Lochbroom, Rossshire

[jmack]

Dear All:

My g g grandfather (Kenneth Mackenzie) gives his place of birth as Lochbroom, as i understand it this is a parish and not a village/town.  Is this correct and if so does anyone have any ideas as to how I track his place of birth to a more specific location.

Jane

[MonicaL]

Hi Jane

I'm sure you'll get the help you need.......we just need a little bit more info to help you 

What information do you have on Kenneth. Have you got an approx. birth year for him? Also details of who he married and children that you know of. Have you managed to find him on any censuses. As much info you have would help when people are doing searches for you.

Regards.

Monica

[jmack]

Thanks for replying - Kenneth has really become a brick wall to me.

I know that he was born around 1830 Lochbroom.  Family stories and census evidence indicate that as a fisherman he left Rossshire to work in the waters of Caithness.  While there he met and married Margaret Murray in Wick and they had five children, Hector, Janet, Alexander, Kenneth and Donald.  From 1851 on I can track his whereabouts as he and his family move from Wick through Falkirk to Manchester (England).  We believe that he had a brother Murdo/Murdoch but other than this scant piece of information we have no details to go any further back.  We believe that he lived out his years in a house in Achtilbuie that was purchased for him by his son but again no concrete proof.

I am aware that this is very little to go on which is why it's so frustrating and why i need some help/advice.

Many thanks

Jane

[Gadget]

Hi Jane

I live in the old Lochbroom parish. It stretched from Muir of Ord to Ullapool and Ciogach in the West.

I'll have a look for you but can't promise anything. Many of the people at that time were crofter/fishermen. Those on the west coat went over to the east seasonally for economic reasons. It was also a time when there were great changes up here.

Regards

Gadget

Ooops - I see Achiltibuie mentioned 

[Gadget]

The main families of Mackenzies in Achiltibuie are in Altandhu, Polbain,Achnahaird and Achiltibuie itself.  The area is a remote rugged land with scattered townships. The whole is referred to as Coigach. The postal address is Achiltibuie (I can type it very fast  ) but it is 15 miles from end to end.

I know most of the MacKenzies who remained here.

Gadget 

[Gadget]

I can't pin point  one Kenneth MacKenzie but you may be interested in this site:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~coigach/achil.htm

Gadget

PS - do you have any idea where in Achiltibuie the house was?

[MonicaL]

Hi Jane

I'm getting Kenneth's birth year c. 1826 from both the 1851 and 61 censuses. Is this Margaret's birth entry: 02 NOV 1827 Wick, Caithness, Scotland, with parents Alexander and Janet?

If so, this leaves a possible name for Kenneth's father of Hector, as name of first born son following their marriage in 1853.

Have you tried searching for the death cert of Kenneth in R & C?

Regards.

Monica

[Gadget]

Monica - I have and nothing comes up. If he died Achiltibuie his info is probably on the link that I have given above.


gadget

[jmack]

Dear Monica and Gadget:

Thanks for the interest.  Yes you are right the birth year does appear to be circa 1826 (on later census the age is rounded).  I cannot find a death certificate for Kenneth in R & C, this is a family story that i cannot prove.  His last known address is in Banff 1901 living with his daughter and family.  Shortly after the 1901 census was taken, the daughter dies and the story goes that Kenneth then moved to Achiltibuie where he was a lay preacher.

I too thought that the father could be Hector but searches do not show a Hector with a son by the name of Kenneth.  I have checked out the rootsweb pages and have manged to eliminate one or two of the 20 or so Kenneth Mckenzies.  At the moment I am pretty much focused on one Kenneth in particular - the son of Murdo and Mary Mackenzie (nee Kerr) (Reiff) - this Kenneth has a uncle Hector.  I have no idea as to how to establish this as my Kenneth.

Please let me know what you think.

Many thanks

Jane