{"id":8273,"date":"1850-10-29T08:27:00","date_gmt":"1850-10-29T16:19:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peipioneercemetery.com\/staging\/?p=8273"},"modified":"2026-10-29T11:49:34","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T18:49:34","slug":"john-foreman-macisaac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peipioneercemetery.com\/staging\/john-foreman-macisaac\/","title":{"rendered":"John \u201cForeman\u201d MacIsaac"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A shipbuilder of China Point, a family connection to Souris, and a legacy carried through generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John \u201cForeman\u201d MacIsaac\u2019s story connects the early Scottish settlement of Prince Edward Island with the working life of its coastal communities. Born at China Point around 1796\u20131798, he became associated with shipbuilding before moving east. His children and their descendants carried the family\u2019s story into the Souris area, St. Margaret\u2019s parish and communities beyond the Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why \u201cForeman\u201d?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The family history preserved in Helen \u201cArty Johnny V\u201d MacDonald\u2019s research describes John returning to Scotland as a young man to learn the shipbuilding trade. He married Margaret MacNeil, from the Isle of Barra, during this period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At China Point, John operated a shipbuilding shop near the landing at the end of China Point Road. The account connects his nickname, \u201cForeman,\u201d with his management of the shipbuilding business. It recalls that traces of the shop and the structure used to launch vessels could still be seen in the early 1930s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same account describes difficulty finding suitable timber locally. John later moved on; Margaret\u2019s death is recorded at Georgetown in 1850. His later life brought him to the Souris area, where he was described as a merchant and businessman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His father, Roderick, and the China Point family<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Helen\u2019s research identifies John\u2019s father as Roderick MacIsaac of China Point, a son of the older Roderick MacIsaac and Flora MacNeil. The family account follows the younger Roderick from the Glenaladale settlement at Tracadie to the Waterside area on Pownal Bay, linking this branch with the Island\u2019s early Scottish settler families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family history also identifies John\u2019s mother as a Mi\u2019kmaq woman. Her name has not yet been established in the material assembled for this archive; Helen\u2019s genealogical report records her as unknown. We retain this important part of the family\u2019s history with that distinction, while continuing to seek records that might tell us more about her own life and family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A family extending eastward<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

John had children from two marriages. His first family, with Margaret MacNeil, included Dugald, Cyril, Mary Ann, Jane and Margaret. The research follows these children into religious life, study and marriages connecting them with other eastern Island families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1856, John married Mary Anne Cheverie at St. Mary\u2019s Church in Souris. Their children included Agnes, Peter, Margaret, Francis Hilary and Stephen Benjamin. This branch provides a direct connection between John\u2019s China Point origins and the families represented in the St. Margaret\u2019s archive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Francis Hilary \u201cFrank\u201d MacIsaac (1866\u20131928), a son of John \u201cForeman\u201d MacIsaac and Mary Anne Cheverie. The supplied photograph is labelled circa 1895. Family collection, supplied by Mike MacDonald.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A connection still being explored<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For descendants today, John is more than a name in a family tree. Mike MacDonald reports many DNA matches associated with this family branch, providing further leads for comparing family histories and tracing shared ancestors. These connections are an ongoing research resource rather than, on their own, proof of a particular ancestral identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John died at Souris on 19 August 1879. His place in this archive reflects the reach of his family: from early settlement and coastal trades to the many descendants whose stories intersect with St. Margaret\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have a connection to this family?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We welcome photographs, letters, family records and corrections concerning John \u201cForeman\u201d MacIsaac, his parents and his descendants. Please include the source of any information you share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please visit our Help Preserve Our Stories<\/a> page to contribute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources and acknowledgements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Based principally on Helen \u201cArty Johnny V\u201d MacDonald\u2019s family research, Ancestors of Margaret \u201cHelen\u201d MacDonald<\/em>, report dated 3 November 2003, especially printed pages 2\u20137. Her compilation preserves earlier family accounts and contributions, including material attributed to John A. MacIsaac. Photograph and present-day family research supplied by Mike MacDonald.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen served on the cemetery\u2019s founding committee and organized its restoration. Her work preserving both family history and the cemetery is an important foundation of this archive<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A shipbuilder of China Point, a family connection to Souris, and a legacy carried through generations. John \u201cForeman\u201d MacIsaac\u2019s story […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1470],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shipbuilding"],"gutslider_comments":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peipioneercemetery.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peipioneercemetery.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peipioneercemetery.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peipioneercemetery.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peipioneercemetery.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8273"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/peipioneercemetery.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8274,"href":"https:\/\/peipioneercemetery.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8273\/revisions\/8274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peipioneercemetery.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peipioneercemetery.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peipioneercemetery.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}