A Tribute
to Allan McQuarrie
1800-1887
Being 200
years since his birth
“Quite a large number of veteran saints in this place
have passed away and one by one they are still going to swell the numbers
behind the veil. The last that thus left us here was Father Allan McQuarrie. He
was an old Caledonian, and attained a good ripe old age.” Thus starts the
obituary of Allan that appeared in the Ogden newspaper on 22 March 1887. (See
below for full text of obituary.)
Our great family patriarch Allan McQuarrie was born
in about September or October of 1800 and was sprinkled on 22 October 1800 in
the parish of Kildalton, Argyleshire, Scotland. His parents were Hector
McQuarrie (1759-1847) and Anne McQuaig (1768-1856). He was the fourth of eight
children born to this family. His siblings were:
·
Betsy, born about 1793
·
Mary, sprinkled 22 Mar 1795
·
John, sprinkled 1 Jul 1798
·
Allan, sprinkled 22 Oct 1800
·
Janet, born about 1803
·
Catharine, sprinkled 17 Apr 1806
·
Anne, sprinkled 19 May 1808
·
Marion, sprinkled 31 Mar 1811
Little is
known about his early years. His forefathers were poor farm laborers who worked
on the farms of the more affluent people of Scotland. His son Robert states in
his journal that “his ancestors lived in the highlands of Scotland in the midst
of poverty.” We can assume that this statement went for Allan as well.
Allan and
Agnes were born in different parishes. Allan was born on the Isle of Islay and
Agnes was born in Knapdal Parish. When they met is hard to say. At the time of
their marriage, they were in the same parish. Their marriage record does not
say how long they had lived there.
[Included
image of wedding record says, “Allan Querey and Agnes Matthison both in this
parish gave in their names for proclamation and there married.”]
The marriage
record indicates that they gave their names as a proclamation to be married on
10 Feb 1832 and were married 2 Mar 1832. Agnes Mathieson was born 1 Jan 1807 in
the parish of Knapdal Argyleshire, Scotland. Allan was 32 years of age when he
and Agnes were married. They were married in the Knapdal Parish on 2 Mar 1832.
After their
marriage, Allan went to work for a Mr. Robert Holm on the Castlehill farm near
Kilmalcolm. Robert Holm’s wife was Mary Graham, and she was an aunt to Agnes
Mathieson, Allan’s wife. Allan worked on the farm with his wife for the next 16
years.
During the
time living on the farm, the following children were born to them.
·
Robert, born 17 Aug 1832, Knapdal Parish
·
Hector, born 20 Oct 1834, Kilmalcolm Parish
·
Mary Graham, born 20 Jan 1837, Kilmalcolm Parish
(died when she was seven years old)
·
Neil, born 12 May 1839, Kilmalcolm Parish
·
Agnes, born 8 Dec 1841, Kilmalcolm Parish
·
John, born 9 Mar 1844, Kilmalcolm Parish
·
Mary Mathieson, born 23 Aug 1846, Kilmalcolm
Parish
Removal of Allan’s Left Leg
Allan worked long hard hours on the Castlehill farm,
and as a result he became lame in his left leg and suffered greatly with pain.
About 1848 or 49 after suffering about three years had his leg taken off just
above the knee. This operation was done with just a knife, a meat saw, and an
ax—without the benefit of anesthetic. After the leg had been removed, they had
to sear the blood vessels with a red hot iron to prevent him from bleeding to
death.
After the loss of his leg, he was no longer able to
support his family. His wife, Agnes, had to go to work doing odd jobs and
washing to help support the family. The sons were old enough to help Mr. Holm
with the farm and take on some of Allan’s duties there. Hector McQuarrie went
to Glasgow and secured work in a blacksmith shop working for a Mr. Matthew
Gray. It was Matthew Gray’s daughter Agnes who came to Utah with the family of
Allan and Agnes and married Hector. While doing research, I found an obituary
of Allan that appeared in the Ogden newspaper that indicated that as a young
man he had been in an accident with a horse and cart and that his right leg had
been run over and the strain of saving that leg caused his left leg to be
injured. This accident led to the loss of his leg. Many McQuarries have bad
knees and so it is possible that it is an inherited trait.
