The MacRaes took a prominent part in the Scottish civil wars and were conspicuous for their bravery

on many fields, including Sheriffmuir. They did not come out as a Clan with Bonny Prince Charlie in

1745, although, as individuals, many took part in the rising.

In 1778 the Earl of Seafort raised the "78^th Regiment". So strong did the MacRaes muster in it's ranks

that a rising of the regiment the same year (caused by the apprehension of the soldiers that the

government did not mean to treat them fairly) the emeate was styled "The affair of the Wild MacRaes".

During the 17th century members of the MacRae clan were among the 100,000 Scots who went to

Ireland to settle on land promised to them by the British Government during the "Ulster Plantation". The

purpose of this was to remove the native Irish from their lands and replace them with people loyal to the

English throne.

By 1815 the Napoleonic wars were coming to an end, the population in Ireland was exploding, and

land in the New World was becoming more readily available. This caused a great many Irish and Ulster

Scots to start considering emigration to the colonies.

In June of 1821, William McCrea, of County Donegal, in the North of Ireland, made the six week

crossing from Ireland to New Brunswick. In 1823, he was joined by his father, John McCrea, his step-

mother, two brothers and three sisters. Another sister rejoined the family in 1829.

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