c. 1925 Margaret Mackay (59), William Colville (65) and grandchildren - possibly children of their daughter Robena.

Margaret Jones Mackay 1866 - 1954

Margaret Jones Mackay - an overview
Putting the McLeoran family tree into perspective, Donald McLaran's children and Margaret (and her sister Catherine) were second cousins - Malcolm McLeoran and Margaret McVicar being their common great grandparents.

​Margaret's birth has been adequately covered on her mother's page.

The 1881 Southend Census recorded Margaret (14) living as a domestic servant at Feorlin - the very same farm where Donald McLaran was born in 1833 and his family lived for many years. It was over 30 years since McLeoran family members had lived at Feorlin.

After the 1887 birth of her illegitimate son, Alister Colville - Alister deserves his own page - the following year Margaret emigrated alone to North Dakota and married* William Colville, establishing a rural-based family extending over both North and South Dakota and west into Montana.

Margaret's life was recorded in the 1976 A History of Emmons County. It provides an insider's overview which dovetails neatly with her obituary. 

*  In 1888 Fort Yates / Winona was frontier territory - ruled by the army and under constant threat from the Sioux Indians. It is not surprising that a record of the Colville - Mackay marriage has proved elusive.
1881 Southend Census - Margaret McKay (Mackay)
Comments:
  • Margaret (14) was employed by the Feorlin tenants Malcolm and Isabella McNeill - no relations to the MacNeills of Carskey.
  • Malcolm McLeoran and his family and Margaret's grandmother, Jean McLeoran, lived in this cottage many decades previously. 
Jun 1888 Margaret Mackay's arrival in New York - passenger 97
​Comments:
  • Margaret (22) travelled in steerage from Glasgow, Scotland to USA, and brought three pieces of luggage.
  • She gave her name as "Maggie" and her occupation as "outworker".
  • This was a very brave move for a lass of 22 who had recently become a mother and had probably never ventured beyond Southend or Campbeltown before.
William Colville and Margaret Burns: marriage and children
In Mar 1886, William Colville of Campbeltown emigrated to USA, entering via Chicago and settled in the Fort Yates - Winona area of North Dakota. It appears that:
  • William and Margaret knew each other before 1886;
  • they may have been betrothed - there is no record of their marriage in Scotland;
  • there may have been an agreement that once William was established, Margaret would join him and they would marry.

The road of true love has many twists:
  • in 1886 Margaret fell pregnant to Southend resident Alexander McNiven;
  • her son - registered as Alexander Mackay, later aka Alister / Allister McNiven / Colville - was born on 3 Jul 1887 at Carskey, Southend according to Scotlandspeople's records;
  • Margaret pursued McNiven in the Campbeltown court for maintenance;
  • in 1888 she emigrated alone to North Dakota via the SS Furnupia to New York while Alister remained in Southend in the care of his grandmother Ann Mackay Burns;
  • William and Margaret probably married in North Dakota in 1888 or 1889;
  • on 11 Dec 1890 William and Margaret's daughter Christina - named after William's mother - was born;
  • in late 1891, Ann (56) accompanied by her daughter Catherine Burns (17) and Alister (4) emigrated to USA to join the Colville family in North Dakota;
Margaret Mackay's children
  • on 2 Nov 1891, Margaret's second son, Malcolm Robert Colville, was born at Winona; Margaret combined the names of her McLeoran great grandfather and William's father;
  • 11 years later, William and Margaret had their third and final child: Robena Catherine Colville, born on 26 May 1903;
  • Alister adopted the Colville surname and a conscious family decision was made to alter his birth date to 5 Jul 1888 and his place of birth to North Dakota. This may have been an attempt to bypass USA immigration paperwork or to conceal an illegitimate birth. (Perhaps the Scottish records are incorrect and 5 July was his actual birthday.)​
Comments and Conjecture
Why did Margaret emigrate alone to Dakota? She may have left Alister in Scotland so William would have a chance to accept the (probably unexpected) news that Margaret had become a mother since he last saw her. With the probable shortage of women in Dakota in 1888, it is unlikely that William would reject this 22 year old girl who had travelled half the way around the world to throw herself at his feet.

When did Margaret and William marry? They may have married around Jul 1888, and by "changing" Alister's birth date to Jul 1888 they effectively legitimised his birth.

