Anniversary of Death: Catherine “Kate” Cocker Duncan

William and Catherine (Cocker) Duncan family about 1900

Catherine Cocker was just 9 years old when she arrived in the Scotch Colony in New Brunswick from Aberdeenshire,  Scotland. Her parents Alex and Effie (Wilson) Cocker brought six children with them, all younger than Catherine.

Kate married William Linton Duncan, Sr. on February 25, 1885 when she was 21 years old and had six children by the age of 30. Two more of Kate’s eight children were born and died and her parents also died by the time Kate was 39.

Kate’s parents and their 16 year old son George Smart are buried on the left side of the steep walk near the top at Melville church, Kincardine, New Brunswick.

The family likely had moved to Washburn, Maine for better farming and employment by 1892.

Kate Duncan was my husband’s great grandmother. Kate Duncan died 70 years ago today on June 10, 1939  in Washburn, Maine. Her husband survived her by slightly more than 2 years.

Great Book: New Kincardineshire

Recently arrived from the library, a wonderful “intimate” look at the early history of New Kincardineshire by Duncan MacPhail. Published in 1977, it seems that this paperback edition must be rather rare. It is well worth reading if you can find a copy at a library. We borrowed our copy from the University of Maine’s Folger Library.
Duncan MacPhail is a descendant of the first group of settlers that arrived in 1873. His narrative tells the story beginning with Captain Brown’s negotiations with the New Brunswick government and the settler’s dismay upon their arrival that the promised preparations were not completed. Stories of various families are told, painting a vivid picture of what life was like in the early days.

New Kincardineshire: An Intimate History of the Early Years of a Scottish Settlement in New Brunswick
By Duncan MacPhail
Centennial Print & Litho Ltd., Fredericton, N. B., 1977

Washington Pie

We have been reading and enjoying Duncan MacPhail’s “New Kincardinshire: An Intimate History of the Scotch Colony in New Brunswick.”  In one of his many entertaining stories, he tells of a dessert, Washington pie, which neither my husband nor I have heard of before. So a quick search on Goggle revealed that Washington Pie is a layer cake filled and topped with jam, apple sauce, cream, or whatever filling is at hand. Apparently this was well-known throughout the Colony in the early days. This recipe is from:

1870s VICTORIAN KITCHEN

Washington Pie

1 cup of sugar, third of a cup of butter, half a cup of sweet milk, 1 and a third cup of flour, 1 egg, half a teaspoonful of soda, 1 of cream of tartar, lemon flavor. Grease 2 round tins, and put in the above. Bake until done. Then put it on a dinner plate, spread with nice apple-sauce, or sauce of any kind; then another layer of cake on top. It is nice without sauce, but sauce improves it.

Women Landowners Found

I have also started a database using Reunion software to track the Scottish settlers in Kincardine and Kintore that arrived in 1873 and 1874. So far I have entered the names of those that were  given lots, along with the number of people in their family and the lot number.  (Eventually, soon I hope, I will create webpages from Reunion and upload the website.)  My source for this data is “A History of the Scotch Colony, Victoria County, New Brunswick 1873-1998″ by G. Melvin Barclay, Garth Farquhar, Mildred Girvan, Kathleen Morton, and Winston Morton.

It was a surprise to find that three of the grantees were female! Two were named as Mrs. “husband’s surname” but one had her first name, Margaret, given. All three had families. One question that I would like to find out is what circumstances brought these women to start a new life, a difficult one, in a new country. Maybe I will find the answer.