Durness Parish Register

[IanB]

The "Skerray" Mackays were descended from John Mackay of Strathy, second son of Uisdean Dubh of Farr, chief of Clan Mackay.

Ian

[Munro84]

Ok a new question regarding two citations from the Durness parish register:

There is a John Morison who married a Barbara Mackay in 1785 in the parish of Durness. His location is given as "in Ceanlochbhirobie". (There is no record of any children for them).

Later there is another John Morison recorded by the alias "Macmhorachie" who was married to Katharine Mackenzie.

Is there any connection between the place name "Ceanlochbhirobie" for the first John Morison and the alias "Macmhorachie" for the second John Morsion.

I ask because there is no record for children born to the first John Morison and his wife Barbara Mackay. The "hirobie" part of  Ceanlochbhirobie seems similar to the "horachie" part of Macmhorachie.

If anyone knows where the place is and what the alias means then that may help.

Thanks.

[IanB]

I think the minister (or the transcriber, Hew Morison) may have mispelt the name and it should be "Ceanlochbirobhie' whose modern-day spelling is Kinlochbervie, on Loch Inchard. "Ceanloch" means head of Loch "x", e.g. KinlochLeven, Kinlochrannoch.

The second John Morison's alias is a patronymic, i.e. son of Morachie - a name I don't recognise.

Please tell me the date of the entry for the second John Morison and I will see whether my transcript has any additional information.

Ian

[Munro84]

Hi Ian, the second John Morrison who has the alias married Katharine Mackenzie on 27th January 1797. Its quite some time after the first John Morison who married in 1785 but you know what men were like in those days, marrying at an advanced age....However judging by the info you have just given me the two John Morisons are probably not the same person.

However, (I don't mean to complicate things). There is a third John Morison who married Christian Calder in 1792 in the parish of Durness. The citation for this John Morison is given as "John Morison, alias macuilammachustianicachinroy, tenent in Achins of Cnocbreac" Which is probably also a different person.

Thanks.

[IanB]

Hi,
I have a photocopy of Hew Morrison's transcription and unfortunately the 1797 entry has been cut off in the copying process.

However, I can tell you about John macuilliammachustianicachinroy (son of William, son of Hugh, son of Red Hector) He was my 5xg.grandfather, and Christian Calder or Donn (Down) was a daughter of Rob Donn, the Gaelic poet.

There was yet another John Morrison hanging around at that time and he is usually described as being from Lewis and had a nick name of "Smerican" As far as I know these four John Morrisons were different people, and not related to each other.

Ian

[Munro84]

Ok thanks Ian.

My ancestors in Durness are only found on record there in one instance. In 1791 my great-great-great-great grandparents Alexander Munro (a carpenter) and Barbara Mackay are found in Cenabeinne at the birth of their son James Munro in 1791.

However after that they are found again in the parish of Farr in 1796 where they had yet another son called James, so presumably the first James who was born in 1791 in Durness died young. They had a total of 6 sons and one daughter in the parish of Farr between 1796 and 1812. On these records he is recorded by the spelling of "Alexr Munro". I am descended from their youngest son Mackay Munro born in 1812 (He went by the name of Mackay John Munro). They owned an Inn in the village of Armadale , parish of Farr which Barbara Mackay ran. I also have records that say Alex Munro was a master carpenter, house carpenter and boat builder.

Now going back to Durness where they were in 1791, there are several other genealogists who have matched Barbara Mackay (the mother in 1791) to the parish birth record of the 15th November 1768, daughter of John Mackay of Sartigrim. What their reasoning is for this I am not sure. However I have managed to match almost all the Barbara Mackays born in the parish of Durness between 1764 and 1770 to marriage records in the same parish. The only one I am left with is the Barbara Mackay born on the 15th Novemebr 1768 in Sartigrim, daughter of John Mackay.

To take things further the Barbara Mackay born on 15th November 1768 in Sartigrim had two sisters: Janet born 1766 and Ann born 1771, both daughters of John Mackay of Sartigrim. On the 1771 record for Ann's birth the mother is also named as Barbara Mackay, so it seems more than likely that the Barbara Mackay born in 1768 was named after her own mother.

So the elder Barbara Mackay is recorded in 1771 by the Gaelic alias of "daughter of Donald, son of George of Skerray". Which some people have linked to George Mackay of Skerray who is listed on page 315 of the Book of Mackay and was living at just the right time.

My only real problem is confirming that my Barbara Mackay who was mother in the parish of Durness in 1791 is in fact the same Barbara Mackay born 15th Nov 1768, Sartigrim , parish of Durness. My Barbara Mackay is actually found on the parish of Farr 1841 census aged 75 - but all of the ages for adults on that census have been rounded to a multiple of 5. Some rounded up, some rounded down. If she is the one born in 1768 then she would have been about 73 in 1841 which could have been rounded to 75. Also her youngest son, Mackay Munro who I am descended from often went by the name of John Munro or Mackay John Munro - and was therefore possibly named after her father John Mackay of Sartigrim.

Interestingly there is no marriage record for Alexander Munro and Barbara Mackay.

Hope you find this interesting.

[IanB]

I believe that the ages of adults in the 1841 census were rounded down, i.e. someone shown as 70 could have been anything from 70 to 74. If she was born in 1768, she would have been shown as 70.

Conversely, somone shown as 75 would have been born between 1762 and 1766, I think.  As you know, the Parish Register of Durness did not commence until 1764

Did you read the recent thread "John Mackay of Auchanlochy" ? It contains reference to Barbara Mackays.

Keep at it!

Ian

[Munro84]

Yes rounding down was the usual procedure but in some cases the ages were rounded up.

I looked at the John Mackay of Auchinlochy thread. The name Barbara is an extremely popular one amongst Mackays.

I'll spare you the details of Alex Munro's ancestry. I have information that says he came from the county of Ross-shire having moved to Sutherland in 1784.

Cheers.

[KateW]

Hi Ian
My husband's ancestor Mary Mackay has an alias (patronymic?) on the record of her marriage to Donald Ross at Durness. 
It reads: '...Mary Mackay alias nin Uilliam Macnish at Clashneash, 3 July 1778'
I believe the 'nin Uilliam' means daughter of William but could you confirm that?  Also I am not sure about the meaning of Macnish.  Is it a surname or is it 'son of...'?

Hoping someone could explain this for me so I can record it clearly for the future.
Many thanks
Kate.