and friend of the family, who used to visit their home at 8 Upper Hillsborough Street. John was a very kind man. Mary was in bed crippled with arthritis for seven years or so before her death. During that time she seldom left her room. Louise, was a 'humpback', (She had severe curvature of the spine, [Kyphosis]). She and her father were very chummy and she thought the world of him. Louise looked after all the cooking and cleaning. She used to go to Mass every morning. Louise and the other girls were very kind to their mother while she was sick. They used to go to sec her in her room as soon as they got home from work each day and fill her in on the news. Frances worked at the Guardian office, and Margaret worked at Stern's Laundry. Josephine (Joan) worked in a clothing store in St. John, New Brunswick. John died on November 30,1936, the last of the family of James Doyle and Margaret Laccy, Irish immigrants, who settled in Mermaid one hundred years before. A notice in the Patriot reads as follows. Friends will learn with regret of the sudden passing of John Doyle, aged 80 years, this morning at his residence, 8 Upper Hillsborough St. The deceased, who was well known as a first class carpenter, retired from active work some five years ago, living quietly. He was about as usual each day and this morning after partaking of breakfast complained of feeling unwell and passed away before a doctor could be secured. He leaves to mourn the loss of a kind and loving father, three daughters Louise, Mary[sic], and Frances of this city and Joan of St. John N.B. (November 30, 1936) As was the custom in those days, someone had to "sit up" with the remains until dawn. For some reason the job fell to Margaret (Doyle) Campbell then 56 iixtccn and her brother Frank, then twenty-two. They were not very familiar with John or his family and Marg says that she in particular spent a very scary ght. Not knowing Louise, the presence of a humpbacked person certainly dded to the distress of the young girl. "We sure got out of that scary place at iwn in the morning!" was her final remark about the incident. ^ Gighr RETURN TO DOYLES POINT In the year 1884, the Fullertons Marsh bridge was completed by Pierce Doyle's crew. Living on the Point at that time were Jim, his wife Margaret (Hogan), and their three children Leo Albinus, Margaret Gertrude, John James, and infant Augusta May born that March. Jim's mother and his three siblings John, Annie and Mary, moved to Charlottctown and took up residence at 110 Malpequc Road. It must have been satisfying to Jim to have his own place, with a modern house, and easy access to Charlottetown by the Fullertons Marsh bridge. Margaret Doyle had a teaching licence and probably taught the children to read. This would have been a real change as the previous generation lacked that ability. Margaret also did a great deal of work on the farm. She told of giving birth to a child one morning and helping with the farm work that same evening. Some who knew her say she was a rather stern woman—and tough! The next year, 1885, an epidemic of smallpox struck the Charlottctown area, infecting 119 and killing fifty-three. During the months of November and December, twenty-nine Catholics were buried in the cemetery at Charlottctown with *sp* marked behind their name in the register. The year 1887 was one of financial dealings to obtain final legal ownership to the property. On March 15, Jim and Margaret mortgaged their farm for $ 1200 to Edward Mullen. On April 2, Jim received a "Release of Annuity on the farm" from his mother. This meant that he no longer had to pay her $80/ycar and a further $30 at time of her death to cover funeral expenses. On April 26, Jim obtained a release and assignment of 100 acres from the executors of the estate of Robert Mutch, who had originally leased the Doyle's Point property to John Doyle in 1831. The cost of this release was $551.56, (with fees $605.56). June 21 st of that year James received a deed for the property from the Dominion of Canada, Province of P.E.I. The cost of this deed was $261.36. The farm was then in Jim's name. This was also the year that Charlottctown City Council resolved that City houses should be numbered "that the addresses of our citizens may be more easily found and also that postal delivery may be secured." (Island History Calendar, 1993s) 58 July 4 of 1888 saw Jim's wife Margaret purchasing a graveyard plot (plot* 433) in the new (ccm3) graveyard near St. Pius X Church (Cem#3) for the burial f his infant son James who died at age 6 months. James was one of four children born into this family who died in infancy. Records of burials of two f the children arc not in the church register. This probably means that they were baptized at home and died as infants. It was customary to bury infants within the grave of some previously buried family member. A shallow grave would be dug directly over the earlier grave and the infant interred there. The Canadian Government Census of 1891 describes the Doyles of Lot 48 as follows: NAME SEX AGE R* PBF OCCUPA' R&W M/S Doyal[sic] James M 42 Ire. Farmer yes M Margaret F. F 25 W Ire. yes M Margaret G. F 11 D PEI yes John J. M 9 S PEI yes Augusta M. F 7 D PEI yes Mary A. F 5 D PEI Joseph P. M 2 S PEI R*= Relation to head of household. Note that Doyle was misspelled as Doyal on the census record. Margaret A. Doyle (nee Hogan) is incor¬ rectly recorded as Margaret F. PBF= Place of birth of father. R&W= Read and Write M/S= Married or Single. In the year 1892, the year after their son William was born, we get a unique glimpse at the Doyle farm because of a loan made to Jim Doyle by Patrick Duffy. This was done through lawyer John Tcllish. (Chattel Mortgage #5489) The collateral for the loan of $145 tells us that the animals on the farm were as follows: One old marc color black and foal; One mare 4 yrs old color red; One horse 4 yrs old color red; One poll cow red and white in color; One cow color light red and white; One heifer 2 yrs. old color black and white; One heifer 2 yrs. old color red and white. This was also the year of the catastrophic fire in St. John's Newfoundland, ■im Doyle is listed in the Guardian among the contributors to the massive Irelief fund mounted on P.E.I, to aid the homeless. The large Irish population I in Newfoundland caused Islanders to respond generously. As previously | stated, Jim's brother John went to Newfoundland at that time to work as a I carpenter helping to rebuild the devastated city. In March of 1894, Leo Francis Doyle was born tojim and Margaret (Hogan). I The third Leo born into this family, he was the only one to survive childhood. i It was customary to name a child after an infant who previously died in the family. Leo moved to Charlottetown as a young man. Like many of the Doyles, Ihe was destined to be a carpenter. Leo became a very successful building 59 contractor, erecting many houses and other buildings in the Charlottctown area. He did a lot of work at St. Dunstan's campus and also built the Central Creameries building. Leo was a member of the fourth degree Knights of Columbus and participated in their many activities. He was a man of great faith and like his brothers, he loved to play cards and spend time with his family. In 1894 Jim borrowed $250 from his brother-in-law James Hogan of Cumberland. The following collateral was listed; 4 acres of growing wheat, 12 acres of growing oats, 1 1/2 acres of parsnips, 1 1/4 acres of turnips, 1 marc 5 years old color red, 1 mare 2 years old color red, 5 pigs, 2 mowing machines, one pair of harrows, cart and sleigh, 1 wagon, 1 wheel rake, household furniture,... and all singular other home effects of said James Doyle. (Chattlc mortgage * 580D In July of that year, the Doylcs may have been interested in the sight of the new side-wheeler, the Hillsborough passing the Point on her way to become the Charlottetown to Rocky Point ferry. The vessel was among the last built at Mount Stewart. She was built by Angus MacDonald at Pisquid for the Govern¬ ment of P.E.I, and served in this capacity for the next forty years. The year 1896 saw the beginning of construction of a new Cathedral in Charlottetown to replace the old wooden structure built in 1843. (It would take seven years to complete). Jim's mother died in December of 1897. Born in County Wexford Ireland, Margaret Lacey had spent most of her life in the Charlottetown area. We gain some insight into the home life of the Doyles at this time from a description written by Kathleen, the daughter of Jim and Margaret, who spent most of her adult life in British Columbia with the Sisters of St. Ann. We lived happily in our family circle under the kind and firm guidance of our pious parents. As soon as we could speak, they began our religious education and they instilled in us a deep respect for persons of authority. We were to answer 'Yes, Sir' or 'No, Sir' to our Father's questions and 'Yes, Ma'am' or 'No, Ma'am' to our Mother. Having acquired the habit at a tender age, it became natural to us and we never even thought of shortening our answers to a simple 'Yes' or 'No'. Our family held the members of the clergy and of religious orders in high esteem. It was a great joy, especially for the children, when at Easter time our parents obligingly gave accommodations to a priest. During the evening, the people of the neighborhood would come for confessions and the following morning they performed their Easter duties.... At night, I loved to see my mother and father kneeling near their chairs as I listened to their alternating recitation of the rosary.... kissing the floor three times in honor of the Blessed Trinity. That same night we began that practice which, as far as I know, is perpetuated in my family to this day. 60 According to her "necrology," Kathleen joined the sisterhood of her own ree will with no pressure from her parents. She joined when she was sixteen ind writes that she was "lonesome enough to die" at times in the Novitiate in .achine, Quebec, but decided to stay—and was glad of it. She did a lot of good work in B.C., first teaching at an Indian school in Kamloops, next nursing at St. bseph's Hospital in Victoria. In 1947 Kathleen was named Superior and Administrator at the hospital at Campbell River. She filled a similar position at Emit hers. Sister Kathleen became a victim of Parkinson's Disease in 1956, [which forced her to retire in 1965. Her funeral was held at nine a.m., Christmas Eve, 1969, in Victoria. Sister Kathleen was also quite interested in her ancestry. It was Kathleen's family outline which I used to begin this study. I could however, find no trace of Margaret