Durness Parish Register

[MaggieAnne]

Hi Ian:  Sorry about that-marriage date was Isabella's parents, William Mackay b.11 Jun 1791 Kilmuir Easter and Janet Mackenzie b.1802 in Cromarty - married 20 Nov 1819 in Cromarty.

Isabella Mackay married Alexander Holm Mackenzie on 3 Jan 1871 in Church of Scotland, Cromarty and had 8 children - 2 notables are Donald Alexander Mackenzie and William Mackay Mackenzie - you may wish to "google" for further information.

Yes I was aware of the different surnames of Rob Donn but cannot make the connection - do you have his lineage?

I also have Alexander Mackay b.30 April 1756 who married an Anne Matheson on 24 Feb 1785 in ROC.  Please let me know if you want any further information.  Kind regards Maggie

[walker_mckay]

Does anyone know how to best go about getting an OPR look-up on the cheap (yes I'm optimistic)? It occurred to me that I had a marriage date for our William McKay and Catherine Morrison in Thurso in 1803 and a copy may have more than listed in the IGI. Do most of the OPRs contain information on groom's town, bride's town? Has anyone used the LDS family history centres to go through the OPRs?

Cheers,

Inez, the ever tight-fisted

[Guy Etchells]

Don't forget the Durness Parish Register 1764-1814 is available on CD.
Cheers
Guy

[walker_mckay]

Hi All - I found an obituary for an Alexander Morrison who died in 1884 in New Brunswick. The text states that Alexander was born (about) 1796 in Ellon, Aberdeenshire but grew up in Golspie. His father was in the employee of the Duchess of Sutherland. He emigrated to New Brunswick, Canada in 1811 with his family (whole or in part).

Would anyone have any guesses about Alexander's family, specifically, his parents?

Sincerely,

Inez

[mgcooper]

I am trying to track down information about my 5xggrandparents Hector Morrison & Barbara Fraser.  Unconfirmed information shows Hector born in 1748, Barbara in 1857, and their marriage in 1773.  A couple of their children may have been born in Scotland also (Hector, Catherine, Alexandre, Barbara, and / or Marianne).  I suspect that some of this information may be in the Durness Parish Register book.

They emigrated to New York shortly thereafter, and apparently fled to Canada at the time of the American Revolution.  I have a pretty good trail once they reached Canada, but before then is pretty sketchy.  Also, I've not been able to definitively link the Hector Morrison & Barbara Fraser in Scotland with the Hector & Barbara Morrison in Canada.  Any information would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks,

Mark Cooper.

[walker_mckay]

The marriage of Hector Morrison, Sartigrim and Barbara Fraser, Achunahainat, took place on 6 September 1773 and is listed in the Durness Records on page 63, Parish Register of Durness 1764-1814, Scottish Record Society, Edinburgh, Vol. 26.

Cheers,

Inez

Now where did they (the children) end up? Shelburne, NS or elsewhere in the Maritimes

[walker_mckay]

From Betty Loomis UE regarding questions on John Ross

Responses re John Ross who settled in Hopetown, Gaspe

[John married Catherine Morrison, daughter of Hector Morrison, a loyalist who moved to the same region in 1784 to a town called New Carlisle.]

The following is extracted from material received from Yvan Goulet a direct descendant of Alexander, son of Barbara Morrison.

"Barbara , 1st. married to Hector Morrison, Loyalist, whose farm - according to Burleigh's list of confiscated lands - was at Kortright's Patent, Tryon County, State of New York and was confiscated in 1783.

In Return of Royalists & their families, dated 05 Sept. 1779 at Machiche Camp, Mrs. Morrison is listed as having three children with her.

On March 25,1781 she is referred to as a "poor widow" - 4 children, 2 under age 6 and 2 above.In one document concerning refugees, Barbara is reported as having been born in Scotland, her name appears among those of other women who came from New York, Pennsylvania, England, Ireland... She is unattached to any military unit.

Then we find that Barbara was married to a Donald Fraser and in 1784, Barbara (Barbary) married Duncan McCraw (McCrawd) (McKra) in the Anglican Church, Three Rivers and settled at St.Cuthbert as a farmer, which was near Machiche (Yamachiche).

