William MacLellan, Lochbroom, Ross-shire, Scotland, Born 1715

[scorch63]

Sure hope you can help 

I am looking for information on William MacLellan born in 1715 and lived at some time in Lochbroom, Ross-shire, Scotland.

He had 3 sons:

John  ( 1735 - 1829 )
William ( 1746 - 1830 )
James ( 1750 - 1820 )

All 3 sons immigrated to Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1773 travelling on the Ship Hector, all were born in Lochbroom, Ross-shire, Scotland and all died in Pictou.

Through my searches, the spelling of the Family Name has been listed as MacLellan / McLellan / and McLennan. 

Any information would be appreciated.

[DonM]

Sorry, but there are no parochial registers for this Parish prior to 1808. 

Don

[scorch63]

Thank you for responding Don.

This is a tremendous site and through it I am learning a lot.

I have come to the realization, that back in the 18th century, in the Highlands, a lot of the liberties and customs that we have today were not available at that time such as voting ( thus providing a census for that time ) or even legal ownership of land, or the wealth to place a grave marker for the deceased.

Still, I am hopeful, and through this site I am anxious to learn more and appreciate my ancestors more.

Again, Thank You for your post Don. 

Scott 

[DonM]

Scott,

Lochbroom Parish was tiny it was the land between Little Loch Broom and Great Loch Broom.  You can see it here as it a appears in Roy's mid 18th C map

http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=12&lat=57.8666&lon=-5.2038&layers=3 

You can zoom in and you will see it doesn't seem to heavily populated. 

The following might give you a better understanding of this Parish
https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Lochbroom,_Ross_and_Cromarty,_Scotland

And if go here http://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrsonlinecatalogue/welcome.aspx click on the SEARCH button then type in Lochbroom for dates enter 1700 and 1800 it will give you a list of everything the National Archives has. 

Any idea who their mother was?

Don

[Skoosh]

Scorch,  I think the name would have been the Ross-shire name MacLennan. MacLellan's a Galloway name.

Skooosh.

[don_niagara]

Hiya!

Parish of Lochbroom is geographically one of the largest in Scotland, though always low in population. See map at http://www.scotlandsfamily.com/parish-map-caithness.htm

No Maclellans in the Lochbroom records I am acquainted with, however as you note the name is variable, I am familiar with MacLennans from Reiff in Coigach (the northwest third of the Parish) who settled at Cape Breton in the early 19th century and became known as "MacLellans". That family has story of coming from Contin in late 18th century, but Head was a blacksmith who settled at Achnahaird area and lists of Jacobite Prisoners in 1746 include a blacksmith MacLennan from there suggesting an earlier history. The Reiff/Cape Breton family may be tied to your Lochbroom'Pictou family, or just a coincidence.

[Skoosh]

Strathconnon was the MacLennan heartland so Contin would be right. The glen was cleared by its Balfour lairds, one of that infamous family became prime minister.

Skoosh.

[tmack]

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nspictou/pass_ships/hector.html

A ships list  of The Hector.

This is from an archive search in 2003 in Pictou, Nova Scotia.
http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/CAN-NS-PICTOU/2003-03/1048956315

[scorch63]

Thank you ALL for responding to my post. It sure is nice to, not only meet with new people, but to gain knowledge from them as I embark on the wondrous,  exciting journey into the past. Thank you All !!!

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Don,

Thank You for the links you provided. I am learning so much about the environment that my ancestors lived in back in the 18th century. I was amazed to learn that contrary to my perception of the freezing and shivering in the winter, the in fact lived in an area that temperatures rarely dropped below freezing. And learning of the " Highland Clearances" certainly suggests a reason for them to immigrate to Canada.

I still have not determined the wife of William ( 1715 ) the mother of the 3 sons.

Again, Thanks for your help Don.

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Skoosh

I really appreciate your help with the  "MacLennan / MacLellan " confusion. I am finding references to MacLennan in my searches in Lochbroom through the links that Don had posted and I am trying to make the connection.

I just saw your second post regarding Strathconnon and will put on another pot of coffee for a long night ( but enjoyable one ) persuing that lead.

Thank You Skoosh for your help.

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don_niagara ,

I have to admit that I giggled when I read your "Username", then laughed out loud when I checked your profile ( curiosity got the better of me    ). So here I am soliciting help in searching out my ancestors in Scotland and I get a response from someone, basically, in my own back yard. I too live in the Niagara Peninsula .... more precisely in Sherkston ( between Fort Erie and Port Colborne). Small world ....EH !! 

I just read you post and will search out if there is any connection. I really appreciate your input.

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tmack,

Ah .... the Ship Hector. There is so much information our there but I am having a wee bit of difficulty tying it all together.

The link that you posted for the 2003 archived post matches with the wife and children that I have listed for John  ( 1735 - 1829 ). So that is great.

I have seen a number of sites that show the passenger list for the Ship Hector, and the ones that have been transcribed tend to show only John and William as McLennan and no listing for their brother James.

I came across  a reproduction passenger list on the following link:  http://www.greatclanross.org/hector.html

What intrigues me about the passenger list is that when I saved it to my computer, and viewed it as a larger image, it clearly shows John as a MacLellan and William as a MacLennan. I can appreciate that the list is a reproduction, but I don't know if it was a copy of the actual document. My uncle had done some genealogy research back in 1984 ( pre-internet) and had noted that the list was written up "nearly 70 years after the event".

Here is a cool link regarding the Ship Hector. In 2014, Fèis Rois commissioned John Somerville to write a new piece of music inspired by the voyage of The Hector, a ship that left Ross-Shire and sailed to Canada in 1773. There is a link on the page to hear an interview with the music in the background.

http://forum.handsupfortrad.co.uk/discussion/22273/the-voyage-of-the-hector

Thanks for helping me on this journey tmack

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Again, Thank You everyone for helping me out with this. If you come up with any more info or thoughts, I would be anxious to read them

Regards,

Scott