Dedicated to the Tennants and Grawbargers who settled the Ottawa Valley in the 1850's.
The Grawbargers sailed to New Amsterdam (New York) in 1710 or so on the "Elizabeth". Some of their family members (Andrew Grawbarger) migrated northward as loyalists to the British Crown in the late 1700s or early 1800s.
The Tennants sailed to Canada in June 1820 on the "Commerce" out of Greenock Scotland and Dublin Ireland . They originally settled in Lanark Township in Lanark County Ontario and subsequently spread throughout Canada and the USA.
Meeting up in the Wilberforce Township area (near Killaloe) in the 1850s the Tennants and Grawbargers became fast friends and intermarried quite extensively.
Moving northwest into the Petawawa area together in the 1870s they founded the "Tennant Settlement" on what is now part of the Petawawa Military Base. Being bought out by the Military in 1906 some moved into nearby Chalk River while others made the trek to the Restoule/Golden Valley area and others rode the rails to Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia.
Their story of hard toil and heavy burdens marked them as they set down roots and pioneered the Lanark area in the early 1800s. Finding strength in each other and through their fantastic familial relationships as their descendants married other pioneers, the Tennants and their extensive families spread out from Lanark to explore whole new homesteads and occupations.
Thomas Tennant and Ann Hill would be proud of the varied and broad legacy of their descendants. Their heart-wrenching decision to sail to a new world would in a few short decades after their death, ultimately be rewarded with their progeny weaving themselves into and becoming a part of the very essence of Canada.
Their never ending spirit lead their descendants to become explorers, clergy and pastors, shanty-men, hunters, trappers, doctors, farmers, scientists, administrators, lawyers, railroaders, soldiers, writers, educators, paramedics, morticians, elected officials, police officers, firefighters, sports enthusiasts and entrepreneurs of the day.
Alfred MacDonald and Mary Grawbarger -
This is a wedding photo of Alfred MacDonald and Mary Grawbarger supplied by Perry MacDonald of Chalk River Ontario.
Alfred and Mary were married on October 31, 1900 in Chalk River. For their wedding meal they had "chicken stew".
Alfred was born in the Lake Dore Ontario area in 1867 and died in Chalk River on March 21, 1959. Mary was born April 27, 1884 in the Tennant Settlement near Chalk River. She was the daughter of Thomas Grawbarger and Sarah Jane Tennant. One set of her grandparents were Thomas Tennant (1834-1909) and Mary Ann Grawbarger (1837-1911). Mary died on October 6, 1961 in Chalk River Ontario.
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