Lacey being a "countess", which Sister Kathleen had suggested. A story is told of family life around the dinner table when the boys—Bill, Joseph, and John—were present along with their father and, no doubt, other family members. It seems that Bill could be stubborn at times and insisted upon eating with a particular fork, currendy in the possession of his brother John. After complaining for some time, his father told John to pass over the fork to keep the peace. This done, Bill held the fork under his arm while he continued to eat his remaining dinner with the spoon with which he had started. On October 29, 1912 Jim's son John married Ellen Zita MacDonald daughter of Dougald MacDonald and Mary Isabella MacDonald of Pcakes Station. John had lived in Boston for a while, like many young people of P.E.I. While there he had worked as a coachman, taxiing people around Boston with a horse and carriage. The wedding was described in thcCbarlottetown Guardian on Novem- Ibcr 1, 1912 as follows: A very happy event took place in the St. Dunstan's [sic] Church at Peakes Station on Tuesday the 29th of October last when Miss Ellic MacDonald of that place was united in marriage to John Doyle of Mermaid Lot 48, the ceremony was conducted by Rev. Father MacDonald. The bride who was becomingly attired in a suit of Old Rose broadcloth with hat to match, was attended by her sister Elizabeth MacDonald, while Francis Doyle of Charlottctown supported the groom. After the ceremony the bridal party drove to the home of the bride where dinner was served after which they drove to the home of the groom where a large number of friends gathered to receive them and a very enjoyable evening was spent. The numerous and cosdy presents received testify to the esteem in which they arc held in the community. A host of friends extend their heartiest wishes for a happy and successful journey through life. Two of the guests present were Angus and Lizzie. Their wedding gift was rocking chair, probably made for the occasion by Angus. (This chair is now i the possession of my brother Paul and his family). The ncwlywcds resided th John's parents on the farm in Mermaid. 61 Jim Doyle, or "Big Jim" as he was known locally, lived as a farmer in Mermaid and later a hotel keeper in Charlottctown. His picture shows a man with a neatly trimmed beard, balding head, somewhat bulbous nose and broad shoulders seated beside his standing wife in a local photographer's studio. My mother, Isabclle Doyle remembers him walking around the farm about 1920. At that time he had a grey beard and walked with a walking stick. He would have been eighty years old. Harry Wood remembers one time he and Jim Doyle went to Charlottetown to the trial of "one of the Ings boys". When the trial was over Harry andjim went to a restaurant for something to eat. After they had eaten, the waitress asked Jim if he would like dessert. Jim replied" No, the hell with dessert, just bring me a piece of apple pic* Jim and Margaret moved to town about 1914, having lived on the farm for thirty-eight years. Jim was seventy-six at that time. They lived at a variety of addresses, (200 Sydney St., and 200 Kent St., among them) where they managed rooming houses or 'hotels" and at least one livery stable. Jim died on February 26,1922. He resided at 77 Prince Street immediately prior to his death. The following year John Doyle, son of Jim, purchased the farm in Mermaid, on which he was living, from his mother, Margaret A. Doyle, for $600. Margaret is remembered as being a rather stern person. My grandmother, (Mrs. John Doyle), one time attended an auction with her and, after a successful bid (15 cents) on a small tabic, "Nanny" was about to pay for it when her mother-in-law grabbed the money and collected the item. The children remember that when their grandmother came to visit they had to "mind their manners" to an extreme extent. Margaret was a schoolteacher at one time, possibly in Lot 65. She may not have liked the business which might account for her stern demeanor with children. She died at the home of her daughter Gertrude, Mrs. J.B. Hughes, 154 Dorchester Street on June 18, 1943. The following obituary appeared in the Guardian June 24, 1943. The death occurred on Friday June 18th, at the home of her daughter Mrs. James Hughes with whom she resided for some time, of Mrs. James Doyle after a lengthy illness. The late Mrs. Doyle was bom at South Shore, the daughter of the late Roderick and Mary Hogan and removed to this city about thirty years ago. Possessed of a pleasing and friendly disposition, the late Mrs. Doyle enjoyed a large circle of friends who will learn with regret of her passing. The late Mrs. Doyle was a member of the third order of St. Francis for a number of years. She leaves to mourn her passing two daughters, Mrs. J.B. Hughes and Sister Mary Kathleen, Superior of St. Joseph's Hospital Victoria, B.C. and four sons Joseph on the old homestead, William, Village Green, John and Leo of this city. Also surviving are two brothers Richard and Thomas in the United States. 62 The funeral was held from the residence of her daughter on Monday morning where a requiem high mass was celebrated by reverend Father Ayres. The pall bearers were Messcrs Alban Farmer, Thomas McAvinn, J. Agustus MacDonald, John R. Munn, Leo MacDonald, and William MacEachern. Doyles Point was farmed by my Grandfather, John Doyle, from 1914 until 934. At that time his brotherjoscph purchased the farm from him. I remember ny Grandfather as a kind, soft-spoken, quite bald, man with hairy cars and a icaring aid. He wore wire-rimmed glasses, smoked Picobac pipe tobacco, and >ftcn began his sentences with "There", or "Here there". His deafness appar- ntly resulted from a childhood bout with scarlet fever. The only time I can :mcmbcr him raising his voice to us children, was one evening he was uddled up to the T.V., his hearing aid receiver stretched toward the speaker nd tied to his ear by the wire. He was listening to a speech by John Dcifenbaker. I started wrestling with my brother John on the floor of the same loom. Granddaddy put up with it only for so long and then let a roar out of him. There, you youngsters get out of here!" We were so flabbergasted that he uld yell that we crept away without a word. I remember walking the shore at Doyles Point with him carrying a shotgun iping for a "crack at" a duck. Another time it was to get him a feed of oysters. The years that John Doyle and his family lived on the farm are described st by my mother Isabelle (Doyle) Daley, John's daughter. For that reason, I prill now insert an essay which she wrote for Father F.W.P. Bolger the famous Island historian. This story was published, in part, in The Island Magazine #30 Fall/Winter 1991. The reader may expect that previous generations lived in much the same way although much more primitively. 63 N ine MY CHILDHOOD DAYS ON THE FARM When my family was young they frequently asked me to tell them about the *old days". Even though I resented the fact that my little children considered me fairly ancient then, I usually told them stories which seemed to satisfy their curiosity. As my children entered high school and university they sometime suggested to me that I write about my memories of early life on the farm. But I always put it off with a smile as I considered it too time consuming to do. However, at the same time I thought that it would be an idea for the distant future when I would have much more time. Now that I am retired and live alone in an apartment, the hours of every day still seem filled with things to do. My husband died suddenly in 1972. As most people who are in the same situation as I would know, one cannot spend the rest of ones life just sitting and feeling sorry for oneself. We must still go on and use the time, which God has so generously given, to the best of our ability. I am not the type of person who can spend hours in front of the television as many people do today. It is difficult for me to understand how people can do that. I try to live my life and experience it in a richer way by spending time with my children and grandchildren; by doing various types of volunteer work such as teaching catechism, participat¬ ing in parish activities and the charismatic renewal; helping with "Meals on Wheels"; and visiting the elderly and lonely. I decided, after it was suggested to me, to take a couple of courses at the university. Father Bolger's course on Island History was a "must" a person told me. Now I find myself once again pressed for time; wanting to write a term paper and having to sandwich it between my other commitments. However, I shall do my best to describe from memory my first thirteen years of life on the farm. I was born in Mermaid, which is in Queen's County, in 1918. My family's farm bordered on Fullertons Marsh. The tidal waters of the Hillsboro River flowed in and out of the marsh. The house was located very close to the water. In the summertime, whenever the tide was in, it was beautiful and my family often swam or bathed in the water. There was a nice garden between the house and the shore with lilac bushes and apple trees. Fullcrtons Marsh separated our farm from the Hamm and Duffy farms in Bunbury. At low tides one could walk across the flats and mussel beds in the channel to get to a neighbor's in Bunbury. One part of the channel was only about eighteen inches wide. We had a row boat and could row across whenever the tide was in. We spent many hours at the shore. I had two older brothers, Frank and John, and a sister, Margaret who is a year younger than I am. We had a good and faithful collie which was always near whenever we were in the water. I can still see him sitting on the shore with his head erect and watching us. Some¬ times the boys teased him by pretending to push Margaret and me down into the water. The dog would always jump to the rescue. 