History Of The Area

[Graeme]

Here's a website you might find interesting.
www.lochnesswelcome.co.uk (http://www.lochnesswelcome.co.uk/downloads/pdf/Tales%20from.pdf)
It's a booklet about the area written in the 1920s.

[Graeme]

My goodness, two posts from me in as many days!
A Country Called Stratherrick by Alan Lawson is going to be reprinted if anyone wants a new copy. Here's the link -
http://www.lochnesswelcome.co.uk/latestNew...l.asp?newsID=59 (http://www.lochnesswelcome.co.uk/latestNews/newsDetail.asp?newsID=59)

[rhona]

: rolleyes:
Graeme ---you're a star!----- Ive been hoping a reprint would appear someday! Its a fascinating read for all Scots but especially the natives!
thanks for that
Nessie x

[cathy]

This is great news, thank you for posting it. I have been hunting old book stores for years!

THANK YOU - THANK YOU!

Cathy McTavish

[cathy]

Thank you so much for the link to the booklet on the area by Neil Fraser-Tytler. This is full of wonderful history on the families of this area. A must read for anyone with ties to this area!
Thank you!
Cathy

[Graeme]

No bother folks. I actually have an original copy somewhere in the house. I suspect it's with the photographs of Boleskine School which I promised to scan for Cathy. But I just can't find the box they're in. But when I do . . .

[cathy]

you are indeed wonderful!

Have a great holiday!
Cathy

[cathy]

A Country Called Stratherrick, by Alan Lawson, is finally available for purchase. Here are the instructions! I ordered two copies!!!


There are different ways of obtaining copies, according to where in world you are
.
If you live locally, or know someone who does, you can get a copy from any member of the South Loch Ness Heritage Group committee, but the main holders of the stock are Frank Ellam, Easter Boleskine, Foyers, Inverness, IV2 6XT, and Iain Cameron, Drummond, Dores, Inverness, IV2 6TX. The cost, if there is no delivery involved, is ?10.

If you are not in the area, you can order from any of the above people, including a cheque for ?11.75, made out to the individual you are ordering from, unless you are ordering from Frank, our treasurer, when cheques should be to South Loch Ness Heritage Group.

You can order on-line via the Highland Family History Society, at http://www.highlandfhs.org.uk/HFHSPubsSalesList.asp. This takes care of postage and currency conversion issues, but is a little more expensive because of the GenFair handling charge. Still good value, we feel!

[rhona]

'Just to let everyone know----I received my copy this morning(A COUNTRY CALLED STRATHERRICK ) and I havent put it down yet!
I'd forgotten what a wee treasure it is and even better than the original thanks to the gorgeous colour photos taken by the author's family---
Well worth the wait and brilliant value---- let yourself drift back thru the mists with this one!-----NO I DONT HAVE SHARES---sadly!
cheerio for now
Rhona x

[cathy]

I received my copy yesterday and agree with Rhona it is WONDERFUL. If you have ancestors from this area of Scotland, including Dunmaglass, you NEED this book!

Once again here is the link, it is work every penney, and it was shipped very quickly!!!!

It is one of those books that I am reading cover to cover, and it includes information on "everyday" people, not just Clan Chiefs!!!

A Country called Stratherrick ------------by Alan Lawson,

http://www.highlandfhs.org.uk/HFHSPubsSalesList.asp

[rhona]

