John McKellar (bef. 1814 - 1906)

Ancestors Descendants

Contents 1 Biography 2 Research Notes 3 Sources 4 Notes

Biography

John McKellar was baptized in Strachur Parish, Argyllshire Scotland on 10 Feb 1814. He was the son of Hugh McKellar and his wife Janet Turner, they lived in Duifeorline. ^[1]. The Old Parish Registers for Strachur parish record that Hugh and Janet had five children:

Anne 10/03/1796 OPR 534/2 10 78

Mary 05/11/1797 OPR 534/2 10 81

Archibald 04/01/1800 OPR 534/2 10 85

Mary 04/04/1803 OPR 534/2 10 88

John 10/02/1814 OPR 534/2 10 106

John McKellar (the youngest son of Hugh and Janet) married Lillias Morrison on 18 Oct 1838 (banns proclaimed 14th), the Marriage register notes that John was "of this Parish" (ie Strachur) and "Lilias (sic) Morrison was of Inverchaolain" ^[2]. Her father was schoolmaster of Inverchaolain parish for almost forty years.

John and Lillias, emigrated to Australia from Scotland in 1838, leaving Greenock on the Christiana on 29 November (six weeks after their marriage), departing Hobart Town on 7 April 1839^[3] and arriving in Sydney on 17 April (or thereabouts)^[4]. Lachlan Macfarlane, who is conjectured to have been their sponsor, was listed amongst the passengers.

After spending approximately a year in the NSW Southern Highlands (at Wm Coghill's property Currockbilly: see Research Notes below) and, after periods of time in NSW and Melbourne (1840-42), eventually settled at Ballangeich in the Western District of Victoria in 1843.^[5]

John McKellar died in Ballangeich Victoria in 1906 aged 93^[6]

Lillias' obituary records:

"Mrs. John McKellar, one of the oldest residents of the Western district, died at Ballangeich on Saturday morning. A native of Argylshire, she arrived with her husband, who survives her, by the Christina at Sydney in the early part of 1839, where the couple were in the employ for 12 months of Captain Coggil (sic). Subsequently they joined Mr. Lauchlan McFarlane in Melbourne, under whose engagement they originally shipped to the colonies. That gentleman had purchased a number of sheep, but was unable at the time to obtain suitable pasture for them, and those that did not die off, he sent under the charge of John McKellar to Adelaide. He was the second person to make the over-land trip. The journey occupied six months. The deceased and her husband afterwards came to the Western district as employees of Captain Eddington when he acquired the Ballangeich Station. The deceased was 83, and leaves a husband and many grand and great grand children."^[7]

More details of the early settlement of Ballangeich are recorded in John Eddington's entry.

Research Notes

John Mckellar's biography, and many descendents, are discussed extensively in £37 a year and a free passage: a history of the McKellar Family of Warrnambool / Ian C McKellar. Heathmont, Vic: Ian and Margaret McKellar, 1989. ISBN 0 9587492 1 3

John's birthplace, Duiforlein (or Duifeorline), was one of the lands of the Laird of Strachur in the Parish of Strachur^[8] The 1751 Roll of Valuation for land tax lists Duifeorline as one of the properties of Captain John Campbell of Strachurr (sic) in the Parish of Strachurr & Stralachlan.^[9]
The later 1802 Roll of valuation for Argyll lists Soccochmore and Duifeorline adjacent to each other and has a handwritten bracket joining the two marked "{Fr. 1784}". These two properties were collated together at an earlier point. Genl Campbell of Strachur is named as the proprietor in the 1802 roll.

The Ordnance Survey Six-inch to the mile Argyllshire, Sheet CXLI 1870 map sheet located Dufeorline (ruins) at National Grid Reference NN 11322 01283 https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15&lat=56.17060&lon=-5.03450&layers=5&b=1&marker=56.166765,-5.040336 The Roy Military Survey of Scotland, 1747-1755 locates a settlement named Diphirnan at this location https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=14&lat=56.16152&lon=-5.04471&layers=3&b=1&marker=56.165129,-5.046770

An archaeological survey of Dufeorline was undertaken in 2008 and subsequently published^[10] A summary is here with images: https://canmore.org.uk/site/23624/dufeorline

Strachur was known as Kilmaglash up into the 16th century. The Ordnance Survey Name Book for Argyll provides the following information: ^[11]
Kilmaglash This name is applied to the burying ground surrounding the Strachur church.
"The ancient name of Strachur was Kilmaglash, signifying the burying ground of Maglass (Macghlais) or Grey's Son who was the Saint honoured with the religious devotions of the inhabitants of this locality" New Statistical Account.
"The old parish of Kilmaglash forms the northern part of the united parish lying chiefly on the north-east of Glen Eachaig & Loch Eck, & South-east of Loch Fyne. This church is supposed to have existed about or before the era of the crusades. There appears to be no notice of the church in any known record previous to the reformation. It is marked as Kilmaglash in the etching of Timothy Pont and Gordon of Straloch. There is, says a writer in Macfarlane, one Church in Strathgur not far from the ferry of Lochfyne called Kilmaglass. The church appears to have always stood as thus described." Origines Parochiales

It is possible that John and Lillias worked for 12 months from May 1839 at William Coghill's property Currockbilly 80 miles SW of Sydney. So stated in Ian McKellar's book. No source for this assertion is provided. Currockbilly is located at GPS -34.425944, 150.398412 (at 100 Wombeyan Caves Road), it is shown on the Parish of Berrima map 3rd ed. 1889 as Par. no 315, 600 acres with owner William Coghill, immediately east of Par. 357 "Woodlands", 1000 acres owned by Thomas McVitte (sic).

