Grandfather I never knew - Another Sutherland

Grandfather - a mystery

'If there is a big gap in your immediate family tree, something about your self is missing ' Quote Alan Cumming in Who Do you think you are?' 

This summer saw me get totally side tracked into searching my family tree. A job that was put off for years because I never met my grandfather and had no information about him or even knew his correct name. All that we knew about him was handed down from my Great Great Uncle Donald Fraser Sutherland who lived to be one hundred years old and whose life in itself was an interesting story in that he went to USA to became a cowboy on the Oregon Trail in the 1880's. I knew about him and his exploits - that he had gone to America and Canada to visit his then cousins to ask them for a job on the Mclaey Sutherland shipping line. We knew from him they had said 'No' in New York, because as he put it he could not read or write. The slight from these cousins may have been from earlier feuds that had gone on in Scotland. However examination of shipping records showed that he had entered North America by Pier 21, Halifax, Nova Scotia more than once.

For me I had to use logic to fill in the gaps and between 2003 to 2008 I went through hundreds of Sutherland references and people all over the world. This one fact below was the key.

 In 2009 when I checked the 'Donald Sutherland' cousin family tree there on line. (readily available in various forms) in it was the mention of the Mclaey Sutherland shipping outfit of 2 vessels which travelled the Nova Scotia Coast at the same period as my Great Great Uncle visited. Albeit it this mention showed it was a beaten up commercial shipping arrangement for carrying cargo and did not last long. The McLaey name is very very rare and was handed down in the  second name given to my brother,

Canadian Cousins?

So who were these likely cousins in Canada? Well they share the same name and profession. When a chance meeting took place with Rossif Sutherland (actor) Donald Sutherland's son there in Halifax at the Atlantic Film Festival in 2009 and I gave him a list of my family names, it was certainly no surprise that in serendipity I met him some six month later at the Berlin film Festival and he proudly introduced me to his fellow actors saying 'This is Mairi Sutherland, We are related' - knock me over with a feather, but that was correct and so funny to see there was no argument about it even though none of us in our families, had ever met before that time. It seemed the Canadians had more information than the Scottish poor relations even if not consciously.

Forsaken

In 2008 when I started to look at the family tree, I sent the above story about cowboy Donald Fraser Sutherland to Kiefer Sutherland when he was in prison on the Drunk Driving charge. I had no idea he had got this information until a similar story line came out in the Western film he made called Forsaken and you can get a copy of that here (click on the word here to go to link) I like to think he knew.

(The jury is out on all that supposedly but it does not really have to be, because further recent research shows the McLaey Sutherland links go back a long way and over 200 years.)

How irksome that my father another Donald was an ex soldier in the 51st Highland Division of World War 2 , was too much of a gentlemen to contact the Canadian Mclaey Sutherland's all those years. More so because he knew that they might steak a claim on the house that my grandmother had taken in Ullapool from my absentee grandfather but she really needed this house to make a living from bed and breakfasts when she came back from Argentina. Now having delved into the whole thing I really respect my father and the fact he let it go. He knew the Mclaeys, Mackenzies, Sutherlands and the Fraser's on both sides of the Atlantic had fallen out over land and money many times. He was having nothing of it. Not one for being a sycophant, his principles were the thing. He was an active politician for many years in the SNP and worked hard for the community.

                                             Dad Donald Fraser Sutherland -1920 to 1997


But who was my grandfather? 

 After that however I was troubled by something because I wanted to know more about my grandfather. He was a mystery to me because he died in Argentina in the 1920's though born in Scotland... My father was 2 years old when he left Argentina on the boat back home with his 4 other brothers and sisters. I wanted to find the grave of who I found out was John Alexander Sutherland. As yet I have not succeeded in that but I found out so may other things that it has been an incredible journey. I started to google a combination of family names only to discover they were in a huge family tree of my grandmother Barbara MacKenzie published on line by a Canadian cousin, who had traced all of the MacKenzies of Coigach in a huge extended family tree of her and many other lines, including the Mclaeys.

