About

This Site 

This site is for the recording of the story, before it is lost, of Farquhar MacRae and his descendants; for the collecting and piecing together of the fragments that are currently widely scattered. It is dedicated to the memory of all those descendants who have gone before, and is for the benefit of the present and future generations.

 This site is evolving. Unlike a book, that once published cannot be altered, this site is an ongoing project, changing and fluctuating as new material surfaces. All the content on this site is as accurate as the information currently available. If there are any concerns, omissions or errors kindly let us know.

 If you wish to contribute, your contribution will be valued and greatly appreciated. When there is more than one contributor for a particular item, the version that is posted is the one attributed and a general acknowledgement included at the bottom of the page. (Our thanks to all those who have already assisted. Please let us know if we have overlooked acknowledging your input.) If you are a descendant and not sure whether you have something to contribute, please consider contacting us anyway. We would love to hear from you.

We hope, by exploring this site, that you gain a deeper incite into the lives of your ancestors and are inspired to participate in this family history project.
Creative Commons Licence
Except where otherwise noted, "Farquhar MacRae's Descendants" is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Please acknowledge "Farquhar MacRae's Descendants" and the Authors and Contributors if you use or reproduce any of the material on this site. For further information, please contact us using the Contact Form.

Spelling of the Surname 

On this site the family name is spelt in a variety of ways. Unlike the current time in history, the early recording of names was not so rigorous. It was often left to the clerk who was preparing the document to choose the spelling. This means that within the collection of documents relating to a particular person, there may be a variety of spellings. So, in most cases, the spelling that has been chosen here, is that which is seen on the majority of documents for the person whose life is being recorded. In a few cases where there appears to have been a preferred spelling, even if less frequently occurring, the preferred spelling has been used. Here are a few examples:

 Christopher McRae 1850 – 1926, preferred “McRae”, which he considered to be the Catholic spelling, and this is the spelling that mostly appears on his documents and those of his descendants. Other branches of the family preferred “MacRae”.
Then there was Ernest and Ewen MacRae, two brothers who both lived in Casino. There are two stories circulating amongst family to explain why Ewen decided to change the spelling of his surname from "MacRae" to "McRae". Was it that the postie had difficulty delivering their mail or was it because Ernest wasn't paying his bills and Ewen did not want to be held liable from them? Either way Ewen decided to change his surname to "McRae" and since that time his descendants have continued to use that spelling.
There are also early records of family members using “McCrea” as in the case of the Marriage Certificate of Mary McCrea and George Rankin, which apart from the passenger list of the “William Nicol” is the only record of her maiden name so far found.

Our Facebook Group

Want to connect with your cousins, plan a reunion and share family stories then join us on our Facebook Group, Descendants of Farquhar MacRae.

The Family Tree 

The MacRae Family Ancestors Simplified Chart (pdf). For privacy reasons this chart only shows the first two generations of the family of Faruqhar MacRae. It is a simplified version of the family tree and is included here to assist readers to identify if they belong to this family.

For those interested in adding to the family tree or exploring further, this site is based on the tree “growing” on FamilySearch. FamilySearch provides a free, state-of the-art facility for recording family history that has links to other online genealogy sites and useful apps, that can, by the sharing of records be used in conjunction with it. If you wish, you can create a free account and explore the family records on this site. (You will be prompted to add your ancestors until you link into the existing tree.)

 If at the time of setting up your account, you don’t wish to enter other family members, simply look for the “Family Tree” drop down menu, at the top centre of the page, and then select “Find”. Next select “Find by ID” and enter the record ID for Farquhar MacRae which is LVC2-7VC. It is not possible here to give a full description of the FamilySearch site functions and navigation but once you have the entered Farquhar’s ID you will be able to open his record or view the tree of his descendants. If at any time you need assistance, FamilySearch support can be contacted by selecting “Contact Us” from the drop down menu under “Get Help” at the top right corner of the page. (Please note, these instructions are correct at the time of writing. FamilySearch is continually upgrading their site and so these instructions may become obsolete with time.)


Let's all collaborate together to record our family history for the benefit of future generations. 

References and sources 

References related to specific events and background information are listed at the bottom of the related page. For Birth, Death and Marriage sources refer to the person’s record on FamilySearch. Also in the person’s record on FamilySearch is a Memories tab where you may find additional documents, photos etc., where available. Only a selection of the available historical material has been added to this site.
A Lassie who Piped wi' the Best o' Them
A Lassie who Piped wi' the Best o' Them

More Posts

Our Ancestors

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Our Scottish Ancestors and DNA The descendants of the Farquhar MacRae, who came to Australia in 1837, are coming together to share their combined knowledge of their ancestors and their DNA matches. Unfortunately, our knowledge of our ancestors is limited. Very little has been passed down as family lore to the current generations, but slowly through DNA research progress is being made to trace our ancestors. The Fair, Black, and Strathglass MacRaes Before we look more closely at our Scottish ancestors and our DNA matches, we need to clarify some distinctions that are made in regards to the descendants of Fionnla Dubh mac Gillechriosd MacRae (aka Black Finlay son of Christopher), the progenitor of the MacRaes of Kintail. Fionnla Dubh had a grandson, Christopher (Gillechroisd) MacRae, who was the Constable of Eilean Donan Castle around 1511. Christopher had six sons, three of whom, Duncan, Farquhar and Finlay, formed three separate Kintail MacRae lines as follows: Fair Mac
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Journey from Scotland

