Catherine MacLeod, whose maiden surname is unknown, was born in 1809. She married John MacLeod of Pabbay, with whom she had eleven children. By 1851 the family was living in Borve, Berneray, where John farmed a croft of 12 acres. In 1854, with the clearance of crofts to make way for Borve Farm, the family became cottars, emigrating to Australia on the Royal Albert in 1855.