Second Judicial Declaration of Andrew Ballantyne It may be around 176 years since Andrew was arrested and the horse stealing trial took place, but I find it endlessly fascinating. Here is a young boy, 19 years old, having to face up to the consequences of his actions. Was Margaret McRae's version of events true? I'm…
There were several people who were willing to testify against Andrew. They all declared that he had stolen the little brown mare. This mare belonged to the Mcrae family from Bottacks of Auchterneed. The Mcraes were a crofting family. The 1841 census shows that Margaret was much older than Andrew. He was nineteen at the…
The information in this post is based on the research by Tony Whelan, a descendant of Andrew Ballantyne. Inside St Francis Catholic Church St Francis Catholic Church Melbourne Nothing more is known until 1851. Andrew Ballantyne, who was still of the Church of Scotland, married a twenty-two-year-old Irish woman. Her name was Mary O'Dowd, and…
Discovering My Family 