Mormon Missionaries
About 1850, Mormon missionaries came to the area and
preached the restored gospel. Hector was working in a blacksmith shop. He heard
their message and was interested in what they had to say. After studying the
literature they had, he was converted and was baptized 4 May 1852. His brother,
Robert, states in his journal that he got a tract called “The Only Way to Be
Saved” by Lorenzo Snow. He probably got it from Hector. He states also that he
was convinced of the truth before he met the elders. Robert was baptized 9 Oct
1853; his brother Neil was baptized the same day.
Prayed to Get a Way to Immigrate Utah
The family
desired to immigrate to Utah and be with the body of the saints. As they were
poor farmers, they would have to save for quite some time to be able to make
the trip. The owners of the Castlehill farm that they worked on were getting
older’ and as they had no children, the family of Allan prayed that they might
inherit the farm. Robert Holm died in 1854, and a small amount of money was
left to Allan’s family. With this money, Hector was chosen to go to Utah and
prepare to receive the family when they could leave their home land and go to
Zion. In Robert’s Journal, he states that the family prayed that Mary Holm
would die so they could come to Zion. Then in 1856, Mary Holm died and left her
money, the farm, the animals, and equipment to the family. The family sold the
farm, and with the money, they were able to come to Utah.
Trip to Utah
The family said goodbye to friends and left Scotland
19 March 1857 and sailed from Greenock to Liverpool on the steam ship Vanguard.
Besides Allan and Agnes and their family, they had with them Hamilton Garrick
and Agnes Gray, who after their arrival in Utah became Hector McQuarrie’s wife.
The family stayed in Liverpool for eight days and then took passage on the ship
George Washington bound for Boston with 816 souls on board.
From Robert’s journal: “April 17, the sea very rough,
the ship was rolling from one side to the other and upset some of the cooking
stoves. And set the ship on fire…it was soon put out.” The family arrived in
Boston after 23 days of sailing. They left Boston and traveled by rail from
Boston to Albany, New York, then to Buffalo and on to Cleveland, Ohio. The
family reached the terminus of the railroad at Iowa City on the 1st
of May 1857. They camped about three miles out of town and spent the next month
getting the wagon and animals ready for the journey to the valley of the Great
Salt Lake. They left Iowa City on June 1st and traveled only three
miles the first day. After a few days of travel, they became better at travel
and were able to make about 12-14 miles a day. On July 5, 1857, they were
crossing the Loup Fork River, and Agnes McQuarrie fell off the wagon and into
the water. A wheel ran over her loins and disabled her from walking. She rode
in a wagon till July 19th, when she started walking again. On the 21st
of July, three Indians approached the wagon train and wanted to trade a horse
for a white squaw. On August 18th, the wagon train camped for two
days at Devil’s Gate. On Wednesday, August 26th, they met 70 men
going to assist the emigrants to hurry to the Salt Lake Valley, as the United
States Army under Johnson were close behind. They were going to quell the
Mormon rebellion and kill off the Mormons. They entered Salt Lake Valley on the
12th of September, 1857. They stayed in Salt Lake City until
September 22nd, and then went to Ogden to be with Hector.
Move to Ogden and Baptism
A farm was purchased in Ogden for $1,000. Allan and
Agnes lived there the remainder of their lives. On November 8, 1857, mother
Agnes, son John, and daughter Agnes were baptized at the Ogden bridge on the
Ogden River. It is strange to see that they gave up their life in Scotland,
sold all they had, and came to Utah, and then got baptized. Father Allan was
not baptized until April 4, 1858.
