John Mackenzie of Gairloch about 1800

[davism]

Any help would be appreciated
What I have is -  John is the father of donald mackenzie who died in 1872 and he was married to annabella mackenzie who had the same maiden name. John i got to from the death certificate and he appears to be alive in 1872 but his wife annabella is deceased and I cannot make out her maiden name. That is all I have at the moment and I am trawling through the census records to see if I can get something to match
Any advise on where to go next would be great.
Is it possible to view the actual parish records? Most of what I look up seem to miss the vital infor I am after.

many thanks

[Kiko]

Hi, and welcome to rootschat 

Let's see if I got it right. Donald Mackenzie was married to Annabella Mackenzie and he died 1872. You have his death record. His mother was also called Annabella and you are searching for her maiden surname.

What age was Donald when he died in 1872? Also, do you know where he was living in Gairloch when he was with his parents or when he died? (this should appear in the death record). It might also help to know who was the informant of his death, and the relationship.

I know of at least 3 John Mackenzies married to Annabellas in Gairloch between 1800 and 1833.

Cheers,
Francisco

[davism]

thanks for replying, Donald was 53 when he died in 1872, death cert says wife was Annabella Mackenzie, no maiden name but I think it was Mackenzie, he was a weaver/crofter. His mother is also Annabella and I cannot make out her name on the death cert. my guess is munroe, she was deceased on the death cert, his father john Mackenzie is not stated as deceased and he is a crofter, I would like to try and trace either of these parents or siblings. There sure is a lot of Mackenzie families with same names.
look forward to hearing from you

[Kiko]

Hi Davism,

If you plan to trace siblings, get prepared for quite a large family! This should be them in 1841, living at Mellen Udrigle, in Gairloch. It's the only family with a Donald of your age with parents John and Anabel. Plus one of the brothers is a weaver, so this also fits in:

   Surname       First name(s)       Sex       Age       Occupation   
        MCKENZIE       John       M         50       Tenant         
        MCKENZIE       Anabel       F         45           
        MCKENZIE       Murdo       M        25              Weaver    
        MCKENZIE       Jacobina       F        20            
        MCKENZIE       Donald       M        20                
        MCKENZIE       Ann       F       19               
        MCKENZIE       Emily       F       17               
        MCKENZIE       Margaret     F            15       
        MCKENZIE       Duncan        M            13           
        MCKENZIE       John       M       11           
        MCKENZIE       Kenneth        M             9               
        MCKENZIE       William       M       6               
        MCKENZIE       Barbara       F       1               

I'll try to find Annabella's maiden name

[Kiko]

OK, Davism, I think I've identified your Annabella. I'd say it's Annabella Morrison.

Annabella Morrison died 16 AUG 1862 in Mellon Udrigle, aged 68, parents Donald Morrison and Ann McLean or McAskill (I have a note in my database that says it should be McLean but that McAskill appears in the death certificate??).

Her husband, John MacKenzie, died 26 APR 1873 in Mellon Udrigle, aged 86 (died of paralysis, about 12 years). Parents were Murdo MacKenzie and Barbara McLean.

I also have the deaths of two of their children:

Margaret MacKenzie died 9 JUL 1861 in Mellon Udrigle (she was married to Murdo MacKenzie).

Ann MacKenzie died 20 JUL 1865 in Mellon Charles (she was married to John MacLennan).

I hope this allows you to go ahead with your search. If you try other censuses (there could be more siblings in the one for 1851) the family should be in Mellon Udrigle (Gairloch), because it seems that they stayed there all their married life.

Best luck,
Francisco

[Kiko]

To complete the above, here's a little info from the 1881 census that could be useful to you.

Living in Mellon Udrigle is Annabella MacKenzie (probably Donald's wife), weavers widow, aged 66. She gives her birthplace as Lochbroom. Two children are there with her: Isabella, unmarried, 26, domestic servant; Murdo, unmarried, 27, weaver.

Also in Mellon Udrigle is Duncan (Donald's brother), 56, fisherman, with his wife Effy (56, born Mellon Udrigle), and in the same household Barbara (Donald's sister), 40, unmarried, domestic servant.

Cheers,
Francisco