Genealogy at the Clan Donald

GENEALOGY
W
ithin a generation of Prince
Edward Island becoming a
British colony, the single-largest
cultural group was the Scots. By the
mid-1800s over half of the Island's population was Scottish, and the secondmost common language heard here
was Gaelic. Even a century later, over
a third of Islanders considered themselves to be of Scots descent.
Although the flow of this immigration came from all over Scotland, a large
part of it was from the Highlands and
Western Isles, in particular the Isle of
Skye, ancestral home to the powerful
Clan Donald. No clan had more influence in early Highland history as Clan
Donald. In the 12th century a warrior
named Somerled emerged to lead the
expulsion of the Vikings from Scotland.
Somerled's grandson Donald became
the founder of Clan Donald - literally
"the children of Donald." His descendants
and
followers
became
"MacDonald." Also acknowledged as:
"Lords of the Isles," Clan Donald ruled
much of Scotland's western coast until
King James IV removed the title - and
much of the Clan's power - in 1493.
The Isle of Skye has been the seat of
Clan Donald since the 1400s. In the early
1790s, around the same time so many
of his people were leaving for North
America, the first Lord MacDonald
built a mansion at Armadale, which
was later expanded to create Armadale
Castle. In 1971 the Clan Donald Lands
Trust was set up to save what was left
of the once-vast Clan Donald lands. The
Trust assumed responsibility for 20,000
acres, and the grounds of Armadale
Castle became a centre for exploring
and interpreting Clan Donald's vital role
in Scottish history. Of particular interest to Prince Edward Island - where
"MacDonald" is the single-most common surname - is the Clan Donald
Library and Study Centre, which
opened its doors to the public 10 years
ago this summer. The Library is run by
the Trust as part of its duty to collect
and preserve records, traditions and
objects of historic interest bearing on
the history of Clan Donald.
By Maggie Macdonald
Lord MacDonakTs Reels
thought to be particularly relevant. By
1990 we had collected over 6,000 books
but there was nowhere that our visitors, or staff, could use them. They
filled every nook and cranny of the
Trust's offices and, until the books took
over, what had been a staff flat.
At the same time more and more of
our visitors, not just the MacDonalds,
To begin with, the Trust concentrated
on collecting a library. The subject
areas tended to be historical, especially relating to Skye and the other
lands of the Lordship of the Isles, or
relating to MacDonalds and other clans.
Genealogical materials were not really
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Genealogy
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31
The Isle ofSkye.
were asking questions about their roots
on Skye and adjacent districts. We
realised we had to get hold of the relevant information. In 1984 we bought
copies of the census and parish records
for Skye as well as a microfilm machine.
This was set up in the museum entrance
but as using it became more and more
popular there was often quite a traffic
jam. Somehow new space had to be
found.
At the beginning of 1990 we set about
refurbishing what had been originally
the head gardener's house, lived in latterly by the dowager Lady Macdonald.
This is the building that opened in 1990.
We now have a store with a controlled
environment, two small galleries for
temporary exhibitions (this year's exhibition is on crofting and the Battle of
the Braes) as well as an office and a
work room, but what is most important
is that we can now offer researchers a
proper reading room, and the space to
use our library, archive and genealogical collections.
Genealogy research
Our main sources, the census and the
parish records, will be familiar to any
one working on 19th century Scottish
family history. They are available elsewhere (not just our library) but I will out32
line what they cover for
those who may not have
used them before.
Censuses - We
hold microfilm copies
of the censuses for
most of the western
highlands and islands
covering the period
1841-91. The British
government maintains
a 100-year closure period on records including personal information, such as censuses,
so the 1901 census is
not yet available. Nor
are the first four censuses (1801-31) much
use for genealogical
purposes as they were
simply a numerical
count, giving little
detailed information
and the returns were
not preserved. From
1841 more information
was collected, as each
householder had tofillin a schedule, or
form, giving information on those people, not necessarily family members,
staying in the house on census night.
These were collated by the district
enumerators into books known as the
Census Enumerators Books (CEBs).
It is films of the CEBs that we use.
