A Mystery Picture

My grandfather, Roderick Hugh MacKay, came from Droman in the Kinlochbervie area of Sutherland. He left Glasgow in 1909 with $50 in his pocket and arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia with five others.

I have always assumed that the others came from the same area of Sutherland, but I am not sure. He was listed on the immigration papers as a farm labourer with a final destination of Halifax. As he was a British subject, he was a "preferred immigrant".

The story he told was that he was anticipating a job on a fishing boat in Halifax. However, during the crossing, the fishing boat sank and with it, his hope of a job. Once in Halifax, he was offered a train ticket to Fort William in Northwestern Ontario by the Salvation Army with a promise of a job in the bush camps. He and his fellow travelers accepted the offer.

Of the six of them, only he would remain in Canada. The others eventually returned to Scotland. Unfortunately, I don't recall him ever mentioning who is fellow immigrants were. I am assuming that this is the group, shown in the picture. My grandfather is the fellow standing in the middle. Does anyone recognize the others?

Ten years later he returned to Scotland and married Catherine Fraser (Frasers of Balchrick) and they returned to Fort William, Ontario.  (ref EM0009)

(If you click on the photograph you will see it larger!.

Beth Stewart