- History

FAMILY HISTORY


Articles in this section

  • Extracts from the Minutes of the annual Smith-McWilliam picnics (1907-1945)

    by Ray

    The first Smith-McWilliam family picnic in Embro in 1907, which brought together 73 the descendants of the McWilliam and Smith pioneers who had emigrated to the West Zorra township in Ontario from Scotland between 1846 and 1853, was such a success that it became a yearly event.
    The photo of (...)

  • The children of James Smith and Helen McWilliam - biographical notices

    by Ray

    These biographical notices of the children of James Smith and Helen McWilliam and their descendants cover the period from the arrival of James and Helen in Canada in 1850 up to 1939 [1].
    The names of the 11 aunts and uncles of Macdonald Smith have been highlighted in blue, and those of his (...)

  • Biographies of James Smith and Helen McWilliam

    by Ray

    Helen McWilliam and James Smith were married at the home of her sister, Mrs. George McIntyre in Banffshire, Scotland, June 13, 1850. They spent a short honeymoon visiting the brothers and sisters of each. This honeymoon was not spent at a seaside resort in the glamour of grandeur. The (...)

  • Photo of the first Smith-McWilliam family picnic in 1907

    by Ray

    The first full gathering of the descendants of the Innes, Smith and McWilliam pioneers who had emigrated from Banffshire in Scotland to the Embro area in southern Ontario between 1846 and 1853 took place at a family picnic at the home of our Dad’s grandfather James Smith (then a widower, aged (...)

  • Pioneer Days

    by Ray

    This is the initial chapter of the booklet issued in 1982 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Zorra Presbyterian Church in Embro in 1832.
    It recounts in vivid detail the atmosphere of life in the Presbyterian community of Zorra township in those pioneer days.
    PIONEER ERA (...)