Leinster to Lanark
In the years following the 1798 Insurrection in Ireland a large group of settlers from the counties of Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford and Wicklow came to Lanark County in the Ottawa Valley. Many others from the same places, often related to them, settled in the adjoining counties of Leeds and Carleton.
A careful comparison has been made between the huge amount of historical and genealogical research carried out by the author over the past forty years, and the ‘Elly lists’ which are in the National Archives of Canada. These are not ships’ passenger lists as some people believe, but a roster of men who, in 1817, expressed a wish to sail for Upper Canada with their families in 1818, more than five thousand people in all. While not all of them proceeded with their plans, hundreds of others left Ireland over the following decade.
In due course some members of these pioneer families moved to other parts of the province, their destination being the counties of Bruce, Grey, Hastings, Huron, Lambton and Renfrew, among others. Many other descendants still reside on their families’ original lots in Lanark County. Genealogical information pertaining to the pioneer generation has been included for hundreds of families. In addition to this the author has included stories which have been handed down in some of the families concerning their ancestors’ experiences in south-eastern Ireland in 1798.
Snares & Nets, written under the pen name Catriona McCuaig, is Carol's latest novel, published by Robert Hale Ltd, November 2009, price £18.99. To order a copy, see www.halebooks.com
A Tudor mystery, Snares & Nets features her new series character, midwife Nesta Davies. The year is 1533, and Nesta is working in Oxford. Her son, Jack Davies, is a cordwainer in the fictional hamlet of Hollyhill, where his wife is slowly dying of consumption, known to us today as tuberculosis. Desperate for help, he sends for his mother to come to their aid. Shortly before Nesta's arrival the local midwife is foully murdered, and when the women of the hamlet call on Nesta to attend them in labour she finds herself drawn into a web of intrigue. She is puzzled and annoyed when several local men insist that their coming babies must be sons. Everyone knows that the king has abandoned his first wife because she is unable to give him a living heir, but what has this to do with ordinary men? Nesta decides that there is more to this than meets the eye. And who is the mysterious child who tries to lure poor Sue Robinson to her death? Some people believe that her husband is behind the attempt on her life, while others think that the girl tried to commit suicide. Then there is young Blanche Bellefleur. Refusing to go through with an arranged marriage, she leaves her bridegroom standing at the altar. When her cloak and shoes are found on the riverbank it is assumed that she has followed Sue's example, for if she is still alive, where is she now? When the constable fails to get to the bottom of these mysteries, it is Nesta who manages to uncover the truth of what is happening at Hollyhill.
A conversation with the author:
Q. Why did you select the name Nesta Davies for your leading character?
A. Actually this was the name of my high school English teacher! Some of the Tudor princesses in medieval Wales were called Nest or Nesta, and as Snares & Nets is set in Tudor England this seemed appropriate. Also my character is of Welsh descent, although this fact is not revealed in this first book.
Q. Why did you choose to make Nesta a midwife?
A. There had to be some means of giving her access to any home in this class-conscious society. In the sixteenth century the midwife, by reason of her job, was welcomed into any house, from the poorest to the most exalted. Had she been a maidservant or an ordinary housewife she would not have had the freedom to roam the countryside investigating crimes!
Q. The year 2009 is the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's accession to the throne. Is this why you decided to write a book set in his lifetime?
A. No. I've always had an interest in the Tudors, and I've been planning this for some time. Other novels being published this year deal with the royal family and the well-known events at Court, but Snares & Nets chronicles the lives of ordinary people, with the Tudor dynasty providing the background.