My McKenzie family came from a small village called Inveralligin on the northern shore of Loch Torridon on the west coast of Scotland. The web site at the following link provides a very good overview of the area and it’s history: Torridon & Shieldaig (to read about the history of the area, select the Historical Perspective link).
Parish records for the area only survive back to 1797, so the earliest ancestors I have been able to identify are Roderick McKenzie and Ann McDonald, parents of Donald MCKENZIE (1796-1876) and Donald and Mary McLennan, parents of Margaret McLENNAN (1811-1865). Donald McKenzie and Margaret McLennan were married in 1830 and had five children.
Donald and Margaret’s youngest son, Angus McKENZIE (1843-1925), was my gggrandfather. He moved away from Inveralligin and married Margaret McDONALD (1850-1935) in Cromarty (near Inverness) in 1872. The family finally settled in Perthshire. Their eldest son (my gggrandfather), Donald McKENZIE (1873-1945), married Jane GIBBONS (1877-1937) in Perth in 1900 before emigrating to the Dunedin area of New Zealand.
Donald and Margaret’s eldest son, Roderick McKENZIE (1832-1880), stayed in Inveralligin (he was a fisherman) and married Christina MacPHERSON (1835-1925) from neighbouring Kenmore. After Roderick died, Christina remained in Inveralligin until her death. Roderick and Christina’s daughter, Margaret McKENZIE (1865-1946), also married and remained in Inveralligin. Two of her children, however, emigrated outside Soctland to Australia and the US. One of Roderick and Christina’s sons, Alexander McKENZIE (b 1868), also emigrated to Australia. (NOTE: details of Roderick McKenzie and Christina McPherson and their descendants kindly supplied by Lyn Johnston and Greg Willson).