65 I remember quite vividly the old house with its large kitchen in which there was an old drop leaf wooden table with a bench behind it, a high cupboard for dishes, a lounge, a rocking chair and four straight back chairs. The stove was an Enterprise Iron Duke which bumed either wood or coal. There was a box, which was used for storing whatever fuel we were using at the time, situated against the wall at the end of the stove. It had a hinged cover on it and it made a cozy place to sit sometimes. On the wall above the box was a mantle which held the seven day clock and two kerosene lamps at each side. My dad always kept his straight razor in the clock, which had a full length glass dooron it. The doorwas fastenedon the side by a small brass hook. The clock brings to mind the day that Margaret, who was three years old, was playing with a cousin of ours who was visiting from Boston. They played with a short fishing pole which was located behind a trunk in the back kitchen. It had a short line and a small hook on it. Our cousin played the fisherman dangling the line from on top of the trunk. He asked Margaret to catch the line. As she did, he quickly pulled up the line and consequently, the hook became embedded in her wrist. When my mother saw the situation she sent me out to the yard where dad was working to ask him to come in right away. I remember her telling him when he came in that he would have to "hitch up" and take Margaret in town to sec the doctor. It was a six mile trip. But my father, being a very cool headed person, looked at Margaret's wrist and then went over to the clock, took the razor out and poured boiling water over it. He took her wrist in his left hand and with his right hand he gently performed surgery with the razor to remove the hook. Then he dressed the wound with clean, white cloth, which had been kept especially for emergencies. In no time Margaret was out playing again, but this time it wasn't fishing. The dining room had an oval shaped table and six high backed chairs located in the centre. There was a side board with a mantle on it and a cupboard below. This piece of furniture served as an altar many times when we were very young. My brothers liked to pretend that they were priests saying mass. Although Margaret and I were too young to understand well what they were playing, they asked us to act as their congregation. They gave sermons and distributed white paper hosts at communion time. The parlor was across the hall from the dining room and contained an antique sofa, chairs and two square tables—a wicker table and an 66 oak tabic. The oak tabic was located in the centre of the room and was adorned with what the family considered then a beautiful lamp. It had a large base and globe with a painting of a horse and rider on it. At the bottom of the table was a bible which to my knowledge was never used. The parlor was mainly used whenever company came. Behind the parlor was what we called the back kitchen. It had a high cupboard in it where most of the things used for baking were kept. The flour barrel was also there with a large bake board placed upside down on top of it and covered with a small tablecloth. The cloth hid the barrel well and made it look like a side table. There was also a stove in the back kitchen. I recall that in the winter time it was used as a kitchen since it had more shelter from the north winds. The lounge was brought in from the main kitchen and it was my father's place of rest after completing his daily chores on the farm. One winter the mice moved in the back kitchen and tried to take it over. They gnawed their way in through the bottom of the big cupboard. Although the family fought hard to get rid of them, the mice seemed to have the more powerful army and became very bold, indeed, using the kitchen as a recreation room and having races around the floor staying close to the walls. My brothers often tried to get them with a broom, sometimes with success. If the cat was in a playful mood, he liked to catch them and let them go, and then run after them again until he played them out. At this time my father brought home a couple of mouse traps that could catch four mice at a time. The round traps were about four inches in diameter and one and a half inches in depth with holes spaced around the sides. They were bated and set from the bottom. In the mornings we often found tails of eight dead mice protruding from the round traps. A couple of single traps were also used. The family finally raised the flag of victory. It was not at all uncommon for mice to invade the kitchen now and then, but at this particular time the mice were overwhelming and it was a hard battle to get rid of them. Behind the main kitchen was a large porch and outside that was a large square platform. In the warm weather the washing and churning were done on the platform. When the weather turned cold, this work had to be done in the porch or kitchen. A barrel type churn was used that had a handle which was worked back and forth until the cream turned to butter. The buttermilk was drained off and was kept cither for the family to drink or as feed for the pigs. The butter was then washed until it was certain that no traces of buttermilk existed. Then it was salted, made into prints, and wrapped. Sometimes some of it would be stored in a crock and kept in the cellar, which was usually very cool because the walls were made of clay and stone. There was a corner cupboard in the porch where a supply of homemade soap was kept. I can still smell the soap when I think about the corner cupboard. It wasn't an unpleasant smell—just different. The soap was made from scraps of animal fat which was saved until there was enough to make a batch of soap. I am not sure 67 if there was anything more than fat, Gillets lye and water that was required to make it. I can see my mother standing at the stove stirring the soap, lifting some of it on a wooden stick above the pot, and letting it fall back into the pot thick and syrupy looking. She seemed to know by testing it this way when the soap was ready to come off the stove. It was then poured into a wooden tub and left to cool and set. Then it was cut into squares, lifted out and placed to dry well before it could be used. Wash day was really something that entailed a lot of work and energy. The water had to be pumped and carried into the house, heated on the stove and then emptied into the wash and rinse tubs. Each piece of laundry had to be scrubbed on the wash board, wrung by hand, put into the rinse tub, wrung again by hand and then sometimes boiled in a clothes boiler before it was ready to hang on the clothesline to dry. There was no electricity then so the clothes had to be ironed by flatirons, which were heated on top of the stove. There would be three or four irons heating on the stove at a time. Whenever the iron being used cooled down, it was put back on the stove to reheat. The wooden handle of the cool iron was snapped off and attached to a hot iron. The mens dress shirts had separate collars which were attached by collar buttons. If dad was in a rush to drive to Mass or some other place and he could not find his collar buttons, it would be quite a catastrophe until they were found. St. Anthony must have been overworked in those days, I am sure, with the faithful calling on him in many such situations. Faith was always rewarded and my parents never failed to tell how St. Anthony came to the rescue whenever something was lost. Upstairs there were five bedrooms. The stairs went up from the front hall. One thing that comes to mind when I think about the front hall is the red lamp that hung from a chain and could be lowered by pulling on the ring that was at the bottom of the chain suspension and raised by pushing gently on the lamp. The family considered it a real beauty. However, it was not to remain that as one evening when Frank came home, he removed his overcoat and threw it towards the bannister post at the foot of the stairs. The coat hit the lamp and knocked it to the floor where it smashed into many pieces. I am sure that Frank thought that it was the end of him too. I even felt a tremor of anxiety for him but all he got was a lecture about his carelessness from my mother. The family all felt badly about the lamp but we learned to live without it although the hall never looked the same. There was a storage room at the top of the stairs. There were a couple of old trunks in it, a spinning wheel and mat and quilting frames. There was also a rag bag in which any worn clothing, old underwear and socks were kept. During the long winter evenings these pieces of clothing were cut up to be used for hooking mats. The underwear was dyed and later turned into pretty flowers on the mats. Each bedroom had the bare essentials—a bed, a table or dresser of some sort and a place to hang clothes. Of course, in those days most people didn't have many clothes so clothes closets were not consid¬ ered necessary. 68 There was a homemade wardrobe in my parent's room. I remem¬ ber it because the attic hatch was above it and it did not take us long to learn to climb from the commode at the end of the wardrobe, up on top of it, slide back the hatch and take a peck in the attic. One time we discovered an old violin there. It was in a black case. We enjoyed taking it out, looking at it and pretending to play with it. It was made out of pretty dark red wood but it had a crack at the head of it. I don't know who owned the beautiful instrument originally. My mother thought that if it could be fixed maybe one of us might learn to play it. So my father took it to someone in the city to have it repaired. After waiting a long time to get it back, dad finally brought it home only to discover that it was not the same violin at all. Even as small children we knew very well that it was not the same one. Dad took the violin back and told the repairman that it was not his violin and that he wanted his own back. I guess dad did not have any real proof of the right violin as he was deaf all his life and did not have much interest for music. So we were without a violin. Dad adamantly refused to take the one he was given. I am glad that he did. I presume that when the violin was given to dad, it was in the case and he did not bother to open the case to check, believing it to be the right one. Besides the wardrobe there was a plain wooden bed, a dresser, a trunk and a rocking chair. The bedroom that my sister and I shared was above the dining room. My earliest memories of it were rather resentful as Margaret would usually get sleepy at supper time and be ready to go to bed. She would say in a sleepy and dragging voice, "Put me to bed, put me to bed...". As I was only a year older than she, I was expected to go to bed at the same time which I resented very much because I wasn't sleepy. As soon as Margaret was put in her metal crib, she was gone for the night. On occasion I got out of bed and poked at her through the bars of the crib until she woke up crying. Then I went to the top of the stairs and called out that the baby was crying. This brought someone up to sec why she was crying and it worked in my favor a few times as I was allowed to go downstairs for a while longer. The spare bedroom was over the parlor and was considered as the classy room. There was a nice wooden bed with a decorated headboard and a dresser with a