Perthshire

[donmack]

Hello all,

I would like to introduce myself. My name is Donald Grant Mactavish known as Grant and I live on the very bonny Isle of Bute on the west coast of Scotland.
Previously, I lived in mainland Lanarkshire where there are a goodly number of Mactavish families. When I began to look into the origins of the name in Lanarkshire it became apparent that Perthshire was the origin of most Mactavish families living in Lanarkshire. In fact, my great great grandfather was one Tavish Mactavish(B.1798) who arrived in Motherwell, Lanarkshire around 1830. From various sources I learned that Tavish was born at Amulree, Perthshire. The precise location was a farm called Auchnafauld, Close to Loch freuchie in Glen Quaich.
Naturally, I have interest in educating myself further into the history of the Mactavish name in perthshire and would welcome any correspondence. In fact, I am interested in anything about our clan..............

Regards
Grant

[REALMACTAVISH]

hi grant weve spoken by e mail hope it was of help. great to have you on board

[REALMACTAVISH]

DO YOU KNOW WHO TAVISH FATHER WAS ?

[rhona]

ALOHA Donmack ---in the tropical isles of Bute!
As none of my mob come from Perthshire--Ididnt think I'd be able to help you,then I remembered how many years ago I stopped by a wee graveyard just outside Aberfoyle----just for a wander you understand---(my family don't understand AT ALL)---well ---would you believe it----the first grave I looked at was for a JOHN
MACTAVISH who died at "COULLENGARTEN",BLANTYRE---I wrote it down for posterity! Not your Tavish,but perhaps another native Perthshire MACT who was brought home to rest?
Ive also spotted a series of records in the national archives re; pERTHSHIRE mCTs, which give a bit of genealogy info.----Im sure there was a Tavish who had been "put to the horn" in the late 18 th century and presumably made an outlaw because he was man enough to stand up to injustice and refused to leave his tied cottage or pay his huge tax hike!---
I also once found a Perthshire connection for a Peter MacTAVISH,son of Hugh Mactavish at KIRKHILL,INVERNESS , but I cant quite remember what it was sorry---it may have been due to his travelling down the coast to Edinburgh ,marrying,then "having babies" all the way home! so not so sure on that one but the gorgeous Kenmore area in particular seems to have been home to many McTavish families as Im sure you're aware----
hope you get a chance to go exploring in person---its sooo lovely.
slainge!
Rhona.

[cathy]

I have a last will and testament for this Hugh MacTavish, if anyone is interested.....
Also buried at Boleskine are many from Perth...............forgive this question from a lowly American, but how far from Inverness is Perth, I thought it pretty close!

Cathy

[rhona]

With today's transport ---Inverness is about a 2 hour drive from Perth ,but I wouldn't like to guess what that would be by horse--(or Shank's pony either-!)
You're right in thinkiing its not so far tho and people clearly travelled up and down the country regularly for markets etc.There was a large livestock market in Crieff,Perthshire for example to which all the Highlanders would be familiar.

[donmack]

To real mactavish and rhona

The parents of Tavish Mactavish that you asked about were Peter Mactavish and Janet Menzies. That's about all I know of them !!!

Rhona....You mention a Tavish who had been 'put on the horn' in the late 18th. century and was probably made an ou law. Strangely enough, my GGG Tavish Mactavish more or less disappeared from Perthshire in the early 19th.Century for reasons that are unclear. The next thing we know is that he married Mary Nicol in Dumfriesshire - a long way from perthshire -in 1827. After that we know he was in Hamilton, Lanarkshire and ended up living in Motherwell a few miles away from Hamilton. To add to the mystery, Tavish's death certificate was a shambles. If I remember correctly his father was shown as Tavish and his mother unknown. Makes you wonder, eh?

[migovie]

welcome donmack....another keen mactavish is GREAT to have onboard ...
i noted some perthshire mact whilst touring graveyards in boleskine and inverness area so would suggest their burial back in that area may be a possible reatachment to roots.?
ill check it all over thru my bins and bins of mactavish stuff...( i think i desperatley need someone to help sort it all for me one day) hah.
its acknowledged that the birth death and marriage records of boleskine etc were lost shorlty after culloden as the local parishner ( ?) threw them into a "swiflty flowing stream" .
so perhaps if you have a "blank" or hic up in your line it may well be attributable to that event , and this would show your family was perhaps living around inverness thru 1700s.?
just a thought....
naming patterns and land occpuancy will be next best road to search....ill check what i recorded ( which was soooooo much ) as the local historian in inverness advised to me record ALL and EVERY mactavish in the area and surrounds as he was sure they were ALL related.....so i did...from the library archives to the cemeteries to the inverness courier ...everything mactavish i kept record of....and it does all begin to flow back thru ....so let me dig ...and dig ,.....