a'spaidsearachd agus a'meòrachadh

Highland Folk Ways

2012-02-04T10:46:00.000Z

I mentioned in this earlier piece about Isabel Frances Grantthat I wished to share my thoughts on her book ‘Highland Folk Ways’ and thattime has finally arrived.

I like everything about this almost encyclopaedic volume thatcovers virtually all aspects of Gaelic culture and places them within a broadlysweeping background description of the history of the Highlands & Islands.

I happen to prefer books that are written with a passion fortheir subject but combined with a scholarly approach and deep knowledge of thematerial that is being covered. ‘Highland Folk Ways’ is all these things and in fact the onlydownside is the appearance of the word ‘folk’ in its title for that word issomewhat demeaning in the all-encompassing world of Gaelic culture. It is afailing that Isabel Grant herself was well aware of but perhaps there is nobetter small, single word with which to convey the content of her work?

The book constantly reminds us that the people more thancompensated for their lack of material resources by an immense resourcefulnessthat continues to this day despite the descent into the ‘disposable culture’ ofmore modern times. It also demonstratesthe appropriateness of the tools used, for example, in cultivating the land andthe damage wrought by so-called ‘improvement’, both to the people and the land,is hinted-at too.

I do not mean to imply that there was some ‘Golden Age’ whenthe Highlands & Islands flowed with milk & honey and we must alwaysremember that such supposedly ‘traditional’aspects of life as tea, tobacco and the potato were each relatively recentimports to the culture!

Thus the book presents a dynamic picture rather than astatic one and helps fill the gap between a sloppy ‘guide-book’ style ofhistory (with its ‘traditional crofting’ type of approach*) and that of the academicthesis which, for all its scholarship, lie unloved in a library awaitingawakening.

Isabel Grant wrote her ‘popular’, accessible andthought-provoking history just over 50 years ago, and it has been followed byseveral equally excellent books by more recent authors that convey complexissues in an equally engaging and well-written manner, but if one is lookingfor a single-volume introduction to the history of Gaelic culture than hers hasyet to be beaten.

*Crofting is a little over 200 years old which, in thecontext of the millennia of occupation of the Highlands & Islands, is but afleeting moment ago...

Where to buy the book:

In addition to online retailers (including those dealing insecondhand books which are especially attractive if you prefer your books to beaffordable hardbacks!) it can be obtained direct from the Highland Folk Museum’sshop - http://www.highlandfolk.com/shop.php

Another Photo Of 'Jessie'?

2012-01-29T10:52:00.002Z

In this earlier piece I discussed the 'Jessie' of Stornoway which my ancestors owned & sailed whilst plying the coastal trade around the islands & mainland of Western Scotland.

I have discovered another image of a two-masted cargo vessel in Stornoway that appeared in a catalogue of images published in 1893. It is to be found in the George Washington Wilson collection at Aberdeen University Library and is an extremely rare stereoscopic close-up showing the stern and deck of a cargo sailing ship working in Scotland towards the end of the 19th Century.

I cannot be sure that she is indeed the 'Jessie' but the photo provides the best image that I have seen of this type of vessel and allows one's imagination to explore what it would have been like to sail such a ship, taking all kinds of cargo around these coasts and providing a vital service to island trade and communications.

This link will take you to the full details and clicking on the image will open a new page with a view that may be zoomed & explored revealing many fascinating details.

I wonder who the gentleman (usefully providing us with a scale to estimate the size of the ship, etc) is?

Borve Mission House, Isle of Harris

2012-01-21T10:55:00.001Z

In the course of a piece of research, I came upon a weddingin 1904 that took place at the Borve Mission House, Harris.

The certificaterecords that the ceremony was performed ‘According to the Forms of the UnitedFree Church of Scotland.’ The Minister was one Farquhar Kennedy from Lochalsh who in 1901 wasboarding at Manish Cottage with the Davidson family of the late Free ChurchMinister, Alexander Davidson.

Not having previously heard of Borve Mission House, Iendeavoured to learn more about it. A search on RCAHMS produced the Mission House in the old schoolbuilding on Scarpand a Mission Hall in Seilibost Seilibost. A more general search returned the Finsbay Mission House which is now an art studiobut certainly was performing its earlier function according to the records ofthe 1901 Census when the family of the 44 year-old Missionary Ronald MacSweenwere living there.

That same Census also provides us with a United Free ChurchMissionary at Little Borve. He was 56 year-old Donald MacDonald with his wifeand two daughters, the younger of whom having been born in North Uist some 18years earlier unlike her sister and parents who were all born in Harris. Their home is not referred to as 'Borve Mission House' but whether that is significant or not I cannot tell.

(Incidentally, in the previous Census of 1891 there was aMissionary along the coast at Big Borve, Lachlan Munro, but this was prior tothe formation of the United Free Church)

Turning to the United Free Church for possible assistance, I foundthis interesting and useful brief historybut the only archives I can locate do not appear to include those ofmissionaries working in Scotland?

Finally, I have been unable to find Borve Mission House onany maps so if anyone can provide some more details about this building I wouldbe delighted to hear from you!

Isabel Frances Grant (1887-1983) in 1891

2012-01-08T13:06:00.001Z

I am intending writing a short piece on ‘Highland Folk Ways’,the book published in 1961 which remains perhaps the best single-volumeintroduction to the history of Scottish Gaelic culture in all its guises.

However, whilst I wasundertaking some background research regarding the book’s author, Dr I F Grant,I discovered that at the time of the 1891 Census she was living in a particularlyinteresting household:

The three year-old is found with her paternal grandparents,Sir Patrick Grant and Frances Maria Grant, in the 'Chelsea Hospital' in London.Sir Patrick was a Field Marshall and Governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea until his death in 1895.

Dr Grant was to found the Highland Folk Museum, and in 2008 her account of that work was published.

A more detailed biography may be read on Am Bailebut I thought it worth noting the little girl’s presence at an institutionwhich included many Highlanders & Islanders amongst its in-patients andout-patients as demonstrated in this brief entry regarding Chelsea Pensioners found in Harris.

A slight diversion from my original intention, but one thatI thought worth sharing!

Untangling the Web (Makers)

2012-01-06T12:59:00.000Z

A couple of years ago I wrote about the unusual occurrenceof the term 'Web Maker'as an occupation amongst the good ladies of Harris in 1891 & 1901, endingwith the promise to investigate further when the 1911 Census had become searchable.

I am revisiting the topic because in fact the termdisappeared almost as quickly as it had popped-up in 1891! It is an occupationwholly unique to Harris and, with the sole exception recorded from 1901 in myearlier piece, exclusively in the 1891 Census.

However, its usage in that year was far more commonplacethan I first indicated for, because I was still at an early stage in teachingmyself how to interrogate the database, I had overlooked those ladies whorather than being recorded as a ‘Web Maker’ were listed as being a ‘Webmaker’.

A small but highly significant difference!

Thus in 1891 we find no less than 136 women on Harris whowere Web Makers/Webmakers and of these no less than 121 specify that what theyproducing was ‘Tweed’.

This is significant for two important reasons:

Firstly, it reinforces my finding that the term ‘HarrisTweed’ made a very late appearance on the stageand only once those ladies promoting the ‘Home Industries’ via a variety oforganisations had begun their endeavours.

Secondly, as I have been unable to discover anydistinguishing features separating ‘web making’ from ‘weaving’ as being termsfor the production of woven cloth from spun yarn, it means that we can add tothe number of weaveresses these webmakers and hence review the economic importanceof the production of Harris Tweed to Harris in 1891.

In 1891 Harris Tweed appears to have been being made by atleast 247 Weaveressesand 136 Webmakers so that a total of 383 women were creating Harris Tweed at thistime.

As there were some 2,662 women & girls living in Harris in 1891, thatfigure represents over 14% of the female population of the island!

This all fits rather well with an account from 1888, which incidentally also demonstrates the longevity of the involvement of 'Mrs Captain Thomas'with the work of regenerating the island following the famines & failure ofthe Kelp-industry earlier in the Century.

Another Maritime Casualty

2012-01-04T22:08:00.000Z

I mentioned in this earlier piecethat John Macleod (1879-1911), who became John Kerr when his mother MargaretMaclennan married his stepfather Roderick Kerr, had been a sailor and that hedied at sea.

The somewhat scant details are that sometime on Saturday 13^thof May 1911, when the vessel Castlefield was in ‘Genoa Harbour’, John wasdrowned. The circumstances leading to the 31 year-old Able Seaman’s drowningare not recorded.

The 2255 ton (1483 Net Tonnage) Castlefield had been builtin Stockton in 1890 and a record of the life of this ‘iron cargo steamship’from then until her eventual demise in 1958 can be seen here. We can see that from 1906 she was the property of W. S.Miller & Co. of Glasgow whose flag may be seen here.

John’s last place of abode is given on his certificate as 204Kelvinhaugh Street, Glasgow but this is followed by the word ‘Ship’ in bracketswhich is a slightly enigmatic addition? What is certain is that he was Britishand born in Harris for each of these is stated unambiguously.

I can barely begin to imagine the loss felt by his familyback in ‘Obbe’, Harris when they received the news of the loss of their son, aterm I use because I am sure that Roderick was a loving stepfather (he allowedJohn to take his name, for example) and, as the wee lad was only in his secondyear of life when the couple married at Scarista on Tuesday 22^nd ofFebruary 1881, Roderick would have been the only father that John would have known.

RIP John (Macleod) Kerr 1879-1911

1748 & All That

2011-12-20T21:55:00.001Z

In a paper from Volume 45 of the Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness the late Alick Morrison provides us with a glimpse into the ‘Harris Estate Papers 1724-1754’.

There is plenty of fertile ground here for anyone with an interest in the history of Harris and it is certainly worth noting in passing the significant role played by many members of the Campbell families in serving the island over many, many years.

However, what took my eye from within the transcribed accounts was a single payment of £60 made in 1748. That sum would be comparable to perhaps £100,000 in today’s salaries and should be considered in relation to the Factor’s £150 (£250,000), the Ground Officer’s £33 (£55,000) and the Deputy Forester’s £20 (£33,000).

The recipient of this payment was one Roderick Kerr but why he was being given such a sum is sadly unrecorded. Nevertheless, I am pleased to have found written evidence placing a Kerr in Harris at such an early date. What Roderick’s role was is open to conjecture, as is whether he was a direct ancestor of mine, but this single entry pushes back ‘our’ recorded presence by some 50 years.

It is also a very early record of the family name within the Highlands & Islands & we may note that nearly a century later, when the 1841 Census was taken, there were less than a dozen people named Roderick Kerr in the whole of Scotland and three of these were in Harris.

Our origins as a Gaelic family in the North-West, unconnected with the more-familiar Ayrshire clan, is open to conjecture (I am leaning towards possible descent from Alexander ‘Kier’ Shaw of Rothiemurcus!) but I’m delighted that Roderick’s £60 continues to be of value to us!

Ref: Morrison, Alick, 'Harris Estate Papers, 1752-1754' TGSI 45 (1967-68) 33-97

A Note In The Margin

2011-11-14T10:21:00.001Z

A recent exchange on a friend's blogoccasioned 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 localwaters I do not know. I do know that a group of, largely, such young men cannothave chosen to be living together in such circumstances if there were a morecompanionable alternative available.”

Deciding to look at the original census returnon scotlandspeople.gov.uk, I saw a note in the margin referring to these twogroups of fishers:

‘Thecontents of schedules 22 & 23 are two fishing boats’ crews; they belong toother parts of this parish but have also houses here (Limera) as being aneligible fishing station: they were both at sea when their schedules were takenup. Their relation to one another or the ‘Head of Family’ could not in every case beascertained by R M Esq.’

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

The interesting pieces of additional informationare that, whilst the two crews were indeed ‘making-useof the facilities...’ which I had suggested might be the case, thehouses they inhabited were in fact occupied by them in what appears to havebeen a regular manner at this ‘eligiblefishing station’.

A Death in Stornoway Town Hall

2011-11-11T07:41:00.001Z

It is 1:45 in the afternoon of Tuesday, the 19^thof May 1904 and building work on Stornoway Town Hall has been brought to ahalt. William J Macdonald, a 21 year-old House Carpenter originally from Avoch,a few miles North of Inverness, but currently living at 27 South Beach Street,has just died of a fracture of the skull.

His death was registered on Saturday, the 14^th ofJune (the figure is a little unclear), the delay being occasioned because itwas registered ‘on the information of the Procurator Fiscal’, the cause beingderived ‘...per verdict of jury.’

I have not discovered any online references to this tragic eventbut no doubt some of the newspapers of the time will have reported upon it.Meanwhile we may catch a glimpse of William three years before his death when,at the time of the 1901 Census, he was an 18 year-old ‘Carpenter Apprentice’, the eldest of the remainingsix children of William Macdonald, a 50 year-old Baker, and his wife Catherinewho was aged 44.

The family resided at 3 George Street, Avoch, Ross-shire andwere affluent enough to employ a Cook. Adecade earlier they had been living at 20 & 21 Margaret Street and, as wellas two fellow Bakers and an Apprentice Baker, the Macdonald household alsoincluded a General Servant (Domestic). The oldest child, 9 year-old Jessie AnnMacdonald, had been born in Avoch as would be the case with all of her siblings.

I stumbled upon this unusual death by chance when I saw thephotograph of William Macdonald’s memorial here: http://gravestones.rosscromartyroots.co.uk/picture/number14047.asp. The phrase ‘accidentally killed at Stornoway Town Hall’ immediately grabbedmy attention but what held it was the fact that this impressive memorial hadbeen ‘Erected by his employer’.

Sadly, when William’s death was recorded in Stornoway, hewas said to be 25 years old rather than his true age of just 21, for WilliamJames Macdonald had indeed been born in 1883.

His memorial also shows that amere two years after his death the family suffered a second untimely death withthe loss of Jessie Ann at the age of just 25...

Lexy Morrison (1834-1921) & Lexy Campbell (1908-1994)

2011-10-16T16:07:00.001+01:00

I don’t know why I’d not looked at Lexy Kerr’s DeathCertificate before now, but I hadn’t...

She was born in South Uist to Donald Morrison (who would laterbecome the schoolmaster at Kyles Scalpay,) and his wife Christina MacKinnon.

By 1861, Lexy Morrison had joined the household of the Factor, JohnRobertson Macdonald, at Rodil House where she was the House Maid. It was therethat she met the then Ploughman, Angus Kerr, whom she married on the 5^thof April 1870 and the census of the following year records the couple living inRodel where Angus was now the Farm Grieve, or manager.

Their daughter Marion, an only child, was born in Rodel in 1873and the family remained there with Marion marrying a farmer called JohnCampbell. John’s father, Roderick Campbell, had been farmingBorve in the island of Berneray prior to it being re-crofted but the pair werealso successful Fish Curers in South Harris.

John then became the farmer on Taransay and Marion was to give birth to two daughter and three sons theeldest of whom, Roderick Campbell, continued to farm on the island after hisfather’s death in 1945, some 11 years after Marion herself had died.

Marion’s mother, Lexy, had been widowed in 1910 and I hadassumed that she remained in Rodel (where she is recorded living alone in 1911)until her own death 11 years later.

However, her death certificate informs usthat, on the 29^th of October 1921 at 7:30 in the morning, she passedaway at ‘Tarinsay Island’.

I presume that at some time during the second decade of thetwentieth century, Marion had invited her elderly mother to join the Campbellfamily on Taransay and hence that was where Lexy died.

The informant, incidentally, was Malcolm Campbell, describedas a ‘neighbour’ in Borve, Harris but he is also very likely to have been oneof her son-in-law’s relatives.

Half-a-century after Lexy’s death her grand-daughter LexyCampbell, (who had married but remainedat Taransay) had some visitors and in his book ‘The Isle of Taransay’, Bill Lawsonrefers to how hospitable she and her husband Ewen MacRae were as hosts.

Lexy had been born at Taransay on the 4^th ofSeptember 1908 and died on the Harris ‘mainland’ in 1994. She would have been only 17 months old when her grandfather, Angus Kerr, died at Rodel on the 27^thof February 1910 but I’d like to think that at least a little of her hospitalityhad been inherited from him and, of course, from her grandmother Lexy after whom she was, presumably, named.

It seems that my two cousins, Lexy Campbell and her son Ewen MacRae, were the last permanent residents of Taransay but what is unclear to me is whether another cousin (one of Lexy's brothers) had owned the island at some earlier time?

Peter Kerr (1802-1862)

2011-09-17T09:41:00.000+01:00

When I first came upon Peter, whilst compiling my comprehensive &detailed family tree of the ‘Kerrs ofHarris’ some four years ago, it was inevitable that a small frisson ofexcitement occurred: Were we related, by any chance?

Let us look at what the three censuses have to tell us about Peter& his family:

1841

Peter Kerr, 45, Tenant, Kentulavig, b. Inverness

Margaret, 40, b. Inverness

Mary, 15, b. Inverness

Kenneth, 12, b. Inverness

John, 10, b. Inverness

Effy, 8, b. Inverness

Catherine, 5, b.Inverness

Donald, 8 months, b. Inverness

1851

Peter Kerr, 55, Dry Mason, Kintulavick, Harris, b. Harris

Margaret, 50, Wife, b. Harris

Rachel, 16, Daughter, b. Harris

William, 11, Son, b. Harris

1861

Peter Kerr,67, Stone Mason, Soroba Lower, Craignish, Argyll, b. Harris

Margaret,62, Wife, b. Harris

Rachel Stables, 25, Daughter, A Painter’s Wife, b.Harris

MargaretStables, 2, Granddaughter, b. Craignish

PhemieStables, 8 months, Granddaughter, b. Craignish

RoderickKerr, 6, Grandson, b. Harris

We can seethat Peter & Margaret had at least 6 or 8 children born between circa 1825and 1840 in Harris and that he was a mason. Incidentally, he would have been inthe right place at the right time to have been involved in the construction ofthe Telford Church on Berneray, but equally likely was ‘merely’ responsible fordomestic buildings and/or dykes on the island?

Peter died at2 o’clock in the afternoon of the 22^nd of February 1862, aged 60, atSoroba, Craignish. He had been sufferingfrom diseased kidneys and an ulcerated bladder for several years. His parents,both deceased, were a Farmer, Donald Kerr, and his wife Sarah Ferguson, andPeter’s widow had been born Margaret MacAskill. The death was registered byPeter’s son, William.

That waspretty much all that I had established about him (although I had followed his descendantsa little further) until quite recently when I learnt that a Patrick Keir hadbeen a tenant in Rushgarry on the Island of Berneray in 1830 and that he wasbelieved to be the mason who appears a decade later on mainland Harris.

Revisitingmy research in the light of this new knowledge I realised that we havecorroboration in the form of Peter’s wife’s, his mother’s & his own namefor MacAskill & Ferguson are family names particularly well associated withBerneray whilst the Gaelic Padruig (which we see as ‘Patrick in 1830) was usuallyanglicised on the island in later years into Peter rather than Patrick.

The use of ‘Keir’in 1830 suggests to me an Anglicisation of ‘Cearr’ which also fuels anotherlittle fire of mine:

Alexander ‘Keir’ (for ‘brown or, perhaps,swarthy) Shaw was one of the possible progenitors of the Shaw families ofHarris. Did some of his descendants in the area choose to adopt his ‘moniker’as a way of distinguishing themselves from their other Shaw neighbours in theregion? If so, were my own earliest island ancestors, Malcolm Kerr & EffieShaw, perhaps distantly related by very early roots in Rothiemurchus?

I really don’tknow, but I’m reasonably satisfied that my namesake was a son of Berneray althoughthe pattern of his son’s names appears quite different to the predominantly Malcolm/Angus/Johnrepetition that occurs in my own family.

I shouldalso point out this family which appears in the ‘Register of Emigrantsfrom the Western Isles of Scotland 1750-1900, Volume 1 Isle of Harris’:

Peter Kerr,Margaret Kerr, (Wife), John, Rachel, Donald, William, Catherine, Kenneth, Effie& Mary

They are stated as having left Harris between 1850& 1859 for ‘Port Uncertain’.

I think itis clear that this is the same family and thus that their destination (or,rather, the place where at least some of the family, including both the parents,emigrated to) was Craignish in Argyll.

Finally, andtaking a real flight of fancy, if Peter’s father Donald Kerr was an (otherwiseunrecorded) farmerof that name on Berneray, then perhaps he & ‘my’ Malcolmwere in some way related, perhaps even brothers? They were certainly contemporaries( & neighbours across the Sound) so maybe my flight of fancy as to onepossible origin of my family name in these parts isn’t quite as wild as I firstthought...

Campbell Family Gravestone at Scarista

2011-09-06T09:29:00.000+01:00

Contributor JM very kindly sent me a picture taken earlier this year in the cemetery at Scarista, Harris.
I am extremely grateful to him and wondering particularly about the story of what appears to be the monogram 'CK' at the head of the stone?

The Taransay Connection

2011-08-30T10:21:00.000+01:00

At eleven o'clock on the morning on the24^th of July 1934 Marion Campbell, wife of the sheepfarmer John Campbell, died on the island of Taransay. The 66 year oldhad been suffering from throat cancer for at least a year. Her deathwas registered by her son, Roderick Campbell (then resident inLeverburgh) who became the last resident farmer of Taransay followinghis father's death on the island in 1945.

Roderick's grandparents were RoderickCampbell, from Drinishader (later moving to Scadabay) on mainland Harris, andLizzie (Elizabeth) MacRae who lived, and was very likely born upon,the island of Killegray in the Sound of Harris. Her father, KennethMacRae, would later become the farmer at Little Borve following thefinal Clearance of the Borves by the Factor, John RobertsonMacDonald.

Similarly Lizzie's husband, the FishCurer Roderick Campbell, would, following her death in 1888 and hisremarrying, become the farmer of Borve, Berneray which the sameFactor had also had Cleared during his time on Harris. Roderick,appearing on the scene several decades after the Clearance, wasreputedly a well-liked & benevolent farmer and, although hisdeparture from Berneray had been preceded by an act of unaccustomedvandalism involving the sinking of a boat, the crofters apparentlymeant him no personal animosity but were merely wanting theirhereditary land returned to them. In this they were to succeed whenthe farm was recrofted in 1900.

Roderick and his son John weresuccessful Fish Curers in Rodel but I wish to take the family a fewgenerations back, before progressing further forward. Roderick'sfather, John Campbell, had been a Merchant in Scadabay and it wasthere that the 63 year old died in 1866. He left a widow, RachaelMacDonald, and also the name of his parents, Kenneth Campbell andRachael Morrison.

Now, my understanding is that theseCampbells were related to the Campbell family of Strond includingAnne Campbell, the benevolent holder of the tack of Killegray &Strond who was engaged in legal wrangles with Donald Stewart in the1830s and who had provided a place to live for some of those thrownfrom their homes in Rodel by her half-nephew, Alexander Hume MacLeod,back in 1818.

