While scant information is available, history shows us that Effie MacPherson MacLeod was certainly made of sterner stuff. Effie is my paternal 4th Great Grandmother. In 1803, six-year old Effie came from the Isle of Skye, Scotland to Prince Edward Island, Canada with her family.
Later, with her husband Robert MacLeod, she moved to Lake Ainslie, Pleasant Bay, Cape North and finally Victoria, Nova Scotia. In 1828, she made the trip from Pleasant Bay to Cape North in an 14-foot open boat. According to family lore, during that perilous voyage, Effie gave birth to her son Angus MacLeod while in Aspy Bay.
Effie was a midwife and was for a time the only doctor in the Cape North area. According to a history of the region, Effie journeyed on horseback and snowshoes to reach those in need of her services.
Marie-Henriette LeJeune Ross (1762-1860)
In researching Effie, I came across another pioneer midwife who lived in north Cape Breton during the same period. In Nova Scotia, the story of Granny Ross is widely known and she is considered to be a “trail- blazer in the world of women in science.”
During the early years of her adult life, Marie-Henriette became aware of her gifts as a healer and midwife. The legend of Granny Ross began in Little Bras d’Or, where she cared for and saved the lives of many settlers during a smallpox epidemic. Since she had already contracted the disease, she was immune to its effects.
Note: The source for the map at the top of this post (Carte de L’Isle Royale 1744) is the Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University and is being used for personal or non-commercial use.
© David R. French and French in Name Only, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.
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