Ellen McCay

Biography contributed by Joyce Hislop

Ellen (Nellie) was born around 1852 at Ravenfield, County Cavan, Ireland the eldest child of Joseph and Jane (nee MCGILL) HEASLIP. Joseph was a farmer of a small holding. When Nellie was 26 years of age she sailed to New Zealand as an assisted emigrant on the Oamaru arriving in Port Chalmers, Otago on 10 January 1879. With her were her brother Joseph (19 years) and sister Elizabeth (21 years). Two brothers John and Thomas were already in Otago by this time. A further four siblings came to New Zealand after Nellie, one sister went to America and only the youngest, Robert stayed in Ireland.

In the shipping records for Ellen and all but John and Thomas (these records haven’t been found), the surname is spelt HEASLIP, but on arriving in New Zealand the spelling became HISLOP.  The spelling remains HEASLIP in Ireland.

Ellen married John MCCAY a farmer, on 19 January 1886 in Dunedin, they had five children: Henry (Harry 1887-1954), Joseph Crawford (1889-1969), Ann (1889-?), Douglas William (1891-1973 and Olive (1894-1899). In later electoral rolls John’s occupation is given as an ‘expressman’ and he and Ellen were living on Broughton St Dunedin.

Ellen died on 7 July 1934 in Dunedin aged 84 years and she is buried in the Northern Cemetery Dunedin. John had died earlier on 28 November 1906 aged 59 years.

Sources

• Irish Valuation Records
• Irish Parish Records
• BDM’s
• Shipping Records
• Electoral Rolls

Note: Ellen MCCAY is the sister-in-law of Mary Jane HISLOP (Page 142)