Scotland is Home. Canada is Where we Live

 

This month in Kilted Ancestors, we have been sharing stories of our ancestors or family members who left Scotland only to return. 

My mum was from a very large sibling group. My grandpa and his first wife had 6 children. Sadly, Sarah died in childbirth with baby number 6 and the wee lad succumbed just three months later. None of the five remaining children ever left Scotland. 

My grandpa and my granny had another 16 children. One was born asleep. The rest all made it to adulthood. The eldest daughter from this couple was the first to come to Canada. And she paved the way for others to follow, including my mum, my dad and me. Two uncles came over, a further three sisters, and a niece. This was over the span of several years, of course. 

One of the aunts stayed about 18 months and decided her home and her life were back in Scotland and so she returned to her beloved Scotland, to her mum and dad and her many siblings. A second aunt stayed for a couple of years and then decided she wanted to see more of Canada before she returned to Scotland. So she bought a train ticket and headed out west. She arrived in Vancouver and knew she was where she was meant to be. She stayed for well over 40 years, only returning to live in Scotland when her mum took ill. The third aunt remained in Canada. Like the first one that came, she said that as soon as she hit Canadian soil, she knew this was where she wanted to live. 

Of the two uncles, one headed to Saskatchewan and remained there. The other stayed for a handful of years, and then returned, not to Scotland, but to England. 

My granny loved Canada. She traveled over several times. She came for three weeks. She then started coming for 6 weeks. Then three months at a time and then the last couple of visits, she was here for 6 months each time. She never wanted to be here permanently because most of her children were still in Scotland. But she loved visiting her children here as well. 

My two aunts that stayed, my mum, my cousin and myself have all returned to Scotland several times. It is our home, but Canada is where we live.