A Footdee Marriage 1779

[walker_mckay]

I am currently researching the origins of my immigrant ancestor, Catherine Morrison McKay. Catherine Morrison was born in Glasgow in 1780. She was the daughter of William Morrison/Morison and Margaret (Agnes) Ross. They were married after 13 May 1779 in Glasgow. I have a second hand account of the text of the marriage banns. William Morison (Footdee) had been a soldier with Gordons Northern Fencibles. Their witness, Angus MacKay, was listed as a Chelsea Pensioner. Would anyone have any clue as to where to look for Morisons in the Footdee area near Aberdeen; or is anyone currently working with these lines?

Margaret (Agnes) was the daughter of John Ross, Mason and Barbara Pirie. After marrying William Morrison, they went in Glasgow and later settled in Thurso (by mid 1780s). He was listed as a salmon fisherman. Their daughter, Catherine, married a cousin, William MacKay (residing in Keoldale). His parents may have been Donald MacKay and Barbara Morrison but there's little documentation (primary, at least).

Back in 2003, an Eileen Vasa had posted several queries on this line. Would anyone have a working email address for her? I'd love to hear from anyone working with the Morrisons/Ross families. I am not at all hopeful about the level of documentation that would be associated with these fisherman. The associated WO files for the Northern Fencibles are being digitised so that resource will be off-line until 2011!

Thank you,

Inez Reed

[stuartwood]

Dear Walker,
Some considerable time since your post, but did you ever manage to find a working email address for Eileen Vasa?
I'd like to get in touch with her regarding research on the surname Munro.
Thanks,
Stuart.

[jasonparent]

Donald MacKay and Barbara Morrison Im looking for any information on thier marraige and who thier parents where

[tidybooks]

Hi jasonparent,

Welcome to RootsChat, can you provide some more info so we can assist you. Can you give approxiamate dates for the marriage, and town, village or parish, where you think it may have been held.

Do you have any other record of Donald MacKay and Barbara Morrison, i.e childrens births etc, all these can help.

Tom

[jasonparent]

Donald Mackay and Barbara Morrison had a son Robert Who married Janet Murry they had a daughter whos name was Anne who married a Theophilus Harris all this base one this persons research (see link)  any ways they would of been my great great grand parents  :)so im looking for any info on Donald MacKay He married Barbara Morrison.
     
Children of Donald MacKay and Barbara Morrison that are related to me are   Robert MacKay, born Abt. 1794 in Keoldale, Parish of Durness, Southernshire, Scotland; died December 08, 1881 in Kinloch, Middle Ohio, Shelburne County, Nova Scotia.

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/b/l/a/Jennie-Blades-NS/GENE3-0001.html

[Flattybasher9]

Have you looked here :-

http://www.rootschat.com/links/0sll/

Regards

Malky

[jasonparent]

Thank you

[walker_mckay]

Hi Malky & Tom

As I have told jasonparent via a private message. There is primary documentation for Janet Murray McKay that confirms the date of death and the names of her parents (Hugh Murray and Christina Calder/Donn). I have yet to find primary documentation that would confirm the date of birth or the parents for either William McKay (1777-1829) or Robert McKay (1794-1881).

The genealogy of the descendants of Barbara Morrison and Donald McKay does contain a few errors. It was compiled by Henry Squarebriggs McKay and incorporates a lot of secondary sourced material.

As I told jasonparent, I have some doubts about William or Robert's father having been named Donald. This is entirely circumstantial but neither man named one of his sons Donald. Robert, it should be noted, was by tradition the second Robert born in this family. He had an elder brother Robert that was believed to have been killed in Ireland shortly before the second Robert's birth in 1794. I'm guessing their father's name was Robert. For now, I'm listing them as unknown McKay by unknown Morrison.

The marriage record for William McKay and Catherine Morrison (my ancestor) said that he was "of Keoldale" not that he was actually born there. I believe they were from that area or perhaps Balnakeil...Durness is as safe a guess as it gets.

[walker_mckay]

Hi again Jason - You may want to have a look at this book for Durness vital records published by the Scottish Record Society. This is a secondary resource but fairly reliable:

http://archive.org/stream/scottishrecordso26scotuoft#page/n3/mode/2up

It's free and downloadable in several formats.