John MacKinnon was born circa 1720 (based on the date of his marriage). He was the eldest son of Iain (John) MacKinnon of Mishnish, Mull, Scotland, and Anne MacDonald, the daughter of Donald 14th Chief of the Macdonalds of Clanaranald by his second wife Margaret daughter of John MacKenzie of Kildun[1][2]
John MacKinnon was likely born in Erray House, Mishnish, Isle of Mull. Boswell and Johnson stayed at Erray House (still extant) in 1773, Johnson described it as ‘a strange confused house built by Mackinnon the proprietor about sixty years ago’.
On 22 August 1739, John MacKinnon married Jean Paterson in Scotland and had children[3][4][2][5], including:
John, Jr, born May 13, 1740[6], who married Margaret Afflex (widow of Major Afflex) in 1782. John Jr joined the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment and served as Captain throughout the American Revolutionary War and died a Major. (Note the Major John MacKinnon noted in the Yarmouth genealogies refers to Lt. John MacKinnon's nephew, rather than his son.
Margaret Elphinstone, born Greenock, Renfrewshire, 1 Sept 1745; d. Glasgow, 30 Nov 1789.
Martin, born 25 Jan 1749[7][2] , who married Sarah Stevens of Cheggogin, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Martin joined the Black Watch and was a Sergeant when he died at Manchester about 1815, leaving a son Cyrus Martin[8]
Jean, born Greenock, Renfrewshire, 5 Aug 1750[9][2], who married 1769 Alexander Jack[10]
Norman [2] , born circa 1756, who visited Yarmouth in 1784 but returned to England where he married and had children
Jean (Patterson) MacKinnon died on 28 April 1759, in Leith, Midlothian, Scotland.
John Mackinnon remarried Sarah Perry of Argyle, and had children, including:
Robert born in 1764 who married Mary Trefy and died in Jamaica on 11th November 1803[11][12]
William born in 1766 who died at Chegoggin in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, 22nd October 1849[13]
John joined the Black Watch and then transferred to the Montgomery Highlanders on 16th September 1758[14][15][16], and was rewarded for his service with a large grant of land in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, in 1767, when the lands of the township were granted, he received five shares (4,690 acres); and his four sons, John Jr, Martin, Norman and James, received one share each, in the aggregate 3,588 acres.[1]. John settled at Rockville, on Chebogue Point.
The histories note that John and his wife Sarah raised an orphan, Alexander Bain, who may (or may not) have been the son of a fellow soldier of the MacKinnon brothers[1][17][11].
In 1767 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace[17][16], and the township records show he participated in the decision-making, including 'assisting in the grant of township'. Specifically, when the township grant was delayed, John travelled to Halifax and brought the grant back with him[11].
On January 7, 1774, John and his wife were drowned in the Tusket Island Sluice while he and his wife were on their way to visit his brother Ranald at Argyle. He was buried in the Chebogue Cemetery. At the time, there were few roads in Yarmouth and all travel was by road. According to Campbell[1], this accident helped to spur on the construction of a safer transportation system. The news of John MacKinnon's death was noted in his diary by Simeon Perkins in Liverpool, Nova Scotia on Friday March 11, 1774[18]
↑ 2.02.12.22.32.42.5 MacKinnon Searches by Macrae ,Flett & Rennie (1912) published by Charles Phipps: 2003.
The abstract, available at the Yarmouth Archives notes a 1752 document in which John MacKinnon resigned from his position as Customs Surveyor at Newport, Glasgow, which identifies the three sons in their birth order, and other documents identifying the children of Lt John MacKinnon
↑ "Scotland Marriages, 1561-1910," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XYW4-QJW : 10 February 2018), John Mckinnon and Jean Paterson, 22 Aug 1739; citing South Leith,Midlothian,Scotland, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 0844784 IT 6.
↑ Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XTT9-DYC : 10 February 2018), John Mckinnon, 13 May 1740; citing , reference 2:18S2JJD, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1067771
↑ "Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XTN2-TGZ : 10 February 2018), Martin Mckinnon, 25 Jan 1749; citing , reference 2:17XH440, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1,041,059
↑ "Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XTN2-TGZ : 8 December 2014), Martin Mckinnon, 25 Jan 1749; citing , reference 2:17XH440; FHL microfilm 1,041,059.
↑ "Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XYHN-WW5 : 10 February 2018), Jean Mckinnon, 05 Aug 1750; citing , reference 2:17XH7FC, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1,041,059.
↑ "Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XYHN-WW5 : 10 February 2018), Jean Mckinnon, 05 Aug 1750; citing , reference 2:17XH7FC, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1,041,059.
