James Gillespie, b. 4-20-1810   d. 10-08-1899

James Gillespie, born in Scarnageeragh, County Monaghan, Ireland, April 20, 1810, was the son of John Gillespie and Sarah Woods Gillespie, his second wife. John Gillespie, a farmer and a weaver, whose father came from Glasgow, Scotland, was well-known in the county and was instrumental in raising a company of volunteers for Lord Charlemont in the Rebellion of 1798. Born in 1780, John Gillespie lived to the great age of 100. By his first marriage, John Gillespie had two daughters and a son. The two daughters married brothers of the name Greer and immigrated to the United States; the son remained in Ireland. By his second marriage, he had 3 sons - Robert, James and Alexander, and one daughter, Sarah, who married John Smith. All of these immigrated to Canada, but Alexander contracted typhoid on the ship and died in the hospital in Quebec. James Gillespie, who was employed on the estate of Lord Beresford, "Primate of all Ireland," was married in Lisnadill Church on December 31, 1835, to Mary Jamieson (b. 3-3-1814), one of four daughters of Arthur Jamieson and Mary Orr, who had a farm about five miles from Armagh. She had a good voice and sang in the choir of Lisnadill Church, her father being precentor.

James Gillespie and Mary Orr Jamieson James Gillespie and his young wife came to Quebec in 1837. For a time he managed the farm of George Henderson at Little River, four miles from the city. This farm later became the Hossack farm. He soon rented the place, and lived there for about eight years. Here, four children were born - Eliza Jane, Mary, John and Sarah. In 1845, he rented the Hamilton farm, directly north of Scott's Bridge, and in this home were born James, George Arthur Stewart and Margaret. It was here that Eliza Jane was married, in the year 1857, to Alexander Buchanan.	Mary Orr Jamieson Gillespie
Old ancestral farm-house at Little River, Quebec Photo as captioned by Edith Gillespie in 1965, in her book, "The Gillespie Family Record."	In 1860, James Gillespie bought a farm nearby from Mr. Prendergast, which the family still owned, according to family records, as late as 1965. Mary was married to Peter LeRossignol there in 1862; Sarah to Alexander Gillespie (her cousin) in 1867, and Margaret to James Jack in 1876. The house was an old-fashioned, French- Canadian type, with a steep roof and sloping eaves. Fronted by the St. Charles River, the house had farmland extending almost two miles back towards Charlesbourg. Two photos exist of Gillespie family homes in Little River. There is a discrepancy in records as to whether the house at left is actually the Hossack house or the Prendergast house. Click on photo to see a similar house captioned by Mary Gillespie LeRossignol-Henderson, in her book, "Memories of My Early Life," as being her "birth- place." However, Mary Henderson's written description of the Prendergast house matches the architecture of the houses in both photos.
When James Gillespie arrived in Quebec in 1837, he became affiliated with St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, where he was an active member and an elder for 35 years, during the long ministry of Dr. John Cook. He organized the first Sunday school in Quebec, and for a time, served as its superintendent at the Cameron Church in St. Roch. Greatly interested in education, he secured the services of a teacher from Ireland, Mrs. Story, and gave her the use of a cottage on the farm, in which she lived and where school was held. The dairy business that they ran on the farm supplied the Officers' Mess in Quebec with butter, all made into quarter pound prints with a thistle stamp. After their children were married, with the exception of Agnes and Margaret, James and Mary Gillespie stayed on the farm for several years, until it was bought by their son, James Gillespie II. They rented an adjacent farm, where they lived until Mary Orr Jamieson Gillespie died on 2-25-1880. About 2 years after this, James Gillespie married a cousin, Mrs. McRoberts, née Woods, at Lucan, Ontario, and lived there for several years - and later at Park Hill. When his wife became too frail to keep house, she made her home with a daughter and James Gillespie lived with the Rev. and Mrs. James Henderson until his death on 10-8-1899. His body was taken to Quebec and buried in the family lot in Mount Hermon Cemetery. Continue on to read about James Gillespie's siblings, Robert and Sarah Gillespie. Please note that this web site is a work-in-progress, in its beginning stages. New pages will be added over time, and family sources will be credited. In the future, as time permits, we will supply an e-mail link for family wishing to contact us. 2004 - Diane Gillespie Stanislaw

James Gillespie

Robert and Sarah Gillespie

Mt. Hermon Cemetery

Pedigree Chart

General Gillespie

George Gillespie