Descendants of William BROCKIE & Margaret MAIR

The following is a history, in genealogy format, of the descendants of William BROCKIE and Margaret MAIR daughter of John MAIR and Jean MILNE as far as I have been able to compile to date. Although this couple does not appear on the "Ancestors of Katherine WATSON" chart, John BROCKIE, William and Margaret's son, married Catherine BARRON. Catherine is a sister to Elizabeth BARRON , wife of Alexander LAMB therefore Catherine and Elizabeth's parents would be direct descendants six generations back. I have had no luck to date in idenifying these elusive parents.

Polly BROCKIE-HALLIDAY wrote an introduction to this family to the Elora Express in 1934:
See Polly's Pedigree Chart
I was born on May 25th, 1873 , in the village of Paisley , Bruce County . I was brought to the home of my grandparents, John and Catherine BARRON-BROCKIE, at Bon Accord, Nichol Township, Wellington County very soon after this, as my mother died at the time of my birth.
My grandparents came to Nichol Township , I would say, sometime around 1835. There were ten children in the family. The three oldest, William, Thomas and Margaret, were born in Scotland ; the others, John, James, George, Alex, Kate, David and Archie, in the log house in Nichol Township . Here they grew up and endured the hard tasks of farm life. I can still hear my father telling about their " noon siestas" and my grandfather saying, "Boys, while you are resting yourselves, go and pitch off that load of hay." I am sure they endured all the hardships known to pioneer life, but I never remember hearing complaints. They were a stalwart and sturdy people. They were tall of stature, several of them being of six feet, and with the exception of Uncle Davie, of good health. Thomas died in 1848, aged 17 years, and as the others grew up they started out to make homes for themselves.
William, John and George went to Bruce County and settled on farms in Greenock Township not far from Paisley, about eighty miles from the old home. This meant separation, of course, but I know from hearsay that they made periodic visits back to the old home, coming by ox-team which required several days on the road. Soon after this the railroad must have gone through, for as a very small child 1 remember the thrill of going on the train to visit our relatives in Bruce County .
Margaret about this time married Peter McBAIN near the town of Fergus. They later moved to Garafraxa and lived there rest of their days. Later my father, Archie, the youngest, also went to Paisley and married my mother, Mary Jane VALENTINE, daughter of John VALENTINE. He operated a small grocery store there for many years. James and David had their farms near Cumnock, but I do not think that Uncle James cared for farming, as he sold his place and moved to Paisley . Uncle Alex lived all his life on the old home place. My Aunt Kate, who was the good and only mother I ever knew, kept house for him until he married. After this my Aunt Kate and I went to live with Uncle Davie near Cumnock. There 1 attended my first school. Between Uncle Davie's farm and the school was a stretch of what I call the "bush," a piece of woods with a corduroy road running through it. This bush held all kinds of terrors for me, and in the mornings with my dinner pail and books clasped tightly under my arm I would run until I was out of breath to get through this patch of road.
For amusement the neighbors would gather together at the homes. The older folks would play whist or euchre, and some of the musically inclined would fiddle or play, and there would be square dances, Scottish reels, etc. Always the singing of old Scottish songs was part of the evening's program. The Brockie family were all musical and the men had fine bass voices, each of them having attended singing school could read music readily. When they were ready to leave they would gather in a circle and taking each other's hands would sing Auld Lang Syne, bundle themselves into the sleighs filled with straw, cover up with the buffalo robes and to the tune of sleigh bells would disappear into the night.
Sunday, they always attended the Presbyterian Church.
This is the story of the Brockies of that generation, as I remember it, and they now are all passed to the great beyond.

Descendants of William BROCKIE & Margaret MAIR

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