Catherine (Grant) MacDonald (abt. 1835 - 1917)

Born about 1835 in Isle of Skye

Descendants

Died 1917 at about age 82 in Poverty Bay, New Zealand

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Biography

No record of Catherine can be found entering Australia. However the" Gut feeling" of all is that she in some way knew the MacDonald family on Skye.It could be that she lived with grand-parents Mckenzie or Stewart,

Catherine Grant an illiterate maid had obtained work at Meningoot, daughter of where she met and married Alexander Ewen MacDonald son of LAexander MacDonald and flora Macrae on the 28 March 1856. It is possible they may have met on Skye.

The couple settled at Glenmoriston, Terand where Alexander James MacDonald (1856-1889), Colin Hector MacDonald (1858-1863) Catherine MacDonald (1859-1942) and Duncan McRae MacDonald (1861-1927) were born.

About 1862 the family moved back to Meningoort and lived in a small wooden slab-walled hut with a wood-shingled roof. On the evening of Christmas day 1863, the hut caught fire and 5 and a half year of Colin Hector died. There was an Inquest into the fire. Children born here were William Donald Macdonald (1862-1920), Colin Hector MacDonald ( 1864) and Flora Jessie Macdonald (1866-1887)

About 1870 Alexander took his family to the property owned by Daniel MacKinnon at Marida Yallock between Camperdown and Lake Terang. Children born here were John Neil MacDonald (1867-1944), George Godfrey Macdonald (1869-1922)Christina Harriet MacDonald (1872-1875) Mary Belle MacDonald (1880-1874), and Kenneth Reginald MacDonald (1876-1960)

The MacDonald family migrated to New Zealand in 1880 supposedly because the climate was more like that on Skye. They settled in theWairoa, Hawkes Bay and later in the Gisborne District Here the 13th child Edith Lilian MacDonald (1882-1958) was born

Tragedy struck at Matahero on the 20 July 1887 and Alexander died from an internal haemorrhage brought on by TB . He was aged 59. His will left everything to his wife Catherine.

Catherine continued to live amongst the family and from 1911 to her death in 1917 lived with her daughter Mary Belle Grey in Gisborne where Mary belle was a widow. Catherine was wheelchair bound for the last 10 years of her life.

Sources

• Marriage: Vic Archived Reg No 1856
• Coroners Inquest :Fire at meningoort Vic Arc hives of Vic No 64 Camperdown P 2 *Death: New Zealand death index 1887/352
• The MacDonalds of Air dand Vallay in Australia and New Zealand by Grahame MacDonald F.S.A. Scotland P 69-73.Cited in the Clan Donald Magazine No 8 Clan *Somerled from www.clandonaldusa.org MacDonald Family History presented by Chief of MacDonald of Sleat ( Alan MacDonald) .