The CEBs are based on the schedules originally handed out by the enumerator. He would not have done this
in a haphazard way, but would have
gone systematically round his district,
handing out the schedules. He would
then have copied them in the same
order into the CEBs. This means that
the censuses are not an alphabetical
listing of the families in an area, but
rather a geographical listing, depending on where each family lived. This
can present a problem if a researcher
is not too sure where his family originally came from, but as compensation
offer a glimpse into what an ancestor's
community looked like.
Luckily we have two indexes to the
censuses. One for 1851 covers only
Skye, Wester Ross and the town of
Inverness, while the other, recently
published on CD ROM by the
Mormons, covers the whole of Great
Britain and is searchable by computer.
Parish records - We also have
microfilm copies of the Old Parish
Records of the Church of Scotland,
usually called the "OPRs" for short, for
much the same area as we have for the
censuses. There is also an index for
the whole of Scotland, again produced
by the Mormons.
In Skye there are no parish records
earlier than 1800, when the parish of
Portree first began recording marriages and baptisms. The other six Skye
parishes gradually followed suit so that
by 1823, records were kept for the
whole island. Even then they were by
no means complete. This was for a variety of reasons. It was not compulsory,
but it was expensive, with an entry for a
baptism costing in the 1820s, the equivalent of half a day's wages. As well,
people did not need a record of their
birth and other such documentation in
the same way we do today.
Even where events have been recorded, only a basic amount of information
is given. For instance a marriage record
will only very occasionally include a reference to the father of either the bride
or groom. More commonly the entry
will record just their names and place
of residence. Birth records are slightly
better as they register the child's name,
both parents - including the mother's
maiden surname - and the place of residence. Just occasionally, perhaps when
the session clerk had been having a
really bad day, the record will have
blanks. I have seen marriage records
where the bride's name is not included
or as in one extreme case, a baptism
where only the child's name and surname, and dates of birth and baptism
have been recorded. The parents'
names, as well as the place they lived,
have been left out altogether.
Deaths were rarely recorded in the
OPRs. In Skye the only death records
are in the late 1830s for the parish
of Bracadale. St Kilda also has deaths
recorded, though parish records there
do not begin until the 1840s; over half
are the deaths of babies who died of the
eight-day sickness - tetanus thought
to have been brought on by the traditional application of a mixture of fulmar
oil and dung to the umbilical cord.
In 1855 statutory civil registration of
births, marriages and deaths was introduced. As Scottish records include a
mass of information, we try to maintain
a good relationship with the Registrar
in Portree who holds copies of the registers for the whole island.
One of the main problems in using
any of these sources is the lack of variety of names in use, both surnames and
first names. This is probably familiar to
many in Prince Edward Island, especially in those areas where Highland settlement is concentrated, and where there
are many families with the same surname such as Nicolson, or MacDonald,
MacKinnon or whatever. However this
is often unfamiliar territory to those who
have grown up outside Highland areas.
They come hoping that we willfindtheir
John Macdonald, Neil MacKinnon, or
their Angus Maclnnes, bringing only
the vaguest of details with them by
which we can corroborate which of the
many with that name, their ancestor
might be.
papers. Basically these are the business papers that detail the day-to-day
operation of his estate. The earliest
documents are charters granting property to the various Macdonald chiefs
(a seemingly endless succession of Sir
Donald Macdonalds, with the occasional "Sir James" thrown in). There are
also letters, account books, bills and
receipts, reports and so on, the great
bulk of them dating from the 18th and
19th centuries. Not everything has survived. There was apparently a fire at
the factor's office sometime in the 19th
century which destroyed some papers.
Others fell prey to damp and poor storage conditions. In addition some of the
estates administrators, known either
Matters of Estate
as chamberlains (in the 18th century)
or factors (in the 19th) were not good
record keepers. At certain periods this
The other great source we have at
means that we have only a tantalising
Armadale are Lord Macdonald's estate
glimpse of what
was happening on
the estate, while at
others, every last
scrap of paper was
carefully kept and
we get a much fuller picture.
Certain parts of
this archive are
very useful for
genealogical
research.
For
instance the lists
of tenants, in the
rentals, can be
used in conjunction with the censuses to trace families. There is an
almost complete
run of rentals running from 1823 to
1948. Before 1823
there are only a
very few rent lists
which include tenants' names - one
in 1733 and one in
1802. As only the
person paying rent
is named, not the
rest of the family,
and as the perennial problem of similar names is very
apparent here, it is
"MacAlister" R.R. Mclan, 1845. MacAlaster, or MacAlisdairnot always possiis a senior branch of Clan Donald. It was founded by Alasdairble to make a positive identification
Mor, the second son of Donald.
in every case, but
we like to try. It makes family history
come alive if the actual place of origin
can be identified.
