We, like the vast majority of Canadians, were immigrants. My maiden name was Glover. The Glovers emigrated from the Lowlands of Scotland in the mid-1800s.
An interesting story explains how my grandfather was named John Carruthers Glover.
The eldest of the 14 children was named John. He drowned shortly after they came to sa国际传媒. Thus, when the youngest came along, he was named after his deceased brother.
Ever after, the family referred to my grandfather as John C.
They were loyal to the English king. It is said that they fought on the side of the English at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. That fact annoyed the Highlanders. So the Glovers hightailed it out of Scotland for the New World.
In the 1850s, they left on one of the rickety, germ-infested wooden ships and arrived safely around the area of Plymouth, Massachusetts. They were kicked out. United Empire Loyalists were not popular in (what is now) the United States. So, they fled north and settled in New Brunswick.
They farmed 160 acres and were granted a deed. They bought extra land for one dollar per acre.
Near Miramichi, Walter鈥檚 family lived through a terrifying experience. A great fire passed through the forested homestead. Practically no living thing survived except for my clever grandfather鈥檚 family.
Walter ran to his makeshift barn while his wife gathered up their many children. He threw all the kids into the buckboard wagon with an armful of burlap sacks. He headed for a nearby slough.
Flames were raging all around. The parents frantically scrambled to wet the sacks, then threw them over the screeching children. Walter drove them into the, by now, tepid waters. All survived. They later talked of seeing and smelling the burnt carcasses of animals.
When I travelled to Scotland in 1971, I found many Glover names in the graveyards, especially in Ayrshire. I also saw the unique tomb of Robert Burns, then a rather shocking shade of pink.
My cousin, when a senior, attended the University of Victoria and studied genealogy. She extensively researched the Glovers and sponsored a large reunion in Victoria in 1994. About 150 of Walter鈥檚 descendants attended from across sa国际传媒 and the U.S. They shared many other stories, often comical.
Those revealed more tales of courage and survival in the face of hardship. As we celebrate sa国际传媒鈥檚 150th, I鈥檓 sure that these are stories which, with those of other immigrant families, share a common theme. 鈥� Joy Glover Sheldon