SIR ALEXANDER MACKENZIE - DESCENDANTSOver the years I have come across quite a number ofpeople who claim descent from Sir AlexanderMackenzie, the great explorer of Canada. There arequite a few sizeable family trees around connectingvarious families to the great man. Recently I receivedan e-mail from a lady in London, England and I will lether e-mail tell the story and the subsequent responseshe got from another member from the same family(Judy Parry). These discoveries of other family mem-bers are the exciting things in genealogy. Here is theemail from Pia Goddard:

Dear AlanI came across your website completely by accident

when I was trying to trace up a few Monros, and I amhoping that it will be a very happy accident indeed as Ihave a Mackenzie story you might be able to help mewith.

I note that on the front page of your December 2005magazine you have a letter from Judy Parry, to whomI am also forwarding this letter, as I believe we may insome small way be related.

Here, then, is my Mackenzie story.I was born Pia Catherine Mary Goddard in 1960.

My mother was Isobel Mary Monro, and her father wasHector John Monro. Hector’s father was Hector

Clan MacKenzie Societyin the Americas

Cabar FeidhThe Canadian Chapter Magazine

September 2006 ISSN 1207-7232

Cabar Feidh Newsletter: Members who wish to write to the Society with contributions to the Newsletter please send submissions to The Editor,Clan MacKenzie Society, 580 Rebecca St., Oakville, ON L6K 3N9. or e-mail to alan@mkz.comClan Web Pages: www.clanmackenzie.com & www.electricscotland.com/mackenzie

In This Issue:Sir Alexander Mackenzie - Descendants . . . . . . .1-4Alexander Mackenzie Diary - Part 1 . . . . . . . . . .4-8International Gathering of the Clans - Nova Scotia2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-9Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9New Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9-10Obituary - Gordon Alexander MacKenzie . . . . . . . 11Reports from the Highland Games . . . . 11-12, 17-19Prophecies of the Brahan Seer - Sketch of the Family

of Seaforth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-15DNA Project Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-16Ben Mackenzie’s NASAAward . . . . . . . . . . . .16-17

Pia Goddard

Mackenzie Monro (the first appear-ance of the name in my research).When I was growing up I heardmany times from Hector John thatwe were all descended from SirAlexander Mackenzie, but neitherthe proof, nor any more informationthan that was ever forthcoming.

My grandfather Hector died in1975, and my mother inherited hispaperwork, which went into a dustybox in a deep, dark cupboard, untilabout five years ago when I, recent-ly animated by a new interest infamily history, opened the box andfound a very old and interestingtelegram from Winnipeg, Canada,dated 1948, informing Hector Johnof the death of his uncle, CampbellHamilton Monro.

As I was completely unaware ofthis branch of the Monros, I did alot more research and finally foundCampbell, a missionary, a doctor, amember of the local church, andmarried with children, one namedMackenzie Monro (there it isagain!) After a bit of research Iobtained a copy of Campbell’s obit-uary which appeared in theWinnipeg Tribune, dated MondayNov 22, 1948, and in amongst theinformation about Campbell’s life

as a Dr and Missionary in theQ’Appelle Valley, I read the follow-ing:

“Dr Munro was a great grandsonof Sir Alexander Mackenzie, whodiscovered the Mackenzie River,and a direct descendant of theHouse of the Clan Monro.”

At this point I figured that ifsuch an eminent member of thecommunity believed the story to beso, and if we both shared the sameline of descent, then I most defi-nitely should take the story serious-ly. So, I went back to the originalfamily paperwork and put the fami-ly tree together back as far as oneRobert Monro/Munro, for whom

we had only a “dead by” date, andno more information than that.

I’ve written this out reallyroughly, without all the siblinginformation, and I’ll send you papercopies in the post of all of this asthe scans don’t work so well asattachments.

Robert Monro, dead by 1863I

John James Monro, b 1836, m1863 to Margaret Elizabeth Nutting

IHector Mackenzie Monro b 1866and brother Campbell HamiltonMonro b 1868 , plus several othersiblings

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IHector John Monro b 1895, plussiblings

IIsobel Mary Monro b 1932 andJohn Neil Monro

IPia Goddard (me)

Now the trail went cold as Icould not connect Robert Monro tothe Mackenzie line at all, as hewould have had to marry, obvious-ly, a Mackenzie girl and there werenone spare on the Mackenzie sidewho weren’t accounted for in all theliterature I could find. Then I wentto Scotsroots.com who sent me acopy of the pages of the Journalsand Letters of Alexander Mackenzieand there in a footnote on page 46 Iread the following information:

Footnote 2Family papers record that Mackenziehad a natural daughter, Maria, born inCanada. She was brought up inScotland by his sister Margaret (MrsJames Dowie). She married RobertMunro, a widower, whose first wife hadbeen Margaret’s own daughter, alsonamed Margaret. Robert and MariaMonro had six children. Mackenziealso had a half-breed son in the West,Andrew McKenzie, who was evidentlywell liked, and who died at FortVermilion on 1 March 1809.

Not wishing to dine out on astory wobbling on only two legs,my dad and I then started looking atJohn James Monro and found hisbaptismal record in the parish ofClapham, London. Here it quiteclearly states in the records that theparents of John James Monro wereRobert and Maria Monro. We knowthat the John James is ours becauseof the dates and because we knowthat the family from that point on isdirectly linked to London from all

the records. We did also find in our searches

an entry for 1835 in the County ofMiddlesex for the marriage of oneRobert Munro to a Mary Brown,but although the dates fit, the sur-name is slightly strange. Marycould be Maria, but we wonderedwhy “Brown”?

Well, I did wonder until I met aman from northern Canada wholives amongst the inuit andresearches their history as his life’swork. He has written a wonderfulbook about an inuit called Menek,called “Bring me the body of myFather”. I met Ken Harper inLondon when I was researching myhusband’s grandfather, who knewMenek closely as they were on anexpedition together in 1913. Kenhas researched a great deal of inuithistory and not only forwarded meto the Hudson Bay Archivist, buttold me the following, that if awhite man had a relationship withan inuit/native american woman,then she was given the name “bit ofbrown”. If Maria was the daughterof a native american/inuit mother,then there is a faint possibility that

she may have been given that sur-name.

I am intrigued that there are alsoMackenzie inuit and Monro inuittribes.

One further footnote to my story.The Hudson Bay archivist sent mean obituary (Winnipeg Free Press,Jan 15/1977) of a woman who diedin 1977 in Canada. One AnnieAgnes Cassie, aged 83 years,whose husband was John Cassie(died 1974). In her obituary it alsostates that she was the great grand-daughter of Sir AlexanderMackenzie, and the daughter ofWalter Aldous Farewell, and AgnesCatherine Georgina HuntMackenzie.

Do you know anything abouther?

I have no idea how to furthersubstantiate my story, or to provethe Mackenzie link, so I guess I’msending you all this for help. If youknow how I can get hold of docu-mentation about Maria from familypapers I guess I can add a third legto my stool and have a really won-derful story to tell.

Meanwhile, I think I need to puta lot of paper in an envelope to bothyou and to Judy Parry (I need heraddress) you as the next step as Itried to scan things and they shrinkand become illegible.

Pia Randall-Goddard

PS Campbell Hamilton had threesons, possibly all dead by now, buttheir names were Kenneth ofCalgary, Mackenzie of The Pas, andRobert Morton. I have looked forall of them and can find nothing. Iwould be grateful for any sugges-tions as I have run out of steam heretoo.

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[Ed: This is a fascinating story and the possible nam-ing of Mackenzie’s daughter as Brown is very interest-ing.

Meanwhile Pia contacted our member, Judy Parry,who descends from Sir Alexander’s family through hissister who married into the Dowie family.

Her reply to Pia is equally interesting.]:

From Judy Parry to Pia GoddardFrom what I read in your interesting story, I think thatindeed we may have a common ancestor in SirAlexander Mackenzie. My own relationship with himstems from his sister, Margaret Mackenzie, who mar-ried Captain James Dowie, R.N. My great-grandmoth-er was a Dowie, who married Henry Lockhart-Smith,Lord of the Manor of Ellingham Nevells, Ellingham inNorfolk. They had one son (my grandfather) who wasnamed Horace Mackenzie Smith. My GGM was obvi-ously keen to keep the Mackenzie link alive in thismanner. My family’s name, therefore, is Mackenzie-Smith (my maiden name). Sir Alexander. had threechildren himself, George, who had no children,Margaret, also no children, and Alexander, who hadthree sons and two daughters . . . no issue from any ofthem! So there is no direct line from him.Consequently all his descendants come from his twosisters Sybilla (who married John Kirkland) andMargaret ( my relative).