Sorry Ive not been responding appropriately to all the heart-warming words which have been shared of late---I suppose Im just feeling a bit low after hearing of all the terrible events unfolding in Lebanon---
Do you know that a Scottish airport has been used by the US to smuggle WMD's en-route to Israel??-The CIA had already been exposed for re-fueling their torture flights at Prestwick----Im SCUNNERED!----to think Elvis Presley once graced the tarmac there for the same amount of minutes---but at least his lovely feet left a positive impression on scottish soil--
Anyway I digress--- and no I wasnt old enough to see his feet---sadly.
Im now on the trail of Flora MacTavish ( celebrated accou-whatsit in Strath) having re-read her story in my new
Stratherrick book---and have a hunch she could be a daughter of Lachlan MC/MACTAVISH as she did her training in Edinburgh and theres evidence of a Flora in Edinburgh in 1812 with a dad called Lachlan-----
Lachlan of Dunardry married Mary Loch in Edinburgh but I know he hadalready died by 1800,but the sons seemed to have stayed a lot at Edinburgh into the early 1800's
Just wondered if theres anything in Lachlan's will to show a daughter called Flora---I remember Migovie saying he'd read it???
It'd be fascinating to think if she WAS related to the "chief"but chose to live and work among the Stratherrick folk over the Dunardry folk---
Does anyone have any thoughts ---or am I jumping to confusions again????

[migovie]

rhona...flora mactavish ...is yet a mystery im still searching...shes buried at boleskine in the same line of garthbeg males but seperated and a few paces on her own...but probably accepted as a position of respect for a "female" within the respected male burial ground...she was the districts first "midwife" and apparantly trained in edinburgh...her position in garthbeg males shows some great respect....her parentage somewhat unknown as yet...
heres a lead i was chasing...( not to say your search into lachlan mact of sth migovie is to be disregarded at all ) BUT for a time i was exploring this ..( and let it slide for other pressing issues)...
flora mact trained in edinburgh ...then i discovered that lachlan mactavish of dunardry had a daughter flora that had no trace of existance(born after 1792 and belived alive in 1813 at least )...BUT my lead to her came from fact lachlans other daughter was margaret mact (born 1792) who married george webster who was a surgeon...then i thought that floras sister margaret may have influenced flora to enter univeristy in edinburgh and train as a midwife.???
havent followed this thru but seems for a female to be sent from garthbeg to edinburgh to train (very unusual ) and it would NOT occur at that time in history UNLESS adequate family support etc as caregiver etc was set in edinburgh...and as yet i find garthbeg mact have little ties to that university and garthbeg/migovie seem to have sent males to kings college aberdeen instead,,,,so only other mactavish with ties to edinburgh and medical proffession is lachlan dunardry other daughter margaret ....?????
could this flora be the daughter of lachlan mact dunardry.? or maybe as you have found the dughater of lachlan mact from sth migovie....( this same lachlan of sth migovie was also father of the founder of the mactavish shinty cup...)
THE MACTAVISH SHINTY CUP WAS A GARTHBEG MACTAVISH INVENTION....

[cathy]

Rhona, I had the same thoughts as I read the portion in the book on Flora, and by all means we should explore this angle. Is she our Baroness???

and I understand your feelings about the US using Scottish airports, damn politicians can not be trusted. The whole middle East thing is such a mess, and will continue to be until we quit dropping dollars in the region for the bloody oil.

I have quit watching the news for a while, as I only sink into sadness.............


So, I will focus on attention on dear Flora, she is a much more pleasant diversion.


Cathy

[migovie]

DOH.! ive got some confusions of my own ....been a hard week...the lachlan mactavish of migovie was an association i had made but rhona your connection with a flora in edinburgh with a father lachlan indicates more that this was lachlan of dunardry...,,,

now from lachlan mactavish own family tree i have the following children to lachlan mactavish and mary loch( who married 1770)

1.. dugald mactavish b 1782 ( now thats a very long period of infertility eh ..12 ys )
then
2..john george mactavish b 1787..( phew another long gap in bed warming eh)
then
3..margaret b 1792...( wow these guys only do it every 5 years or what.? )
then a
4..flora born ?..
this youngest daughter of lachlans shows no birth date nor death...so she could well be the flora buried at boleskine...maybe check floras death cert which should be quite detailed for a death at that time...it will show her parents name
death unknown according to lachlans family but she listed as alive in 1813....