Currockbilly in 1834, shortly after the line of the then new Great South Road was laid out, would have been immediately to the northwest of the point where the road turns to the southwest some 5km from Mittagong. This accords with George Bell’s account of his trip to rural New South Wales, February-March 1834 in which he records a visit to William Coghill ^[12] Bell overnighted on 3 March at Cutter's Inn^[13][14][15] which was located on the east side of the current Mittagong, he continues his narrative thus:

"On the 4th I arose soon after sunrise & took my road thro’ the bush in a fine sharp morning, being the coldest I have felt in this country. In about 1½ miles I came upon the new line of road [presumed to be Surveyor-General Thomas Mitchell's new Great South road, the plan of which was presented to Governor Ralph Darling in early 1830] which I pursued for about 3 miles thro’ forest until I found a cart track leading to the right which I followed thro’ the bush & saw some beautiful blue & red Parrots. Passing thro’ a beautiful piece of low open forest land I came to Wm Coghill’s whose dogs frightened me when going to the house which was a common wooden one. Here I found the master laid up & unable to move from rheumatism & the whole house in confusion from their having been obliged to raise the flooring to destroy a snake which had got in beneath. After having bfast & a chat with poor WC I took my leave. Returning to the main road I went on to Berrima where I met with Tasker who was kind & I dined with him in his slab hut. He then made me got on horseback, shewed me the site of the intended stone bridge over the river Uinjeecaribee [ie Wingecarribee] [ed note: at the current Berrima] which we forded & proceeded thro’ the bush to the farm of Jn Atkinson ..." [John Atkinson had a property of 2000 acres in the Parish of Bong Bong immediately south of the township of Berrima].

William had arrived on the convict ship "Mangles" commanded by his brother Captain John Coghill on 27 Oct 1824. Presumably he was accompanied by his wife and seven children, ranging in ages from 12 years to 9 months. They were to have a further two children, one of who, at least was born at Currockbilly.

Details of William's promise of land from Governor Thomas Brisbane in 1825 and subsequent Deeds of Grant in 1838 are recorded in the NSW Government Gazette: "WILLIAM COGHILL, 600, Six hundred acres, parish unnamed, at Currockbilly; bounded on the west by a line south 75 chains, commencing at the north-east corner of J. M'Vitie's (sic) 1,000 acres grant; on the south by a line east 80 chains; on the east by a line north 75 chains; and on the north by a line west 80 chains to the north-east corner of J. M'Vitie's (sic) grant aforesaid. Promised by Sir Thomas Brisbane, November 12, 1825. Quit-rent £5 sterling per annum, commencing 1st January, 1833."^[16] Coghill was still in possession of the land in 1857, according to information provided in a land grant proclaimed in March^[17]

Sources

1. ↑ ScotlandsPeople Strachur Baptism register OPR 534/2 20 106
2. ↑ Strachur Parish Marriage register OPR 534/2 20 55
3. ↑ The Cornwall Chronicle (Launceston, Tas. : 1835 - 1880) Sat 13 Apr 1839 p. 2
4. ↑ Commercial Journal and Advertiser (Sydney, NSW) t 20 Apr 1839, Page 2, col. 1 online in Trove NLA
5. ↑ Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Tuesday 12 June 1900, p. 3
6. ↑ BDM Victoria Death 1906/7629
7. ↑ Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), Tuesday 12 June 1900, page 3
8. ↑ https://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrsonlinecatalogue/browseDetails.aspx?reference=SC54/20/8/5/13&
9. ↑ Roll of valuation for the Shire of Argyll Made up pursuant to ane Act of Parliament of the twenty second year of His Majesty King George the Second Intituled "An Act for making an Authentick Roll of Valuation for the Shire of Argyll" 1751 vol. 2 page 7 https://scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/digital-volumes/historical-tax-rolls/land-tax-rolls-1645-1831/land-tax-rolls-argyll-volume-02/4
10. ↑ Dorren and Henry, D and N. (2008) Dufeorline, Argyll and Bute (Strachur parish), survey, Discovery Excav Scot, New, vol. 9, 2008. Cathedral Communications, Wiltshire, England. Pp. 48-49
11. ↑ Argyll OS Name Books, 1868-1878 Argyll volume 81 OS1/2/81/17 https://scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/digital-volumes/ordnance-survey-name-books/argyll-os-name-books-1868-1878/argyll-volume-81/19
12. ↑ https://nichaygarth.com/index.php/tag/william-coghill/ accessed 22/10/2020
13. ↑ https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=5045486
14. ↑ https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-138578085/view
15. ↑ Inns of the olden days: "The Traveller"' at Bargo; Cutter's Inn and Chalker's at Mittagong.  The Southern Mail (Bowral, NSW : 1889-1954)   Tue 14 Sep 1937  p. 3 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/114789199 accessed 31/10/20
16. ↑ New South Wales Government Gazette Fri 5 Jan 1838 [Issue No.313] p.17 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/230385497/12579617 accessed 30/10/20
17. ↑ New South Wales Government Gazette, Thu 12 Mar 1857 [Issue No.35 (SUPPLEMENT)], Page 484 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/229955954/12607362

Notes

~~ more information on the McKellar's period in Melbourne is to be provided Neil McKellar Stewart 31/10/20~~