Nairobi Forest Road Cemetery - Mary Jane [sic] McQueen, British, age 76, died 7/11/40

North has Mary Joan Wilson

Coast Causerie - 1896 - Mary McQueen was in the family way, but none the worse for that. During the first few days of the safari some of the donkeys died and some of the porters deserted with their loads. At the same time James' set of cut throat razors vanished and that made him mad with rage. Lifting his hands to the sky he swore he would never shave again. Nor did he. He grew a set of whiskers as long as a donkey's tail which he wore to the date of his decease a great many years later. James was an engineer and could work miracles with metal. On the way up country he met a safari of troops. An officer had a camera that would not work. James opened the instrument and repaired it as indeed he repaired a great many similar objects. The McQueens met many adventures on their way. One happened when James ricked his ankle near Mtito Andei. Mary took a look at the man who would not be able to trek for some days and brushing aside the fact that she was four months pregnant, hoisted her husband onto her back and carried him daily until he could put his foot to the ground. ........ (more - story of the McQueens - newspaper article courtesy of Mrs Jean Felton see letter file)

Pioneers - The McQueens - Madge McQueen (Mrs Finlay McNaughton) - James McQueen and his wife Mary arrived in Mombasa in 1896 from Dumfries in Scotland, where James had been a blacksmith. Thye hired a few porters and two donkeys and set forth along the old caravan route to find their future home in the Highlands of Kenya. The theft of a set of razors so angered James that he swore never to shave again, and thereafter was distinguished by his waist-long beard. At one point Mary McQueen actually carried her husband after he had sprained his ankle. She cooked all the meals on a piece of flat iron laid across three stones. Eventually James and Mary were alone on the trail with two donkeys, the porters having deserted. Thus they came to Nairobi. The McQueens' first camp was at Pangani (near the Forest Road Cemetery); later they camped where the present Museum is sited, near Ainsworth causeway. From there they moved to Fort Smith, where their eldest son was born in 1897; the eldest daughter, Jean, was born in 1899. Mary and James then trekked to Uganda and stayed at Busoga, where the second son, James, was born. But Uganda was troubled by mutinies, mosquitoes and famine, and the Warrior king of Bunyoro was threatening to get rid of all white men. So the McQueens once more moved their goods and chattels, returned to Kenya, and bought the land now known as 'Rhino Park' where they made their permanent home. Madge was born here in 1905, followed by her sisters Minnie (now Mrs McKenzie) and Mary (now Mrs White). James built the house himself, forging his nails just as the Maasai forged their spears. He cleared and planted land on the edge of the Mbagathi River and the family were self-supporting for almost all their needs. …………… The children grew up in this lovely spot fearless and happy. Mary McQueen made everything they wore, at first from dreadful striped material, then from the khaki cloth that took its place. Shoes were not worn at all by the younger children. Mary taught her children until they were old enough to board at school in Nairobi. Of course all the children spoke and understood Kikuyu and were well versed in Kikuyu customs. James McQueen the younger and his family continued to live at Rhino Park until 1967, when they sold the residue of the land and moved to another part of the district. Madge married Finlay McNaughton and they still live on part of the land which belonged to William ('Wully'), Finlay's father, most of which was bought by Karen Estates.

North - Blacksmith from Dumfriesshire; arr. Mombasa 11/7/1896; arr. Fort Smith with wife Mary Joan nee Wilson late 1896

EAHB 1904 - Masai-Land District Residents - McQueen, J. - Bagathi, Kikuyu

Chandler - The McQueens would walk into Nairobi about twice a year to buy those few things they couldn't produce themselves. They presented a strange sight. Mary was a six-footer and much taller than her burly husband, and the kids were variously garbed in a mixture of homemade clothing and Kikuyu ornaments. James had sworn an oath never to shave again when his razor was stolen in 1896 and so had a thick black beard reaching to his waist. The family was unique in that they did not wear the sun hats and spine pads considered so essential by other British settlers. Madge later married a man named McNaughton and lived at Rhino Farm all of her life.