Allow me to elaborate upon that lastpoint for it is a connection that I have only just this moment made!Alexander Hume MacLeod was the son of Captain Alexander MacLeod whowas the second son to be born to Donald MacLeod, the 'Old Trojan' ofBerneray during his first marriage. Anne was the widow of (another)Kenneth Campbell but had been born Anne MacLeod, the sixth of thenine children sired by the 'Old Trojan' during the 15 year course ofhis third marriage.

It is surely not difficult to imagineAnne's horror when her absentee-landlording relative wreaked suchhavoc upon people whom she had lived amongst all her life - and that hewas doing so in total disregard to, and disrespect of, the wishes &endeavours of her deceased half-brother?

Anne was born circa 1775 and this,together with the information on John Campbell's Death Certificate,suggests that her late husband Kenneth Campbell and the KennethCampbell whose line led to Taransay were probably of similar ages, although not necessarily of the same generation?

I really don't know the details of anysuch link but I think it is becoming clear that the web ofconnections across the Sound of Harris are many and complex and that,by examining them, we may well be able to begin to better understand themotivations of those who played significant roles in the history ofHarris.

Which takes us back to Taransay for,although not in the Sound itself, the lady who may well have been oneof the last to end her days upon that isle did indeed begin her lifeon the shore of the Sound. Marion Campbell had been born on the 15th of October 1872, theeldest child of the Farm Grieve at Rodel. His name was Angus Kerr andMarion was my 2^nd Cousin thrice removed.

RIP Marion Kerr 1872-1934

A note on sources: Were I to fullyannotate this piece it would perhaps double in length, but being introduced recently to the work of the late Alick Morrison, who was elucidatinginterconnections some thirty years prior to my attempting to do so,has proved extremely fruitful and, most encouragingly, has also corroboratedseveral of my own stumbling efforts!

About the Hebrides No VIII

2011-05-29T08:07:00.000+01:00

'Tarbert in Harris, to which the Clansman conveyed us from Loch Maddy in North Uist, was described to us by a residenter of the place, though not a native, as consisting of 26 dwelling-houses and 13 shops – he begged pardon, business premises of “merchants”. This is possibly a rather rough-and-ready summing-up, but it is correct enough in so far as indicating that the number of the latter is distinctly out of proportion to the number and requirements of the former.

The village stands at the head of East Loch Tarbert, that indentation of the sea that cuts into the land from the Minch to about a quarter of a mile from the head of West Loch Tarbert, similarly indenting it from the Atlantic, the so close approach of the two all but constituting the southern portion of Harris an island. As it is, the march between the two districts is here, the proprietor of North Harris being Sir Edward H Scott, Bart., and of South Harris the Earl of Dunmore.

The houses are all on the north or right hand side as you enter by the steamer, ust where the loch or bay becomes a creek of 300 or 400 yards in length, and narrowing to less than 50 yards at the top. The first structure to catch the eye is the Free Church, a plain enough building, erected on the summit of an eminence jutting into the sea immediately eastward of the pier. Close at hand, but standing a little lower, is the manse, a comfortable-looking, white-washed house, with a neatly-kept kitchen garden in front and sheltered so far from the wind and spray by some trees – the latter not of any dimensions, truly, but still forming a show of “wood” surpassing what we had seen as yet in working up the Long Island. Then comes the wooden pier, up from which, by a path that winds round to westward, you pass the schoolhouse (the of teacher which is also the registrar for the district, &c.), and get onto the main road or street, on the right of which stand the houses and stores of which, as above mentioned, the village consists. To right and left respectively of the pierhead is a row of eight or ten of these, some slated and others roofed with zinc, and all of one storey only.

Beyond these, going on to the head of the loch, there is a hiatus, to which succeeds a row of about a dozen newer-looking houses, two or or three of which are of two storeys and “semi-detached” from their neighbours. At the very head of the bay is the old Tarbert Inn , now disused as such; and across the road from this, almost down on the shore, the modern post and telegraph office. Following the road westwards two minutes' walk brings you to the new Tarbert Hotel, in the very centre of the isthmus, and 30 or 40 yards further on is the house of the medical man of the district, Dr Stewart, which commands the view away down West Loch Tarbert.'

This is a gem of a description of Tarbert from 130 years ago and I only wish that I could name the author! However, we can identify '...Dr Stewart...' as James Stewart for this young 'Physician and Surgeon' from Perthshire is found living in Kintulavig in 1881 and at 15 West Tarbert a decade later

Similary, we can be sure that the teacher who was '...also the registrar for the district, &c.' was the Glaswegian Donald Bethune, he being the Schoolteacher in Tarbert in 1881 & 1891 , and that the Minister in the Manse was Roderick Mackenzie from Assynt in Sutherland who a few months after the publication of this article was giving his evidence to the Napier Commission where he makes particular reference to the work of Fanny Thomas .

We are especially fortunate in having the 1882 6-inch Ordnance Survey map (surveyed in 1878) on which to follow in the footsteps of our unknown author and then we should perhaps refresh ourselves at the '...new Tarbert Hotel ...' before returning later to examine the remainder of his piece...

Source: Glasgow Herald 16^th September 1882 p3

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wWZEAAAAIBAJ&sjid=H7IMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1082%2C5453754

About the Hebrides No VII

2011-05-11T15:11:00.000+01:00

'At the inn here we met again with one of the commercial gentlemen whom we had encountered at the different markets coming north. He was a travelling agent of the Singer's Sewing Machine Company; and in proof of how general is becoming the adoption of these useful instruments everywhere, he told me that since leaving Barra he had sold ten machines in the Long Island; and, after paying all his own travelling expenses, had remitted over £70 to headquarters, in payment or part payment of machines sold by him on his last journey in these parts. He added that now-a-days it is quite common, in what we should call little Highland tailors' shops, to find two machines going in full swing. We had had no idea previous to this time of the amount of business generally done by southern firms with the people of the Outer Hebrides, and therefore might well be surprised by one fact, among others, told us by this same gentleman – namely, that a well-known tea merchant hailing from Edinburgh, who regularly makes exhaustive journeys through the Long Island on his own account, will take home with him as the “collection” of one such visit about £1000. True, he has the great advantage of being thoroughly au-fait in the language of the natives, and he supplies numerous private customers as well as the merchants; but still – the statement surprised us.'

Before examining this account, I should like to look a little at the inn's location which was in '...Tigharry, a township not far from Griminish Point...' on North Uist where the '...somewhat humble but snug hostelry...' was kept by 'Mr Roderick Macaulay and his most capable and willing help-meet...'.

In 1841, the innkeeper at Tigh a' Gerraidh (Tigharry) was 40 year-old Donald Macaulay who remained there in 1851 & 1861 but with the inclusion of 'Farmer of 16 acres' & then 'Farmer of 14 acres' as additional occupations.

In fact some 33 households are shown with the address of 'Tigheary Inn' in 1861, the Enumerator presumably considering this it to be the appropriate means of identifying the settlement as a whole?

Unfortunately the censuses of 1871 & 1881 return no clear indication of those (if there were indeed any?) living at, or keeping, the inn but the location can easily be seen on the 1881 OS 6-inch map.

In 1891 a Roderick Macaulay aged 54 was a Farmer in the township but, once again, the inn is not mentioned so whether he is the same person who nine years earlier had been the inn-keeper I cannot say.

Returning to the article itself, it is the information to be gleaned from the agent of the Singer Sewing Machine Company that demands our attention.

Firstly, a sum of £70 in 1882 equates to at least £5200 today (and quite possibly a lot more), the figure representing a combination of full and part payments for machines and after all the agent's own expenses had been deducted from the sales. Small wonder that he had returned for another tour! I cannot find a price for a Singer sewing machine in 1882 but a close rival was on the market for about £4, equating to around £300 today.

Secondly, the image of a couple of Singer sewing machines 'going in full swing' in many 'little Highland tailor's shops' is, at one and the same time, both reassuringly 'cosy' and also a pleasing antidote to the more-usual portrayal of island folk as automatically rejecting all such innovations.

Finally, the “collection” of £1000 by the Edinburgh tea merchant perhaps comes as no particular surprise until you update it to about £75,000 in today's money. That's a lot of tea (although precisely how much I cannot say) and the wily mainland merchant maximised his return by selling directly to his thirsty 'Long Island' customers as well as to the local merchants.

There we shall have to leave these travellers for now, enjoying their refreshments in Roderick Macaulay's inn, but perhaps we'll meet them again soon for they have many more interesting insights to provide us with into late 19thC life on the Long Island...

Source: Glasgow Herald September 1882

What Became Of This Model of a Norse Mill?

2011-05-10T17:06:00.000+01:00

Readers of the Glasgow Herald on the 14^th of April 1886 may have noticed an article relating the events of the monthly meeting of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland that had taken place on the previous Monday evening. The Herald records that the Treasurer of the Society, Gilbert Goudie, presented a paper on the horizontal water mills of Shetland and that a 'model of one still existing in Taransay, Harris was exhibited'. Intrigued by this, I looked for Goudie's original paper where we learn that:

'Mr Duncan Macdonald, who is intimately acquainted with the Harris district, has described to me an old mill which he has frequently seen in use in the island of Taransay. I am indebted to his kindness for the carefully executed model now exhibited.'

The site of the mills in Taransay that Duncan Macdonald had observed in operation and upon which his model was based is described as lying '...on the Allt a'Mhuilinn, just above the point where it turns to the west along the edge of the machair at the back of Paibeil.' as can be seen in this page from The Papar Project .

Goudie's paper, which is a most interesting read and has several lovely line-drawings illustrating the text, unfortunately has neither a description nor a sketch of the model itself which leads me to wonder whatever became of Duncan Macdonald's 'carefully executed model'?

One other snippet of note is that 'Mr Alexander Carmichael, an authority on all matters relating to social economics and local characteristics in the Western Isles, tells me he has seen several such mills at work in Harris and the Lews.' but I do not know whether Carmichael recorded their location within his extensive writings?

Notes:

Gilbert Goudie has a page on his life & work here: http://shetlopedia.com/Gilbert_Goudie

We find the 57 year-old Bank Inspector from Dunrossness, Shetland, living in 1881 at 39 Northumberland Street, Edinburgh, along with his sister, her son, a Housemaid and a Cook.

Sources:

Glasgow Herald 14^th April 1886

Proceedings of the society of Antiquaries of Scotland Volum 20 1885-86 page 285 http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/ARCHway/toc.cfm?rcn=1340&vol=20

The Papar Project – Taransay http://www.paparproject.org.uk/hebrides7.html

Glasgow International Exhibition 1888

2011-05-10T08:48:00.000+01:00

'The Glasgow Exhibition was yesterday visited by upwards of 66,000 persons.'

The total number of visitors to the Exhibition exceeded five-and-a-half million (slightly more than visited the London Exhibition) and amongst the exhibits available to them, in the Women's Industries Section, was a section from the Home Arts and Industries Association:

'An interesting and important part of the society's work at present is the developing and improving of the wool-spinning and weaving industries in the Western Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Nearly 2000 women are employed under one class holder, Mrs Thomas, in spinning, dyeing and weaving; and in this exhibit is shown how the heavy woollen fabrics woven by them may be used for curtains, portieres, etc. Specimens of cloth and also of knitted socks, etc, are shown in a wall case outside the stand.'

This is tantalising for I have only come across one 'Mrs Thomas' involved with 'heavy woollen fabrics' and 'knitted socks' in the region. We know that in 1883 Fanny Thomas had still been taking boat trips to Taransay in connection with her work on the islands , that in 1897 she had endowed the Manish Victoria Cottage Hospital and that she appears to have maintained her interest until her death in Edinburgh in 1902 . The figure of 'nearly 2000 women' is astounding but, if this obituary is accurate, then at one time she had 400 stocking knitters on Harris alone!

'Mrs Muir, of Lerwick, has brought with her three workers, who may be seen carding, spinning and knitting Shetland wool at her stand. This lady shows also a quantity of work knitted in the Fair Isles which is entirely different to the ordinary Shetland work, being bright and gay in colouring, and some of it very intricate in pattern. This kind of work is said to have been introduced into the islands by some of the Spaniards who were wrecked there at the time of the Spanish Armada. Not far from Mrs Muir's stand is that of the Harris weaver, who, upon a very primitive loom, occasionally illustrates the weaving of the now famous and fashionable Harris tweeds. This loom was sent by Lady Scott, who takes great interest in the “homespun” industry of the Hebrides; and to the exertions of this lady and several others these textile industries owe their revival and recent development.'

I have included the Fair Isle section because, whilst straying outside my usual territory, it includes the story of wrecked sailors from the Armada and other similar tales are heard on the Western Isles.

The 'Lady Scott' referred to in regard to the loom upon which the (sadly un-named) Harris weaveress was working was Emilie, widow of Sir Edward Henry Scott and who, coincidently, had become a widow in 1883 which was the same year that Fanny Thomas's husband Captain FWL Thomas had also died. This is the first direct reference I have found to the work of Lady Scott and it is entirely in keeping with the high regard with which the Scott family are held as proprietors of the North Harris Estate.

Finally, the use of the phrase 'their revival and recent development' with reference to the 'homespun' textile industries of the Hebrides fits the pattern seen in the census data on Harris Weavers. .

Source: Glasgow Herald 10^th November 1888 page 4

http://news.google.co.uk/newspapers?id=mFlEAAAAIBAJ&sjid=87EMAAAAIBAJ&dq=glasgow%20international%20exhibition&pg=1430%2C3526645

Note: The Home Arts & Industries Association, founded in 1884 by Eglantyne Louisa Jebb, was yet another organisation associated with the burgeoning arts & crafts movement in Britain and was functioning alongside others such as the Scottish Home Industries Association.

The Board of Supervision and the Destitution in the Highlands

2011-05-09T14:29:00.000+01:00

(From a Correspondent) Glasgow Herald 23 April 1883 page 8

'The special tour of inspection undertaken in the bitterly cold month of March by the two inspecting officers of the Board of Supervision, while it has fully corroborated the tales of distress from the Hebrides and the West Coast with which the public have for some time past been familiar, puts us in possession of nothing new regarding the deplorable condition of the able-bodied population in these regions.'

Thus begins a lengthy and very detailed article that proceeds to patiently, artfully and skilfully demolish the findings of the report published following the inspection. In this piece I am focussing upon the visit of 'Mr Peterkin' to Harris:

'Mr Peterkin next visits Harris, North and South. A striking contrast appears between the two sections. In the North the proprietor, Sir Edward H. Scott, Bart., is doing everything needful for his people; while in the South, under the Dowager Countess of Dunmore as trustee, the people seem to be suffering, and have now been helped in money to the extent of £600 from the London Committee – evidently the result of Lord Dunmore's recent visit to the metropolis to “beg aid for the distressed people.”'

A brief biography of Sir Edward H. Scott is to be found in this earlier piece which contains a link to further information on his family's contribution to Harris. The visits of SS Dunara Castle to Harris, an innovation of the Baronet's that did much for the island's economy, are recorded in the censuses and may be read here , here and here . It is worth mentioning that the 1891 visit records Malcolm McNeill of the Board of Supervision as one of the passengers, reminding us that, even eight years after the publication of the article in the Glasgow Herald, the work of that Board in the islands remained very much 'in progress'. (Those with an interest in 'Society Gossip' may also wish to read this from the Spring of 1899 regarding Sir Samuel Scott's wife. )

The aspect that interests me the most is the identification of the suffering of the people in South Harris '...under the Dowager Countess of Dunmore as trustee...' . Firstly, why was the 42 year-old 7^th Earl's 69 year-old mother acting as trustee to the Estate at a time when her son was not performing military duties abroad as indicated by reference to his recent visit to London? Secondly, the fact that we are provided with a contrast between the situation in the North (thanks to the attitude and activities of the proprietor Sir E Scott) and the situation in the South (where we are told that the proprietor went to London “...to beg aid...”) is a clear statement as to where the writer considers the blame to lie.

A century earlier Rodel had been the powerhouse of development under Captain Alexander Macleod and Tarbert was no more than a small cluster of houses at the head of the West Loch (as can be clearly seen in Bald's 1804/5 map).

The Tarbert of the 1880s was a small yet thriving town strung mainly along the Northern shore of the East Loch whilst Rodel had been reduced to little more than an island retreat for an apparently absent landlord.

'On this estate there are about 128 crofters, of whom 74 pay rents of from £4 to £5 each; 38 pay from £5 to £7 each; and 16 from £7 to £10 each. Some of these crofters are in arrears with their rents, and are now employed in working off this burden by roadmaking and trenching near the proprietor's residence. It would have looked as well to have let the arrears to stand over in present circumstances and allowed the crofters to work their land and sow seed with a view to averting the calamities of famine next year.'

An interrogation of the 1881 census reveals 121 households headed by a Crofter which accords pretty well with the figure of 128 a couple of years later as given here. It is interesting to note that 58% of these were in the category paying the lowest rentals, 30% in the middle group and only 12% at the highest level as this gives us an indication of the distribution of rents, in this case one that is heavily 'skewed' towards the lower end.

The roadmaking was clearly limited to a small area around Rodel for, as can be seen in this evidence to the 'recently appointed Royal Commission' mentioned at the end of the article, the Bays were still in desperate need of a road and it would be another fourteen years before the 'Golden Road' was completed.

'Mr Peterkin reports that some of them have poultry and some cattle and sheep, but that the crofters would not willingly sell any stock this season. He might have added that no one would buy them at this season.'

The writer was clearly unimpressed by the Edinburgh-born Mr Peterkin's ignorance of island agriculture and ensures that we are made aware of it:

'The Harris cattle possessed by crofters are not of a good stamp, and bring but poor prices at anytime. It is said, and there is little reason to doubt it, that they feed partly on sea-weed in winter and spring, and at this time they are fit neither for being eaten or being sold to advantage.'

We should remember that the Harris cattle possessed by others, notably those of the Stewart & McRa farming families, were prized beasts that won awards but, for some strange reason, the benefit of breeding wasn't accorded to their crofting neighbours. I do have to take the writer to task on the matter of cattle consuming seaweed for my understanding is that this is actually beneficial to them and hence not a factor in their fitness for either sale or consumption?

The idea of poultry is rather comical. The poorest of the poor in the Highlands has two or three hens. If they are killed for food they will not last long, and there will be no eggs.

This is the writer's final twist of his 'pen/knife' and he then ends with a prescient predication as to what the forthcoming Napier Commission would discover:

There seems to be a providence in the present state of matters, bringing the wretchedness of the people to the surface, to give plenty of scope to the recently appointed Royal Commission.

I would dearly love to learn who the author of this article was but meanwhile here is a compilation of 'snapshots' of his 'target', William Arthur Peterkin (1824-1906 ), taken from the censuses of 1851-1901 and with his occupation shown in bold:

1851 27, Senior Clerk board of Supervision, Lewis Castle, Stornoway Distillery, Stornoway, b. Nk

(As seen in this earlier piece )

1861 37, First Class Clerk, Civil Service Poor Law, 14 Grove Street, Edinburgh, b. Edinburgh

(Wife, 5 children aged 1 to 7, a Cook, a Nurse and a Nurse Maid)

1871 47, Civil Service Poor Law, General Superintendent of Poor, North District, Scotland. Inspecting Officer of Board of Supervision Under Public Health Act, Scotland, 9 Albert Street, Nairn, b. St Cuthbert's, Edinburgh

(Wife, 7 children aged 3 to 17, a Domestic Cook and a Housemaid)

1881 57, H.M.C.S. Board of Supervision, Visitor, 25 Union Street, Inverness, b. St Cuthbert, Midlothian

(25 Union Street was a hotel kept by a 35 year-old, Donald Davidson, from Elgin)

1891 67, Civil Service – Inspector, Terry Road (North Side) Fairholm, Edinburgh, b. Edinburgh

(Wife, 4 children aged 25 to 31, 2 Domestic Servants and 2 Visitors)

1901 77, Annuitant (Retired from Civil Service), 7 Eildon Street, Edinburgh, b. Edinburgh

(Wife, 2 children aged 39 & 47, 2 General Servants (Domestic) and a Visitor)

His occupational titles of 1871 are certainly the longest that I have yet read in the censuses!

Source: Article may be read online here:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YsI-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=akwMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1896%2C1652600

'A Traveller's Guide to Literary Scotland'

2011-05-06T10:45:00.000+01:00

Visit Scotland, in collaboration with the University of Glasgow and The Association for Scottish Literary Studies, has produced this very attractive introductory guide which is available for download from the ASLS site .

The guide displays the writers by region and then provides brief biographies (listed alphabetically) before displaying all the locations on a map.

A very useful, informative & handy publication.

'Listening For The Past'

2011-05-05T10:28:00.000+01:00

'On the Machair' and 'Tweed' are two pieces of 'docu-music' composed by Cathy Lane.

Cathy is Co-Director of CRiSAP (Creative Research into Sound Arts Practice) at the University of the Arts, London. Her article 'Listening For The Past' - 'A composer's ear-lead approach to exploring island culture past and present in the Outer Hebrides' is published in the current issue of the journal Shima and can be read here: Volume 5 Number 1 2011 p114-127.

Enjoy!

Note: More of Cathy Lane's work is available online: http://soundcloud.com/playingwithwords

General John Francis Birch, Royal Engineers

2011-05-04T09:14:00.000+01:00

In this brief biographical piece on Admiral Henry Charles Otter (who was a hero of the first successful laying of a Transatlantic Cable and also the Hydrographic Surveyor in charge of charting the West Coast of Scotland) we met the General at his home in Portsea, Hampshire in 1851. He was laid to rest in Crondall, Hampshire in 1856 and, although he was a Royal Engineer, I was unable to link him to the Ordnance Survey.

However, there are five references from 1834 of the work of Colonel John Francis Birch in The National Archives in Kew. One of the five relates to a 'Copy of a Plan of part of the Ordnance land at Berry Head purchased in 1794'. Scale: 3.7 inches to 10 chains. Compass indicator. Signed by John Francis Birch, Colonel, Commanding Royal Engineers' which led me to an article on 'The History of the Berry Head Fortifications' by D Evans . Birch appears to have been involved with matters surrounding the site for several years in the early 1830. The article provides evidence of his role within the Board of Ordnance but suggests that he was probably not involved with the specific branch of the Board, formed in 1791 , that is the Ordnance Survey. More 'concrete' confirmation comes in the form of an 'Oblong section block of Devonian limestone with rounded top, built up against stone rubble wall. Incised with letters BO and figure 3. Arrow at the top ' erected at Berry Head in 1830 by Colonel Birch.

The main reason for this little excursion into the work of General John Francis Birch was because he was Admiral Henry Charles Otter's father-in-law but clearly they were two men who shared a passion for, and were each exemplary exponents of, 19th Century cartography.

'The Hebridean Breed' – The True Kyloe

2011-05-01T09:26:00.000+01:00

'Cattle; Their Breeds, Management and Diseases; With An Index' by William Youatt was published in 1834 by Baldwin & Cradock (London) for The Society For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge (SDUK) as the latest addition to their 'Library of Useful Knowledge'.

