Alexander or Donald?

I had recently come across a line in a novel that said that in Scotland (in the mid-18th century) every man's name was either Alexander or Donald. While that's obviously an exaggeration, it got me thinking, and I decided to see just how popular those names were within the context of Scottish settlement in Upper Canada.


Five most popular names for listed
male settlers 1790-1849

Looking at the 15 extant passenger lists of ships departing from Scotland to Quebec (between 1790-1849 with settlers intended on travelling through to Upper Canada), I was able to distinguish 1,153 male names (Campey). These names are mostly the heads of families; children's names were rarely provided. In some instances not every man travelling aboard a vessel was accounted for by name, however, the five most popular names listed are:

1. John (261 individuals)
2. Donald (101)
3. Alexander (100)
4. William (93)
5. Duncan (59)

The next most popular names were Robert (54), Archibald (40), Angus (28), Allan and Andrew (each with 16), and Dougald (7). So it would seem that this novel wasn't too far off the mark. As you can see from the donut graph here, the top five names cover just more than half of the total, and if you were a listed male passenger aboard one of these ships, there was a nearly one in four chance that your name was John. As for modern day, the five most popular names for boys in Ontario between the years 1917-2010 were 1. Joseph, 2. John, 3. William, 4. Robert, and 5. James. Looks like in about 200 years of settlement we haven't strayed too far from the mark.


Five most popular names for listed
female settlers 1790-1849

For those interested in the most popular names for the ladies aboard the same ships, it's "Mrs." and "Wife of". All jokes aside, I was able to find 533 listed female passengers, and the most popular recorded names are:

1. Mary (86 individuals)
2. Catherine (80)
3. Janet (57)
4. Anne (46)
5. Margaret (45)

The next most popular names to round off the top ten were Isobel/la (23), Marion and Flora (each with 19), Elizabeth (17), and Euphemia (8). In modern day Ontario between the years 1917-2010, the most popular girls names were 1. Mary, 2. Marie, 3. Jennifer, 4. Margaret, and 5. Patricia.

Sources

Lucille H. Campey's 2005 The Scottish Pioneers of Upper Canada, 1784-1855: Glengarry and Beyond

Global Toronto, 2012, "Interactive: 93 Years of Ontario Baby Names"

Further Reading
Behind the Name, "Scottish Names" Here you can learn a little more about the Gaelic roots to many of the names mentioned above. For example, "Duncan: Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Donnchadh meaning "brown warrior", derived from Gaelic donn "brown" and cath "warrior". This was the name of two kings of Scotland, including the one who was featured in Shakespeare's play 'Macbeth' (1606).

Don't Ask, Just Eat It

Baguette topped with sliced apple
and black pudding, with brown
gravy for dipping.

I've recently discovered the most amazing little cafe in Cambridge which caters to the Scots-loving crowd: Rising Dough Scottish Bakery and Coffee Shop. I went on a bit of a spree, buying a haggis, four haggis pies, three packs of black pudding, and two Double Decker bars (all for under $50). I would highly recommend to anyone within driving distance to check them out. Other than my general love of haggis, there was a particular reason for this visit; the TV adaptation of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander had premiered, and what better way to celebrate than to whip up some Scottish goodies with some friends?
 
What is black pudding? "Essentially, black pudding is a mixture of suet, blood, barley and a special blend of spices stuffed in a length of protein casing." (Visit Scotland) In other words, it's a type of blood sausage... but you'll get more people to eat it if you just call it black pudding. It's relatively soft with an oaty texture, but is also very rich in flavour, and very filling. You can purchase it as sausage links, or already sliced into pucks for convenience.

Recipe for Black Puddings found in Cookery Reformed; or, The
Lady's Assistant, published in London in 1755.

I chose to fry some black pudding pucks in a pan with some butter (about 5 minutes each side), and then set it on top of baguette slices with apple. I made up some brown gravy in case anyone wanted to dip, and voila! All in all it only took a few minutes to prepare, and was absolutely delicious. I'm very selfishly planning to hoard the rest of my black puddings for breakfasts and snacks. 