John and Robert stayed in Ogden and lived there. John
married Mary Ensign November 13, 1871. Hector married Agnes Gray on November
29, 1857, and was called to go to help settle St. George, Utah. There he raised
his family and worked on the St. George temple. Robert married Mena Funk on
April 29, 1860, and lived in Ogden; they moved to Hyde Park in Cache Valley
with his polygamous wife, Hester (married in Logan temple September 8, 1885.)
Neil moved to Cache Valley and lived there with his wife, Margaret Thompson
(married April 12, 1869) and their family. Agnes married Lester J. Harrick June
22, 1867, and lived in the Ogden area. Mary Mathieson married Edward Bunker on
April 20, 1861, and lived in Bunkersville, Nevada.
Passed Away
Agnes Mathieson McQuarrie died
March 3, 1882 and is buried in the McQuarrie family plot in the Ogden City
cemetery. Allan lived for five more years; however, the last three years, he
was confined to his bed. He passed away 30 years to the day that he left his
beloved Scotland to gather with the Saints in the midst of the Rocky Mountains.
He is also buried in the McQuarrie family plot in the Ogden City cemetery.
Allan and Agnes now have many hundreds of descendants
living in many parts of America and the world. On this 200th year of
his birth, may we remember the life he and his family lived, and the courage to
leave and make the trek from Scotland to Utah. This journey was made under
trying conditions with only one leg. May we all be grateful for his life and
sacrifice.
While researching for this sketch, I found some
discrepancies in the records that I looked up on the internet and the ones in
my possession. In cases where records did not agree, I used the information that
is in Bishop Robert McQuarrie’s journal.
The information in this live sketch was taken from
several sources:
·
Robert McQuarrie Journal, now in the Historical
Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Call # MSD2050
box 19:12.
·
Paul and Pauline McQuarrie, via Virginia
McQuarrie Swenson, 1982.
·
Research done by BYU Family History Services,
1976.
·
Obituary in Ogden newspaper, dated March 22,
1887.
·
Mary Mathieson McQuarrie Bunker, by Winona Earl
Witter.
Obituary in Ogden Newspaper
March 22, 1887
Quite a large number of
veteran saints in this place have passed away and one by one they are still
going to swell the numbers behind the veil. The last that thus left us here was
Father Allan McQuarrie, father of Bishop Robert McQuarrie. He was an old
Caledonian, and attained a good ripe old age. He was the son of Hector
McQuarrie and Agnes McQuaig. He was born at Kildaltan Parish, Argyleshire,
Scotland, in October 1800. He was a farmer by occupation. While young, he met
with an accident. A cart wheel ran over his right foot, and in his endeavors to
save it, he injured his left leg. The hurt grew worse, became serious, and
finally resulted in the amputation of the limb. In the year 1831, he was
married. He did not receive the gospel until he was nearly sixty years of age. He
left his native land in 1857, and arrived in Ogden in the fall of the same
year. On April 4, 1858, he was baptized by Elder James S. Brown and confirmed
by Edward Bunker. February 1st, 1859, he was ordained a High Priest
by Charles R. Dana. He continued to live a godly life, being peaceable, quiet,
and affable, setting a good example to all around him, and was beloved by all
who knew him. After a lingering illness, induced by general debility, on the
evening of March 19th, he quietly breathed his last and went to join
his wife who had preceded him to the Spirit World, who died five years since,
in the same month. Three years since Father McQuarrie was confined to his couch
and has been bedridden ever since. The funeral services were held in the Second
Ward meetinghouse on the 22nd, which was well filled with his
friends. After singing, the opening prayer was offered by Elder Joseph Hall.
The speakers were Elders David M. Stuart, John Crawford, John A. Boyle,
President C.F. Middleton, Mark Hall, and Thomas Doxey. All bore testimony to
the good standing and high reputation the deceased sustained as a citizen and
faithful servant of God. The cortege was large that followed the veteran’s
remains to their last resting place. Allan McQuarrie has seven children—four sons
and three daughters, one of the latter is dead. He has 18 grandchildren and one
great-grandchild.
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