The SDUK, as can be read here , was begun by Lord Peter Henry Brougham who was Rector of the University of Glasgow from 1824 to 1826 and instrumental in establishing the University of London. .

William Youatt (1776-1847) was an outstanding Veterinary Surgeon born in Exeter in the county of Devon. He devotes several pages (p64-73) to 'The Hebridean Breed' and I have extracted some of his more interesting observations (in italics), rearranging them under ten different headings and with some comments of my own:

THE WEST HIGHLAND CATTLE/THE HEBRIDEAN BREED

DESCRIPTIONS

There is little or no variety of breeds of cattle in the Hebrides. They are pure West Highlanders.

Apparently the most ancient breed of cattle in the country.

We have been favoured with the following excellent description of the true Kyloe, or West Highland bull, by Malcolm M'Neill, Esq., of the Isle of Islay, the southernmost of the inner range of the Hebrides:

'The Highland bull should be black, the head not large, the ears thin, the muzzle fine, and rather turned up. He should be broad in the face, the eyes prominent, and the countenance calm and placid. The horns should taper finely to a point; and, neither drooping too much, nor rising too high, should be of a waxy colour, and widely set on at the root. The neck should be fine, particularly where it joins the head, and rising with a gentle curve from the shoulder. The breast wide, and projecting well before the legs. The shoulders broad at the top, and the chine so full as to leave but little hollow behind them. The girth behind the shoulder deep; the back straight, wide, and flat; the ribs broad; the space between them and the hips small; the belly not sinking low in the middle; yet, in the whole, not forming the round and barrel-like carcase which some have described. The thigh tapering to the hock-joint; the bones larger in proportion to the size than in the breeds of the southern districts. The tail set on a level with the back. The legs short and straight. The whole carcase covered with a thick long coat of hair, and plenty of hair also about the face and horns, and that hair not curly.'

Mr. Macgillivray, in his 'Prize Essay on the present State of the Outer Hebrides,' says,

'The black cattle are small, but well proportioned; and on the tacksmen's farms (a tacksman is one who has a large tract of land, which he holds by lease) they are generally of good breed, and, although not heavy, very handsome. They are covered with a thick and long pile during winter and spring; and a good pile is considered one of the essential qualifications of a cow.

The most common colours are black, red, brown, or brandered, (that is, a mixture of red and brown in stripes—brindled.') A whitish dun colour is also pretty frequently seen, not unlike that of the original wild cattle of Scotland...and it is remarked, that in all their traditions or fables of what are called fairy-cattle, this is the colour ascribed to these animals'

'Mr. Macgillivray' was William Macgillivray, the Naturalist who farmed at Northton and who is mentioned in this piece regarding an annotation on Bald's Map of Harris.

The value of the West Highland cattle consists in their being hardy, and easily fed; in that they will live, and sometimes thrive, on the coarsest pastures; that they will frequently gain from a fourth to a third of their original weight in six months' good feeding; that the proportion of offal is not greater than in the most improved larger breeds; that they will lay their flesh and fat equably on the best parts; and that, when fat, the beef is closed fine in the grain, highly flavoured, and so well mixed or marbled, that it commands a superior price in every market.

Mr. Moorhouse, from Craven, in Yorkshire, in 1763, was the first Englishman who came into the Hebrides to buy cattle. In the absence of her husband, Mr. M'Donald, of Kingsburgh, he was kindly entertained by Flora M'Donald, who made up for him the same bed that, seventeen years before, had received the unfortunate Prince Charles.

'KYLOE'

...no other breed of cattle will thrive on these islands...the Kyloes could not possibly be improved by being crossed with any others...attempts at crossing have only destroyed the symmetry of the Kyloes, and rendered them more delicate, and less suitable to the climate and the pasture.

The origin of the term Kyloe is obscure. Some writers, and among whom is Sir John Sinclair, have curiously traced it to their crossing the many Kyloes, or ferries which abound in the West of Scotland; others, and with more propriety, and one of whom is Mr. Macdonald, the author of the Agriculture of the Highlands, tells us, that it is a corruption of the Gaelic word which signifies Highland, and is commonly pronounced as if spelled Kael.

An earlier short piece on Black Cattle, Kyloes and Crodh Dubh.

18^th CENTURY NEGLECT?

Forty years ago the treatment of cattle was, with very few exceptions, absurd and ruinous, to a strange degree, through the whole of the Hebrides. With the exception of the milch cows, but not even of the calves, they were all wintered in the field: if they were scantily fed with hay, it was coarse, and withered, and half-rotten; or if they got a little straw, they were thought to be well taken care of. The majority got little more than seaweed, heather, and rushes. One-fifth of the cattle, on an average, used to perish every winter from starvation. It proved the excellency of the breed, that in the course of two or three months so many of them got again into good store-condition, and might almost be said to be half-fat, and could scarcely be restrained by any fence: in fact, there are numerous instances of these cattle, which had been reduced to the most dreadful state of impoverishment, becoming fattened for the butcher in a few months, after being placed on some of the rich summer pastures of Islay, Lewis, or Skye.

It may well have been that, circa 1794, the dominance of the Kelp Industry and the imbalance it imposed between the needs of agricultural subsistence and the demands of commerce might help explain this otherwise 'strange degree' of apparent neglect?

THE DROVES

The calves are separated from their dams two or three weeks before the cast-cows are sent to the cattle-tryst at the end of October, for it is believed that if the cows had milk in their udders they might be injured in the long journeys they are then to take; the greater part of them being driven as far as the Lowland districts, whence they gradually find their way to the central and southern counties of England.

It is true that grazing has never been the principal object of the Hebridean farmer, or has scarcely been deemed worthy of his attention: there are very few cattle fattened upon any of the islands...

Can we be certain that, in much older times, when the nucleated settlement known as a 'baile' or township was farming using the run-rig system, that the 'Hebridean' farmers did NOT fatten their cattle on the land?

The different islands of the Hebrides contain about one hundred and fifty thousand of these cattle, of which it is calculated that one-fifth are sent annually to the main land, principally through Jura, or across from the ferry of the Isle of Skye. If these average about 5L. per head, the amount will be 150,000L., or more than the rental of the whole of the islands, which Mr. Macdonald calculated at 106,720L, but which now produces a greater sum. Cattle, therefore, constitute the staple commodity of the Hebrides. Three thousand five hundred are annually exported from the island of Islay alone.

This is astounding: the year is 1834 and the Clearances (that so cruelly replaced human feet with the hooves of sheep) are still occurring yet the estimated income from island cattle is nearly 150% of that from island rents. Were island estates ever really as unprofitable as their proprietors claimed?

We have stated that more than 20,000 of the Hebridean cattle are conveyed to the mainland, some of whom find their way even to the southernmost counties of England ; but like the other Highland cattle their journey is usually slow and interrupted. Many of these small cattle are permanently arrested in their journey, and kept on low farms to consume the coarse grass, which other breeds refuse to eat; these are finished off on turnips, which are given them in the field about the end of Autumn, and they are sold about Christmas.

The pace of these journeys may have appeared leisurely but I imagine that, for the drovers at least, they were arduous, risky, dangerous and uncertain undertakings.

Their first resting-place is not a great way from the coast, for they are frequently wintered on the coarse pastures of Dumbartonshire ; and in the next summer, after grazing awhile on the lower grounds, they are driven farther south, where they are fed during the second winter on turnips and hay. In April they are in good condition, and prepared for the early grass, on which they are finished.

There is more on the subject of cattle sales and droves in these pieces:

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2011/03/cattle-tryst-in-harris.html

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2011/03/edinburgh-encyclopedia-conducted-by-d.html

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2011/03/harris-drove.html

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2011/03/taking-stance-on-drove-stance.html

'HEBUDANS'

Little is known of the history of the Hebudans, except that they descended from the same stock with the Irish and the Highlanders; but were oftener exposed to the incursions of roving tribes from every quarter, and who successively mingled with, and were lost among, but never superseded the original inhabitants.

I believe that accords reasonably well with our current understanding.

'...for more than three centuries, the Hebrides were the resort of refugees, smugglers, and freebooters; and, at no very remote period, the inhabitants were singularly uncultivated, ignorant, idle, and miserable.'

I have no idea whether the islands ever enjoyed three hundred consecutive years of visitations from 'refugees, smugglers, and freebooters' but I suspect that comment tells us more about William Youatt than it does about anything regarding the history of the Hebrides.

His description of the island Gael 'at no very remote period' as 'uncultivated, ignorant, idle and miserable' is, quite simply, uncultivated, ignorant, idle, and miserable...

After, however, the union between the English and Scottish kingdoms, and when civilization had commenced on the mainland, the Hebrideans began to be reclaimed, and that was chiefly manifested in, and promoted by, a change of occupation. Although they did not abandon their seafaring life, they became honest, and were industrious fishermen, and they began to learn to be agriculturists.

Odd when one stops to consider of all those Old Norse names on the islands that mean 'Farmstead' and that fishing had only relatively recently replaced farming, due to the displacement of people...

HOUSING

The cows were housed during the winter; but among the small farmers this was conducted in a singular way—for one rude dwelling contained and sheltered both the family and the cattle.

The habitations of these people are usually divided into three apartments. The first, which occupies half of the hut, is the general entrance, and contains the agricultural implements, poultry, and cattle. The second, comprising a fourth of the hut, is that in which the family reside; and the inner one, of the same size, is the sleeping room and granary.

There are no chimneys; the smoke fills the whole hut, and escapes partly by a hole in the roof, partly by the door, and partly by orifices formed between the wall and the roof as substitutes for windows, and which, in stormy weather, are closed by a bundle of straw.

The fire is placed in the middle of the floor. The soot accumulates on the roof, and, in rainy weather, is continually dropping, and for the purpose of obtaining it for manure, the hut is unroofed in the beginning of May.

The family had their beds of straw or heath in the niches of the walls, while the litter was never removed from the cattle, but fresh layers of straw were occasionally laid down, and so the floor rose with the accumulation of dung and litter, until the season of spreading it upon the land, when it was at length taken away.

The evolution of house-types is a fascinating area of study:

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/08/study-of-turf-historic-rural.html

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2011/03/turf-houses-in-scotland.html

The substantial and complex nature of 'blackhouse' construction may be glimpsed in these images:

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/04/blackhouse-walls.html

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/03/un-restored-at-arnol.html

The evidence given to the 1883 Napier Commission by Thomas Brydone, Factor of South Harris, is relevant:

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/05/thomas-brydone-27examined.html

MILK

The...milk is exceedingly rich, and the butter procured from it is excellent.

...the dairy is considered as a matter of little consequence in the Hebrides; and the farmer rarely keeps more milch cows than will furnish his family with milk and butter and cheese.

In North Uist and Tiree the dairy is more successfully followed than in the other islands, partly on account of the goodness of the herbage, but principally because the cows yield milk for a longer time after calving than in the neighbouring isles. The management of the dairy is exceedingly simple, and, from the very simplicity of it, other districts may learn a useful lesson. The cows are driven as slowly and quietly as possible to the fold; the wild character of the animals, as well as a regard to the quality of the milk, show the propriety of this. They are carefully drained to the last drop, not only on account of the superior richness of the latter portion of the milk, but because the retention of any part is apt to hasten, if it does not produce, that which is one of the principal objections to the Highland cows as milkers, the speedy drying up of their milk.

Youatt's opinions on islanders is awful but his attitude to animal husbandry is exemplary.

The milk is carried to the house with as little disturbance as practicable, and put into vessels of not more than two or three inches in depth. The cream is supposed to rise more rapidly in these shallow vessels; and it is removed in the course of eighteen hours.

An episode of the BBC's historical reconstruction programme 'The Edwardian Farm' (unfortunately not available on iPlayer iPlayer )included this very same approach. The series, based upon practices in use some 70 years after the publication of Youatt's book, was based in his own home county of Devon.

A cow will not, on the average, yield more than 22 lbs. of butter (of 24 oz. each) in the summer season: she will yield about 90 lbs. of cheese, which is much liked by some on account of the aromatic flavour which is given to it by the mixture of rose-leaves, cinnamon, mace, cloves, and lemon with the rennet.

I am a little confused for there was no weight system that divided a pound into 24 ounces thus it appears that each of these 22 pounds of butter weighed 24 ounces which is one-and-a-half pounds and therefore suggests a yield of 33 lbs of butter? (You may be interested in a guide to Old Scottish Weights and Measures )

The milk of the cows is said to be excellent, but on account of the filthy habits of too many of the cotters, the butter and cheese are eaten by few beside the natives.

The longevity of many islanders suggests that their dairy produce wasn't too toxic despite these 'filthy habits' and it is worth remembering that it would be another quarter-of-a-century before the 'miasma' theory of disease was overthrown, following yet another Cholera epidemic in London...

SEA-WARE & SPRING

In the spring all the cattle are in poor condition, and those of the small tenants are in most wretched plight: sea-weed (chiefly Fucus canaliculars), boiled with husks of grain and a little meal or other substances, are then employed to support them; and in many places the cattle during the winter and spring regularly betake themselves to the sea-shore at ebbtide to feed upon the fuci.

I cannot find Fucus canaliculars but Pelvetia canaliculata Pelvetia canaliculata (Channeled Wrack) is a member of the Family Fucaceae that is certainly edible!

The rapidity of vegetation in the latter part of the spring is astonishing in these islands. A good pasture can scarcely be left a fortnight without growing high and rank; and even the unenclosed and marshy and heathy grounds are comparatively luxuriant.

SUMMER & SHIELINGS

In summer the cows and the milch-sheep are sent to the inland glens and moors, which are covered with hard grasses and rushes, because the portion that yields soft grass is not sufficient for their consumption during the whole year. They are attended by a woman from each family, who has a small hut or shealing for her habitation, and who makes the little butter and cheese which their scanty milk affords.

The history of the Shieling is a fascinating topic that I intend examining in detail at a later date.

In summer all the cattle are pastured; the calves are sent to their dams twice in the day, and the strippings, or last part of the milk, is taken away by the dairy-maid, for it is commonly supposed, that if the calf is allowed to draw all the milk he can, it will keep the dam in low condition, and prevent her being in calf in proper time.

This refers to the practice on farms.

ONE FINAL OBSERVATION

Oxen are never used for the plough or on the road on any of the Hebrides.

Source:

'...and as many more in the adjacent Isles...'

2011-04-29T12:13:00.001+01:00

The stimulus for this piece came from the 'Parliamentary Abstracts; Containing The Substance Of All Important Papers Laid Before The Two Houses Of Parliament During The Session of 1825'.

In a table introduced by the sentence; 'The following list shews the places at which churches have been directed to be built; most of them absolutely, a few provisionally:' , I noticed that in the Parish of Harris on 'Berneray Isle' a church was to be built for the population of 500:

'And as many more in the adjacent Isles of Pabbay and Killigray.'

Reading that, in 1825, the population of these three islands in the Sound of Harris was estimated to be 1000 souls I wanted to investigate further. Although a decennial census had been introduced in 1801, the first four of these only provide a figure for the population of the whole Parish.

For Harris, these figures were:

1801 2996

1811 3569

1821 3909

1831 3900

Our year, 1825, lies neatly between two censuses in which the population, despite all the displacements that were occurring, remained remarkably stable at circa 3900 people.

Thus the 1000 estimated to be living on our three islands were about one-quarter of the parish's people reminding us that 'Prior to the nineteenth century, the majority of the population of Harris lived on the machair of the west coast and on Pabaigh and its neighbouring islands (Berneray/Beàrnaraigh, Ensay/Easaigh and Killegray/Ceileagraigh)' http://www.paparproject.org.uk/hebrides2.html

As an aside, we have this communication from the 18th of July 1832 which I think is illuminating.

The later censuses do provide figures for each island in the Parish of Harris and those for the years 1841-1871 are given below. I have shown the number of males and females and computed the average 'people per hearth' for each island with the trio of isles that are our focus shown in bold:

1841 - 7^th June

Anabich 18 males and 23 females in 7 houses (41/7 = 5.9 people per hearth)

Bernera 335 males and 378 females in 130 houses (713/130 = 5.5pph)

Ensay 7 males and 9 females in 2 houses (16/2 = 8pph)

Hermitray 5 males and 3 females in 1 house (8/1 = 8pph)

Killigray 3 males and 2 females in 2 houses (5/2 = 2.5pph)

Pabbay 179 males and 159 females in 61 houses (338/61 = 5.5pph)

Scalpay 14 males and 17 females in 4 houses (31/4 = 7.8pph)

Scarp 60 males and 69 females in 23 houses (129/23 = 5.6pph)

Tarrinsay 38 males and 50 females in 16 houses (88/16 = 5.5pph)

There were 1056 living on our three islands which was almost 23% of the total of 4646 people in the Parish of Harris.

Five years later the first of the Potato Famines occurred and the response of the Factor can be seen in his letter of the 21st August 1846 to the Countess of Dunmore.

1851 - 31^st March

Anabich 63 people in 12 houses (63/12 = 5.3pph)

Bernera 452 people in 89 houses (452/89 = 5.1pph)

Ensay 14 people in 3 houses (14/3 = 4.7pph)

Hermitray Uninhabited

Killigray 7 people in 1 house (7/1 = 7pph)

Pabbay 29 people in 6 houses (29/6 = 4.8pph)

Scalpay 282 people in 48 houses (282/48 = 5.9pph)

Scarp 145 people in 29 houses (145/29 = )

Tarrinsay 55 people in 11 houses (55/11 = 5pph)

Only 488 living on our three islands which was less than 12% of the Parish total of 4254.

Nine out of every ten people from Pabbay and one-in-three of the population of 'Bernera' had gone.

Just four days after the census, on the 4^th of April 1851, the Factor John Robertson Macdonald in 'Rodil' was being 'interrogated' by Sir John McNeill and an earlier piece analyses his account.

We should also note the dramatic increase in the population of Scalpay that had occurred, the reasons for which are to be seen in this investigation.

1861 - 8^th April

Anabich Not listed

Bernera 130 males and 185 females in 64 houses (315/64 = 4.9pph)

Ensay 10 males and 5 females in 2 houses (15/2 = 7.5pph)

Hermitray Not listed

Killigray 2 males and 3 females in 1 house (5/1 = 5.0pph)

Pabbay 10 males and 11 females in 4 houses (21/4 = 5.3pph)

Scalpay 199 males and 189 females in 71 houses (338/71 = 4.8pph)

Scarp 72 males and 79 females in 27 houses ( 151/27 = 5.6pph)

Tarrinsay 25 males and 30 females in 12 houses (55/12 = 4.6pph)

There were just 341 living on our three islands or about 8% of the 4174 people of Harris.

Once again, almost one third of the remaining people of Bernera had gone leaving just under half the hearths from the 130 of two decades earlier.

1871 - 3^rd April

Anabich Not listed

Bernera 169 males and 204 females in 75 houses (373/75 = 5.0pph)

Ensay 4 males and 2 females in 1 house (6/1 = 6pph)

Hermitray Not listed

Killigray 3 males and 6 females in 1 house (9/1 = 9pph)

Pabbay 3 males and 5 females in 2 houses (8/2 = 4pph)

Scalpay 222 males and 199 females in 82 houses (421/82 = 5.1pph

Scarp 78 males and 78 females in 33 houses (156/33 = 4.7pph)

Tarrinsay 35 males and 33 females in 12 houses (68/12 = 5.7pph)

A small increase to 390 living on our three islands but still only just reaching double-figures again at 10% of the the people of the Parish.

Bernera's population had risen by 18% but the island trio would have needed nearly three times as many residents to regain the proportion of the population that had led to the church being built there only four-and-a-half decades earlier...

Note: I have left all spellings as they appear in the original sources, except that those for the census lists are 'standardised' from the 1841 census rather than reflecting the variations that appear in some of the subsequent decades.

Sources:

http://www.histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/

THREE MEN DROWNED AT STORNOWAY

2011-04-28T15:21:00.000+01:00

'Information has been received at Stornoway of the drowning of three Harris fishermen in the Sound of Harris. John M'Leod, Donald Gillies, and Angus M'Swain, all fishermen from Stroud, South Harris, were returning on Saturday afternoon from the island of Hermetry, in the Sound of Harris, where they had been lobster fishing. Their boat was under sail, and it was blowing a strong gale at the time. The boat was seen to capsize and go down with the crew. M'Leod and Gillies were unmarried, but M'Swain was married, and leaves a widow and family.'

The Dundee Courier and Argus, Monday October 9^th 1882

(I have left all the spellings as in the original – 'Stroud' for Strond is a surprisingly common error.)

Looking for these three men in the 1881 Census returns from Strond we find only four fishermen who fit:

John Macleod, 36, son of Janet Macleod, 79, Crofter, and brother of Peggy, 34

John Macleod, 25, son of Mary Macleod, 60, Weaveress, Wool.

Donald Gillis, 38, son of Kenneth Gillis, 60, Crofter

Angus MacSween, 50, husband to Mary, 40 and father of Ann, 13, Marion, 10, John, 1 and Mary Ann, 1 month.

We can exclude the younger John Macleod for he is to be found still fishing and living with his mother in Strond in the census of 1891 whilst Janet Macleod is there with her daughter, Peggy.

Further corroboration comes in the form of these two details:

Angus MacSween's widow, Mary, was the youngest child of Angus Kerr & Marion Mcsween of Strond.

Donald Gillies was the brother-in-law of Flora Morrison, whose mother, Christian Kerr, was the fifth of Angus Kerr and Marion Mcsween of Strond's eight children. Thus these two fishers were linked by family.

Christian would later join her sister Mary in widowhood for, on the 25^th of July 1890 her own husband, William Morrison, was lost with two colleagues from the unregistered vessel 'Jessie & Margaret'. Fishing was then, and remains now, a perilous occupation: http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/06/drowned-at-sea-by-upsetting-of-boat.html

We may also note that, despite the fact that they had been fishing for lobsters, none of the men who perished in this tragedy were specifically listed as Lobster fishermen in the 1881 census - http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/07/lobster-fishermen-of-harris.html

Notes:

1) Some observations regarding 'Hermetry' may be seen in this earlier piece: http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/11/john-lanne-buchanan-1768-1828-his.html

2) I will be able to confirm various details by searching the 'Minor Records', Marine Register' section of the Deaths index at ScotlandsPeople but that will have to wait for now.

'A Fashionable Kettledrum' – the Gentlewoman's Self-Help Institute

2011-04-28T11:33:00.000+01:00

It is an evening in May1870 and we are in the company of one 'Azamut-Batuk' who is gathering material for his publication, 'A little book about Great Britain', that will appear later in the same year.

In fact we are with Nicolas Leon Thieblin who wrote for the Pall Mall Gazette under the pseudonym of the 'Turk' and his article was first published in that newspaper on Friday the 13^th of May under the title 'A Meeting at Stafford House'.

Stafford House was home to the Duke & Duchess of Sutherland and was the most valuable private house in London. We know it today as Lancaster House, home to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, and the change of name occurred when it was bought in 1912 by a son of the county of Lancashire who had made himself a rather large fortune out of soap. His name, by the way, was William Hesketh Lever.

