William MURRAY & Isabella LESLIE

William MURRAY
[7/3/1855-18/8/1927]
married
ISABELLA LESLIE
[born 15/4/1857]

William was born at Fourpenny, Dornoch, son of Walter Murray and Elspet Macintosh. He married Isabella Leslie in Inverness on 20 October 1899. William was described as a farmer from Fourpenny at his marriage and Isabella was a domestic servant living at Douglas Support, Coatbridge. Isabella is the daughter of John Leslie, crofter and Jane Sutherland of Dornoch. William and Isabella then left Sutherland for Canada where it is known they had a daughter, Elsie.

William died at his home in Vancouver on 18 August 1927. William had been a store keeper. He had been in the province for six years and had been in Canada for 22 years. William is buried in the Ocean View Cemetery and also remembered on his parents gravestone in Dornoch. An obituary appeared in the ‘Northern Times’ in Sutherland which included the lines: “Many of us can still recall the fine qualities which constantly characterized the behaviour of William Murray – his transparent honesty, his touch of nobility in assisting his less fortunate fellows, and his big affection, made him a man of a genial personality and a lasting friend”. Obit shown in full on his parents reference.

Janet Mackenzie MURRAY & James WATT

Janet Mackenzie MURRAY (Jess)

[11/6/1893 - 19/8/1981]
married
James WATT
[10/6/1893 - c1960]

Janet, known as Jess, was born at Rhemusaig, daughter of Alexander Murray and Jane Mackenzie. Jess went down to Edinburgh where she worked as a cable car conductress. She met James, a cable car driver, and they married on 12th September 1919 at the Melbourne Halls in Edinburgh. They lived their lives in the city. Jess died in 1981 aged 88 years.

They had the following children:
JEAN WATT born 1920 in Edinburgh and died in 1975 in Vancouver, Canada
JAMES WATT born 1926 Edinburgh and died in Cape Town, South Africa 2002 - photograph above shows James as a young man.
Plus two daughters who are still alive today.

Jean Watt, above, married Norman Hossack who died in 1974 in Vancouver at age 80. They had four children one of whom, David, lives in Vancouver and communicates with me.

James Watt, above, married a daughter of his mother's sister Margaret Ellen Mackenzie MURRAY who is still alive and living in South Africa. Their daughter is Pam Thomson who has helped me tremendously with this part of the family tree.