This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/TeC.2ACE/1109.1.1.1.1 Message Board Post: Hi, again, Julia, So great to hear from you so quickly. I wasn’t sure whether or not you’d pick up the message, given the time between. I have seen MacDonnells (unsure which spelling) from Boleskine in one of my Scottish family tree books, either the Chisholms or MacRaes, but haven’t been able to find the references in either at the moment. When you don’t need to find the information, it’s there all over the place – Murphy’s Law. A ggrand uncle married a Chisholm, but we are descended from the MacRaes of Kintail. It is my ggrand father, Finlay Murchison, s/o Catherine MacRae and Murdoch Murchison, who married Anne (Johanna) MacDonnell, d/o Angus MacDonnell of Glengarry and Mary Gibbs or Gillies. My gggrandfather, Angus, is always referred to as such by our family (in its broadest sense), i.e., ‘… of Glengarry.’ We thought Mary MacDonnell was nee Gillies and have it written somewhere (of course, I haven’t been able to find it), but Anne’s death certificate states that her mother’s last name was Gibbs. I’m not! actually convinced that this is the case, but if Anne’s husband, Finlay, gave the information, then it is more than likely correct. With regard to the names of the graveyards, I’m not sure what the ‘old’ one is called, but wondered if it was Kildonan. I’ve had a quick look on the net, but got nowhere this time. I’ll be getting in touch with the Glengarry Info centre when it’s open again – it’s so annoying that they all close for the winter. I prefer to be in the UK when it is winter to avoid the crowds. I was under the impression that Munerigie was the name of the farm on the hill above the ‘old’ graveyard. We had some difficulty finding the ‘old’ graveyard (as opposed to the ‘new’ one further back on the A87) and had to phone our host a couple of times for more and more directions until we eventually did find it. This was in Jan, this year. The three of us (my 2 kids and I) were quite intrigued with the graveyard, and my son took quite a few photos, but we were pushed for time and could only be there for about an hour. This was the same situation with Kilfinnan. We don’t know who of our ancestors is buried in either/both graveyards (there is also another one we didn’t visit, called something like Tonacarry, I think), but if the overwhelming love I felt at the ‘old’ one is anything to go by, Mary (or other female ancestors) is definitely buried there and I think (i.e., feel) she’s a Gillies (probably wrong though). This is about as far as we’ve come in our search of our MacDonnells, though there is lots of information about the clan out there. Angus and Mary had at least 4 children, 3 of whom came to NZ, I don’t know about the 4th. Euan seems to have been the oldest and (according to the shipping records) at the time of travelling to NZ in 1875 was 28, his wife was 29, and his sister, Anne (Johanna) was 23. Another sister, Ellen, married Lynch in Waikaia, NZ, but we don’t know when this occurred. It just occurs to me to get a copy of her marriage certificate if she married after 1880 as this should show her mother’s full name (here’s hoping). Anne and Finlay married in 1876, which was before the inclusion of parents’ names was required on these certificates. The email address is misleading. I work for Ngäi Tahu, but have no Mäori ancestry. I do have strong links, though, through the marriage of one of my siblings to a Ngäi Tahu. They got married when I was quite young and I’ve always been involved with the whänau. Our ancestry is purely UK - Scottish, Irish, Cornish and English. We still don’t know if we’re mostly Scottish or mostly English. The balance will be tipped when we discover whether Joseph Smith, an ancestor, married an English or Scottish woman. Their daughter, a great grandmother of ours, was born in Edinburgh and we’re hoping her mother was Scottish. We’re assuming Joseph was English, as he was a sergeant in the Imperial army. Quite a bit of research to do, yet. Bye for now, Anne