The Argentina Cousins seen here (click on here to go to Patagonia site) are mainly passed away but what a wonderful place? The work of the Patagonia website truly brings the past to life.

Book in U-Haul
Finding MacKenzie Cousins in Canada 

I immediately contacted the genealogist who had compiled it. His information is here at the website link though the tree remains private. He encouraged me to try to find my Father's birth certificate and find out more about my grandfather that way. Low and behold we found it and though it was in Spanish I got to understanding his name was John Alexander Sutherland and that his father was William Sutherland and he, my great grandfather was married to Catherine McLaey and so those names had already cropped up on both sides of the Atlantic it seemed that there must have been more to find out. Certainly there was, because when I told the genealogist he was reminded of an entire book about the MacLaey Sutherland's that was in his U-haul Storage. By this time I know he, the genealogist was a Mackenzie cousin from my grandmothers line, so we just had to both dig deeper about this mystery.

Book on the Mclaey Family

The book was a self published document by a distant Australian relative (McLaey - Stewart) which contained information of William Sutherland, my great grandfather his job and the many relatives he had married into when he became Head Keeper at the Duke of Sutherland's Estate in the 1890's at Riddoroch in Coigach near Ullapool. It is a fascinating book that is mainly about the exploits of the Mclaeys who were Head keepers at the Duke of Sutherland's estate for several generations. The book is based on the letters released by the Dukes of Sutherland's Estate into the public domain in 1997. (sadly the year my father died) This I have to say was an amazing miracle to find, read and to discover so much information about my Great Grandfather. I have the Mackenzie Clan of Canada to thank for this who copied the book and they also turn out to be cousins to the Mclaey's, who also have Mackenzies in them.  Now through one great breakthrough I found out that most of what my Great Great Uncle Donald Fraser Sutherland said was correct and not just hearsay.

To cut a long story short I still don't know much about my grandfather but I am looking into all that. I live in hope to find his grave one day. In the book it does mention a trip to Argentina was on the cards. He actually was another cowboy - cattle and sheep foreman on an Estancia's of Patagonia. On that score I did find other cousins in Argentina but not him yet.

Importance of finding out

In the meantime my search was spurred on by hearing the story from the actor Alan Cumings at his show in the Edinburgh Fringe, when he spoke about how he had looked into his family tree to find out about his grandfather, Tom Darling whom he also never knew. His story was so poignant to me because there was some similarities in the feelings we shared about not knowing such a close relative. Alan was lucky in that the BBC found his grandfather and story in the programme 'Who Do You think You Are?' This made a connection with me and I decided to continue on no matter what because as he pointed out in Edinburgh it is important to understand the past and forgive relatives for the things they did not know and could not forgive in their own time. Reference #ClubCumming Further than that he concluded that it hurt more not to know what had happened to his grandfather Tam Darling. I agree. You can see his story at this link here
I should be clear I am not related to Alan Cumming, but I find his story quite similar and there is even a parallel with my immediate father who suffered combat stress in World War Two. However at time of writing I have noted that the famous Conservationist Fraser Darling studied the Coigach island of Tanera Mor in the Summer Isles, where my grandmother was from, as you can read here

My journey found cousins in Argentina, Canada, Australia, USA, and in places in Scotland from Brora, Caithness to Ullapool and beyond. The next challenge is to meet them all and say Hello How are you Doing?' I never knew you but it's time we made the time.'

John's Grave - Where is it?

One day I hope to find John's grave. The history of the Highland clearances make this difficult and it just goes to show that the displacement of people can last centuries and effect families for the same amount of time. The light at the end of the tunnel, is that in this time of the internet, which brings people together instantaneously, genealogy is no longer the chore it once was.