mirror and commode to match. The commode had a large china pitcher and wash basin on top of it. It also had a towel rack and, of course, a chamber pot located at the bottom. There was a small room over the front hall with a narrow bed and a table in it. If someone was not feeling well, he or she liked to be in this room alone. Besides the house, the buildings on the farm included a barn that housed the cattle at one end and the horses at the other. Hay and grain were stored in the centre part of the barn. Here the grain was threshed. I thought that threshing was very exciting. I liked watching my father cut the twine that held the sheaves together and feed the grain into the drum and watching the wheat or oats come out a spout after being separated from the straw. The straw came out the tail of the shakcrand was forked up to the loft where it was stored for later use. The 69 threshing machine was driven by a gasoline engine, which was lent by a neighbor. There was also a milk shed where milk was separated a wagon barn; a wood house; a hen house; an ice house; and of course, an outhouse (a two- holer). In the winter the ice was cut from a pond, hauled on wood sleighs and packed into the ice house. Each layer of ice was covered with sawdust. The ice cakes were about sixteen square inches. The ice kept fairly well in the summertime. It seems to me that we did not have ice stored every year. Maybe the conditions were not always good for cutting and hauling it. For instance, if there was great depth of snow on the pond, I would think that it would be almost impossible. My first remembrance of winter was snow banks so high around the house that as a small child I could not see over them when I looked out the windows. It was not always possible to see out the windows cither as they were usually covered with very thick frost. There were no storm windows at the time. In the late fall the house was banked with seaweed that was hauled up from the shore by horse and cart. The seaweed was packed around the base of the house to a depth of about a foot and a half. This, along with the depth of snow, helped to protect us from the bitter winds and from the frost getting into the house more than it did. Looking back on those days, I sometimes wonder how we survived. I remember how loudly the house would crack from the frost and I remember the frost standing out in beads on the wallpaper in the bedrooms. Of course, at that time we were use to it and did not complain as people today would. There had to be three stoves kept going during the cold weather. There was a round base burner in the hall which burned hard coal. It gave out a nice, even heat and it was a pleasure to look at as well. It had a set of doors that had isinglass windows in the centre. The coal was put in the stove from the top and when it got hot and turned red, it emitted a red glow which could be seen from all around the stove. The kitchen stove was banked so that it would stay on all night or so we hoped. The third stove was in the dining room but it was usually allowed to go out before the last person went to bed. Most winter evenings we spent close to the heat. We had no radio or telephone then. We belonged to the poorer class. Some of the neighbors were in the silver fox industry and were more affluent. It did not take long for them to be able to afford cars and radios. Our nearest neighbors were about a half a mile across the back fields and the main road was a mile from the house. So, as children we learned to make our own fun and games and played closely together. It was a big treat to be taken for an evening to visit one of the neighbor families and listen to Amos and Andy on the radio. The men sat together, talked and smoked their pipes. The women usually knit and chatted together. The children usually played in another room by themselves. Later lunch was served and usually consisted of goodies different from what we had at home. Shortly after lunchtimc the men lit the lanterns and went out to the barn to hitch up the horse for the 70 ride home. I remember vividJy listening to the frost screeching beneath the sleigh runners and falling gradually to sleep before getting home. I recall my mother trying to keep us awake until we arrived home. She would say, "Don't go to sleep now. We'll be home in a few minutes." However, sleep would usually win out. On nice sunny days, we went out to play on the snow banks. We had a fairly large sleigh that was used for coasting. I remember one day when Frank and John were playing outside. I guess it was too cold for Margaret and me to go out. Frank came to the door and told us that it wasn't too cold to go out, and to get dressed to go out for a while. I decided that I wanted to so my mother helped me into my warm clothes and out I went, only to find that it was bitterly cold indeed, and that Frank and John wanted me to attend a funeral for a snow woman who had died. They dug a grave in the garden and took the remains in a cardboard box to the gravesite on a sleigh. They wanted me for a mourner. I was mourning from the bitter cold. When I got in the house, I told my mother through tears that they called me out to pray for an old snow woman. I certainly didn't think it was very funny but apparently my mother did as I overheard her telling a neighbor about it later and having a great laugh. Spring and summer on the farm were always pleasant. There were always things to do. We loved the animals and in the spring there were always new calves, kittens, ducklings, goslings, chickens, or a foal. A new litter of pigs was interesting too. As very young children, we learned to put a bridle on a horse by getting the horse close to something on which we could stand. Then if someone would help us onto the horse, we could go for rides. We were never bored, as children of today seem to be many times. It was nice to walk along the shore by the farm. Sometimes wc took lunch and beverages - not pop, of course, but something different from milk. There were two varieties - a vinegar drink and a cream of tartar drink. Both were made by adding sugar and water to small amounts of either. I cannot recall the exact amounts of the ingredients but Margaret and I often laugh about those drinks. However, as children wc certainly enjoyed them as much as children of today enjoy pop. In the wild strawberry time wc loved to go up to the back field where there was great abundance of the delicious fruit to be picked. The biggest chore was budding them when wc came home. I can still sec the pretty white daisies and the big black eyed Susans as wc walked through the fields. Wc also loved to go with dad when he was repairing fences in the springtime. Travelling through the fields in a cart he sometimes let us drive the horse which was a big thrill. We liked to watch as he used a wire tightener to tighten the wires and staple them to the fence stakes and the posts, which were at the corners. Planting time was also fun and a good learning experience. Wc were always allowed to help and were shown the proper way to plant. At a very young age we were mature enough to be of help with chores around the farm. I loved to drive a horse and was allowed to sit on the 71 hay rakc and rake the hay after it was cut. It took a little practice in order to be able to trip the rake at the proper time and keep the rows straight. How proud I felt when I heard dad tell my mother that I could rakc as well as the boys. The hay was then forked into coils and when it was well dried it was gathered and placed on the hay wagon to be hauled to the barn. Then it was put in the loft until it was full. The rest of the hay was built into stacks and left in the field until it was needed. I remember very well my first time in the one room schoolhouse in Mermaid. I did not want to go but I had to. I recall being a very shy child at home, especially when strangers came to the house. So I was off to a poor start. My mother drove me to the school by horse and wagon at noon time. I suppose so that my first day would be short. I cried bitter tears and begged my mother to take me home with her. She had to pry my fingers off the end of the wagon scat. My brothers were already in the classroom but knowing it at the time didn't help me much. I must say that the teacher who was there at that time was a very severe looking lady and patience was not her strongest virtue. Consequently, my first time in school was a heart breaking disaster as far as I was concerned, I am sure that no one suffered more than my dear mother that day when she had to drive the two miles back home without me. She knew that it wouldn't be any easier for her to take me home and have to go through it all again the next day. I went off to school with the boys after that and, although I never had much love for that teacher, I got used to it and learned to make friends with the other children. When I look back on the conditions of that schoolroom at that time, I cannot help but wonder what children of today would think if they got a glimpse of those conditions. The drinking water was carried over from the barn next to the school and left in an open bucket on a little shelf in one of the back comers of the room. There was a mug attached to the handle of the pail which nearly everyone used to drink from. A few had mugs of their own. An old pot-bellied stove stood in the centre of the room. A row of double desks went from the back of the room almost to the blackboards. There were two windows on each of the side walls. Eventually, the windows were removed from one side and put in the other. This was much easier on the eyes. Sanitation was not of great importance then. The outdoor toilet was a proper disgrace. One side of the double toilet was used by the boys and the other by the girls. There was no place for the pupils to wash their hands. Another unsanitary part of the early education equipment was the slate. How I abhor the thought of it to this day. The slates were so scratchy, especially the cheaper ones. There were some -2 better ones which some of the pupils managed to get. I think that they were soap stone with the same type of soft pencils to use with them. We were all supposed to have slate cloths in our desks with which to clean them. I recall many times that the slates were cleaned with saliva and rubbed with the heel of the hand. Once I remember going to the rag bag at home and taking out what I thought would make slate rags only to hear my mother say, *No dear, that's a good rag." The good rags were used for mats or quilts. A slate rag was something which could not be used for more important projects. This