MacKenzie's

     McKenzies of Reynolds County Trace Ancestors Back to Native Scotland    

By Kathryn Vickery

The earliest records on the Mackenzie family (the name as later

changed to McKenzie by the branch which emigrated to America) dates back to the 1600s.

My Great-Great Grandfather was Laird Mackenzie (first name not available) who was the

hereditary head of the Mackenzie Clan with his home castle in the mountains of Kental

in the Scottish Highlands near the north-western coast of Scotland.

As a matter of fact, among his other large land holdings were some on the Arian Isles

between the coast of Scotland and Ireland. Some of the MacKenzie family are reported

to have emigrated to Ireland during the uprising of the serfs in the 1600s but this

branch of the family still maintained their holdings in the Scottish Highlands. My

sister Iras visited Scotland several years ago and found many landmarks, commematory

plaques, cemeteries and other records of the family still there and a few years ago

the Castle of Kental was featured in the National Geographic Magazine with pictures of

the present Laird and Clan Chief. The castle has, of course, been restored but much of

the original building is still there.

Although a younger son entitled to bear the title of Sir nee his older brother was to

inherit the title of Laird, Sir Marion Mackenzie was expected to follow his fathers

wishes and marry in the clan or at least a lady of noble birth, however, he met and

fell in love with the daughter of a wealthy merchant family who lived near Edinburgh,

Scotland, and since his father refused him permission to marry he defied family and

clan tradition and quietly married this girl.

Her given name was America but we have no record of her last name, and immediately cut

all family ties and sailed to America. Upon landing in New York soon joined a

colonizing party and sailed south in a coastal vessel for Charleston, South Carolina.

From Charleston they proceeded to North Carolina where they took up lands. While

living in North Carolina the following children were born to Sir Marion and America

Mackenzie, Henry, Katherine, Bell, and Mary Elizabeth.

In or about the year of 1850 the family migrated to Tennessee near the spot where the

town of Mackenzie, Tennessee, now stands. It has never been established as to whether

or not this town was named for this family but it is considered highly likely since

the town came into existence at about that same time. After the families moved to

Tennessee the following children were born, Alexander, William, Frances, Jane,

Betty Anne, Pauline and Dorcas.

Sir Marion was drowned in a tragic steam boat explosion near the mouth of the

Tennessee river leaving America with a large family to raise. According to the story

told to Dr. D. H. McKenzie by his aunt Katherine, aged 90, when he visited her in

Tennessee in 1891, she as the eldest daughter found it necessary to take over the

managing of the household and most of the responsibility for her younger brothers

and sisters since her mother, although not of the nobility, had been raised in a

wealthy home with many servants to do all the menial chores and she was at an utter

loss when faced with the running of a home and the raising of a large family

in what was, at that time, practically a wilderness.

Aunt "Kath" (as she was affectionately known) had the family dry sense of humor and

explained the fact that she had remained a spinster all her life (as had her sisters

Bell and Mary Elizabeth) by saying she had been too busy managing the home and helping

raise the younger children and added that, in defiance of custom at that time, she had

managed to obtain an education far beyond what was deemed proper for a lady. In her

own words the fact that she knew as much or perhaps a little more than they scared

off any would be suitors. While still a teenager my Uncle Alex had some of my poems

published and he told me he did so wish, my Great Aunt Kath could see them as she

would be proud of her namesake.

The greater part of this large family either stayed in Tennessee or the Carolinas and

little is known of their history.

Henry Woods McKenzie was born April 10, 1835, in North Carolina. He was married Oct.

16, 1856, to Arvezena Wells who was born July 11, 1836.  Arvezena and her family had

emigrated from Wales and, as is typical of the Welsh people was a very practical,

efficient person and made a wonderful pioneer wife and mother. She had a wonderful

sense of humor which was passed on to her children and one of the highlights of my

childhood was when some of my aunts and uncles visited and tales of family life and

practical jokes played on each other were related amid much laughter until bed-

time and beyond. Henry and Arvezena lived in Tennessee the first 10 years of their

married life and during this time the following children were born, Sarah Jane, August

11, 1857;Laura Valentine, Jan. 29, 1859; Maryline, Feb. 9, 1861; David Henry, July 8,

1863. With David Henry still an infant and another child on the way Grandmother

Arvezena and Grandfather Henry gathered their children and the bare necessities for

living together into a covered wagon and set out for Missouri.

