Person:Hugh McLean (4)

From, "The McLeans", by Helen McLean, 2000, p. 10:

Hugh Growing Up In Brechin Area

When Hugh was 12 or 13 he began his first Job ploughing fields on the fami ly farm. At the end of each row be would rest on his knees. Many years lat er when he was in his 70's he was helping his son Mark plough the fields a nd he did the same thing - rested on his knees at the end of each ro w. He remarked to Mark, "I'm right back to where I started." He began scho ol around the age of seven, as was customary in those days. He completed h is schooling at about 13 years of age, which was also the usual. He attend ed a nearby brick country school which remains standing today.

A few years later, some of the o1der~ boys attending the school thought th ey had a plan to dismantle the school, one brick at a time. They had pull ed out all the bricks around the door in hopes that the school would fa ll down. Eugene (Gene) attended the meeting to decide what to do about t he situation. Some boys were hiding in the back corner of the room. Gene c ommented, "There's the lambs back there."

Hugh, along with his brothers and sisters, loved to fish and swim in near by Lake Simcoe. It has been said that he could swim for three miles.

At around the age of 18 Hugh got a Job taking off timber around Lake Rosse au in Muskoka. Timber was taken off in the winter when the lake was froz en It was easier to work along the edge of the lake and transport the log s. A tree fell on Hugh's leg and broke it Luckily, his workmates fou nd an abandoned canoe somewhere along the river. They put Hugh in it and s lid him across the frozen lake. He had a cast put on the leg and spent t he remainder of the winter at home .with his Mom and Dad. He was quite bor ed at home and decided to learn to play the fiddle. His father gladly taug ht him. All his brothers played the fiddle. Mick and Eugene were the best.

Mick had both a moustache and a full beard. His older sons, Pat and Hugh w ore moustaches. It was the stylish thing to do in their era but not for t he younger brothers. Pat always used to say, "You had to have a moustac he and play the fiddle or you couldn't get a girl."

1. ↑ Census Records
   1901 census of North Mara, Ontario Co., Ontario.

   QUAY 3 #23, McLain, Hugh, brother, single, born Ont. 20 Mar 1877, age 24; irish origin, R. Cath, Farmer.

2. ↑ Church baptism record
   St. Columbkille's ch., Uptergrove Simcoe Co., Ont.; LDS film 1305589, item # 2, p. 9.

   QUAY 3 "Hugh James McLean, born Mara 20 March, '77, baptized 22 April 77; son of Michael McLean, born Canada and Maria McNenly, born Canada; sponsors: ; by P. Rey"

3. ↑ McLean Helen -"McLean Families..."
   3.

   QUAY 3 "Hugh McLean...1877 (March 20) - Dec. 1956 (buried on Xmas Eve)"

4. ↑ McLean Helen -"Timeline"
   15.

   QUAY 3 1956 Dec. - Hugh McLean, father of Mark, died and is buried on Xmas Eve. Hugh was 79."