brings to mind the quilting and hooking bees. How we looked forward to those events when some of the women from the district gathered at our house for their afternoon of hooking or quilting. Of course, there would be extra baking done in preparation for it and something extra special made for the evening meal. There would be probably eight or ten women come. Those who could not sit around the frame and work at the quilt would usually knit and join in the conversation and laughs. I imagine even to have to invite one of those very straight laced ladies (whom one could not leave out) would cause much tension on the part of the hostess in case something would be said that would be offensive to the ears of a very reserved person. However, those gatherings were much enjoyed and they certainly shortened the time required to complete the projects. I recall my mother talking to one of the ladies after one afternoon and telling here that she was mortified at the story which Kate told. She added, "I wouldn't have minded so much if Grace and Anne hadn't been there." I never did find out what was told but it probably could be printed in books today and be considered worthy of a literature award. Another event that created a lot of interest and excitement was the School Fair which was held in the fall at the old MacDonald Consoli¬ dated School in Mt. Herbert. The surrounding districts took part in it. The competition was good. The girls competed in baking bread, biscuits and cookies as well as writing and drawing. Also, there was a sock darning competition, and fruit and vegetable displays. The boys were in woodworking competitions as well as some of the above. There were races of all sorts held outdoors such as relay races, two legged races and sack racing. Another gathering we went to whenever there was one held was a Box Social. It was an evening of music and singing, stepdancing or maybe watching a short play. Box Socials were held at the Consolidated School. At that time the school was used only for social events but my father and his generation were former pupils of that school. When the program was over, the boxed lunches were brought on the stage and auctioned. The more attractive the box was made, the more easily it sold. I remember mom spending a lot of time decorating a square box of goodly size with white crepe paper, trimming it with pink bows, and putting a handle on it. I thought at home that it was absolutely beautiful. There were a lot of sandwiches and other goodies put into 73 the box. It was without doubt the largest one there and when the auctioneer picked it up, he said, "This looks like something you could pick potatoes in." I took it as an insult and felt really embarrassed. The feeling was for my mother because I thought that she would feel the same way as I did. I did not even mention it to her afterwards so I just suffered it out alone. It probably did not bother her a bit. My dad bought the basket because he knew the quality and quantity it contained. There were house panics now and then with lots of fiddling, dancing, piano music and singing. Young and old gathered. Everyone enjoyed himself or herself and hated when it was time to leave. Christmascs in those years were really times to remember. It was a joy to watch the making of cakes and pudding. These were done early and not left to the last minute. The fruit smelled and looked so good as it was being cut up. I always relate early Christmascs with the smell of apples and oranges as these were the only times when we could have such choice fruits in the house. The first couple of Christmascs I remember, we went to bed fairly early believing that Santa would come after we were asleep. Mom and dad then brought in the tree and trimmed it. I shall never forget the magic of that first Christmas morning, which I can remember, to come downstairs early and find a beautifully trimmed tree in the comer of the dining room. It was overwhelming. That sight was almost enough in itself. There were gifts too-not like the gifts of today but I think that they were appreciated more. Margaret and I got our first and only dolls for Christmas. My aunt sent them from Boston. They were large china dolls with movable limbs and sleeping eyes. Mine was dressed in pale blue and Margaret's in pale pink. They had black patent shoes and white stockings. We spent many happy hours playing with them over the next two or three years. Another event which I must tell about is the visit of my aunt who belonged to the Sisters of St. Ann. She had joined the order at an early age and this was her first trip back to the Island. At that time the sisters were not permitted to travel alone. Her travelling companion was another sister about her own age. I think that they were allowed about ten days to visit. Because we lived so far from a convent or the Chariottctown Hospital, they were given special permission to stay with us for the duration of their holidays. They enjoyed it very much. They liked to stroll through the fields and pick wild flowers. My dad rented a double seated buggy to drive them around. As children we were terribly excited when we saw this very classy looking carriage come into our yard. It had square candle lamps on both sides and leather curtains with small windows of isinglass that could be rolled down in case of rain. I am certain that those sisters enjoyed it as much as we did. The sisters particularly liked the shore below the house. There was a flat bottomed row boat anchored there and when the tide was in they liked to sit in it and do their praying and meditating and just ride around ink. One day they were sitting in the boat on the sand waiting for the tide to come in and set the boat into motion. Margaret and I were in the boat with them while they were saying their rosary. Frank came riding down the lane on a big grey Percheron. He was going around the shore for some reason and as he was passing the boat, he tipped his hat to the sisters and at the same time the grey Percheron saluted in the only way he knew how, I guess, by expelling a very loud round or two of flatulent gases. The solemnity was broken for sure right then and I feel certain that the sisters had something to laugh about for some time to come as we surely did. Another visit I remember was the time my uncle, who was working in Boston, was asked by a couple who wanted to visit relatives in Souris if he would accompany them and assist them with the driving from Boston to the Island. Uncle Ronnie was only too happy to do that and the couple let him have the use of the car for a few days so that he could visit with our family. One evening he took Margaret and me to an ice cream parlor in the city. That was a very special treat in those days. It was the time before we started school. As we drove over the clay road through Bunbury he told us that some day we would drive our own cars over the same road but the road would be paved by that time. The thought of such a wonderful thing happening stayed in our minds although at the time we did not think it would be possible. How right he was! Fullertons Marsh was a haven for wild geese. In the fall they came to feed on the marshes. Sometimes they flew over the house so low that one would think he could hit them with a stick. Many times I saw my dad grab a gun, load it and shoot a goose from the garden or yard. My younger brother could not wait to try his luck at shooting. One evening "Billic Archie" MacDonald, who was a first cousin of my mother, was visiting at our place. He saw John go off to the marsh where he made a blind of seaweed. Very shortly John returned carrying his gun and two geese. I heard "Billic Archie" and my mother say that John's smile could easily be seen from quite a distance. Since then John went out to hunt often and always had good luck. Strangely enough, Frank was not interested in the sport. Many nights in the fall Fullertons Marsh was black with geese. We would drop off to sleep listening to their honking. Recemly, I drove the car to Fullertons Marsh to visit the lot where the old house once stood. How things have changed! The farmland was sold a few years ago and resold as small lots called mini farms. A paved road runs through the subdivision. The old house and buildings are all gone except for the base of the barn. There are no trees left except for a dead cherry tree which was a part of our garden. The tree now stands much closer to the shore than it used to which indicates that the land has been washed away considerably by the water. The tide was out at the time and it was windy and cool. I was glad to return to 75 the car and head back to my warm and cozy apartment but I am thankful for the blessed memories. 1 can always remember my child¬ hood home "as it was". The 1927 Cummins atlas of Prince Edward Island describes the family as follows: "Doylcjno. P.O. Charlottetown R.R. S. Plymouth Rock Hens. Wf. Ella; Ch. Francis, John, Isabel [sic], Margaret." 76 "C en the year 1934 the Point farm changed hands again. John Doyle decided to move to town, fed up with trying to make a living farming. This family rented various homes, their final Charlottctown address being 58 Kent Street, across from Rochford Square. John became a handyman<arpcnter and about I960 moved to 5 Falconwood Road with the Daley family who had moved to Charlottetown from Windsor, Nova Scotia. He and Ellie later moved to the home of his daughter Margaret and her husband Gus Campbell, on Upper Queen Street. It was in this home that Ellie died, surrounded by her family members, myself included. John died in the Sacred Heart Home in Charlotte- town on April 3, 1975. John sold the farm in 1934 to his brother Joseph (Joseph Pierce) who had a prosperous farm at South Shore, Lot 65. (This community is now known as Cumberland.) Joe had a hard life in many ways. His first wife, Elizabeth Foley, bore him four children, three of whom died young. Their second boy kro died of spinal meningitis at the age of ten. Their daughter Claire, an infant of two i months, and her mother Elizabeth both died in 1918 of the flu. (At the close of World War I, in 1918, adcadly strain of Spanish influenza swept theworld. P.E.I. I was not spared.) A third child, Edward, was to die tragically at the Point farm. Peter, their only surviving son, is the Peter mentioned in the next few pages. Joseph then married Josephine Murphy, only to have her die during the birth of their first child, Joseph. Joseph's third wife was Adcrina Kelly from Kelly's Cross. From this marriage came two girls—Kathleen, who was to marry Athol Mac Donald, and Mary, who married Oswald Murphy. Mary and Kathleen