Andrew MacFarlane

Island story

Andrew MacFarlane was born on Pictou Island in 1855 and became part of two major strands of the Island’s maritime history. In November 1884 he was among the Islanders involved in the rescue effort connected with the wreck of the Inveralt at East Point. The original 1886 federal reward table names Andrew McFarlane among the rescuers recognized for service on 15 November 1884 and records a silver watch awarded to him. This recognition predates the federal Pictou Island life-saving station established in 1889. On 8 June 1892 federal personnel evidence records Andrew’s appointment as keeper of the East Lighthouse. He married Flora MacPherson at Pictou on 12 August 1891 and remained closely tied to the Island for the rest of his life, dying there on 28 August 1943. His Pioneer Cemetery family memorial is at R10-007 / NovaStory 3465. The memorial records several family members; individual biological relationships are stated only where supported by other records. The original marriage records Andrew as an Island-born farmer, aged 34, with parents John and a maternal initial N.; that initial is not expanded. The reported age differs from his established 1855 birth year. Flora’s marriage and death records differ on her age and birthplace; these discrepancies remain explicit in her biography. The Mary Catherine named in a 1908 delayed birth application is not identified with the R10-007 memorial’s Mary Catherine, dated 1894–1927.