Actually Skoosh, I couldn't really miss seeing mention of the "seer" because every time I typed "Mackenzie" into google the old tale kept coming up
Like all dutiful sons before him Kenneth (the eventual coalmaster of New Cumnock) named his first son after his father Donald but he added a middle name; "Donald Alexander Mackenzie" b abt 1848 in Old Monkland (no baptism record of course). Unless I've missed him I don't think Ken's father Donald named any of his son's Donald, he gave his son the equivalent name of "Duncan".
Kenneth's wife died but he then had five more sons by his second wife, two carried her surname as a middle name and the other three were Kenneth, then Allan Cameron (in favour of his dead brother), the youngest being "Duncan
Seaforth MACKENZIE". Haha, was he named after Ken's father or Ken's maternal grandfather Donald M'kenzie?
One thing I do know is that when surname's were introduced in Europe in the 11th century men often took the surname of the man they owed allegiance to although there was no blood tie. All the images I've seen of Mackenzies are that they've got brown eyes (apparently the brown gene is usually stronger than the blue eyed gene), whereas if you looked at the 8 children my grandfather had you'd have 16 bright blue eyes staring back at you from the shortest girl of 5'9" to the tallest boy of 6'4.
lol @ Killin - surely not another puzzle - Garve, is outside of Urray isn't it? So who was John of Strathgarve - was he a self made man like Ken M'kenzie and did he and his wife have any children in the neighbouring parish? Wives usually had their first born child back home with their mother in those days, all further children being born in the place where the couple lived which was where hubby worked.
I need another cup of tea lol