Hiya Rena,
Thanks for posting that newspaper article, they were certainly interesting times!
I took a quick boo on Google, looks like the Balloan your ancrestors were at was held for years (centuries?) by the Fraser of Culduthel family. There is a possibility there are rental or estate records of those Frasers in the National Archives of Scotland at Edinburgh, if so they might include details of your MacKenzies.
I am very familiar with those two Jacobites in the article, from other sources I have transcripts of the evidence at their trials. Colin was a son of Alexander Mackenzie, III of Ballone. He led the men of Ballone into Cromartie's Regiment, a short military career the Ballonne lads were with the Regiment only a few weeks before it was captured at Dunrobin, the day before Culloden.
Colin's sister Katherine was married to Roderick MacKenzie, Tacksman of Achiltibuie in Coigach, the other Jacobite in your article, I am in contact with many descendants of Katherine and Roderick.
John S. Gibson, author of "Ships of the '45", found in French Maritime archives a diary by one of the cadets sent on privateers to try to rescue Bonny Prince Charlie, though not identified I think they met Katherine. Gibson translates as;
"At five the following evening he returned with news of the gentleman having embarked in a French cutter which had been in these waters some days before. Anguier thought that he had seen her on Wednesday 29th June among the islands at the mouth of Loch Broom. The messenger also told us that four miles from where we were he had crossed a sea loch with a young lady of quality whose brother and husband had fought for Prince Charles Edward. She had followed him to the neighbouring island where she was to spend several days.
When we heard this, three cadets were sent to seek her advice on how we might find a pilot. Our dress did not seem strange to her, for eight days earlier, in another island, she had seen three young men wearing a uniform like ours. This was the cutter which had left Dunkirk three days before us. The Scottish lady wept as she told us that she knew not what fate had befallen her husband and her brother. She had lost everything she possessed and had been wandering from island to island with a seven year old child, for fear of falling into the hands of the English. She had seen some frightful acts of outrage and insult on her sex and the horror of them kept bringing on her melancholy.
At any other time, this sad tale would have moved us, but not now. In the plight we were in we had resolutely to keep to our purpose. The unfortunate lady went on to ask us, sorrow in her voice, whether we thought that the Prince was still in Scotland, and whether, as rumour had it, he had left for France. This she herself believed and begged us not to hide the truth from her. We of course, knew no more than she did of the Prince's whereabouts but we thought it better to talk her out of this and assure her to the contrary. We left her and went on board again but we were greatly perplexed at having to do so. It was all just as difficult as we feared it might be when we left Priest Island. However, our sense of duty and our good spirits kept us going."
That boy with Katherine was the Alexander whose tombstone is near the top of this file.
Donald.
