MacKinnons of Skye

[RosemaryJoan]

Trying to find out a bit more about this family.  Apparently the MacKinnons had fishing boats on Skye in the early 1900s.  Donald McKinnon had siblings, Flora, Mary, Neil and Donald had a son Robert, born 1919 who ran away from home at age 15.  Robert's family would love to find some connections on Skye.  One of the fishing boats was called 'The Swordfish'.  Any help would be appreciated.
RosemaryJoan

[Rosinish]

Hi RJ,

I did a quick search www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk (County Inverness) for a Robert MacKinnon (with soundex) born 1918 - 1920 incase his birth was at the end of a yr & registered the following yr but alas...no luck.

I tried with just Rob incase the spelling was wrong but only one to come up was a Robina born North Harris 1918.

With Robert MacKinnon (traditional soundex) the option of All Records & All Districts 1918 - 1920, there were 128 names over 6 pages but well worth the payment to view each if need be as it will only cost £1.38 to view the whole lot.
To view any actual birth record it's a further 5 credits which is only £1.15.

Before you open any though it would be a good idea too google placenames to see if they are near Skye first as it could be a long drawn out task as it seems he was born elsewhere?

Annie

[RosemaryJoan]

Thanks for that.  I had had a look on Scotlands People and wonder if
1918   MACKINNON   RODERICK WILLIA   M   PORTREE   /INVERNESS   114/01 0020   
This could be him?  His father was supposed to be a fisherman, so I thought Portree might be where he was based.  Do you think Roderick could be construed as Robert??  I'm not that well versed in Scottish Christian names, but they all seem to be called Donald, Flora, Mary and Neil!!
RosemaryJoan

[Rosinish]

RJ,

It's not impossible for his name to have been changed by himself to avoid detection  What was his reason for disappearing or don't you know?

My question though is where did Robert end up & in what yr (roughly if you don't have an exact time)?

That Roderick could very well be him although finding the siblings with the same parent's would be real proof.

Once you have his birth cert. it will give you both parent's names, date & place they married which will give you an idea of dates for searching the siblings.

Annie

[Rosinish]

Did "Robert" die 1990 in Southampton ?

[RosemaryJoan]

Hello again.  Yes, Robert ended up in Southampton.  He married Gladys Lee in 1942.  This I confirmed with his grandson.  I didn't ask for his death date. but that sounds like him, although I can't find that death on Ancestry.
His reason was that he 'didn't get on with his father'.  He was only 15 when he ran away, so I suppose he may have changed his name.  I believe he was in the Second World War.  Must look for him under Roderick.
That birth on Scotland's people doesn't have a 'picture' to view.  You have to send away for it.
Rosemary

[RosemaryJoan]

Yes, found the death, Robert Donald MacKinnon, May 1990 in Southampton.  That would be him, as he said his father was Donald (a fisherman).
RosemaryJoan

[RosemaryJoan]

Just found this name on a private Family Tree and have contacted the owner.  Fingers crossed.
RosemaryJoan

[MonicaL]

Hi RJ and Annie

RJ, I think you mentioned you have subs to A/try? You can do a search on the 1891 and 1901 censuses, for example, for a Donald M*cK*n*n (to pick up variants) and then add the siblings you have to see what shows. I can see a couple of families with those children's names but not in the area. Without knowing the birth year for father Donald, hard to know whether Donald would still be with family by 1901, or away working by then. An imprecise science!

The son Robert you are looking for may not have been born in Invernesshire area. There are 4 entries showing for a Robert's birth in 1919 (assuming again that the year is correct), somewhere in Scotland. You can't view any birth cert images online past 1913 (100 yr privacy rule always), so anything after 1913 currently would need to be ordered.

For Robert Donald McKinnon, you have a birth day of 19 May 1919 (from his death reg), father Donald, a fisherman (from his marriage). However, birth details may not be correct. If the family fail to find something, you could as the GROS to do a specific search for his birth with this info, or close to. Cost a little bit more...  Guessing everyone is down in England and not able to search in person at one of the main genealogy centres in Scotland.

I don't know what the archives are in Skye for fishing vessels, or what of records were kept for them  Maybe something you could check given you have at least one boat's name ('The Swordfish').

Monica 

PS: One thing to note when you have fishermen, they may also show as crofters. Often they combined both occupations, to work both the land and the sea as a way of living.