I gave a brief resume of Munro in an earlier piece, James Shaw Grant – A Shilling for Your Scowl – the Story of a Scottish Legal Mafia – Acair 1991.but thought that a complete list of his households plus a list of the others engaged in the legal profession in Stornoway might prove interesting.
1851
Donald Munro, 37, Procurator Ross and Cromarty, South Beach, Stornoway, b. Tain, Ross
William Ross, 25, Procurator Ross and Cromarty, Cousin, b. Tain
Helen Ross, 32, House Servant, b. Eddrachillish, Sutherland
(Angus Macdonald, 28, Lawyer, Benadrove, b. Stornoway)
1861
Donald Munro, 43, Chamberlain of Lews, South Beach Street, b. Tain, Ross-shire
Eliza R Munro, 24, Sister, b. Tain
Tina M Munro, 11, Scholar, Niece, b. Tain
Jane Macrae, 23, Domestic Servant, b. Stornoway
Margaret Macdonald, 24, Domestic Servant, b. Ness, Ross-shire
Catherine Young, 17, Domestic Servant, b. Stornoway
Robert Mackenzie, 21, Groom, b. Beauly, Ross-shire
(John Macdonald, 50, Lawyer, 57 Keith Street, b. Uig)
(Donald Maclean, 41, Lawyer, 52 Culngreen Road, b. Lochs)
1871
Donald Munro, 56, Solicitor and JP, 13 South Beach Street, b. Tain
Eliza Munro, 34, House Keeper, Sister, b. Tain
Crawford Munro, 22, Factor's Daughter, Niece, b. Tain
John Ross, 17, Clerk, Nephew, b. Inverness
John Macleod, 26, Groom, b. Tarbert, Harris
Eliza Sutherland, 23, Servant domestic, b. Farr, Sutherland
Marock Sutherland, 25, Servant Domestic, b. Farr, Sutherland
William Ross, 48, Solicitor, 11 Kenneth Street, b. Tain
Napier Campbell, 38, Solicitor or Procurator of Faculty of Ross, 40 Cromwell Street, b. Edinburgh
(Donald Maclean, 52, Lawyer, 8 Invers Beach, b. Lochs)
1881
Donald Munro, 70, Solicitor and JP, 24 Kenneth Street, b. Tain
Betsy Munro, 42, House Keeper, Sister, b. Tain
William Ross, 24, Law Clerk, Nephew, b. Inverness
Jane Sutherland, 30, General Servant, b. Lairg, Sutherland
Rachel Morrison, 14, General Servant, b. Barvas
William Ross, 53, Solicitor and Procurator Fiscal, b. Tain
Napier Campbell, 48, Procurator and Enrolled Law Agent, Lodger, 17 South Beach St, b. Edinburgh
1890 – Death of Donald Munro
1891
William Ross, 63, Solicitor, 52 Francis Street, b. Tain
John Ross, 32, Solicitor, Son, b. Stornoway
Colin G Mackenzie, 31, Solicitor, 2 James Street, b. Stornoway
Peter P Slater, Solicitor, Boarder, Royal Hotel, b. Shetland
1901
Colin G Mackenzie, 41, Solicitor and Procurator Fiscal of Lewis, Park House, b. Stornoway
John Macdonald, 33, Depute Procurator Fiscal and Clerk to School-Board, 32 Keith St, b. Elgin
John Norrie Anderson, 54, Solicitor and Notary Public, Plym Nile, b. Stornoway
William A Ross, 36, Solicitor, 28 James Street, b. Logie Easter, Ross
The lack of any alternative to the Munro-Ross pairing is clear so that, even if their victims had been able to afford it, independent representation was non-existent.
What is also clear is that Munro lived surrounded by cronies (many of them related to him) but there is no sense of 'family', no feeling of 'homeliness' – one almost, but not quite, feels sorry for this evil, soul-less man...
Note: - It has been pointed-out to me that those who I have listed as 'lawyer' were in fact 'sawyer'which makes more sense and explains their apparent absence post 1871. I have italicised these errors pending confirmation.
You've probably read "A Shilling for your scowl", which gives a very readable and balanced account of Munro's time in Lewis. He abused his powers - but way too much power was vested in him by others.
ReplyDeleteYes, the earlier piece I linked to was on James Shaw Grant's book, the sub-title of which contains the phrase 'a legal Mafia'...
ReplyDeleteI have microfilm copies of these census returns but cannot check them just now but I am almost certain that you will find that the names against which you have the designation 'lawyer' are the names of people who were sawyers, not lawyers ... This misinterpretation of the old handwriting appears frequently in the transcriptions of these old records ...
ReplyDeleteThank you - that certainly makes more sense!
ReplyDeleteI have looked at Napier Campbell, who was the solicitor giving evidence at the Napier Commission in Stornoway. He appears to have been in Stornoway from about the 1860s until his death in 1885. Napier was the son of a solicitor at the Supreme Courts of Scotland.
ReplyDelete