But I digress and we must return to the event that brought our 'Turk' to the 'palace' (as Queen Victoria is alleged to have described it when making a comparison with her own meagre residence in London) which was a meeting of the 'Gentlewoman's Self-Help Institute' attended, as noted by Thieblin, by such men as the Earl of Shaftesbury and Mr Gladstone, the Prime Minister.

The Institute (to which I can find no further reference) had eight Patrons but it is the two who head the list that interest me the most; the Duchess of Sutherland and the Dowager Countess of Dunmore who had been a widow for almost a quater-of-a-century. . At this point I should make it clear that this Duchess of Sutherland was Anne Hay-Mackenzie and wife of the 3^rd Duke of Sutherland. It was his Grandfather, the 1st Duke, who, with the encouragement of his wife (Elizabeth, Duchess of Sutherland, who inherited her title at the age of one) had been responsible for the appalling Clearances of Sutherland. The Duchess of Sutherland who wrote on The Revival Of Home Industries for The Land Magazine in 1899 was Millicent, the 3^rd Duke and Anne's daughter-in-law, whose husband the 4^th Duke had inherited the title in 1892.

The aim of the Institute was to '...seek to place within the reach of educated ladies, widows, and daughters of clergymen, barristers, military and naval officers, and professional men, who may have been reduced from easy circumstances to narrow means, an opportunity of turning their natural or acquired abilities to account.' To this end it had acquired premises at Bessborough Gardens in Pimlico '...for the reception and sale of articles produced by ladies in reduced circumstances. These rooms are now crowded with a great variety of articles of every description — oil paintings, drawings, modelled waxwork, guipure and other lace, wool-work, embroidery, baby-clothes, and plain work of all sorts.' It was an upper-class craft sale!

I say 'upper-class' because 'Any lady wishing to become a working member has to furnish two references as to respectability, certifying to her being a gentlewoman by birth and education, which will be laid before the ladies' committee by the lady superintendent, Mrs. Howard, and, if approved, the lady so applying will be required to procure a nomination from a subscriber to the Institute, when she will become eligible to partake of the benefits of the institution in any way most advantageous to herself.' A 'subscriber' paid a guinea a year (or donated ten guineas for life membership) to secure the right to nominate one of these ladies. They could pay multiples of these amounts and nominate more ladies accordingly.

I mentioned that this was the sole reference to the Institute that I could find however in 'Webster's Royal Red Book, or Court & Fashionable Register, 1897' is listed the 'Gentlewoman's Self-Help Society' at 20-22 Maddox Street, London. Whether or not this was related to the Institute of 1870 I cannot say but it is interesting to note the existence of, and therefore a perceived need for, this similar-sounding organisation some 27 years after that May meeting in palatial Stafford House.

PSS BRIGADIER 1854-1896 & SS COPELAND 1894 -1917

2011-04-26T23:39:00.000+01:00

Should you have been one of the 4 passengers aboard the paddle-steamer 'Brigadier' making her way from Lochmaddy to Portree on the 7^th of December 1896 then your journey was about to be rudely cut short just off the coast of Rubha Reinis (Renish Point) at the entrance to Loch Roghadail.

The RCAHMS record of the wreck is both informative and slightly confusing, for there appears to have been a degree of uncertainty as to the location of the accident. However, Captain Otter's 1857 chart of the Sound of Harris clearly shows us the position of 'Duncan Rk' and the dotted-circle surrounding the '¾' figure indicates why this rock, only three-quarters of a fathom (four-and-a-half feet) below the surface of the sea, presented such a danger to shipping.

A description of the ship together with her history, including the final years in the ownership of David MacBrayne, is to be seen here but what interested me most was seeing if I could learn anything more of her Master on that fateful day, one D McPhail.

A search of the censuses for likely candidates produced just one - Dugald Macphail, from Crinan, Argyleshire, who we find in 1891 in Liverpool and in 1901 in Greenock.

The 1891 record has the 21 year-old Dugald as Master of the vessel 'Northward' which also had a Mate & 2^nd Mate, an Engineer & 2^nd Engineer, two Seamen, two Firemen and a Cook comprising her crew. I was surprised by the (to 21^st Century eyes) very young age of the Master but also surprised to see on this census return from Garston Dock, Liverpool in England that there was the familiar column from Scottish censuses that records whether those listed spoke either Gaelic or Gaelic & English. Six of these mariners, including Dugald Macphail, spoke both languages whilst the remaining four recorded nothing in the column, indicating that they only had English.

In 1901, D Macphail aged 32 and hailing from Crinan, is now Master of the 'Copeland' and accompanying him aboard that vessel in Greenock were a Mate & 2^nd Mate, a Chief Engineer & 2^nd Engineer, a Carpenter, a Donkeyman, eight Able Seamen & seven Firemen, a Cook, a Chief Steward & 2^nd Steward, a Stewardess and finally three Passengers. I should perhaps explain that a 'Donkeyman' was responsible for the auxiliary steam engines, known as donkey engines, which were used to power winches and pumps.

This pencil sketch from 1898 of the SS Copeland's Smoking Room was certainly a surprising find!

Finally, although I cannot be absolutely certain that he was indeed the unfortunate Master of the 'Brigadier' in 1896, Captain Dugald Macphail, Master of the 'SS Copeland', was awarded an MBE on the 26^th of March, 1920 within the list of 'Civilian Honours Connected With The War At Sea'.

The SS Copeland had been sunk on the 3rd of December, 1917 by the German submarine, U-57 , under the command of Kapitanleutnant Carl-Siegfried Ritter von Georg . Twelve men died when the torpedoing took place in the St George's Channel whilst she was enroute from Glasgow to Cork. .

Thus what began as the tale of an accident in which no lives were recorded as being lost ends, unexpectedly, with the sad story of a deliberate sinking in which twelve brave seamen lost their lives.

Robert Somers - 'Letters from the Highlands; or, the Famine of 1847'

2011-04-26T10:03:00.000+01:00

Robert Somers (1822-1891) had only recently joined the 'North British Daily Mail' in Glasgow when he went to the Highlands to investigate the Potato Famines and the results were published in a book the following year. I have only just begun reading the tome but thought that these extracts from 'Letter XXI' on the 'Want of Plantations in Skye – Profits of the Kelp Manufacture – Extravagance of the Highland Chiefs – Its Results' were especially interesting:

'When Dr. Johnson visited the Hebrides, the lairds were only beginning to draw money-rents from their estates. A proprietor of one of the islands declared to him that "he should be very rich if he could set his land at 2½d. an acre." Every one knows how very different it is now.

Since then rents have undergone a fourfold, a six-fold, and even a ten-fold increase, and the Highland proprietors have reaped the benefit of the kelp manufacture, the profits of which far exceeded, in many cases, the rental of the land itself. We have heard of Highland proprietors receiving £10,000, and some £12,000 and £14,000 a-year from kelp alone.'

'There is no more interesting passage in Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations" than that in which he describes how commerce and manufactures gradually broke down the power of the feudal barons, and promoted the improvement and cultivation of the country. In rude times a landed proprietor could find no way of consuming his revenue but by sharing it with a multitude of retainers, who were necessarily always at his command, whether in peace or war. But when commerce and manufactures arose, they spread before his eyes numerous articles of curious workmanship and dazzling material, the enjoyment of which could be lavished entirely upon himself. His vanity was tickled; and for a diamond buckle, or a gilded coach, he bartered the produce which would have maintained 1,000 men for a year.'

'Towards the close of last century, the rise of rents and the profits of kelp brought the Highland chiefs within the reach of the same temptations to which the English and Lowland barons had yielded a century earlier. They introduced them into the splendid warehouses and saloons of London, filled with the richest handiwork and the rarest and costliest luxuries which the ingenuity of man could devise, or the unwearied energies of commerce could collect.

There, too, were the English aristocracy, with their princely equipages and their glittering wealth, to excite emulation and to ruffle pride. The effect was the same as when a hawker of the backwoods spreads out his toys, and trinkets, and fire-waters, before a tribe of Indians. The vanity of the Highland chiefs was intoxicated, and the solid advantages which the new tide in their affairs had opened up to them were bartered for the merest baubles. There is a staircase-window in Lord Macdonald's mansion in Skye which is said to have cost £500. In residences, dress, furniture, equipages, pleasures, and style of living, the Highland chiefs copied the English model; and while they necessarily lost their power by this new way of life, the only resources by which their rugged country and its untutored inhabitants could have been brought into a cultivated and civilised condition, were wasted in the vain attempt to rival the magnificence of an aristocracy who possessed much richer domains and larger revenues.

The decay of the kelp manufacture completed the ruin which personal extravagance had begun; and the men who had long reaped the profits of this lucrative trade passed from the scene, leaving their estates as unimproved as they had found them, a numerous population starving, and rentals reduced far below their nominal amount by the annual charges of their mortgages.

The heirs of this poor inheritance occupy a difficult and painful position. They are entitled to sympathy and indulgence. There is only one way by which they can hope to gain their lost ground, to improve their estates, or even to transmit them, in a state worth possessing, to their children. They must forsake the world, forswear pomp and fashion, retire to their country seats, live penuriously, and spend in the improvement of their properties the last farthing of their rentals which they can spare from the consumption of their families.'

The 'Letters' must have pleased his employers for, the following year, Somers became the paper's Editor (a position he held until 1859) and we may glimpse the 29 year-old in the census of 1851 living at 16 Pollok Street, Govan, Renfrewshire with his wife, Janet, and their three children.

I had some difficulty in discovering further information regarding this address but, as can be seen from the link that follows, that is hardly surprising! - The Hidden Glasgow .

(It was also an anomaly of the period that the part of the Parish of Govan that the Somers' lived in was considered to be in Renfrewshire, unlike the majority of Govan which lies in Lanarkshire.)

Bald's 1805 Map of Harris – A Summary

2011-04-24T10:23:00.000+01:00

I think it sometimes helps readers if I provide a page of links to pieces on a particular theme and in this instance have decided to collate my research regarding this wonderful map, the image of which can be explored on the National Library of Scotland site: http://maps.nls.uk/counties/detail.cfm?id=660

I have put the links into six separate groups but all the pieces are interrelated so, depending upon where you choose to start and which aspects you find interesting , you will find yourself following your own meandering path through them.

Asbestos & William MacGillivray

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/05/asbestos-on-harris.html

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/06/more-on-asbestos-on-harris.html

The Revd. Bethune & other people

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/06/names-from-balds-1804-map-of-harris.html

Annotations including, perhaps, some by the 7^th Earl of Dunmore?

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/09/pair-of-updates-relating-to-balds-map.html

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/06/sold-to-stewart.html

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/05/obe-harris-thursday-may-311883.html

Bald's Map & FWL Thomas's Chart

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/11/fwl-thomass-1857-chart-of-east-loch.html

Togail Tir

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/08/togail-tir-marking-time.html

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2011/03/captain-fwl-thomas-malcolm-gillies.html

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2011/03/living-voice.html

Placenames

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/09/letters-from-alexander-carmichael-to.html

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2011/01/did-northmen-extirpate-celtic.html

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/03/placenames-collected-by-iain-mac.html

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/08/iain-mac-tailleirs-gaelic-placenames-5.html

Note:

The only previous research into this map of which the NLS & I are aware was that performed by James B Caird, published in 1988 in 'Togail Tir'. If any reader happens to be researching the map, and especially if they have knowledge of this copy's whereabouts between its creation sometime in the 19thC and its surfacing in 1988, then please do get in touch.

'...one pound sterling a-head...'

2011-04-22T10:28:00.000+01:00

On the 2^nd of September, 1841, the Caledonian Mercury reported:

EMIGRATION. - There are three ships at Lochmaddy, North Uist, taking in emigrants from the neighbouring parishes of Harris and South Uist, for Cape Breton. The Earl of Dunmore gives one pound sterling a-head to the most destitute families from his property.

(Sourced from Inverness Reference Library via Am Baile's newspaper archive search facility)

The Scots To Canada Web Site lists three ships, the Banffshire, the George and the Tay, leaving Lochmaddy in August 1841 'taking 1300 emigrants from N Uist to Cape Breton. " of the poorest class".' so I think that we can be reasonably confident that these are the same vessels that appeared in the newspaper's article.

The 6th Earl of Dunmore, Alexander Edward Murray, , had inherited Harris upon the death of his father on the 11^th of November 1836 and would in turn be succeeded by his son, Charles Adolphus, following the 6^th Earl's death on the 14th of July 1845 . Thus the Earl was about halfway through his proprietorship of the island when he was providing a pound per person for those electing to leave.

But what does that 'one pound sterling a-head' of 1841 represent 170 years later?

To try to discover an answer I will examine three options, starting with the excellent Measuring Worth site and see what values it provides us with:

In 2009, the relative worth of £1 0s 0d from 1841 is:

£72.10	using the Retail Price Index (RPI)
£105.00	using the GDP Deflator
£766.00	using the Average Earnings
£1,160.00	using the Per-Capita GDP
£2,690.00	using the Share of GDP

Faced by these five options, ranging from mere £72 to a more substantial £2700, it is important that we choose the correct comparison. The RPI is rather narrow and a better indication of the buying power of £1 in 1841 is given by the £105 of the GDP Deflator.

The remaining three indicators, including that of 'Average Earnings' (which might appear particularly attractive) are actually not appropriate in the current context.

Using the the National Archives tool for the same calculation will show you that £1 in 1840 would only buy £44.10 worth of goods today so my choice of the figure of £105 might appear, if anything, slightly over-generous?

Our third option is to look at what the Reverend John Macivor had to say about wages on Harris in The New Statistical Account of 1845*:

'Farm-servants receive from L.3 to L.3, 10s. in the half-year...' so our £1 would represent between perhaps 1/7^th & 1/6^th (14-17%) of such a man's annual income. We may also wish to note that the annual value of all the Produce of the island is given by the Reverend as 'L. 11,900' and that over 10% of that, 'L. 1300', even as late as 1845, was still coming from Kelp.

So, depending upon how you choose to compare it, the Earl's £1 per person was equivalent to either a miserly £44 in today's money, or even as much as two-months wages for an agricultural labourer of the time!

Perhaps, though, to attempt to place any monetary value upon the Earl's inducement is rather to miss the point:

People were being 'required' to leave because so many had been forced to live crowded-together upon the meanest of land to make way for the ever-expanding sheep farms which, the Reverend helpfully informs us, were bringing in a an income of some £2800, or almost a quarter of Harris's total income from Produce at that time.

The population of the Parish of Harris in 1841 was 3,056** according to the census earlier that year.

Even if every person had elected to emigrate, the 'one pound sterling a-head' would only have amounted to three-quarters of one year's income from Kelp & Sheep combined...

(Note: I appreciate that not all of the income from Produce went to the proprietor himself, but consider the comparison to be justified in demonstrating the affordability of his scheme with respect to the economy.)

Sources:

*New Statistical Account of Scotland, Vol XIV, p157

**Enumeration Abstract, Scotland, 1841, p40

Enumeration Districts of Harris in 1911

2011-04-21T08:41:00.000+01:00

I have previously written of the useful information to be found lurking in the Header pages of Census images that one views on ScotlandsPeople as may be seen in these pieces relating to 1851 and 1871.

The 1911 header pages unfortunately do not appear to have maintained the previous practice of allowing the Minister of the Parish space to make his (often extensive & always interesting) comments.

However, the Headers do include useful Summary pages and continue the practice introduced in 1891 of including data on Gaelic and Gaelic & English speakers.

I am looking at the data from just three of the Enumeration Districts (purely because the people whose records I have had cause to investigate so far all lived in just these three areas).

Enumeration District 2 South Harris – includes Strond

357 people, 156 male, 201 female (43.7% male, 56.3% female)

Gaelic 91, G&E 247

338 speakers (94.7% of population) of whom Gaelic 26.9%, G&E 73.1%

Enumeration District 5 South Harris – includes 'Kylis' & Kintulavig

298 people, 142 male, 156 female (47.7% male, 52.3% female)

Gaelic 81, G&E 188

269 speakers (90.3% of population) of whom Gaelic 30.1%, G&E 69.9%

Enumeration District 4 North Harris – includes 'Kendibeg & Dereclet'

156 people, 80 male, 76 female (51.3% male, 48.7%female)

Gaelic 25, G&E 122

147 speakers (94.2% of population) of whom Gaelic 17.0%, G&E 83.0%

Discussion

I am reluctant to draw strong conclusions from just three samples but the broad similarity for the Gaelic/G&E figures in the two Southern districts certainly contrast with that from their Northern neighbour. Many factors will be at play here including the age distribution (especially the proportion of people of school age pre & post the 1874 Education Act), the location of the schools and the ability for the children to have attended both for financial and physical reasons. The island's teachers from the previous decade are to be seen in this piece from my series on Education in Harris. Also, does the lower proportion of 'speakers' in District 5 as compared to the other two districts indicate a greater proportion of pre-verbal infants there, perhaps?

A complex topic and I hope that this brief incursion into it has been of some interest.

Finally, an illuminating extract from the Description page for District 4 of North Harris:

'A road leads from the foot of the Leachan Road to the little pier at east loch Tarbert in front of the Old Post Office in the March between North Harris and South Harris, the said house being in South Harris though it is in the Registration district of North Harris, the same road leads to the little pier at West Tarbert, it pass in front of the new post office, which is also in South Harris though in the Registration district of North Harris. The Old Post Office and the new Post Office are in South Harris, though in the Registration District of North Harris.'

The Enumerator who wrote that paragraph was Mr Finlay Macleod and we can only guess at the point he was making to his census superiors by including it as his only comment on the roads etc of this District!

South Harris Estate – The Final Dunmore Years & A Review of 1834-1919

2011-04-19T10:53:00.000+01:00

You may recall that, in 1868, Charles Adolphus Murray, the 7^th Earl of Dunmore, had relinquished ownership of the North Harris Estate to his bankers, in particular the Scott family.

Thus for the next forty years, until his death on the 27^th of August 1907, the Earl's interest in the island was confined to his South Harris Estate.

He was succeeded by his son, Alexander Edward Murray, but this 8^th Earl of Dunmore was to finally sell the estate in 1919 marking the end of his family's involvement in the island some 85 years after his great grandfather had initially bought Harris. (As an aside, the purchaser in 1919 was Lord Leverhulme who paid £20,000 for the Estate. Following his death only six years later it was sold at auction for £900.)

In fact, the 8^th Earl was a soldier and it was really only the in years 1908-1914 that he was able to devote time to his Harris estate for he played an active and distinguished role in the First World War prior to lord Leverhulme's purchase a year after the end of that bloody and, for the islands, especially debilitating conflict.

Thus ended the Murray family's ownership that may be conveniently divided into seven eras:

The 5^th Earl

1834 – 5th March, George Murray, 5th Earl of Dunmore buys Harris for £60,000

1834 – Duncan Shaw replaces Donald Stewart as Factor

The 6^th Earl

1836 - Alexander Murray, 6th Earl of Dunmore, inherits Harris

1836/7 - Poor harvests, particularly of Potatoes

1838/9 – Seilibost, Big Borve, Middle Borve and Little Borve cleared

184? - Raa on Tarasaigh Cleared for John Macdonald, tacksman

1843 – Church of Scotland fragments in Disruption – islanders join Free Church of Scotland

1843 - 6th Earl of Dunmore considers a harbour at W Loch Tarbert, with a link to the E Loch

1844 - John Robson Macdonald becomes Factor of Harris

The Dowager Countess

1845 - Alexander, 6th Earl, dies and Catherine, his wife, is 'Tutor' for her son, 7th Earl of Dunmore

1846 – Potato Famines begin

1847 – Borve, Harris resettled.

1849 - Countess of Dunmore establishes the Embroidery School at An-t-Ob

1851 – Crofts at Direcleit and Ceann Dibig bisected to provide homes for people cleared from Borve on Berneray

1851 - Potatoes Famines end.

1852 – Highland and Islands Emigration Society(HIES) formed – 742 leave Harris for Australia

1853 – Borve, Harris cleared again

1853 - Manish Free Church built

1854 – Road from Stornoway to Tarbert completed

The 7^th Earl's Limited Period*

1857 - 24th March - 7th Earl of Dunmore's 16th Birthday

1857 – Lady Dunmore and Mrs Thomas start Stocking-Knitting industry

1858 - 'In 1858 Lady Dunmore was a mother to her people in Harris.' - Duchess of Sutherland writing of 'The Revival of Home Industries' in 'The Land Magazine', Vol 3, 1899.

1860s – Direcleit and Ceann Dibig cleared

*This marks the period during which, although he was still five years away from being of 'Full Age', the Earl would have had enjoyed enhanced rights regarding his property under Scottish law.

The 7^th Earl

1862 - 24th March - 7th Earl of Dunmore's 21st Birthday

1863 – Ardvourlie Castle built as Hunting Lodge for North Harris Estate

1865 – Harris Hotel built by Earl of Dunmore and originally called Tarbert Hotel

1866 – Marriage of 7^th Earl to Lady Gertrude Coke

1867 – Abhainnsuidhe Castle built by Earl of Dunmore

1867 - North Harris Estate sold to Sir Ernest Scott for £155,000 (over two-and-a-half times what the 5th Earl of Dunmore had paid for the whole of Harris 33 years earlier!)

1871 – Alexander Edward Murray (8^th Earl) born

The 7^th Earl – South Harris Estate

1873 – Dunmore's restore St Clement's church

1882 - Nov/Dec -Thomas Brydone becomes Lord Dunmore's Factor

1884 – Direcleit and Ceann Dibig recrofted

1886 – Catherine, Countess of Dunmore (7^th Earl's mother) dies in February

1886 – Telegraph Cable from Port Esgein, Harris to North Uist laid

1888 – Assisted emigration to Canada established

1897 – Golden Road linking Tarbert and Rodel through the Bays is completed

1897 - Manish Victoria Cottage Hospital built & endowed by Mrs Frances Thomas

The 8^th Earl

1907 - Death of Charles Adolphus Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore

1919 – South Harris Estate sold for £60,000.

The first point that I need to make is that, as a result of the estate(s) being owned by four successive Earls punctuated by the Dowager Countess's period as 'Tutor', there is a degree of confusion to be found in some writing about Harris (Yes, including my own!) and I hope that the selected extract from my Timeline shown above helps to clarify things.

(A similar problem exists with the previous dynasty of owners where we have, in turn, Captain Alexander Macleod, Alexander Hume Macleod & then Alexander Norman Macleod owning the island from 1779-1790, 1790-1811 & 1811-1834 respectively!)

Secondly, it is really the role of two generations, those of the 6^th & 7^th Earls from 1836-1845 and 1845-1907 respectively, upon which we should focus:

1836-1845

Alexander Murray, 6^th Earl of Dunmore, inherits the island and with it the first hint of the food crises that would, coincidentally, start the season after his death and dominate the early years of his widow's control of the estate. He appears to do the islanders a favour in replacing the hated Factor Donald Stewart with Duncan Shaw Factor but the series of Clearances that Shaw oversaw suggests otherwise. The one good thing that the 6^th Earl did consider doing was a revival of Captain Alexander Macleod's plan to link East & West Loch Tarbert but he, just like the good Captain before him, died soon after having had this notion.

