Re: History of the Sangster family.
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In reply to:
History of the Sangster family.
3/07/02
Are you descended from the Joseph Sangster who married Margaret Mann? Those Sangsters came to Nova Scotia in 1784, I think from Northern Ireland. I think he was awarded 100 acres of land for fighting in the American Revolution (for the British, of course). They settled in New Harbour and Guysborough, and there are still descendants there. I haven't found out how Joseph Sangster came to be in Northern Ireland, but I assume that he was Scotch-Irish, and probably was descended from Scottish that were relocated there by the British to try to displace the Irish Catholics in the 17th century.
My Sangster line is apparently from Aberdeen, Scotland, and my ancestor reportedly came to Nova Scotia before 1760, perhaps in his own boat or with his brothers, though I haven't been able to find any evidence for him in Nova Scotia other than a letter written by my great grandfather.
The Sangster name refers to a person who sang in the church, a chorister, and reportedly can be found back in the 1400s in Scotland. Since they are from North East Scotland, they are not in a clan, the clans being limited to the north and west of Scotland, "The Highlands and Islands" The Sangster name also appears in England. I don't know whether it is a coincidence, there being singers in English churches, too, or whether some Sangster migrated from England to Aberdeen in the distant past.