April 16, 2011:


The following is an extract from “The Cullens of Templeton, A Two Hundred Year Journey", by Mark L. Cullen, published in 2011.


   The McClements Family of Buckingham Township

   The name McClements is a patronymic form of Clan Lamont from Ayrshire in Scotland. At some point in the 1600s, likely as a 
   result of religious persecution, many Scots resettled to Northern Ireland. Most of the McClements and other patronymic forms 
   of the clan were Protestants, but there were a few Roman Catholics.

   There are a number of spelling variations of McClements. Patrick’s son James and most of his children spelled it McClements, 
   yet the spelling on James’ tombstone is McClement. Some of A few of his children spelled it McClement. Evelyn Burke’s 1977 
   family tree has the spelling as McClemen(t)s. On the baptism record of one of his sons, Patrick’s son Michael signed his name 
   “McClemens” and he and his descendants used that spelling. One descendant uses Mcclément. On a trip to Ireland several years 
   ago, I checked the Ireland telephone book and found the most predominant spelling by far to be “McClements” and almost all 
   these individuals were in Northern Ireland. 



   The Irish county origin of our McClements has been the subject of much research in Canada, Ireland and Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, 
   without success. We have not found any evidence in Canada of their origins, but we think Patrick came from either Antrim or Down. 
   This is where many McClements of the early 1800s resided. However, without the name of Patrick’s father, it is unlikely we will find his 
   origins.
   The timing of Patrick’s emigration is also uncertain. Evelyn Burke’s family tree has a note that either Patrick or his father came to 
   Canada at age 10 years, ie. c1820. We know from census records that Patrick was born in Ireland, so it’s possible he came to Canada 
   with his parents. But since the 1842 and 1852 census records for Buckingham Township are missing, we don’t have a firm indication of 
   when he emigrated. Also, we have found no record of his parents or his marriage to Sally Lynch, which we believe to have occurred 
   about 1835.

   If he did emigrate as early as 1820, then it is likely he worked on the construction of the Rideau Canal. There may be some credence 
   for this as he ended up settling outside of Buckingham, an area known to have been settled by many Canal workers. Further support 
   may be his proximity to Michael Lynch, who was a Canal worker and a neighbouring farmer, several lots to the west of Patrick’s farm. 
   Lynch was godfather to Patrick and Sally’s first child and may have been her relative. And finally, my strong inclination is that 
   Patrick did not marry in Ireland c1835 because it seems most unlikely to me that he would have married then, arrived in Canada and 
   ended up settling on prime farm land near Buckingham, all in such a short time frame. Rather, my conclusion is that he emigrated 
   sometime prior to 1830, probably worked on the Canal and, from that vantage point, and with the help of others, was able to seek out 
   and arrange for his land. Hopefully, some evidence will come to light in the future.

   If this supposition is accurate, then Sally Lynch was also here prior to 1835. We have found no record of her prior to the baptism 
   of her first child. Was she the sister of Michael Lynch? If so, one would have thought that she would have been godmother to at 
   least one of his children. But she is not. Notwithstanding, perhaps they were related. 
   If married in Canada, where did the marriage take place? The Buckingham church records start in 1836 and they were not married there. 
   Prior to that, a priest from Notre Dame Parish in Ottawa travelled regularly to the mission at Buckingham. If they were married in 
   Bytown, it would have been at Notre Dame. There is no record of their marriage at the mission or at Notre Dame. The only other RC 
   church was in Montebello. No records have been found there either. A search of the Drouin records at ancestry.ca has also proved 
   unsuccessful. It is notable that some records of the day are completely illegible and this may account for the lack of evidence. 
   Again, hopefully, some evidence will turn up in the future.
   Daughter Maria was born on December 5, 1836 and baptized three weeks later at St. Gregory’s in Buckingham. Michael was born three 
   years later, James in 1841 and Sarah Ann in 1843. 
   In Pierre Louis Lapointe’s history of Buckingham, Patrick is mentioned as having been, in January 1852, part of a group of Catholics, 
   mostly neighbours, who dissented against their fellow Catholics in connection with the Buckingham area school board. At the time, 
   there was considerable controversy among Catholics and Protestants concerning the appropriate curricula for their children. Hence, 
   the desire to have separate boards to be approved and funded by government. (1)

