As is usual, I happened upon this whilst searching for something altogether different (which makes it all the better!)
On this page there are 31 images of portraits by the artist Kenneth MacLeay including one of two Hearachs.
Image 26 shows the Boatmen Kenneth MacSween of Strond and Donald MacAulay of Fincastle.
The 'Sitters Details' (scroll to 18) inform us that Kenneth (Who appears in 1871 in my Boatmen of Harris piece) ferried cattle to the Mainland and Skye from Strond whilst Donald was a boatman at the recently completed Fincastle.
The portrait was displayed at an exhibition in 1870 and the eagle-eyed will have noted that, by the time of the 1871 Census, Kenneth (who is described as unmarried in the Sitters' notes) has married and is living in Strond with his wife Christy and their 1 year-old daughter, Ann.
It is a real privilege for me to see an image of someone who appears in a record from 140 years ago and who is included in one of my little lists - and a rare find indeed!
No comments:
Post a Comment