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LesleyM
27-Jan-04, 21:20
Hello

I have recently discovered a link to Caithness from my MURRAY family in Northumberland. It would appear that my 3 x great grandparents were in Caithness for probably about 10 years from 1820-1830. John MURRAY was a Northumbrian fell shepherd and his wife Susannah ROBSON (ROBISON) was also from a shepherding family. I have three births in Caithness. There are two in what now looks like Forsinard and the 3rd (my 2 x great grandfather) at Bighouse. I have come to the conclusion that they must have been bought up by the landowner to look after the sheep that were also bought up from Northumberland and the Scottish borders. I have been trying to think of why a shepherding family would move or be moved all that distance and it's only in the last week or two that it has sunk in that it was at the time of the clearances.

The family moved back to the borders in the early 1830's where more children were born and most stayed there or in Northumberland to the present day.

I have looked up Bighouse and Forsinard through an internet search to see exactly where they are. I saw a page that said Bighouse was connected with the Mackay clan and wondered if this would have been so back in the early 1820's and would that also be so for Forsinard?

Any information would be of great interest to me and help me understand better exactly what was happening back then.

Many thanks in advance

Lesley Murray,
Coventry, UK