Duncan McCraw died 10 June,1803 and in his Will he gives the names of his wife's four children borne from Hector Morrison and then the names of his own nine children"

Hector Jr, Alexander, Barbara, Marianne are believed to be Barbara & Hector Morrison's children. Alexander m: Julia Revour (Yvan's ancestors).

Names of the other children (by Duncan McCRaw) are - Mary b: 16 June 1785, Ann b: 05 July 1786, Isabella b: 25 July,1787,Twins: Donald & Jennet b: 27 Aug. 1789, Duncan Jr. b: 17 July,1791, Alexander 19 Jan. 1793, Sarah b: 01 Feb. 1795 and Elizabeth b: 31 May, 1798.

[Unless a middle name, perhaps Catherine was from a different family?]

...Bev Loomis UE, Little Forks Branch

Happy Hunting,

Inez

[mgcooper]

Thank you very much for the responses.  Most of the commonly known information about Hector & Barbara comes from three web postings.  I have been chasing down the primary sources, but still some questions, inconsistencies, and holes remain.

John married Catherine Morrison, daughter of Hector Morrison, a loyalist who moved to the same region in 1784 to a town called New Carlisle.

I agree that this seems to strongly suggest that Catherine was a daughter of the Hector Morrison I'm researching and not some other Hector Morrison living at the time (there appear to have been several), despite the fact that her name is not listed in Duncan McCraw's will.

"Barbara , 1st. married to Hector Morrison, Loyalist, whose farm - according to Burleigh's list of confiscated lands - was at Kortright's Patent, Tryon County, State of New York and was confiscated in 1783.

In Return of Royalists & their families, dated 05 Sept. 1779 at Machiche Camp, Mrs. Morrison is listed as having three children with her.

On March 25,1781 she is referred to as a "poor widow" - 4 children, 2 under age 6 and 2 above.In one document concerning refugees, Barbara is reported as having been born in Scotland, her name appears among those of other women who came from New York, Pennsylvania, England, Ireland... She is unattached to any military unit.

Then we find that Barbara was married to a Donald Fraser and in 1784, Barbara (Barbary) married Duncan McCraw (McCrawd) (McKra) in the Anglican Church, Three Rivers and settled at St.Cuthbert as a farmer, which was near Machiche (Yamachiche).

Would all of these references have come from Burleigh's book?  I have requested a copy through inter-library loan, but if anyone knows if the text is online anywhere I'd appreciate it. 

This brings us to the question of the last name Fraser.  We have the Barbara Fraser and Hector Morrison in the marriage record from Scotland, but that is the only primary source reference that I have found to it.  It seems unlikely that Barbara had married someone else in Scotland before Hector (unless she was really, really young), and while she may have married Donald Fraser in Canada before marrying Duncan McCraw, it would be a pretty big coincidence that both of their names were already Fraser (I haven't found a source for that marriage yet either).

It seems that the key to this whole thing would be an immigration record that places Hector, Barbara, and some set of children on a boat between Scotland and New York.  I'm still looking.

Finally, to answer your question about where the children ended up:  I am descended from Hector and Barbara's son Hector (as opposed to Hector's son Hector by Ann Lane).  Barbara and Duncan McCraw moved to St. Gabriel de Brandon while Hector and Ann Lane settled in New Carlisle--there are lots of Drouin Collection entries for the family.

[walker_mckay]

Hi Mark - In trolling through the UELAC site, Betty Loomis' chapter seems to have accepted Yvan Goulet's documentation. There's little explanation other than that it had been accepted. I don't think that Burleigh's format was like that found in the text I sent you. I saw a sample entry of Burleigh's work and it seemed far more detailed and "legal" in its tone. I think Ms. Loomis/Mr. Goulet excerpt bits for publication in the UELAC website. While I've had zero luck getting them to share their references, it may be worth while to contact that chapter and see what they got from Goulet.

The reference that I sent along to you on Hector's marriage was taken from the online text of the Durness Register. If you look at the entries, it is usually noted when the bride was widowed. I think Fraser was her maiden name.

Regarding Ann Lane, I see there's some debate on if Hector was one or two men. It could be the same man given the nature of the fighting in Schoharie, NY. Barbara may have thought she was a widow. With that number of children under the age of eight, she have plenty of motivation to make another marriage. If it were the same Hector, Barbara and their children would have been well ensconced in a new life.

I'll have a look online and see if Burleigh's work comes up anywhere.

Let me know what you find, please,

Inez