c. 1925 Margaret Mackay (59), William Colville (64) and grandchildren - possibly children of 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 were second cousins. Margaret's birth has been adequately covered on her mother's page.

Following the 1887 birth of her illegitimate son, Alistair, Margaret emigrated alone to North Dakota in 1888 and married William Colville, establishing a rural-based family extending over both North and South Dakota and west into Montana.

Margaret's life is recorded in the 1976 A History of Emmons County. It provides an insider's overview which dovetails neatly with Margaret's obituary. 
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 1885;
  • they were probably 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 Alistair / 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 Margaret emigrated to North Dakota via the SS Furnupia to New York while Alistair remained in Southend in the care of his grandmother Ann Mackay;
  • it appears William and Margaret 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 Alistair (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 great grandfather's and William's father;
  • William and Margaret had only one more child: Robina Catherine Colville, born on 26 May 1903;
  • Alistair adopted the Colville surname and it appears that a conscious family decision was made to alter his birth date to 5 Jul 1888 and "relocate" his place of birth to North Dakota. This may have been an attempt to bypass USA immigration paperwork or to conceal an illegitimate birth. (Scottish records indicate Alistair was born on 3 Jul 1887 - perhaps the Scottish records are incorrect and 5 July was his actual birthday.)
William Colville, Margaret Mackay - Immigration records
  • 1886 William arrived in North Dakota
  • 1888 Margaret arrived in New York - passenger #97: Maggie Mackay (22) - occupation "Outworker".
  • 1891 Ann Burns, Catherine and Alistair arrived in New York
  • ​1893 view of Eureka South Dakota, rail head for Fort Yates
  • 1910 William returned to USA from Scotland
  • 1900 Linton Census - William, Margaret, Alistair, Christina, Malcolm and Ann Burns - perhaps the start of the subterfuge surrounding Alistair's birth. Ann lived with the Chesrowns after the Colvilles had departed ND.
1954 Mobridge South Dakota Margaret Mackay's obituary 
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 in an aged persons' village in Mobridge. McIntosh was larger than Morristown (population 110 compared with 70) and closer to her son Malcolm who lived over the border in Selfridge, Sioux County and her daughter Robina.

Margaret and William were reunited in death at the Morristown Cemetery. Margaret had been a widow for over 24 years. She was survived by at least one of her four children and her sister Catherine.
Morristown Cemetery, South Dakota 
View from Hwy 12, Google Streetview. 
1929 William Colville's grave at Morristown, South Dakota 
William passed away on 30 Jan 1930 - the headstone was probably installed after the death of Margaret in 1954, hence the mistaken date. William's death certificate records he was a farmer and a rancher.
1954 Margaret Mackay's grave at Morristown, South Dakota 
From a history of Linton - a Colville family history written c. mid-1940s Part 1
Comments: 
  • "Winner" SD should perhaps be Winona ND;
  • reference to 33 Ranch may be found on the internet;
  • Malcolm was William's oldest biological son, Alistair was older than Malcolm;
  • it appears Malcolm may have been disabled.
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.
From a history of Linton - Linton 1899
Headstones - Alistair Colville and Lillian Petersen, Mobridge SD
Comments: 
  • Margaret's first son, Alistair (spelt in a variety of ways over the years) was the son of Alexander McNiven. Alexander served in World War 1 and had a large family; 
  • Scottish records say Alistair was born 3 Jul 1887 at Southend;
  • Alistair was an accountant / money lender at Fort Yates for the Sioux County Land & Loan Company in the early 20th century. Later he lived at Mobridge where he was a gasoline garage proprietor and a meter reader for the final four years of his life;
  • Alistair married Lillian Petersen 1891 - 1970 in 1911 and they had daughters, Virginia 1916 - 1975 and Cleo 1921 - 2002;
  • one wonders if Alistair was aware of the exact details of his Scottish roots. If a lie is told often enough it sometimes is accepted as the truth;
  • in his final years, Alistair embraced the Lutheran Church, he and Lillian were confirmed at Mobridge on 3 Nov 1946.
Google Maps - Mobridge, McIntosh, Morristown, Eureka SD; Selfridge, Fort Yates, Linton ND

Comment - Margaret Jones Mackay's Legacy
Margaret displayed courage and determination, after the birth of Alistair, to join William Colville in North Dakota. She must have been sure of her man? Margaret's marriage became the driver for the emigration of Ann Mackay's family to the USA. The desire to leave Southend must have been very powerful.

Margaret's children followed different paths to Catherine's children - they were more inclined to follow rural occupations while Catherine's filled occupations that required higher educations. It seems Margaret remained close to her children through her life, the last 24 years of which she was a widow. Her legacy is a large family spread today chiefly between the Dakotas and Montana.
National Nordic Museum - Ballard, Seattle WA