Author Topic: John McKay b. ~1813, Braal, Halkirk  (Read 5543 times)

Offline History Hunter 97446

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John McKay b. ~1813, Braal, Halkirk
« on: Friday 14 February 14 18:19 GMT (UK) »
I am seeking information concerning my GG Grandfather, John McKay, who enlisted with Hudson's Bay Company in June of 1829.  He claimed at that time to be 18 year old, but later records indicate that he was born about 1813 instead.  I recognize that in that region the name John McKay is as common as John Smith is here in the USA, but I am in hopes that someone has a John McKay in their family tree who "left for Canada" or something similar about this time.

I have found baptismal record for a John McKay, the son of Hector and Jane McKay, baptized 5 April 1813 in Halkirk, but I am not very confident that this is this is the right person.  In that era, families commonly named their children in honor of the grandparents, and the names Hector and Jane were not used at all; rather, the oldest children for my ancestor were Elizabeth and William.

One document, among the many I have looked at, indicates that his middle initial was "C."  All others simply list his name as John McKay or John Mackay or M'Kay, etc.  Sometimes he was also known as McKie or some variation on that.  Perhaps the "C" is indicative of his mother's maiden name ???

I would appreciate hearing from someone who recognizes the details of this and might be able to point me in the right direction.  Thank you very much for your help!

Offline DebFamSearch

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Re: John McKay b. ~1813, Braal, Halkirk
« Reply #1 on: Sunday 09 September 18 22:50 BST (UK) »
Hello.  John (McKie the Rouge) McKay is my great great great grandfather.  His son John W McKay is my great great grandfather.  Did you get any responses to your query in February?  My family plans to visit Scotland next year and we hope to find family before we go.  (I have been so fortunate to find family in Finland and the Netherlands, but the connection was not so far back.)  By satellite, Halkirk is a small village.  If you have learned anything new, i would love to hear from you. 
Thank you,  Debbie McKay

PS. You have probably already discovered this, but I searched out Fort of the Lakes and discovered it was in what is now Canada, between Revelstoke and Nakusp.  It's 'at the head of' Upper Arrow Lake. You could have blown me over with a feather.  I assumed it was nearer to Ft. Vancouver.

Offline History Hunter 97446

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Re: John McKay b. ~1813, Braal, Halkirk
« Reply #2 on: Monday 10 September 18 02:38 BST (UK) »
Hello Cousin Debbie,

It's good to hear from you!

I have not looked at this forum for several years, but they just notified me of your posting.  John McKay (Sr.) was my GG Grandfather, through his daughter Felicite.  Most of my research concerning the family is posted at FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L714-ZCH) and Find a Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/84689649).

I have not made any new discoveries concerning the family.  I have done considerable research into John's death, which has been vaguely reported at Woodburn in 1888, but I have found nothing concrete.  I even visited the the original homestead site just outside Woodburn to see if he was buried there, but with no success -- the resident (at that time) had lived there for over 90 years, having explored the farm inch by inch (as only little boys can do), and did not ever see anything which resembled a gravesite.  Nothing appeared in any of the local newspapers or the county records either.  The land seems to have all been divested prior to 1880, so there are no records of his estate.   :-[

The other related research I have done concerns the identity of John's father-in-law, Jean-Baptiste Boucher (as opposed to John Clarke).  My conclusions are posted here: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/73645521/josephte-mckay

I realize that my conclusions on this matter are in opposition to the prevailing opinions, but I strongly believe that I am correct.  ;)

If you would like to contact me directly, it would probably be simpler to do so through Find a Grave
https://www.findagrave.com/user/profile/47266046

Thanks again for writing, and have a great week!

Bob Wilson
Harrisburg, Oregon

Offline DebFamSearch

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Re: John McKay b. ~1813, Braal, Halkirk
« Reply #3 on: Thursday 13 September 18 10:25 BST (UK) »
   Hi cousin.  I smiled when I saw your greeting. I am required to create an account on FindAGrave to contact you, which I tried to do.  But it froze after I entered the info and hit the button to create.  I tried it twice.  You can contact me at (*) .
   I live in Texas but I come out to visit my mom and sister in Salem twice a year.  I'm coming out Sept. 27.  It doesn't sound like there's anything to make it worthwhile for me to go to Woodburn, is there? 
   I did a lot of research in the 1980's, then had to stop while I raised my family and later worked (long hours).  I recently retired and am just now getting back into researching again.  I am disappointed that there is not a lot of newly available info out there with the internet now.  Most of what I see now is basically what I found in the 80's.  Although, John McKay's birthplace in Halkirk is wonderful to see.  If I find nothing else, I will get desperate and write a church there.
   I see that some other descendants have listed John and Henrietta as McKie the Red's parents.  But I don't see any supporting evidence.  I still need to pursue more of that.
   I had already read your piece on Clark vs Boucher before I emailed you.  I tend to agree with you.  Look at  http://www.oregonpioneers.com/bios/JosephBarnaby.pdf  pgs 2,3 and 10.  I was trying to verify Jean Baptiste Boucher's children: Jean Baptiste Boucher b. 1819 and Isabelle Boucher b. 1821.  It doesn't prove anything, but the dates work nicely with your theory, considering Josephte the daughter was born in 1817.  And that Clarke left the area around 1814 is important.  I guess we need to find something to show he was up in Canada when the daughter was conceived in 1816/1817.  I'm not so sure the child-bearing theory convinces me, as these girls often paired up from 11-14 years of age and had children within a year or two.  IF Josephte the mother WAS born in 1798, she would have been 15 or 16 before Clarke left. But that doesn't seem to matter since the 1817 birth date seems pretty solid.  Also on pgs. 9 and 10, From Notes About Early Spokane Settlers - George Courchaine (undated): "George Herron a cousin of sorts of Adelaide, was generally considered unreliable and something of a scamp."  Which furthers your theory that GH wasn't reliable.
   Thanks for all your feedback.
Your cousin,  Debbie  :D

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