First Generation - An Overview

Children of Farquhar MacRae

Family tree from FamilySearch

Farquhar had eleven children. His first daughter, Mary, from his first marriage and ten children with his second wife Barbara. Nine children were born on Australian soil, in the region of western Sydney. This is an introduction to the lives of these eleven children; Mary, John, Ewen, Mary Isabella, Christopher, Alexander, Farquhar, Christianna, Christopher John, Catherine and Jeanette.

Most of the dates of birth and death for Farquhar's children were recorded in the diary of Elizabeth Ann MacRae nee Loseby (known as Ann). However, some dates given in Ann's diary differ from other sources. The dates given here are based on Baptismal Records, Birth Certificates and Death Certificates.

Mary McCrea
Mary, born on 2 February 1828 in Scotland, was the daughter of Farquhar and his first wife, Flora MacRae. She married a fellow Scot, George Young Rankin, at Campbelltown, NSW, in 1855. They soon moved to the Karuah Valley inland from Port Stephens where their five children were born. Eventually the family settled at Dungog where both Mary and George died on 20 October 1908 and 28 September 1892 respectively. Read on...»

John MacRae
John was born in Scotland on 25 December 1836, so was just 6 months old when the family left Scotland for Australia. In !873, John married Elizabeth Ann Loseby, or Ann as she was known to the MacRaes, who was born in Harby, Leicestershire, England on 7 June 1845. The story goes, that when John MacRae approached Ann's parents for her hand in marriage they wanted John to change his religion. He kept his Catholic faith and married Ann anyway but sadly as a consequence they saw little of the Loseby family. John and Ann started their family while living in the Berrima district but later moved to Sydney. They had six children, two of whom died as infants. Read on...»

Ewen MacRae
Ewen, born at Greendale on 15 October 1838, was the first child born in Australia and his wife, Susannah Fethers Izard, was also Australian by birth. Susannah was born at Mittagong on 9 February 1942. They married on 7 February 1860 at Mittagong, NSW, in a double marriage ceremony, together with Ewen's younger sister, Mary Isabella, who married Susannah's older half-brother, George Izard. Ewen and Susannah were to have twelve children. They too moved away from the Berrima district. In 1874 when their son Christopher was born, they were living in Young. In 1878 when their son George was born, they were in Wagga Wagga, then in 1883 their last child was born, in Hillston where Susannah also died. Read on...»

Mary Isabella MacRae
Just a year after the birth of Ewen, Mary Isabella, also known as Amy, was born on 15 November 1839 also at Greendale. Her husband George Izard was born on 22 December 1838 in Windsor. Like the MacRaes, George Izard's family had land on Diamond Fields Road, Lower Mittagong. Mary Isabella and George Izard settled in the Southern Highlands and had four children one of whom died in infancy. Mary Isabella is buried in the Roman Catholic Cemetery, Lower Mittagong (also known as the Marist Brother's Cemetery) and George were buried at the nearby Rowes Hill Cemetery. Only Mary Isabella's headstone remains.

Christopher MacRae
Of Christopher MacRae, the third child born in Australia, little is currently known. Family sources say he burnt to death. Born 5 November 1841 little Christopher did not live to celebrate his eighth birthday. Do you know more about the short life of Christopher? Tell us.

Alexander McRae 
Alexander McRae was born 4 September 1843 and in 1897 he married Ellen Hennessy Ryan, daughter of the ex-licensee of the Gold Digger's Arms, Berrima. Alexander and Ellen, although married in Sydney, settled in the Berrima district and had three daughters. Only one of their daughters lived to have a family of her own. Alexander, Ellen and their two daughters that died young are buried at the Berrima General Cemetery next to Ellen's father, Thomas Ryan. Read on...»

Farquhar MacRae
Farquhar MacRae was born on 26 September 1846 at Cowpastures. He married Sarah Ann Griffiths, the great granddaughter of the First Fleeter, Mary Phillips, on 15 September 1877 at Mittagong. Farquhar and Sarah settled on land at Upper Mittagong, now known as Glenquarry, not far from the property of John Griffiths, Sarah's father. They had ten children, one of whom joined Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Nuns and for many years taught at a school in Papua New Guinea. Read on...»

Christianna  McRae
Christianna (or Christiana) McRae was born 15 November 1847 at Bringelly, near Liverpool and died 9 September 1883 at Mittagong. Little is known of Christianna. She was 35 years old when she died and had never married. Read on...»

Christopher John McRae
Christopher was born shortly after the death of his younger brother, also called Christopher, on 11 October 1850 at Campbelltown. He "eloped" with Ellenor (or Eleanor) Noble and married on 29 October 1878 in Wagga Wagga, NSW. During the early years of their marriage Christopher and Ellenor lived in a number of places in NSW, including in Lower Mittagong, finally settling in Kangaroo Valley. On the passing of Farquhar senior, it was Christopher who inherited his two farms, a total of 300 acres. Christopher and Ellenor had ten children and one, like her cousin, also joined Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Nuns and taught in Papua New Guinea. Read on...»

Catherine McCrae and Jeanette McCrea
The two youngest children Catherine and Jeanette (Janith or Jennette) both died young. 

Headstone of Catherine Mac Rae
Marist Brothers Cemetery
Lower Mittagong

Catherine's Baptismal Record records her birth on 2 April 1852 and her Death Certificate gives her place of birth as Bringelly. Although born in Bringelly and baptised at St Luke's Roman Catholic Church, Liverpool, Catherine's baptismal record registered the family as living at Eastwood. How was it that Catherine came to be born some distance from her parents place of residence? Why was she baptised in Liverpool? The answer to these questions is probably connected to the Farquhar's first cousin, Alexander McRae and his family who may have been living in the area of Liverpool at that time. Catherine died at Mittagong, aged 18, on 8 July 1870 of consumption (or tuberculosis). She was the first of the family known to have died of tuberculosis and is buried at the Marist Brothers Cemetery, Lower Mittagong. Buried beside her is her mother, Barbara, who would also soon die of tuberculosis.

Jeanette's Baptismal Record records her birth on 14 September 1854 and her baptisms took place at St. John the Evangelist's Roman Catholic Church, Campbelltown, where their older sister Mary was married. The baptismal register records that at the time of Jeanette's baptism the family was living at Cabramatta so possibly this is also where she was born. St. John the Evangelist's church records also include a Burial Record for a Janith McCrea, who was buried in the church cemetery, aged five weeks on 18 November 1854. On 18 November 1854, Jeanette would have been nine weeks and two days old. Could "nine" spoken with a Scottish accent have sounded like "five" to the person who entered the details into the register?  Although the age at death differs by four weeks and no parents are listed, it is likely that this is Jeanette, daughter of Farquhar and Barbara.


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Arthur Streeton
The Vale of Mittagong 1892
watercolour over pencil 55.1 x 96.1 cm (image)
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne G. W. Booth Bequest, 1961 (913-5)

Mentioned on this page
 ● St. John the Evangelist (Church : Campbelltown, N.S.W.) - Parish registers, 1826-1968, SAG 218