1862-1907

No, this is not an error but I want to look at these years before returning to what I believe to be the defining decades of the Dunmore dynasty.

The first five years see the finally fully fledged 7^th Earl embark on an overambitious building program, gain a wife and lose an estate. I say 'lose' because, although it might appear that having sold North Harris for 250% of the sum his grandfather had paid for the whole island he had done rather well in the deal, it is believed that little or no cash was actually exchanged. The estate was provided in payment of monies that were owing to the Earl's bankers.

It is worth noting that he wasn't the first grandson to have to 'sell' land on Harris for Alexander Norman Macleod had preceded him in this regard when being forced to sell the whole island. In his case, the purchaser had been...the 5^th Earl of Dunmore. It was also this Macleod who had brought Donald Stewart to Harris to act as his Factor.

The consequence of this was that, for the final forty years of his life, the 7^th Earl only owned the South Harris Estate and thus could focus his attention upon that part of the island. There is, frankly, scant evidence of him paying the island any attention at all other than as a plaything and virtually none after his mother's death in 1886. The few developments that did take place can all be ascribed to sources other than him.

1845-1862

As alluded to above, the Dowager Countess was greeted in the year following her husband's death by the first of the Potato Famines that would last through to 1851 and lead, in part, to 742 people leaving Harris for Australia the following year. Borve on Harris was resettled, and then it & Borve on Berneray were Cleared. In amongst this turmoil the Countess decided to establish her Embroidery School at An-t-Ob which seems to have more in common with a child-labour sweat-shop than a serious attempt at addressing the economic issues facing the islanders.

She met their spiritual needs by finally acceding to demands for a Free Church to be built (although the site at Manish was not their first-choice) having claimed ignorance of all previous requests.

In the year of her son's sixteenth birthday she and Mrs Thomas started the Stocking Knitting industry which appears to have been more financially robust for the women of the island than the Embroidery School of the previous decade. This event marks our first record of the latter lady's presence on the isle, a presence that in my opinion was of great significance especially with regard to the early marketing of what was to become known as Harris Tweed.

Finally, in 1860, Direcleit and Ceann Dibig were cleared with a favoured few being allowed to dwell there as cottagers...

Overall what strikes me is not what the four Earls and one Countess are remembered for having done, but rather all that they failed to do and chief amongst these must be their not having established Tarbert as a fishing station with the two lochs linked by canal or rail.

One can only guess at the income it would have generated for the island and its owners and at what it might have cost, but it would certainly have been a wiser investment than the 7^th Earl's castle which was to prove so dear...

A Special Set of Links

2011-04-18T09:46:00.000+01:00

Although I think I deserve some small credit for having seen the potential in the peculiarities of the Scotland Census transcriptions in allowing one to perform larger-scale genealogical analyses, it is to another blogger that I owe my gratitude for realising that a blog might be a suitable vehicle in which to publish my results.

He is a prolific blogger and, although we frequently include links to each-others work, I thought it entirely appropriate to provide this comprehensive list of his various blogs:

First World War
Faces from the Lewis War Memorial - lists the casualties from the Isle of Lewis
Iolaire Disaster 1919 - lists the casualties and survivors of the sinking of HMY Iolaire
Lewismen in Canadian service - lists all those from the Isle of Lewis known to have served in the CEF
Wargraves in Lewis - shows the wargraves, and war-related private graves in Lewis cemeteries
Isle of Lewis War Memorials - shows the war memorials in Lewis and transcriptions
Roll of Honour - lists all those who served (and died) from Lewis
Lewismen from the 2nd Seaforths - lists those who served with the 2nd Seaforth with transcripts from the war diary of that regiment
Lewismen at HMS Timbertown - islanders interned at Groningen, Holland

Other islands
Harris War Memorial (WW1 and WW2)
Berneray to Vatersay Tribute (WW1 and WW2, Berneray, North Uist, Grimsay, Benbecula, South Uist, Eriskay and Barra)
Lyness Royal Naval Cemetery (pictures and information on all the casualties buried in that cemetery in Orkney)

Second World War
World War II casualties from Lewis

Reports from the Napier Commission
Transcriptions of the 1883 Napier Report
Napier Commission in the Outer Hebrides
Napier Commission in the Isle of Skye
Napier Commission in Orkney
Napier Commission in Shetland
Napier Commission in Sutherland
Napier Commission in Ross-shire [work in progress]

Lewis and Harris witnesses to the Napier Commission

Local history blog
Pentland Road

Personal blog
Atlantic Lines

He also contributes to the Western Isles War Graves (forum) and Western Isles War Memorials (forum)

A Small Boy in Aberdeen

2011-04-18T09:04:00.000+01:00

The 1911 Census marks a significant point in my researches because it is the first to include my Dad. There is something slightly strange about seeing one's father listed as a 4 year-old boy and especially so as all my grandparents were already dead by the time I myself was 4 and hence, although I have 'met' them in the censuses, they exist only as shadows in my mind.

I do not intend to dwell upon the details of the household at 56 St Swithin Street (save to say that my dad's two aunts were both Teachers and that the Boarder at his grandmother's house taught Science at Gordon's College), but look instead at the occupations of the neighbours at numbers 52 to 54:

We have an employer in the form of the Manager of a 'Coal & Lime Importers, Oil Refiners & Grain Merchants Limited Company'; another employer who was a House Painter; a third employer who was a 'Motor Car Agent' and whose daughter was a 'Clerk & Typist' in the Motor Trade; and finally a 'Retired Gilder & Picture Framer' whose daughter was a self-employed Piano Teacher and whose two sons were employed as a 'Dentists Mechanic' and a 'House Painter'.

So this was the neighbourhood that my Stornowegian grandfather found himself inhabiting 90 years after his own grandfather had been born in a house on the shore at Direcleit, a house that the sea was known to enter at particularly high tides.

I say 'inhabiting' but in fact he wasn't there on the night of the census and, as the index at ScotlandsPeople does NOT include a field for the place of birth, I am not going to trawl through all the 36 year-old John Kerrs (at £1.17 each) in the hope of chancing upon him!

What is more disappointing is that, had he been there, I am sure that he would have continued his practice from the previous Census and inserted 'G&E' in the otherwise blank column recording Gaelic speakers...

A Singular Occurrence

2011-04-17T23:10:00.000+01:00

In 1911, living on his own in a house at Rodil despite his being married, we find the 60 year-old Gaelic & English speaking Donald MacCrimmon. Deciphering his name initially proved a tad difficult but it was his unusual occupation that both drew my attention and proved the key to identifying him:

Dunvegan-born Donald gives his occupation as 'Formerly: Book binder & Printer' in 'General Publishing'. Armed with his forename, age and the fact that he was born on Skye, I located him in the three previous censuses:

1901

Donald McCrimmon, 47, Book Binder, 144 Stirling Rd, Glasgow, b. Skye, Invernessshire

Mary McCrimmon, 40, Wife, b. Bernad(?), Invernessshire

Duncan McCrimmon, 21, Son, Book Binder, b. Glasgow

William McCrimmon, 19, Son, Goods Checker, b. Glasgow

Elizabeth McCrimmon, 15, Daughter, Envelope Packer, b. Glasgow

Euphemia Mcdonald, 16, Daughter-in-Law, Domestic Servant, b. Barnars(?), Invernessshire

1891

Donald Crimmon, 40, Bookbinder, 85, North Wallace St, Glasgow, b. Dunvegan, Inverness Shire

Duncan Crimmon, 13, Son, Scholar, b. Glasgow

William C Crimmon, 9, Son, Scholar, b. Glasgow

1881

Donald McCrimmon, 30, Bookbinder, 133 Springburn Rd, Glasgow, b. Dunvegan, Invernessshire

Elizabeth McCrimmon, 30, Wife, b. Huntly, Aberdeenshire

Duncan McCrimmon, 2, Son, b. Glasgow

John Caldwell, 25, Brother-in-Law, Iron Turner, b. England

Alexander Caldwell, 19, Brother-in-Law, Iron Turner, b. Dalmellington, Ayrshire

Barbara Stark, 13, Niece, Scholar, b. Glasgow

There are three or four possible candidates for Donald in 1871 but I don't intend pursuing this.

However, these three returns alone have a things to tell us:

Firstly, Donald's first wife appears to have been Elizabeth Caldwell from Huntly and she quite possibly died prior to 1891 which is when we see their son William having 'C', quite probably for 'Caldwell', added to his name. I have found the Caldwell's in 1871 when they were living in Springburn, Lanarkshire and Eliza was employed as a Silk worker. A decade earlier they had been in Sowerby, Yorkshire, which explains her brother John having been born in England. Their father, William Caldwell, was employing 2 men and a boy in his work manufacturing Drainage Pipes.

Secondly, Donald married a second wife, Mary, but was it she who gave him a daughter, Elizabeth, in 1884? I have searched for the girl in 1891 to no avail and have also had no success in finding either wife in that particular year.

However, both Mary, and Donald's 'Daughter-in-Law' Euphemia Macdonald, appear to have been born in Bernera in Inverness-shire which could either be the village of that name on Skye or the island of Berneray itself and if the latter might go some way in explaining why Donald the retired Bookbinder was living 'next door' to Lexy Kerr in Rodil in 1911!

The Two Houses of 'Kylis'

2011-04-17T08:40:00.000+01:00

The 1911 Census of Harris records the following:

KYLIS

7 Rooms with Windows

Malcolm Macdonald, 41, G&E, General Merchant, Own Account, b. Obbe, Harris

Catherine Macdonald, 21, Wife, b. Finsbay, Harris

Roderick Macdonald, 3, Son, b. (unreadable), Harris

Sarah Grant Macdonald, 9 months, Daughter, b. Kylis, Harris

Sarah Macdonald, 70, Widow, Mother, G&E, Private Means, b. Grantown, Strathspey

Flora Maclennan, 18, General Servant Domestic, G&E, b. Finsbay, Harris

Malcolm Macleod, 18, Servant, Carter, G&E, b. Ardvia, Harris

13 Rooms with Windows

Norman Robertson, 29, G&E, Estate Factor, b. Portree

Jessie Robertson, 27, Wife, G&E, b. South Uist

Donald Norman Stuart Robertson, 7 months, Son, b. South Uist

Donald Robertson, 66, Married, Father, G&E, Railway Traffic Agent, b. Blair Atholl

Christina Kerr, 21, Domestic Servant, G&E, b. Harris

I'll get my family bit out of the way first:

Christina Kerr was a daughter of Direcleit-born Roderick Kerr Roderick Kerr and a decade earlier her brother Donald had been a Cattle Herd living with the family of Roderick & Sarah Macdonald at the Farm House. Thus she represents the most recent of a line of family members serving the Farmers & Factors of the South.

Returning to the two houses, I am unsure which of them is the 'Kyles Lodge/Kyles House' that was built for the McRa family and now wonder whether I was wrong to suggest that the family of Mrs S Macdonald had ever lived there?

If the smaller house was indeed the McRa residence, then what is the larger property?

My instinct is to suggest that the Macdonald's had indeed lived at the Lodge/Farm from at least the years1881 to 1901 then 'downsized' after Roderick's death and relinquished it to the new Factor, but I'd welcome some assistance in unravelling these residencies!

Now 19 in Harris!

2011-04-17T07:05:00.000+01:00

I missed one more household in the earlier list:

STROND
Christina Morrison, 80, Widow, Gaelic, Crofter, b. Harris
Chirsty Morrison, 50, Daughter, Single, Gaelic, Assisting on croft, b. Harris
Marion Morrison, 48, Daughter, Widow, Gaelic, Harris Tweed Spinner, b. Harris
Roderick Morrison, 9, Grandson, G&E, School, b. Harris
Donald Morrison, 8, Grandson, G&E, School, b. Harris
Catherine Morrison, 6, Granddaughter, G&E, School, b. Harris
Effie Kerr, 82, Sister, Single, Gaelic, Formerly: Harris Tweed Spinner (unreadable), Own Account, At Home, b. Harris
Peter Macleod, 21, Boarder, G&E, Commission Agent, b. Harris

Effie Kerr and her sister Christina were both daughters of Angus Kerr (1792-1867), my ancestor John the Tailor of Direcleit's brother. Christina had lost her fisherman husband, William Morrison, on the 26th of June 1890 when he and two others were lost from the 'Jessie & Margaret'.
Effie died the following year on the 14th of January, her death being registered by 'Peter Macleod. Occupier'.

So, now I have 19 Kerr folk on Harris yet my original search only produced 15 results.
Looking at that list, I notice that the 4 missing persons are Christina Kerr of Direcleit and her three children.
The fact that the three other direcleit Kerr folk in their two households were listed makes this even more mysterious!

Therefore, as far as I can tell, there were in fact 19 people called Kerr left on Harris with 15 of them being relatives of mine and all but two of these being of John the Tailor's branch of the family.
Any trace of all but one of the other families that I had first found listed in 1841 has been lost some seventy years later...

The Remaining Kerrs of Stornoway in 1911

2011-04-16T19:08:00.000+01:00

These two families are those of my great granduncles Alexander John and Malcolm.

They, together with their older sister (my great grandmother Mrs Annie Maciver) were the surviving children of Malcolm Kerr of Direcleit and Mary Macdonald of Orinsay.

51 ½ Bayhead St – 5

Alexander J Kerr, 55, G&E, Dock Labourer, b. Stornoway

Mary, 44, Wife, G&E, b. Stornoway

Married 7 years, both children still living. Of the four children from Alexander John's first marriage to Margaret Macarthur (1858-1902), the eldest, Donald, was in Canada whilst the youngest, Alexander John, can be seen below. The eldest of the two girls, Catherine Isabella, had died of tetanus aged 6 but 18 year-old Mary was also still in Stornoway.

Alexander J, 14, Son, G&E, School, b. Stornoway

Murdo, 6, Son, G&E, School, b. Stornoway

Margaret, 3, Daughter, G&E, b. Stornoway

29 Bayhead St – 6

Malcolm Kerr, 52, G&E, Cooper, Fishcuring Yard, b. Stornoway

Margaret, 41, Wife, G&E, b. Stornoway

Married 3 years with no children, these four being Malcolm's from his first marriage to Marion Macleod (1867-1905):

Mary, 15, G&E, Domestic Servant, b. Stornoway

Malcolm, 13, G&E, School, b. Stornoway

John, 11, G&E, School, b. Stornoway

Duncan, 9, G&E, School, b. Stornoway

One thing that slightly mystifies me is why Alexander John was working as a Dock Labourer at this time for, according to his Obituary in the Stornoway Gazettee , he had owned & sailed the 'Lady Louisa Kerr' following the loss of the 'Crest' in 1903.

I can only assume that, by 1911, the competition from steam ships had already proved too much and that even then 'the picturesque sailing coaster has been almost completely squeezed out of existence.'...

1911 Harris Households containing Kerr folk

2011-04-16T16:06:00.000+01:00

In the previous piece I mentioned that there were only 15 people left on Harris bearing the family name Kerr:

There are some 18 people listed here so quite why three of them were missing from my original search is a (somewhat concerning!) indexing mystery...

Please note that all spellings are given as they appear on the census sheets.

I have shown in bold those who are my relatives.

DERECLET – 7, living in 3 consecutively listed households

Catherine, 35, G&E, Hand Loom Weaveress (Home Spun), Own Account, At Home, b. Harris

Married 9 years, 3 children all still alive. Her husband, my cousin John Kerr, was a Salmon Fisher at Chanonry Point in 1901 and died on the 8^th of November 1950 in Direcleit. His mother is the Widow Mary Kerr seen below.

Christy, 7, Daughter, G&E, School, b. Harris

Mary, 5, Daughter, G&E, School, b. Harris

Angus, 2, Son, b. Harris

W Mary, 72, Gaelic, Widow, Tweed Making Home Spun (Old Age Pensioner), Own Account, At Home,

Marion, 43, Daughter, Single, G&E, Woollen Weaveress Home Spun, Own Account, At Home, b. Harris

Mary was the wife of Angus Kerr, a Fisherman and the younger brother of my great, great grandfather.

Effie, 80, Single, Gaelic, Tweed Making OA Pensioner, Own Account, At Home, b. Harris

I think this is my great, great grandaunt who was my great, great grandfather's youngest sister and a sister-in-law of her neighbour, the Widow Mary.

KYLIS - 1

Christina Kerr, 21, G&E, Servant, b. Harris

Christina was the eldest daughter of my great grand uncle Roderick of Obbe. She was living in the household of Norman Robertson, 29, Estate Factor, b. Portree.

Their neighbours (in what appears to have been the smaller od the two houses) include the 70 year-old widow Sarah Macdonald, the Mrs Macdonald of Kyles Lodge who wrote an account of the origins of Harris Tweed.

KINTULAVIG - 1

Annie, 17, Niece, G&E, Hand Loom Weaveress Harris Tweed, Own Account, At Home, b. Glasgow

As far as I know, Annie has no connection to the Kerr families of Harris.

OBBE - 5

Roderick, 68, Gaelic, General Labourer, b. Harris

Peggy, 57, Wife, Gaelic, Harris Tweed Spinner, Own Account, At Home, b. Harris

Married 30 years, 8 children of whom 6 still alive.

Angus, 20, Son, Gaelic & English, General Labourer, b. Harris

Kate, 16, Daughter, G&E, b. Harris

John, 9, Son, G&E, At School, b. Harris

Roderick, who was born in Direcleit, was the son of my great, great grandfather Malcolm Kerr and his first wife, Bess Macdonald. He was raised by his grandparents in Direcleit before returning to the family roots along the Sound of Harris. His son, Angus, was wed at Scarista in 1923 and the Minister performing the ceremony was John Kerr, the 'Ayatollah' of Finlay J Macdonald's books.

STROND - 3

Ann Maclean, 44, Gaelic, Single, Harris Tweed Spinner, Own Account, At Home, b. Harris

John Kerr, 15, Son, G&E, b. Harris

Jessie Macleod, 74, Single, Harris Tweed Spinner, Own Account, At Home, b. Greenock

Donald Kerr, 49, Son, Single, Crofter Fisherman, b. Harris

Susan Kerr,, 46, Daughter, Single, Harris Tweed Spinner, Own Account, At Home, b. Harris

Donald Morrison, 19, Grandson, Single, Assisting on croft, b. Harris

This family descend from a Shoemaker, Angus Kerr, and his wife Margaret Mackay. The 15 year-old John Kerr was the son of the unmarried Ann Maclean and Donald Kerr, who in turn was the son of the unmarried John Kerr and Jessie Macleod. Quite why this family shunned wedlock is unknown but it certainly proved challenging when I was mapping all the Kerr families on Harris!

RODIL – 1

Lexy Kerr, 79, Widow, G&E, Private Means, b. Harris

Lexy, whose husband Angus Kerr spent his whole working life serving the South Harris Estate, was living three doors down from the 'Boarding House' ie what began life as Rodel House and is currently the Rodel Hotel.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect is that 1911, the year that the Clo Mor was first stamped with the Orb Mark, displays in the census returns for the first time the words 'Harris Tweed'...

...and I'm very proud to have several female relatives shown to be engaged in spinning & weaving this most famous of Home Spun fabrics!

1911 Census - Initial Overview of the Kerr (& Shaw) Islanders

2011-04-05T13:26:00.000+01:00

I thought that on this, the day that sees the release of the 1911 Census on ScotlandsPeople , I would begin by looking at some overall figures:

KERR DATA & (VERY!) BRIEF ANALYSIS

HARRIS 4849 people, 2238 Male, 2611 Female ie 53.8% female, 46.2% male

Harris 15 Male 5 Female 10

Harris – decreased from 18 (9 of each gender) to 15 ie by nearly 17%

There were 6 Kerr births between 1901 & 1911 inclusive & 6 deaths.

Further examination is required to explain the decrease.

LEWIS

Stornoway 17 Male 9 Female 8

Lochs 17 Male 9 Female 8

Lewis Total 34 Male 18 Female 16

Stornoway – increased from 11(6 male & 5 female) to 17 ie by over 50%

There were 3 Kerr births between 1901 & 1911 inclusive & 3 deaths.

Further examination is required to explain the increase.

Lewis – increased by 13 from 21 ie by 62%

(inc the Lochs population which increased from 9 to 17 ie by nearly 90%)

INVERNESS-SHIRE 59 – 27 M, 32 F

Inverness-shire – decreased by 1 from 60 ie under 2%

ROSS & CROMARTY 26 – 13 M, 13 F

Ross-shire – decreased by 11 from 37 ie by 30%

ARGYLL – increased by 7 from 196 ie by 4%.

SUTHERLAND – decreased by 17 from 159 ie by 11%

SHAW OVERVIEW

HARRIS – 61, 26 Male, 35 Female – decreased by 19 from 80 ie by 25%.

There were 11 Shaw births between 1901 & 1911 inclusive & 11 deaths.

Further examination is required to explain the increase.

LEWIS – 3, decrease by 5 from 8ie since by 68%

3 in each of Lochs & Stornoway, in 1901 these figures were 0 and 8 respectively.

Between 1901 & 1911 inclusive, 1 Shaw was born in Stornoway & 1 in Lochs & 1 died in Stornoway & 1 in Lochs.

Further examination is required to explain the overall decrease.

SUMMARY

It was pretty surprising that in each set that I have examined, the births & deaths balanced each-other out hence the observed changes must be due to the movement of people.

However, the figure that stands-out the loudest to me is that by 1911 there were only 5 males called Kerr left living on Harris.

Of these, the youngest was 9 and he was the only boy aged 0-14, 2 were aged 15-29, none were 30-44, 1 was 45-64 & the oldest was 68.

As for the 10 remaining females, the youngest was 16 and she was one of only 3 aged 15-29, 1 was aged 30-44, 2 were 45-64, 2 were 65-79 and the eldest pair were 80 and 82 years old.

Within a little over 60 years since my great, great grandfather Malcolm Kerr had first emigrated to Lewis (He considered his 'Nationality' to be 'Harris'!), there were for the first time more people in Stornoway bearing the name Kerr (his descendants) than Kerrs left living on Harris...

Importation of Deer – Or where the one on Barra came from!

2011-03-31T18:04:00.000+01:00

HARRIS, August 2. – IMPORTATION OF DEER. - Early on the morning of Saturday last, the 27^th ultimo, the inhabitants of Tarbert were agreeably surprised by the arrival there of nine magnificent stags from Atholl forset, in Perthshire, being a present from Lord Glenlyon to the Earl of Dunmore. The noble animals were, on the same day, marked, and turned loose into his Lordship's forest, amidst hundreds of admiring spectators, who collected to witness the noble scene, and from the gallant style in which they bounded off to the hills, it was quite evident that they had not suffered the slightest injury on their passage to this country. The object of importing them is to improve the breed in Harris, as the Atholl deer are well known to be among the finest in Scotland.