The Dance Called America
Annoyingly, the archive does not
include much information about emigration - there are very few detailed
ships lists, or lists of emigrants. At certain periods, the estate correspondence
does give an idea of what was going on.
This is true of the early 1800s, when
Lord Selkirk was recruiting settlers
for his experiment on Prince Edward
Island. The time of the Polly was one of
upheaval on the estate.
The then chief was the 2 nd Lord
Macdonald. He spent relatively little
time in Skye, living for the most part
in London, and had delegated the
running of his estate to Trustees or
Commissioners, to whom the chamberlain, his principal land agent on Skye,
reported. However, though he lived
away from the island, he was very interested in its affairs. He wanted to modernize the estate by converting the old
system of joint farms held by a group
of tenants to one of small holdings
or crofts, held individually. As a preliminary the estate was surveyed in
1800. He also wanted to maximize his
income. The population was growing it had increased by 50% in the 50 years
up to 1801 - so there was increasing
pressure on the land. Lord Macdonald
hoped that by making all the tenants
put in new, higher offers for their farms,
his income would increase as the rents
rose. At the same time he wanted to
keep as many people as possible on
his estate and to discourage emigration which was increasingly seen as an
attractive option by many Skye folk.
The following extracts from letters in
the archives provide a flavour of what
was going on.
First of all, there was quite a bit
of uncertainty as to whether tenants
would get a farm or not. In April 1802,
John MacKinnon, of Ardnish, Strath
and others complained that they had
been warned to leave their farms at
Whitsunday, and wanted to know whether they were to get any other farm or not
"before we lose time to join our neighbouring emigrants who intend to sail for
America in the month of June."
In March of the following year
an officer of the Canadian Fencibles
was on the island recruiting for his
33
regiment. But more worrying to the
estate officials was that "Mr Angus
MacAulay is to come over for a cargo of
emigrants this season, as very encouraging letters have been written by those
who went with him the previous year." In
April, the chamberlain, John Campbell,
reported that the buzz of emigration had
got to such a height "that I am quite at
a loss how to manage, above two thirds
of the people of Strath and Sleat have
already subscribed and paid part of their
;r i
4
passage money" and "a considerable number" had done likewise in Trotternish,
though he could not ascertain how many.
He was worried that he would not be
able to let all the farms. In response,
Lord Macdonald and his commissioners
decided to reduce the rents after all.
This, combined with the effects of the
Passenger Act of 1802, which had made
it much more expensive to emigrate,
reduced emigrationfromSkye for a while.
By 20 June Campbell could write: "the
emigration is entirely knocked on the
head and I do not suppose that one third
of those who once talked of it will go.
One of Lord Selkirk's transports has
arrived at the island of Rousay but has
taken none on board yet." Of course emigration did not stay "entirely knocked
on the head" for very long. Within a generation, the population on Skye would
be afractionof what it once was.
Vital Statistics and Other
Sources
Much of the information in the
censuses and parish records
is of too late a date for anyone
searching for emigrants to
Prince Edward Island, where
the main period of emigration
from Skye was the first part of
the 19th century. Even where documentation on specific emigrants
does not exist, it is still possible to
find out a little of what their life
I was like in Skye in the late 18th
and early 19th century, before
leaving for North America.
Printed sources are particularly useful for this, and have
the bonus of being available
in other libraries, not just
ours. In the 1790s, all the
Church of Scotland ministers
-**" were asked to answer a questionnaire sent out to them by Sir John
Sinclair of Ulbster, who wanted to compile a record of the current state of
Scotland. The ministers' reports were all
published, parish by parish, under the
general title of "The Statistical Account
of Scotland." A facsimile version was
published in 1983. It is sometimes known
^
I
r
as the Old Statistical Account to distinguish it from a later version which
was compiled in the 1840s (known, of
course, as the New Statistical Account).
