Mary Currie born 1820

[amb_lakeforest]

I am looking for information on the family of John MacIntyre (B 1814) who married Mary Currie (B 1821)  in 1846.  The marriage reportedly is recorded in the Ardkenneth Register, S. Uist, Scotland.(according to an ancestry.com tree)   The family  immigrated to East Williams Township Ontario.  At the time of the immigration that had twins born in 1853, Mary and Ranald and one other child possibly Alexander. Several more children were born in Canada.  The family story passed down is something about a ship loss or wreck on the way to Canada.  Any information would be appreciated. 

[AMBLY]

Hi & Welcome to Rootschat 

Have you checked out this Rootsweb Tree?
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=richard&id=I53#s1

Cheers
AMBLY

[angusm1939]

It might help to start with Mary Currie and work back. You will find the marriage to John MacIntyre on the <scotlandspeople> website for 2 February 1846. Unfortunately, it was one where Fr MacGregor's clerk at St Michael, Ardkenneth had rather patchy information so you need to leave the Mary out. The entry runs that John MacIntyre of Donald of Neil in Howbeg was married to ... Currie of Ranald of Lachlan of Neil in Gerinish in presence of - and he rest is blank.

This Currie family was MacMhuirich until 1811 and thesehad been the hereditary bards to Clanranald since about 1500 and before that to the MacDonald Lords of the isles since Muireadhach Albanach split a rent collector's head with his axe in Ireland and fled to Scotland, taking up with Clan Donald in the 1220s. Mary's great grandfather Neil above was born at the MacMhuirich grace and favor home at Stilligarry but, as the Clanranald chieftainship had moved away by about 1740, they had lost those lands and moved to Gerinish. Neil was the man who, on the instructions of Ranald MacDonald XVII of Clanranald, handed over bundles of hundreds of years old documents containing the thousand + year old poems of Ossian to james 'Ossian' MacPherson when he came to Usit collecting Gaelic material in 1760. Lachlan Mor, also mentioned above, was questioned by the Highland Society of London in Uist and then in London about the authenticity of the material. he died in Gerinish in 1814, following which three of his sons emigrated. The one who did not was Mary's father Ranald MacMhuirich/Currie.

That is probably enough to be starting with. Angus

[Rosinish]

Hi,

Are you looking for info. prior to or after migration?

Meanwhile:-

Mary Curry/Currie c1821 dau of Ronald, son of Lachlan, Gerinish, South Uist
= John MacIntyre c1814 son of Donald, son of Neil, Howbeg, South Uist
Registered Ardkenneth, 10 Feb 1846

Ann b 12 Jul 1847, Howbeg, baptised Ardkenneth, 17 Jul 1847

Anne Marie

P.S. My apologies for having Neil & Lachlan wrong way round. I'm so used to transcribing with the male the predominant party in most cases.

[angusm1939]

10.2.46 it was for the John/Mary marriage. As for the twins, if they were born in or around 1853, that was after the migrations to East and West Williams, which took place 1849-51. There is no record for a relevant Ranald MacIntyre at Ardkenneth as far as I can see. Angus

[angusm1939]

I have been having a look for John MacIntyre and I suspect you might have a problem finding him. As above from the marriage record, he was son of Donald of Neil. That Donald was the tenant of 170 Howbeg. That numbering does not, incidentally, imply a substantial township as the crofts took their number from the tenant's page in the Estate rent book and there were only a dozen or so of them. As far as the available rcords are concerned, Donald 1791-1864 was married to Catherine MacIntyre 1892-70 and they had seven children beginning with a John born 1829, who died young. It appears that there must have been an earlier pre-records marriage for Donald, with your John born when he was in his early twenties. There may have been other children but that may take some sorting out as there were several MacIntyre families in Howbeg. Incidentally, there is a tradition of one of these Howbeg MacIntyres being kidnapped by the French and taken off to France to give information about the islands and navigation when the Bonnie Prince Charlie invasion, intended to be supported by some thousands of French troops, was being contemplated about 1740.

[angusm1939]

We are struggling to hit the right keys here. Sorry, birth of Catherine MacIntyre, second wife of Donald of Neil should read 1802. Angus

[Rosinish]

Hi & sorry to jump in but it seems a good opportunity to possibly find a connection.

I have a Donald Currie b c 1800 - Bef 1851 = Marion Steele b c 1802

Children (that I know of) all b Boisdale, S/Uist

Donald 1822 - no other info.
John 1824 - no other info.
Janet c 1826 = Donald MacPhee in 1846
Margaret c 1829 = Ewen Cumming 1847

I'm wondering if there is any possible connection with the afore mentioned Curries?

Regards,

Anne Marie.

[angusm1939]

Of course, all the South Uist Curries were from the MacMhuirich bardic family so there will be a genetic relationship there somewhere. However, if your question is about a close relationship, I doubt it. The Curries in the south, Boisdale etc. seem to have carried a separate sloinneadh incompatible with the family being discussed here that ran back from the Lachlan MacMhuirich in Gerinish who became Currie in 1811. He said that he was Lachlan mac Niall 'ic Laclainn 'ic Niall 'ic Dhomhnaill 'ic Lachlainn 'ic Niall Mor. I suspect that it was with Niall Mor born about 1550 that the lines became separate, perhaps by way of his natural son, Donald Gearr. Angus