He also had one brother, Murdoch, who was a ship’ssurgeon, who never married and died at sea.

It’s my understanding from the rather meagreresearch I’ve done myself, that Sir Alexander took acommon-law wife, who was an Indian, while on hislong, long voyages in Canada. This was very commonamong the European trappers and explorers.

He did have two children by her, Andrew, whobecame a clerk in the North West Company, and diedin his early twenties. Also Maria (!) who was taken toScotland and brought up by Margaret, Alexander’s sis-ter. Maria married Robert Munro, who apparently washimself the widower of Margaret’s own daughter, andMaria and Robert had six children.

So Pia, I really don’t know much about the Munroline, except that it evidently is part of the lineage fromSir Alexander. I’m actually trying to complete the gapsin the Dowie family but doing it all rather sporadical-ly.

It would be really interesting to read everything thatyou’ve gathered in your very keen research, and to that

end, here is my mailing address:Mrs. Judy Parry(removed as confidential)Toronto, OntarioIf you'll send me your address also we can swap

information! I’d like to keep in touch definitely. Goodluck, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,Judy

Ed: My thanks to both Pia and Judy allowing us tocopy this correspondence, which I find fascinating. Ihave seen other family trees from other memberswhich show that Donald Mackenzie “King of theNorthwest” was a brother to Sir Alexander. The familyare quite convinced of this and we welcome commentson this family.

THE DIARY OF ALEXANDER MACKENZIEIn 1990 we ran a very long extract of the diary of oneAlexander MacKenzie (no relation to Sir Alexander inthe previous article). It gives a good indication of whatlife was like for ordinary people in the Highlands in the19th century. We received a number of appreciativecomments from members at that time, who found thisdiary of great interest. In view of the lapse of time andthe very many new members who have joined theSociety since 1990 it is appropriate to publish it again.Because of its length we shall publish it in two parts.

Part 1

The family of MacKenzies occupied the farm ofLochanully in the Parish of Duthil in Inverness-

shire for several generations. When held by KennethMackenzie, great-grandfather of the writer, the hillpasture lands were of considerable extent beyond thepresent limited area. He left the farm to his eldest sonDonald, who was married to one of the daughters of SirEwen Cameron of Lochiel, by whom he had five sonsand three daughters. The four eldest sons were forcedinto the army for the defence of the country and tookpart in several battles in Spain, Egypt, India, China andWaterloo.

After the death of Donald in 1806, the farm was leftto his youngest son Peter, who, after discharging hisfather’s obligations and paying the proportional sharesto the rest of the family, had not much left but the landand the houses on it. Being now 18 years of age,through the influence of his mother and other Godly

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friends, he came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christas his own Saviour.

Two years later, being then aged about 20 years, hemarried Mary McDonald by whom he had six sons andsix daughters. In consequence of coming under obliga-tions to tenants, he had to dispose of his farm atLochanully with all the stock and implements to payoff the bills, which he should not have signed and onwhich he always looked back with deep sorrow. Hehad, however, sufficient left to build a small house onpart of the farm of Auchterblair, where he lived on acroft of about two acres and kept a cow for milk to hisfamily; but at this time before the Corn Laws wererepealed, it was a hard struggle, but four of the eldestof the family were able to get work and assist. It ismost pleasant to remember the wonderful joy it gaveparents and children when at each term Annie, Donald,Margaret and John came home for the winter loadedwith their gifts with money, others with provisions,others with cloths.

About this time my beloved and beautiful motherdied. It was a terrible blow to my dear father. Theywere so much bound in each other and their children.Being then about three years, I cannot remember much,only my sister Annie got married to Mr FrancisMackintosh, baker, Grantown and my sister Margaretmarried Mr D. Smith, gardener, and next day they bothleft us and went to the county of Gray, Canada, wherethey had a family of six sons and three daughters. Mysister died when 12 years of age. Penuel married MrJohn McIntosh, carpenter, Nairn, and had four daugh-ters and four sons. My brothers were all men of char-acter and ability considering all the hardship they hadto come through.

My brother Donald spent about 20 years at farmwork, a grieve in two or three farms, was married andhad one son and one daughter. My brother John died inthe smallpox when about 18 years. He was a finepromising young man. James also spent several yearsat farm work, Peter served his apprenticeship as abaker with McIntosh, Grantown, after which he wentto London, then came home and commenced businessat Kingussie, where James joined him, and they set upa general merchants’ business, but Peter thought it tooslow, but James got married to Miss McRae and got thePost Office, which his family still retain. Peter leftKingussie for Australia and was wrecked on the coastof Ireland and we never heard of him again.

David also served his apprenticeship withMcIntosh, Grantown, then went to Aberdeen andLondon, then came to Nairn, got married to Miss HelenMacdonald, Grantown. They had no family. For manyyears they had to struggle as the business was neverextensive but he was successful in his property specu-lations and both died leaving legacies to their relationsand others of some £700. My sister Mary, who with herfather and May, after Ivy Cottage was built, left thecroft at Auchterblair, where she nursed her father withlove till his death at the age of 87 years. My sisterMary, who was tall and strong when young, took paral-ysis on one side and was in bed for nearly 20 years, butdied happily trusting in the great atoning sacrifices ofthe Lord Jesus.

The writer was born in Lochanully in 1834 and atabout the age of 5 years was sent to Batten GormSchool where Gaelic and English were taught. Thenext session I was sent to Kinveachy School but as Idid not make much progress I was sent to the DuthilParish School which I liked as I made some more sat-isfactory progress. The winter session being done, Iwas then seven years of age and was engaged for sixmonths at Auchterblair to herd the cattle and at the endof that time, my uncle, a McDonald, merchant, NethyBridge, after whom I was called Alexander, wished myfather to let me go and live in his family that I mightget the advantage of the school, which was very goodand near hand. But I had the pony stable and the gar-den to attend to, besides taking home the peats fromthe moss at five in the morning, always two morningseach week. In the afternoon I had to take the sugar,soap, soda, treacle and all groceries from the cellar tothe shop. For my uncle intended that I should be a mer-chant.

At about this time my brother Peter, having leftLondon, commenced business as a baker in Kingussieand he wanted me to go there to help him. Accordinglyby my father’s instructions my uncle and aunt veryreluctantly let me go. Though I generally kept themvery lively, being a ring leader of all the play in the vil-lage, still they confessed in after years that my leavingthem left a very empty void in the life of their villageand their home.

So I started for Kingussie with my little parcel ofluggage, full of bright hopes and high spirits. I had thenno intention of being a baker but I always arose withmy brother at two to three in the morning and helped

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all I could with the work. Sobesides opening the shop and keep-ing it, in about a year I learned to doall the general baker’s work. Wethen got a pony and I drove thebread and sold it to all the villagesup to Lochlagan. My brother Peter,being a first rate workman, the vil-lage being so slow, he added thegrocery business to the baking andthen James carried it on with us andlater took it all over when he got thepost office. As my brother Peter, asI then thought, let me have nowages but what I got from the gen-try in the shooting lodges and verylittle freedom for any enjoyment ofwhich I was at that time so fond, Imade up my mind to have my free-dom. So without consulting anyoneI took the mail coach, there beingno trains to Inverness. Havingsaved about 30 shillings, which Igot at the shooting lodges for carry-ing their parcels, I arrived atInverness at four in the morning.Being a cold November morning, Iwalked about till daylight andshops commenced to open, when Istarted to look for work. Howevertheir busy season being over, noone of the bakers seemed to beneeding a little fellow like methough they generally spoke kindlyto me and asked me to call back, soI searched every bakers’ shop to nopurpose. So after three days Iresolved to go to Nairn. My moneywas getting always less so I walkedall the way arriving at three in theafternoon, but to my great disap-pointment none required my ser-vices, no, not even my brotherDavid, so there was nothing for itbut tramp another nine miles toForres. It was dark by the time Ireached there and my feet weresorely blistered. I tried severalplaces to get a cheap enough place

to lodge in which at last I did, gotsome supper and went at once tobed, but could scarcely sleep withthe weariness and pain in my feet.However, I slept soundly to nineo’clock and was quite ashamed thatI had slept so long. I was much thebetter of the long rest and sleep,washed and had breakfast thenstarted to look for work, but myluck was as bad as ever. I went toevery baker in the town and to someof them twice by mistake, theyeither had no work or asked me tocall back or, that I would have amuch better chance in Elgin andthat I was not big enough. So aftergetting a ½d worth of milk and ldroll I started once more with mybakehouse cloth under my arm. Itwas cold and wet by the evening, Ihad walked 21 miles; I was too tiredto look for work though the shopswere all open.