now the flora who is buried at bloeskine in the family plot of the garthbeg male line...died 1831 and was married to thomas barron....
she wouldve gone to university around age 12 ys as did most others in scotland at that time ...she wouldve graduated several years later as a midwife and for some reason began practice in stratherrick....she perhaps died age 40 ish....and no children listed on her headstone and husband not buried with her also indicating a relatively young death on her part cos appears thomas barron mustve remarried due to his non burial with flora.?...
she may still have been a garth/migovie girl BUT very unusual for her to be sent from that coomunity to edinburgh . My extintc suggests this may well be the "lost daughter" of lachlan dunardry.???? that thought needs of course a search...
but all the other garthbeg /migovie boys at that time were sent to kings college aberdeen so im sure her dad ( if hed been from garth/migovie ) wouldve sent her to same college as her brothers for security...etc...
now i thing lachlans other daughter margaret who married george webster surgeon at (leadhills) wherever that is.?) but i think i read he either practiced or ended up tutoring in edinburgh.??
so thats my family guidance that leads me to think margaret her sister suggested flora begin studies in edinburgh in medicine...and flora may have well been boarding with margaret and her husb anyway...so maybe fits...??
anyway...someone can do the "terrier" shuffle on that one...
flora is buried amongst the most important male line of burials at boleskine..alongside the legendary john mact garthbeg (father oF simon) and his sons and brothers...so theres a VERY good reason she amongst that priveledge burial...and not simply cos she was a good midwife for the district...that title would stand her on her own in that cemetery and NOT with those men...( not being sexist at all but such was the custom of those times.)

[migovie]

dont forget too that preceeding lachlans death lachlan has macolm chasing him feverishly for lachlans outstanding promise of his share of payment on dunardry....(malcolm had purchsed a larger estate at auction including dunardry farms and lachlan had signed an agreement he would indeed pay malcolm for the farms of dunardry that malcolm didnt want anyway)
But lachlan had made no effort to pay any of the promise and was ill for 12 months leading to his death. lachaln knew he couldnt find the funds.lachlan had approached everyone and malcolm finally writes saying lachlan has no hope and maclolm didnt think lachlan could have ever found the money EVEN if lachlan had been in good health . BUT simon mactavish arrives and writes to lachlans lawyers offering to be "power of attorney" over lachlans estate on the CONDITION that simons wishes are met...and finally lachlan dies leaving a suprising 500 pounds for the eduation of his children ( now where did this windfall come from considering lachlan had debts to malcom only just over twice this amount and IF lachlan had paid malcolm at least this 500 pounds ...he wouldnt have lost dunardry....arghh...i belive this windfall of the the very round figure of 500 pounds came from simon mactavish ).
BUT we know lachlan didnt have the 500 pounds in the weeks before death else he wouldve given it to malcolm and SAVED dunadry for mactavish and cleared the debt that would be passed from him to his sons by heir (the debt of 1200 pounds owing to maloclm that is). when lachlan died this debt wouldve been inherited by his children ...BUT good old simon cleared it all up...eh....PHEW
my point finally being that simon mactavish in a letter offered to pay for education for all lachlans children ...we know that lachlans son dugald went to law school and his other brother john george joined simons hudson bay company (a position offered by simon in a letter at lachlans death) and JUST perhaps young flora took the windfall too .and set herself up as a midwife (courtesy of simons legacy) now of course margaret the other sister neednt bother with education cos she married george the surgeon ...so her life was settled....
perhaps young flora decided to return to garthbeg to practice as midwife as a 'gratitude " to simon of garthbeg..???
arghhh...she was one of the last dunardry mactavish perhaps then with a soul and a concience .?//

[cathy]

Now this is far fetched, but what is Flora were "fostered" to Garthbeg????

It was done with male children............

No, probably ridiculous....................., but she makes the aquaintance of a Garthbeg male, follows him to Stratherrick...................

got to do more research!

Cathy

[rhona]

HEY----- 'LIKE THOSE THEORIES GUYS---they're entirely plausible---
A re Lachlan's other kids on the OPRs?---Anyways its always possible Flora was added onto a siblings cert as I discovered with one of my lot,but it might need some more digging yet---do you think it might help ifI go into the uni archives???
Im sure she'll reveal her true identity eventually----but its fun guessing!

