A Different Roderick Mackenzie

[Spirit]

Hello Everybody, I'm a new member and I'm looking for advice in trying to trace my late father's roots. He was Roderick Mackenzie b 1st July 1906, Inverness, according to his 1942 Marriage Certificate to my mother, Cynthia, in Salford, Lancashire.
That birthdate tallies with that on his Army enlistment in September 1939. I have failed to find a Roderick Mackenzie with this birth date although I have used several genealogy search engines. He was a man of few words and rarely spoke of his family, other than to say he had a sister who was a missionary but unfortunately contracted Bilharzia in Africa and died in a hospice in Inverness. (Unknown name and dates).
On his 1942 Marriage Certificate, his father is named as Roderick Mackenzie, Engineer, Deceased.
I have recently had an Ancestry DNA test and this gave a strong link to an 87 year-old lady living in California. She is the granddaughter of a Mary McKenzie, born 2nd May 1870, Inverness.
Mary was the youngest child of seven born to Roderick McKenzie b circa 1827 (a Seaman) and Jessie Chisholm b circa 1831. The seven children were born in Inverness between 1854 and 1870, four boys and three girls. Two of the four boys have been ruled out as possible direct ancestors as they emigrated to Australia in the 1880s and I have been in touch with their descendents. This leaves the possibility of Duncan McKenzie b 1st November 1855 or Donald McKenzie b 28th March 1867 as potential antecedents.
Again, I have been searching for links regarding Duncan and Donald, but have found absolutely nothing other than their Birth Registrations via Scotland's People.
I seem to have hit the proverbial brick wall in trying to find a link between my father plus his father and the DNA connected group just one generation before . . . All advice very welcome!
Many Thanks, Andy

[Elwyn 1]

Not sure whether you have been using Scotlandspeople but it is the key source for most Scottish BDM records.

I can see a 1911 census entry for a possible family in Inverness-shire (Petty registration district) that appears to match your information:

Household consists of Roderick 24, Annabella 26, Roderick 5, Christina Elizabeth 2 & Donald Alexander 1.

Plus there’s a possible birth for Roderick junior in Petty in 1906. Worth checking those out. Note: the 1906 birth does not have a mother’s maiden name suggesting it could be illegitimate. Christina’s likely birth in 1908 does contain her mmn - Gordon, as does Donald’s in 1909. Parents likely marriage (Roderick Mackenzie to Annabella Gordon) registered in Inverness 1906.

Likely death for Annabella MacKenzie nee Gordon registered in Inverness 1969 aged 86. GROS ref: 098/A/66.

[Spirit]

Thank you very much, Elwyn1, this is very helpful.It sounds promising. I wonder If Roderick's (b 1906) younger sister Christina Elizabeth b 1908 will turn out to be the missionary who died? I remember my father speaking of her when I was a boy - he told me that she was in Africa and was infected by the parasitic worm found in still water. She returned to Inverness and was treated by a Professor of Tropical Medicine from Edinburgh. She eventually died in an Inverness hospice after twelve months' illness.
I have no idea which Church she may have been working on behalf of - does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions about where I may start to look?
Also, does anyone have any knowledge of a Hospice that existed in Inverness presumably in the 1930s/40s and where if at all there may be records of patients?
Many Thanks
Andy

[Elwyn 1]

Andy,

When I posted the information I felt there was a strong chance this is your family. However I am now not so sure.

I looked on Ancestry and someone there has the family I have identified. Firstly, there were more children post 1911 eg Duncan 1912, John 1914 , Arthur 1916, Eric 1919 & Annabella 1920. Secondly, Roderick senior died in 1970 in Inverness, so that’s a major problem as your ancestor’s father was reportedly dead by 1942. There were 2 daughters and both lived until old age (Christina died in 2000 in London and Annabella in 1997 in Staffordshire). No sign of a sister dying in an Inverness hospice.

Back to the drawing board I think.

