The
MacGREGORS
Of AnnapolisOld Fort Anne reconstructed as it was in the 1600s
James of Granville (Planter) John of Granville (planter) John of Wilmot (settler) George
The MacGregor family appears to have been one of the original English speaking families that settled in Annapolis Royal and the surrounding county following the expulsion of the Acadians in 1755.
The 1770 census shows that a Thomas MacGregor was living in Granville with four in the family, two of which were born in the area. In 1771, he was listed as having five in the family. Also in the 1770 census, a John McGregor was listed where he was identified as owning the only sloop in the township. John was also listed as single and 'American' therefore possibly a son or a relative of Thomas.
These MacGregors were part of a large group of over 8000 New Englanders who came to this colony between 1759 and 1768. They became known as 'Planters' an old English term for colonists.
The Planters came to Nova Scotia by formal invitation. Three years after the deportation of the Acadians, the French Fortress of Louisbourg, the 'Dunkirk of America,' was taken by the British. With the hostile French gone, the Mi'kmaq indians being subdued, and Acadian lands vacant, Halifax officials looked to New England for immigrants who would be loyal to the Crown.
There was more land under cultivation before 1900 than there is today in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia offered up 1000 acres per person on the most favourable terms. They came from overburdened lands in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and eastern Massachusetts to carry on their traditional activities of fishing and farming in a comparative virgin wilderness. When the American Revolution broke out, some Planters returned to New England to fight for the revolutionary cause, but there was also an enthusiastic Planters Militia which backed the British cause.
Planter houses are still seen throughout western Nova Scotia
Thomas MacGregor seems to have disappeared some time during the American Revolution. I am looking for him.