[cathy]

do you think the University would have those records???? I have to pull out some stuff this weekend, I feel like I really need to find the roots of Flora!

Cathy

[rhona]

LACHLAN DID HAVE A DAUGHTER CALLED FLORA!!
At least---According to the Pretenders web-site --he did----
I just found it by accident surfing around the garbage after trawling on scotlands people with not much luck----so it seems she may have been the youngest as she is named the last of four children,after Margaret.
I dont supposeit'll matter a single haggis supper if shehad a love-child or not---coz things are a changin anyways---but wouldn't it be fascinating!
i DID FIND SOME GOOD NEWS FOR tRUTHSEEKER TOO---
A will belonging to a Hugh McTavish who died in 1843 shows he was also known
as HUGH THOMPSON!(im FAIRLYsure it had a P)
It was probly his mothers name ,but ifyou thinkhecould be a relation youcan find it on "scotlandspeople".
happy hunting my friends

[rhona]

LACHLAN DID HAVE A DAUGHTER CALLED FLORA!!
At least---According to the Pretenders web-site --he did----
I just found it by accident surfing around the garbage after trawling on scotlands people with not much luck----so it seems she may have been the youngest as she is named the last of four children,after Margaret.
I dont supposeit'll matter a single haggis supper if shehad a love-child or not---coz things are a changin anyways---but wouldn't it be fascinating!
i DID FIND SOME GOOD NEWS FOR tRUTHSEEKER TOO---
A will belonging to a Hugh McTavish who died in 1843 shows he was also known
as HUGH THOMPSON!(im FAIRLYsure it had a P)
It was probly his mothers name ,but ifyou thinkhecould be a relation youcan find it on "scotlandspeople".
happy hunting my friends

[cathy]

Nice job! I am impressed!

[rhona]

Please dont be impressed ---it was a fluke---
I do think you're right about her being "fostered" to Garthbeg area ---and altho the University archives are not fully on-line yet there may be mention of her SOMEWHERE in their vast library---but it means an awful long search in person---
Weird to think she would've trained with and qualified at the same time as Dr James Barry-- a highly respected surgeon with the British army for 46 years , later revealed to be a WOMAN on his death-bed!---The first ever British female doctor!
Poor Flora did things by the book and probably didnt receive any remunerations for her work but seemed to be well loved-and appreciated by her poverty stricken patients in Stratherrick-------
I agree ,it could be she felt much gratitude to a certain local benefactor ,especially as a woman living in these difficult times.

[cathy]

I was not aware of Dr Barry... Woman, had an awful plight in those years. Stratherrrick would have been a great place to hide out. It was rather poor and they would have been grateful to have someone with medical knowledge. How close do you live to Inverness????


Cathy

[rhona]

Depending on time of day ,weather ,footie matches , rock-raves and the G8---
a journey to Inverness could take me around 3 .5 hours drive, but I really prefer a quiet road very early in the morning----its a truly magical sight seeing the sun moving up along the Moray firth and a great place to see dolphins .

[cathy]

I envy you....the dolphins, I live in the midwest.....farm country. We do have the great lakes though.

I will continure digging on line and see what we can find!!

Cathy

[cathy]

On this day, May 17, 1746, many Stratherrick people surrendered to the British after Culloden. Amoung them was John McTavish of Garthbeg.

. In 1747 it was enacted by the 20 George II, cap. 52, "that all the King's subjects in Great Britain should be pardoned of every treasonable offence against the State committed by them before the 15th of June in that year, with certain exceptions specially named, among whom we find the Master of Lovat; James Fraser of Foyers; Simon Fraser of Achnacloich; John Fraser (MacGillespie); Hugh Fraser, son of Alexander Fraser of Leadclune; John Dubh Fraser of Little-Garth; John Fraser of Bruiach, late steward to Lord Simon; and Thomas Fraser of Gortuleg [Mackenzie, op. cit., p. 488]. John Dubh Fraser of Little-Garth is John Mactavish of Garthbeg.

John McTavish of Garthbeg, is my 5th Great Grandfather.


Cathy McTavish