The Aberdeen Journal August 21^st 1844

The story of the stag who went for a holiday including a month of turnip munching at Eolaigearraidh (Eoligarry) on Barra is told in this previous piece.

Wintering in the South...

2011-03-31T10:56:00.000+01:00

'Island of Barra. - A much valued correspondent in Stornoway writes us:-

The House of Barra, on the island of the same name, in the West Highlands, the late residence of the Macneils, and the property of Colonel Gordon of Cluny, was lately totally destroyed by fire.

He also narrates the following curious circumstance:-

Two years ago a few deer were brought from Athol to Tarbat, on the island of Harris, by the late Earl of Dunmore, and there turned at large.

In the month of November last, one of these, a fine stag, swam across the Sound of Harris, a distance of about five miles, went through North and South Uist, swam across from South Uist to Barra, a distance of eight miles, remained there a month where it daily fed on the turnip field at the house of Oligary, and then returned to South Uist where it was lately seen.

“This,” says our friend, “is worth while putting in the paper.”

It really is.'

Greenock Advertiser, quoted in the Glasgow Herald of 26^th January 1846

Today, of course, his journey would require him to undertake a little less swimming! - http://www.cne-siar.gov.uk/techservices/bridgescausewaysferries/index.asp

Scalpaigh (Scalpay) Population Data 1841-1901

2011-03-31T07:23:00.001+01:00

Here, with some comments, are the figures as found in the censuses:

1841

5 households with 31 people – 6.2 people per hearth

In the 1840s the 338 people of Pabbay were Cleared, many to Scalpay. A figure of 20 families being sent there by Captain Sitwell , who was a Commissioner to the 7^th Earl of Dunmore, indicates that this was the influx of 1846, just a year after the death of the 6^th Earl and hence during the Dowager Countess's time as her son's Tutor. These 20 families had been preceded by an earlier group of 20 in 1842/3:

1851

45 Households with 282 people – 6.3 people per hearth

In his Report of 1851, Sir John M'Neill used a figure of 5.2 people per household in his calculations so the average for Scalpaigh in that year, 6.2 people per hearth, is significantly larger.

1857 - Chart of East Loch Tarbert - compare Chart with map below of same area 20 years later

1861

69 Households with 371 people – 5.4 people per hearth

1871

82 households with 419 people – 5.1 people per hearth

1878 OS Map survey performed - 6-inch map

1881

96 households with 532 people – 5.5 people per hearth

1891

87 households with 484 people – 5.6 people per hearth

1901

122 households with 582 people – 4.8 people per hearth

There is plenty more to be investigated here, such as occupational change during this period, but I think it is clear that, apart from the brief interlude of 1891, Scalpaigh's overcrowding grew steadily worse as the century progressed. The population had more than doubled within 50 years of 1851, a time when there had already been insufficient land to support its 45 families, so the circumstances in which those people found themselves at the dawn of the 20^th Century must have been truly desperate.

Pabbay, the island where so many had originated, had once been known as 'the granary of Harris'. It's people were cleared to feed sheep and perhaps as many as a third of its human mouths sent to face potential starvation on Scalpaigh...

Captain FWL Thomas & Malcolm Gillies

2011-03-30T17:53:00.000+01:00

'At the time that he was based in the area he had a friend, Malcolm Gillies, who had been born in Skye and later became a schoolmaster in Harris and in North Uist. Malcolm Gillies had a son whom he named Frederick Thomas. This Frederick Thomas gillies was later a merchant in Lochboisdale. The former Head of the BBC's Gaelic Department, Fred Macaulay, is named after this relative. So the name of Captain Thomas lives on in the islands.'

'Captain Otter & Captain Thomas' by Gillian Maclean and Finlay Macleod p120 'Togail Tir'

This is one of my favourite essays in Togail Tir and, whilst reading it in advance of much of my earlier work on the two Captain's might have saved me quite a few hours of 'toil', in some ways it is even nicer to find published confirmation of one's own endeavours.

What follows are the records from the censuses, charting what I believe to have been Malcolm.s journey from his home on his father's farm, via a period as a merchant, to his vocation in education.

(I have attempted to make it easier to track individuals by using various combinations of bold and italics and I trust that readers find this so.)

1841 – Bracadale

Murdoch Gillies, 80, Farmer

Mary, 60

Malcolm, 35

Norman, 15

Marion, 25

1851 – Cladach Carinish , North Uist

Malcolm Gillies, 40, Tea Dealer in Retail, b. Kilmuir, Skye, Inverness

1861 – North Uist

Malcolm Gillies, 50, Gaelic Teacher, b. County Bracadale, Inverness-shire

Ann, 32, b. Trumisgary , Inverness-shire

Marion, 7, b. Trumisgary – as were her 4 siblings below

Mary, 6

Murdoch, 4

Ewen, 2

John, 11 months

1871 – Kendram, Kilmuir

Malcolm Gillies, 61, Gaelic Teacher, b. Brackadle, Inverness-shire

Ann, 38,

Marion, 14

Murdoch, 13

Ewan, 11

John, 9

Archie, 7, b. North Uist

Roderick, 5, b. Harris

Mary, 3, b. Harris

Malcolm, 1, b. Kilmuir

1881 – North Uist

Malcolm Gillies, 76, Missionary Teacher

Anne, 51

Marion, 27, Sewing Mistress

Mary A, 13

Ewen, 22, Arts Student

John, 20, Teacher

Roderick N, 15

Malcolm, 10

Frederick, 7, b. North Uist

Marion Ann Macleod, 1, Granddaughter, b. North Uist

1891 – North Uist

Ann Gillies, 60, Dressmaker

Ewan, 32, Student of Theology

John, 30, Ag Lab

Malcolm, 21, Ex Pupil Teacher, b. Skye

Frederick, 14, b. Harris(?)

Mary Ann Gillies Macleod, 11, Granddaughter

And finally:

1901 – Mc Dougall's House, Boisdale, South Uist

Frederick T Gillies, 26, Shopkeeper Grocer, b. Harris

It is evident that at least two of the Gillies's children, Roderick b.1866 and Mary b. 1868, were born in Harris suggesting that Malcolm may have spent at least these three years teaching on the island.

The next birth, that of Malcolm in 1870, took place in Kilmuir which suggests that was the latest date that he was still teaching on Harris before teaching in Kilmuir prior to returning to North Uist.

All the earlier children are indicated as having been born on North Uist and the same is said of the final child, Frederick Thomas, if we are to believe the census of 1881. However, in the next two censuses he is clearly shown as having been born in Harris.

I am happy to confirm that his birth was registered in Harris and that he was born in 1873.

Fred Thomas must have been delighted to have the lad named after him and I would love to discover whether the two of them met before Fred's death in 1885.

'The Living Voice'

2011-03-30T14:28:00.000+01:00

This is the title of Michael Robson's brilliant essay in 'Togail Tir ', the 1989 book that is a treasure for those of us with an interest in the mapping of the isles and matters arising from such mapping.

On page 102 of the book and with regard to the recording of placenames by the Ordnance Survey, he writes, 'The islanders who helped were recorded by name, and it would be an interesting and worthwhile task to identify them all.' which is precisely what I intend to do for one such individual.

Robson records 'Angus Shaw, at Strond' as the man who helped so what can we learn of Angus?

There are a few possible candidates for this man but the one who appears to be the best fit appears in the censuses as shown below (People in bold are those who appear more than once over time)

1841 - Strond

Angus Shaw, 25

Mary Shaw, 25

Christian Shaw, 1

1851 – Geocrab

Angus Shaw, 42, Gamekeeper

Una Shaw, 36

Christy Shaw, 10

Duncan Shaw, 8

Alexander W Shaw, 6

Donald Shaw, 4

John Shaw, 1

1857 – Charts of the Sound of HarrisSound of Harris (Otter) & East Loch Tarbert (Thomas)

1861 – Ardslave

Angus Shaw, 50, Gamekeeper

Winford Shaw, 40

Christina Shaw, 20

Duncan Shaw, 17

Donald Shaw, 13

John Shaw, 11

Anne Shaw, 7

1871 – Strond

Angus Shaw, 64, Gamekeeper

Una Shaw, 58

Duncan Shaw, 25

Alex Shaw, 25

Donald Shaw, 21

John Shaw, 19

Anne Shaw, 17

1875-77 Ordnance Survey surveying Harris

1881 - Strond

Angus Shaw, 70, Crofter

Ann Shaw, 60

Alexander Shaw, 34

Anna Shaw, 24

Donald Shaw, 32

Rachel Shaw, 12, Granddaughter

Angus Mackay, 10, Grandson

John McDermid, 80, Brother-in-law

1891 – Strond

Una Shaw, 79, Crofter

Alexr Shaw, 40

Anne Shaw, 32

Rachel Shaw, 22

1901 – Strond

Alexander Shaw, 45, Crofter

Anne Shaw, 36, Sister

Rachel Morrison, 30

Angus Mackay, 25, Nephew

Peggy Mcsween, 12, Granddaughter

I am sure that this is the same family, followed from 1841 onwards, and am reasonably sure that this is indeed the Angus Shaw who assisted the Ordnance Survey.

Whether his wife, 'Mary', died and he remarried Una/Winford(?)/Ann could be discerned from an examination of their Death Certificates, plus those of the daughter Christian and one of the later children, should one wish to do so.

However, I am happy to present Angus Shaw, born circa 1810, a Gamekeeper in South Harris and father of six, as my first contribution to this '...interesting and worthwhile task...' !

Notes: Robson also discusses the roles of Alexander Carmichael and FWL Thomas and I remind readers of the gem that is Bald's 1804/5 Map of Harris & of my less-shiny attempt at a prose-poem on landscape.

Renting Rodel

2011-03-28T18:22:00.000+01:00

Isle of Harris.

TO LET with Entry Whitsunday next (1887),

the FARM OF RODEL,

consisting partly of Arable Land

and partly of Hill Grazing.

Apply to Mr BRYDONE, Luskintyre, Harris,

or Messrs. DONDAS & WILSON,

15 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh

This advertisement appeared in the Scottish Highlander on the 17th March 1887 and it interests me greatly:

Firstly, 'Mr Brydone' is Thomas Brydone, who had been the Factor of the South Harris Estate for only 6 months when he appeared before the Napier Commission. His life has been explored more fully in this piece from ADB's 'Pentland Road' blog.

Secondly, six years before the advert my relative Angus Kerr was the Farm Manager at Rodel but was no longer in that role in 1891. We also know that in 1883 Rodel House was unoccupied and, apparently, being readied for the 7th Earl of Dunmore. From that same piece we see that in 1891 my relative was a 'Retired Groom' and then in 1901 a 'Retired Coachman', so if the Earl did indeed return to Rodel House anytime between 1883 & 1891 then Angus was probably the man driving him & his guests around in their coach!

Finally, although there is no Farmer listed at Rodel in 1891, those shown there in 1901 were Roderick Campbell and his son John, who was living with his wife Marion and her parents - Angus & Lexy Kerr.

It must be remembered that all those, including my relatives, who thrived at Rodel Farm were able to do so because of the dreadful event that took place there in 1818. and that it was one Mrs Anne Campbell, holder of the Tack of Strond & Killegray, who kindness at this particular time was remarked upon.

Was this the real reason for her incurring the wrath of Donald Stewart in 1834? I suspect so!

A Balanced View of the Balance of Nature?

2011-03-26T08:22:00.000Z

On the 18^th of March 1842, the Inverness Journal announced that:

The Earl of Dunmore has ordered a supply of hares and rabbits to be let loose over the island of Harris.

The island does not contain much arable land, and the farmer will be remunerated as a sportsman for any loss he may otherwise sustain.

Eight days later on the 26^th of March another paper, the Manchester Times & Gazette, quoted an article in the Inverness Courier:

'The Earl of Dunmore has ordered a supply of hares and rabbits to be let loose over the island of Harris.

This must be intended as a boon for the sportsman; it will scarcely prove one to the farmer; but the island does not contain much arable land.'

I think it is clear that either a 'press release' had been the original source of these articles (with the Journal printing it verbatim and the Courier slightly altering the emphasis of the second sentence) or that the Courier had perhaps used the Journal's article as the basis for it's piece?

Whatever the case, a couple of year's later on the 20^th of April 1844 an article in the 'Scotsman' was quoted by 'The Freeman's journal & Daily Commercial Advertiser':

RATS IN THE HEBRIDES

'Generations have passed away without seeing a rat on the small island of Tarinsay, on the west coast of Harris. An innumerable swarm of these annoying and destructive vermin have of late spread over the island, notwithstanding the efforts of Mr Macdonald, the taskmaster, to extirpate them. They appear to be increasing so fast that they threaten to over-run the whole island, and keep violent possession of it.

They are supposed to have come from the island of Soay, which lies at the distance of about three miles from Tarinsay, and into which the Earl of Dunmore, some years ago, ordered rabbits to be sent. Soon after this, the rats, which were formerly very numerous on the island of Soay, completely disappeared, having removed in a body to the neighbouring island, from which they are not inclined to take their departure in a hurry.'

Note: 'Tarinsay' for Taransay is forgiveable whilst substituting 'taskmaster' for 'tacksman' was, perhaps, a Freudian slip as the island had recently been Cleared for this same John Macdonald?

Island which spent £600,000 getting rid of rats over-run by rabbits, trumpeted the Telegraph of 27th of April 2010, referring to the island of Canna, with the same story also being covered by the Guardian, which didn't mention the cost of the operation, and by the Times, whose tabloidesque headline apparently suggests that the rabbits had consumed the island itself!

Nature & newspapers sometimes seem to share similar difficulties in maintaining balance...

Mol na Hearradh - 'The Stoney Beach of Harris'

2011-03-24T12:41:00.000Z

From the comments section in the previous piece arises the matter of the 'March' or boundary between Harris & Lewis. I am extremely grateful to my friend ADB for once again coming to my aid by identifying 'Mulhagery' at Grid Ref NB197118 which I then found on the 6-inch OS map where it appears as Mol na Hearradh.
What was particularly interesting was that, according to the 6-inch series, the majority, if not all, of the buildings appeared to lie on the Lewis side of the boundary hence I was surprised that the people living there were listed in the 1851 census of Harris.
However, this statement from 1805 provides the answer:
'Depones, That he is not so well acquainted with the situation of the march betwixt Lewis and Harris, as it proceeds to Loch Seaforth on the east, but understands it to be at the rivulet called Gil a Mhoil, which falls into Loch Seaforth, at Mol na Herradh; and that the term Mol na Herradh signifies, The Stoney Beach of Harris, which name it has always had.'
It was made by a Sub-Forester, Donald Macaulay, and is to be found in this PDF document created by Hebridean Connections and CE Uig, with the latter providing further fascinating information here http://www.ceuig.com/archives/911 and here http://www.ceuig.com/archives/1215.

The boundary was again subject to a dispute in 1850 which moved it further North leaving us with the 1841 census list of 53 people living in Mol na Herradh as a unique record of folk whose homes in 'The Stoney Beach Of Harris' are now in Lewis!

SHEEP STEALING

2011-03-23T11:35:00.001Z

Roderick Macdonald, Scalladale, In the Isle of Harris, was charged with having, in July last, stolen four wedder sheep, the property of Mr Stewart, Luskintyre.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to fourteen years' transportation.

Inverness Journal 22^nd April 1842

We know much of Donald Stewart, the farmer of Luskintyre, but what of Roderick Macdonald of Scalladale?

The 1841 census record 7 people of that name on the island but we can ignore the youngest three, who were only 1, 2 & 7 years old, leaving us with the following quartet who are shown in order of their ages:

14, Scarp son of Donald & Margaret

28, Carragrich, Tenant

35, Obb

40, Molnahcuradh, Shepherd, wife Effy & 5 children

A decade later, those still found on the island aged 20 and over are listed below with those who match, and therefore were certainly not our man, shown in bold:

23, Scarp

25, Obe, Merchant & Innkeeper's son (He who soon married Sarah Grant)

40, Carragrich, Crofter

46, St Kilda, Farmer of 3 acres & Bird Catcher employing no men

50, Drinishader, Farmer of 4 acres, wife Catherine

It is clear that only two of those who were listed in 1841 can be positively matched in the list of 1851 leaving us with the two oldest men from 1841 as potential candidates.

So what clues might we glean from the place named in the article, Scalladale?

Sgaladail (Scaladale) is a tiny settlement adjacent to Ardvourlie in North Harris, but that is a modern place and no buildings, not even ruins, are shown there on the 1^st edition Ordnance Survey 6-inch map.

A clue may be provided by this record from RCAHMS but I can see no ruins shown at NB 180 092 on the current 1:50 000 or 1:25 000 OS maps.

Nevertheless, the reference to these five possible shielings would make sense if 'Scalladale' referred not only to where Roderick was living at the time but perhaps also to the 'scene' of his crime.

Was he, in that July of 1841, living in a summer shieling and, perhaps, doing so in the capacity of Shepherd?

If so, then the 40 year-old of 'Molnahcuradh' might well be him, especially as neither he nor any of his family can be accurately identified as remaining on Harris in 1851.

It is also just possible that the Roderick we seek was already in the shieling at the time of the census, evading the enumerator's eye and thus absent from the record.

One thing that would help enormously in eliminating the man of 'Molnahcuradh' from my investigations (which I certainly would prefer to be able to do) would be if I had a any idea as to where the 53 people living in the place of that name actually were! Only seven peoples' occupations are given; two were Tenants, two were Ag Labs and three were Shepherds; suggesting that wherever the location, it was most certainly closely associated with one of the sheep farms.

In conclusion, I cannot be sure if any of the Roderick Macdonalds of 1841 were indeed our sheep-stealer but, whoever he was, his punishment of fourteen years in the antipodes was an awfully harsh treatment for taking just four of Donald Stewart's castrated sheep.

Note: The National Archives provide some useful educational information on Transportation as a punishment: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/candp/punishment/g09/g09cs1.htm

I have just discovered that Roderick Macdonald,

sentenced at his trial in Inverness in 1842 to 14 years Transportation,

arrived in Tasmania aboard the 'Emily' in that same year.

In the final 'Remarks' column is written

'Died 1845 Sepr.'

I don't know what the value of four wedders was in 1841,

but I do know it cannot be compared to the value of a human life...

RIP Roderick Macdonald

Clearance of Borve, Harris 1839

2011-03-22T20:20:00.000Z

This is an unusually long piece purely because I have attempted to combine in one place all that can be gleaned from published accounts relating to this particular Clearance.

We start with the First Report from the Committee on Emigration, Scotland 1841 which is contained in the House of Commons Papers Volume 6 Thursday 19^th March 1841 (I have provided the full text of this examination in a previous piece so what follows is an analysis of information specifically related to the events of 1839 contained in Duncan Shaw's responses):

Henry James Baillie, Esq, in the Chair

Mr. Duncan Shaw, called in ; and Examined.

At the time he was Factor for Harris and North Uist having earlier been the Factor for South Uist. Shaw came to the 'Long Island' at Whitsuntide 1811 (or 12, depending on which part of his account you take the year from!) having previously spent six years on Skye since leaving his native Perthshire. He quotes a figure of £11,500 for the value of the Kelp made on Clanronald's South Uist estate in one year alone. He remarks on the large population growth that has taken place on the isles since that time but was unable to give an estimate of the extent.

He cites the fall in the price of kelp and the lack of public works as key components leading to the present poverty of the population and informs us that the money made in kelp manufacturing was used by the people to pay their rent so that arrears were a relative rarity. The people were wholly dependant upon one industry to afford them the means to pay their rent and were actually more profitable tenants than the grazing farms. He actually makes the astonishing admission that 'We got of course higher rents from the small tenants employed in the manufacture of kelp in labour, than they would have paid in money.' The word for this is exploitation...

Returning to the expanding population, he reminds us that 'In 1803 there was a very great disposition on the part of the people in the Long Island to emigrate, and the Government became alarmed at the extent of the emigration. An Act was passed, regulating the terms of sending emigrants to America, which raised the freights so much that few could emigrate, owing to the expense. For the purpose, I believe, partly of keeping the people in the country, the Caledonian Canal and the Highland Road and Bridge Acts were passed, and this regiment of local militia furnished the people with so much employment, and brought so much money into their hands, that along with the kelp manufacture, then flourishing, it put an end to the desire to emigrate.'

Whatever one thinks about Shaw's actions, he deserves grudging admiration for reminding the Government that it was their legislation, introduced at the height of the country's demand for home-made kelp, that was in part to blame for the present situation.

As regards Harris, he gives figures of 'about 440 families of crofters holding directly from Lord Dunmore, and I should think 2,300 people that do not hold of him, if at all.'

The context of this is that there were 4,300 people living on the island so by implication less than half the population were generating income directly for the 6^th Earl.

A brief interlude in which we are informed that of the famine relief provided by the Lord about 1/3 will be repaid, and then he delivers his (prepared) account of the circumstances around events in 1839:(Please noteI have added a commentary within the statement)

"The small farm of Borve, in the Island of Harris, lately possessed by crofters, lies in the the middle of one of the largest and best grazing farms in the West Highlands.

This being the ever-expanding farm that Donald Stewart has rented for at least 30 years.

Borve is ill-suited for crofters, having no sea-weed for manure; no fishing, not even as much as a creek where, for a great part of the year, a boat could land, constant disputes occurred between the tenant of the surrounding grazings and the crofters.

The fertility of the area results from that unique combination of peat and shell-sand that is known as machair. One reason for a lack of sea-weed throughout the isle was, of course, the fact that it had been the raw-material in the manufacture of kelp. Fishing is a red-herring for it was the 'improving' of agriculture that had pushed the people into what had previously not been a major source of food or income. However, in referring to the 'constant disputes' that took place between Donald Stewart and those on the land that he craved, Duncan Shaw is inadvertently supporting the argument that it was the expansion of the sheep-farm that was the root cause of the call Clearance.

They were miserably poor; payment of rent, except by labour, was out of the question, and labour was unproductive : they were much in arrears, even for the price of meal annually imported.

Mr. N. McLean, an eminent land valuator from Inverness, who inspected and valued the estate of Harris, strongly recommended the removal of the tenants.

The extent of the poverty is not in question but the inhuman opinion of a land valuator, however 'eminent', in recommending uprooting people from their ancestral land is simply disgusting.

The tenant of the large farm refused to renew his lease if Borve were not included in it. The proprietor, the Earl of Dunmore, could not afford to lose so good a tenant for a farm paying 600L a year in so remote a corner as Harris; it was determined to remove the crofters, providing for them elsewhere.

£600 was 1% of the price paid for the island in 1834 and about 17% of the total rental income. Nevertheless, the Earl could easily have advertised for a new tenant to replace this one man.

Three years were allowed them to prepare.

If this dates the decision to 1836 (and his next sentence suggests that this was so) then we can firmly place it in the hands of the 6^th Earl of Dunmore who had inherited that island that very year. This is important and we have a letter from his wife, Catherine Countess of Dunmore, dated the 15^th of April 1836 in which she complains about the rates paid by islanders for mainland roads. This informs us that the 21 year-old was already involved in matters relating to the running of the estate.

