The Alasdair McKay Family: From Scots to Canadians

Joseph Leydon teaches geography at the University of Toronto.

This genealogy of the McKay family traces their Scottish origins and
their immigration to Canada, follows the subsequent generations of
Canadian McKays, and provides information on their births, marriages,
and deaths. The text contains extensive excerpts from the published work
of Laurier Lucien LaPierre’s Battle for Canada and descriptions of the
early McKay settlers in Canada from Robert Grant’s East River
Worthies, and is supplemented by “descendancy charts” and
“pedigree charts” found in appendices (these charts represent a
considerable amount of research by the author). The book concludes with
some personal memories of the author’s own childhood.

The title of this book is misleading. The transition from Scot to
Canadian and exactly what this entails is not discussed. Further, the
purpose of the book is not clear. At best, the excerpts from LaPierre
relate only tangentially to the McKay family, while Grant’s
descriptions of the early McKays are so laudatory (comparing the McKays
to Greek gods) that they cannot be taken seriously. There is little
information on life in early Canada, on the evolution of Canadian
society, or on the contributions made by the McKays to their respective
communities. The book can therefore be of use only to members of the
McKay family who are interested in their genealogy.