A break during threshing at Montgrew in 1940s. Roger on the extreme left smoking the pipe, his father John in the centre between woman to his right and man with fork to his left. Possibly other family-related workers here.
Harvest time for grain crops like oats, wheat and barley (the Hairst as it was called) was labour intensive work then. Nowadays it’s mainly a one-man (or woman) mechanised job done in a fraction of the time using combine harvesters.
Norris (a.k.a. Roger to family and friends) came out of Montgrew farm near Keith, which his father John took on through marriage to Ida Masson (step daughter to John Robb), probably around 1905, the year they married. Elizabeth a.k.a. Lizzie (née Coull) came from nearby Rothiemay in Banffshire.
Roger & Lizzie both passed away in 2007 after long and fruitful lives. Both from large families, Roger was the 7th of 15 children (who survived infancy – there were more!). Lizzie was one of 11. Both were amongst the last of their generation, and together contributed to the new generation to the tune of 6 children.
Links to Roger and Lizzie’s children and grandchildren:-
- Robert John McKay b. 1942, Keith
- Norris Coull McKay b. 1943, Keith – d. 2009, Elgin
- Gordon McKay b. 1944, Keith – d. 2022, Elgin
- Brian George McKay b. 1951, Keith – d. 2006, Glasgow
- William Masson McKay b. 1953, Keith
- Alison Elizabeth McKay b. 1956, Inverness
Family Spider Chart – click to view