So a nice baker lad found a placefor me to get lodgings and food butthe road seemed so long I thought Iwould never reach it. At eight in themorning I left the bundle with myworking clothes in the first baker’sshop I came to as they spoke nicelyto me and hoped I would soon get aplace. Encouraged by them I wentover all the bakers, some 10 or 12of them. Every shop in town hadsome plausible excuse but no work.

Sufficient to say that after threehours fruitless search my spiritswere nearly crushed out and mymoney nearly done. I resolved torevisit as many of the bakers inForres and Inverness that asked meto call back. I went to the shopwhere I left the parcel and theykindly gave me some biscuits toeat. With this provision I startedand commenced my journey backto Forres, though my feet werealmost useless for walking the 20

miles. However it had to be donebut every milestone I passed afterthe first 8 or 10 I had to go veryslow, but however sore my feetwere my heart was much sorer. Ireached Forres and stayed the nightand after a very scanty breakfast Icalled on some of the bakers thatasked me to call back, but unfortu-nately they could do nothing for meand there was nothing for it but towalk to Nairn, which I reached inabout four hours. I went to my sis-ter Penuel’s house and enquired ifshe heard of anything or changeabout the bakers in town. But shewas most kind and made me washmy feet, gave me dinner and tea andinsisted I should be to bed as it wasSaturday night. I was nice and freshby Monday and David had a letterfrom Peter asking if he saw me andtelling him to send me back. I toldDavid on Monday that I was goingto try Inverness once more and if Idid not succeed I would be back byWednesday and I would see if Iwould have to go back. So I startedfor Inverness and on reaching thereI went over all the bakers oncemore, but there was no vacancy.Emigration to Australia was all therage in the North at that time, so Iwent to the office to try if theywould take me out as an emigrant,but I was under the age to be takenalone. So on my way returning toNairn, I went by Cambelltown, FortGeorge on my way and called at thethree bakers in that town who wereall nice and friendly but none ofthem had any use for me. But inpassing I saw a baker cutting sticksfor a Mr. Grant to whom I had beenspeaking. I told him I was on myway to Nairn.

The lad that was cutting thewood cut himself badly and by thetime I had nearly reached Nairn, Mr

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Grant’s horse and serving manovertook me and asked me if I wasthe lad who called on Mr. Grant fora job. I said I was, then he said,“You are to come back with me ashe has work for you.” Oh howthankful to God I felt! So I said tothe man, “Drive to my brother’sshop till I tell him,” and as I waspassing Penuel’s also, I told her,and asked David to tell Peter that Ihad got work. Perhaps it would bebetter if I did not go back as heknew my reasons for leaving.

On reaching Cambelltown in theevening, Mr Grant said to me, “Itwas fortunate that my man caughtyou,” I said, “Yes, I hope for bothwhat terms you are to offer me”,“About six shillings and your meatand bed till we see what you cando.” I said anything was better thantramping.

So, after supper, Mrs Grant, whowas a good practical woman,showed me to my little bedroomwhere, after thanking God for thusprovidentially getting this openingfor me, I slept soundly till three inthe morning when Mr. G. called thatit was time to get up as the spongewas ready. I rose at once andthough a little new to his work, hetold his wife at breakfast time that Iwas a plucky little chap and wouldsoon work well. Thus encouraged Iwas very happy and attended to thepony of which I was very fond. Mr.G. having the military contract atFort George, I took the bread to thefort every day with the pony afterthe bakehouse work was done. Inthis way I worked away happily for12 or 14 months, when one morn-ing I was passing a store on my wayto feed the pony, and looking in bythe mere chance, I saw Mr. Grantkissing the servant girl who I did

not think nice, but Grant knew whatI had seen and from that hour hewas afraid I would tell Mrs. G., withwhom I was a great favourite as Idid everything to please her.

So having saved a little moneyand got some new clothes, I told MrGrant that I intended to leave as Iwas going to Edinburgh. I think hewas glad, but when he told Mrs G.she was very vexed and tried hardto get me to stay longer, but as Iknew my master was afraid of me Iresolved to go but I told Mrs. G. thatshe should not keep Kate as she wasnot a nice girl to be with the chil-dren, but I did not tell her what Isaw.

However, I left and took thesteamer from Nairn to Edinburgh. Ireached Granton pier about eight inthe morning, walked up theGranton Road to the city, foundlodgings at 8, Shakespeare Squareat 1/6 [one shilling and six pence]per week. Then the first thing I didwas go up the Calton Hill to get aproper view of the city and ongoing up I saw Nelson’sMonument and thought that wouldbe the best place to get a view, so Ipaid my 3d and climbed the longstairs to the top. I was so charmedthat I stayed up fully an hour andstudied the main streets in the cityand ever after the principle streetsof the city were always familiar tome. It was about a week before I gotwork. I was commencing to feelanxious as my money was rundown to 1/6. Mr. Reid, baker,London Street, wanted a lad so Iapplied and got the place thoughthere were six or seven after it. Itwas a very heavy place as therewere 60 to 79 loaves to carry on myhead to a shop in Earl Grey Street,which necessitated three journeys

and my feet suffered very much,my boots not being very comfort-able at the best. However, I perse-vered and got hardened and gradu-ally got into suitable shoes andclothing and managed to send a lit-tle home, which gave me particularpleasure as dear father and Marywere the only ones that were writ-ing me and often I felt lonely.

I went to a different churchevery Sunday but somehow mymind was bound under the law andthough I read my Bible and enjoyedit often, I had not faith in JesusChrist and did not see the merits ofHis Redemption.

I was just about a year with MrReid when the bakers went out onstrike for 2/- more pay per weekand I told my master, like the restthat unless I got 2/- more I wouldhave to go, so he just said to us all,“You can just go and I do not intendto pay more.” So out on strike weall went and on Monday morninginstead of our master sending forus, our places were all filled withothers doing our work for even lesspay than we had. I waited for a dayor two to see what would turn upbut found the others were takingwork where they could get it so Icommenced to look into lots ofshops but the first question theyasked was, “Did you come out onstrike?” and when I told them I didthen they said, “We have no workfor men who wish to harass andbother us for more pay.” However, Imanaged to get in with Mrs. Miller,baker and confectioner, North StAndrew Street, where I had nobread to carry and was nice andcomfortable. I was not there morethan one month, when a letterreached me from David’s wife inNairn saying that David was very ill

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and it was not known what waswrong with him. I wrote at once tosay that I had only been in my goodnew place but a few days and thatperhaps David would soon bealright, but before my letter reachedI had another urgent letter to saythat it was smallpox David had andunless I would come at once, shefeared the shop would have to beclosed. I at once put a man in myplace and started by the first boatfor Nairn. For six weeks I did allthe baking at night and kept theshop mostly all day and helped tonurse poor David as well, as Helenwas often completely done up and,most strange to say, not one knewnor heard that he had smallpox tillhe commenced to go about againand no one caught the trouble, soparticular was poor Ellen to changeher things when she had to relieveme in the shop. After six monthswork for them, for which I tooknothing but the meat I consumed, asI then thought they had none tospare, and I liked them both and

was very anxious they should geton.

I went up to see my father, Maryand May, who were pleased to seeme and on my way called atGrantown Mackintosh, and my dearsister Anne wished to keep me towork with them, but when I leftPeter three years before I resolvednot to work with relatives. So aftertwo days visit I walked to Nairn andcaught the boat just in time to returnto Edinburgh where after being sea-sick I arrived late on Saturdaynight.

