My Family Tree

Note: There were three men named John McLean associated with Lot 14 - including this John and his wife Janet. Some of the baptismal records for their children say they were born in Lot 14.

A son named John, aged 12, emigrated from Scotland to PEI in 1808 with Laughlin and Catherine McLean. The family may have been in Belfast first, but later settled in Lot 16. The age of this John matches the John McLean who died in the Brae.

According to the history of Brae, John moved to the Brae from Lot 16 in the 1850s. He was the only John McLean in Lot 9 in the 1861 PEI census, and at this time he was farming Green Mill Farm. Local histories say he was called John Alexander or Sandy, but the middle name does not appear on any records.

There are suggestions that John was married twice. No marriage record has been found for either marriage, but Janet McLean or McLaughlin was the mother of children born between 1819 and 1843, and she was buried with her husband. It is assumed that John and Janet were married around 1819, when he was about 24, which doesn't give a lot of time for a first wife, said to be Elizabeth Patton.

The History of Brae has a long list of children: Ann, Flora, Laughlin, Margaret, John Jr., Jane, Catherine, Euphemia, Grace Eliza, Sarah Jane, Alexander, Charlotte, David and Mary. Dates of birth range from around 1819, for Lauchlin, to David in 1851 and Mary, somewhere between 1851-1857. This is an incredible span for one woman, so it is possible that the younger children in the family were grandchildren or other relatives.

In the PEI Baptismal Index, children of John and Janet who were baptized in the Presbyterian Church, Richmond parish, were: Laughlin, Catherine, Ann, Margaret, Flora, Euphemia, Grace and John Jr. Grace Eliza's death record said her parents were John McLean and Jane McLaughlin, a name that was on some of the baptismal records, spelled Jannet Machion or Jannet MacLion, Although the baptismal records do not have a date of birth, John and Jannet seem to have had their children baptized not long after birth, based on census and other records.

The five girls in the 1861 census in this household would be Flora, Jane, Charlotte, Euphemia and Grace. The young man 15-21 could be John Alexander, baptized in 1846; the two males between 21-45 would be John, age 31; and Alexander, age 25. John would be the man upwards of 60. John and his son Laughlin were the only McLeans in Lot 9 in 1861.

Daughter Jane's obituary said her surviving sisters were Grace Eliza, Charlotte and Ann. Her obituary did not mention David, who died in 1920.

As with many of the early families in Prince County, records are scarce. We rely to some extent on the memories of older residents that were captured in local histories. The names of their first two children, Laughlin and Catherine, do indicate that John had a strong link with the couple who emigrated in 1808.

The gravestone in The Brae says John MacLean Sr. born Scotland 1795, died Lot 8 PEI Feb 16 1885; Jannet MacLean beloved wife born Lot 16 1800, d. Nov 14 1881 in the Brae.

No will or estate papers.

From the Island Register:
OTHER MCLEANS
Roderick and Alexander
Hugh lived in Lot 13 near Montgomery's and near William Brown.
Hector lived in Lot 16 near the Ferry.
John lived in Brae. He first lived in the Cove.
John McLean and Catherine McKinnon in Lot 32, North River
John McLean and Susan Walker in the Richmond Parish