I thought you would all like to read about this Mackay. Sorry it is so long. Does anyone descend from this family? K710 GEORGE MACKAY married HELEN SUTHERLAND [1799-1884] [1801-9/3/1885] George in Embo, Dornoch, and Helen in Lonemore, Dornoch, married in Dornoch on 22 February 1828 (OPR). They had the following children: JOHN CAMPBELL, born 1832; JAMES, born 1834; ISABELLA, born 1835 [married George Macintosh – see K1368]; MARY, born 1838; ALEXANDER S., born 1842 Zorra [died 1914] [married Catherine Sutherland] and GEORGE LESLIE, born 1844 [died 1901 China]. Reverend George Leslie Mackay, son of George Mackay and Helen Sutherland was a missionary. A cairn has been erected in the cemetery of the Old Log Church, Zorra, Ontario, remembering this remarkable man: “ To The Glory of God and gratefully honouring the Reverend George Leslie McKAY D.D. 1844 – 1901, Pioneer Missionary Statesman and man of God in Formosa. This cairn was erected with stones from the McKAY home Concession X East Zorra in 1960 by the Presbytery of Paris The Presbyterian Church in Canada”. The reverse reads “ To the Glory of God and gracefully celebrating the 125th anniversary of the arrival of the Rev. Dr. George Leslie McKAY D.D. in Tamsui, Taiwan on March 9th 1872 Memorial Service Oct 18th, 1997 A.D. KAU - HIAP CHU - SEK: KANG ENG - BIN BOK - SU TORONTO TAI - OAH KI-TOK KAU - HOE HIAP – HOE” It is now one hundred years since Reverend George Leslie Mackay died after a brave and interesting life. During the 19th century, when gunboats brought foreign soldiers to Taiwan's shores in successive waves of invasion, the seas also brought Western missionaries who came with hearts full of love. The environment imposed enormous obstacles to carrying out their work, but their efforts left a big imprint on society and resulted in many praiseworthy accomplishments. George Mackay was one such foreign missionary, and his name is still quite familiar to Taiwanese. Mackay was born in Zorra, Ontario in 1844, the youngest of six children. His parents had gone out to Zorra from Dornoch around 1831. From an early age George aspired to become a missionary. In 1871, in the twilight years of the Qing dynasty, when men in Taiwan still sported pigtails and women still hobbled along on bound feet, George Mackay arrived by boat from across the Pacific Ocean. As the first missionary in the area, Mackay faced huge obstacles to accomplish even the smallest of tasks. We can only imagine how hard it must have been. In the view of Reverend Luo Jung-kuang, a Presbyterian minister, Mackay accomplished several very difficult things, including marrying a Taiwanese woman and learning Taiwanese from cowherds. Luo believes that these acts showed how strongly Mackay identified with Taiwan. After studying for five months, Mackay was capable of conversing in Taiwanese. After 20 years, Mackay published a Taiwanese-English dictionary based on his thorough research. Mackay's oldest son William described him thus: "Of average height and burly-chested, he was bold, knowledgeable and energetic. He had dark eyes, and his hair and beard were black too. His voice was strong and piercing, and he spoke with great confidence. He was a gifted speaker and had native-like fluency in Chinese." Mackay opened his first "hospital" in 1873, inviting a Dr. Ringer who served the English business community in Tanshui to help him with the medical work. Mackay's disciples and the students at the Oxford College that he established all had to undergo medical training, so that they would be able to offer medical advice in the course of their work spreading the gospels. In 1880 in Tanshui, Mackay established the first true Western medical facility in northern Taiwan: the Mackay Clinic. Long periods traveling were a special characteristic of Mackay's missionary work in Taiwan. Wu Wen-hsiung, a Presbyterian minister in Kuantu, points out that Mackay spent months or even years at a time away from home. Few missionaries were as enamored of travel as he. Mackay criss-crossed Taiwan his journeys bringing him into contact with Han Chinese speakers of both Hokkien and Hakka, as well as aborigines of both the plains and mountains. Today there are 210,000 Presbyterians and 1,200 Presbyterian churches in Taiwan. These impressive numbers are due in large part to the work done by Mackay. In his 29 years as a missionary in Taiwan, he established 60 churches, each with its own minister. He also established a theological seminary, a girls' school, a hospital, and various other institutions. Mackay always encouraged locals to work at these institutions, but he was a strong leader not given to delegating responsibility. As a result, the local churches relied upon him to make all tough decisions, a situation that didn't change until he passed away. In 1995, Tanshui erected a bust of Mackay. Traces of his life are also seen in "Mackay Street," as well as in Aletheia Street, Tamkang Junior High School, and Aletheia University. The Mackay Memorial Hospital still exists, and the old Mackay residence is now an international academic exchange center. Mackay left his imprint all over Tanshui. Mackay died in 1901 from throat cancer at the age of only 57. He is buried in Tanshui with a cairn in Zorra. After Mackay died, his son George William went back to Canada via Hong Kong. In 1911 he and his wife returned and opened the Tamkang Junior High School. He continued living there even after he retired. When he died in 1963, he was buried on campus in a tomb next to his father. (7/01) Christine Highland Hearts http://www.highlandhearts.com/ <http://www.highlandhearts.com/> --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.263 / Virus Database: 135 - Release Date: 6/22/01