He was named after a family member that he was supposed to inherit from some time in the future.
Ran off from Queensland with a widow lady a Mrs Parsons supposedly to where she came from which was Melbourne, not long after arriving in Australia possibly about 1902
He may have changed his name as despite intensive searching by family members from then till now no record of his death.
Sources
"Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XYJQ-RR2 : 12 February 2020), Nicoll Rea, Forfar, Angus, Scotland,, 20 Oct 1848. Christened 12 Nov 1848. Parents Walter Rea and Ann Dickson.
"Scotland Marriages, 1561-1910", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XTV8-CBM : 11 February 2020), Nicoll Rea and Jane Ann Brodie, Dundee, Angus, Scotland, 29 Jun 1875.
Nicoll Rea
Born 20 October 1848
Forfar Angus Scotland
6ft tall slim build
Blue-grey eyes
Curly brown hair
Clean-shaven, with a pleasant smile, walks with a slight limp, uses a cane with a silver round head.
When he is happy he twirls it to let the whole world know he is joyful.
He used the aliases of James, John, Mac, and Rae.
Last seen crossing the bridge in the vicinity of the Pioneer River in Mackay Queensland Australia driving a covered wagon accompanied by a Mrs. Parsons and her small son said to be a widow but it turns out she was a divorcee.
They appeared to have parted company before she arrived in Melbourne alone.
His family never seen him again after this date 1903
Cyclone and flood where the river rose to 9.6 meters at Mirani. The flood level rose to within a few inches of the record during the 1884 flood. On the high tide In March the whole of East Mackay was underwater.
Cyclone Leonta was a tropical cyclone that caused severe damage in North Queensland on 9 March 1903, with approximately 14 lives lost (12 in Townsville and 2 in Charters Towers)
He doesn't appear to have died there at that time as they left early morning when the storm had not as yet arrived. Although two of the children Nellie Rae and her brother Johnnie sat all day at the end of the bridge till the water came up and over it before they went home to tell their mother and the rest of the family that Dad had gone.
He appears to have been a reasonable sort of father, he never hit or beat them, didn't drink smoke or gamble could spin a very creative tale was popular with men and women alike.
Women found him most attractive and he knew this.
But after an accident when he fell off his horse and hurt his back, left all the work around the place to the rest of the family to do. So the general feeling was he was not contributing to the running of the station.
As there was a drought limbs had to be cut from trees to feed the animals that hadn't died then there was a huge forest fire, the flood was the final nail in the coffin for them.
His wife and family walked off the place which I presume was then settled by squatters it was a large acreage held by a Glasgow Lease.
The family got work with a German couple that had no children who treated them like family, presents for all that Christmas. Living there was blissful.
So they were not altogether happy when the second to oldest daughter Janet whose fiance who had gone to New Zealand to find work sent for them all to come in 1904.
Annie already married to a MacDonald stayed there with her young family in Queensland and since then various family members have travelled back and forth to live.
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with James by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA.
However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line.
It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with James:
Nicoll Rea Born 20 October 1848 Forfar Angus Scotland 6ft tall slim build Blue-grey eyes Curly brown hair
Clean-shaven, with a pleasant smile, walks with a slight limp, uses a cane with a silver round head. When he is happy he twirls it to let the whole world know he is joyful. He used the aliases of James, John, Mac, and Rae.
Last seen crossing the bridge in the vicinity of the Pioneer River in Mackay Queensland Australia driving a covered wagon accompanied by a Mrs. Parsons and her small son said to be a widow but it turns out she was a divorcee. They appeared to have parted company before she arrived in Melbourne alone.
His family never seen him again after this date 1903 Cyclone and flood where the river rose to 9.6 meters at Mirani. The flood level rose to within a few inches of the record during the 1884 flood. On the high tide In March the whole of East Mackay was underwater. Cyclone Leonta was a tropical cyclone that caused severe damage in North Queensland on 9 March 1903, with approximately 14 lives lost (12 in Townsville and 2 in Charters Towers) He doesn't appear to have died there at that time as they left early morning when the storm had not as yet arrived. Although two of the children Nellie Rae and her brother Johnnie sat all day at the end of the bridge till the water came up and over it before they went home to tell their mother and the rest of the family that Dad had gone.
He appears to have been a reasonable sort of father, he never hit or beat them, didn't drink smoke or gamble could spin a very creative tale was popular with men and women alike. Women found him most attractive and he knew this.
But after an accident when he fell off his horse and hurt his back, left all the work around the place to the rest of the family to do. So the general feeling was he was not contributing to the running of the station. As there was a drought limbs had to be cut from trees to feed the animals that hadn't died then there was a huge forest fire, the flood was the final nail in the coffin for them. His wife and family walked off the place which I presume was then settled by squatters it was a large acreage held by a Glasgow Lease.
The family got work with a German couple that had no children who treated them like family, presents for all that Christmas. Living there was blissful.
So they were not altogether happy when the second to oldest daughter Janet whose fiance who had gone to New Zealand to find work sent for them all to come in 1904.
Annie already married to a MacDonald stayed there with her young family in Queensland and since then various family members have travelled back and forth to live.