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Biography
Private James Edgar MacHattie was born September 9, 1894 at Copper Lake, Antigonish County. He was the son of Alexander William Hattie and Elizabeth Jane “Libbie” Murray. Prior to enlistment, he worked on his family’s farm. His brother, Albert Hattie also served in the First World War. Family history states that MacHattie enlisted later in the war than his relatives as he stayed on the farm to help his father finish the addition to their barn.
MacHattie enlisted in the 185th Battalion June 18, 1918 at Aldershot Camp, Nova Scotia. He arrived in Liverpool, England on August 16, 1916. Upon arrival, he was sent to Bramshott Camp, Hampshire and was transferred to the 17th Reserve Battalion at Bourley Segregation Camp, Aldershot, Hampshire, England. On Novemeber 23, 1918, MacHattie was admitted to the 12th Canadian General Hospital in Bramshott with laryngitis. He was discharged from hospital February 11, 1919 and continued to serve in England until dembolization. On June 28, 1919, he sailed from England to Canada on the H.M.T. Mauretania. He was discharged due to demoblization in Halifax July 18, 1919.
At some point after the war, MacHattie, like others in his family, changed his name from Hattie to MacHattie. Following the war, MacHattie continued to live on his family’s farm Copper Lake. In 1922, he purchased the Murdock MacDonald farm overlooking Copper Lake where he established a mixed dairy, beef and sheep farm. In 1934, he married Marguerite Tait of College Grant who had come to the community to work for MacHattie’s aging parents. They married October 24, 1934 at Kings United Church, Loch Katerine, Antigonish County. They went on to have five sons and two daughters. MacHattie died January 24, 1974 at Copper Lake. He is buried in Burns Cemetery, Copper Lake, Antigonish County.
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