The questionnaire asked the ministers
to provide information on a number of
headings such as climate and diseases,
towns and villages, inns and alehouses
and the state of the church. This they did
in varying degrees of detail. Often they
concentrated only on those aspects of the
questionnaire that particularly interested
them. This means that for some parishes
we get a lot of information on the archaeology and antiquities of the parish and
very little on what life was like, as in
the following extract, written by the minister of Duirinish, in north west Skye.
"In every district of the parish there are
some weavers male and female, a few
tailors, a blacksmith, some boat builders
and house carpenters. Every farm keeps
boats and the people go afishing for their
own use. There are very few bred seamen, but all [are] expert rowers, good
hardy watermen and skilled in making a
boat with sails. Every married labourer
in this county has a small portion of land,
he raises a little flax, and has a few sheep
so that his wife furnishes him his whole
wearing apparel." We can read in the OSA
about the fair at Portree, the island's principal cattle market, which was held each
May and July for four days at a time.
We can read about wage levels, and how
large numbers of the island's young men
and women had to find seasonal work
outwith the island to supplement their
families income. The ministers tell us of
the crops they planted and when. Oats
and potatoes were planted in March and
April, for instance, but if it was a very
wet year the oats might not be harvested
until October, while barley was sown at
the beginning of May to be reaped in
August.
Family Names Associated with
Clan Donald
Even if you never thought your family
name was associated with Clan Donald or even with Scotland, for that matter you still may have an affiliation. This is
especially so if youfindyour family name
originating in certain parts of Northern
Ireland, the West Highlands and Islands.
"MacDugai;R.R. Mclan, 1845. Although It is very likely indeed if your roots are
most MacDougalls belong to Clan on Skye. Here is a list of surnames hisMacDougall, those from North Uist are torically related to Clan Donald by blood,
marriage or legal adoption, l il
part of Clan Donald.
34
Addison
Alcock
Alexander
Allan
Allanson
Allison
Ambrose
Anderson
Arnot
Balloch
Baxter
Beaton
Bethunes
Bisset
Blue
Bowie
Boyd
Boyle
Bradley
Brady
Brodie
Brown
Budge
Buie
BullochBurke
Cain
Calbraith
Callen
Cambridge
Canochson
Carmichael
Carroon
Chambers
Clark
Clerk
Cochran
Colson
Cone
Conlay
| jij
Conn
;|!i
Connell
Connely
Cook
Coppock
Cowan
Cromb
Crum
Cunningham
Currie
Curry
Daniel
Darroch
Dennison
Donald
Donaldson
Donnell
Drain
Dunsleve
Fletcher
Forrestor
Foster
Galbraith
Gait
Gilbride
Gill
Gilian
Gillis
Glashan
Glass
Godfrey
Gowan
Gray
Greenfield
Hattan
Hawthorne
Henderson
Hendry
Henry
Herron
Hewison
Houston
Howe
Howie
Howison
Huchon
Huchonson
Hudson
Hughson
Huie
Huston
Hutchin
Hutchinson
Isaacson
Islesjeffrey
Johnson
Kane
Kean
Kain
Keegan
Kelly
Kendrick
Kennedy
Kerigan
Kessock
Killough
Kinnell
Lang
Leach
Livingston
Lynn
MacAichan
MacAlasdair
MacAlexander
MacAllan
MacAllister
MacAlonie
MacAmbrose
MacArthur
MacBaxter
MacBeth
MacBodach
MacBrayne
MacBrehon
MacBrief