I used to occasionally visit their cousins "LitUe John*, "SkTCFrank), Isabcllc,and Margaret, at the Doyle home in Mermaid, prior to moving there themselves in 1934. Aunt Margaret, tells of an incident which happened on the farm when she was a child. Her brother John found a brood of young ducklings in the barn one cold spring. There was an old trough used to water the horses out in the barnyard, and John proceeded to gather up all the ducklings and carry them to the trough. It was so cold that day that newly-hatched birds died from shock and exposure (hypothermia). By that time, his mother was on the scene. f What did you do that for John?" she said. With big tears in his eyes, not [realizing the consequences of his actions, he murmered "I was thwimin' 'cm.' It"I was swimming them.") I JOE'S TREK According to his son Peter, Joe had always wanted to move to the "home place," as he called it. He felt isolated over at South Shore and found it very inconvenient to use the ferry or to "drive around" in order to get to town. When the home place became available he sold his farm in Cumberland to the Murphys. The winter of 1935-34 was the coldest for fifty years according to the older people of the Island. Peter Doyle described it this way. "It set in very quickly in the fall. The men were in the fields plowing, unhitched their horses for the night and in the morning the plows were frozen into the ground—there to remain for the winter." Tom Murphy of Cumberland, said "it was a very cold winter, one of the coldest I can remember. It was as cold as forty below zero [Fahrenheit]. People had their noses frozen in bed." Because it was so cold, with the help of his many Scale: o 10 kilometers miles Charlottetown \r i ^7 (\ j/Cumberland ml'* JOE'S TREK 78 good neighbors, Joe and his family moved most of his belongings from Cumberland to Fullcrton's Marsh on the ice. Tom said, We moved them over the bay, bag and baggage. A big 'funeral' of neighbors met at Joe's place at ten in the morning. All the neighbors brought sleighs. The group consisted of twenty five or thirty horses and sleighs. The only things they didn't take were plows and other implements which were frozen into the ground. The thirty or forty head of cattle walked. The men knew the ice and avoided the 'three tides' which was the place where the water from the three rivers met in the harbor. This was an area which was most apt to have thin ice on or near it. They took sightings on landmarks and without incident arrived at the farm in Mermaid by five that evening. Peter, Joe's son, seventeen at the time, remembers it well. We left Cumberland and headed east for the harbor mouth. They went 'ship's course' (headed for the lighthouse at Brighton). We then swung cast again and under the bridge, staving close to the south shore. I remember that our first visitors from the Mermaid area were Walter Munn, his wife and his daughter Eleanor who arrived the next evening. Horses were very important to the Doylcs from the time they arrived on the Point farm in 1836, until Joe Doyle sold the place to Dick MacKinnon in 1950. Horses were used not only as a means of transportation, but as an engine which powered much of the farm. They were used to thrash grain, bale hay, cut hay and grain, dig potatoes, and to haul seaweed for banking the house in the fall. Both Bill Doyle and brother John had a milk route. They used to milk their cows, bottle the milk, and sell the milk door-to-door in Chariottetown. It was easy travelling in the winter over the ice, the travelling being smoother and the distance shorter. The spring and fall were the tough times, with muddy roads and at least twice the distance with which to contend. My mother recalls a horse her father John purchased with money he borrowed from a neighbor from Bunbury. A few days later she was awakened by a commotion in the kitchen above which she and Margaret slept. Listening at the stovepipe hole in the floor, she heard her father crying. Frank had just returned from the stable where he had found the recently acquired horse dead in its stall. When Joe's family took over the Point farm, much work had to be done to the house. It was not a new house when it was moved there about 1878, and it was now fifty-five years older. The house was raised fourteen inches and a new concrete foundation placed under it, during their first summer of occupation. Tragedy struck Joe's family again that summer of 1934. One hot day Joe's son Edward, a victim of Down's Syndrome, saw the others mixing up some lime juice. In response, when the family went back to work, he mixed himself a 79 drink containing lye, used for soap making, and drank it. Dr. McGuigan was called immediately, but the harm had been done. A nurse looked after him until he died shortly thereafter. Life on the farm continued in similar fashion to that of past generations. Peter remembers doing some hunting, on one particular occasion shooting five black ducks with one shot. He had come home in the midst of a heavy snow squall and unhitched the horse. On his way into the yard he noticed a large number of black ducks feeding and seeking shelter from the wind in the cove near the point field. By the time I got to the house I was warm again and decided to go and have a try at the ducks. I took the gun down from the rack and headed up towards Lee MacDonald's and then cut out for the shore. I then walked back around the shore towards where the ducks were feeding, crept up on the bank and peered through the tall grass. When I fired the shot from our single shot twelve gauge, five ducks remained on the water. Two were dead, two were knocked out, and one was very much alive. I was very excited to have downed so many ducks and was anxious to get them home to display my prizes. It was quite a chore, let me tell you now. As I neared the house I had the gun under my arm, two dead ducks in on hand, and three in various stages of life in the other. I yelled for them to come and help me, and we eventually got the ducks to the wood house. Although we managed the first four reasonably quickly, it took us a long time to get the last of them. It got up on the wood piles and crawled around for' most an hour before we caught it. It took me two hours the next day to get the wood piled up right again. Joseph and his family worked the Point farm until 1950. By that time Joe was sixty-one. Joe and Adcrina then went to live an an adjacent farm owned by Athol MacDonald and his wife Kathleen (Joe's daughter). I can remember picking turnips with uncle Joe with a horse and can on that farm, when I was about twelve. I bugged him until he let me take the reins and"drive the horse. * Showing the good humor of the Doylcs, he didn't even get angry when I slapped the horse with the reins causing it to run across the field into the bushes scattering turnips out of the cart and scaring hell out of everyone including the horse and me! With this I close this narrative. Although I could write other Doyle stories, I hope I have included enough to show the human side of their lives. These were not famous people in the public sense, but people like you and me who provided well for their families, taught them to respect and help others, and handed on these values to us. What follows is an outline of the next generation with brief descriptions of their lives according to available information. Note that dates are to be read in the following fashion: Month/Day/Year, and that many people arc born during one century, and die in the next. SO Children of John Driscoll (18211904) and Margaret Doyle (1829-1904) NAME BORN DIED SPOUSE l.John 12/ /52 / /06 Margaret Cook 2. Margaret 06/29/54 Tobias Coady (widower) 3. James 04/ /56 / /81 4. Johanna 02/ /58 / A>9 JohnBcagan 5. Daniel 04/ /60 / /47 (1) Mary E. Corcoran (2) Margaret McQuaid 6. Joseph / /62 06/01/87 unmarried 7. Catherine 09/11/64 unmarried 8. Lawrence 08/13/66 Margaret Ann Kelly 9. Francis 09/17/68 / /45 Margaret Coady (Dau. Patrick) 10. Thomas 10/ /70 Annie Mac Donald (to Glace Bay) 11. Mary Ellen 12/04/72 William Dillon, (Billy) 12. Anastasia 02/19/75 S. Hough, Boston 13. Augusta May 05/23/78 02/30/51 Alphonse Corrigan 1. John was a farmer. This couple inherited the property of John's father-in- law, George Cooke in Mount Herbert. 3- James it seems, did not marry. He lived at his parent's home, presumably farming, until his early death aged 25. 4. The Beagans were farmers who lived at Johnstons River. A grandson, Alvin still lives in the area. Daniel lived on a farm in Bethel. His first wife, Margaret McQuaid, died in 1896 at the age of thirty-six. They had been married for just six years. Margaret and her youngest child, Margaret, arc buried at St. Theresa's. The other children of this marriage were Joseph P., Laura, and Irene. Daniel then married Mary Ellen Corcoran, by whom he had other children. 6. Joseph's baptismal record is not in the church records, a not uncommon event. The Census of 1881 lists a Joseph aged eighteen years in this family. The Examiner, June 1, reports the following death. " At Lot 48, 1 June 1887, Joseph Driscoll in his 25th year after an illness of several years." A birth date of 1862 fits quite nicely into this family. It seems that Joseph was a sickly young man who lived and died at home. 7. Catherine moved to Boston, as did many young people at that time, and worked as a domestic—a housekeeper and/or cook. She made some 81 money, possibly from bequests, and visited home each summer during the late 1930's and early 1940's. On her last visit she suffered a stroke at the home of her sister, "Gussie" (Driscoll) Corrigan. Lena Beagan came home from Boston to care for her. She eventually went home to Boston where she died. 8. Lawrence married an Island girl, Margaret Anne Kelly, the daughter of Charles Kelly and Mary Ann McManus. They made their home in Lawrcncctown, Massachusettses. 9. Francis (Frank), a farmer, lived on the homestead. He married Margaret Coady, daughter of Patrick Coady and Alice Edmonds. She was the granddaughter of the original Tobias Coady of Alexandra. 10. Thomas ran a grocery store in Chariottctown before moving to Glace Bay N.S., where he operated a similar business. His wife, Annie MacDonald, was from Webster's corner. One son, Patrick, worked for the Royal Bank in Ottawa. Patrick married Madclyn, a native of Newfoundland. One of the daughters of Patrick and Madclyn married the son of Justice James Estcy of the Supreme court of Canada in the 1970's. 11. Anastasia married S. Hough Feb. 2,1909 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, Massachusetts. Alvin Beagan recalls that she died around Easter time in 1939. 