In reference to message of Jan. 10,2008, I'm wondering if the Jessie McKay might be sister or mother of DONALD McKAY, who went to Stellarton, Nova Scotia during 1870s. or early 80s, My grandmother was JESSIE MCKAY, daughter of Donald (wife's name unknown). Believe they had lived in Elgin area, shipping out of Glasgow, and think it might have landed in Pictou, N.S. I have photo of the family taken in Glasgow before departure. Jessie, eldest of 4 children) was 17 yrs old,. She might have been named after Donald's Mother. She told of a terribly stormy trip (10 weeks??) She was unhappy to leave Scotland & friends, wished to go back..."but only when they built a bridge"!! Any clues? Peg Hopkins Peg ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ

> In reference to message of Jan 10, 2008, I'm wondering if > the Jessie McKay might be sister or mother of DONALD McKAY, > who went to Stellarton, Nova Scotia during 1870s or early > 80s Jessie McKay is an extremely common name, and don't forget that any Jessie may have been baptised Janet, so you have to check all the Janet McKays as well. The Jessie McKay in the messages of 10 January 2008 ([MORAY] LOGANS IN MORAY if you are looking for it) was born Janet on 10 March 1857, so she was not old enough to be the mother of someone who emigrated in the 1870s or early 1880s. Suppose she had had an illegitimate son named Donald when she was 15; he would have been born in 1872, and would not really have been old enough to emigrate until the late 1880s. So I think you can safely discount her as mother of your Donald. Finding her family in the 1861 and 1871 censuses on Scotland's People www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk would tell you with certainty whether or not she had a surviving brother Donald. If your Donald emigrated to Canada in the 1870s/1880s, could you get his date of birth from a later Canadian census? I have found exact dates of birth for Canadian relatives in the 1901 census of Canada. This would narrow your research down enormously. Try http://automatedgenealogy.com/ The 1881 Census of Canada lists 107 Donald McKays and one Donald MacKay born in Scotland and living in Nova Scotia. At a cursory glance I don't see any living in a place named Stellarton, though I could have missed it as I don't know which county it would be in. HTH Anne

I just re-read Peg's original mesage. If Donald emigrated accompanied by a 17-year-old daughter, then he must be too old be either a son or a brother of the Janet/Jessie McKay in the message of 10 January 2008. Bearing in mind that he doesn't seem to be in the 1881 census of Canada, let us assume that he emigrated between 1880 and 1890, accompanied by 17-year-old Jessie. This means that Jessie must have been born between 1863 and 1873. The IGI Lists 12 Jessie McKays and 18 Janet McKays, daughters of Donald McKays, born in Scotland between 1863 and 1873. There are also two Janets and a Jessie with father given as Daniel, which occasionally turns up as a version of Donald. Only one of these 33 Janet/Jessies was born in Moray - daughter of Donald McKay and Helen MacDonald, born 6 September 1873 in the parish of Duffus. However I note from LIBINDX http://libindx.moray.gov.uk/mainmenu.asp that Helen MacDonald died in 1905 and Donald McKay in 1907, both in Duffus, so he cannot be your Donald unless they did return from Canada. If you can't find Donald's, you get Janet/Jessie's exact date of birth from a Canadian census? Anne