Rumsdale
Farquhar McLeod was born in Rumsdale and baptised on 18th
October 1839. He was the ninth child of John and Christina. The year he was
born had its tragic times for the family as eldest daughter Kitty died aged 17.
Farquhar lawful son of
John McLeod and Christian Sutherland at Rumsdale was baptised 18th October 1839.
In the 1841 census
Farquhar is only one year old and the baby of the family.
Backlass
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| Rumsdale to Backlass John Thomson's Atlas of Scotland 1832 |
Next we hear of
Farquhar is when he was 11 years old at the time of the 1851 census. He is
living at Backlass with his elder sister Betsy and brother William who has a job as a
shepherd. Given that Farquhar went on to be a shepherd in Ausdale and New Zealand he would
have learned how to manage sheep both from his years at home in Rumsdale and
again here at Backlass with William.
At Backlass Farquhar is
going to school. The census shows a family at the nearby settlement of
Achscoraclate with a young school teacher named James Gunn boarding with them.
It was the usual practice for the teacher to be given accommodation at the
homes of his pupils. At some stage there was a school at Backlass but I am not
sure of the dates it was operating.
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| Backlass |
Shepherd
The next record for Farquhar is in 1859. He
obviously was not one to let the grass grow under his feet as he is shown to be
a shepherd at Ausdale. Farquhar cannot have been much more than a lad when he
went to Ausdale as a shepherd.
Donald Horne sold the Langwell estate to the Duke of
Portland in 1857 so maybe a change of owner was an opportunity for some new
shepherds. The McLeod brothers must have had good reputations as shepherds as
they got work even when times were tough and shepherds were being brought in
from the south of Scotland.
Marriage
In 1859 Farquhar married Jane Ogilvie Sutherland who was living at Badbea.
On
the thirtieth day of May 1859 at Dunbeath Marriage after Banns was solemnized
between us according to the forms of the Church of Scotland. Signed Farquhar
McLeod, Jane Sutherland. Age 20. Age 24. Residence Ausdale Parish of Latheron.
Badbea, Berriedale. Shepherd. Bachelor. Spinster. Father John McLeod Shepherd.
Mother Christina McLeod Maiden name Sutherland. Father John Sutherland, Farmer.
Mother Ann Sutherland Maiden name Mackay. Signed Samuel Campbell. Signed John
Mackay Witness. Walter Elliot Witness.
The above marriage was
Registered by me at Reisgill on the 1st day of June 1859. James Robertson
Registrar.
Jane's Family Background
A letter to the Editor
of the Northern Ensign dated14 May 1905 makes the following comments about the
family that Jane descended from:
“Big John Mackay”
To The editor of the
Northern Ensign Sir:
In a recent issue of
the Northern Ensign, A. M. wants
information as to what branch of the clan Mackay did Big John Mackay, Borgie,
Berriedale claim descent. Secondly had John had any family by his wife Annie
Munro. Yes, John Mackay was my grandfather, and Annie was my grandmother. They
had eight of a family.
Big John Mackay’s
father was a native of Lord Reay’s Country. He was a soldier and died in
America about 1778, John being born there. The last of his family died two
years ago at the good old age of nearly 97 years.
A grand-daughter of
John’s died a few months ago in New Zealand, viz Mrs Macleod [aka Jane Ogilvie Sutherland]. A letter “In
Memoriam” from the Feilding Star in
which there is reference to the Mackays, I enclose to you that you may kindly
insert….
William Sutherland, Dunrobin Street,
Helmsdale May 10, 1905
Here is an extract from
the obituary published by the Feilding
Star:
Mrs McLeod was a native
of Caithness, Scotland, and was descended on her father's side from a family
who for several generations were noted for their unostentatious piety and
upright lives. Her mother was of the "Borgie" MacKays, somewhat
renowned for their military spirit, and an uncle and a brother fought in the
great Indian Mutiny, the one as Major and the other as Colour-Sergeant in a Highland
Regiment.
Matoaka
On the 15 June 1859 less than a month after their marriage
Farquhar and Jane boarded the Matoaka and sailed to New Zealand.
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