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Hi Gadget

Thanks for all your help here - the 1871 Benbecula census is definitely my 2x grandfather Angus, Ronald's son, as Angus was a joiner/carpenter. The children also appear the same as the 1881 census, so everything ties in nicely.

Angus was indeed a miller in Lionacleit, Benbecula, and so the 1861 you kindly found him in is most definitely him, as his wife was Mary Macrae, from Harris.

I have never managed to get across to the Western Isles, but have spent a lot of my summer hols in Ardvasar, Sleat, Skye where my dad was born into the Kennedys there. I must try to get up to Kilmuir though, since it would seem Ronald, the Ground Officer, may have a grave up there, but whether he had a headstone is probably doubtful, but they were in charge of a lot of land so who knows....maybe he was buried in the same graveyard as the famous Flora!

Thanks for helping me piece this all together Gadget - I've learned a great deal in just a matter of a few hours.

Kind regards

Mcvitie

Hi  Gadget

Thanks for the clarification - so Ronald was born Kilmuir, Skye, which now at least certainly makes things clearer.

Although Alice doesn't appear in the 1841 census, it's a name that was given to my nan, Alice Mary Alex Maclean born Benbecula 1901, and we could never find out why Alice had been given as her first name - her mother Mary Bell Macdonald was Angus's daughter, and lo and behold Angus had an aunt Alice! Think you may have solved the missing link here Gadget - great stuff.

Thanks also for checking on Ronald's death - pity he wasn't post 1855 but at least his wife Margaret was alive so she should be on Scotlands People...

Many thanks

Mcvitie

Hello to you

Would be most grateful if anyone would be so kind to see if my gt gt gt grandfather's family were in any of the above census of Kilmuir (Isle of Skye).

I've managed to get details of the family in the 1841 census:-

Ronald Macdonald - age 56 Tenant (gt gt grandfather)
Margaret  49 wife
Donald   28 Joiner
Janet 25
Annabella 20
Binny 15
Alex 13
Angus 14
James 9

Any information on Ronald's family would be gratefully received.
Kind regards

Mcvitie

Hello to you,

I recently came across my Macdonald ancestors in the 1841 census in Kilmore, Skye.  Ronald Macdonald (aged 54) and his wife Margaret (aged 49, m.s - Macdonald) named one of their daughters 'Binny', a name I have never come across in all my scottish ancestors, and wondered if anyone out there could shed some light on how such a name may have been chosen as it's not one I would associate with the highlands.

Kind regards

Mcvitie

Good afternoon to you all,

I wonder if I may ask for some guidance...

I have recently obtained a birth certificate for my gt grandmother, Mary Bell Macdonald, born 1866 Benebecula, on ScotlandsPeople. What's more, it also gave me some further info on her own parents marriage,  Angus Macdonald and Mary Macrae, and shows them married in Borve, Harris on 14th Dec 1854.

Knowing the date/place of marriage, I then tried searching for their marriage cert on Scotspeople, but without success.  So I tried the IGI site and lo and behold they are recorded on there as married on 12th Dec 1854 (different date!) and in Benbecula, not Harris. Loaded with this info, I then went back onto the Scotspeople site and searched under the new date but again without success.

I've read on here that the IGI may not be 100% accurate,  but could anyone suggest how I could determine if the marriage was Benbecula or Harris.

Best wishes
McVitie