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In Memoriam, Karen Williams

Colonsay Annual Root and Grain Show

Organisers, competitors and judges are all to be congratulated on a splendid show, the first to be held in the new hall. Mr. Lyons (Lib.), our member of the Scottish Parliament, made a special effort to attend, travelling from Crinan by chartered boat.

We are fortunate to have a few pictures to give a flavour of the event:

Mr. George Lyons MSP

Jasmine and Glen Brown, Prizewinners

Tray of Vegetables, Charles MacKinnon

Some of the exhibits

"... and did the Earth move?"

"My Hero..." (sigh)

Air Service update

Snippets:

Nature Notes

What's On in Colonsay

As usual, it is best to look out for the notices at shop and elsewhere:
The annual Young Farmers' Dinner has been postponed.
Please note that on 18th October the Post Office will be closed for computerisation 12.00 - 17.30hrs. A helpful notice reminds customers that the nearest alternative is at Port Askaig!
18 October: Councillor Currie will be in Colonsay and available for consultation.
The Gaelic Workshop, 16 - 20 October, conducted by Alastair Scouller, is to be held in "The Upper Room"; for further details contact Alastair direct, or via the Editor.
Quiz night - every Wednesday at the hotel.
Religious Services each Sunday are at 11.00 in Church of Scotland and 12.00 in the Baptist Church. All are welcome.

Nooks and Crannies: The Crannogs

The recent rains have raised the level of Loch Fada to just the right height to reveal the two crannogs at the west end of Locha 'n Iar (below Archie's house). It is very easy to distinguish the two circular green mounds which once were artificial islands. The ancients secured upright posts in the bed of the loch, then floated out heavy logs which were secured in place, often by proper mortice and tenon joints. The platform was then weighted with rocks and, as it submerged, was ccontinually raised and weighted until a secure structure was complete and raised above the waterline. When completed, a simple wattle hut was built, for the storage of seedcorn and other supplies, secure against vermin and casual damage by fire or pilferage.
When Loch Fada was drained early in the 1900's, a dugout canoe was discovered and it lay for a few years beside the loch until it disintegrated. At about the same time, the then Archie MacConnell had been cutting rushes and, returning from his lunch, found that the sluice had been opened and that the water had fallen in his absence. Lying at his feet he found a stone axe, in perfect condition, which he subsequently passed to Glasgow Museum.
The Colonsay Crannogs have never been recorded or examined. Slightly to their north, the curious will discover two stone piers, running out into the loch but slightly below the surface. These date to the 19th century, when they were used for steeping of flax, an important step in the early stage of linen production. Very little Colonsay linen now survives - the communion linen from the Parish Church was lost within the last fifteen years.

The Magazine Section

Colonsay's Family Origins (Part 3 of 3)

This concludes a three-part article which attempted to describe the population of Colonsay prior to the dynastic lairdship of the MacNeills of the South, running from the late seventeenth century right through to 1904. Reference has been made to the origins of a few families, but it seems appropriate to include a rollcall of the individuals who are known to have lived in the island during a relatively peaceful period which preceeded the disasters of the mid seventeenth century. A list of Colonsay inhabitants "converted to the True Faith" by Fr. Patrick Hegarty O.F.M. was submitted to his superiors in 1625 and has been preserved in Vatican archives. Cathaldus Giblin O.F.M. transcribed the list for publication and a complete and annotated version was published as an appendix to "Colkitto!…" (op.cit). The list is in Latin and includes 251 individual names; the following summary is restricted to surnames and the suggested translations are not definitive:

From the above it will be seen that the main families were represented as follows: Currie 25, McNeill 17, O'Kane 13, MacDonald 12, Smith 12, Bell 10, MacAllister 9, Galbraith 9, MacEachern 5, McPhie 4

Unfortunately, the figures may well include multiple entries for some individuals who received the Sacraments more than once and, of course, they do not include persons who did not participate or who were away from the island. Nonetheless these records are useful, in that they are supportive of the known facts. Since MacNeill of the South had rather aligned itself with the Reformed faith, we may assume that those recorded here are descendants of Iain a' Chuain (as is confirmed by Prof. MacKinnon, below).

The O' Kane contingent may be identified as part of the extended family of the MacDonalds (Colla Ciotach's mother was an O' Kane noblewoman and had relocated to Colonsay as a youthful widow); thus the MacDonald / O' Kane combination shared numerical primacy with their close and loyal allies, the Curries. The MacDonald and O' Kane names disappeared utterly from the island in the aftermath of 1647 and the Curries were to become early and enthusiastic migrants to the New World.

Very few of these "founding families" were to survive the coming of the McNeills of the South, other than by absorption into the extended family of the new magnates and the families that they introduced.

This article has reviewed the early history of Colonsay, has attempted to indicate the origins of the post mediaeval populace and has identified some specific families which are known to have been represented in the island in the early seventeenth century. There were dramatic changes after 1647, which saw the Covenanting Army in victory and which paved the way for Cromwell and King William. The following few years were turbulent for Colonsay and, when the clouds cleared, a new dynasty had become established, one which would hold the inhabitants within its thrall until 1904.

