John Murray, Gamekeeper, at Balloan of Culduthel.

[wendyaross]

wivenhoe,
John Murray, b. 15 May, 1836. married Agnes Patterson Bruff, 22 June, 1860. Glasgow. John Murray and two children sailed to Melbourne on the "Sorata" and arrived on 27 August, 1882. Agnes Murray and further seven children arrived in Melbourne on the Loch Vennachar on 28 July, 1885 after John Murray had established business responsibilities and home. Children were all born in Glasgow.: Mary, b. 1861. Jane, b.1863. Agnes, b. 1865. James, b. 1867. John, b. 1869. Alexander, b. 1871. Robert, b. 1874. Elizabeth, b.1877. William, b.1880.

Is there a connection??
Cheers

[wendyaross]

MonicaL.
Attaching 1856 birth of Margaret Murray - Urray

[wendyaross]

MonicaL,
There is evidence that a further two children were born to John Murray and Ann McKenzie in Australia. Jane Ann in 1859 - died 9 May 1860 in Brisbane (unconfirmed) and Jean Ann in 1861, Callendoon, Queensland. (Birth Reg.  recording Father's birthplace, Sutherlandshire Scot. and 9 living children - two deceased).  This Jean Ann Murray survived and went on to marry Edwin Arthur Peel in 1887 at Glen Innes, NSW. She died in Glen Innes in 1953, Buried in Glen Innes Cemetery. This is where another puzzle surfaces. Her official NSW Death Reg. records her parents as Hugh and Jean where they should be John and Ann. It is possible that the informant did not know her parents names. Searches for Ann Murray (Mckenzie) have located one in Glen Innes in 1896 with her father's name as James, which matches the "Blenheim" passenger list. A small cemetery with limited online info, I have contacted the appropriate council who holds the burial records for that cemetery for a possible Grave No. and age of this Ann Murray. Also a John Murray d. 1876 at Wellington, NSW with Father: Hugh- Mother: Margaret - also matching info on the  "Blenheim" list but requires more research for confirmation.  Need Sleep 

[MonicaL]

8:45.pm Saturday - and the address in the 1851 original Scotland Census listing for John Murray certainly reads "2, Pootrail". The previous family, Armstrong, are at "1, Pootrail".

As mentioned, the coverage on FreeCen for R&C is not great yet (ongoing project). From the 1851 census image you got from SP, can you see surrounding place names. It can often help when to trying to find somewhere to try also looking for nearby places.

Monica

[MonicaL]

From the clip you posted for Margaret Murray's 1856 birth, column 2 shows date and then..Pxk*traill. Then a little below, another name place and then Urray I think.

You can contact SP and ask for an enhanced image. It can make a big difference in legibility when writing is not so clear. Go back on screen for the image you viewed and there is a button for this on top of the page above the image. See www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/technical-help/reporting-issues

Monica

[MonicaL]

 I have not been able to locate all the birth registration of the children but will continue searching.

These will all be before the start of official registration from 1855. What you will find will be entries from the Old Parish Registers (OPRs).

I did see some entries for births or christenings on Family Search which means you should be able to find the corresponding images on SP.

Hugh 1838 www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XB9B-1L4
James 1840 www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XB91-6TL
John 1842 www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XB9B-64Y
Alexander 1845 www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XBMT-X2N

Entries in the OPRs are a little bit like a lucky dip. You don't know what you will find until you look at the image. Don't expect too much from these, Wendy. At best for this period, you may find some family names as sponsors that can help link family together. At worst, they are no more than a one liner, with mother's name not included... No conformity, and lots of gaps in the registers (if you are lucky enough to find any entry).

Monica

[Skoosh]

No joy with Potrail in Urray so far but there are instances of shepherds from the south of Scotland who moved north after the Clearances and called their new house after their former abode. The Potrail is a burn in south Lanarkshire by Crawford Muir!
 Shepherds & their sheep hit the buffers after the development of  refrigerated ships built on the Clyde, the first launched was the Duneden at Port Glasgow in 1874. This flooded the market with frozen lamb from Oz & New Zealand in addition to the finer wool already brought by the clippers. Many estates took the sheep off altogether and made the switch to more  profitable deerstalking. Potrail might only be a pile of stones somewhere in Urray parish. The sheep which put the people off were put off by deer a hundred years later!

