Macrae - McRae

[cmd6030]

Hi My name is Cindy, I am a descendant of the great clan Macrae of Kintail area in the Scottish Highlands.
I would love to connect with other descendants of the clan and share information.

My Great grandmother was Emily Ruth McRae.  Her family left the Highlands for Australia in the ?1800s and then sometime after this arrived in New Zealand and settled in Northland.

Emily's father was Rodderick McRae and her mother was Christina Ann Macleod, but not sure who their parents were, but would love to have this information.

[anabanana]

Hi Cindy  i'm a descendent of the same great clan 
about when was your ancestor Emily born, do you  know?
Kind regards,
A

[cmd6030]

Hi,
Thanks for replying.   
My great grandmother Emily Ruth MacRae was born in 1905.  Her father Roderick was born in 1876.  Both were born in NZ.  Prior to this I am not too sure, it is a bit confusing, but I think Roderick's father was named Francis Farquhar McRae born about 1840 and I think they were living in Tasmania Australia then.  I know from stories told in the family they definitely lived in Australia first and a lot of the family remained there.  The ones who came to NZ came because they were home sick and had been told NZ was more like their Scottish homeland and also that there was better farming in NZ. They mostly settled in the far north of NZ.
I have a book called Macrae's to NZ which lists family, but due to many of the family having same given names and information in the book skipping around a lot it is hard to read and understand how everyone fits, but it is where I have got the name Francis Farquhar McRae.
I have read the Clan Macrae family history written by Rev. Alexander Macrae which is fantastic for learning about distant relatives.

Are you a Scottish, Australian, Canadian, American or NZ Macrae?
Cindy 

[anabanana]

Hi Cindy,  Do you think Frances may have been born in Scotland, or Australia?
My line of MacRae's stayed in the Highlands, in Scotland.  the picture on the left is my grandfather, also called Roderick MacRae 
Kind rgds

A

[anabanana]

Maybe this is of interest.

Farquhar MacRae and Ann Murray (married 1859 Knockbain) had the following children in Killearnan,
-- Farquhar Francis b 1861 d1862
-- Francis Farquhar b 1865
-- Mary b 1867

Can't see this family on the 1871 of Scotland census yet though.

And these are the only Farquhar and Ann in Killearnan in 1861

Farquhar Mcrae      56 b Kintail           (Head)
Ann Mcrae              38 b Old Meldrum  (Wife)
Cathrine Paterson  22 b Knockbain     (Servant)

[cmd6030]

Hi again Ana,
Thanks for the information.
My mother visited yesterday and we were going through the Macraes to NZ book trying to figure it out.
We think Francis Farquhar MacRae was born in Australia.  His father we think was John (married to Margaret Macrae) and he spelled the surname then as McRa.  The family reverted to spelling McRae in NZ.  His father was, we think was Farquhar of Faddoch (do you know where this place is?) who was, again we think, married to Mary Macrae daughter of Alexander and Isabel Macrae who had 7-8 children, and 4 of these children went to Australia.
There was a story in the family, not sure how true it is, that the 1st Macrae (name unknown) to arrive in Australia arrived on a prisoner ship as he had refused to take off his tartan which the English had banned wearing at the time.  Have you ever heard this story?
I stated in the earlier posting that my great great grandfather Roderick Welsh McRae was married to Christina Ann McLeod which is incorrect, she was Christina Ann Macrae - his 1st cousin who was sent over from Australia to NZ to married him.
She was the daughter of his uncle also called Roderick and it was her mother that was a McLeod, with the same given name Christina.
So confusing, so many people with the same given name, anyway I will keep trying to figure it out.
I became interested in learning my family history after my grandfather Claude died, he was the eldest son of Emily Ruth McRae and he used to have pictures in his lounge of the 5 sisters of Kintail and of Eilean Donan Castle.   
Cindy

[anabanana]

Hello again Cindy,

There is info here on Farquhar "Ban" of Faddoch:

http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/alexander-macrae/history-of-the-clan-macrae-with-genealogies-rca/page-35-history-of-the-clan-macrae-with-genealogies-rca.shtml

Faddoch means "The place of peat sods" and is located in Kintail near Camusluinie.

Kintail is beautiful, I highly recommend a visit!

A 

[cmd6030]

Hi Ana,
Thank you so much for the info and link.
When was your grandfather Roderick born?
Have you ever attended the gathering of the clans?
C 

[ev]

hi Cindy 

have you looked at the NZ BMD's

there is a marriage for a roderick welsh mcrae and christina ann mcrae in 1898
would this give you their parents names ?

there is also a death for a francis farquhar mcrae age 70 in 1910

https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Home/

ev