Peigi bean Sheumais Alasdair Pheadail

Margaret “Peggy” Smith was born on January 4, 1884, in West Lake Ainslie, Inverness County. She was the daughter of John (Iain Òg) MacDonald and Catherine (Cameron) MacDonald. Her paternal grandfather, John MacDonald (Iain Alasdair), emigrated from South Uist and settled in West Lake Ainslie. On her mother’s side, Peggy descended from Lochaber and Skye families, Camerons and Beatons.

At just 17 years old, Peggy married James Alexander Smith (Seumas Alasdair Pheadail), a fiddler from Broad Cove, on February 27, 1900. The couple settled in Deepdale, where they raised a family of ten children, all of whom were fluent Gaelic speakers.

Peggy was raised in a Gaelic-speaking home and community, and she became a well-respected storyteller in the area. Neighbour Willie Francis Fraser (Willie Shiomein) fondly remembered how, as a child, he and his siblings would visit Peggy’s house in the evenings. They would arrive around 7:00 p.m. and stay nearly until midnight, completely captivated by her stories.

Peggy lived a long and rich life rooted in language, family, and tradition. She passed away in 1982 at the age of 98 and is laid to rest in St. Margaret of Scotland Cemetery in Broad Cove.