David & Maud
David & Bessie
David MacLurg (b. 1875), who had been at Glasnevin Agricultural College in Dublin, after a time at home became an agricultural advisory officer in Wexford. He married firstly Maude Wilson from Belfast and they had three children: Bill in 1905, Madge in 1910, and Molly. They emigrated to Edmonton in Canada in 1906 where David for a time took contracts for supplying railway ties for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway which was being extended West of Edmonton at the time In a letter in 1907 he tells of going on a ten day trip with pack horses through bush country following the way of the survey of the new railway line, sleeping out every night beside a log fire. The ties were floated down the river in rafts of 25,000 ties to Edmonton where they were dressed for sending out along the new railway line. He went on to Vancouver where there was a plan to build a bridge across the first narrows to North Vancouver where a steel works was to be built. David bought land in North Vancouver which he was developing and selling as building lots. A number of friends and relations as well as his family invested money m the project including his father, William, who gave £100 to Largy Presbyterian Church to be invested with David in Vancouver. The post war slump ended the prospect of industrial development and postponed the building of the bridge to North Vancouver for another 40 years. When the taxes were not paid on the land it was sold. David tried to recoup his fortunes by investing additional money sent out to him by, among others his brother Alexander and his wife who were then living in Washington, Pennsylvania. Some of this money was the proceeds of the sale of ten acres of land in Leeke townland near Templemoyle which had been left to Alexander by his grandfather. This money was invested in a copper mine 400 miles North of Vancouver belonging to a Company of which David had become Secretary with an office in Vancouver. This too failed. By 1922 David's marriage to Maude Wilson had broken up and he had left Vancouver. Maude and her three children returned to Ireland and her Aunts in England helped to support them until the children were educated.