Did Alister know the real year of his birth? The birth year he recorded on various government forms changed over the years - even his headstone it is incorrect. However, it is most likely he knew he was born in 1877, in Scotland. There always was a disparity between his quoted birthday: Scotland records say 3 July but Alister and his family over 60 years consistently said he was born on 5 July.
1886 William Colville's arrival at Chicago was recorded in his application for USA Citizenship 
Comments:
  • William's birth year was recorded as 1861, but Scotlandspeople record his birth in 1860, parents Robert Colville and Chirsty Dowie.
  • William arrived in Chicago, which may suggest he travelled via Canada.
  • William's citizenship papers must have been misplaced, as he re-applied for citizenship several times - see below.
1891 Carskey Census. 
Comments:
  • Second line from top: Kate Burns (aka Catherine), 16, a general servant at Carskey, born Southend.
  • Second last line: Ann Burns, 58, formerly a laundress, born Southend.
  • Last line: "Alaster" McNiven, Margaret's son, three, also born Southend. His birth name "Alexander" had been abandoned in favour of "Alister".
  • #22 - Margaret and Helen Fullarton remained constants at Carskey Cottages over the decades. Margaret was a similar age to Jean McLeoran and her daughter Helen a similar age to Ann.
1891 The arrival of Ann and Catherine Burns, and Alister McNiven in New York
​Comments:
  • Alister's surname was recorded as "McNiven" and Catherine's name was spelt as "Kate".
  • Alister's age was recorded (correctly) as four - indicating his birth year was 1887.
  • The group arrived with three pieces of luggage.
  • Their destination was recorded as North Dakota via Eureka.​
​1893 A view of Eureka South Dakota, rail head for Fort Yates.
12 Jun 1900 Winona and Glenavon School District Census
William, Margaret, Alister, Christina, Malcolm Colville, and Ann Burns.
Comments:
  • This census was taken before the Colvilles moved in 1907 to Ranch 33. It contains lots of accurate alongside some inaccurate information. After the move to Ranch 33, Ann Burns remained in Linton with her daughter Catherine.
  • The census records:
    • William was born in Sep 1860 - the first time his birth year was correctly recorded in USA - in Scotland and arrived in USA in 1885 - maybe 1886, it appears William may have been "loose" with dates.
    • William owned his farm, it was not mortgaged, and the farm was "Number 120".
    • William and Margaret had been married for 11 years.
    • Margaret was born in Oct 1866 in Scotland and had three children, all then alive.
    • "Allister", 10,  was born in Jul 1889 in North Dakota and was attending school. Obviously he was born in Scotland and 12 years old.
    • Christina was born in Dec 1890 in North Dakota and was attending school.
    • Malcolm was born Nov 1891 in North Dakota but was not recorded as attending school or able to read, write or speak English. His 1917 draft registration card recorded that he was paralysed.
    • ​Ann Burns was born in Mar 1846 - should have been 1835 - but her age of 64 years was correct, born in Scotland, with only 1 child who was still alive - Catherine was omitted.
    • The Colvilles neighbours on this 1900 census correlate neatly with the land owners show on the supposedly 1916 maps of the Winona - Glenavon area. The maps suggest the exact block on which they lived - Sec 34 - which is halfway between Winona and Glenavon.
1897 - 98  Glenavon School
1900  Colville and Burns holdings relative to Glenavon
1900  Colville, Chesrown and Burns holdings half way between Winona and Glenavon
1910 William Colville's second application to become a USA citizen
Comments:
  • William's birth year was again recorded as 1861- at least he was consistent, if mistaken.
  • His 1886 citizenship papers - see above - must have been lost.
  • ​William (50) arrived in New York 15 Jun 1910 (presumably from UK) and this application was completed on 13 Aug 1910.​
  • Perhaps William travelled to import livestock - cattle or maybe percheron horses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percheron - see below.
1954 Mobridge South Dakota Margaret Mackay's obituary 
Margaret's obituary provides a short summary of her life and death. Below is a more comprehensive article about the lives of William and Margaret Colville and their children.

​Following William's death, Margaret moved from Morristown 20 miles east to McIntosh, where she lived the rest of her life apart from her final six months at an aged persons' village in Mobridge. McIntosh was larger than Morristown (population 110 compared with 70). Census information suggests she lived in a share house.