Notes = Unintentional Consequnces

It does hurt that all this was deliberately hidden for so many years though this was done with good intentions for the sake of my grandmother, it had unintentional consequences for our family, left in Scotland with no sense of identity and struggling against the enforced poverty of relocating from Argentina in the depression of the 1920's. More so that the Duke of Sutherland's estate management, exerted it own penalties for the affair one of my ancestors reputedly had with the Duchess of Sutherland. The indicator of this was that in two generations between 1840 and 1860, one of the children was called Anne Hey MacKenzie (McLaey Sutherland) The consequence of this was that the original Sutherland's containing my Great Great Uncles family were cleared from Golspie Dunrobin Castle from the seat of the Duke of Sutherland to the farthest coast of Coigach to Riddoroch Deer Lodge and then at their behest forced to go to Argentina.  This also explains my Great Great Uncles desperate attempts to get help from relatives in America for which he was eventually successful when he worked along the Chisum and Oregon long horn cattle trails.


I think that clears that up. About time.

Bonnie Prince Charlie not dead yet?

The story of the usurper King Bonnie Prince Charlie seems to capture the public imagination, because of his attempt to restore the Stuart line of Kings in Scotland with tragic results.

The film Great Getaway, about his flight from the disastrous battle of Culloden to Skye has also had its up and downs with false starts.  Through it's facebook site many members of the public have supported the project with fan comments and requests to get involved. As a result of this support, we are continuing to seek funding for the project and have not totally abandoned it. However the film industry must decide on how best to create the means for this film to happen.

As well as that we are planning a film called Noturn about the composer Chopin set in Scotland and France, which will not be directed by Robbie Moffat, but by the Oscar nominated film director Frederick Thor Fredericksson, who has been attached since the inception of the idea and remains fully committed. Frederick joked in Cannes Film Festival 2016 that he wanted to make this film for a long time and definitely before he died! Bless him. I worked on a long development period with this film (10 years) and I would like to see Frederick's vision realised.

Speculation about what I am doing?

However, I would like to add just one more thing, which is about my work with Palm Tree Films and the manner in which I have worked with Robbie Moffat. Since divorcing him in 2008 we have worked together on a few projects, but the majority of the time he has worked with other people.  I don't regard myself as working exclusively with him.  Indeed I would like to work with other film directors and writers to build collaborative working relationships with them. Whilst Robbie and I remain friends, we are neither now a couple, nor do we share the same film slate in its entirety. I have embarked on my own small slate of films, which are all in development for the time being. The projects with Robbie recently are Great Getaway and Nocturn.

My Own Slate.

Last month I announced one of them, I am doing on my own slate, which is the life story of the Scottish documentary film maker, Jenny Gilbertson, who was part of the early days of John Grierson's Documentary Movement in the 1930's. I am currently writing the drama script about her life while collaborating with it's  film Director, Yvonne Deutchman,  known for her producing of 'One Love' movie in 2003 and 'The Power of Three' in 2011.

Another  potential film script I am researching about is called Heathens Battle, which is set in  5th Century Scotland, during the time of the expulsion of Saint Kentigern from Strathclyde. It follows the complicated life of Laisren, the son of the famous Warrior King Aiden Gibran of Ireland and Dalriada, Scotland, who was to become Saint Molaise of the Holy Isle.

I am also working on a number of documentary projects.

Firstly a speculative pilot for a series on the secret codes contained within the paintings of Leonardo Da Vinci. This project is helmed by the US based writer and academic sculptor Sharron Connelly, who has also written movie script about it.

The long waited Women in Rodeo (USA) documentary I began in 2006, which was abandoned during my divorce years is getting taken out of the storage vault to be re-visited with a view to completion next year.

And a partially made documentary called 'Jamaica sings Robert Burns' about the poets unravelled plans to move to Jamaica, begs the question of what his songs would have sounded like if he had made that  journey. It is helmed by Global/Tribal Records producer and soon to launch a crowdfunding campaign. More on that later.

Long Awaited Hollywood Film??