Skoosh.

[wendyaross]

Skoosh.
Answering Skoosh first today. Don't feel neglected!  I am reading all posts with interest. 
Researching back in Australia for the moment, where I fell over John Murray in Morton Bay, Queensland. On Trove Newspapers there is an lengthy article in the Morton Bay Courier, Saturday, 20 August, 1859 - just two years after his arrival in Australia. It confirms that he and his family arrived in Australia on the "Blenheim" in 1857.  On a sheep station called Manumbur, in the region of Darling Down, he was engaged in poisoning native dogs (dingoes) with strychnine. Proof of death was apparently required by delivering tails. In return, tobacco was payment. Others shot an trapped dingoes - shepherd dogs were killed with bates - collateral damage?? Such was life in Oz in the early days! Not much has changed .... kill everything in sight - all pests - Save the native species has been on the agenda for years - now; a billion creatures are believed to have been lost in the horrific fires here. The Trove article is to large to paste here but if you are interested, take a look at it!

MonicaL.
I have been checking out your advice over the last couple of days but not having much luck. I just have to get used to using new sites. Owing to the quality of the pasted birth of Margaret Murray, 1856, the record is faded, despite enhancement. The original actually shows the Hour of Birth on the line you are reading as "Potraill" - i.e.  "2h AM".  Re the first name above Urray, I looked for possible towns but my research indicates there were no named towns Urray at the time?? Those of you in Scotland would know much more about these issues. Yet another estate - perhaps.
Also, a reply has come in from the Glen Innes Council regarding the 1896 death of the Ann Murray I located. Actually buried in Dundee, another remote country town north - east of Glen Innes  - the record reveals little - age is accurate but is buried with John Murray - not 'ours'. too old and a younger James. Some of our early death records have comprehensive details on them while others are only as good as the knowledge of the informant. Quite costly to purchase certificates in some states so only opt to do so when I am certain of a match.

Ev & Forfarian
If you are both still reading the posts, I located Culduthel House tucked away, down the lane. Built as an orphanage, as I understand the available information - imposing building though - it apparently post dates the "Balloan" building/s I am looking for. I can't pick up those buildings on Google at all ie.  Balloan Cottage and Balloan. Or they the properties currently for sale?? Sorry, but feeling pretty sheepish in these areas .... Thanks everyone for your help!

[Forfarian]

I located Culduthel House tucked away, down the lane. Built as an orphanage, as I understand the available information - imposing building though - it apparently post dates the "Balloan" building/s I am looking for. I can't pick up those buildings on Google at all ie.  Balloan Cottage and Balloan. Or they the properties currently for sale?? Sorry, but feeling pretty sheepish in these areas .... Thanks everyone for your help!

I think you may have found the wrong Culduthel House.

The one in question was most assuredly not built as an orphanage. It is a Georgian mansion which was the property of Fraser of Culduthel, and it is a Category B Listed Building. The description associated with the listing says, "1780-90, 2-storey and attic house, 5-bay front; harled with contrasting painted tooled ashlar margins. Centre door masked by glazed porch. Tall ground floor windows; 3 wallhead piended dormers; diminutive gable attic lights; 12-pane glazing (4-pane to dormers); coped end stacks; slate roof. " See https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/920085. It appears that it has been converted into flats.

The Highland Orphanage in Culduthel Road, apparently also known as Culduthel House, was built in 1887, a century later and long after your John Murray had left the area. See https://canmore.org.uk/site/98398/inverness-culduthel-road-highland-orphanage. It is therefore another red herring in your quest.

Balloan and Balloan Cottage seem to have been obliterated and replaced by modern housing. It is shown on maps until the First Series of the 1:10,000 Ordnance Survey map in 1976, but by the time the map was revised in 1999 Balloan had vanished. Go to https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=16&lat=57.4533&lon=-4.2226&layers=5&right=BingHyb and use the cursor and the zoom buttons to see the location of Culduthel House and where Balloan used to be. You can also select various different map series using the box at top left.