Breathes there the man with soul so dead
That never to himself hath said
This my own, my native land!

When Sir Walter Scott penned these lines, doubtless he had in mind the nostalgic pride of Scots the world over in their native heath. The Lothians know well the land of their ancestors -- Scotland- but unfortunately they have difficulty in establishing their lineage. On two large red granite memorials in Norway Bay Cemetery, in the Town­ship of Bristol, County of Pontiac, Quebec, is inscribed a partial record of our forebears. The names include those of my grandfather, William Lothian, his brother George, their respective wives, and some of their numerous descendants who found a final resting place in the sandy pineshaded soil. Our greatgrandmothers name, Helen Johnstone, also appears on the George Lothian memorial, but not a word of our great grandfather!

A story handed down through an elderly cousin, the late Grace McKechnie, relates that Helen Johnstone was the morganatic wife of the Earl or Marquess of Lothian, a branch of the Kerr family. After fathering two Sons by Helen Johnstone, the Earl was obliged by his family to renounce his marriage to Helen and marry a lady of noble birth. Subsequently, Helen Johnstone and her two boys were sent to Canada with a group of Scottish immigrants, to start life anew. A trusty steward accompanied the Lothians, but absconded with the funds entrusted with him for their care, and Helen and her sons were left stranded in the City of Quebec, the port of entry. The kindly Scots with whom she made the voyage took Helen and the Lothian boys in hand, and brought them along to Ottawa (now Pontiac) County in Lower Canada, where they received grants of land in Ranges II and III, Township of Bristol, totalling about 300 acres, which was divided equally between George and William Lothian.

W.J. (Willie) Walker, my fathers cousin, held the theory that George Lothian may have come to America first, cleared the land, and then returned to Scotland for his mother and younger brother. According to Grace McKechnies legend, boxes of fine clothing and other items were forwarded to great grandmother Helen from the Earl in Scotland. It seems that Helen Johnstone made her home with her son George, and died on March 20, 1866, aged 83 years. A copy of a sheet from the census of Bristol Township in 1851 obtained from the Public Archives of Canada, lists the names of William and George Lothian, and shows Ellen Lothian in Georges family group, with her age given as 60. If correct, this record would indicate her age at death as 75 instead of 83 as shown on the family memorial. Perhaps she was a little hesitant in making public her actual age!

A letter from my cousin, W. George Lothian to cousin Muriel Payne Leppard dated May 5, 1931, refers to our grandfathers ancestry, and states that William Lothian was born in Edinburgh Castle. Also that William was about 12 years of age when he first came to Canada, and that he spent some of his early days around Vankleek Hill, Ontario. This statement, however, is not documented. My aunt Matilda, Muriels