Aerial view of Buckingham Township; McClements homestead was at Lot 8 Range 7 c. Google Earth
Lièvre River at centre left; Town of Buckingham at bottom centre



   It is believed that Patrick purchased land or received a grant in Buckingham Township in Range 7 in the 1830s. We have no record 
   until the 1861 census, where his family is shown farming 100 acres on Range 7 Lot 8.  All the children are listed as “working for 
   father”. Also, 18 year old Mary Pearson was working as their servant. They had cleared 15 acres with four in crops (peas and oats), 
   10 in pasture and one in orchards or gardens. Patrick valued his farm and implements at $620 and his livestock was valued at $240 
   and included 2 bulls, 6 steers, 3 dairy cattle, 2 horses, 1 colt and 8 sheep. (2)

   Patrick’s land is located at the end of Chemin McClements west of Route 315 a few miles north east of Buckingham. The entire area 
   is heavily wooded and a creek runs through the property.
   By 1871, Patrick had added 100 acres and owned the entire 200 acres on lot 8, along with 5 dwellings. He had 2 farms, one of which was 
   operated by son James. Son Michael had left home by then. In 1870, they had 30 acres cultivated and 5 in pasture. They had produced 
   30 bu oats, 10 bu peas, 100 bu potatoes, hay, butter, wool and cloth. And Patrick had killed one bear and sold the skin. (3)
   Patrick died in February, 1874 and was buried in Church Street cemetery in Buckingham. There is no tombstone for Patrick in the 
   Church Street Cemetery. Most settlers buried there are memorialized in the monument pictured below. In 1991, William J. Lawless of 
   Buckingham completed research on the Cemetery. Patrick is among the 673 persons known to be buried there and listed in the Lawless 
   research. His name is also listed in Our Lady of Victory Parish Church in Buckingham. (4)
   In March 1876, Sarah sold the rights to all plumbago (graphite or black lead) ore on Lot 8 to James McAndrews of Buckingham. As payment, 
   she received a royalty of $.50 per ton and a cash payment of $175. On the notarized document dated March 18, 1876, Sarah executed 
   by way of a mark as she was unable to write her name. (5) 
       

   By 1881 Maria had married John Henry Stone (1874), Michael had married Ellen Sheehan (1874) and was living in Portland West Township, 
   and James was married to Julia Carroll (c1873). Sarah was still living on the farm with daughter Sarah and Maria and John Stone and 
   their daughter Mary. John was an engineer from Bristol, England.
   Sarah died on October 21, 1887 at age 84 years. She is buried in the St. Gregory parish cemetery located south of Buckingham. 
   No headstone has been located.

   Michael and Ellen lived their entire married life in Portland West Township. Their 100 acre farm was on the west side of the Lievre River 
   at the junction of Priest’s Creek (east part of Range 4 Lot 12), south and across the river from Notre Dame de la Salette. Their 
   six children were born on the farm. Three of them died in May/June 1881, likely from influenza or diphtheria. And Michael, 
   their youngest child, drowned in the Lievre River at age 15. 

Michael & Ellen McClemens and children
James, Michael and Ellen c 1886



   Through Helen Binette-Desjardins via Evelyn Burke, we learn that Michael had red hair. When he died in St. Andre Avellin in January 1920, 
   he was buried with the unbaptized children and had a wooden cross as headstone, which now cannot be located. (6)
   In 1891 Maria Stone was working as a domestic in the household of Michael Lonergan in Buckingham Township. There is no record of John Stone 
   and we assume that he had died. (7) There is no further record of Maria until the 1911 census, where she is listed as a domestic in 
   the household of Bridget Mahoney in Buckingham Township. Maria died in May 1915 and is buried at St. Gregory’s Cemetery. 
   Evelyn Burke’s McClements family tree states that Sarah Anne was 'not wed' and 'died of flu'. In the 1901 census she was living in a house 
   on her own in Buckingham Township. (8) She died in July 1908 and was buried in Buckingham.