The concluding part of this diarywill be in the next Newsletter.

INTERNATIONAL GATHERINGOF THE CLANS - 2007

ANNOUNCEMENT

Attention all Scots: TheInternational Gathering of the

Clans will again be held in NovaScotia, Canada, in 2007. Events

will run through the summermonths.

The event will be hosted againby the Federation of Scottish ClansIn Nova Scotia. We wish to inviteall to come and enjoy the summerwith us. Please refer to our WebSite at http://scotsns/chebucto.org/ .As events become confirmed andlocked into place they will beplaced on the Web Site underInternational Gathering ...the RoyalNova Scotia International Tattoo(Newly titled “Royal” by HerMajesty, Queen Elizabeth II) arehoping for the attendance of amember of the Royal family for the2007 events. The Tattoo runs for thefirst week in July. Web Site:www.nstattoo.ca which will closeon the weekend of the HalifaxHighland Games.

The following weekend the TallShips will visit Halifax and theAntigonish Highland Games willcommence. Many events are beingplanned all summer until midOctober. Clans will be gathering

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This interesting photograph was taken on September 29, 1899 and shows Queen Victoria (in the carriage) presenting the 2nd Battalion of theSeaforth Highlanders with new colours at Balmoral. The Queen remarked to Colonel Hughes-Hallett: “I rejoice to be able once more to presentnew colours to this distinguished regiment, in which I take an especial interest from its being associated with my dear son the Duke of Albany.”

and as each Clan confirms thesewill be found on the web site.

We extend an invitation to all tocome and visit Nova Scotia (NewScotland) in 2007,

Jean MacKaracher-Watson,President, Federation of ScottishClans in Nova Scotia, jean.wat-son2@ns.sympatico.ca

Tourism Nova Scotia 1-800-565-0000 Outside N. A. 1-902-425-5781

Ed: The International Gatheringwill be an important event in the2007 calendar. If any memberswould be interested in participatingin a coach trip from Toronto for thisevent let us know and we can makea decision to sponsor such a trip.

DNA FILM CLIP

See this film clip which showsBennett Greenspan of Family

Tree DNA talking about the subjectof DNA. http://www.kotv.com/e-clips/?2655

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Ibraved bad weather, completewith lots of Scottish Highland

Mist, to attend the 46th AnnualBellingham Highland Games atHovander Homestead Park inFerndale, Washington State yester-day [June 4th]. The previous daythe Games enjoyed good weatherand welcomed an all-time one-dayrecord of 15,000 attendees.

But, in yesterday’s rain,American Clan SocietyCommissioner the Reverend RodMacKenzie of Bellingham and Iwere the only two MacKenzies inthe Parade of Clans. Rod carriedour MacKenzie Banner lookingparticularly distinguished in his fullMacKenzie regalia. As well, Rod

and his wife Ruth did a great jobwith our Clan Tent. It was informa-tive, well organized and welcom-ing. And Rod has an engaging per-sonality that makes him an excep-tional ambassador for our Clan.

Four of the five bagpipe bandswere connected to Simon FraserUniversity here in BritishColumbia. The newest was not cre-ated until 2002, and yet has alreadywon the World Junior BagpipeChampionship FOUR TIMES!These fine pipers were a magnifi-cent credit to Canada.

Best regards, Roddy(Roddy MacKenzie in Vancouver isa past President of the ClanMacKenzie Society in theAmericas.)

***************Alan, Many thanks for the info rethis [DNA] in last issue of CabarFeidh. Finally I can understandwhat this is about. Thanks for allyour great work for the Mackenzies

Graham MacKenzie, Q.C.MacKenzie Fujisawa LLP1600 - 1095 West Pender StreetVancouver, BC V6E 2M6

*****************First let me thank you for the excel-lent article on DNA, very clearexposition of a complex technicalsubject.

I should also tell you that wehave moved, and would greatlyappreciate your updating the recordfor Cabar Feidh. We are now at 648Transit Rd. Victoria BC V8S 4Z5.Its a nice place, in the older part ofthe city, but had a major problem -kitchen with one drawer and 4 feetof counter space. Getting tradesaround here is like finding dia-monds, but our tilesetter is aMcKenzie, and seems to feel theold clannish spirit. He has beenamazingly obliging. I gave him a

bunch of bagpipe jokes fromelectricscotland, which he seem toreally appreciate.

David Ford, Victoria, B.C..

NEW MEMBERSThe following members havejoined since the publication of theprevious Newsletter:

Christopher John Mackenzie Barham,

1701 Kilborn Ave., Apt 412,Ottawa, ON K1H 6M8

Twylla-Fay Tassie Goad,P.O. Box 1144, RR#1,Collingwood, ON L9Y 3Y9

Mrs Pia Randall-Goddard,274 Upland Road,E. Dulwich, SE22 ODNLondon, England

Cheri Lynn (MacKenzie) McGowan,

1604-925 Bay Street,Toronto, ON M5S 3L4

Christopher Robert Fraser MacKenzie,

887 Kenilworth,Pontiac, MI 48340

David Mackenzie,#17-5787 Binnacle Ave.,Sechelt, BC V0N 3A0

Dr David Peter MacKenzie,1477 Jasmine Crescent,Oakville, ON L6H 3H2

Donald Edward McKenzie,109 Dunlop Street, Orillia, ON L3V 5P3

Heather McKenzie,1384 Lassiter Tce.,Gloucester, ON K1J 8N2

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Lorne R. MacKenzie,RR#2,Wingham, ON N0G 2W0

Richard Kenneth McKenzie,81 Winding Way,Brantford, ON N3R 3S4

Ross Mackenzie,106-6622 Baker Road,Delta, BC V4E 2V1

William James Smart,1288 Barlesan Road,Peterborough, ON K9H 6W3

Linda & Ed Trinacty,7 English Rd, 8633 English Line,Chatham, ON N7M 4H6

OBITUARYGORDON ALEXANDER MACKENZIE

(1923-2006)

We are sad to report the death of long-time member Gordon MacKenzie,

formerly of Burlington, Ontario, and a reg-ular member of the local committee untilhe went into a nursing home following anaccident. The photo below was taken at aClan committee meeting in 1997, sittingnext to Commissioner Alistair MacKenzie(who is on the left).

The following is from his son David andextracts from a newspaper obituary:Thank you for your kind

thoughts. We were with my fatherwhen he passed away on June 2nd.

Dad was born in Kapuskasing on

July 14, 1923. His father wasWilliam Alexander MacKenzie,born in Tain, Scotland, on October1st, 1886.

His grandparents were Murdoch(an Innkeeper) and MaryMacKenzie of Inverness, who weremarried January 14, 1880 inEdinburgh. During WW1 they livedon Lombard Street in Inverness.

Gordon leaves two sons, Davidand Ian and one daughter, Deborah.Gordon dedicated his life to caringfor Hamilton seniors. He was theowner and administrator RestHaven Private Hospital, Pine LodgeNursing Home, MacKenzieRetreat, the DowntownConvalescent Centre, and theBrownstone Nursing Home. Hisinnovations of long term care havebeen modelled across the province.

GEORGETOWN HIGHLAND GAMESJUNE 10, 2006

At the Georgetown Highland Games onJune 10, the tent was manned by

Norman, Sandy, Joyce and Alistair. Alanwas on stage that day and could not be pre-sent.

The weather was excellent and theClan Mackenzie tent looked especiallyresplendent with the new Mackenzie tartantable covers provided by Joyce MackenzieHirasawa.

Twelve Clans were represented in theAvenue of the Clans. This is down consid-erably on recent years.

Despite the good weather, the numberof visitors was quite low, but we recordedgood sales of Mackenzie items to thosewho did visit.

Two visitors of note to the tent wereJohn Tory, Leader of the Opposition atQueens Park sporting Campbell tartan andTed Chudleigh MPP for Halton North.