My sister Iras still has the large brass kettle grandmother used to cook meals for her

family over an open fire wherever they stopped on the trail. Grandmother told some

wonderful stories of this trip and of their pioneer days. Their children were

educated far beyond the average of that day, although money was not available for

education and most of them worked their way through whatever schooling they could get.

David Henry (or D.H. as he became known) became one of the first doctors to practice

in Reynolds county, William (Willie) became a minister, and Alexander (Alex), Ollie

and Arvezena became school teachers. In addition to their own large family the

McKenzies raised a granddaughter Delia Lewis Markum. Delia's mother died in childbirth

and Delia was raised as a much loved younger sister to the aunts and uncles.

Grandfather McKenzie was a very religious man and when the Lewis family, another very

old and well established family who lived on lower Carver Creek at that time, donated

land for a church he and his sons pitched in to build a small chapel, "Emily's

Chapel," which stood until about four years ago when it was destroyed by vandals. Iras

and I visited the adjoining cemetery and seeing how it was falling down and the church

benches being chopped up for camp fires decided to retrieve three of the solid pine

benches (the most uncomfortable I have ever sat on), loaded them into my station wagon

and started looking for someone to pay for them. We finally located an elderly man who

lived nearby and when we explained who we were and why we wanted to preserve them he

told us he knew of no one with a better right to them since our father had, at age 15

or 16, made most of the benches and our grandfather had been largely responsible for

the building of the church and the maintenance of the cemetery next to the church.

The McKenzies were of the Methodist faith but since there were no other churches in

that area at that time it was opened as an Interdenominational church and any church

encouraged to use it. For many years until the death of my aunt Amanda (Mandy)

McKenzie Dunn the family met there each year from all over Missouri and sometimes from

further distances for Decoration Day. At this time we had a general grave working

followed by a church service conducted by a minister available followed by "Dinner on

the Ground."

Three or perhaps four generations of youngsters, many of whom are now parents and

grandparents, have many wonderful memories of those family get-togethers and when we

do get together now we enjoy reminiscing about the fun and scrapes we got into then as

well as the family feeling and inspiration kept alive by these yearly reunions.

In speaking of this branch of the McKenzie family and their home life I feel one thing

that should be mentioned is their love for singing which is inherent in the Welsh

people and to a degree in those of Scottish descent. Their . singing talent was much

in demand for weddings, funerals and other occasions throughout the area and it was

nothing unusual for them to drive miles over rough roads in buggies or wagons to share

their talent with others with no thought of pay. Although Henry and Arvezena lived for

some time in Lesterville at the home of their son, Dr. D.H. McKenzie, while he

practiced medicine there, and Arvezena was living with my parents near Garwood at the

time of her death, they were returned to the family cemetery on lower Carver Creek

less than a mile from the old homestead for burial. Henry Woods McKenzie died Dec. 25,

1904, aged 69 years, 8 months and 15 days, and Arvezena Wells McKenzie died Feb. 8,

1915, aged 78 years, 6 months and 28 days.

Sarah Jane McKenzie was united in marriage to a member of the Lewis family who had

long been neighbors and friends of her family. She was the mother of Delia Lewis

Markum but died in childbirth when her second child was born. This child was a boy

who only survived his mother for a short time.

Laura Valentine McKenzie was to become Mrs. Thompson. In addition to raising the

children of her husband, who was a widower, she had three daughters of her own. Lily

Thompson Zimmers, who spent most of her life in Matthews, Mo., where her husband

farmed, started teaching at an early age and continued teaching in the Matthews area

until shortly before her death. A second daughter, Lou Thompson Ducket, was married to

Joseph Ducket of Advance, Mo. Lou was also a well known educator and until advanced

arthritis forced her retirement served as principal at the public schools in Advance.

Her husband Joe and her two daughters Nadine and Helen of Washington D.C. survive her.

Laura's third daughter Elzie is also deceased and is survived by her two sons Paul and

William.

After the death of Thompson, Laura was remarried and at the time of her death was Mrs.

Laura Dejonski.

Maryline McKenzie was also married to a member of the Lewis family but died at the

birth of her first child and is buried at the family cemetery beside her mother and

father, her sister Sarah Jane and near her sisters Amanda and Laura. This genealogy

will be continued in a later issue of the Reynolds County Courier.

                                                            submitted by Jere R Cox