1836 was also the first of two consecutive years of poor harvests with the potato crop suffering particularly badly. It also happens to be the year that the 7^th Earl, who was five years away from being born, alleged saw his mother start the Harris Tweed industry.

At Martinmas 1838, they were told they must remove at Whitsuntide 1839.

In 1838 their neighbours in Seilibost were not so lucky for it was then that they were Cleared.

Such of them as from age or other infirmities were unfit subjects for emigration, were offered better lands elsewhere in Harris; those able to emigrate were informed their whole arrears would be passed from, that they and their families would be landed free of expense, with the proceeds of their crop and stock of cattle in their pockets, either at Cape Breton, where their friends and countrymen were already settled, or in Canada, at their choice; these offers were then considered generous, and no objection was made to them.

Firstly, any talk of 'better lands elsewhere in Harris' has to be questioned for, as we know from Donald Stewart's coveting of Borve and his existing holdings at Luskentyre, this are a mirage. Secondly, the fact that objections were not raised publicly by powerless individuals is not proof that they had no such objections. It merely confirms that they were too scared to raise them.

In the meantime, however, occurrences of an unpleasant nature had taken place in the neighbouring island of Skye. Some people on the estate of Macleod fearing a removal, wrote threatening letters to Macleod, of Macleod, and his factor. Inflammatory proclamations of the same description were posted on the church doors, and some sheep belonging to a sheep grazier were houghed and killed. Those guilty of these outrages eluded detection.

Duncan Shaw would have had a particularly intimate knowledge of these events because his son, Charles Shaw, began being an apprentice Writer of the Signet on the 11th of December 1834 and was assisting his father's work on Harris from Whitsuntide of that year until Whitsuntide 1838. He would rise to Sheriff-Substitute of the Inverness isles by the end of 1841. He also just happened to be the Factor on Skye.

Exaggerated accounts of these occurrences soon reached Harris, and joined with bad advices from those who ought to have known better, wrought an immediate change on the tempers of the people; assured that no military would be sent to so remote a corner, they were advised to refuse the offer which had been made to them, and to resist the execution of the law.

Here he appears to suggest that the people were in his view erroneously 'fired-up' by a combination of factors but whether this stems from a certain respect for the normally quiescent nature of the islander or was included for some other reason I am unsure.

Every argument was used to bring them to reason, but without effect; they defied and severely maltreated the officers of the law.

A few years later the ladies of Loch Shell would be 'de-bagging' the officers of the law but in what way these ones were 'severely maltreated' is not recorded!

It was now ascertained that a conspiracy for resisting the law existed in all this quarter of the West Highlands, which, if not at once checked, would lead to consequences no lover of order would care to think of.

This is an outrageous allegation and his use of the word 'ascertained' seems to me to suggest that the existence of any such conspiracy was never proven. Shaw is retrospectively justifying the decision to bring in the troops.

An investigation took place before the sheriff, to which it was, however, impossible to bring any of the rioters; application was made to Government for military aid, which, under proper precautions, was granted; a lieutenant and a party of 30 men under the charge of the sheriff-depute of the county were sent to Harris.

No evidence, no arrests but still the military were summoned.

The people expecting nothing of the kind were taken by surprise.

Five of the ringleaders were taken into custody without opposition. The stay of the military in the island did not exceed a few hours. The only object Lord Dunmore and his agents had in view in applying for military aid, was the vindication of the authority of the law. This having been done by the seizure of the leaders in the riot, the tenants were at once forgiven ; they were allowed to continue in possession for another year, on the same terms as formerly.

Thus it was that five men were arrested and those left forced to accept the terms.

His Lordship solicited the liberation of the five prisoners, and sent money to defray the expense of their journey home.

This is odd – on the one-hand these men were supposedly some of those involved in a conspiracy to ferment revolt across the West Highlands and on the other their landlord got them freed and repatriated?

Thus terminated an outbreak which, but for the prompt measures of Government in sending the military, would have thrown the whole West Highlands into confusion for many years.”

I think the phrase we would use is 'setting an example' and I suspect that the rescue of the Borve Five had more to do with a lack of them having committed any provable crime rather than anything else.

Once the statement had been read, the questioning continued and we learn that the next year the 'removal' took place. A few stayed in Borve to service the farm, some were scattered elsewhere on the island either to land 'from Lord Dunmore' or to that of their families and none emigrated.

Despite all that they had been through, the people had refused to leave the land. However, and bearing in mind that he was addressing a committee on Emigration, Shaw then gives his interrogators assurances that now the situation is such that '...even in Harris the people are now willing to emigrate.' He suggests removing 2,500 from North Uist and '...about the same number from Harris.'!

He, in all seriousness, wants to reduce the population by more than half. The motive for this is clear for it is the two proprietors who foot the bill to provide famine relief although when asked if the recipients are expected to eventually reimburse them, he stated 'most certainly we expect it to be paid for in more prosperous years.' This revelation produces from a Mr Dunbar the following response: 'You hold the settlement over their heads?' but whether he exclaimed it in horror or not is not recorded.

I do not want to continue with this examination for, although it certainly has much of value in the context of later actions on the estate, it takes us away from our focus which a contemporary account called a 'Disturbance in the island of Harris'.

The Inverness Courier in 1839 described it as 'A circumstance of very rare occurrence in the remote and peaceful islands of the Hebrides...' It continues by explaining that the Earl '...contemplating some extensive improvements in the culture and management of the land, had given notice to a number of the cottars, about fifty families, to remove their huts and little patches of ground.'

No mention of the duress applied by Donald Stewart but useful in providing the number of families involved although the image of them having '...to remove their huts and little patches of ground.' is perhaps even more alarming than the reality of what they faced! The article proceeds and, in somewhat intemperate language states that 'It was feared also that violent measures might be resorted to, and blood shed in the struggle.' Those sent are then identified as '...a detachment of the 78th regiment...' accompanied by 'Mr Fraser Tytler, sheriff of the county, Mr A. Fraser, sheriff-substitute of the Fort William district, Mr Mackay, procurator fiscal, and Mr John Macbean, an active criminal officer of Inverness.' The account was written before the 'action' took place and the article ends on a depressingly familiar note, reminding us that 'Nothing can be more miserable than the condition of these poor highlanders, living in the most wretched huts, destitute of employment, and forever on the brink of famine. Emigration to America or Australia would be the greatest boon that would be conferred upon them. This is a point on which all well-wishers of the Highlands are agreed; and we sincerely trust that arrangements may be made for this purpose, of such a nature as to overcome, by moral force, the repugnance natural to our poor countrymen at quitting the land of their fathers.' followed finally by the fact that 'The population of the Island of Harris, according to the census of 1831, is 3900.

The story was taken up by the Aberdeen Journal which, on the 31^st of July 1839, published in full the account from the Inverness Courier and then added the following update:

'Subsequent accounts state that, after an absence of nine days, the party, which consisted of twenty-nine men and a searjeant, under the command of Lieutenant Neill, returned to Glasgow on Saturday last, having executed their mission – painful though it was – firmly, yet peacefully.

At Portree, the party was joined by the Sheriff of the County, Mr Mackay, Procurator Fiscal, and Mr Macbean, and active criminal officer from Inverness.

six the same evening. All the cottars or small farmers implicated in the deforcement, were requested to assemble at the village, and from the body five men, who had been most active in the illegal proceedings, were selected, and carried prisoners to Portree. Before leaving, arrangements were entered into for the tenantry finally leaving the island at a convenient term.

The visit of the military excited the deepest alarm among the poor islanders, who were heard to express in Gaelic their terror that the scene of Glencoe was about to be enacted over again.

Their condition is represented as being very miserable indeed; and though it may be bitter to break the tie that binds these poor people to the rugged land of their fathers, yet emigration anywhere would absolutely be a boon.

Agricultural improvement, too, is out of the question so long as the crofters are next to starvation on the very lands which they till, and this is still unfortunately the case in many parts of the Highlands, which would otherwise be fruitful and productive.'

So some fifty families, probably equating to about 260 men, women and children, were in 'terror' as their homes were rendered uninhabitable and hence forced 'to break the tie that binds' them to the 'land of their fathers' and into emigration.

Why?

Because 'Agricultural improvement...is out of the question...and this is...the case in many parts of the Highlands, which would otherwise be fruitful & productive.'

One can debate the 'niceties' as to what extent the Clearances were an economic inevitability, or whether they were as extensive or forced or terrible as I believe them to have been, but one cannot silence the cries of terror in the Gaelic tongue, dry the the tears of the terrified women and children, avoid the stench of the burnt milk on the quenched hearths, excuse the wilful destruction of the priceless roof timbers, feel the pain of separation and emigration, witness the grief of funerals and burials at sea of those who never reached those 'promised' lands, nor excuse the failure of future generations of the rich and powerful to restore to the people the use of the land that had been so cruelly and inhumanely taken from them.

Angus Macleod would later give us a description which I shall leave as the last words on the matter:

“Donald Stewart of Luskentyre had a reputation of being an oppressor of the crofters of Park when he was there, but it was in Harris that he excelled himself by ruthlessly clearing the crofters from the West Coast of Harris.

In Borve, Harris, in 1839 he caused the fires on the hearths to be drowned with domestic milk while the thatch was ripped off the houses with hooks and even the roof timbers and the thatch was collected and burnt, until there was nothing left but the blackened shells of the once hospitable homes.”

Angus Macleod – ‘Lewis Maciver of Gress’ in the Angus Macleod Archive

Refs (Chronological by event):

NAS Reference GD46/13/45 Letter by Lady Dunmore per James Campbell Tait, her agent, to J A Stewart Mackenzie, M P relating to the injustice of assessments laid on the proprietors of the Western Isles for roads on the mainland and enclosing copy letters from Mr Duncan Shaw, Benbecula, factor on the Harris estate, and Mr Robert Brown, Hamilton. 15 Apr 1836

NAS Reference GD201/4/97 Duncan Shaw to Alexander Hunter, Esq. W.S. Dealing with the matter of application to the Government for assistance in sending the extra population of Benbecula to America. The proprietors should have influence in selecting the emigrants. Wishes to clear two parts of Clanranald's estate for pasture where the poorest of the people and most of the subtenants reside. Refers to the miserable state of the tacksmen and subtenants. The emigrants wish to go to Cape Breton. Refers to unsatisfactory state of kelp and fishing industries, and to expense of emigration. Report on Canna 25 Feb 1827

NAS Reference GD201/1/338 Report by Duncan Shaw, dealing with arrears of rents on Clanranald estates sold in Ardnamurchan and the Small Isles: necessity of arranging remaining estates so as to draw a revenue independent of kelp; suggested arrangements for Benbecula and South Uist. At Edinburgh 19 Nov 1827

Register of Society of Writers to the Signet

Charles Shaw, apprentice to William Mackenzie 11 Dec 1834

NAS Reference GD46/13/45 Letter by Lady Dunmore per James Campbell Tait, her agent, to J A Stewart Mackenzie, MP relating to the injustice of assessments laid on the proprietors of the Western Isles for roads on the mainland and enclosing copy letters from Mr Duncan Shaw, Benbecula, factor on the Harris estate, and Mr Robert Brown, Hamilton. 15 Apr 1836

Previous Pieces that contain other references:

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2011/02/friday-4th-april-1851-sir-john-mcneill.html http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/11/first-report-from-committee-on.html http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/11/i-assisted-my-father-as-factor-of.html

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/11/first-report-from-committee-on.html http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_narrative.jsp?item_id=22817

An article that is on my(pending) reading list:

TGSI 52 1980-82 Morrison Alick, 'The Grianam Case, 1734-1781, The Kelp Industry, and the Clearances in Harris, 1811-1854 p20-89

VALUABLE AND EXTENSIVE ESTATE,

2011-03-21T09:21:00.000Z

IN INVERNESS-SHIRE,

FOR SALE

The Estate of Harris will be exposed to sale in the course of next winter.

This Property forms part of the chain of Islands commonly denominated the Lewis or Long-Island.

Beside the main land of Harris, the Estate comprehends a number of Islands, of which seven are of considerable extent.

The Property extends to about 93,500 Scots acres, whereof about 7000 are Arable, and the greater part of the remainder Hill Pasture.

The Land Rent is about L3600, and the public burdens are moderate.

A Freehold and Church Patronage are attached to the lands.

There are valuable Fishing Banks, and the Shores, which are extensive, produce annually about 600 Tons of Kelp, well known in the market to be of very superior quality.

There are also several safe and accessible Harbours, and there is an excellent carriage road of considerable extent leading though the south and west parts of the main land.

The extension of steam navigation must be attended with important advantages to the Property.

Further particulars will be given in future advertisements.

Applications may be made to Messrs. Dickson and Steuart, W. S, 3 Royal Circus, Edinburgh.

Mr Donald Stewart, Factor of the Estate, resident Luskintyre, in Harris, will give directions for shewing the property.

Edinburgh, 20^th April, 1832

Source: Inverness Journal, 18^th May 1832 via Am Baile & Inverness Reference Library

This is what George Murray, 5^th Earl of Dunmore, bought from Alexander Norman Macleod for £60,000 in 1834. He considered it to have been a bargain and, with an apparent annual rental return of 6%, it is easy to see why he thought so.

One can easily imagine Donald Stewart making an excellent job of 'shewing the property', no doubt emphasising the opportunities to extend the sheep farms but perhaps forgetting to mention his ongoing legal disputes regarding the church on Berneray or the lease held by Mrs Anne Campbell of Strond & Killegray?

Confusion regarding the naming of the isles, which continues to rumble-on today, is shown by the reference to 'The Lewis' for if anything the phrase is more correctly 'The Lews' but I do not intend following that particular diversion today.

The seven islands 'of considerable extent' that accompany 'the main land of Harris' are Berneray, Ensay, Killegray, Pabbay, Scalpay, Scarp and Taransay all of which were within the Parish of Harris. The Freehold was presumably Rodel House whilst the church patronage refers to the appointment of the Minister to the Parish Church at Scarista.

Whilst there were 'valuable Fishing Banks' it was already Stornoway that was profiting the most from these for Tarbert had been overlooked by the British Fisheries Society four decades previously.

The 600 Tons of Kelp being produced at this late stage comes as a surprise for the market had collapsed 20 years ago but on the other hand we know that in 1821 the Farm of Strond had manufactured 115 tons of high-quality Kelp.

The 'extensive carriage road' was that running from Rodel to An-t-Ob and thence along the West coast to Luskintyre but the majority of overland travel was along unmade tracks and the sea remained the main 'road', a term that was still commonly used to describe such sea-routes.

Steam navigation would indeed provide improved communications however not during the lifetimes of the 5^th or 6th Earls but in that of the Charles Adolphus Murray, the 7^th Earl of Dunmore.

Note: Many more references to these matters appear elsewhere in this blog and I have merely directed readers to those pieces that might otherwise be overlooked!

HARRIS - EMBROIDERY SCHOOL

2011-03-18T10:46:00.001Z

On Wednesday last, the girls attending the Countess of Dunmore's school for embroidery at Obbe, assembled to receive payment for the work done by them during the past half-year.

Many of the ladies of Harris were present, who were much gratified by witnessing the progress made by the children, and in examining their beautiful work.

After the business of the day had been transacted, the children were regaled upon tea, cake, and many other good things of a more substantial kind, for which treat they were indebted to the liberality of Mrs Macrae, Hushinish.

The school is of great benefit to the island, as girls who otherwise would be idle for most part of the year, were here taught a useful and elegant art by which they can not only support themselves in a respectable manner, but also contribute to the support of their families.

The poor of Harris cannot be sufficiently grateful to Lady Dunmore for the interest she always takes in their welfare.

One proof of this is the institution under notice, which is under the management of Mrs Galbraith, whose untiring exertions for its benefit are deserving of the highest commendation.

Inverness Advertiser Thursday, 3^rd June 1856 (via Am Baile and the Inverness Reference Library)

The school had been opened in 1849 and this account informs us that Mary Galbraith, the 32 year-old from Ireland, was already in charge. Her husband, Henry Galbraith, was Gardener for the Dunmores and in 1861 we find the couple living in the house at An-t-Ob that had been built for the gardener in 1850.

The tea-party was provided by no less a person than the wife of Alexander McRa, 'Fear Huisinis', and one wonders what the parents really thought of her 'liberality'!

It doesn't appear as if the Dowager Countess herself was present on this occasion (which took place on Wednesday, 28^th May 1856) presumably, although it not made explicit, at the school in 'Obbe'?

Nevertheless, another little window into the world of 19thC Harris has presented itself and I think we should leave the children to enjoy their 'tea, cake, and many other good things...'!

Update: They worked all day for 6d. There were 26 attending the school in 1866 and 10 of them couldn’t read and only 3 could write. School or sweat-shop?
Source: ‘The Schooling of Working-Class Girls in Victorian Scotland’, Jane McDermid, 2005

HARRIS – PUBLIC MEETINGS FOR FOOTPATHS

2011-03-18T08:47:00.000Z

Largely attended meetings of the inhabitants of the Bays District, and of Strond and Obbe, were held last week for the purpose of pressing upon the County Council and Government the urgent necessity of affording a grant in aid of the construction of roads and footpaths in Harris, and also of relieving the necessities of the people of affording them work.

At Flodabay, the meeting was addressed by

Kenneth Maclennan, crofter, Finsbay;

Donald Mackinnon, Flodabay;

Sergeant John Mackinnon, Flodabay, and

Alexander Morrison, Bayhead;

while at Obbe, the meeting was addressed by

Donald Paterson, crofter, Strond;

Donald Kerr, crofter, Strond, and

William Gilles, Strond.

At both meetings it was stated by all the speakers that the people of Harris were sore pressed, bordering on want, caused by the terrible weather of last winter, preventing them prosecuting the fishing.

It was also stated, that unless the footpaths partly built last year were continued and completed between the different townships and schools, the children in many parts could not yet attend school save in the best weather.

Resolutions were passed unanimously expressing the gratitude of the people of Harris to Sir George Trevelyan and Dr Macgregor, MP, for last year's grant, and a further grant this year was urgently pressed for. A petition to Parliament for a similar purpose has been signed in the Kylis, Stockinish district by heads of families representing 1056 people.

Source: Scottish Highlander 29^th March 1894 (via Am Baile & Inverness Reference Library)

(I have altered the layout in order to make the article easier to read but left the reference to Kyles Stockinish as it appeared in the original.)

It would be another three years before the 'Golden Road' through the Bays was completed whilst the people of Strond were still waiting for their road to be completed nearly 50 years later.

Talking of those people, I was slightly surprised to realise that the Messrs. Paterson and Gilles were related to each other (and to me), by marriage, whilst we three share no connection with Mr Kerr!

William Gilles (b. abt1850) was a Stone Mason, whilst by 1901 Donald Kerr (b. abt1858) was a Road Labourer on Berneray, which probably explains why these two addressed the meeting.

It is interesting too see the reference to the bad weather of the Winter of 1893/4 which must have been particularly terrible to have prevented the men from fishing.

I suspect the reference to the difficulties facing the children in attending school was raised partly out of parental concern for their offspring's education but also because a poor attendance record for the Parish would reflect badly upon the County Council.

Contribution From India For The People Of Harris

2011-03-17T21:08:00.000Z

'The Scotsman notices that the last number of the Friends of India contains an interesting statement regarding that “most desolate and poverty-stricken of the Western Isles,” Harris, with a population of 4400, the majority of whom “live in sight of starvation the whole year.” “They are always hungry: ...many of them never know what it is to feel satisfied after a meal. Poor as the other islands are, nowhere are the people in so wretched a condition as in Harris.”

The article from which we quote (and we guess it to be from the pen of Mrs Colin Mackenzie) goes on to describe the noble exertions which an English lady, Mrs Captain Thomas, the wife of the naval officer surveying the coast of Harris, has made for the last two or three years, “striving, as she has done, with all her might, and almost unassisted, to raise a population from the extremity of misery.” She has established schools, got the church finished, has collected subscriptions by which she has supported a catechist in the island for almost three years, has set on foot a bazaar by which she has raised funds for building a manse, has induced numbers of the fishermen to join the Coast-Guard service, and has brought up in Edinburgh several relays of boys and girls, who have all turned out most docile and excellent servants, and strives, but hitherto striven in vain, to raise means for enabling some of the poor and starving families of the isle to emigrate.

“Shall we not (writes the Friend of India) - “Shall we not help her?”

The appeal ends with a series of subscriptions from Hindoos and others, as H. H. the Nawab Naziur, 500 rupees; Rajab Prosuno Narain Dab Buhadur, 100 rupees, etc.

Is this not a great and deserved censure upon the apathy with which we look upon the miseries of poverty when they chance to be to near our own door?'

Inverness Advertiser Friday 22 Feb 1861

This article, obtained from the Inverness Reference Library via Am Baile's online search and order service, is, quite simply, the pinnacle of the primary sources that I have perused in relation to this magnificent lady (and also of the situation on Harris fully a decade after the final potato famine).

Everything that I have researched regarding Mrs Frances Sarah Thomas Bousfield Thomas (yes, that was her full name following her two baptisms and her first marriage!) leads up to this newspaper piece. This may come as a surprise for where is the Clo Mor, or the Stocking Knitters, or whatever? The answer is that I do not believe that either 'Harris Tweed' or 'Strond Stockings' were truly significant economic activities at this early date and it was the less glamorous work amongst the people that is described above that the exhaustingly energetic Fanny was devoting herself to at this time.

Of the publication, 'The Friend of India', I have learnt that it was created by the missionary John Clark Marshman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Clark_Marshman but, although the title contains the word 'Friend', I have not discovered whether it was associated with the Society of Friends. I raise this because, although I have no proof that the Thomas's were 'Quakers', an article on Mrs Thomas appeared in 'The British Friend' of 1888.

Mrs Captain Thomas, my 'Heroine of Harris', was certainly a friend to the people of the isle...

North or South?

2011-03-17T19:23:00.000Z

Apparently the North Harris Estate was sold in 1867 to Sir Ernest Scott for £155,000.
At least that's what I once wrote but I'm having serious second thoughts. For a start, I cannot locate the origin of that figure and can only discover vague references to the sale being partly in payment for a debt that the 7th Earl had with his bankers. If that weren't bad enough, I have now discovered that the South Harris Estate was advertised for sale in 1876 for...£155,000. It may be coincidence or, equally, it may be that the figure quoted for the sale of the North Harris Estate in '67 was actually the price asked for the South Harris Estate in '76.

I don't know but, putting aside my earlier error for a moment, what is significant about this second sale is that it never took place. Only three years earlier, in 1873, the restoration of St Clement's Church had been completed so why the 35 year-old Earl was wanting to dispose of his remaining estate at this particular time is unknown as are the reasons for it failing to be sold.

I will discuss the description of the Estate later but meanwhile must apologise for suggesting that the North Harris Estate had been acquired for £155,000, although I must have obtained that figure from somewhere...