HAMILTON HIGHLAND GAMESSATURDAY JUNE 10, 2006

Alan McKenzie was at last “out” for theGames and was supported by Alex

MacKenzie of Toronto (his first time help-ing at a clan tent) and Douglas Crichton

MacKenzie. Lyle McKenzie also lookedby for a bit. Nevertheless Alan was nothappy at missing two of the more excitingWorld Cup Games.

On the whole it was a very slow daywith few visitors. There were ten clans pre-sent and they were similarly thinly attend-ed. Sales were poor.

The clans did participate in a paradewhen two large groups of massed bandsput on a strikingly impressive perfor-mance, marching in from opposite ends ofthe review stands to face each other. Wehad a real close up view of this perfor-mance but with a hot sun blazing down onus a few of us noticed that we had gotsomething of a tan by the end of the day.Oh well, vitamin D versus skin cancer!

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Douglas Crichton MacKenzie, Alex Mackenzieand Lyle McKenzie at the Hamilton Games.

Alan, Doug and Alex at Hamilton

A look at our splendid new tartan tablecovers.

GordonAlexanderMacKenzie

The only thing remarkable after anexceedingly slow start was the appearancewithin a few minutes of each other of twoattractive young ladies who we persuadedto sign the Visitors Book. They were bothnamed Lauren MacKenzie which excitedthe second young lady to see her namenext to the first - “same spelling and all” -she pointed out.

The only other unusual situation withthese Games was that for the first time everwe did not win the “Best Tent” awarddespite our smashing new tartan table cov-ers, a new clan map and other new displayitems. I guess that the organizers haveadopted the Fergus approach - to switch itaround each year. The awards went to:

1st Clan MacNeil2nd Clan McLennan3rd Clan Stewart.I will refrain from comment!

KINCARDINE SCOTTISH FESTIVALJULY 1, 2006

Dave MacKenzie of Kincardinekindly volunteered to set up

and run a clan tent for us atKincardine, which he did withmembers of his family. And what agreat success he had, despite thepoor placement of the clan tentsonce again, made worse this yearsince the bands did not march past

the tent as in previous years. Davepassed us a cheque for over $500and that included two new member-ships. If that is what local memberscan do at Scottish events then per-haps we should try and get morefamily members to try their hand.

See photos. Dave also reported on his broth-

er Donald’s death in May 2005.Both Dave brothers Donald andLorne had received the LieutenantGovernors Award for communityservice.

ORILLIA SCOTTISH FESTIVALJULY 15, 2006

The Clan MacKenzie tent wasset up with Commissioners Rad

MacKenzie and Alan McKenzie inthe huge park overlooking LakeCouchiching on an extremely warmand sunny day. A fair breeze madethings quite pleasant and onceagain we enjoyed the parade pastour tent of a large number of pipebands.

All in all an enjoyable day withone new member joining (DonMcKenzie from Orillia) and salesaround $200.

ELLERSLIE HIGHLAND GAMES INGRANT MACEWAN PARK SOUTH

OF EDMONTON.

The Highland Games werescheduled for Sunday, the 25th

of June. We arrived a little late, asthe detours (due to the ever-presentroad repair) to get to the site took alittle longer than originally plannedfor. When we arrived we wereshown to our location, alongsidethe usual Clans - the Campbells, theCamerons, the MacLeods and theMontgomerys. In previous yearsthe Games supplied a table to theClans, this year they chose not to.Not normally an issue for us, as wedid bring our own table. But it lim-ited us to one (small) table instead

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Commissioners Rad and Alan at Orillia, Ontario

Kincardine - Left - waiting for the parade to start - David MacKenzie, his son-in-law, BlakeMcGowan, Mrs Judi MacKenzie, Mrs Joyce MacKenzie, Blinkie the town’s mascot, and Barbara

MacKenzie Hayden. Right photo shows Barbara MacKenzie Hayden and Lorne MacKenzierunning the clan tent.

of two tables. On top of that Ibrought the wrong tent. My wifehas a similar tent, although slightlysmaller, that she uses for her busi-ness. Well I brought that tentinstead. Not that it made any realdifference, I still had the Banner,one table, and all the regular dis-play items. But it added to mygrowing sense of frustration. Butthe Clan MacKenzie were up andrunning by 8:00. The sun was shin-ing; it was eventually to get into thehigh 20s without a single cloud inthe sky. It was a very beautiful daywith just a nice refreshing breeze.

We had many people stop by allthe Clan tents either just to visit orto ask questions. Fortunately theytended to ask about people andevents that I knew something about.If I did not have the answer, theother Clans there usually did. ClanCampbell, disregarding that nastybusiness at Glencoe a few centuriesago, were extremely helpful, andbetween the two Clans we wereable to answer just about every sin-gle inquiry. All in all it was a veryproductive day with several localClan members stopping by, a fewfrom the Calgary area, and fairnumber of new applicants from theEdmonton area. As a matter of factone of them lives only about 30 kmaway from my place, and was actu-ally related to the “other”MacKenzie in my town.

For the most part we had peopleasking us about the differencebetween Mac and Mc, EileanDonan Castle, family history, moregeneral Scottish history, and evensome questions about the Celts.And of course the Diana Gabaldon“Outlander” series of books.Ongoing conversations about thosebooks tended to attract people toour general area. It didn’t hurt that

the medieval display people set-upacross the walkway. We even hadEdward I and Robert the Bruce visitus briefly looking for a hammer andextra pegs!Alex MacKenzieCo-CommissionerClan MacKenzie SocietyNorthern Alberta Branch

THE PROPHECIES OF THEBRAHAN SEER

Ihave always said I would not getinto reproducing the Prophecies

of the Brahan Seer as I could neversummon up the interest to begin tobelieve that there are people withsecond sight. I am aware, howeverthat there are quite a number of“believers” around and it just sohappens that by agreeing to tran-scribe Alexander Mackenzie’s 1899volume on the “Prophecies of theBrahan Seer” for the electricscot-land website, I was forced to actu-ally read it. I was particularly inter-ested in a chapter on theMackenzies of Seaforth. Now,whether you believe in the BrahanSeer’s ability to foretell the future,there is no harm in reading thisextract from the book which is ofhistorical interest. Here it is:

SKETCH OF THE FAMILY OFSEAFORTH

THE most popularly-receivedtheory regarding the

Mackenzies is that they aredescended from an Irishman of thename of Colinas Fitzgerald, son ofthe Earl of Kildare or Desmond,who distinguished himself by hisbravery at the battle of Largs, in1263. It is said that his courage andvalour were so singularlydistinguished that King Alexanderthe Third took him under his special

protection, and granted him a char-ter of the lands of Kintail, in WesterRoss, bearing date fromKincardine, January the 9th, 1263.

According to the fragmentary“Record of Icolmkill,” upon whichthe claim of the Irish origin of theclan is founded, a personage,described as “Peregrinus etHibernus nobilis ex familiaGeraldinorum” - that is “a noblestranger and Hibernian, of the fam-ily of the Geraldines” - being drivenfrom Ireland with a considerablenumber of his followers was, about1261, very graciously received bythe King, and afterwards remainedat his court. Having given powerfulaid to the Scots at the Battle ofLargs, two years afterwards he wasrewarded by a grant of the lands ofKintail, which were erected into afree barony by royal charter, datedas above mentioned. Mr. Skene,however, says that no such docu-ment as this Icolmkill Fragmentwas ever known to exist, as nobodyhas ever seen it; and as forAlexander’s charter, he declares(Highlanders, vol. ii., p. 235) that it“bears the most palpable marks ofhaving been a forgery of a laterdate, and one by no means happy inthe execution”. Besides, the words“Colino Hiberno” contained in it donot prove this Colin to have been anIrishman, as Hiberni was at thatperiod a common appellation forthe Gael of Scotland. Burke, in the“Peerage” has adopted the Irish ori-gin of the clan, and the chiefs them-selves seem to have adopted thistheory, without having made anyparticular inquiry as to whether itwas well founded or not. TheMackenzie chiefs were thus notexempt from the almost universal,but most unpatriotic, fondnessexhibited by many other Highland

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chiefs for a foreign origin. In examining the traditionsof our country, we are forcibly struck with this pecu-liarity of taste. Highlanders despising a Caledoniansource trace their ancestors from Ireland, Norway,Sweden, or Normandy. The progenitors of theMackenzies can be traced with greater certainty, andwith no less claim to antiquity, from a native ancestor,Gillean (Cailean) Og, or Colin the Younger, a son ofCailean na h’Airde, ancestor of the Earls of Ross; and,from the MS. of 1450, their Gaelic descent may now beconsidered beyond dispute. [See Nos. XXVI. andXXVII. of the Celtic Magazine, Vol. III., in which thisquestion is discussed at length.]

