catherine matheson 1833-1867

[kylejustin]

i'd like some help with catherine matheson please. she was born roughly 1833/4 on the isle of skye, from her certs. catherine emmigrated to victoria from scotland around 1854, from her death cert. she married dugald campbell in casterton on 23 aug 1857, her parents were recorded as alexander matheson, store keeper and mary mcpherson. she died on 25 dec 1867, casterton, from a botched abortion, parents listed as alexander and anne matheson, store keeper.

dugald was a good friend of my 5th great grandfather farquhar matheson (1792-1883), he is mentioned in his will, estate papers, and i even have a photo of dugald. when i found out he married a matheson, well catherine must be a relation of farquhar's even if it 2-3 generations back.

i have this family on the 'arabian' in 1854, which might be catherine:

MATHESON Marian 44 Glenhinnisdale Lord MacDonald
577 Flora 24
Alexander 23
Catherine 20
Marian 17
Catherine 14
Margaret 10
Christy 5

Marian a widow. Very poor family P/N £25-2-7

i cant locate catherine in 1841 for sure. the closest i can get is an alexander 'independant' with a mary and bunch of kids including a catherine, living in killearnan district, town of tore, but catherine is 4 b.1837, which doesn't fit.
is anyone able to locate the family on the 'arabian' in 1851 on ancestry? and see if it might be catherine?

[JohnStewart]

Dear Kyle Justin,
I have just seen your post on Catherine Matheson 1833-1867. She was my great great grandmother and I have been researching her for some years.
You wonder whether the Matheson family on the "Arabian" is our Catherine. My conclusion is that she was on the "Arabian" but not of the family you have listed. She was the Catherine Matheson from Stenscholl. I have a lot more information if you are interested.
John Stewart

[AlanC]

Nice response for you Kyle.

[kylejustin]

hello john,

i have you sent you a private message. getting excited now!

alan, i am looking forward to swapping notes. hopefully john and i can work out if catherine is linked.

[Guest]

wow Kyle just seen this good luck

[JohnStewart]

Hello Kyle,
Re Catherine Matheson
My family tradition passed down through Alexander Campbell, Catherine’s son, is that Catherine Matheson was “distantly related in Scotland” to the Farquhar Matheson who was buried in the Casterton Old Cemetery in 1883. I have not been able to confirm this. Have you traced Farquar Matheson’s family in Scotland?
Alasdair MacLean, a historian of Portree and himself a Matheson descendant, suggested to me when I was last in Portree that Catherine’s Matheson’s father, Alexander, may have been the son of Donald Roy Matheson, who sometime after 1750, came from Lochalsh as a miller to Stenscholl. According to the “History of the Mathesons” Donald had five sons, the youngest of whom was Alexander, probably born in Stenscholl in about 1780, and its possible he was Catherine’s father.
I have never tried to follow this up. It’s on my “to do” list.
Does any of this mean anything to you?
Do you know anything of Mary McPherson, Catherine Matheson’s mother?
I have not looked at my notes on Catherine Matheson/Campbell for some years and your post has prompted me to get back to it. I have written a book on Dugald Campbell, but I’m afraid my information on his wife Catherine is very thin.
It’s lovely to hear from you. It would be nice to be related.
I look forward to hearing from you again.
John Stewart
Hello Kyle,
Re Catherine Matheson
My family tradition passed down through Alexander Campbell, Catherine’s son, is that Catherine Matheson was “distantly related in Scotland” to the Farquhar Matheson who was buried in the Casterton Old Cemetery in 1883. I have not been able to confirm this. Have you traced Farquar Matheson’s family in Scotland?
Alasdair MacLean, a historian of Portree and himself a Matheson descendant, suggested to me when I was last in Portree that Catherine’s Matheson’s father, Alexander, may have been the son of Donald Roy Matheson, who sometime after 1750, came from Lochalsh as a miller to Stenscholl. According to the “History of the Mathesons” Donald had five sons, the youngest of whom was Alexander, probably born in Stenscholl in about 1780, and its possible he was Catherine’s father.
I have never tried to follow this up. It’s on my “to do” list.
Does any of this mean anything to you?
Do you know anything of Mary McPherson, Catherine Matheson’s mother?
I have not looked at my notes on Catherine Matheson/Campbell for some years and your post has prompted me to get back to it. I have written a book on Dugald Campbell, but I’m afraid my information on his wife Catherine is very thin.
It’s lovely to hear from you. It would be nice to be related.
I look forward to hearing from you again.
John Stewart

[kylejustin]

hi john,

in my PM, i gave you my email address. i have a photo of dugald campbell, and he was the informant on farquhar's death certificate in 1883, listed as 'friend'. i have quite a bit of info on farquhar's side, and his wife mary's, i think it more likely catherine connects on mary matheson's side. if you email me, we can discuss it more in depth.

kyle