   James McClements (1841 – 1919) and Julia Carroll (1848 – 1917)

   James was born in April 1841 at the McClements farm. We assume that he went to school in the Buckingham area and later worked with his 
   father on the farm. He may also have worked in the shanties in winter. In the 1861 census he is listed as living at home and “working 
   for his father”. Sometime during the next 10 years, his father acquired an adjacent 100 acre farm which the 1871 census indicates was 
   being operated by James.

   At some point in 1873 or 1874, James married Julia Carroll of Farrellton. No  record of of their marriage has been located. We know of 
   no connection between the Carroll and McClements families, so one wonders how they met with their homesteads some 25 km apart. There 
   were other Carroll families in the Buckingham area and maybe that was the connection. Or perhaps male members of both families met while 
   working in shanties and that led to the introduction.

  
     

   By 1881, James and Julia had four children: Mary, Sarah (Bea), Theresa and Patrick. Wilfrid was born later that year. By the 1891 
   census, Lucy, Joseph, John and Mary were also part of the family. In 1882, the family had suffered the death of their first child,
   Mary. Their last child, Albert, was born in 1894. 
   By 1901, Sarah had married Tom Powers (1900) and the rest of the family were still on the farm. James and sons Patrick and Wilfrid 
   are listed as “cultivateurs” and daughter Theresa is shown as “servante”. 
   By the 1911 census, Wilfrid had married Gertrude Cooper of Angers and Lucy had married Barney Cullen in Ottawa.
   Julia died unexpectedly on October 28, 1917 and was buried two days later in St. Gregory’s Parish cemetery. She was 69 years old. 
   The obituary below appeared in the Buckingham Post.
   James died two years later in October 1919 in the Ottawa General Hospital. He had been diagnosed with prostatitis, an inflammation 
   of the prostate due to infection, admitted to hospital and died three weeks later. The death record notes that the immediate 
   cause of death was shock. He was buried in Buckingham.
   
Buckingham Post November 9 1917



Footnotes:

1  	In the Heart of the Lower Lievre District – the City of Buckingham from its Early Beginnings 1824-1990, Pierre Louis Lapointe, 
        City of Buckingham, 1990
2  	1861 Census, Quebec, Ottawa County, Buckingham Township, Page 93 Line 35 and Agricultural Census, Page 678, Line 12
3  	1871 Census, Quebec, Ottawa County, Buckingham Township, page 42, Line 14
4  	Church Street Cemetery & Historical Site – A Memorial, William J. Lawlis, Buckingham, Quebec, 1991. 
        This work can be viewed at www.bytown.net  URL http://www.bytown.net/buckinghamcemeterylisting.htm 
5  	Bibliotheque et Archives nationales du Quebec, Centre d’archives de l’Outaouais, fonds Cour superieure, 
        District judicaire de Hull, greffe de notaires, Jean-Baptiste-Alphonse Beaudin (CN701, S2, D152) Sale by Sarah Lynch, widow of 
	Patrick McClemence, to James F. McAndrews, 18 March 1876
6  	The picture of Michael McClemens and the information on his family is from Evelyn Burke of Ottawa, one of his 
        descendants and a family genealogist
7  	1891 Census, Quebec, Ottawa County, Buckingham Township, Division 2, Page 1, Line 6
8 	1901 Census, Quebec, Labelle, Buckingham Township, Division 2, Page 1, Line 41
9  	Ancestry.ca, Quebec Vital and Church Records(Drouin Collection)1627-1967, St. Gregory’s Parish, Buckingham 1917
10 	Ancestry.ca, Quebec Vital and Church Records(Drouin Collection)1627-1967, St. Gregory’s Parish, Buckingham 1919 
  


Mary, Gertrude, Lucy, Theresa & Bea McClements c1935                       Pat, Mary, John, Florence and Joe, c. 1915

              



    Tom Powers, Albert, Wilfrid, Pat, Barney Cullen                                      Possibly a music recital or competition c. 1905
    Bea, Eileen Powers, Mary, Julia, c. 1915                                                front row – Joe McClements at right;
                                                                                back row – Albert McClements left & Mary McClements 2nd right        

                   



Partridge Hunting, McClements farm 1914



... Mark Cullen