Anna MacRae MacDonald - Genealogy Services

15/09/2025

****OTD****
The emigrant ship ‘Hector’ arrived in Pictou, Nova Scotia in Canada on this day in 1773.

It carried almost 200 people, most of whom had boarded in Lochbroom in the Highlands. The ‘Hector’ is believed to be among the earliest emigrant ships to take Scottish settlers to Canada. The emigrants on board had been promised farm land and provisions but on arrival in Pictou they discovered that the land wasn’t ready for settlement and supplies for the coming winter were meagre.

The conditions on board the ‘Hector’ during the voyage were very poor. Smallpox and dysentery claimed the lives of 18 passengers, mostly children. The voyage was expected to take six weeks but took almost twice as long, and food supplies were very scarce by the time the ‘Hector’ landed in Pictou.

In spite of the many difficulties faced by these settlers, they worked hard to make Canada their home and embraced the opportunities which the country had to offer. It is estimated that there are around 140,000 people descended from the ‘Hector’ settlers living in Canada and the USA today.

A replica of the ‘Hector’ was completed in 2000 to commemorate its contribution to Nova Scotia’s Scottish history and is moored at the Hector History Quay in Pictou.

Here’s Donald MacLean (1881-1974) from Barrapoll in Tiree talking about how some of his relatives fared when they emigrated to Canada in the late nineteenth century. He is being recorded by Dr Margaret MacKay of the School of Scottish Studies in 1974.
----------------------------------------
https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/70064?l=en
---------------------------------------
Image: Photo of replica of the Hector by Dennis Jarvis. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

14/09/2025

A 1.5metre family tree printed and ready to go to my client! So pleased with the quality of the print. (The names on the tree have been distorted to protect client confidentiality)

04/09/2025

As Autumn falls here in the Highlands of Scotland, the temperature cooling and the leaves starting to turn yellows, oranges and reds, it seemed fitting to give my logo a wee autumnal update…. 🍂💛🧡❤️🍂
My logo is designed by Highland Celtic Art and I couldn’t love it more! It features the Five Sisters of Kintail (clan MacRae country 💜)

30/08/2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ What do my clients say about my family research services? This wee video is put together using a compilation of my reviews ... 🌳

29/08/2025

Ok...am I the only person that has never seen this movie?! It sounds like a cross between Rob Roy (which i liked) and Terminator (which i...um...didn't!). Is it worth a watch?

On this day in 1986: Highlander was released in UK cinemas. It starred Frenchman Christopher Lambert as Scotsman Connor MacLeod and Scotsman Sean Connery as Egyptian/Spaniard Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez. An 80s classic.

14/08/2025

Amazing Highland Dancers at the Tattoo!

11/08/2025

🌳 I recently had the honour of doing some work for a client, adopted as a baby, who was looking for information on birth parents and their families. Here is the client's lovely feedback:-

🌳 "From the moment i engaged with Anna I was well supported. Anna excels at her craft, highly skilled and very focused.
Discussions were very efficient and supportive. This allowed me to explore the direction of what research I required and what answers I was searching for.
I had so many answers in such a short space of time.
Information was laid out perfectly. There was a lot of it and it was clear and easy to understand.
No stone was left unturned. The research changed my life. It gave me detailed insight into information I had been searching for a long time.
I’m truly grateful to Anna, she has shaped my next steps with the information and research provided. Thank you Anna. Keep doing what you’re doing because without you I would not have the insight to make decisions around next steps."

08/08/2025

🥔'POTATO-GATE', INVERNESS 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Sometimes I come across things in my research that really make me smile. Yesterday, looking for information on behalf of a client, I found a report in the Highland News in the 1880s involving a cottar, two carpenters and a shoemaker ; featuring accusations of slander, a court trial and - crucially - a quantity of missing potatoes! The cottar, William MacDonald, known as "Willie Bread" (_I wish I knew why_) accused the local shoemaker of slander. The shoemaker was purported to have said the following to one James Fraser, known as "Red Jamie" (_now where have I heard that name before_)....

'"Thusa Sheamais Ruaidh tha thu gle dheigheil, air storaidhean beag grinn. Theirig, agus innis do Bhil Bread gur es'ghoid am buntata bho's achadh aig Morile, agus faodaidh thus dhol agus innseadh dha gun d'thuirt mise sin ruit,"

- which being translated into the English is, and means -

"You red James you are very fond of nice little stories. Go and tell William Bread that he it is who stole the potatoes from the field of Morile, and you may go and tell him that I said that to you,"'

From what I can gather, Red Jamie was a key witness in the case against the Shoemaker. While Willie Bread, the pursuer. reportedly had "suffered much in his feelings, and loss and damage to his character to the extent sued for [£12]".

In his summing up, Sheriff Blair, concluded that "No person believed [the slander] and he thought that the damages might be small. He would find the defender liable to the pursuer in the sum of £1, with £1 5s of expenses.

Why did this make me smile? Reading this wee article, reading what the shoemaker is purported to have said provides a window to that scene 150 years ago at the Sheriff Court proceedings, held in Inverness Castle. I can almost hear those words being quoted back to the shoemaker, the colloquialism, the aliases/bynames, and that fact the newspaper provided the quote in Gaelic, while you get a wee insight into the characters of these men and their priorities.

The common sources of family research like baptism records and marriage certificates (_and so on_) are obviously fundamental. They provide the basic black and white of the family tree, but records like these really provide the colour. 🌈

24/07/2025

Yes

08/07/2025

Struggling to find the perfect gift for your parent, grandparent or partner?
Discover their roots with our bespoke family tree research & charting services!
Get a beautifully crafted chart and booklet that will be treasured forever.
Limited slots available! Message now for details

25/01/2024