William Macarthur (1828 - 1920)

Born 26 Aug 1828 in Prince Edward Island

Ancestors

Husband of Rebecca (Pickering) McArthur — married 11 Feb 1858 in Prince Edward Island

Descendants

Died 14 Mar 1920 at age 91 in Enmore, Lot 10, Prince Edward Island, Canada

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Biography

William Mcarthur was baptized on 20 September 1829, Richmond Parish of the Presbyterian Church , Prince Edward Island the son of Hugh McArthur and his second wife, Peggy Murray.^[1][2]

According to his obituary, William McArthur married Rebecca Pickering, the daughter of Alexander Pickering and Janet Brown in 1856. The newspaper notice was, however, dated 1858. "Married. On the 11th instant, by the same, Mr. William McArthur, of Lot 14, to Miss Rebecca Pickering, of New London." ^[3][4]

William's father died in 1854, without leaving a will, and in 1859 his widow Margaret and their seven children (Alexander and wife Elizabeth of Lot 14; Hugh; George and wife Ruth in New Brunswick; William and wife Rebecca of Lot 14; Catherine, Margaret the younger, and Maria) signed an injunction related to land in Lot 14. Catherine, Margaret and Maria were all single women in 1859. There are two documents related to this in the Prince Edward Island Land Conveyance Records. ^[5] No other family members were mentioned as being absent from the Island.

The property in question was on the shores of Richmond Bay in Lot 14, bounded by the properties of Dougald McArthur, John Ramsay and Donald Englis.

They were possibly the family of William McArthur in Lot 12 in the 1861 census, with a daughter and a son under 5.

Before 1880, they were living in Lot 11, in Freeland, and they were in Lot 11 for the 1881 census.^[6] The family, in the 1881 census, consisted of William McArthur 50 Rebecca McArthur 50, Obediah McArthur 21, Sophia McArthur 19, Hugh McArthur 17, Mary Jane McArthur 15, Malinda McArthur 15, James McArthur 13, Artamus [Artemis] McArthur 11, Hall McArthur 9, Idabell McArthur 6 and William McArthur 3.

William's obituary said that around 1885, he purchased land in Enmore, Lot 10 on the banks of the Percival River, from his half-brother Alex. ^[7]

By 1891, William and Rebecca were living in Lot 13.^[8]

Rebecca and William had 10 children. At the time of his death in 1920 they were: Hugh and Hall, Aurora, Illinois; James B., Mount Pleasant; Obadiah and Artemus, Enmore, and William. Daughters were Mrs. David Banks, Freeland [Sophia]; Mrs. Herbert Reeves [Mary Jane], Mrs. Malcolm A. MacKenzie [Malinda Margaret] and Mrs. A. A. Moore [Ida Bell], all of Victoria West.^[9][10]

Sources

1. ↑ "Prince Edward Island Baptism Card Index, 1721-1885," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KCXF-ZPL : accessed 10 Jun 2013), Peggy Murray in entry for William Mcarthur, 1829.
2. ↑ Date of birth was 26 August 1828, on the 1901 census. Year: 1901; Census Place: Lot (township/canton) 13, Prince (west/ouest), Prince Edward Island; Page: 9; Family No: 63; Ancestry.com. 1901 Census of Canada [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
3. ↑ The Islander – Feb 19, 1858, Births Deaths Marriages transcribed on the Island Register website
4. ↑ Pickering family history from the History of Stanley Bridge, Hub of the Universe, page 458
5. ↑ Prince Edward Island Land Registry Office, Land Conveyance Records, vol 78 page 4 and page 6.
6. ↑ Along the North Shore, a Social History of Township 11, Prince Edward Island by J. Clinton Morrison, page 420.
7. ↑ Summerside Journal 7 April 1920, page 8, col. 3; His brother Alexander was in Lot 13 by 1881, and died in 1885, so William might have purchased the land from his nephew Alexander, or purchased the land earlier. The land Alexander Sr. originally purchased is described in PEI Land Conveyance Record vol 96, pg 932
8. ↑ Year: 1891; Census Place: Lot 13, Prince, Prince Edward Island; Roll: T-6383; Family No: 140 Ancestry.com. 1891 Census of Canada [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.
9. ↑ MacArthur William Summerside Journal 7 April 1920, page 8, col. 3
10. ↑ None of their children were in the PEI Baptismal Index