Margaret and William were reunited in death at the Morristown Cemetery. Margaret, a widow for over 24 years,  was survived by 25 descendants and her sister Catherine, who would live for another 13 years.
Morristown Cemetery, South Dakota 
View looking NE with Colville and Trager graves beyond flag post at the highest point. 
1929 William Colville's grave at Morristown, South Dakota 
William was born in 1860 and passed away on 30 Jan 1930. The headstone was probably installed after Margaret's passing in 1954, hence the incorrect dates.

​William's death certificate records he was a farmer and a rancher.

William usually quoted his birth date as 21 Sep 1861, but Scottish records suggest he was born in 1860. William's parents were Robert Colville and Christy (Christina) Downie, who married at Campbeltown in 1857.
1954 Margaret Mackay's grave at Morristown, South Dakota 
John and Mary Trager grave at Morristown, South Dakota 
Comments: 
  • Buried in a family plot beside William and Margaret Colville are John and Mary Trager and two of their sons;
  • William and Margaret's younger daughter, Robena, married Hank Trager, another son;
  • ​The proximity of these two family plots suggests they may have been close in life as well.
From a history of Linton - a Colville family history written c. mid-1940s Part 1
Comments: 
  • "Winner" SD should be Winona ND;
  • maps below show the locations of the "lost" towns of Wade and Howe, and 33 Ranch in Wheeler Township;
  • Malcolm was William's oldest biological son, Alister was older than Malcolm.
  • ​William's 1910 citizenship application records he was 5'8" tall. The photograph above suggests that Margaret may have only been around 5'0" tall. Photos of Donald McLaren also suggest he was short of stature.

Conjecture
Why did the Colvilles move from Winona, where they had lived from 1888 to 1907, to a smaller property near Morristown? The Winona location appears to be more fertile, have a higher rainfall, better located to larger towns and services than Morristown, and closer to family. No reason is offered in the above history, but perhaps:
  • William took profits on his holdings and purchased the new property very cheaply.
  • William and his family were better suited to ranching (cattle and livestock) than cropping. 
Location of the lost towns of Howe and Wade relative to Mandan 
Comments: 
  • William Colville's Ranch 33 is SE of Howe near the river - see following map;
  • ​Blue area is Standing Rock Reservation.
Location of "Ranch 33" Wheeler Township - Colvilles owned the SW 1/4 i.e. a quarter of the square outlined.
Comments: ​
  • ​north - south road to west of Lot 32 leads directly to Morristown to the south.
  • a "township" in North Dakota consists of 36 sections of 640 acres.
  • the square outlined denoted as Township 129N R88 Sec 33.
  • "129" is the north coordinate, "R88" is the  Range or westerly coordinate.
Relative locations of "Ranch 33" and Malcolm Colville's block Township 129N R89 Sec 23 in Sioux County.
From a history of Linton - a Colville family history written c. mid-1940s Part 2
Comments: 
  • "Mike" in photo is most likely Malcolm, 25 in 1916, son of William Colville and Margaret Burns.
  • Malcolm's 1917 draft registration form for the army records he was paralysed, medium height and stout with brown hair.
  • Bart Egan was Malcolm's father-in-law's brother.
  • Malcolm's son, Allister 1910 - 1984, married Edith Kempton 1904 - 1983, who was a descendant of Vice President Eldridge Gerry and Swift Bird, a supposed niece of Chief Red Kettle. ​
From a history of Linton - Linton in 1899
Google Maps - Mobridge, McIntosh, Morristown, Eureka SD; Selfridge, Fort Yates, Linton ND

Comment and Conjecture
​Margaret Jones Mackay's Legacy
Margaret displayed great courage and determination, after Alister's illegitimate birth, to travel alone to join William Colville in North Dakota. She must have been sure of her man. Did she disclose in advance the birth of Alister? Probably not - otherwise she would have taken him with her.

The desire to reunite Alister with Margaret probably  inspired Ann and Catherine's decision to emigrate to North Dakota three years later. Without Alister, they may well have remained in Scotland.

Margaret's children generally followed different paths to Catherine's children, as apart from Alister, they were more inclined to seek rural occupations.

​Margaret remained close to her children throughout her life, the last 24 years of which she was a widow - the same number of years as Catherine. Her legacy is a large family spread today mainly between the Dakotas and Montana, from the Black Hills to the Bitterroots, to Seattle,, some of whom remain close to the original Colville holdings near Morristown. The ongoing Colville connection to the land is in stark contrast to the general disconnect of Donald McLaran's descendants to agricultural pursuits in Queensland.
National Nordic Museum - Ballard, Seattle WA