Military service forms part of the history of St. Margaret’s parish and its families. Jenny (O’Hanley) McQuaid’s Genealogy of St. Margaret’s Parish identifies several men from Hermitage, Naufrage and Monticello who served during the First and Second World Wars.

These brief accounts bring their names together as a starting point for remembering their service. This is a developing list, rather than a complete roll of everyone from the parish who served. It also includes a clearly identified account from neighbouring Souris. Inclusion here does not establish burial in either St. Margaret’s cemetery.

Earlier conflicts: a soldier remembered at Souris

Corporal Francis Albert “Frank” McCormick (1878–1901)

The Island Register identifies Frank McCormick as a corporal who served in the Spanish-American War and the Boxer Rebellion, and who was killed in action during the Philippine-American War. His life ended in 1901, well before the First World War.

The same source lists him at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Cemetery in Souris. He is included here as part of the wider area’s military history; this does not establish a burial at St. Margaret’s or a confirmed parish connection.

The Island Register also records the belief that he was the only Islander killed in that conflict whose remains were returned to his native country. That distinction remains an attributed claim pending confirmation from military or repatriation records.

First World War

Emmanuel MacDonald — Hermitage

McQuaid records Emmanuel MacDonald’s years as 1878–1941 and identifies him as a First World War soldier. He never married and remained in Hermitage until his death.

Lewis MacDonald — Hermitage

Lewis MacDonald served as a lieutenant in the British Army during the First World War. According to McQuaid, he was on loan to Russia as a consultant on railway construction. His later life took him to Vancouver, where he became a businessman, before he returned to the family home in Hermitage to live with his brother Gabe.

Gabe MacDonald — Hermitage

McQuaid also identifies Gabe, Lewis’s brother, as a First World War veteran. The account places the brothers within the extended MacDonald family of Hermitage. Further service details would help give a fuller picture of Gabe’s wartime experience.

Joseph O’Henley — Naufrage and Monticello

Joseph O’Henley is named as a First World War veteran and a son of Ronald O’Henley and Elizabeth Dunphy. McQuaid raises a question about whether Joseph and the next-listed Angus J. were the same person. That uncertainty remains unresolved; they are not presented here as two separate veterans.

Daniel L. O’Hanley — Naufrage

McQuaid identifies Daniel L. O’Hanley as a First World War veteran and as the third keeper of Shipwreck Point Light at Naufrage. His story connects military service with the work of maintaining a light on the parish’s coastline.

Second World War

Jim MacDonald — Hermitage

Jim, identified in McQuaid’s account as a son of Angus Dan MacDonald, served during the Second World War. His branch of the Hermitage MacDonalds is distinguished by the family name “Angus Dan.” Further records may help establish his full name and the details of his service.

Building a fuller record

Service files, photographs, letters and family recollections may add units, ranks, dates and personal experiences to these short accounts. Names and spellings also need careful comparison, especially where several relatives shared a name.

If you can add information about a parish veteran, please share the person’s full name, their family or community connection, and the source of the information. Photographs of service papers or inscriptions can be especially helpful. Any military-service identification and any cemetery burial will be checked separately.

Sources

For Frank McCormick: The Island Register, Burial Sites of Interesting People on Prince Edward Island, page 4, under St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Cemetery, Souris.

For the parish veterans: Jenny (O’Hanley) McQuaid, Genealogy of St. Margaret’s Parish:

• Chapter 5, page 71 — Emmanuel MacDonald.
• Chapter 5, page 74 — Lewis and Gabe MacDonald; Jim, son of Angus Dan MacDonald.
• Chapter 6, page 83 — Joseph O’Henley and the unresolved Angus J. identification.
• Chapter 6, page 87 — Daniel L. O’Hanley.