Until the forfeiture of the Lords of the Isles, theMackenzies always held their lands from the Earls ofRoss, and followed their banner in the field, but afterthe forfeiture of that great and powerful earldom, theMackenzies rapidly rose on the ruins of theMacdonalds to the great power, extent of territorialpossession, and almost regal magnificence for whichthey were afterwards distinguished among the othergreat clans of the north. They, in the reign of James theFirst, acquired a very powerful influence in theHighlands, and became independent of any superiorbut the Crown. Mackenzie and his followers were, infact, about the most potent chief and clan in the wholeHighlands.

Kenneth, son of Angus, is supposed to have com-menced his rule in Kintail about 1278, and was suc-ceeded by his son, John in 1304, who was in his turnsucceeded by his son, Kenneth. John, Kenneth’s son,was called Iain MacChoinnich, John MacKenneth, orJohn son of Kenneth, hence the family nameMackenny or Mackenzie. The name Kenneth in courseof time became softened down to Kenny or Kenzie. Itis well known that, not so very long ago, z in this andall other names continued to be of the same value asthe letter y, just as we still find it in Menzies,MacFadzean, and, many others. There seems to be nodoubt whatever that this is the real origin of theMackenzies, and of their name.

Murchadh, or Murdo, son of Kenneth, it is said,received a charter of the lands of Kintail from David II.

In 1463, Alexander Mackenzie of Kintail obtainedthe lands of Strathgarve, and other possessions, fromJohn, Earl of Ross. They afterwards strenuously andsuccessfully opposed every attempt made by theMacdonalds to obtain possession of the forfeited earl-dom. Alexander was succeeded by his son, Kenneth,

who married Lady Margaret Macdonald, daughter ofthe forfeited Earl John, Lord of the Isles; but throughsome cause, [For full details of this act, which after-wards proved the cause of such strife and bloodshed,see Mackenzie’s “History of the Clan Mackenzie”.]Mackenzie divorced the lady, and sent her home in amost ignominious and degrading manner. She had onlyone eye, and Kintail sent her home riding a one-eyedsteed, accompanied by a one-eyed servant, followed bya one-eyed dog. All these circumstances exasperatedthe lady’s family to such an extent as to make themever after the mortal and sworn enemies of theMackenzies.

Kenneth Og, his son by the divorced wife, becamechief in 1493. Two years afterwards, he and FarquharMackintosh were imprisoned by James V. in EdinburghCastle. In 1497, however, they both made their escape,but were, on their way to the Highlands, seized, in amost treacherous manner, at Torwood, by the laird ofBuchanan. Kenneth Og made a stout resistance, but hewas ultimately slain, and Buchanan sent his head as apresent to the King.

Leaving no issue, Kenneth was succeeded by hisbrother John, whose mother, Agnes Fraser, his father’ssecond wife, was a daughter of Lovat. He had severalother sons, from whom have sprung other branches ofthe Mackenzies. As John was very young, his uncle,Hector Roy (Eachainn Ruadh) Mackenzie, progenitorof the house of Gairloch, assumed command of theclan and the guardianship of the young chief. Gregoryinforms us, that “under his rule the Clan Kenziebecame involved in feuds with the Munroes and otherclans; and Hector Roy himself became obnoxious tothe Government as a disturber of the public peace. Hisintentions towards the young chief of Kintail were con-sidered very dubious, and the apprehensions of the lat-ter and his friends having been roused, Hector wascompelled by law to yield up the estate and the com-mand of the tribe to the proper heir.” [Highlands andIsles of Scotland, p. 111.] John, the lawful heir, onobtaining possession, at the call of James IV., marchedat the head of his clan to the fatal field of Flodden,where he was made prisoner by the English, but after-wards escaped. On King James the Fifth’s expeditionto the Western Isles in 1540, John joined him at Kintail,and accompanied him throughout his whole journey.He fought with his clan at the battle of Pinkie in 1547,and died in 1561, when he was succeeded by his son,Kenneth, who had two sons by a daughter of the Earl

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of Athole - Colin and Roderick - the latter becomingancestor of the Mackenzies of Redcastle, Kincraig,Rosend, and several other branches. This Colin, whowas the eleventh chief, fought for Queen Mary at thebattle of Langside. He was twice married. By his firstwife, Barbara Grant of Grant - whose elopement withhim will be found described in a poem in the HighlandCeilidh, Vol. I. pp. 215-220, of the Celtic Magazine -he had four sons and three daughters, namely -Kenneth, who became his successor; Sir RoderickMackenzie of Tarbat, ancestor of the Earls ofCromartie; Colin, ancestor of the Mackenzies ofKennock and Pitlundie; and Alexander, ancestor of theMackenzies of Kilcoy, and other families of the name.By Mary, eldest daughter of Roderick Mackenzie ofDavochmaluag, he had a natural son, Alexander, fromwhom descended the Mackenzies of Applecross, Coul,Delvin, Assynt, and others of note in history.

Kenneth, the eldest son, soon after succeeding hisfather, was engaged in supporting Torquil Macleod ofLewis, surnamed the “Conanach,” the disinherited sonof the Macleod of Lewis, and who was closely relatedto himself. Torquil conveyed the barony of Lewis tothe Chief of the Mackenzies by formal deed, the lattercausing the usurper to the estate, and his followers, tobe beheaded in 1597. He afterwards, in the followingyear, joined Macleod of Harris and Macdonald ofSleat, in opposing James the Sixth’s project for thecolonisation of the Lewis by the well-known adventur-ers from the “Kingdom of Fife”.

In 1602, the old and long-standing feud between theMackenzies and the Macdonalds of Glengarry, con-cerning their lands in Wester Ross, was renewed withinfuriated violence. Ultimately, after great bloodshedand carnage on both sides, an arrangement was arrivedat by which Glengarry renounced for ever, in favour ofMackenzie, the Castle of Strome and all his lands inLochalsh, Lochcarron, and other places in the vicinity,so long the bone of contention between these powerfuland ferocious chieftains. In 1607, a Crown charter forthese lands was granted to Kenneth, thus materiallyadding to his previous possessions, power, and influ-ence. “All the Highlands and Isles, from Adnamurchanto Strathnaver, were either the Mackenzies’property orunder their vassalage, some few excepted,” and allaround them were bound to them “by very strict bondsof friendship”. In this same year Kenneth received,through some influence at Court, a gift, under the Great

Seal, of the Island of Lewis, in virtue of, and thus con-firming, the resignation of this valuable and extensiveproperty previously made in his favour by TorquilMacleod. A complaint was, however, made to hisMajesty by those of the colonists who survived, andMackenzie was again forced to resign it. By patent,dated the 19th of November, 1609, he was created apeer of the realm, as Lord Mackenzie of Kintail. Soonafter, the colonists gave up all hopes of being able tocolonize the Lewis, and the remaining adventurers - SirGeorge Hay and Sir James Spens - were easily pre-vailed upon to sell their rights to Lord Mackenzie, whoat the same time succeeded in securing a grant from theking of that part of the island forfeited by LordBalmerino, another of the adventurers. He (LordMackenzie) now secured a commission of fire andsword against the islanders, soon arrived with a strongforce, and speedily reduced them to obedience, withthe exception of Neil Macleod and a few of his follow-ers. The struggle between these two continued for atime, but ultimately Mackenzie managed to obtain pos-session of the whole island, and it remained in the pos-session of the family until it was sold by the “Last ofthe Seaforths”.

