My Lemon Ancestry
(by Wayne MacDonald)

May 2020

My quest to find more about my ancestry started about 2008 after I retired from 30 years in public service to the Crown.

When I was a young teen in the 1960s, my aunt told me of our family emigrating from Greenock, Scotland and that we were of Clan Ranald. At that time, I didn’t appreciate the rich history that was waiting to be discovered in my retirement.

My genealogical research was augmented with a series of Y-DNA tests I ordered. The tests confirmed my Clan Ranald lineage and provided a segue into joining several surname DNA projects. It was through the projects and autosomalDNA results that genetic matches started to present themselves on my results pages.

It was at this time I started to really make some headway in my ancestry research. I knew that my paternal great-grandfather Ranald MacDonald had married Mary Lemon and that they had resided in Glengarry Ontario. I had little knowledge of my Lemon family until my autosomal DNA results began to show me strong genetic matches with people related to my Lemon family.

With the aid of Mike, a professional genealogist and husband of my first cousin, I was able to collaborate with him in discovering the address and available records concerning Mary Lemon and her UEL grandfather John Lemon Sr.

Then one day, two years ago, I contacted a newly discovered fourth cousin, Edward Lemmon of Hull, PQ. Edward was a strong genetic match to me and we shared information about our family. To my delight, Edward confirmed the address of the Lemon homesteads in Lochiel Twp. and Lancaster Twp. of Glengarry. He also informed me that his uncle still lives on the 1st concession of Lochiel close to the old family farm and that he and his father had demolished the original log home in the early 1960s.

Edward’s grandfather had married Hannah Potter whose great-grandfather was Abraham Peter Mabee UEL son of Peter Mabee UEL.

My great-grandparents Ranald and Mary had a son Daniel (Donald) born in Prescott, East Hastings in 1870. Daniel married Josephine Shorey (Charest) and they had a candy shop at 101 Balliol Street in Kingston. Daniel became a train engineer with the Grand Trunk Railway at the Stanley Barracks and moved when needed from Hamilton, Lindsay, Kingston and Toronto.

The Lemon surname has been spelled in various ways as some of my cousins have the spelling as Lemmon, Lyman, Lamon, Lamond and Lomond etc. I believe this is the result of the English ear and the Gaelic tongue in some circumstances and the fact that not all of our early settlers were literate.

The Lemon name can be traced back to Clan Lamond who were Royalist supporters in the 1600s. In 1636, Sir James Lamont was plotting for the “Royalist” cause with other clan chiefs including my 5th cousin 7 times removed Sir Donald Gorm Og MacDonald the 8th of Sleat. Sir James also came out in support of the Marquess of Montrose and again later in support of my 3rd cousin 8 times removed, Sir Alasdair MacColla MacDonald of Colonsay.

Prior to 1746 my ancestors were fiercely loyal to the Royalist cause but in the proceeding few years after the battle of Culloden (1746) my MacDonald/MacDonell, Lemon, MacDougal and Cameron ancestors turned their loyalties from the Jacobite cause to the Crown. Many were veterans of the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, and my father James and some of his brothers were veterans of WW2.

I have a rare copy of the Historical Atlas of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry 1879, in which my Lemon family name is spelled both Lemon and Lamond in relation to my Lemon family farm lots in the townships of Glengarry.

I would like to express great gratitude for the patient and helpful guidance of Anne Redish UE of our Branch in pointing me in the right direction for my UE quest which has bolstered my deep appreciation of my Loyalist history — which has now become an obsession! Now I look forward to discovering more Loyalist connections.

Wayne MacDonald UE
Muskoka, Ontario

Wayne also wrote, “I was contacted today from a cousin Francisco Conte MacDonell of South America after I posted the picture on my FaceBook page. He is a direct descendant of Capt. Alexander MacDonell UE. who in 1773 was an emigration leader from Fort William, Invernessshire, Scotland (along with his brothers on the Pearl) to Sir William Johnson’s Estate in the Mohawk Valley of the British Province of New York. Captain Alexander was Francisco’s 3rd GGF. Francisco’s 2nd GGF was Sir Hugh MacDonell ESQ of Aberchalder; Consul Gen. of Algiers. Francisco has a number of heirlooms and original records in his possession from the family and he wants me to provide him with information on how to get his UE certification. Francisco said he has three UE lines.”