In 1823, my gr.,gr.,...grandfather Moses Dundas, 9 generations ago, left County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland to immigrate to Canada. He settled in a small community called Cavan, Ontario near Peterborough. Not long after he was joined by his half-brother Gustavus Dundas. Gustavus was granted a parcel of crown land, near Cavan, for his service in the British Army, the last few years of which were spent on the Island of Elba, serving as a cook for the contingent of British soldiers who guarded Napoleon.
Two years later in 1825, cousins John and William Dundass left Northern Ireland for Canada. They settled in a small rural community called Banner, Ontario. Shortly after Gustavus and Moses left Cavan and along with their families joined the cousins, John and William in Banner.
In 1909, the Dundases got together for a family picnic/reunion on the Sunday closest to July 1st. That picnic/reunion continued each year and this year we celebrate the 100th Dundass/Dundas family picnic/reunion. At 11 o'clock in the morning on June 28th, Dundases will gather at the church in Banner where a piper will be waiting to pipe us (Dundases) into the small church for service. The same church that David Dundas, Moses son and my gr.gr. gr. etc. grandfather helped build.
Attending the service and the family picnic will be our Clan Chief, David Dundas who is attending from the UK. David Duncan Dundas, 31st Head of the Dundas Clan, is one of the oldest, continuous, hereditary Scottish chieftainships still in existence today.
I am looking forward to having a great time and meeting a lot of new relatives. Afterall we are all cousins.
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