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John McKay 1885 – 1950

John McKay was born at Lockers Croft lying some two miles to the North of Newmill, now subsumed into Ardloch Farm or Followsters Farm. He married Ida Masson who lived at nearby Montgrew Farm, but with origins in Morayshire (Pluscarden /Mosstodloch): from 1892 Ida, aged 6, was legitimised as daughter to James Smith Robb who farmed Montgrew, the year he married Annabella Masson (Ida’s mother from Morayshire).


The farm tenancy fell ultimately to John and Ida possibly on their marriage in 1905, certainly after the death of James Robb in 1906. Until that time John McKay had been employed as a farm servant at Montgrew (known locally and to the family as ‘Growies’).


Montgrew farm belonged to the Fife estates and comprised some 110 acres at
that time, supplemented by the lease of land belonging to the Seafield and
Fife estates in the vicinity of Keith and the village of Newmill, to the West
and North of Montgrew respectively.


The website author Bill, grandson of John and Ida, was born 3 years after John died and therefore has no additional direct knowledge or information to draw on, and all of John and Ida’s immediate family have now passed.

A youthful John, circa 1905

Not much is known of John’s early life although there is little doubt that farming was his lifelong bread and butter, starting with father George on Lockers croft, becoming a farm hand on Montgrew then ‘Farmer John’.

The picture here is taken with John kneeling for a group photo, thought to be during a ploughing match near Keith.

Ida’s maternal ancestors have also been traced back to the eighteenth century with Alexander Masson being born in Elgin, Moray in 1737. Her ancestors farmed at Viewhill, Mosstowie, near Elgin for at least three generations.

Family Members with Spouses

An interesting non-McKay Morrison connection with Montgrew (click here to view)

It is of more than passing interest that in 1905 before Ida and John married in December, Ida gave birth to a son, James Morrison, in February, to Montgrew farm servant John Morrison. In 1913 James’ birth certificate was amended to record John Morrison as the father, who subsequently (in the same year) emigrated to Alberta, Canada to work on a brother’s farm. He later disappeared and was found drowned in the harbour of Prince Rupert Island, British Columbia, in 1941. The story of James Morrison and his link with the McKays has been common knowledge for many years but perhaps still a surprise to many family members attending a McKay re-union gathering as late as 2012 in Keith, at which James’ son, John (Jackie) Morrison attended as seen in the picture below from the small gathering of cousins in 2012. John and his family remained in Keith or have Keith connections to this day. Disclaimer: This information is publicly available and can be mostly verified by reference to the ancestry information on the official Scotland’s People website. There is no intention of causing offence to anyone by including it here for historical completeness and it is not an attempt to ‘finger point’ or denigrate anyone’s character in any way but please use the Contact page on this website to leave your thoughts on the matter if necessary. Very many families throughout history have colourful facts and traits which proudly define who they are as families and perhaps should be celebrated as such.

The picture below is low resolution having been copied several times over, however in the picture are some of John and Ida’s grandchildren whose parents were all born of course as McKays at Montgrew, with given names* as follows:-

Rear L-R (4th row from front): Veronica Mann, John McKay, Anne Johnson, Moira Mann, Philip Mann

3rd row L-R: Iona McKay, Gordon McKay, Robert McKay

2nd Row L-R: Ivy Morrison, Isobel Mann, Jackie Morrison, John Mann

Front: Graeme MacKenzie, Phyllis McKay, Meg Mann, Sheila McKay

* The Manns are children of Mary McKay and John Mann of Keith. John here is the son of John (Jock) McKay and Susan Cook (from Fife). Anne Johnson is the daughter of Margaret (Babbie) McKay and Gordon Johnson. Iona is the daughter of Bill McKay and Jean Horne. Ivy Morrison is the daughter of Ivy McKay and Sandy Morrison. Jackie Morrison is the son of Ida Masson and James Morrison (see also information above on the Morrison connection). Graeme is the son of Isla McKay and Alec MacKenzie. Phyllis is the daughter of Norman McKay and Mina Flanagan. Sheila is the daughter of John McKay (and sister to John in this picture) and Susan Cook (from Fife). Gordon and Robert are sons of Norris McKay of Montgrew and Lizzie Coull of Rothiemay.

John & Ida Heritage – Spider Chart (click here to view)

Links to John and Ida’s children and grandchild sub-pages (click as required – work in progress):-

  • James McKay 1906-1987, b. Keith d. Aboyne
  • Norman (Rory) Ferguson McKay 1907-1968, b. Keith d. Dudley, Birmingham
  • Iris (Kirsty) Irene McKay 1910-1992, b. Keith d. Alves
  • Isla (Dimple) Keith McKay 1912-1998, b. Keith d. Elgin
  • Ivy Masson McKay 1913-2000, b. Keith d. Forres
  • Josephine (Joey) Robb McKay 1915-2001, b. Keith d. Grantown on Spey
  • Norris (Roger) Masson Ellington McKay 1917-2007, b. Keith d. Elgin
  • John (Jock) Gordon McKay 1919-1979, b. Keith d. Glenrothes
  • William (Bill) McKay 1920-2011, b. Keith d. Elgin
  • Robert McKay 1921-1927, b. Keith d. Keith
  • George (Geordie /Dogs) Andrew McKay1922-1967, b. Keith d. Aberdeen
  • Mary Newlands McKay 1923-1999, b. Keith d. Keith
  • Alfred McKay 1926-1926, b. Keith d. Keith
  • Margaret (Babbie) McKay 1928-1985, b. Keith, d. Keighley
  • Ida (Bunty) McKay 1932-1987, b. Keith d. Aberdeen