Donald MacLellan was born in about 1846, the son of Donald MacLellan and his second wife Ann Morrison of 8 Tigharry.

He was a lobster fisherman, owner of the Hotspier, and also served in the Naval Reserves. With Catherine MacDonald of Bayhead he had a daughter, Mary Ann.

Mary Ann made a sound recording for the School of Scottish Studies, in which she recounts a journey made by her father and a neighbour, during which the neighbour heard a ghostly noise. The sound recording (and explanation of the origin of the noise) is available here on the Tobar an Dualchais website.