| The name Conway in Ireland is derived from either of the Gaelic Septs Mac Conmheadha or Mac Connmhaigh (meaning "Head Smasher") who were based in Counties Clare, Limerick and Tipperary especially. Other descendants may derive from a Welsh Conway family who settled in Counties Kerry and Dublin.
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The MacKay name in Gaelic is Macaoidh (son of Hugh). MacKay can also be spelt McKay, McKee and MacKee.Around 710A.D. a tribe known as the C'nel Lorne left Ireland to land in what is now known as Argyll in Scotland.This tribe is believed to be the progenitors of Clann MacAoidh. The C'nel Lorne are descended from Aedh, grand-son of the Irish king N'iall. The Mac Kay clan was originally known as the clan Morgan and the clan Aoidh. The MacKays descend from the Royal House of MacEth.
MacKay country was the district of Strathnaver in northwest Scotland.The MacKays were seated there from very ancient times, some saying well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 AD. The MacKay land was the most remote in Scotland and extended from Cape Wrath at the north coast to Caithness border.
In the 1400's, Donald ,Lord of Isles, invaded Sutherland and waged war with the clan MacKay and eventually defeated the MacKay army. In ten battles in the 1400's the MacKay manpower was seriously depleated.
In 1626, Sir Donald MacKay of Farr assembled 4000 men to make war in Denmark.Donald became Baronet of Nova Scotia on Mar. 28,1627. In 1628, he was elevated to Lord Reay. His army then fought under the protestant banner for Charles 1's sister Elizabeth in the civil war.This war was called the great Thirty Year War.The lands of Strathnaver were partially sold in 1642. Lord Reay died in exile in Denmark in 1649.
The tragic Highland Clearances began in 1782 and continued through the mid 1800's forcibly evicting the Highlanders from their lands.Forced into destitution and in the midst of a cholera epidemic this branch of the MacKay Clan emigrated to Canada in 1832.
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Alexander McKay was born in 1777 in Dornoch, Scotland and married Katherine Murray of Creich on Jan.16,1806.According to family history they had five sons and two daughters.Of their first two sons, it seems that Donald died as a baby and Thomas possibly died at sea enroute to Canada with his family.
Alexander and Katherine and family immigrated to Canada in 1832 along with Donald Munro (Morrow) and his wife Margaret and their family. Katherine and Margaret were sisters (nee Murray). During the hard 14 week trip unfortunately Katherine died at sea.The eldest son Alexander (Sandy) McKay was accompanied by his young wife Esther McDonald.They arrived at Brockville and then still had a long and weary trip to their Lanark Ontario settlement.They were still 7 miles from their chosen lot when Esther delivered their first child in a brush shack belonging to Mrs. Jock Herron. The McKay homestead was E 1/2 lot 21 concession 7 of Lanark Township Ontario.
This homestead is still in the McKay family and has had at least 6 generations living on it.
There are now over 6000 descendants of Alexander McKay and Katherine Murray!
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| James and Jessie lived on lot 25 concession 6 in Lanark Township and later moved to the McKay homestead when his uncle Hugh moved to the U.S.A.
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| "Studying the history of our predecessors is an exercise in reverence and respect that needs no validation. It restores dignity to individuals who usually led lives of quiet accomplishment and then generally passed on with little fanfare, leaving only weathered inscriptions and fading memories as testimony to the fact that they were ever here at all. By delving beyond mere names and dates to better record and understand those who came before us, we render just due to those individuals whose very existence made possible our own."
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