Now, if you are the sort to want to spend more time (ie. a few days) in the kitchen, you are more than welcome to this recipe, taken from a 1755 publication, Cookery Reformed; or, The Lady's Assistant. The ingredients have not changed all that much over time - why mess with a good thing, right?

Sources

Visit Scotland, 2014, "Traditional Scottish Food"

Cambridge Now, 2014, "Rising Dough Scottish Bakery and Coffee Shop"

Internet Archive, 2001, Cookery Reformed; or, The Lady's Assistant

Further Reading

Showcase, 2014, "Outlander"

The English Breakfast Society, 2014, "Traditional Black Pudding"

The First Highland Cattle

The first of the Highland Cattle to arrive in Canada was a Bull brought over to Manitoba by Donald Smith (perhaps better known as Lord Strathcona) in the 1880s. Born near Inverness in Scotland, Smith would go on to have quite the career in Canada. In addition to his 75 year career with the Hudson's Bay Company, which witnessed his rise through the ranks to become Governor, he also served "42 years with the Bank of Montreal; 32 years with the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR); 18 years as a Member of Parliament; 18 years as Canada's High Commissioner; and 6 years as an MP in Manitoba" (HBC) Something tells me he didn't get to spend a whole lot of time with his new import...

Highland Bull

This photograph of a Highland Bull was taken by Frank Babbage, and published in the Encyclopaedia Britiannica in 1910 along with the following description:

"The West Highland or Kyloe breed are perhaps the most hardy and picturesque of British cattle. Their home is amidst the wild romantic scenery of the Highlands and the Western Isles of Scotland, though Highland bullocks with long, spreading curved horns may be seen in English parks. They have not made much progress towards early maturity, but their slowly ripened beef is of the choicest quality. The colour of their thick shaggy hair varies from white and light dun to tawny yellow of many shades, and black"

For a more recent photograph, you can visit an earlier post on this site, here.

Sources
HBC, 2014, Our History: People: Governors: Donald A. Smith
The Canadian Highland Cattle Society, 2014, History of Highland Cattle
Classic Encyclopaedia, Cattle
Wikipedia, Donald Smith 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal

Further Reading
Highland Cattle World, 2007, Highland Cattle in Canada

Debating Societies

As a means of self-improvement for gentlemen, and as an “inner and outer polish” for young men preparing for their entrance into respectable society, a number of debating societies were created in Galt in the mid-nineteenth century. (Holman, 123) Such types of intellectual clubs were popular throughout the Victorian period, as it allowed men to practice and hone their speaking skills, as well as network with respected members of their community. 


Above: Homer Watson's Collecting the Hay
Below: Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow

In his Reminiscences, James Young describes one such debating society, established in 1834, which would meet at the home of Mr. John Reid on cold winter evenings to discuss the most relevant topics of the day. (Young, 70) The questions raised and discussed at these meetings covered all manner of subjects from politics to religion, from gender issues to education, and from science to the arts. Many are so timeless (and so philosophical) that they can still be debated at great length today.

Five of the questions regularly put towards the abovementioned group include:

• Which is the most benefit to mankind, Agriculture or Commerce?
• Whether is the profane man or the hypocrite most injury to society?
• Which is the most destructive element, fire or water?
• Whether does wood or iron most benefit mankind?
• Would a ship made of iron sink or swim?

Other subjects were a bit more controversial by today's standards: "Whether or Not Woman is Mentally Inferior to Man". To perhaps add to the controversy, the decisions of the various debating clubs were printed in local newspapers. In December 1860, the Reformer published the Galt Literary and Debating Society decision that woman was in fact inferior to man. (Holman, 123)

I encourage you, next time you're with a group of friends or colleagues, to bring up a few of these questions and see what happens. (If you're really keen you can attempt to debate these issues from a Victorian male, or female, point of view.)

Sources
Andrew Holman's 2000, Sense of Their Duty: Middle-Class Formation in Victorian Ontario Towns
James Young's 1880, Reminiscences of the early history of Galt...

Further Reading

Andrew Holman (ed.) 2013, More of a Man: Diaries of a Scottish Craftsman in Mid-Nineteenth Century North America
City of Cambridge Archives Online