History of the Mackenzies Part 22

JOHN MACKENZIE, II. of Brea, with surviving issue, among several others already mentioned, Alexander, who as nearest male heir collateral, succeeded to the lands and barony of the family as

XI. ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, eleventh of Hilton and Brea, who was, as has just been shown, the great-grandson of Colin, third son of Murdoch, V. of Hilton, and his heir of line. Alexander was born at Tigh-a-phris of Ferintosh, on the 3rd of July, 1756. He was educated at the University of Aberdeen, but was afterwards bred a millwright to qualify him for the supervision of family estates and business connections in Jamaica, where he subsequently became a Colonel of Militia. On the death of his maternal uncle, Alexander Mackenzie, VIII. of Davochmaluag, in 1776, and of that gentleman's grandson, Lieutenant Kenneth Mackenzie, who was killed at Saratoga in 1777, Alexander of Hilton succeeded also to the Davochmaluag estate. The adjoining properties of Davochpollo and Davochcairn having been previously acquired by his father, John Mackenzie, second of Brea, Alexander combined the three properties into one, and gave it the name of Brea, after the former possession of the family in Ferintosh. He greatly improved this estate and laid it out in its present beautiful form. His land improvements, however, turned out unremunerative. His Hilton property was heavily enc.u.mbered in consequence of the part taken by members of the family in the Risings of 1696, 1715, and 1745, and great losses having been incurred in connection with his West Indian estates, Alexander got into pecuniary difficulties, and all his possessions, at home and abroad, had to be sold either by himself or by his trustees to meet the demands of his creditors. He was a distinguished agriculturist for his time, and was the first, along with Sir George Mackenzie, VII. of Coul, and his own cousin, Major Forbes Mackenzie, to introduce Cheviot sheep to the Highlands for hill grazings.

He married Mary James, in Jamaica, with issue -

1. John, his heir.

2. Alexander, who married his cousin Charlotte, daughter of the Rev. Dr Downie, with issue - (1) Alexander, who died unmarried; (2) Downie, who died unmarried; (3) John; (4) Kenneth, who married Flora, daughter of the Rev. John Macdonald, a native of Inverness, who emigrated to and was a minister in Australia, by his wife Mary (who died in 1878), third daughter of Neil Macleod, XI. of Gesto, Isle of Skye; (5) Charles, who died unmarried; (6) William, who died unmarried; (7) Mary James, who married her cousin, Kenneth Mackenzie, XIV. of Hilton, in Australia; and (8) Jessie, who died unmarried. Alexander emigrated to Australia, where he died.

3. Kenneth, W.S., who married Anne Urquhart, Aberdeen, with issue - an only daughter, who died unmarried. He married, secondly, Elizabeth Jones, with issue, and died in Canada, where his widow and children continued to reside, in the city of Toronto.

4. Mary, who died unmarried in Australia a few years ago.

Alexander died at La.s.swade in 1840, and was succeeded as representative of the family by his eldest son,

XII. JOHN MACKENZIE, Colonel of the 7th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry, and for many years Superintendent of the Government breeding stud at Buxar, India. He married, in 1813, his cousin, Elizabeth, daughter of Kenneth Mackenzie of Inverinate, W.S., with issue -

1. Alexander, who succeeded him as representative of the family.

2. Kenneth, who succeeded his brother Alexander.

3. Mary, who married Dr James of the 30th Regiment, without issue.

4. Anne, who married General Arthur Hall of the 5th Bengal Cavalry, with issue.

5. Elizabeth Jane, who died unmarried.

Colonel John died at Simla in 1856, when he was succeeded as representative of the family by his eldest son,

XIII. ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, who emigrated to Australia, and died unmarried in New South Wales in 1862, when he was succeeded as representative of the family by his younger brother,

XIV. KENNETH MACKENZIE, who recently resided at Tyrl-Tyrl, Taralga, near Sydney, New South Wales. He married his cousin, Mary James, daughter of Captain Alexander Mackenzie of Brea, second son of Alexander, XI. of Hilton, with issue -

1. John, his heir; (2) Kenneth; (3) Downie; (4) Flora; (5) Jessie, all in Australia.

THE MACKENZIES OF GLACK.

THIS family is descended from Roderick, second son of Colin, third son of Murdoch Mackenzie, V. of Hilton. The issue of Roderick, Hilton's second son, by the daughter of Alexander Mackenzie of Redcastle, and Roderick's eldest brother, has already been proved extinct. Colin, Murdoch of Hilton's third son, had - (1) a son, Alexander, whose male issue died out in 1759; and (2) Roderick, Chamberlain of the Lewis. This Roderick had three sons - (1) John Mackenzie, I. of Brea, who carried on the male line of Hilton, and whose representative, now in Australia, is head of that family; (2) Colin; and (3) Sir Peter, a Surgeon-General in the army, who died unmarried. Roderick's second son,

I. THE REV. COLIN MACKENZIE, minister of Fodderty, purchased the estate of Glack - in Aberdeens.h.i.+re, and became the first of this family. He was born in 1707, educated at the University of Aberdeen, and in 1734 appointed parish minister of Fodderty. Subsequently, for services rendered to the family of the forfeited Earl of Cromarty, he was appointed by the Earl's eldest son, Lord Macleod, Chaplain to Macleod's Highlanders, afterwards the 71st Highland Light Infantry, an office which proved more honorary than lucrative, for he had to find a subst.i.tute, at his own expense, to perform the duties of the office. Colin inherited a considerable fortune in gold from his father, while in right of his mother he succeeded to the ruined Castle of Dingwall, one of the ancients seats of the old Earls of Ross, and its lands, as also the lands of Longcroft.