12. Mary Ellen married William (Billy) Dillon, a barber who lived in Charlotte- town. Dillon had room at the Victoria Hotel where he conducted his business and lived mostly at 217 Sydney Street. He also barbercd with a group of six or seven others at a large barber shop at Hughes' Corner, the intersection of Queen and Grafton. 13- Augusta Mac married her first cousin Alphonsus Corrigan a farmer and lived in Village Green and Georgetown. More about this couple can be read in the main body of this booklet under the heading CATHERINE, THE THIRD CHILD OF JAMES DOYLE AND MARGARET LACEY. H2 Children of Pierce Doyle (1833-1890) and Johanna Sullivan (1844-1906) NAME BORN DIED SPOUSE 1. Margaret (Maggie) 09/28/64 07/28/32 John McNally 2. James Lawrence 12/16/66 01/10/67 3. Catherine (Kate) 02/28/68 02/12/32 unmarried 4. William Patrick 07/16/70 unknown Lillian McNally 5. James Wilfred / /72 08/17/47 Gertrude Louise Lawlor 6. Lawrence Sabinus 01/27/76 08/17/52 7. Charles Hilary 05/25/78 10/13/42 Hallie Mae McKinney 8. Joseph Pierce 05/06/84 10/09/41 Margaret Jane (Picry) (Percy) King 9. Frances Marcellus 10/25/86 05/21/68 Ethel Mary (Frank) Perceval 1. Maggie andj J. lived in Picry's house on Fitzroy street in Summerside, after they moved from the farm home at Cape Egmont. In 1925 they built a fine home on Water Street in Summerside. 3. Kate lived with Maggie and John 0 J)- . Patrick left the province after a business failure in the lobster canning industry. "Pat liked to dress fancy and to fight. He would go to all the ice cream socials, all dressed up, and go home in tatters." (quoted from a grandson) He contacted his family twice asking them to come out to Washington State. His wife decided against it. He was last heard from in the Seattle, Washington area where he was traced by the Pinkcrton Detective Agency, hired by the family. Patrick's children were Edith, Helen Johanna, William Aubrey (Hoppington Ma.), Clarence Frederick, Edmund Ellsbcrry, Eileen (Mrs Patrick Kelly, Toronto, Ontario), and Clarence Patrick. The above names were supplied by Aubrey Doyle of Hoppington. 5. James Wilfred started out as an accountant for C.P. Railway, Montreal. He then took a job as manager of the Cape Breton Railway. In 1921 James ran as Conservative candidate in federal election in Halifax. Unsuccessful in that election, in 1927 Jim took a job as manager of the Nova Scotia Hospital, in Dartmouth. His children were James Pierce, Marion Louise, Kathleen Gertrude (Mrs. Charles Aucoin) all of Halifax. 6. Lawrence Sabinus (Dr. Vet. Medicine), Doyle was food inspector for Moncton city, and parish and sanitation inspector for Westmorland County. He died in Moncton N.B. 83 7. Charles Hilary (Dr. Vet. Medicine), Doyle graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1902, he began a practice in Coffcyvillc, Kansas. Dr. Charles was State Veterinarian in three other states. In 1914 he served on the State Board of Examiners for State of Kansas, where he died. 8. Joseph Pierce Doyle was a clerk for Marshall Wells Co., St. Boniface Manitoba. He was apparently called Percy, but I suspect was the "uncle Piery" from whom Joe Doyle learned his blacksmithing. A big man, he was struck by a Winnipeg street car in 1911, which left him with a weak heart. His children were John Edward (Married Margaret A. Kelly), Francis Patrick (Dr. Pat Doyle), Mary Margaret Johanna, and Catherine Theresa. 9. Francis (Frank) was an express messenger on the train which ran from Chariottetown to St. John, N3. His job was to handle all express traffic. A very quiet man who had a reputation for being kind to new railway workers, showing them the 'ropes," etc. Frank was gassed badly during the war and lost his speech and sight for four months. He married Ethyl Perceval when he was fifty-six, having gone with her "for years" before that. She was "Labs" MacDonald's mother's sister. They lived in Charlotte- town at 17 Pownal Street. 0 believe this to be the Frank Doyle who was best man at the wedding of John Doyle and Ellen Zita MacDonald.) 84 Children of Catherine Doyle* (1834-1910) and John Corrigan (1827-1906) NAME BORN DIED SPOUSE 1. Mary Anne 03/05/71 p John Cassidy (Catherine) 2. Ambrose 01/04/73 infant death 3. Alfred 08/26/74 11/14/58 Augusta May Driscoll (Alfbnsc) 4. Andrew 06/01/79 Mullally (from Souris, in California) •Known as " Kate" in the Church register. Catherine was a child of John's first marriage to Maryjackman. She lived with her uncle Martin Jackman in Village Green after her parents got too sick to look after her. She then moved to the U.S. where she marricdjohn Cassidy and lived in Lynn Massachusetts. She had two boys, Joe and Andrew, and two girls, Theresa and Cclia. Like many infant deaths, the death of Ambrose, went unrecorded in the church register. We know the child was born because his baptism was registered. It seems that because Baptism was a Sacrament, baptisms were carefully recorded. Burials often went unrecorded, particularly infant deaths. "Andy", as he was called, had one boy named Arthur who came to P.E.I, for a visit. He met with Jack MacMillan and also with Bill Doyle, while Bill was living in the Sacred Heart Home. 8S Children of Peter Doyle (1836-1878) and Helen Neal (Nell, O^ell) (1851- ?) NAME BORN 1. James 01/15/65 2. Margaret Esther 04/16/67 3. Peter 06/28/68 4. Catherine Helen 11/23/69 5. Elizabeth 01/23/71 DIED 04/02/96 unknown unknown SPOUSE unknown unknown unknown 1. James lived with his uncle LP. Doyle in St. Peter's Bay. He is buried in the church cemetery there. After Peter died in 1878, this family, with the exception of James, must have left the province. I have had no luck tracing them. 86 Children of James B. Doyle (1838-1922) and Margaret Ann Hogan (1855-1943) NAME BORN DIED SPOUSE 1. Moses Albinus 03/01/77 infant death 2. Leo Albinus 04/19/78 11/ /86* child death 3. Margaret 11/07/79 05/10/53 James Bernard Hughes Gertrude 4. John James 02/07/82 04/03/75 Ellen Zita MacDonald 5. Augusta May 03/10/83 06/12/15 unmarried 6. Mary Angelina 04/18/85 09/04/20 unmarried 7. Leo Richard 12/17/86 05/31/93* child death 8. James 01/ /88 07/03/88 infant death 9. Joseph Pierce 06/08/89 10/18/78 Elizabeth Foley(l)m mScpt.16,1913(Dicd flu 1918) Josephine Murphy(2) mMay5,1919 (Died childbirth) m Aderina Kelly (3) (Died 1983) 10. William A. Doyle 07/30/91 10/25/79 Mary A. Foley (sister of Elizabeth above) m 1915 (Died 1975) 11. Leo Francis 03/26/94 01/27/60 Ethel H. MacNabb 12. Marcellus / /95 / /96 infant death 13. Kathleen 09/30/96 12/22/69 Sisters of St. Ann 14. Elizabeth 01/01/99 12/08/33 Estella F Casbbook R.C. Cemetery (1885-1892). I suspect that these two infants (Leo Albinus and Leo Richard) were buried in a special part of the graveyard (ccm 3) reserved for infant deaths. Their burials arc mentioned in an old cemetery cashbook which I discovered at the Basilica Palace. This book is now at the Diocesan Archives on North River Road. The family plot (*433) was not purchased until July 4,1888, when a six month old infant James Doyle was buried there on the following day. The plot was purchased by Mrs. James Doyle, Lot 48, Sydney Street, Prince Street, 154 Dorchester Street. [ 3. "Aunt" Gertie was married to Jim Hughes who was in the insurance business in Charlottetown. It was at the home of this couple that Margaret (Doyle) Hogan died. I remember Gertie as a big woman who lived at the home of my grandparents John and Ellic Doyle, 58 Kent Street. Augusta May grew to be a very pretty little girl with a charming disposition which endeared her to those who knew her. She was the only member of 8- the family with red hair like her father. Her health failed in early years and she never regained it. She died when she was thirty-two, in 1915. 6. Angelina attended Notre Dame Convent from an early age, where she learned to play the piano and developed an interest in painting. One of her paintings, which she liked particularly well, she decided to pass on to a family member. It was her wish that the painting would go to the first married family members to whom a girl was born. That first girl turned out to be Margaret Doyle (now Margaret Quinn) the daughter of Angelina's brother William (Bill). Margaret still retains this treasured painting. Angelina died when she was thirty-five. 10. Bill and Mary had one daughter, Margaret. Margaret married Jack Quinn and they live in New Watcrford Nova Scotia. I remember "Uncle Bill" Doyle as a very kind man with a twinkle in his eye. We children liked to go to Village Green with our parents to visit him and Aunt Mary. On one occasion Uncle Bill took us for a ride in a fancy sleigh. On another he took out his World War I souvenir revolver and entertained us with a talc of his heroics during that conflict. Whether the story adhered exacdy to battalion history I'll never know, but Bill told it with such excitement that it kept us spellbound and wondering for a long time to come. In later years I recall Bill in the Sacred Heart Home. When I went to visit, Bill would always welcome me with a hearty handshake and turn his good ear towards me. Like my grandfather, (his brother John), Bill was hard of hearing in his old age. "Would you like to have a game of cards, Louis?" he would loudly ask. In response to my affirmative reply, he would lock his room door. Taking a small key out of his watch pocket, he then unlocked a dresser drawer. The drawer contained a pint of his favorite brand. Bill would pour us each a good portion and we would then play a few hands of cribbage. Bill would test my knowledge of cribbage on the spur of the moment, when I was least expecting it. "What's four sixes with a three turned up on the deck?" I answered, "twenty-four". "Good," he replied as if to say that I was progressing at a satisfactory rate. At other times he would share general wisdom of the world that every young man should know. Once— out of the blue—he said "You could never freeze a nun!" Dumfounded, I murmured something which provoked a reply. "They wear so many layers of clothes that they arc always a little too warm." One time someone organized a family reunion at which, among the various foot races, the organizer had seen fit to have a short grandfather's race. Both Bill and his brotherjohn participated and Bill won. That evening, my 88 mother made some remark about the race to her father. John, then about seventy-eight, said "I could have beat the bugger if I'd had my other boots on!" The next day, Mom called Bill's daughter Margaret and, among other things, mentioned what John had said. After hanging up the phone Margaret told Bill, who was lying on the kitchen couch, * Uncle John said