Author Topic: john mackay/mckay from kildare emigrated to australia possibly in early 1850's??  (Read 4128 times)

Offline iforani

  • RootsChat Veteran
  • *****
  • Posts: 570
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Hi
My great great grandfather was John McKay/MacKay who was born circa 1822-1830 in Kildare. I've found a John Mackay being born in Naas, Kildare in 1828 so my John may even be linked to this family somehow. There are many John McKays (& variants) who emigrated to Australia in the early 1850's. My John is listed as John Mackay on his first son's birth certificate, as John McKey on another and as John McKay on most of them. His eldest son was William MacKay, born in NSW. When John was married in 1878 (somewhat belatedly as his wife had been previously married but her husband had disappeared, hence she couldn't marry for many years until a period after she'd advertised his disappearance in a local Gazette)...his name is given as John McKay and his birth year as 1825, country of birth Ireland. This year of birth also appears on his death certificate. On his wife's tombstone his age is given as 75 when he died in 1901 putting his birth year as also circa 1826.
Any help here would be appreciated. I've put a similar thread on an Australian site but so far have found nothing conclusive. A John McKay did emigrate from the UK in 1852 aged 22, with possible brothers, William & James McKay,  parents William & Elizabeth, still living, so this is also within the realms of possibility. The ages of James & John may have been mixed up as John would have probably been 26 not 22. The records state that this John came to visit a cousin.
By 1855 John was living on a gold fields as a gold prospector. He obviously had some connection with animals or a farm as he started bringing in animals (sheep & chooks) to sell to the miners.
 ??? Thanks, Deb from Australia
McKay (Kildare, Ireland), Aldred (Manchester), Smith, Cooper (Kent), Howlett, Bodill, Atkins (Northamptonshire), Smart (UK, Africa), Brown, Bryant, Dixon, Walton