Although one sees many references to the ‘Paisley Sisters’ of Strond with regards to the birth of the Harris Tweed industry there are relatively few accurate references available online so I thought it timely to explore their story in detail.
Marion MacLeod and Christina MacLeod were two of at least three daughters born to Norman MacLeod and his wife Christina MacSween.
In 1851 the family is recorded in Strond:
Christina MacLeod, 80, Widow
Marion MacLeod, 47, Weaveress
Christina MacLeod, 40, Weaveress
Catherine Morrison, 7, Servant
Emily MacLeod, 40, Visitor
It appears that Christina MacLeod (M.S. MacSween) died prior to the introduction of official records in 1855 and hence in 1861 the household comprises:
Marion MacLeod, 37, Hand Loom Weaver (Wool)
Christy MacLeod, 30, Hand Loom Weaver (Wool)
Catherine Morrison, 16, Scholar, Niece
There are two interesting points to note. Marion’s birth year has shifted from 1804 to 1824 and Christina’s from 1811 to 1831 which is quite a leap even by the standards of other census records that I have previously researched. Secondly, we have confirmation that Catherine Morrison is a niece, and that therefore a third MacLeod sister must have been married to a Mr Morrison.
By 1871 the census records:
Marion MacLeod, 50, Weaveress
Christy MacLeod, 40, Weaveress
Catherine Morrison, 23, Weaveress
The sisters birth years are now indicated to be 1821 and 1831, and their niece had left school and joined them in their trade.
The next record we have for Marion is that of her death on 27th February 1880 in Strond. She is recorded as being a Weaving Mistress aged 67 and the cause of death was Pleurisy. The informant was her nephew, Donald Morrison, one of Catherine Morrison’s two younger brothers. This record clearly pushes Marion’s birth back to 1813, some nine years later than that recorded in the 1851 census but eleven years before that recorded in1861!
In 1881 the household in Strond had reduced to:
Christy MacLeod, 60, Weaveress (Wool)
Kitty Morrison, 30, Domestic Servant, Niece
Remaining thus in 1891:
Christy MacLeod, 74, Weaveress
Catherine Morrison, 40, Weaveress
Christina MacLeod died on 8th March 1893 in Strond at the age of 76, suggesting a birth year of 1817 which is six years later than the 1851 figure and fourteen years earlier than that claimed in 1861! The cause was ‘Senile Decay’ and, again, it was the nephew Donald Morrison who registered the death.
This, then, marks the end of the official record regarding the Paisley Sisters, but what of their sibling and mother of Catherine and Donald Morrison?
Mary MacLeod was born in 1811, the older of these three known sisters, married Alexander Morrison (1805-1869) and gave birth to five girls and two boys between 1836 and 1856. She died of old age on 28th December 1907 at An t-Ob (Obbe) and it should come as no surprise that it was her son, Donald Morrison, who registered her death just as he had done for her two younger siblings.
