G2G: Forebears of Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King

Question

Hello,

My name is Nathan Flindall and I am currently trying to work on the profiles of famous figures I'm interested in the backgrounds of. One such figure is the longest-serving prime minister of Canada, William Lyon Mackenzie King. I'd have thought he'd have a well-traced genealogy due to his significance and being a descendant of prominent Scottish clans but most of his family tree within after three generations is blank, save for one ending with a Colin Mackenzie who has no information besides his existence and approximate birth around 1735 sourced from a family Bible. I was wondering if anyone may have access to genealogies including the forebears of Mackenzie King that we could use to flesh out his family tree and connections. Anyone with a connection to the Mackenzies of Perthshire would be particularly useful because the profile of Daniel Mackenzie mentions Colin "was a farmer under the Earl of Airly in Glenshee, in the highlands of Perthshire, Scotland" and would presumably be descended from a family in that area.

Answer 1

MacKenzie is a common surname within the Scottish Highlands.  Genetically, there are well over 50 un-related paternities sharing the surname.  

There does not appear to be sources for William Lyon MacKenzie's father or grandfather.  Instead, it appears all that is known is the oral tradition that he likely learned from his mother.  

So, I would caution against spending much time trying to establish a connection further back than his Grandfather Colin.  While it's very likely that his Colin was part of the Clan, because he left Clan lands, it's unlikely that he had an clear connection to the more prominent MacKenzie paternities.  There were probably many Colin MacKenzies too.