↑ 11.011.111.2Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Genealogies : Transcribed from the Yarmouth Herald, by George S. Brown; prepared for publication by Martha & William Reamy, assisted by John McDonald Hilton ... et al.; published in Baltimore : Genealogical Pub. Co., c1993. ISBN: 0806313722; page 55 notes John MacKinnon's involvement in the land grant, Robert's information appears on pages 589 and 602
↑ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:3QN5-LY5 : accessed 2016-11-16), entry for Robert /Mackinnon/.
↑ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:3QN5-LYP : accessed 2016-11-16), entry for William /Mackinnon/.
↑The Diaries of Simeon Perkins, 1766-1780 (volume I) The Publications of the Champlain Society, Volume 29; AuthorSimeon Perkins; EditorHarold A. Innis; Published: 2013. See page 68 for the news, which states Friday, March 11th, .... A
vessel frorn Yarmouth brings news of the drowning of John MacKinnon, Esq.
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Martin, born 25 Jan 1749[6], who married Sarah Stevens of Cheggogin, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Martin joined the Black Watch and was a Sergeant when he died at Manchester about 1815, leaving a son Cyrus Martin[7] THIS IS INCORRECT!
Martin DID NOT marry Sarah Stephens of Chegoggin. William, married Sarah. Martin's father, John, married again in North America and had two children: Robert and William. It is believed that John's second wife was named Sarah, but no surname for Sarah has ever been found to verify this. Martin did marry and have a child named Cyrus Martin, but this was not in Nova Scotia.
I see the name Sarah Stephens is still there for marrying Martin MacKinnon. Sarah Stephens lived, married, had her children and died in Chegoggin, NS. I know you asked for a source and I'm trying to find one. I have researched this family for about 25 years and have all the information, but there's not a lot of sources back from the 1700s in Yarmouth. John MacKinnon married Jean Paterson in Scotland and had the children, as listed. I also have the names of the daughters and who they married, but will not get into that at this time. I just would like to see false information removed from this tree. There are many fake trees on Ancestry regarding the MacKinnons. I am trying to contact the owners of the trees and advise them of this, but it's a very tedious job because so many people have copied these fake trees.
Martin's father, John MacKinnon, married again in Nova Scotia (or North America). By this union, he had two sons: Robert and William. Robert is my ancestor. William MacKinnon was born on September 29, 1765. He died October 22, 1849, in Chegoggin, NS. He married Sarah Stephens who was born July 21, 1781, and they had four children. Sarah died on June 15, 1868.
Martin did marry in Great Britain and have one child. As Martin died about 1815, the birth of Cyrus Martin would be sometime before 1815. Cyrus Martin before 1844. The name has never been found to date for the wife of Martin. The search continues. Martin definitely did not marry his half-brother's wife.
Also, this Sarah Perry, who is listed as marrying John MacKinnon, nothing has ever been found through years and years of research in the Yarmouth area to validify this. It is believed John's second wife was Sarah, but the surname has never been discovered.
I apologize if I sound cranky. I am so annoyed at the many, many trees with false information. It is very frustrating because most people think they are putting the right information down. I did contact one person a short time ago and asked where they had obtained the names of Greenwood and Perry for John's second wife--both of them had taken it from trees on Ancestry with no verification. I've seen both names on trees on Ancestry.
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Martin DID NOT marry Sarah Stephens of Chegoggin. William, married Sarah. Martin's father, John, married again in North America and had two children: Robert and William. It is believed that John's second wife was named Sarah, but no surname for Sarah has ever been found to verify this. Martin did marry and have a child named Cyrus Martin, but this was not in Nova Scotia.
Martin's father, John MacKinnon, married again in Nova Scotia (or North America). By this union, he had two sons: Robert and William. Robert is my ancestor. William MacKinnon was born on September 29, 1765. He died October 22, 1849, in Chegoggin, NS. He married Sarah Stephens who was born July 21, 1781, and they had four children. Sarah died on June 15, 1868.
Martin did marry in Great Britain and have one child. As Martin died about 1815, the birth of Cyrus Martin would be sometime before 1815. Cyrus Martin before 1844. The name has never been found to date for the wife of Martin. The search continues. Martin definitely did not marry his half-brother's wife.
Also, this Sarah Perry, who is listed as marrying John MacKinnon, nothing has ever been found through years and years of research in the Yarmouth area to validify this. It is believed John's second wife was Sarah, but the surname has never been discovered.
I apologize if I sound cranky. I am so annoyed at the many, many trees with false information. It is very frustrating because most people think they are putting the right information down. I did contact one person a short time ago and asked where they had obtained the names of Greenwood and Perry for John's second wife--both of them had taken it from trees on Ancestry with no verification. I've seen both names on trees on Ancestry.
Patiently assembling a mosaic of information, you have found new pieces. Can we correct and update, then, citing whatever sources we can glean?