This, the first, Lord Mackenzie of Kintail died in1611. One of his sons, Simon Mackenzie of Lochslin,by his second wife, Isabella, daughter of Sir AlexanderOgilvie of Powrie, was the father of the celebrated SirGeorge Mackenzie, already referred to. His eldest son,Colin, who succeeded him as second Lord Mackenzieof Kintail, was created first Earl of Seaforth, by patentdated the 3rd December, 1623, to himself and his heirsmale. Kenneth, Colin’s grandson, and third Earl ofSeaforth, distinguished himself by his loyalty toCharles the Second during the Commonwealth. Hesupported the cause of the Royalists so long as therewas an opportunity of fighting for it in the field, andwhen forced to submit to the ruling powers, he wascommitted to prison, where, with much firmness ofmind and nobility of soul, he endured a tedious captiv-ity during many years, until he was ultimately released,after the Restoration, by authority of the king. He mar-ried a lady descended from a branch of his own fami-ly, Isabella Mackenzie, daughter of Sir JohnMackenzie of Tarbat, and sister of the first Earl ofCromartie. To her cruel and violent conduct mayundoubtedly be traced the remarkable doom whichawaited the family of Seaforth, which was predicted in

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such an extraordinary manner by Coinneach Odhar,fulfilled in its minutest details, and which we are, in thefollowing pages, to place before the reader.

[The rest of this book will be found in due course onthe electricscotland website.]

DNA

The numbers of Mac/McKenzies who have joinedthe DNAprogram grows slowly and we expect this

to pick up once the Highland Games season gets underway. We have 114 signed on so far from all around theworld. What is interesting is that a large proportion ofthe persons who took the 12-marker test have electedto expand their results to 37 markers in an attempt tonarrow down the closer relationships revealed. This isindeed a very encouraging sign as it indicates a wideunderstanding of the system. The 37 markers are rathermore expensive than the initial 12 markers usuallyapplied for.

I shall be attending the DNAConference in Houstonin November to educate myself further. More particu-larly I will meet with a number of other members whoare involved with other clans to see what we can derivefrom the work being done around the globe on under-standing these results. I hope to come back from theconference with a detailed understanding of clado-grams. These charts show the possible relationships ofall the Mackenzies who have tested for 37 markers andparticularly the genetic distance from each other. Thefindings are producing clusters of members whoappear to be closely related, and it believed by someexperts that these may well be the descendants of theoriginal Mackenzie landowners. In a future issue I willaddress this subject in an article and attempt to explainthe importance of cladograms.

It is not surprising, perhaps, that one group whotake the DNA testing most seriously is the Jewish peo-ple. I picked up this interesting comment on the chatlines:

Dr. Skorecki, a Cohen of Eastern European descent(Ashkenazim), was attending synagogue one morning.During the service, a Cohen of Sephardic descent fromNorth Africa was reading from the Hebrew bible.According to Jewish tradition, all Cohanim (plural of“Cohan” or “Cohen”) are direct descendants of Aaron,the brother of Moses, and serve important priestlyfunctions within the Jewish religion. The line of theCohanim is patrilineal, allegedly being passed from

father to son without interruption from Aaron, for3,300 years, or more than 100 generations. Dr.Skorecki wondered if this claim could actually be test-ed. Could he find scientific evidence to support the oraltradition of an ancient priestly lineage? Did he and theSephardic Cohen possess a set of common geneticmarkers indicating they shared a common ancestor?

Dr. Skorecki, a nephrologist already involved inmolecular genetic research, contacted Dr.MichaelHammer of the University of Arizona, a pioneer in Ychromosome research, and the Cohanim DNA studywas born. Their findings clearly indicated that theCohanim did indeed share a common ancestor. Theydiscovered that a particular haplotype was found in 97out of the 106 participants tested. This haplotype hascome to be known as the “Cohen Modal Haplotype” or“CMH”. According to the study, calculations for datingthe CMH yielded a time frame of 106 generations fromthe ancestral founder of the lineage – approximately3,300 years ago (Thomas et al. 1998).

Not only did the genetic researchers corroborate theoral history of an ancient Jewish priestly caste, but theyalso confirmed the genetic link between bothSephardic and Ashkenazi populations, indicating thatbefore the two populations separated, those who sharedthe CMH also shared common Israelite ancestry.Today, the CMH is considered not only the standardgenetic signature of the priestly Cohanim, but also theyardstick by which all Jewish DNA is compared fordetermination of Israelite genetic ancestry. Thus, if ahaplogroup is not shared by both Sephardim andAshkenazim at a similar frequency, then it is generallynot considered to be of Israelite origin.

Skorecki and Hammer reported that the CMHoccurred within Y chromosome haplogroup J(Skorecki et al. 1997). We now know significantlymore about haplogroup J than when these studies wereoriginally published. Haplogroup J consists of anancestral form (J*) and two subgroups – J1 and J2.Although you can have the CMH in either J1 or J2, itis the genetic signature in J1 that is considered theJewish priestly signature.

What is not widely reported is that only 48% ofAshkenazi Cohanim and 58% of Sephardic Cohanimhave the J1 Cohen Modal Haplotype (Skorecki et al.1997). So nearly half of the Ashkenazi Cohanim resultsare in haplogroups other than J1. Overall, J1 consti-tutes 14.6% of the Ashkenazim results and 11.9% ofthe Sephardic results (Semino et al. 2004). Nor is

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Cohanim status dependent on a finding of haplogroupJ1.

Additionally, many other haplogroups among theAshkenazim, and among the Cohanim in particular,appear to be of Israelite/Middle Eastern origin.According to Behar(2003), the Cohanim possess anunusually high frequency of haplogroup J in general,reported to comprise nearly 87% of the total Cohanimresults. Among the Sephardim, the frequency of 75% isalso notably high (Behar 2003). Both groups have dra-matically lower percentages of other haplogroups,including haplogroup E. Given the high frequency ofhaplogroup J among Ashkenazi Cohanim, it appearsthat J2 may be only slightly less common than J1, per-haps indicating multiple J lineages among the priestlyCohanim dating back to the ancient Israelite kingdom.

However, J1 is the only haplogroup that researchersconsider “Semitic” in origin because it is restrictedalmost completely to Middle Eastern populations, witha very low frequency in Italy and Greece as well(Semino et al. 2004). The group’s origins are thoughtto be in the southern Levant. Its presence among con-temporary Sephardic and Ashkenazi populations indi-cates the preservation of Israelite Semitic ancestry,despite their long settlement in Europe and NorthAfrica. Further, the CMH is considered the putativeancestral haplotype of haplogroup J1 (Di Giacomo etal.2004).

Needless to say this is a very technical subject, butone of great interest. The Mackenzies - over 80% ofthem share the haplogroup R1b1. Personally I find it ahard stretch to believe that one can go back over 3,000years without finding numerous distortions to resultsbecause of “non-paternity events”.

BEN MACKENZIE AWARDED NASA EXCEPTIONALPUBLIC SERVICE MEDAL

Our member Ben Mackenzie from Ohio has been inconstant communication with a number of other

members in Canada who have participated in the DNAProject. Ben is a direct male line descendant of DonaldMackenzie - King of the North West and has a hugefamily tree which connects him to many members inCanada. Donald Mackenzie is shown in that tree to bea cousin of Sir Alexander Mackenzie, the first man tocross Canada by land.

But Ben has many strings to his bow and he hasrecently been honoured by NASA. Here is a report on

his award.Retired Director from Saint-Gobain Flight

Structures receives one of NASA’s highest honors.NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. – S.

Ben Mackenzie, retired Director, Technology &Engineering, Saint-Gobain Flight Structures, wasrecently awarded an Exceptional Public Service Medalfrom the National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration (NASA). The medal was presented byNASALangley Research Center Director Lesa B. Roe.

The NASAExceptional Public Service Medal is oneof the highest-level awards available to non-NASAemployees, and is granted for exceptional contribu-tions to NASA’s mission. This award honors BenMackenzie for significant contributions and dedicatedlifetime service to the avionics industry, military, andNASA aviation safety research.

Dr. Charles E. Harris, Director of NASA’s Research& Technology Directorate, presented Mackenzie witha congratulatory letter from Rockwell Collins,Chairman, President and CEO Clay Jones. “The pres-tigious NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal youreceived today is a well deserved testament to yourmany achievements which encompass all segments ofcivil aviation and our national security as well”, saidJones in his letter. “Through your diligent worktoward the highest quality standards and radome prod-ucts, you have made a substantial contribution to thesafety of our aviation industry, our nation, and the trav-eling public. Rockwell Collins is recognized as aleader in the design, production, and support of com-munication and aviation electronics worldwide.

