Duncan MacDonald (abt. 1819 - 1903)

Born about 1819 in Applecross, Ross-shire, Scotland, United Kingdom

Husband of Mary (Buchanan) MacDonald — married 26 Jan 1842 in Portree, Inverness-shire, Scotland, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 23 Jan 1903 at about age 84 in Portree, Inverness-shire, Scotland, United Kingdom

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Anne Svihra [send private message]

Biography

Duncan MacDonald, son of crofter Farquhar MacDonald and Janet "Jessie" MacDonald, was born in about 1819 in Parish of Applecross, Rossshire, Scotland.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] [10]} Duncan's father was from Eilean na Bà, Parish of Applecross (recorded as "Ellannaba/Elan na ba" on his marriage records), which means "island of cattle".^[11][12] Duncan's mother was from Toscaig, Parish of Applecross ("Toskaig" on her marriage record).^[11][12]

Duncan moved to Ollach, Parish of Portree on Isle of Skye where he was a weaver and crofter.^[7][8][13] He married Mary Buchanan, daughter of crofter John Buchanan and weaver Mary Macpherson of Ollach, on January 26, 1842 in Portree, Isle of Skye.^[7][8][13]

Duncan and Mary had several children:

• Farquhar MacDonald (~1843) ^[1][2][6]
• Alexander "Sandy Ollach" MacDonald (~1847) ^{[1][2][4][7][14]}
• Catherine MacDonald (1851) ^[1][2]
• Janet "Jessie" MacDonald (~1849) ^[1][2][4]
• Mary Ann MacDonald (~1854) ^[2]

As of 1881, Duncan was living in Ollach with his wife and two of his children, Alexander and Janet, along with Janet's husband and two young daughters, Christina and Effie.^[4] When their daughter Janet died that year, Duncan and Mary continued to look after the granddaughters in their household.^[10] After the girls' father remarried, Effie left to live with her father and new stepmother, while Christina remained with Duncan and Mary.^[5][10]

Mary died in 1896.^[8]

Duncan died at the age of 84 years on January 23, 1903 at 11 p.m. in Ollach in Parish of Portree.^[7][8][9] The cause of death was unknown.^[7] The informant for his death was his son, Alexander MacDonald, who lived on Wentworth Street in Portree.^[7] He was buried with his wife in Portree Old Cemetery in Portree.^[8][9]

Census Summaries

1851 Census^[1]

• Census date: night of 30/31 March 1851
• Civil Parish: Portree
• County: Inverness
• Address: Lower Ollach
• Household Members:
  • Duncan Mcdonald, 31, Male, Head, Weaver, b. abt 1820, Applecross, rossshire
  • Mary Macdonald, 33, Female, Wife, Weaver's Wife, b. abt 1818, Portree, invernessshire
  • Farguhar Macdonald, 8, Male, Son, Weaver's Son, b. abt 1843, Portree, invernessshire
  • Alexander Macdonald, 6, Male, Son, Weaver's Son, b. abt 1846, Portree, invernessshire
  • Janet Macdonald, 3, Female, Daughter, Weaver's Daughter, b. abt 1848, Portree, invernessshire
  • Catherine Macdonald, 1 Mo, Female, Daughter, Weaver's Daughter, b. abt 1851, Portree, invernessshire
  • Mary Mcpherson, 68, Female, Mother-in-law, Weaver Mother In Law, b. abt 1783, Snizort, invernessshire

1861 Census^[2]

• Census date: night of 7/8 April 1861
• Registration District: Portree
• Civil Parish: Portree
• County: Inverness
• Address: 12 Lower Ollach
• Household Members:
  • Duncan Mcdonald, 40, Male, Head, Woolen Weaver, b. abt 1821, Applecross, rossshire
  • Mary Mcdonald, 42, Female, Wife, Woolen Wife, b. abt 1819, Portree, invernessshire
  • Farquhar Mcdonald, 18, Male, Son, Scholar, b. abt 1843, Portree, invernessshire
  • Alexander Mcdonald, 16, Male, Son, Scholar, b. abt 1846, Portree, invernessshire
  • Janet Mcdonald, 12, Female, Daughter, Scholar, b. abt 1849, Portree, invernessshire
  • Catherine Mcdonald, 10, Female, Daughter, Scholar, b. abt 1851, Portree, invernessshire
  • Mary Ann Mcdonald, 7, Female, Daughter, Weaver Daur, b. abt 1854, Portree, invernessshire

