The following notes were written sometime in the early 20th Century by Dolly Milne, daughter of George Bannerman Milne and Margaret (Maggie) McBean. Aunt Dolly was writting to her niece, Isabel Beatrice Milne, who was at the time current keeper of the Milne Family Bible. The following is taken from loose notes; they look like final rough drafts of some sort because some of the information is updated in other notes, and scratched out in some places, and some of the pieces do not fit entirely in some cases. Also, it must be noted that I may have made some errors in transcribing Dolly's handwriting. --Stephanie Wades, December 1, 2001

McBain (or McBean)

Great grandfather Colonel Archibald McBain of the British Army owned Athol Mills so named for the Duke of Athol who vested him. He was wealthy but lost a great deal when the [Canadian] government built a dam which shut down his mill.
They had servants and a beautiful home.
Christine and Rebecca (old maids)
I believe were the oldest girls then a daughter who married a missionary to Calcutta India where both died.
Grandmother was Margaret.
Bessie married Will Strong and had one daughter Bessie who is now Mrs. Gayard Lafer of the Lafer Bros grocers in Detroit.
George was a brother who had Archie and Belle.
Belle is the wife of a Dr in Cedar Rapids, Michigan.
Addie who married Campbell Symington and had Christine, Grace, Campbell and Jim. They were once in business with J.L. Hudson, having the furniture department.
Wealthy and had a nice home.

Bessie married a Mr. McMillan and had one daughter Marie and 2 wayward sons. Marie had one daughter. Bessie was divorced from her husband Will Strong.

George, whose son Archie 2 married a girl by the name of Girtrude ( and had a son Archie) and his sister was Belle who is the wife of a doctor in Cedar Rapids, Michigan.

Grandfather [George Bannerman] Milne
Met grandma when he returned to Quebec from an exploration of Hudson Bay. He was an ocean captain. She fell in love with him and her father disowned her for marrying someone without money and social standing. They went through the great depression or panic of the 1800's and had to take flour, lard, etc in lieu of money. This was in Oswego, N.Y.
Your dad [Charles Alexander Milne] and Uncle George [Malcom Milne] always referred to the children as the "orphanage".

Great grandfather [Archibald] McBain was wealthy and had a mill in Quebec near St. Anne de Beauifre. The government built a dam which shut down his mill so he lost a great deal of his wealth. They had servants.

Other info:

rootsweb.com entry on Archibald McBean Jackpot! Woohoo!!
McBean genealogy from onegreatfamily.com