Buidhe Baillies

This is the most prolific of the Baillie lines as will become evident in due course.

The earliest named ancestor was Kenneth who lived in Strathbrora, (likely Kilbraur), in the mid 1700’s.  There is no record of his spouse and the only known offspring was a son William, known as William Buidhe or Yellow William.  Buidhe was a descriptor in many families and usually referred to blonde hair.  However these Baillies lived near a small burn named Buidhe on the slopes above Kilbraur.

William would have been born in the 1750’s and was married to Elizabeth MacKay.  He died before the family emigrated in 1820.  They had nine children born in Kilbraur:

1. Alexander   1782-1866   married 1. Annie Matheson and 2. Elizabeth Baillie.  He was the tireless father of the 22 Baillies.
2. John Baillie 1784    died in infancy
3. Christiana 1787-1843  emigrated as a single woman in 1820.  Shortly thereafter she married Alexander MacDonald, a native of Aschoil, who was among the first settlers of The Falls.
4. John 1788-1866  remained in Scotland in 1820 and married Isabel Sutherland.  They were part of a substantial migration from Sutherlandshire to Earltown in 1832.  This couple settled on Ferguson Road, Balmoral.
5. Elizabeth 1792-1883 married Alexander Sutherland “Sawyer” in Kilbraur around 1819. Alexander was a veteran of the Peninsular War.  They were the first settlers of The Falls.
6. Hugh    1795
7. Janet 1795   These twins did not survive infancy.
8. Janet 1801-1884  emigrated with her widowed mother and single siblings in 1820.   She married Donald Sutherland “Cairn” of Cnoctorn, Clyne.  They settled on the east facing slope of Spiddle Hill.
9. Donald 1802  As a lad of 18, he accompanied his mother and sisters to the Earltown district.  After the death of his mother, he left the area and eventually ended up in New Zealand.  It is not known whether he had family.

Widow Elizabeth MacKay, son Donald Baillie and daughters Christiana and Janet are listed as a family among those requesting that the Sutherland Estate extend their lease until the arrival of a ship taking them to America.  Also in this group were her son Alexander and family as well as daughter Elizabeth Sutherland and her husband.  The group sailed from Cromarty in June of 1820 arriving in Pictou a few weeks later.

According to a manuscript penned by Alex Baillie of the Berrichan and Dedham, Ma., Alex “Buidhe” and his family were given a ticket of location in the Blue Mountain area of Pictou County.  Although there were a few families in that area from Sutherland, he decided to forgo that location and settle in the Berrichan next to an Alexander Sutherland.   Sutherland, a native of Dornoch, was on the same ship and the two had become great friends.  Alex Buidhe obtained a grant on the eastern end of the Berrichan near the junction of the Gunshot Road.

Family tradition contains no narrative on where the Widow and her unwed children settled.   The assumption has always been that they would have settled with Alex Buidhe in the Berrichan.  However this appears doubtful as Alex already had a sizable family to maintain with many more on the way.  The most plausible location of settlement would have been The Falls.   Daughter Elizabeth and her husband Alexander had two farms at The Falls.  This was not the norm although war veterans did, on occasion, warrant additional land.  The upper farm, just inside West Earltown, appears to have been the home base of the Sutherlands.  The lower farm later became the home of their second son Gilbert in 1860.  It would seem  the lower farm was inhabited by someone in the family prior to the 1860’s.   The prevailing theory suggests that it was the home of Widow Elizabeth and son Donald.   Although widows with small children sometimes were granted land, this did not appear to be the case for widows with mature children.  On the other hand, Donald was only 18 when they arrived in the area and therefore was too young to qualify.  Alex Sutherland, with his preferred veteran status, may have acquired land for them to occupy.  Other circumstantial evidence is that Christiana married a single man who settled two farms away and Janet married another single settler about a kilometer over the hill. People did not go any further than necessary to locate a mate in those days.