Person:Archibald Sherrat (1)

Early Life

Archibald was born in 1802, the third child of Robert Sherrat, overseer of the Farquharson estate at Finzean. He was named after his late uncle, Archibald Farquharson, the 7th laird of Finzean. His 9-year-old cousin, also Archibald, was the 8th laird (which is why an overseer was needed). Sometime between 1808 and 1812, when the young laird reached his majority, the Sherrat family moved out of the estate house and to nearby Tillyfruskie farm. In 1818, when he was not yet 16 years old, Archibald's father died, and he, along with his widowed mother and younger sister, moved in with the family of his older sister Christian, then living in Woodend (near the Forest of Birse).

Emigration to Canada

Sometime in the early 1830's, Archibald, together with his sister Christian and her family, emigrated to Ontario, where they were early settlers in the township of Nichol (west of Toronto). Archibald was active in the town affairs, being appointed a township officer in 1833, and a Councillor in the 1850's.^S3 He may have also served in the military (though this remains to be documented), as he was known as "Major A.F. Sherratt".

Married Life

In Canada, Archibald soon met and married Mary Morgan, an immigrant from Wales. They had at least 8 children between 1835 and 1850. Archibald and Mary both remained in or near Nichol for the remainder of their long lives. Archibald died in 1885 at just under 83 years of age, and was survived by his wife.

1. ↑ Church of Scotland. Parish Church of Birse. Old Parish Registers, Parish of Birse (1758-1854). (Birse, Aberdeenshire, Scotland).

   Church of Scotland, Old Parish Registers, Parish of Birse (1758-1854). "Mr Robert Sherrat Overseer at Finzean had a son baptised named Archibald. Witnesses Mr Cromar and David Stratton". (Mr Cromar would have been George Cromar, schoolmaster at Bankhead, who also baptised a child the same day.)

2. ↑ Benner, Mark. Benner, Mark, notes.

   family group sheet for Archibald F. Sherratt

3.   Beattie, David M. Pillars and Patches Along the Pathway: A History of Nichol Township. (Elora, Ontario: Township of Nicol, 1984?), p. 30-31.

   entry for Major A.F. Sherratt: Major A.F. Sherratt, who came to Lot 8 in the 1830's, was born near Birse in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He soon took an interest in municipal affairs and was appointed a township officer in 1833, and was a Councillor in the 1850's.
   Major Sherratt and his wife, Mary Morgan, had the following family: Christina, John, Archibald, Robert, Jean, Farquharson, Mary and Isabella.
   At entry for Arthur Cordiner, it states that Cordiner purchased the Sherratt homestead about 1881. Farquharson Sherratt had inherited the homestead, but moved to a small holding on the main road south of Ennotville.

4.   Ancestry.com, Ontario, Canada Deaths, 1869 - 1934, Wellington Co, stamped no 017835, 1885.

   "Archibald Farquharson Sherratt, died 18th day of Oct 1885, male, in his 82nd year, yeoman, Presbyterian, born Parish of Birze, Aberdeenshire, Scotland N.B., died of apoplexy (2 days), Dr. O'Reilly, reported by Farquharson Sherratt of Nichol, 19 Oct 1885."