1871 Census^[3]

• Census date: night of 2/3 April 1871
• Registration District: Portree
• Civil Parish: Portree
• County: Invernessshire
• Address: 13 Lower Ollach
• Household Members:
  • Duncan Macdonald, 50, Male, Head, Farmer Of 2 1/2ac Of Cand, b. abt 1821, Applecross, rossshire
  • Mary Macdonald, 52, Female, Wife, Farmer's Wife, b. abt 1819, Portree, invernessshire
  • Farquhar Macdonald, 28, Male, Son, Fisherman, b. abt 1843, Portree, invernessshire
  • Alexander Macdonald, 25, Male, Son, Fisherman, b. abt 1846, Portree, invernessshire
  • Janet Macdonald, 22, Female, Daughter, Farmer's Daughter, b. abt 1849, Portree, invernessshire
  • Mary A Macdonald, 16, Female, Daughter, Farmer's Daughter, b. abt 1855, Portree, invernessshire

1881 Census^[4]

• Census date: night of 3/4 April 1881
• Registration District: Portree
• Civil Parish: Portree
• County: Invernessshire
• Address: 9 Lower Ollach
• Household Members:
  • Duncan MacDonald, 62, Male, Head, Farm. 2 ac.av. & Common, b. abt 1819, Applecross, Ross-shire
  • Mary MacDonald, 63, Female, Wife, Farmer's Wife, b. abt 1818, Portree, Invernessshire
  • Alexander MacDonald, 35, Male, Son, Fisherman, b. abt 1846, Portree, Invernessshire
  • Janet MacPherson, 32, Female, Daur. (Daughter), Dom. Serv. - General, b. abt 1849, Portree, Invernessshire
  • Donald MacPherson, 32, Male, Son-in-law, Fisherman, b. abt 1849, Kilmuir, Invernessshire
  • Christina MacPherson, 1, Female, Grand-daur. (Granddaughter), b. abt 1880, Portree, Invernessshire
  • Christina MacPherson, 4 mo., Female, Grand-daur. (Granddaughter), b. abt 1881, Portree, Invernessshire
  • Alexander MacDonald, 12, Male, Visitor, Scholar, b. abt 1869, Portree, Invernessshire

1891 Census^[5]

• Census date: night of 5/6 April 1891
• Registration District: Portree
• Civil Parish: Portree
• County: Inverness
• Address: No 11
• Household Members:
  • Duncan MacDonald, 72, Male, Head, Crofter Weaver of Hornespern, b. abt 1819, Applecross, Rossshire
  • Mary MacDonald, 72, Female, Wife, Crofter's Wife, b. abt 1819, Portree, Invernessshire
  • Christina MacPhersonn, 11, Female, Grand Daur (Granddaughter), Scholar, b. abt 1880, Portree, Invernessshire

1901 Census^[6]

• Census date: night of 31 March/1 April 1901
• Registration District: Portree
• Civil Parish: Portree
• County: Inverness
• Address: 2 Lower Ollach
• Household Members:
  • Farquhar Macdonald, 55, Male, Head, Farmer, b. abt 1846, Portree Parish, Invernessshire
  • Anne Macdonald, 45, Female, Wife, Farmer's Wife, b. abt 1856, Portree Parish, Invernessshire
  • Alex Macdonald, 17, Male, Son, Farmer' Son, b. abt 1884, Portree Parish, Invernessshire
  • John Macdonald, 23, Male, Son, Farmer's Son, b. abt 1878, Portree Parish, Invernessshire
  • Duncan Macdonald, 80, Male, Father, Annintant (Annuitant), b. abt 1821, Applecross, rossshire
  • Mary Finlayson, 13, Female, Boarder, Scholar, b. abt 1888, Portree Par, Invernessshire
  • Annie Finlayson, 9, Female, Boarder, Scholar, b. abt 1892, Portree Par, Invernessshire
  • Maggie Macdonald, 40, Female, Serv (Servant), General Servant (domestic), b. abt 1861, Portree Par, Invernessshire

Research Notes

Birth: A "family history" letter about Duncan MacDonald and his family by Ian McDonald, shared on an Ancestry tree by user HelenChegwin, indicates that Duncan may have been from Na h-Eileanan Cròlainneach (Crowlin Islands) in the Inner Sound between Raasay and the Applecross mainland, which have been uninhabited since the mid 1800s.^[10]

Many family trees on Ancestry appear to erroneously attach this Duncan MacDonald (born c. 1819-1821) to a family where the mother's name doesn't match (his death record). That family also uses the name Duncan to name another child born after this Duncan while he was still alive, so it seems highly unlikely that it is the correct family.

While a birth/baptism record was not found on ScotlandsPeople, he is attached here to a family having children at the correct time and location, with the same parent names as on Duncan's death record. While evidence of the family living on the Crowlin Islands during this time period was not found, his father was from the nearby even smaller island Eilean na Bà and his mother was from Toscaig, immediately north of the Crowlin Islands.

