61884: Malcolm Mackay

Malcolm (born 1868) was a son of Malcolm Mackay and Christina Macleod, 4 Crulivig. According to local tradition, Malcolm was born on the moor when his mother was collecting peat – his twin Angus was born after she had reached home with her creel.

Malcolm was taken to Islivig as a young child to live with his maternal aunt Catherine’s family at 5 Islivig. He remained there until he moved to Stornoway to begin an apprenticeship as a baker. After he qualified he opened a shop on Cromwell Street in Stornoway (where the Baltic Book Shop is today) but he did not remain in Stornoway too long and moved to Twechar, where he sought work in a bakery. The owner of the bakery, questioning him to test his knowledge, asked him the name of a fancy loaf displayed on the counter, Malcolm who had no idea replied “what do you call it in Twechar?” the baker told him and Malcolm’s response was “that’s what we call it in Lewis too”.
He later moved to Manchester with his twin Angus and worked for a firm named ‘Scotch Drapery’ – they called on customers with a collection of cloth samples and after taking measurements would take orders for suits.
He married Jessie or Janet Halkett and they had four children; Malcolm,  an engineer (married with one daughter), Angus Frank a doctor (unmarried) , Chrissie, a teacher and Cathy (unmarried who remained in the family home to look after her mother, who had suffered a stroke c1936).
Family tradition says that Malcolm, a devout Christian, was a very strict father who allowed his children very little freedom. Even at the age of 21 they had to be home by 10 pm or they would be locked out, also Angus, while studying to be a doctor, was told not to come home on leave if it meant having to leave home on the Sabbath – a situation that left him having to sneak home to visit his mother and run out the back door when they heard his father’s key in the lock.