Mackenzie joined Saint-Gobain Flight Structuresformerly Norton Company’s Composites Operations,in 1973 as chief engineer. Saint-Gobain is well knownfor the industry leading radome technology, from VLFto well into the mm wave region. It designs, manu-factures and repairs aircraft radomes for aircraft manu-facturers, airlines, systems companies and governmen-tal agencies throughout the world. He also served asan FAA Designated Engineering Representative in thearea of radomes and composite structures, and light-ning protection of those structures.

“The radome facility’s success is due to the work ofa great team of people,” said Mackenzie. “I am espe-cially appreciative of my mentors, most notably myhigh school physics teacher, Howard Lorson, who hada ham radio club at the school and encouraged myexperimentation.”

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Mackenzie’s high school term paper was “RadioWave Propagation,” as he had experimented with mostof the methods then known. He also built a working 10GHz microwave transceiver. Amateur radio continuedto be a lifelong hobby and provided a solid foundationfor his career in radome design.

In 2003 Mackenzie was selected from a field ofover 5000 scientists and engineers worldwide toreceive the AAI Pioneer Award at the AirlinesElectronic Engineers Committee’s General Session,only the eighth time this award was presented. In 1993RTCA (formerly Radio Technical Commission forAeronautics) presented Mackenzie with a Citation forchairing the subcommittee that set the first internation-ally accepted standards for radomes for civil aircraft.

Our congratulations go to Ben Mackenzie, who justhappens to be a very enthusiastic Mackenzie genealo-gist. Radome, by the way, is generally the radar dome. . . . the nose of the aircraft . . . which is tuned to theradar’s frequency or wavelength to be transparent tothe radar beam . . . It is made with composite materi-als . . . lightweight and strong.

GLENGARRY HIGHLAND GAMES, MAXVILLEAUGUST 5, 2006

Once again the 26 clans that made the trip toMaxville, about an hour’s drive from Ottawa,

crowded into the two large barns, which have becomethe traditional home of the clans. Huge crowds attend-ed the tattoo on the Friday evening and I was accom-panied by Alex MacKenzie, of Toronto and we thor-oughly enjoyed the massed bands and the splendidmasses of well-drilled highland dancers.

This year we had the great pleasure of having a vol-unteer from Ottawa to help us run the clan tent. It wasGary MacKenzie and his enthusiastic participationwith Alex and me was great relief. Gary has also sincevolunteered to take on the vacant role of Commissionerfor Eastern Ontario, which includes Ottawa itself,where we have many members.

We often wonder whether the long trip to Maxvillefrom Toronto is worthwhile. Glengarry county was thearea where masses of Macdonells of Glengarry andother Macdonalds and MacMillans arrived in largenumbers and settled the region. Mackenzies are rarerthere. Nevertheless we had an interesting and enjoy-able day. The weather was just about as near perfect asit could be. The scorching heat which had been with usfor far too long in July and August finally gave way towarm pleasant weather for the Games and we avoidedthe thunderstorms and heavy rain which sometimesoccur here at this time of year.

We signed on two new members, which was a relief.Sales were merely moderate, takings being close to$300. We had many interesting conversations at thetent with visitors. One of the more famous being theHon. Flora Macdonald, who helps support theMaxville Games. It was her 80th birthday and thecrowds sung “Happy Birthday” at the Tattoo the nightbefore. A wonderful lady, much respected by the Scotsin Canada.

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Ben Mackenzie receiving his award

Maxville - Gary and Alex MacKenzie and one of our allies from ClanMacLennan.

B.C. HIGHLAND GAMES, COQUITLAMJUNE 24, 2006

Avery lovely day greeted the MacKenzies as wegathered to celebrate our Scottish heritage at the

Coquitlam Highland Games. During the Clan Parade,we had the greatest number of members and familiesthat the MacKenzies have seen in a few years.Marlene and Kenneth introduced their grandson,Brandon, to the activities of the table and other events.Rob and Corinne are expecting a baby this year whichwill increase the grandchild count for Kenneth andMarlene. Ian and Lynn’s son Charles brought a friendand Ian’s mother, Jill, came and enjoyed the celebra-tions of the day. William, Ian and I greeted the manyvisitors who came by the table to ask questions, enjoya chat or browse the articles on the table. Two newmembers signed up and we look forward to seeingthem at the fall dinner and, by the way, if any readersknow of some MacKenzies, in the Vancouver area,who would like to join us for a dinner, email:

jo.mac@telus.net. We’ll have a good time.Also, the MacKenzies have a connection with the

Clan Hay and this year, their key person, Libby Haydied, so we shared a tent at the Highland Games withthe Hay Commissioners. Libby Hay was an outstand-ing representative for her Clan and she will be missed.

By Joan MacKenzie

FERGUS HIGHLAND GAMES AND SCOTTISH FESTIVALAUGUST 12, 2006

This is our busiest Games of the year and 2006 wasno exception. We were without a number of our

regulars because of family matters and sickness so didnot have Commissioners Alistair, or Ken nor Bob and

Olga. However Alan McKenzie and NormanMacKenzie were the commissioners present with ablesupport from Alex MacKenzie and Shawn MacKenzie.We also had help with the tent from Alan’s brother-in-law, Michael Leach and his wife Judith and daughterAmy. At times the pace was frantic with queues liningup to get into the tent. Sales exceeded $700 and weadded four new members and scores took the member-

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Coquitlam: Heather Bennett,Christopher Green, Commissioner Joan,Marlene and Commissioners William and Ian.

Coquitlam: Corinne, Bob, Marlene, Kenneth, Brandon, CommissionersWilliam and Ian, a Mackenzie lady, and Commissioner Joan

ship forms so we fully expect to see others join later.

REMINDERS

1. Membership Dues are payable from October1st.

2. The Clan AGM and Picnic will be held atBlack Creek Pioneer Village, Toronto onSunday Sept 10th from around 11 a.m. to 4.30p.m. Contact us if you will be attending (seepage 1 for address, etc.). Lunch will be pro-vided for members and spouses.Entertainment will include Highland dancingand piping.

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Shawn MacKenzie (left) with a couple of Mackenzie visitors to the tentat Fergus

Alan McKenzie and Alex MacKenzie at Fergus- getting ready for the parade

Fergus - Commissioners Alan and Norman at the ready for the rush!

Below Alan and Alex parading the clan banner at Fergus

Fergus - Alex MacKenzie with Dr Graeme Morton, the Chair ofScottish Studies at the University of Guelph. The Scottish Studies

Foundation had a tent behind the Clan MacKenzie tent.

MACKENZIE HOLIDAYS SUPPORT THE CASTLE LEOD RESTORATION FUND!

For each cruise cabin or land tour booked and completed through Mackenzie Holidays, we willdonate $50 to the Castle Leod Restoration Fund in your name! Enjoy one of our group cruises

with great group rates and ‘little extras’ or choose any other cruise or tour you wish from us andwe will still make the donation. We have the cruise or tour that will be the right fit for you and your

family. Economically or luxurious, enjoy it your way! This offer includes bookings deposited by December 31, 2006.

Call Pam and Angus toll-free at 1-877-473-2726.

Email: info@mackenzieholidays.com

SSoonnss aanndd DDaauugghhtteerrss ooff SSccoottllaanndd

HHaannddmmaaddee TTrraaddiittiioonnaall KKiillttss JJooyyccee MMaacckkeennzziiee,, KKiillttmmaakkeerr Based in Mississauga, we offer fine quality, handmade kilts and Highland attire for gents and ladies in your choice of authentic tartans and weight. All kilts are made to measure according to traditional kiltmaking techniques. Pricing is according to your measurements and weight of tartan selected. We also offer a selection of fine quality vintage tartan garments and Harris tweeds. For price quotes or questions, please feel free to contact us at the address below. We are always happy to answer your questions or offer advice on Highland wear.

We are pleased to offer a 10% discount to members of the Clan Mackenzie Society on

placing their first order with us.

5528 Middlebury Drive, Mississauga, Ontario

L5M 5G7 Tel: 905-858-2680

www.sonsanddaughtersofscotland.com