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Departing Kintail Kintail to Isleornsay overland and sea routes John Thomson's Atlas of Scotland, 1832 detail from Northern Part of Ross and Cromarty Shires. Southern Part. National Library of Scotland The exact location of the homes of the MacRaes is not known. So taking the north eastern corner of Loch Duich as an approximate starting point,  from Kintail to Isleornsay (Eilean Iarmain), where the ship William Nicol departed, is a good twelve hours walk, and involves taking the steep Bealach Rattigan over Mam Rattigan to Glenelg. There was no public transport but they may have arranged a horse and cart. The road being of reasonable condition as there had been upgraded in 1810s under the supervision of the engineer Thomas Telford and the Commission for Roads and Bridges. More likely the MacRaes took the faster, more direct route by boat from Loch Duich, past the ruins of Eilean Donan castle, into Loch Alsh, then heading south west into Kyle Rhea towards the Sound of Sl
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John MacRae 1836-1906

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John MacRae and Elizabeth Ann Loseby's Family R. Wynne St. Francis Xavier's (St. Scholastica's) Catholic Church, Berrima, 1966 Photograph 13cm x 9cm Berrima District Historical & Family History Society On 23 July 1873, John MacRae aged 36 of Mittagong, married Elizabeth Ann Loseby aged 28 of Bong Bong, according to the rites of the Church of Rome (Roman Catholic Church). The witnesses at their wedding were John's younger brother, Farquhar MacRae, and Sarah Gregg Loseby, the younger sister of Elizabeth, or Ann as she is remembered by the MacRaes. Sarah's middle name, Gregg, being the maiden name of Ann's mother, Mary. John and Ann's Marriage Certificate records that the wedding took place in Berrima. Although no church is mentioned, as St. Scholastica's was and still is the only Roman Catholic church in Berrima, it is reasonable to conclude that the wedding took place there. St. Scholastica's, known as St. Francis Xavier's since
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Reaching out to Farquhar's Descendants

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Arrival taken from near Eilean Donan Castle looking to Isle of Skye On 27 October 1837, Farquhar MacRae, arrived in Port Jackson, Sydney,  on the ship William Nicol . This was the first ship of Government Assisted immigrants to sail from Scotland to Australia. (The William Nicol was entirely funded by the British Government from the sale of Crown land in the Colony of NSW. It was not funded by colonists, so therefore did not sail under the bounty system.) The journey took 113 days and covered approximately 13,000 nautical miles . Farquhar came with his daughter Mary from the his first marriage to Flora MacRae, his second wife Barbara McLennan and their son John. By 1854, Farquhar and Barbara will have added nine more children to their family. Also on board the "William Nicol" was Farquhar's first cousin Alexander MacRae with his wife Ann Beaton and their daughter Hellen (or Ellen). The two MacRaes families remained close, especially in the early years, both g
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First Generation

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Children of Farquhar Farquhar had eleven children. A daughter, from his first marriage and ten children with his second wife Barbara. They were Mary, John, Ewen, Mary Isabella, Christopher, Alexander, Farquhar, Christianna, Christopher John, Catherine and Jeanette. There are not separate sections for Christopher, Catherine, and Jeanette as their lives were brief and very little is known about them. They are covered in "First Generation - An Overview". First Generation - An Overview Mary McCrea 1828-1908 John MacRae 1836-1906 Ewen MacRae 1838-1921 Mary Isabella MacRae 1839-1917 Christopher MacRae 1841-1849 Christopher MacRae 1841-1849 Alexander McRae 1843-1884 Farquhar MacRae 1846-1912 Christianna McRae 1847-1883 Christopher J McRae 1850-1926 Catherine Mac Rae 1852-1870 Jeanette McCrea 1854-1854
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First Generation - An Overview

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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 V
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Ewen MacRae 1838-1921

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Ewen MacRae and Susanna Fethers Ewen and Susanna with their family coming soon the family of Ewen MacRae and Susannah Fethers (later Izard) ❅✻❈❋❃❋❈✻❅
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Mary McCrea 1828-1908

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Mary McCrea and George Young Rankin's Family According to the diary of her sister-in-law, Elizabeth Ann MacRae nee Loseby, Mary was born on 2 February 1828 and from the transcription of Mary's Death Certificate she was born in Canthill, Ross-shire, Scotland. (Canthill would be Kintail.) Mary's Death Certificate gives her age at death as 79 and age at marriage as 25. This appears to be out by one year as it would indicate that she was born in 1829 and married in 1854. So Mary was probably aged 80 when she died. On 31 July 1855, Mary married George Young Rankin, son of William Rankin and Agnes Young, from Cleland, Lanarkshire, Scotland, at St. John the Evangelist's Roman Catholic Church, Campbelltown. Their Marriage Transcription shows that the marriage was witnessed by Mary's younger siblings John and Mary Isabella McCrea (MacRae). It also notes that the bride signed with her mark indicating that Mary could not write. At the time of her marriage she was livi
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