She married William Murray at the Tore Inn, Killearnan.  He was a coachman, born November 7, 1868 in Elgin, Moray.  Their first child, Jane (Jeannie) Murray, was born September 15, 1898 in Forres.  Their second child, Catherine Anne, was born 29 March 1900 at Forres and died December 12, 1900.  William died March 28, 1900.  They are buried side by side at the old Cluny Hill cemetery at Forres.  Ann took in washing for a time and then she and Jane went home to the Black Isle to live with her mother, Catherine, at Crofthouse. 

Ann died March 18, 1926 of liver cancer.  She is buried at the Killearnan Church cemetery with her mother, father and brother, Francis (Frank).  Ann's granddaughter, Annie, of Canada said her Granny Ann was a very nice lady. 

From Ann McBain Murray's progeny, there are 2 children, 9 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren, 44 great-great-grandchildren, and 13 great-great-great grandchildren as of January 31, 2007.  Two children and 5 of the grandchildren were born in Scotland.  All the rest were born in Canada and the families are now spread out from coast to coast, the majority in the westernmost provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.

                            Croft House circa 1920

Ann (McBean) Murray & Jeannie Murray
circa 1905

Jeannie Murray & Alexander Richards

ane Murray, daughter of William and Ann McBain Murray, was born September 15, 1898 in Forres, Moray.  She never knew her father as he died when she was less than 2 years old.  Raised by a widowed mother and grandmother, she did well in school on the Black Isle.  At the young age of 18 she married sawmiller and farm hand, Alexander Richards of Glasgow, on June 28, 1917 at Crofthouse, Killearnan.  From May 1918 to August 1925 they had 2 girls and 3 boys.  Annie, their first child, was a difficult birth.  The doctor asked Alex which one he wanted to live - his wife or his child.  Alex answered, "Both of them".  And so it was.    

From 1900, with the exception of the war years, Canada had been the world's fastest growing economy, and being in need of immigrants to settle the west, the government advertised widely that 160 acres of fertile farm land could be obtained for $10 Canadian.  With that pioneering spirit Alexander took his family across the sea on the SS Montcalm, arriving in Saint John, New Brunswick in late March 1927.  Second daughter, Jean, would later recall having been so proud at age 7 (going on 8), of being the only one to not get sea-sick on the long Atlantic voyage.  They travelled a further 4000 km. by train across Canada until they arrived at their Saskatchewan destination in April.  The farm had a small 2-bedroom house, 3 log buildings, and they were given 4 horses to get them started.  A short two years later, with the stock market crash of 1929 and the advent of the Great Depression, prolonged drought and plagues of grasshoppers, the Canadian economy plunged further than that of any nation other than the United States, and it took far longer to recover.  Farming was amongst the worst hit of the primary industries, as prices fell and jobs and money were scarce.  It was cold and miserable and Jane longed for her home, family and friends in Scotland.  When the coyotes howled at night she wondered what they had gotten themselves into.  But these hardy Scots persevered.  No farm was complete without wheat, oats and barley, cattle, pigs and chickens, and an enormous vegetable garden, all of which they raised with backbreaking labour.  Unlike many, their family never went hungry, but even the smallest of luxuries was unheard of until the close of the 1930s.  

Between 1928 and 1938, four more children were born in Canada - 2 girls and 2 boys.  By the time the last two were born, Jane's eldest child, Annie, was married.  Times had been tough, but Alex eventually was able to buy another 160 acres (a "quarter-section", which measures one-half-mile by one-half mile) and tractors came into common use, making farming easier.  Cars were bought, making horses more of a pet than a working animal, and eventually they were not needed at all.  Granddaughters Judy, and Beverley and Faye, all remember meeting Grandpa and Grandma in town on Saturday nights in the 1950s and, after teasing them a bit and chuckling through his big drooping moustache, Grandpa would always give them each a quarter (25-cent coin) - a lot of money for a child - one could buy an ice cream cone, chocolate bar, and penny candies - usually jaw breakers which at 3 for one penny made a nice big bagful.  

In the 1960s Jane and Alex retired to the town of Naicam, Saskatchewan.  They finally had indoor plumbing, a great luxury for them.  Alex wanted to visit Scotland, but Jane was afraid of flying, so they never got back to their beloved homeland.  Jane maintained correspondence with her McBain and McLeod cousins.  That she kept some of the letters gave us "treeing" nuts something to start us out on our hobby.  How it has grown!  

Alex and Jane were fortunate that none of their nine children predeceased them.  Alex at age 83 died November 12, 1971 of cancer in Watson Hospital, Saskatchewan.  Jane was 76 when she died July 4, 1975 in Prince George Hospital in British Columbia.  Both are buried in the Community Cemetery at Naicam, Saskatchewan. 

In mid-July of 2007, the eightieth anniversary year since that brave young Richards family set sail into the great unknown, descendants of migrant kin will converge at  Inverness.  We’ll come from Australia, from Canada, from England -- to meet, greet and mingle with our Scottish cousins -- all of whom trace our lineage back to Jane Murray Richards’ great-grandparents, Donald and Isabella Fraser Mackay whose marriage 175 years ago begot this odyssey. 

Alex & Jane

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