he could beat you if he had his other boots on." Jumping up from his place of repose, Bill hit the table with his fist. "Like hell he could!" was the reply of Margaret's seventy-year-old father. Leo came to town at an carry age and worked as a carpenter. After some time he became a very successful contractor building many houses in Chariottctown and doing much construction at both St. Dunstan's Univer¬ sity and at Central Creameries. Leo and Ethel had four children. They were Leo, Mary Katherinc (Kay), Winnifrcd Margaret (Sister Mary Ethel), and Stella May. Leo (Jr.) had his arm badly wounded during the second war. He worked with his father for a while but found the work too hard and took a job as manager of the Chariottctown Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. Winnifrcd joined the Sisters of Saint Martha of P.E.I., worked as adminis¬ trator at the hospital in Albcrton, and later, administrator of the Sacred Heart Home in Chariottctown. Kay worked as a secretary for Asamera Oil Co. in Calgary. May married John A. Williams and lives in Ottawa. "Stella" worked in Chariottctown at Prowse Brothers and went to British Columbia an two different occasions to join the Sisters of Saint Ann, the order of which her sister Kathleen was a member. Stella wanted very much to become a sister but was unable to do so because of failing health. She returned home to P.E.I., where she eventually died. 89 Children of Elizabeth Doyle (1840-1914) and Angus Walker (1818-1925) NAME BORN DIED SPOUSE 1. Mary Elizabeth 12/01/75 12/22/97 unmarried (Gertrude) 2. Margarita A. 04/16/77 05/ /48 Ebcn Nichols (Delia) 3. Clara Ann 03/30/79 02/ /48 Harry Smith Lauretta (Lord) 4. Alfred Edgar 01/23/81 03/19/69 Ella Collins Marccllus 5. Michael Wallace 09/29/82 02/10/18 MaryGillan (W.W.) (Mac) 2. Delia was a seamstress, at MacLellan Brothers, and later at "The Misses Walker". She then moved to the "States". 4. Edgar worked as a carpenter at M.P. Hogan's in Charlottctown, and then moved to Lynn Massachusetts. His children were Adclc (1922-) William Wallace (1924-1928), John Edgar (1928-). Edgar's father Angus lived with Edgar's family during his old age. Adclc remembers seeing her grandfather in his coffin in their living room although she was only three at the time. Adclc married Francis W. Wesson and continues to live in Lynn. John Edgar lives in Everett, Massachusetts. 5. Wallace Walker, the son of Elizabeth and Angus, ran a grocery store at 225 Euston Street and was at that time the youngest person to serve on Charlottctown City Council. He later became government inspector of weights and measures. Wallace died at age thirty-four in 1918. The wake was held at his father's home. 90 Children of Lawrence Patrick Doyle (1844-1914) and Mary Ann Currie (1838-1884) DIED SPOUSE 12/14/64 Mary Joanna Griffin 03/20/61 Molly Lewis NAME BORN 1. John James 01/02/70 Ernest 2. Joseph 10/10/71 Maximillian 3. Francis Lewis 05/05/73 4. Adolphus 10/19/75 Lawrence Frascr 5. George 04/09/79 Franklin Wilfred 06/03/76 child death 06/13/76 child death 04/ /27 Minnie M. Lewis Note: LP. and his second wife Ellen Mullally had no children. 1. Ernest was a railway engineer. He lived and died in Georgetown P.E.I. Ernest had three daughters, Kathleen Adelc, Dorothy Frances, and Mary Margaret, and two sons Philip Ernest (christened Philip Emmet) and Lawrence Gerard. Kathleen and Mary both taught for a short time and then became nurses. They spent much of their nursing careers in Cambridge, Massachusetts, retiring to P.E.I. Dorothy also taught for a couple of years and then joined the Sisters of Notre Dame. She eventually obtained her PhD in English and taught in Montreal eventually returning to the Island where she taught at St. Joseph's Convent. Her religious name was Sister Dorothy Marie. Philip became a physician obtaining his M.D. from McGilL and eventually specializing in cardiology. He practiced in the Ottawa area and now lives there in retirement. Lawrence went into the mining business in the Toronto area. 2. Joseph was a horse breeder in St. Peters, and later a chauffeur for a Mr. Carnagic in Revere Massachusetts. They had three girls, Olive, Grace, and Dorothy. All of the girls married and lived in Revere Massachusetts. George was a blacksmith and later an Alberta municipal worker. He died in Stavely, Alberta. George and Minnie had three girls, Mary, Mildred, and Lillian, and three boys, Lawrence Patrick, Robert, and Lewis. 91 Children of William Doyle (1847-1895) and Margaret Evans (1848-1919) NAME BORN DIED SPOUSE 1. Mary Adelaide 12/13/72 07/01/32 William A. (Ada) Chcvcric 2. James Edward 05/21/74 02/18/08 Catherine A. (Katie) Croken 3. Catherine Margaret 09/30/75 12/02/75 infant death (Kathleen Maggie) 4. William Millwood 08/18/77 04/14/24* Mclvina Chcvcric 5. Moses Peter 01/31/79 01/25/50 1. Lizzie__?__ (PicrccXPcrcy) 2. Harriet _?_ 6. Arthur Patrick 08/03/81 12/19/21* Gladys__?__ 7. John Emmctt 03/10/83 11/23/13 unmarried 8. Lawrence Waltham 01/03/85 01/15/86 infant death 9. Lawrence Walton 05/27/86 05/30/87 infant death * East Boston Massachucctts 1. Mary Adelaide, (Mrs. W A. Cheveric) had a daughter Margaret Mary born in Alberta in 1911. Margaret married Leonard W. Palmer. They had three sons and three daughters ( Donald We, David L., Richard J., Virginia F.( Elizabeth A., Rosemary C.) The Chcvcrics were living in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan in December of 1915. Her husband, William Cheveric, died in 1922, at Maplcwood, near Kelly's Cross at the age of sixty. Ada died in Melrose Massachusetts. 2. James E. Doyle had three daughters Mary Virginia (Mrs. Andrew Anderson), Margaret Catherine (Mrs. Frank D. Wolfe) and Helen Angelina (Mrs Roland Griffith). All male offspring ofVirginia and Margaret have Doyle as a middle name. 5. Moses Peter (Percy, Picrcy) had been absent from the province for fifteen years by Dec. 15, 1913 (Petition # 178 probate court). He was living in Detroit in 1925. 6. This man lived in the Boston area. 7. John Emmctt died in Neville, Saskatchewan. 92 Children of John Doyle (1856-1936) and Mary Frynn (1863-1930) NAME BORN DIED SPOUSE 1. Mary Louisa 08/25/94 02/21/51 unmarried 2. Ambrose 11/06/95 03/04/97 infant death Frederick 3. Margaret Adclla 06/24/97 09/21/82 unmarried 4. Ethel Francis 03/11/00 10/15/47 unmarried 5. Josephine 03/09/04 01/23/75* unmarried (Joan) * St John New Brunswick This family is described in the main text under the heading of John Doyle twelfth child of James Doyle and Margaret Laccy. 93 Bibliography Annals of St. Mary's Convent, Summerside. Baldwin, Douglas and Spin, Thomas. Gaslights, Epidemics, and Vagabond Cows. Charlotte town, 1988. Baldwin, Douglas, Land of the Red Soil. Charlotte town 1990. Boiger, F.W.P., Canada's Smallest Province. Chariottetown 1973. Brehaut, Mary, Pioneers on the Island. Chariottetown 1966. Byrne, Cyril. 'St. John's? Miramichi? Halifax? Another list of Irish Passengers 1817.* An Nasc. Vol 3, *2, Fal 1990. Burke, Rev. A. E Tbe Cathedral Parish of St. Dunstan, Prince Edward Island Daley, Louis J. Early Roman CatboUc Cemeteries of Chariottetown. Chariottetown 1991 Ives, Edward D. Lawrence Doyle tbe Farmer Poet of Prince Edward Island. Orono, Ma.: University of Maine Press, 1971. MacDonald, Edward. New Ireland: Tbe Irish on Prince Edward Island. Charlotte- town, 1990. Maclnnis, MA Maple Leaf Magazine, Oakland, California July, 1929. MacLeod, Ada. Roads to Summerside, Edited by Manorie McCallum Gay. 1980. MacMiUan, Rev. John C. Tbe Catholic Church in Prince Edward Island From 1835 to 1891. Quebec: L'Evenement, 1913- Meacham, J H. Illustrated Historical Atlas of the Province of Prince Edward Island. Phila Pa.: Meacham, 1880. Belleville, Ont: Mika, 1989. Murphy, Hilary. Tbe Families of Wexford. Dublin: Geography Publications, 1986. Mutch, Robert J. Genealogy of the Mutch Family. 2nd Edition, 1985. Pendergast, James and Gertrude. Folklore of Prince Edward Island. Chariottetown, 1974. Power, Tom. Irish Immigration. Irish Genealogy Workshop. Sept. 1991. Rogers, Irene L Chariottetown, Tbe Life In Its Buildings. Chariottetown, 1983- Stewart, John. An Account of Prince Edward Island. Yorkshire, S.R. Publishers, 1806. ua Credits Illustrations on the following pages have been used with permission from the Island Magazine; 12,13,19, 20, 22,42. This magazine is produced by the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation. The map of Ireland preceding the introduction was from a production called New Ireland, Tbe Irish onP.EL, also produced by the P.E.I.Museum and Heritage Foundation. Maps and illustrations found on the following pages were taken from the 1880 Atlas of P.E.I. produced by J.H. Meacham and Company; 30, 32, 34, 35, 36. The map on page 65 was taken from the Cummins Atlas of P.E.I, published about 1927. Photographs were supplied by the following: Lawrence Patrick "LP." Doyle.............................................................Kathleen Doyle James "Jim" Doyle..............................................................Margaret (Doyle) Campbell Pierce "Piery" Doyle.....................................................................................Tim Doyle Elizabeth "Lizzie"(Doyle) Walker............................................................Adele Wesson William Doyle....................................................................Margaret (Chcverie) Palmer Photos of Harvey's Brig (p. 16), Fakronwood Hospital (p.49) and Cheapside (Early Richmond Street showing approximate location of Peter Doyle's boarding house) come from photo collection held by the P.E.I. Archives. 95 The Author Louis Daley is a science teacher at Morell Regional High School. He has earned a B.Sc. from St. Dunstan's University and a B.Ed, from the University of P.E.I. He became interested in researching the Doyle family out of natural curiosity a number of years ago, and was encouraged to write down his findings by Rev. Francis W.P. Bolger and his friend John Cameron as well as various members of the Doyle family. His other interests have included hunting, coaching softball and baseball, skeet shooting, bagpipes, and guitar. He is married to the former Evelyn Fraser and has two children, Jennifer, aged 20 and Michael, aged 15. Mr. Daley lives in East Royalty, near Charlotte town. Prince Edward Island and could see Doyles Point out his kitchen window, if he could convince his neighbor to move his house about ten feet to the west. 96 My Lineage descended from. Doyle, (sec page_____) who was my uncle, aunt, etc.). y father was_____________________ My brothers and sisters are listed below. NAME BORN DIED SPOUSE (Mo/Day/Yr) (Mo/Day/Yr) 97 Notes: 98