But something is missing isn't it? That long awaited Hollywood blockbuster I should be helping to make? Well I am open to suggestions, of scripts and possible collaborations with other people so I'm happy to look at possibilities. Nothing is set in stone. I remain flexible, to take opportunities when they arise.

On a personal level I think I'm doing Ok. I'm hanging on in there. One thing for sure is I am not exclusively in any one camp or stuck in only one way of doing things.

Writer Director, Robbie Moffat pondering the Monument to Bonne Prince Charlie on the Moidart skyline.

Cannes 2016 Bare foot to the Ball?

The Cannes 2016 Marche du Film, the commercial film market of the Film Festival got off to a very slow start. Buyers and sellers complained in the first 3 days about the lack of numbers. Despite the festival claims that it had registered around 1000 people more than last year it was possible to walk down La Croisette the main street, with out too much trouble because there were not the people to block the way. Things picked up by the weekend as sellers and buyers released that they better make deals no matter what and to whoever because things were so slow, there was no question of leaving without a done deal. The coming weeks will see how these deals hold out, as the dust settles.

Film Producer, Director Mairi Sutherland enjoying the sunshine in Cannes 2016

The market was down from last year indicated by what seemed the final clear our out of sellers in the Carlton Hotel, which was only left with 3 main distributers in it suites 20th Century Fox, Sony and Focus Pictures. The rest had cleared out for the cheaper booths in the Palais bunker but despite claims most of the sellers were in the same place with very few new distributers or sellers in the market. The knock on effect of the internet streaming and downloads of films was still making an impact on sales, in that the recoup was low for the market share. Amazon joined the hype by launching a new cinema release studio.

However something didn't seem quite right. Buyers agreed, while they trawled through Independent catalogues, and eyed the films in Competition directed by the same old male film Directors in the festival.

For us, (Palm Tree helmed by Robbie Moffat), with 2 high concept historical costume dramas on offer we were able to garner 2 sensible finance deals for them. At least this is how it looks today, as the final film closes the festival tonight, with Mel Gibson starring in Blood Father.

Women featured highly with the hard won 3 films directed by Women in the Competition, although that number fell far shoot of the more reasonable 50 percent that it should be. Everyone cheered Julia Roberts protest when she went onto the Red carpet bare foot to highlight a ridiculous rule that had some how been arbitrarily applied by security guards last year, that women could not enter the red carpet despite having tickets unless they wore high heels. I like to think that my blog 3 years ago about the  state of the films on offer and the treatment of women in the festival has contributed to industry aware ness of the problems. In my blog back then I told the story of a girl I met who had been working on a boat as a waitress where she was under constant pressure to give in to sexual advances  by her employers and guests. She told them to stuff their job and moved on out of Cannes in disgust.  Much more needs to be done before Women will be emancipated in Cannes, where women still have a long way to go, not least via the A List Actresses who seemed to be the only women to have access to the Red Carpet.

Mairi Sutherland with Yvonne Deutchman, both film producers are
working on a project together about a female film pioneer from 1930's

The lack of access to the Red Carpet by Market buyers and sellers was a big issue since they had paid, like myself, for Marche du Film market badges that cost £250 to £300 per company participant, which claim to allow  tickets to the Competition films. Not so this year because each day I would run to the ticketing booths to see if I had been allocated anything and no tickets were on offer. I wondered if this was because they might have been reallocated these tickets to other organisations like this one at the link here

They sell Red Carpet tickets and after party packages for £10000 from such ticket sellers. Gone are the days of a level playing field for film makers and audiences alike. Cannes has retreated into an old order of elitism where only those with wealth have access to the Red carpet and the recognition that goes with it. Meanwhile the Independent film makers wait for the few scraps of money that the Big Studio throw down on La Croissette when they smell a project that will do better to attract audiences than their own.