MacBretine
MacBride
MacBrion
MacBrolachan
MacBryde
MacBurie
MacCaffer
MacCaig
'
MacCain
MacCairlie
MacCaldret
MacCaleb
MacCall
MacCallan
MacCallister
MacCalman
MacCambridge
MacCannel
MacCarlich
MacCarrol
MacCarron
MacCarter
MacCash
Macathail
MacCavor
MacCellach
MacChanney
MacCleary
MacCleireach
MacClellan
MacCluskey
MacCochran
MacCodrum
MacCohenane
MacColl
MacConacher
MacConlea
MacConn
MacConnell
MacCook
MacCorie
MacCormick
MacCorran
MacCoshem
MacCotter
MacCowan
f|
:
MacCoy
j||
MacCrain
MacCrindle
MacCrory
MacCrumb
MacCuaig
MacCuish
MacCuithen
MacCulloch
MacCumbray
MacCurry
MacCutchen
MacCuthan
MacCurry
MacCutchen
MacCuthan
MacDaniel
MacDonald
MacDonnell
MacDonleavy
MacDonnell
MacDougall
MacEachan
MacEachern
MacEanruig
MacElfrish
MacEleran
MacEntire
MacEoghain
MacEvinney
MacGachen
MacGeachie
MacGee
MacGilbrMe
MacGill
MacGillander
MacGillechalum
MacGilleconga
MacGillelan
MacGillespie
MacGiilies
MacGillifedder
MacGillivantic
MacGilliver
MacGilp
MacGinnis
MacGlashan
MacGlasrich
MacGorrie
MacGowan
MacGugan
MacHatton
MacHendrie
MacHenry
MacHouston
MacHugh
MacHutchen
^
Maclan
Macllaheiney
Macllbra
Macllbride
Macllchomhghain
Macllchrum
Maclldonie
Maclldowie
Macllfersane
Macllhatton
Macllheron
Maclllemartine
MacIUergan
Maclllbui
Maclllighlais
Maclllguirine
Macllmaluag
Macllneive
Macllraith
Macllraich
Macllvenna
I Macllvie
Macllvoir
Macllvrenenich
Maclnlay
Maclndayn
Maclndeor
| Maclnleich
Maclnleister
Maclnnes
Maclnstocker
Maclntaylour
Maclnturner
Maclntyre
Maclssac
Maclver
MacKain
MacKay
MacKeachan
MacKean
MacKechern
MacKechbie
MacKee
| MacKeithen
MacKelloch
MacKelly
MacKanabry
MacKendrick
; MacKerracher
MacKerral
MacKerras
MacKerron
MacKessock
MacKichan
MacKeigan
MacKeirgan
MacKfflop
MacKinnel
MacKiver
MacLae
MacLafferty
MacLarish
MacLardy
Macarthy
MacLaverty
MacLeister
MacLellan
MacLergan
MacLerich
Maclinlagan
MacLiver
MacLucas
MacLugas
MacLuHch
MacLure
MacLuskie
MacManechin
MacMarcus
MacMarquis
MacMath
MacMay
MacMhuirich
MacMichael
MacMichan
MacMichie
MacMitchell
MacMoris
[ MacMurchie
MacMurdo
MacMurdoch
MacMurphy
MacMurrich
MacNakaird
MacOnill
MacOshen
MacOshenag
f MacOwen
MacPhail
MacPhilip
MacQueen
MacQuilken
MacQuillan
MacQuilly
MacQuistan
| MacRanald
MacRanie
MacRankin
MacRennie
MacReynold
I MacRory
MacRuari
MacRury
MacScilling
MacShannon
MacSheehy
I MacSherry
MaCvSorley
MacSporran
MacStake
MacStalke
I MacSwain
MacSwan
MacSween
MacSewwney
MacTrain
MacUisdean
MacVanish
MacNawan
MacVarish
MacVey
MacVicar
MacVurrich
MacWalrick
MacWarish
MacWhan
MacWhannel
MacWhellan
MacWhiston
MacWhitlee
MacWilkin
MacWillie
MacWurie
Magee
Magill
Mann
Manntach
Marcus
Marcusson
Martin
May
Mayes
Mays
Michael
Michaelson
Michie
Michison
, Milloy
Mitchell
Mitchelson
Monk
Murchie
| Murchison
Murdoch
Murdochson
Murphy
O'Brennan
O'Brolachain
O'Cahan
O'Docharty
O'Drain
O'Hanley
O'Kane
O'Kerigan
O'Loynachan
O'May
O'Shannaig
O'Shannon
O'Sheehy
Padon
Park
Patton
Philip
Philipson
Philpot
Pittullich
Poison
Purcell
Queen
Quin
Rainey
Ranald
Ranaldson
Rankin
Rennie
Reoch
Revie
Reynolds
Ronald
Ronaldson
Rorieson
Rory
Samuel
Sanders
Sanderson
Shannon
Sharp
Shaw
Sheehy
Smith
Sbrleyson
Sporran
Stalker
Sweeney
Taylor
Train
Turner
Whan
Whannell
Whallan
Wilkie
Wilkinson
Wright
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