CATTLE TRYST IN HARRIS

2011-03-17T18:27:00.000Z

ALEXANDER N M'CLEOD, Esq, of Harris, being desirous of establishing a CATTLE MARKET on his Estate, notice is hereby given to Drovers and Cattle Dealers, that this Market or Tryst will be held at the head of the Ford of Luskintyre, in Harris, on the 20th of July, being the Tuesday following the Stornoway Cattle Market. Lochstocknish, which is well known to be a good harbour, is within two miles of the Marketplace. Every accommodation will be given to Dealers; they may depend upon getting Vessels and boats to ferry the Cattle either to the Isle of Skye or the mainland, on very moderate terms, and a good shew of cattle may be expected.
Harris, 7th June, 1813

This notice appeared in the Inverness Journal of Friday, 2 July 1813 and I obtained a copy of the image via the service provided by Am Baile and Inverness Reference Library.

Alexander Norman Macleod had inherited Harris from his father, Alexander Hume Macleod, in 1811 and by the time of this notice some 34 years had passed since his grandfather, Captain Macleod, had purchased the Estate. It is quite surprising to learn that, as late as 1813, there wasn't an established Cattle Market on the isle. i presume, therefore, that we can say with a fair degree of confidence that the first such Cattle Tryst was this one on the 20th of July.
I don't know for how long it remained 'at the head of the Ford of Luskintyre' nor whether Loch Stocinis became the principle place of departure for the cattle heading elsewhere, but my understanding is that cattle were taken from near Tarbert to either Uig on Skye or to Poolewe on the Mainland whilst others were taken from Rodel to either Uig or Dunvegan on Skye.
More questions to answer, as usual, but it's pleasing to be able to say that we have Alexander N M'leod to thank for starting the annual cattle fair and the resultant droves from Harris.

Taking A Stance - On A Drove-Stance

2011-03-17T11:09:00.000Z

On the 3^rd of December 1846 a case was heard in court between the Marquis of Breadalbane and 'James M'Gregor and others'.

The case, which is extensively recorded in great detail, was with regard to a long-standing drove-stance that had been moved and the relationship of drove roads with later, mainly military, routes.

The place in question was Inverouran in Argyll which lies just off the modern A82 road and it is what the case has to tell us regarding the history and practice of droving that particularly interests me:

"The drove-road by Glencoe and the Blackmount was used for driving sheep and cattle long before the public road was formed, and it has continued to be used down to the present time in the same way as before the formation of the present road.

Nicely reminding us that it was such paths that had formed a large part of the land communication network for many, many years.

At Inverouran, the drove-road leaves the present public road for about two miles. It runs through the drove-stances in dispute, and has been used as a part of the drove road for the sheep and cattle from time immemorial.

I suggest that 'time immemorial' implies at least several centuries of use.

Shortly before 1745, a military road was, with the necessary engineering deviations, made under the authority of parliament, on or along the line of the former and ancient drove-road, which afterwards became the road by which the cattle and sheep were driven.

The first roads were built for political, rather than economic, purposes.

In 1803 this line of road was, in common with the other roads in the Highlands, placed under the management of parliamentary commissioners, and is so still; and, with the exception of occasional deviations, the present public road runs along the line or course of the ancient drove-road.

Not all 'modern' roads follow these ancient routes so it is nice to have this particular one confirmed.

The military road, and the present parliamentary road are, substantially, in the lino of the ancient drove-road, and came in its place, and, among others, to supply its purposes, which, until recently, have been its chief use."

" On their journey, certain places for resting and refreshing sheep and cattle are indispensable. These places are generally situated at the average distance of ten miles from one another, being the safe and proper distance sheep and cattle on a journey can daily travel without sustaining serious injury, and they are called drove-stances or stages, and are invariable and indispensable accompaniments of drove-roads; and on the great drove-road by Glencoe and the Blackmount, there have been for centuries past, and as far back as its history reaches, drove-stances at stated distances, for the resting of the sheep and cattle.

So we know that the average speed of these droves was about 10 miles per day which fact is worth pondering when you consider that some of these animals would leave in July to travel all the way from the Western Isles to England!

There are fixed rates of charge for every hundred sheep, and every score of cattle, attached to each stance; and these rates, - generally 1s. 6d. for every hundred sheep, and the like for every score of cattle for each night, -have been fixed for time immemorial."

Using the Retail Price Index reveals that 1s 6d is a little over £5 today and that is for every 100 sheep or 20 cattle and for each day of the journey. 5p per sheep per night and 25p per cow which it would be interesting to compare with modern haulage rates per 10 miles!

I might return to this case to see what other snippets might be lurking there but for now I think that's enough on the disputed drove-stance of Inverouran.

Source: The Scottish Jurist Vol XII 1867

'Ormisdal'

2011-03-16T14:52:00.000Z

A novel. By the Earl of Dunmore FRGS, author of 'The Pamirs'.

'In this breezy and entertaining novel Lord Dunmore has given us a very readable and racy story of the life that centres in a Highland shooting, about the end of August.' - Glasgow Herald

This reference was found in 'Mr Edward Arnold's New and Popular Books, December 1901' and I believe the Earl's novel was published in 1895.

Has anyone heard of it? Or read it?

'The Pamirs' is still in print and, if you search the Amazon site, you will find by 'Charles Adolphus Murray Dunmore', a book called 'The Revelations of Christianus: And Other Christian Science Poems (1901)'

Christian Science was begun in 1879 by Mary Baker Eddy but I was unaware that the 7th Earl had any association with the religion.

LIFE Magazine - 17th October 1938 pages 58-61

2011-03-16T13:01:00.000Z

These four pages, complete with several unique photographs, make for an interesting read regarding Harris Tweed.

Enjoy!

Events in London in July 1845

2011-03-15T18:11:00.000Z

On Thursday, 11^th of September 1845, Lady Alexandrina Victoria Murray was baptised at St Leonard's, Streatham in Surrey. The family were living at 78 Pall Mall, London.

View Larger Map

Her birth date is given as 19th July 1845 although it looks as if it was originally in the process of being written as the 16th and then amended. I have not seen her birth certificate to verify this but what is certain is that her father had died on Saturday, 15th July 1845, just a day, or a few days, before her birth. He was buried on 22nd July in the same church and by the same vicar who would perform his daughter's baptism a few short weeks later.

Her siblings:

Susan Constance Mary Murray (b 7 Jul 1837 in Wilton, Wilts.)

Constance Euphemia Woronzow Murray (b 28 Dec 1838 in Wilton, Wilts.)

Charles Adolphus Murray( b. 24 Mar 1841);

were only 8, 6 and 4 years old respectively.

Their widowed mother, the Dowager Countess of Dunmore was 30 years old and faced the prospect of not only raising a family but also running her son's estates for him until he became of age.

Quite when this occurred is complicated: Up to the age of 14, a boy was a 'Pupil' and the person in control his 'Tutor'. From 14 until 21, the age of majority, he was a 'Minor' and, although he could enter into contracts, I do not know to what extent he would have been in control. Therefore until at least the 24th March 1855, and quite possibly in most respects, until 24th March 1862 the whole of Harris was under his mother's control.

Who knows what mixture of emotions she was going through in that fateful week in July (or, indeed, whether the death of her husband had played any part in bringing-on the birth of her fourth child?) but, even for a woman of wealth and privilege, such an appalling combination of events can only be seen as tragic and I don't think the closeness of the two dates has been commented upon before.

There is a reference in the NAS (RH4/195) to a letter dated 29th November 1853 from Prince Albert Edward (the later King Edward VII) to Charles Adolphus regarding them playing together at Buckingham Palace. The Prince was some seven-and-a-half months younger than the Earl and the friendship lasted throughout their lives. I mention this merely to indicate the vast gulf that existed between the private lives of the Dunmores and the social circumstances of those on their Harris estate. 1853 was when the people of Borve were being 'Cleared'...

Refs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Legal_Capacity_(Scotland)_Act_1991

NOTICE OF A REMARKABLE SOLAR RAINBOW

2011-03-14T23:24:00.000Z

BY CAPT. F. W. L. THOMAS, R.N.

30th May 1861 - Noon: left Loch Tarbert, Harris.

8 P.M. it fell calm when we were four miles from Rodel, Harris.

There were a few trifling showers, and the air was beautifully clear.

At 8.15, when the sun's altitude was about ten degrees, a brilliant rainbow (C) formed; - its estimated altitude was 40 degrees.

Where the arch joined the horizon (A B) its colours were very bright.

A secondary bow (D) also formed, with the usual characteristics.

But, what must be very unusual, a third or extraordinary bow - (E) appeared.

The extraordinary and primary bow arose from the same points of, and were coincident with, the horizon; from whence the legs of the extraordinary bow rose almost perpendicularly, but bending gradually into a broad elliptic arch, whose summit, estimated at 70 degrees of altitude, was above that of the secondary bow.

The colours of the extraordinary bow were in primary order; less bright than the primary, but brighter than the secondary bow.
Neither the summits of the secondary nor extraordinary bows were ever very distinct.
The phenomenon lasted about half an hour.

A sketch of the arrangement is here drawn. (Please see embedded page)

Note: An old sailor informed me that he once witnessed a similar appearance of rainbows in the West Highlands. And in the Enc. Met. Mety., p. 171, is quoted a description of a like phenomenon, seen by Dr Halley from the walls of Edesten; but in which the extraordinary bow contracted until the upper portion of the arch became coincident with the upper portion of the secondary bow, when, from the order of the colours being contrary, the blending of the two produced white light.

Source: Journal of the Scottish Meteorological Society, Volume 1, Nos I-XII, 1866. p270

Note: He had completed surveying 'East Loch Tarbert' 4 years earlier, and the West Coast from the 'Sound of Harris to Lochs Tarbert & Resort' in1860, so the precise purpose of this voyage is uncertain we can be sure that Fred Thomas had been putting the time to good use, perhaps even collecting Webs with his wife?

Bushey & the Congested Districts Board

2011-03-14T19:32:00.000Z

This is one of those 'tying-up-a-loose-end' posts - although in this case there remain several 'tails' still to be told.

In my piece on 'Lululaund' I referred to the Tapestry Weavers of Bushey and then later discovered The British and Irish Spinning and Weaving School that had been located there. I mentioned the presence of Miss Clive Bayley and conjectured that she was the ladies teacher. Hence I was delighted to find in the National Archives of Scotland a reference from 1901 to 'Miss Clive Bayley. Home Industry. Expenses incurred at Bushey' that is filled under the Congested Districts Board (Ref:AF42/890)

Unfortunately there are no further details and the file, which is held off-site, has to be pre-requested but it nicely corroborates the foregoing guesswork and links the CDB to this particular endeavour. As it appears in Bushey, and Mrs Captain Thomas was now living in East Sussex as Mrs Frances Beckett, I wonder if once again she had a hand in yet another textile offshoot from Harris, this time one that was training some seven young ladies from 'Obbe, Harris'?

Whilst on the topic of connections twixt Bushey & Harris, here's the piece on 'A Somewhat Strange Affair' ...

Taking Hydrographic Surveyors Names In Vain

2011-03-14T11:00:00.000Z

I was alerted to an article in The Guardian about the controversy regarding a new Loch Lomond Chart via a comment made on this piece from the Across the Minch blog.
The media coverage; such as this from the BBC, this from STV, this from the Stirling Observer and this from the Scotsman; focus mainly upon the inappropriateness of the names that have been used.

What none of them addresses, however, is the fact that the Hydrographic Surveyors of 150 years ago took great pride in ensuring the accuracy of their charts and especially with regard to using the correct names of the features that they recorded.

Admiral Otter (as he became) would be horrified to learn of such a neocolonial attitude to cartography taking his name in vain in this way and, as the man who ensured the safe arrival of the first successful transatlantic cable in Newfoundland, I suspect that he would also object to being portrayed as in any way unsophisticated merely because the plumb-line was the main tool at his disposal.

Note: Previous pieces regarding the work of 'Captain Otter', 'Captain FWL Thomas' and 'Mapping' may easily be accessed via the Labels at the left of this page.

Turf Houses in Scotland

2011-03-13T21:49:00.000Z

This is a huge topic that has only really started to be fully appreciated relatively recently.
It sits within the landscape of the forms of social & economic organisation that the islands have witnessed during the past 9000 years of human habitation.

Scotland's Rural Past is a 5-year project that ends in 2011 'which supports local communities across Scotland to investigate deserted rural settlements dating from the medieval and post-medieval periods'. http://www.scotlandsruralpast.org.uk/

RCAHMS Interpretation Officer Brian Wilkinson has written ' A Study of Turf: Historic Rural Settlements in Scotland and Iceland' which explains how the so-called 'traditional' island blackhouse is actually an adaptation of an earlier form that used turf for its exterior walls and was, in fact, technologically superior to the more modern, 'improved' version.

An archaeological reconstruction of one of the Icelandic types of Turf House was recently completed and its story can be read here.

As I said at the start, this is a huge topic that is still in its infancy and I am sure that the closing conference of Scotland's Rural Past on the 18th of June 2011in Birnam will generate much interest.

Battle of the Pens in the late 18thC

2011-03-13T19:55:00.000Z

The final years of the 18thC attracted a sudden surge of learned visitors to, & commentators upon, the Western Isles.

John Knox, John Lanne Buchanan and Robert Heron each wrote of their experiences whilst John Pinkerton (aka another 'Robert Heron') embarked on a spirited attack upon all things Gaelic. We shall, however, start with a private letter between two other men of letters and learning:

Letter from Jospeh Ritson to Mr George Paton

Gray's Inn, 5^th March 1794

Dear Sir...

...Pinkerton seems busy in his intended History of Scotland. Whether it is to be the same with that advertised under the name of Robert Heron,*I cannot learn. His treatment of the "Celtic savages" is to be speedily resented in print by the Reverend John Lane Buchanan, nominal author of " Travels in the Western Hebrides," who seems, in fact, to be as very a Celt as his antagonist could possibly wish for. I am sorry to find so good a cause in the hands of such an incompetent advocate.

I indulge myself at present with the hopes of seeing you in the course of the ensuing summer: and in the mean while, request you to believe me,

DEAR SIR,

Your sincere friend and faithful

Obedient servant, .
J. RITSON.

An explanatory note is provided in the book:

*Pinkerton brought out his " Letters on Literature" under the fictitious name of " Robert Heron." It singularly happened that a " Robert Heron," a man of some literary acquirements, did then exist, and that he was about to publish a History of Scotland. Pinkerton was also at the time engaged in his History of the Stewarts, and thus the puzzle which perplexed Ritson arose. Of the unfortunate fate of the real Robert Heron, a very interesting account will be found in Murray's valuable, but undeservedly neglected, literary History of Galloway.

Source: 'Letters from Joseph Ritson, Esq to Mr George Paton. To which is added, a critique by John Pinkerton, Esq upon Ritson's Scotish Songs' Edinburgh 1879

Pinkerton appears to have previously attacked Paton in his trademark intemperate manner but clearly Ritson was less than enthusiastic that it was Buchanan who had mounted a speedy rebuttal to Pinkerton's latest attack on the Gaels. Paton was employed at the Custom House in Edinburgh and was an amateur student of Scottish antiquities. Anyone with such an interest and who dared to suggest that Gaelic culture might have an ounce of value would be a target for Pinkerton's outrageous vitriol. Ritson had previously exposed a set of supposedly ancient Ballads that Pinkerton had championed but were in fact forgeries, including some from Pinkerton's own hand.

The reason why Ritson would consider Buchanan 'an incompetent advocate' was simple. Buchanan had been a Missionary minister on Harris between 1782 and 1790 but had been found guilty of conducting unbecoming his position. He had been caught 'in flagrante delicto' in the bed of a servant of the Tacksman of Luskentire and also accused of the attempted rape of another tacksman's wife. His subsequent sacking and disgrace mean that his writings regarding the island inevitably open themselves to questions of credibility: Were the tacksmen really as appalling as he suggested and were the Harrismen as keen to become fishers rather than remain being farmers as he insisted?

Buchanan wasn't universally critical of the tacksmen but, even if those at Luskentire and elsewhere on Harris at the time weren't as terrible as he suggests, one of their successors in the form of Donald Stewart most certainly was! It is also worth pointing out that the comments made in the Statistical Account of 1794 by the Rev John Macleod reinforce Buchanan's view of the Tacksman class in general and this despite Buchanan accusing the Established Church of either ignoring, or even collaborating, in the tacksmen's persecution of the people.

Regarding the fishing, even if the relatively small population of Harris (2536 souls in 1792) wasn't too keen on going fishing themselves, that is in no way the same thing as suggesting that Tarbert was indeed an obvious site for the British Fisheries Society to develop and should have been included as such in John Knox's recommendations.

At the risk of becoming an apologist for Buchanan, I humbly suggest that, whilst he may well have overstated the situation and his writings be seen as polemical and therefore without academic value, he should be given some credit for having an intimate knowledge of the ways of Harris having lived amongst the people there for nearly a decade and, unlike some of his his detractors, never hiding behind a nom de plume nor sitting in silence at the injustices he perceived around him.

He also greatly irritated the Tory's at the time, exciting vitriolic attacks from the pages of
'The Gentleman's Magazine' of May 1794 and 'The Critical Review' of 1795.

Neither of the authors of those particular pieces provided their name...

Useful Index Pages for Statistical Accounts

2011-03-13T15:53:00.000Z

I mentioned these in the last piece but thought that, as they are so helpful, I'd devote them an entry in their own right.

A project on the 'Old Roads of Scotland' has, amongst many other things, indexed the Statistical Accounts by County & Parish. This is especially useful as they have contain sketch-maps showing the Parishes and have links to the Statistical Accounts on the EDINA site and the Google Books pages.

Inverness-shire, for example, is here: http://www.oldroadsofscotland.com/stataccinverness.htm and if, like me, you get confused between your 'Sleat's and your 'Strath's, or want to search for a particular word/phrase in the Account,s then these indices & the Google pages that they link to are invaluable.

Enjoy!

The Harris Drove

2011-03-13T12:27:00.000Z

I have made brief reference to the driving of cattle from Harris to the mainland via Skye in a previous piece 'Of Black Cattle, Kyloes and Crodh Dubh' but here are two references from the Old Statistical Accounts for Glenelg & Harris that clarify those droves:

Glenelg

Tides - The tides run very strong, both in Lochurn and Lochneavis; but the most remarkable current in this parish, or perhaps in all the west coast, is to be seen at Kylerea, the name of the sound that separates Sky from the main land; at spring-tides it runs so rapidly as to render it impossible for any vessel to pass through with a fresh breeze, and the wind never so favourable. Mackenzie, in his chart, reckons its velocity equal to nine notes an hour. Over this sound the black cattle annually driven to market from Sky, and part of the Long-island are made to swim; and though the current is so very strong, yet few accidents happen. The number cannot be exactly ascertained, but in general they may be reckoned about 2000.

Harris

They are sold in small lots from each farm to drovers, who ferry them to the Isle of Sky in the month of July; and from thence they are driven to market, sometimes to the S. of Scotland, but more frequently to England. Though there may be in all Harris about about 900 milk cows, supposed a breading stock, yet the number annually sold to drovers does not exceed 200.

Thus in the closing years of the 18thC it looks likely that some 200 of the 2000 cattle that were driven across 'Kylrea' to the mainland were from the 'part of the Long-island' called Harris.

It is easy to imagine a series of sales occurring as the cattle were passed like bovine batons along the relay race that reached its finish line as far away as England. The cattle were said to improve as they journeyed, presumably adding even more to their value in the markets of the south, and I cannot help comparing favourably their final days on Earth with those of some of their less fortunate modern cousins...

Refs:

Avonsuidh

2011-03-12T20:58:00.000Z

By the later years of the 19thC we see references to 'Avonsuidh' or 'Fin Castle' as the Harris seat of the Earl of Dunmore.

It would appear that the 7th Earl first named it Fincastle then it later became Amhuinnsuidhe Castle and was 'Anglicised' into Avonsuidh which, according to Iain mac an Tailleir, is from Abhainn Suidhe or 'River Suidhe'.

I think 'suidhe' is, coincidentally, to do with 'seating' (although Iain mac an Tailleir has it as 'seething'?) but, as he had to sell his 'seat' soon after it was completed, then I suppose that the Earl probably was indeed seething...

The Edinburgh encyclopedia, conducted by D. Brewster, 1830

2011-03-12T20:18:00.000Z

For background, the 1811 Census recorded 3569 people in Harris living in 760 houses.

Selected highlights from pages 716-7 (interspersed with a few of my comments)

The east coast of Harris is singularly indented all along with innumerable bays, creeks, and natural harbours, and presents a frightfully rocky and barren appearance when viewed from the sea.

The neighbourhood of the shore, however, is inhabited all along; and near the little settlements are patches of barley, oats, and potatoes, raised by extreme labour.

Some of these being the remnants of Captain Macleod's fishing developments of nearly 50 years earlier; and some being the result of early 19thC Clearances such as those of Horgabost, Rodel, Scarista & Seilibost.

Calligray and Ensay lie about a league and a half east from Berneray, being separated from each other, by a narrow sound called Caolas Scaire, through which the tide passes with the most impetuous current known upon these coasts. The sea in which these islands are situated, is called the Sound of Harris, and is much frequented by shipping .

All the early accounts remark upon the Sound regarding its tides & its extensive shipping.

Cattle and kelp are the chief saleable articles of produce.

The former soon to be replaced by sheep and the latter, some decades later, by Harris Tweed.

Harris and its islands contain about 900 milk cows; and about 200 head of cattle are generally sold annually to drovers. The whole stock of cattle in Harris and its islets may be about 2500.

It is difficult to imagine 2500 cows roaming around on Harris and observing some 200 cattle being driven across the land and sea to the mainland, following the fairs on the island, must have been a magnificent sight.

The sheep in Harris are of a diminutive size, of a thin lank shape, with straight horns, the face and legs white, tail short, and wool sometimes bluish-grey, sometimes black, brown, russet, or blotched of various colours: their number is about 1100.

Clearly not to the author's taste, but what a lovely palette of wool walking across the landscape!

Note that there were two-and-a-half times as many cattle as there were sheep.

On Harris a considerable tract of ground has been stocked with Tweed-dale or black faced sheep, by Mr. Mackinnon of Corry, and other gentlemen.

The word 'gentlemen' reminds us that here were are being told of the work of an 'improving' farmer from outwith the islands.

In some of the mountainous islands, they are said to have sometimes four, and sometimes even six horns.

Jacob sheep? Or Soay, Shetland, Spanish?If anyone reading this has researched the history of the primitive multi-horned sheep of Scotland I'd love to hear from you!

The number of goats is trifling.

Similarly what's the story regarding these useful (& tasty?) creatures in Scotland?

There are not less than 1000 horses in Harris, of very small size, but remarkably stout and hardy. Some of the gentlemen have larger horses on their farms, and a few asses have been introduced.

As with the cattle, the thought of 1000 horses (that's 4 horses for every 3 houses!) is unimaginable nowadays and it would be interesting to know about horse ownership in the isles in earlier times.