THE
ANNABELLA
G. Albert
Ramsay
Faraway in Bonnie Scotland,
In the shores of Kintyre Bay,
In the quiet town of Campbeltown
The Annabella lay;
With her hatches safely fastened
To protect her precious store
Of provisions for their journey
To a far off shore.
It was seventeen and seventy
In the records written down
That the Annabella sailed away
From that ancient Scottish Town.
There were Ramsays and Montgomeries
And many many more:
Sailing on the Annabella,
As she left the Scottish shore.
As she sailed the great Atlantic,
Many weeks and months passed by
For the records of her passage
No one living can supply;
But from somewhere comes the story
That somehow she went astray,
North Carolina was intended;
She was wrecked in Malpeque Bay:
In an early autumn snow storm
Off the shores of P.E.I.
There the Noble Annabella,
As a helpless wreck did lie.
The sailors man the lifeboats,
Carrying hundreds less or more,
Leaving everything behind them;
Thus they landed safe ashore.
They were met by friendly natives,
Who saw their awful plight,
And prepared for them a shelter
On that stormy night.
They were glad they were not dead.
These early Scottish settlers
Were Proverbial men of steel;
They logged the virgin forest
Which they burned to fertile fields.
They built their humble dwellings
Where they sang around the fire
The songs of dear old Scotland,
As with loved ones in Kintyre.
Lucy Maude Montgomery of literary fame
No doubt was a descendant
Of that little band that came;
Or should I say was driven
By a Providential storm
To settle on this island
Where this writer, too was born.
'Twas a visit that prompted
The writing of this little poem
When I visited Kintyre
In September Nineteen eighty five
I stood one sunny day
On the very dock in Canpbeltown
From which she sailed away.
A dear old Scottish lady
Who was rich in history lore
That day brought forth the records
Of all who were on board.
She assures us that very wharf
On which we stood that day
Was there two hundred years ago
When our forbears sailed away.
With misty eyes we turned our gaze
Towards the open sea
And stood where loved ones stood that day,
As the good ship sailed away.
In fancy there we watched her sail
Though Centuries had rolled by,
And we thanked the Lord
They found a home on the shores of P.E.I
(P.E.I. is, of course, Prince Edward Island)
Page 2: Major John Campbell ob 1685
Page 3: The Shannons of Lephenstrath / The Port of Machrimore
Page 4: Flora MacDonald in America
Page 5: A Late 18th Century Letter from Campbeltown to America
Page 6: Letter from America to a Brother in Campbeltown