[Spirit]

Elwyn, That's very kind of you to double check and rule out this family. You are spot on, I think it's back to the drawing board.
When I mentioned earlier that my father Roderick b 1st July 1906 enlisted in the Army in 1939 (4th September, the day after war was declared) I have just the basic information that gives his birthdate and place of birth as Inverness. I have applied to the National Archives for his full Service Record but they referred me to the Ministry of Defence. They told me that there is long queue and it will take approximately ten to twelve months before I receive it. The reason I need it is because it will certainly contain the name of his next of kin (usually a parent if unmarried) and that parent's address.
Thank you once again
Andy

[Spirit]

Hello, Does anyone know where 'Wester Everton' is? In searching for information about my father, Roderick Mackenzie b 1st July 1906, I have found a Canadian incoming passenger list from 1926 showing a Roderick Mackenzie b about 1906 in Maryburgh (just south of Dingwall). I can't see it on old OS maps of Ross and Cromarty / Inverness-shire. Here is the information from Ancestry:
Name Roderick Mackenzie
Gender Male
Race Scottish (Scotish)
Nationality British
Marital Status Single
Arrival Age 20
Birth Date abt 1906
Birth Place Maryburgh, Scotland
Embarkation Port Greenock
Arrival Date 26 Apr 1926
Arrival Port Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Final Destination Toronto
Ship Doric
Occupation Farmer
Father
Roderick Mackenzie
Person in Old Country Gender Male
Person in Old Country Name Roderick Mackenzie
Person in Old Country Residence Place Wester Everton
Person in Old Country Relationship Father
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I know that my grandfather was also called Roderick as he is named on my father's 1942 UK Marriage Certificate as 'Father: Roderick Mackenzie, Engineer, Deceased'. Re his possible residence of 'Wester Everton' if the two people above are the ones I am searching for, can anyone think of a similar sounding placename that an immigration officer may have misheard. I have thought of Wester Overton but that is in Lanarkshire, a long way from Ross and Cromarty / Inverness-shire. Many Thanks, Andy

[Spirit]

I put a question on Scottish History and Geography re Wester Everton and AndrewP kindly replied with the possibility of Evanton or Edderton. Very helpful.
I also put another question on the same forum entitled 'Rhwis Farm' as I found a potential link with the Roderick Mackenzie b1906 Maryburgh and two other Mackenzies travelling on the same boat in 1926; they were Alexander Mackenzie, 24, and John William Mackenzie,20. They gave their father as next of kin, Alexander Mackenzie of Rhwis Farm, Scotsburn, Logie. I am trying to find out if the three young men were cousins.
I had a response from eilthireach, who has very kindly given the following:
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eilthireach
Posts: 43
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2005 11:41 pm
Location: USA (ex-Edinburgh)
Contact: Contact eilthireach

Re: Rhwis Farm, Scotsburn, Logie, Ross-shire

Post by eilthireach » Sat Dec 27, 2025 9:07 pm
Rhives is the correct spelling. The UK Outward Passenger Lists show the address as Rhives Farm, Invergordon, so it's clearly around that area. The Gazetteer for Scotland shows three places with the name Rhives, but, unfortunately, doesn't have entries associated with any of them. It just says they are in "Highland", according to modern usage. (It's not clear why Alexander gave Invergordon as part of the address, as Rhives is closer to Kilmuir and Barbaraville, but Invergordon was probably more likely to be known to the person recording the passengers. (There could well have been a place of that name closer to Invergordon, but it's not showing on the map).


https://www.scottish-places.info/parish ... ap175.html (and click on the Historical at the top right. You can zoom into the map to see the detail, using the tool on the left of the map). W of Kilmuir, NW of Barbaraville. It looks as if it's Bellevue Rhives and if that's not the Rhives that was a farm, then at least you know that, according to the place Alexander gave when boarding, it was somewhere around Invergordon.
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To recap, I am searching for any information regarding my father, Roderick Mackenzie b 1906. When I was young I asked him where he was from and he named several places, Inverfarigaig, Easter Errogie (both on the south-east of Loch Ness), Dingwall, Tain. On his Marriage Certificate to my mother in 1942, his birthplace is Inverness and his father is also a Roderick Mackenzie, Engineer, Deceased. His 1939 Army Enlistment on 4th September gives his birthplace as Inverness, 1st July 1906. I wonder if 'Inverness' was used as it was the nearest 'big place'?
I took an Ancestry DNA test and this linked me (17%) with an eighty-seven year old lady in California, she being the grand-daughter of a Mary Mackenzie, b 2nd May 1870, Inverness. This Mary was the youngest of seven children born between 1854 and 1870 (all Inverness) to Roderick Mackenzie, a seaman, b circa 1827 and Jessie/Janet Chisholm (they married on 2nd February 1855). Four sons and three daughters. I think my line is from Duncan b 1855 or Donald B 1867 as the other two males emigrated to Australia. Other than their Birth Registrations, I can find nothing else about Duncan or Donald. I am trying to find a bridge between one of these seven children and one or two generations later, my father Roderick b1906.
If anyone could suggest another angle that I could try, I would be very grateful . . .
Andy

[AndrewP]

Hi Andy,

In general, the best way to trace a family line is to start with the furthest back generation that you can be positive is your family line and work backwards from there.