He gave the site of the Castle, at the time valued at L300, to Henry Davidson of Tulloch as a contribution towards the erection of a manufactory which that gentleman proposed to erect for the employment of the surplus male and female labour in Dingwall and its vicinity, but which was never begun. He sold the remaining portion of the Castle lands and those of Longcroft to his nephew, Alexander Mackenzie, XI. of Hilton, and afterwards bought Glack in Aberdeens.h.i.+re, of which he and his descendants have since been designated. Colin was on intimate terms with the Lord President Forbes of Culloden, and maintained a constant correspondence with his lords.h.i.+p, the result of which was, along with the demands and influence of his clerical calling, to keep him out of the Rising of 1745, although all his sympathies were with the Jacobites. He is said to have been the first who, in his own district, received intelligence of the landing of Prince Charles in Scotland. It reached him during the night, whereupon he at once crossed Knockfarrel to Brahan Castle, where, finding his Chief in bed, he without awakening her ladys.h.i.+p, communicated to his lords.h.i.+p what had occurred. Seaforth, having had his estate recently restored to him, was easily prevailed upon by his clansmen to keep out of the way in the meantime, and both of them started for the West Coast of Ross-s.h.i.+re at the same time that the army of the Prince began its march eastwards. The two were in retirement at Poolewe, when two s.h.i.+ps laden with his lords.h.i.+p's retainers from the Lewis sailed into Lochewe. They were at once signalled to return to Stornoway, Seaforth waving them back with the jawbone of a sheep, which he was in the act of picking for his dinner, and in this way, it is said, was fulfilled one of the prophecies of the Brahan Seer, by which it was predicted "That next time the men of Lewis should go forth to battle, they would be turned back by a weapon smaller than the jawbone of an a.s.s." Meanwhile Seaforth's lady (we shall for greater convenience continue to call him by his former t.i.tle, although it was at this time under attainder), not knowing what had become of her lord or what his real intentions were, is said to have entertained the Prince at Brahan Castle, and to have urged upon the Earl of Cromarty and his eldest son, Lord Macleod, to call out the clan in her husband's absence. Subsequently, when that Earl and his son were confined in the Tower of London for the part which they took on her advice, and when the Countess with ten children, and bearing another, were suffering the severest hards.h.i.+ps and penury, the Rev. Colin, at great risk to himself and the interests of his family, collected the rents from the Cromarty tenants, giving his own receipt against their being required to pay again to the Forfeited Estates Commissioners, and personally carried the money to her ladys.h.i.+p in London. It was in acknowledgment of this service that Lord Macleod afterwards appointed him Chaplain to his newly raised regiment, Macleod's Highlanders.

It was this Colin who first fully recognised the health-giving properties of the Strathpeffer mineral springs, and who, by erecting a covered shed over one of them, placed it, for the first time, in a condition to benefit the suffering thousands who have since derived so much advantage from it. Shortly before his death, in 1801, at the very old age of ninety-five years, he conducted the opening services of the parish church of Ferintosh, and contributed largely to the funds for its erection, to commemorate the saving of his wife's life, when she was washed ash.o.r.e on her horse's back, near the site of the church, when her father and brother perished by drowning while crossing the River Conon, opposite Dingwall, in 1759.

The Rev. Colin married first, Margaret, daughter of Hugh Rose, IV.

of Clava, with issue, an only daughter, Margaret, who died young on the 22nd of September. 1746. He married, secondly, in 1754, his cousin, Mary, eldest daughter of Donald Mackenzie, Balnabeen, who, as has been already shown, carried on, in the female line, the succession of Alexander (Sanders), eldest son of Colin, third son of Murdoch, V. of Hilton. By her, who died in 1828, the Rev.

Colin of Fodderty, and Glack had issue -

1. Roderick, his heir and successor.

2. Donald, who was educated at the University of Edinburgh, and afterwards appointed parish minister of Fodderty and Chaplain to the 71st Highlanders, his father having resigned both offices in his favour. He was a noted humorist and said by those who knew him best to be much more at heart a soldier than a minister. He married first, his cousin, Mary, daughter of John Mackenzie of Brea, "the Laird," and sister of Alexander, XI. of Hilton, with issue - (1) Colin, a Colonel of Royal Engineers, who, born in 1793, married in 1838 Ann Petgrave, daughter of John Pendrill, M.D., Bath, and died without issue, in 1869; (2) John, who ultimately succeeded as IV. of Glack, and of whom presently; (3) Elizabeth, who married Lieutenant Stewart, R.N., with issue; and (4) Mary, who died unmarried. Colin married, secondly, Mary, daughter of the Rev. Mr Fyers, Fort-George, without issue.

