Cairns, Edward

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    Introduction
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    Edward's Baldwin grandparents came from Tipperary and his Cairns grandparents were from Monaghan County, Ireland. They came roughly around 1840 aboard the Margaret Pollard to escape the Potato Famine. Thomas Baldwin (Edward's grandfather) settled Baldwins Road, a thoroughly Irish community. The Baldwin's were a large family. Grandparents met and married on the Island. Thomas Baldwin married twice. Life was rough upon arrival. Uncle John and Patrick, sold timber: pine and hemlock. Recalls they had to rinse raw oatmeal for their dinner.
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    Baldwin's Road land was surveyed in 1867 and was 7 miles long. The manmade road was named after his grandfather Baldwin. They cleared land for potato planting and built their own houses. Most of old house gone but parts of it still there. There's a barn in its place, with no nails just wood plugs, still standing (at time of interview). Points out picture of house to interviewer. Edward has no pictures of Baldwin family. In 1952/1953 pictures were taken (stolen) from their house.
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    Discussion about entertainment, social gatherings. Mentions the Belfast Riots. Locally, relations with Scottish were good. All were Catholic on Baldwin's Road. Edward's grandfather [Jim?] Baldwin had the first store in Montague, presently on Main Street where the post office is (at time of interview). He was also an agent and ship builder. He had a thrashing outfit and traded lumber for machinery. He was considered well-to-do but died a poor man, with 240 acres of land. He died around 1870, at the age of 72, and Edward's mother was only about 5 or 6 years old when he died.
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    There was very little correspondence with old country, but lots of "sitting around telling lies" and drinking rum from Georgetown. Rent a shilling an acre and later 25 cents an acre. Edward recalls that his Baldwin grandfather married twice and his mother was from the second marriage. Looks at a book about Prince Edward Island- Fort Augustus, St. Theresa's, and Kinkora.
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    Grandfather Baldwin was well liked as a Land Agent. Edward knows less about the Cairn family. There was Paddy Cairns (Edward's great Grandfather), and Terrence Cairns was his grandfather. Three sons of Paddy: John Cairns, Terrence Cairn, and Pat Cairns. Terrence settled on Stanhope Road.
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    Pat Cairns and Peter Cairns (cousins), along with Peter Doherty, went to Kansas because of hard times.
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    Discussion about relationships. Irish wakes: smoking, drinking, and telling "yarns". Celebrating life instead of mourning death.
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    Discussion about music: fiddlers, performances at dances, social events, mouth organs, and time passed by gossiping, "telling lies" and storytelling. Johnny Baldwin, who went to Western Canada and the US, made up great stories. Recalls one of Johnny's stories about his dog grabbing a mouthful of wool off a sheep and then running to the lake. When he was in the water the fleas(?) jumped off him and onto the wool, and he let the wool go. Smart dog.
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    People remained loyal to Ireland and were always proud to be Irish. Confederation accepted as a good thing among the Irish communities; many of the political leaders were Irish. There was a natural dislike for British/English. Protestants and Catholics didn't mix up at all; they didn't fight, they just minded own business.

Description

David MacKenzie interviews Edward Cairns (88 years old), formerly of Baldwin (Baldwins) Road, PEI, at the Sacred Heart Home in Charlottetown, where they discuss his paternal (Cairns’) family history and his maternal (Baldwin) family history and memories. Edward also discusses family land, land surveying, religion, relationships, Irish wakes, fiddlers, Irish celebrations, and other memories from Cairns’/Baldwin life on the island.