In such an atmosphere Women will not flourish and the campaign started by Hollywood A List actors, like Susan Sarandon and Gina Davis this Cannes called Women in Motion must really step up the pressure on the Movie Moguls to be fair in their decision making processes, casting , paying, treatment and presentation of women in films during the making and selling of them at all stages including the Cannes Film festival.

I assume I didn't get allocated tickets for speaking out about it all or worse because they were allocated to ticket sellers behind the scenes. Never mind we can now all survive the Red Carpet without high heeled shoes, abandoned in favour of bare feet.  If we, women are bare foot to the ball, then Hollywood must find the money to get Female Film Director representation up to 50% as has been suggested by the UK organisation Women in Film and Television this week, who have lobbied the BBC to make access for Female Directors up to a 50% quota. Hollywood must follow this move.

Having directed two Independent feature films made at Palm Tree Films, Photoshoot and Going Green, I would hope that this move toward equality actually works in practise. For now Robbie Moffat should be given thanks for supporting me to achieve it at a time when it was rarely possible for women. So listen up I am available and a capable female film Director. In the meantime here are the high heel shoes I would have worn if I had got a ticket. Now thankfully abandoned, at least for now.

Charlie is my Darling

I have been so busy doing pre-production for the film about Bonnie Prince Charlie, I have not blogged about it since October 2015. So it is time to fix that and post some photos of our wonderful location reccies, which just make you love the Scottish countryside and coast all the more.

Last year there was the visit to the Glenfinnan Monument, which is where Charlie raised his Royal Standard on his way into Scotland at the commencement of his attempt to claim the Scottish throne. Aside from enjoying the loch and the mild weather I learned that the films of Harry Potter had made a great impact on the area, because of the thousands of visits there to see the steam train from the film. I was amazed at all the young people from all over the world making this pilgrimage to the station at Glenfinnan to see the steam train travel across the now famous viaduct.
It shows how important film making and commercial creations like Harry Potter are to the local tourist economy, which contributes millions of pounds to the places associated with the movie. All the more reason for the Great Getaway to contribute by creating local employment during the film making process and to the community in the afterwards.



Here are 2 pipers Adelade and Peter, who headed for the 'Harry Potter place' after the World piping championship last year.
 

 Films really do contribute to the economy and help to re invent the identities of places associated with them. The Bonnie Prince Charlie trail gets reflected glory from Harry Potter because the visitor centre now has over 62,000 visitors in summer.

On the trains buses, roads and hotels everyone in hospitality works very hard to make it a pleasurable experience for the tourists. So lets take a moment to think about how finance is created and how communities keep themselves alive and excited about their own heritage.
Charlie is their Darling in this tourist area.




Moving on to Moidart

Moidart was the place Charlie arrived and departed from after his rebellion failed to gain support in the resounding defeat of the battle of Culloden in 1745.

Writer and Director of Great Getaway looks on a plaque to Bonnie Prince Charlie on the coast of Arisaig on the road to Malaig.

 

Robbie checking out the scenery in preparation for Charlie's escape to the Isle of Skye.

 

From Glenuig to the Isle of Rhum

 

 

Boy climbing the rocks with his stick. Let's hope he is imagining characters like Harry Potter and Bonnie Prince Charlie in the Landscape? What's for sure in any film set in Scotland the Landscape is very much one of the character's in the film and so it should be.

Europe's History

A note for Europe as it bows to the weight of a new influx of people, whose protests have seen their lands laid waste. Both Refugees and Europeans must work together to stop a political vacuum, which may be filled by those who wish to see European culture destroyed in a wave of violence, at least this is the fear of many. Let not anger be misused for evil intent, but rather to feed the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. In the history of mankind Europe has been the power of invention, science, and enlightenment through battling with the forces of nature to create cities of refuge from the cold and wind. As refugees await at its gates, let them not allow the power of hate enter their hearts or worse let those who have made hate their home in their hearts to lead us all to a perdition of destruction. Violence in any form is not the way. Certainly if anyone can learn anything from the battle of Culloden it is that one thing. If not we are all lost.