3. Forbes Mackenzie, a Captain in the North British (Ross-s.h.i.+re) Militia, afterwards Major in the East of Ross Militia, and for thirty-seven years a Deputy Lieutenant for the county. He reclaimed and laid out the greater part of the valley of the Peffery, where, on the estate of Fodderty, be was the first to apply lime to the land and to grow wheat north of the Moray Firth. He was also the first to introduce Clydesdale horses and shorthorn cattle to the Highlands, and was, as has been already said, along with Sir George Mackenzie of Coul and his own cousin, Alexander Mackenzie, XI. of Hilton, the first to import Cheviot sheep to the northern counties.

He married Catherine, daughter of Angus Nicolson, Stornoway, and grand-daughter of the gentleman of the same name who commanded and brought to Poolewe, with the intention of joining the standard of Prince Charles, the three hundred men ordered back to the Lewis, as already mentioned, by Seaforth, in 1745. By her Major Forbes Mackenzie had issue - (1) Nicolson, a surgeon in the army, who was wrecked near Pictou, Nova Scotia, and there drowned in his n.o.ble attempts to save the lives of others, in 1853, unmarried; (2) Roderick, heir of entail to the estate of Foveran, and a Colonel in the Royal Artillery, who, in 1878, married Caroline Sophia, daughter of J. A. Beamont of Wimbledon Park; (3) Thomas, a Major in the 78th Highlanders, Ross-s.h.i.+re now retired, and still unmarried; (4) Mary, who married the late Rev. John Kennedy, D.D., Free Church minister of Dingwall, with issue - Jessie, unmarried, and Mary, who married John Matheson, banker, Madras, only surviving son of the late Rev. Duncan Matheson, late Free Church minister of Gairloch with issue. Mrs Kennedy died at Strathpeffer in 1892. (5) Dorothy Blair, who died unmarried; and (6) Catherine Eunice, who married the late Adam Alexander Duncan of Naughton, county of Fife, with issue - Catherine Henrietta Adamina.

4. Anne, who married Hector Mackenzie, a Bailie of Dingwall ("Baillidh Eachainn"), to whom Alexander Campbell, the Gaelic bard, composed the beautiful elegy published in 1893 in the "Scottish Highlander." He was the second son of Alexander Mackenzie of Tollie, Provost of Dingwall (third son of Charles Mackenzie, I.

of Letterewe), by his second wife, Catherine, daughter of Bayne of Delny, and younger half brother of Alexander Mackenzie, I. of Portmore. By his wife, Bailie Hector had issue, Alexander, whose daughter, Katherine, in 1836, married Major Roderick Mackenzie, H.E.I.C.S., and VII. of Kincraig, with issue.

5. Mary, who married Captain John Mackenzie, VI. of Kincraig, whose descendants, from her, now represent the Mackenzies of Redcastle.

6. Johanna, who married Dr Millar, Stornoway.

7. Una, who died unmarried.

8. Beatrice, who married Peter Hay, a Bailie of Dingwall.

9. Isabella, who died unmarried, and

10. Jean, who married the Rev. Colin Mackenzie, Stornoway.

Rev. Colin Mackenzie was succeeded by his eldest son,

II. RODERICK MACKENZIE, second of Glack. He married first, Margaret, daughter of Sir Alexander Mackenzie, X. of Gairloch, Baronet, without issue, and secondly, Christina, daughter of John Niven, Peebles, with issue -

1. Harry, who died unmarried, in 1828.

2. John, who succeeded as III. of Glack.

3. Roderick of Thornton, Aberdeens.h.i.+re, who died unmarried, in 1858.

4. James, a Major in the 72nd Highlanders, who died unmarried in India, in 1857.

5. Mary, who married the late General Sir Alexander Leith, K.C.B., of Freefield and Glenkindie, without issue.

6. Rachael, who died unmarried.

7. Christina of Foveran, who died unmarried.

8. Jane Forbes Unice, who also died unmarried.

Roderick was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

III. JOHN MACKENZIE, third of Glack. He was born in 1810, succeeded his father in 1842, inherited his brother Roderick's estate in 1857, and Foveran, on her death, from his sister Christina.

He acquired Inveramsay by purchase. He died. unmarried, in 1877, when he was succeeded by his cousin, the second son of his uncle, the Rev. Donald, minister of Fodderty,

IV. JOHN MACKENZIE, fourth of Glack. He was born on the 21st of March, 1795, and married first, in 1817, at Malta, Anne, daughter of Thomas MacGill, without issue; and secondly, on the 21st of October, 1822, Margaret Campbell, daughter of John Pendrill, M.D., Bath, with issue -