George MacRae was sheep manager looking after 9,000 sheep, on a farm in Lairg owned by Major Gilchrist. He later went to the Red River colony in Canada returning to Rogart in 1824. In Rogart he was said to be a manager for the Duke of Sutherland at Blairich also looking after sheep. Around 1841 George again left Sutherland settling in New Zealand where he became a leading sheep and cattle breeder and successful landowner naming his farm Blairich. Does anyone have any information on either George or on Blairich? Thanks 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: 6.0.250 / Virus Database: 123 - Release Date: 4/18/01

Christine: You said: > Around 1841 George again left Sutherland settling in New Zealand where he became a leading sheep and cattle breeder and successful landowner naming his farm Blairich. Check out www.google.com and you get: From the Wairau to Okaramio John Cameron is the key figure in the family story as he is the father of Elizabeth (from whom the Dickson/Hammond family are descended), of John Cameron Jnr, and of Kate (from whom the Nees family section trace their maternal origin. He was born in Scotland in 1822 and grew up at the time of Highland history when sheep ruled the glens. John became a skilled shepherd, probably following his brother Donald into employment on the Lochiel estates and at "Blairich" in Sutherlandshire. There he became known as and trusted as a shepherd by the McRae family. A high-quality sheep flock had been established at Blarich (or Blairich) in the parish of Rogart, Sutherland by George McRae1 and it seems reasonable to presume (because of the proximity of the Clan McRae lands to Lochiel) that the laird made the best of this improvement programme. The young Cameron sheep-men may have been trained at Blarich, they were certainly known to the McRae family and Donald and John's expertise was respected.2 Duncan, much younger, probably visited his brothers and learnt about sheep first-hand but in addition he seems to be more experienced in village life, transport and machinery. AND Neil McKAY, his father and brothers had been victims of early highland clearances and had been removed from 'Atnacalli', in the Strathmore, around 1810, and settled in Rogart. Marion was said to be of the 'Blairich McDonalds', the same family as that of Sir John A. McDONALD BW Brenda

Thankyou for this. Very interesting. Christine Highland Hearts http://www.highlandhearts.com/ -----Original Message----- From: The Triggersons [mailto:the.triggersons@sympatico.ca] Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2001 2:36 PM To: SCT-SUTHERLAND-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: Blairich Christine: You said: > Around 1841 George again left Sutherland settling in New Zealand where he became a leading sheep and cattle breeder and successful landowner naming his farm Blairich. Check out www.google.com and you get: From the Wairau to Okaramio John Cameron is the key figure in the family story as he is the father of Elizabeth (from whom the Dickson/Hammond family are descended), of John Cameron Jnr, and of Kate (from whom the Nees family section trace their maternal origin. He was born in Scotland in 1822 and grew up at the time of Highland history when sheep ruled the glens. John became a skilled shepherd, probably following his brother Donald into employment on the Lochiel estates and at "Blairich" in Sutherlandshire. There he became known as and trusted as a shepherd by the McRae family. A high-quality sheep flock had been established at Blarich (or Blairich) in the parish of Rogart, Sutherland by George McRae1 and it seems reasonable to presume (because of the proximity of the Clan McRae lands to Lochiel) that the laird made the best of this improvement programme. The young Cameron sheep-men may have been trained at Blarich, they were certainly known to the McRae family and Donald and John's expertise was respected.2 Duncan, much younger, probably visited his brothers and learnt about sheep first-hand but in addition he seems to be more experienced in village life, transport and machinery. AND Neil McKAY, his father and brothers had been victims of early highland clearances and had been removed from 'Atnacalli', in the Strathmore, around 1810, and settled in Rogart. Marion was said to be of the 'Blairich McDonalds', the same family as that of Sir John A. McDONALD BW Brenda ==== SCT-SUTHERLAND Mailing List ==== You may, at times, wish to check out previous messages to this list. You can do this at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/SCT-SUTHERLAND-L/ ============================== Search over 1 Billion names at Ancestry.com! http://www.ancestry.com/rd/rwlist1.asp --- Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.255 / Virus Database: 128 - Release Date: 5/17/01 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.255 / Virus Database: 128 - Release Date: 5/17/01