Fàilte! (Welcome!)

Fàilte! (Welcome!)
This blog is the result of my ongoing research into the people, places and events that have shaped the Western Isles of Scotland and, in particular, the 'Siamese-twins' of Harris and Lewis.
My interest stems from the fact that my Grandfather was a Stornowegian and, until about four years ago, that was the sum total of my knowledge, both of him and of the land of his birth.
I cannot guarantee the accuracy of everything that I have written (not least because parts are, perhaps, pioneering) but I have done my best to check for any errors.
My family mainly lived along the shore of the Sound of Harris, from An-t-Ob and Srannda to Roghadal, but one family 'moved' to Direcleit in the Baighs...

©Copyright 2011 Peter Kerr All rights reserved

Monday, 14 November 2011

A Note In The Margin


A recent exchange on a friend's blog occasioned me to revisit my post on the Hamlet of Limera where I had written that:

Secondly, we have the 8 men, each a ‘Fisher’, and ranging in age from 14 to 48. Whether this was their ‘permanent’ abode or they were merely making-use of the facilities whilst fishing the local waters I do not know. I do know that a group of, largely, such young men cannot have chosen to be living together in such circumstances if there were a more companionable alternative available.

Deciding to look at the original census return on scotlandspeople.gov.uk, I saw a note in the margin referring to these two groups of fishers:

‘The contents of schedules 22 & 23 are two fishing boats’ crews; they belong to other parts of this parish but have also houses here (Limera) as being an eligible fishing station: they were both at sea when their schedules were taken up. Their relation to one another or the  ‘Head of Family’ could not in every case be ascertained by R M Esq.’

‘R M Esq’ appears to have been Roderick MacKay, the Enumerator who also describes the location specifically as the ‘Station of Limera’.

The interesting pieces of additional information are that, whilst the two crews were indeed ‘making-use of the facilities...’ which I had suggested might be the case, the houses they inhabited were in fact occupied by them in what appears to have been a regular manner at this ‘eligible fishing station’.

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