Leinster to Lanark [Ireland to Lanark County, Upper Canada]

By Carol Bennett-McCuaig

In the years following the 1798 Insurrection in Ireland a large group of settlers from the counties of Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford and Wicklow came to Lanark County in Upper Canada. Many others from the same places, often related to them, settled in the adjoining counties of Leeds and Carleton.

A careful comparison has been made between the huge amount of historical and genealogical research which the author has carried out over the past forty years, and the 'Elly lists' which are in the National Archives of Canada. These are not ships' passenger lists as some people believe, but a roster of men who, in 1817, expressed a wish to sail for Upper Canada with their families in 1818, more than five thousand people in all. While not all of them proceeded with their plans, hundreds of others left Ireland over the following decade.

In due course some members of these pioneer families moved to other parts of the province, their destination being the counties of Bruce, Grey, Hastings, Huron, Lambton and Renfrew, among others. Many other descendants still reside on their families' original lots in Lanark County.

Genealogical information pertaining to the pioneer generation has been included for hundreds of families. In addition to this the author has included stories which have been handed down in some of the families concerning their ancestors' experiences in southeastern Ireland in 1798.

Contents include:

• Foreword
• Leinster to Lanark: the background
• The Elly lists of 1817
• The Protestant list
• The Roman Catholic list
• Map: the counties of Ireland
• The settlers: family material
• Map of the Bathurst District
• Little Leinster links
• Causes of the 1798 Insurrection [Ireland]
• Liberty or Death: some battles of 1798
• Family stories of the year 1798
• Appendix I: the Mothell list
• Appendix II: other lists
• Sources
• Bibliography
• Acknowledgments
• Index - (click here to view complete Index)

Leinster to Lanark was the last history/genealogy book that Carol Bennet-McCuaig published (2010). The book was not promoted or distributed widely at the time. We are pleased to put it back into print to make it available to the descendants of those hardy Irish who made the perilous journey to settle in the wilds of Lanark County.

Details:

286 Pages
8-1/2 x 11" format
Sources
Bibliography
Index
Originally published by Juniper Books, Renfrew, 2010
This edition by Global Heritage Press, Carleton Place, 2022
ISBN 978-1-77240-201-8 (coil bound edition)