In this case, you have quoted Roderick MacDonald, born 1906 in Scotsburn, Logie Easter. A look at his birth certificate gives his parents' names, including mother's maiden surname and date and place of their marriage. A look at that marriage certificate gives the ages of the couple being married and the names of their parents, including mother's maiden surname. From that, you can find the groom's birth certificate, which gives the date and place of his parents' marriage. A look at that marriage certificate gives the ages of that couple and their parents' names, including mother's maiden surnames. I am struggling to make out what the mother's maiden surname is. Without that, it is difficult to be sure of the right birth certificate for the groom of that marriage. It could be worth looking at some of the census reports for these family groups to gain more clues to the birth places of the older generations.

All of these certificates are available on ScotlandsPeople on a pay-per-view basis.

If you have some suggested ancestors further back, it is a trickier prospect finding your way forward from them with certainty hoping to link to your known ancestors.

All the best,

AndrewP

[Spirit]

Hi AndrewP,
Thank you very much for your helpful advice.
The Roderick Mackenzie (not MacDonald) I mentioned, born in Maryburgh 1906, I have just checked on Scotland's People. My father's birthdate was 1st July 1906 but the one in Maryburgh has a birthdate of 19th March.
I take your point about trying to work backwards from what is positively known. The reason that I have also been trying to connect the dots between the children born between 1854 and 1870 is because I can find nothing about my father or his father - the ONLY thing I know is that they were both called Roderick. The only facts I have: My father Roderick, b 1st July 1906, Inverness. Source: Army enlistment at outbreak of WW2 and Marriage Certificate to my late mother, Cynthia Hazel Smallwood, in Salford, 14th August 1942. My grandfather Roderick is on the same Marriage Certificate as Engineer, Deceased.
I have applied to the Ministry of Defence for my father's full Service Record which should have his next of kin and their address in 1939, so that should be a great help. I applied about two months ago but the current waiting time is ten to twelve months, so possibly next Autumn.
A question please - Is it possible to visit Scotland's People in person and search their archives for an individual born on a specific date? The reason being that all online searches are by year(s) only and there are a large number of people called Roderick Mackenzie . In my case I would want to search the 1st July 1906 for a Roderick Mackenzie born in Inverness-shire and Ross-shire.
Best Wishes
Andy

[AndrewP]

Hi Andy,

ScotlandsPeople is an online and physical resource. See www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

Their indexes for birth, marriage and death certificates are from 1855 when statutory registration started in Scotland to almost 'now'. Online, the certificates can be viewed for births more than 100 years ago, marriages more than 75 years ago and deaths more than 50 years ago. The index is free to view, the certificates are pay per view; credits can be bought in various quantities on the website.

Unfortunately, the ScotlandsPeople index is by year, and not broken down to months or dates.

There is a 1911 census entry showing a 5-year-old Roderick Mackenzie, son of Roderick and Christina in the parish of Urquhart & Logie Wester. It implies that young Roderick was born in Fodderty parish. If the birth date of 01-July-1906 is correct, then I don't see him in the Fodderty birth registrations. Seven of their eight children are listed in the household in 1911.

On the 1911 census, an older brother Murdo is listed as age 9, born in Urquhart parish. If you take the ages with an element of doubt, there is a very likely birth for him in 1900 in Urquhart & Logie Wester to Roderick McKenzie and Christina McKenzie, ms MacArthur, married 23-Dec-1898 in Stornoway. The marriage aligns with the 1911 census info that says they were married 13 years past, and Christina was born in Stornoway, and their first son was born in Stornoway.

Assuming the family on the 1911 census is the right one, then you can do a search on births for surname m*kenzie, mother's maiden surname m*arthur from 1897 to 1911 in Ross and Cromarty, you find all of the children on the census page and a few others (not this family). If this is the right famiily, then young Roderick is the one shown with the 19-March-1906 birth date, not July as you had been given.

All the best,

AndrewP