Family/Siblings: Baptism records for his many siblings with the correct mother (Janet MacDonald) can be found by searching the ScotlandsPeople website OPR births and baptisms with the year range of 1803-1821 with the Forename field left blank, Surname field set to phonetic matching for McDonald, and the parents' names entered as "Far" and "Janet" with the fields set to "Names that begin with". It appears from viewing a few of the older siblings' baptism records that the family lived at Camusteel (see historical maps) and then possibly Ardban (Airdbàn) around the time that Duncan would have been born. His father was a tenant.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} 1851 Scotland Census. Reels 1-217. General Register Office for Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland. Parish: Portree; ED: 3; Page: 4; Line: 3; Roll: CSSCT1851_27; Year: 1851. Available online, no image, Ancestry.com (https://search.ancestry.ca/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1851Scotland&indiv=try&h=433025 : accessed 26 March 2021).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6} 1861 Scotland Census. Reels 1-150. General Register Office for Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland. Parish: Portree; ED: 3; Page: 4; Line: 1; Roll: CSSCT1861_16. Available online, no image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.ca/discoveryui-content/view/2038892:1080 : accessed 26 March 2021).
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} 1871 Scotland Census. Reels 1-191. General Register Office for Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland. Parish: Portree; ED: 3; Page: 5; Line: 1; Roll: CSSCT1871_21. Available online, no image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.ca/discoveryui-content/view/999991:1104 : accessed 17 May 2021).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4} 1881 Census. National Records of Scotland. 1881 MACDONALD, DUNCAN (Census 114/1 3/ 4) Page 4 of 19, Portree, Inverness. PDF copy in the possession of Anne Svihra. Retrieved from ScotlandsPeople (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ : downloaded 20 August 2021).
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} 1891 Scotland Census. Reels 1-409. General Register Office for Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland. Parish: Portree; ED: 3; Page: 2; Line: 18; Roll: CSSCT1891_33. Available online, no image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.ca/discoveryui-content/view/650966:1108 : accessed 17 May 2021).
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} 1901 Scotland Census. Reels 1-446. General Register Office for Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland. Parish: Portree; ED: 3; Page: 1; Line: 24; Roll: CSSCT1901_34. Available online, no image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.ca/discoveryui-content/view/133410:1101 : accessed 19 May 2021).
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6} Death Register. National Records of Scotland. 1903 MACDONALD, DUNCAN (Statutory registers Deaths 114/1 3). Digital copy (PDF image file), in the possession of [Svihra-6|Anne Svihra]. Available online, ScotlandsPeople (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ : downloaded 19 May 2021).
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5} Find a Grave, database and images (www.findagrave.com/memorial/163397432/duncan-macdonald : accessed 17 May 2021), memorial page for Duncan MacDonald (1819–23 Jan 1903), Find A Grave: Memorial #163397432, citing Portree Old Cemetery, Portree, Highland, Scotland; Maintained by Gordon J Callon (contributor 48186026).
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} Macpherson, Roddie. Gravestone of Duncan & Mary (Buchanan) Macdonald, d. Jessie. Skye Gravestones, 2014. (http://images.skyegravestones.co.uk/picture/number1202.asp : accessed 19 August 2021). Portree Old Cemetery, Portree, Skye, Scotland.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3} McDonald, Ian. Letter about Duncan MacDonald & family of Ollach, Skye. Retrieved from an Ancestry family tree by user HelenChegwin (https://www.ancestry.ca/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/26871570/person/1938020296/media/1141566d-bd52-470e-8501-49e97812e9b3?_phsrc=LmW3346&usePUBJs=true : accessed 20 August 2021).
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Marriage Register. National Records of Scotland. 09/03/1802 MACDONALD, FARQR (Old Parish Registers Marriages 058/ 10 125 Applecross) Page 125 of 232, Ross and Cromarty. JPG copy in the possession of Anne Svihra. Retrieved from ScotlandsPeople (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ : downloaded 3 March 2022).
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} Marriage Register. National Records of Scotland. 09/03/1802 MCDONALD, FARQR (Old Parish Registers Marriages 058/ 10 25 Applecross) Page 25 of 232, Ross and Cromarty. JPG copy in the possession of Anne Svihra. Retrieved from ScotlandsPeople (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ : downloaded 3 March 2022).
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} Marriage Register. National Records of Scotland. 26/01/1842 MACDONALD, DUNCAN (Old Parish Registers Marriages 114/ 20 229 Portree) Page 229 of 253, Inverness. JPG copy in the possession of Anne Svihra. Retrieved from ScotlandsPeople (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ : downloaded 2 March 2022).
14. ↑ Macdonald, Norman, Maclean, Cailean. The Great Book of Skye 3. Portree: Great Book Publishing, 2018. Pages 277-278.