Daughter Minnie married Keith McKenzie. Daughter Madge married Mr McNaughton and she and her family lived on part of the original estate till she died. As far as is known a daughter Mary still lives in the area (1996). Source: Ronald Bevan Jolley                                                                                   

Austin - 1897 - Fort Smith - Mr & Mrs J. McQueen at Fort Smith as settlers and 2 English babies recently born - F.G.K. Wallace and McQueen

Sorrenson - In 1896 four more settlers arrived under the leadership of Dr. D. Wallace, intending to settle near Fort Smith. Wallace and his brother soon returned to England, leaving the others, Dr. Boedeker and the blacksmith James McQueen to fend for themselves. They lived a precarious existence, dependent on the administration for protection, employment and a market for their produce.

Kenya Diary - 1902 - Nairobi - I met a settler called McQueen in the club and had a long talk with him about security in the future. He takes the view that the white man is the master race and that the black man must forever remain cheap labour and slaves - a most dangerous prospect. McQueen is one of the very few white settlers here; he farms at Ngong.                                             

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)

Land Grant 1903 - J. McQueen - Agricultural - 640 acres - Mbagathi - Aug 6 - Freehold

Curtis - p. 37 - Life at Fort Smith - '....... [1894 letter from Francis Hall to his father]] .. Martin and his wife came up and stayed here about 12 days. I gave them my quarters and we had a very jolly time. She is Portuguese but very nice; and plays, and sings in several languages, and as old Dugmore (in charge of the troops) has the American organ (that I brought out for him) up here, we had some musical evenings, Russell on the 1st whistle, Lane banjo and Mrs M. on the organ, while I occasionally had to warble as my share, and another fellow here, Trefusis, plays the autoharp very well. By-the-bye I shall be mentioning names you don't know, so I must tell you that two Mombasa firms have agents up here, living about 1000 yards from the Fort. Trefusis, a very good sort who has travelled the world, is one, and a man named Walsh with his wife for the other. Then we have one coffee planter, Kitchen, and Dr. Wallace's party just coming. Mr Wallace (brother) and his wife arrived about 10 days ago and Dr Boedecker and wife, and a Mr McQueen and wife are to arrive tomorrow. We shall then have 10 Europeans resident in Kikuyu.

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.

Gazette - 7/4/15 - Liable for Jury service, Dagoretti - J. MacQueen

Nairobi Forest Road Cemetery - James McQueen, British, age 76, died 28/3/43

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.

Red Book 1912 - J. McQueen - Kyambu

Gazette - 29/10/1919 - Register of Voters - Kikuyu - James McQueen, Settler, Rhino Park, PO Kikuyu and Mary Jane McQueen, Married, Rhino Park, PO Kikuyu

Ainsworth - arrived at Machakos early in 1895 with Dr & Mrs Boedeker and Mr & Mrs Wallace.

Mills Railway - Between March 1898 and October 1900 James McQueen and his wife lived off Forest Road; they had walked from Mombasa to Fort Smith in 1896, where their first child was born. The McQueen's house was the first European private family residence in Nairobi and their daughter Jean the first white child to be born in the city. James McQueen's was the fourth name on the list of male European residents and his wife Mary's heads that of the ladies. They left Nairobi for Uganda but returned two years later and settled near Karen.

Gazette 6 Dec 1938 Kiambu Voters Roll with Mary Jane