If there is sufficient interest, it is likely that the history of the McNeill Dynasty may be examined in articles to be published at some future date; in the meantime, the comments of Professor MacKinnon may be of interest, writing c. 1896:

"Nearly two thirds of the present population of Colonsay can claim descent from (Iain a' Chuain) in the male or female line, while his descendants in Canada are still more numerous. (In 1805), the most common name on (sic) Colonsay was Currie, the next being McNeill. At the present time half the population is McNeill and there is not a Currie on the island, the last who bore that name … died some ten years ago."

In September 2000, nearly two fifths of the population might possibly claim descent from Iain a' Chuain (19 maximum, but correction is invited); there are twenty MacNeills and McNeills combined (out of a population of 114), and there is once more a single Currie. The latter has "come into" the island, but his ancestors were Colbhasachs.

Selected Bibliography:
"Excavations on Oronsay: Prehistoric Human Ecology on a small island" by Paul Mellars, EUP 1987
Professor Stephen Mithin has published a number of informative articles to keep the community informed about his work in Colonsay and Islay and it is understood that full publication is in preparation. A websearch under "Staosnaig" will probably produce a number of hits.; the "vegetarian lobby" was fascinated when the importance of hazelnuts to Mesolithic diet was mooted.
"Popular Tales of the West Highlands" by J.F.Campbell Volume 1, Birlinn 1994
"Popular Tales of the West Highlands" by J.F.Campbell Volume 2, Birlinn 1994
"Colonsay - its Plants, Climate, Geology etc." by Murdoch McNeill, David Douglas 1910
"Colonsay and Oronsay" by Symington Grieve F.S.A. (Scot.) Oliver and Boyd 1923
"Colonsay and Oronsay" by John de Vere Loder, Colonsay Press 1995 edition
RCAHMS "Inventory of the Monuments", Argyll Volume 5 1984
(N.B. A special paperback edition of the above work is available from Colonsay Bookshop, containing all Colonsay and Oronsay monuments and with the benefit of a specially prepared introduction).
"Acts of the Lords of the Isles 1336 - 1493" Edited by Jean Munro PH.D. and R W Munro, Scottish History Society 1986
"Placenames of Colonsay and Oransay" by Kevin Byrne, Colonsay Books 1993
"Colkitto! A Celebration of Clan Donald of Colonsay" by Kevin Byrne, House of Lochar 1997
"Colonsay and Oronsay" by Norman Newton, David and Charles 1990
"The Lords of the Isles: Clan Donald and the Early Kingdom of the Scots" by Ronald Williams, House of Lochar 1997
"The Heather and the Gale: Clan Donald and Clan Campbell during the Wars of Montrose", House of Lochar 1997
"Mesolithic Scotland: The Early Holocene Prehistory of Scotland and its European Context" - International Conference at Edinburgh, November 1999 (publication pending).

Duncan Ban McNeill, Oransay

This photograph of Duncan Ban was discovered by the late Donald Garvard, in the loft at Drumclach. It was in the form of a glass negative and the image was retrieved with the help of Glasgow College of Art, through the agency of the late John Cunningham. The original is preserved privately in Colonsay. Duncan Ban was the subject of a famous obituary notice by Prof. MacKinnon, published in "The Scotsman". The obituary will be reproduced in the next issue of "The Corncrake".

Building a House in Colonsay - Chapter 9

Where are we?

Outside, the roughcasting is still to be done and the drains connected to the septic tank. We have agreed the numbers and layout of the door-steps and a large quantity of broken rock has been removed to help build the Glasaird by-pass. Other tidying up work is in progress and top soil has been put down in some places. So the return of the roughcasters is awaited, not only by me but also by Hughie and Jenny as their new house still needs them.

Inside the joiner work is nearly finished and plaster board sheeting is all erected and mostly taped. The staircase is lying around in bits ready to go in when the plastering in the stairwell is finished. All internal doors are in place. Skirting boards well advanced and some window sills are in. Don has gone off to Oban for a long weekend which gives Donald and Angus a clearer run. First fix plumbing and wiring finished and we now are waiting on bathroom fittings and the kitchen fittings to arrive.

So progress is steady if not obvious to the passers-by who can't see what is happening inside. But I do see big changes from day to day and so am off to the mainland for a few days to organise such things as curtains and light fittings and all the host of small fittings that have to be added to a finished house to make it a home.

The Jura Newsletter is a longstanding publication which has been emailed by Scott Buie (its originator) to a circle of interested individuals; it is a forum for questions and information on the Family History of Jura. Because Colonsay and Jura are so close geographically and because the McNeills had substantial interests in both islands, there are many points of interest which are common to both communities. Melody MacKay of AIE has assisted in the creation of an open-access archive which includes all recent editions. If you have the least interest in the history or genealogy of Colonsay, you will wish to add http://www.islay-jura.com/newsletters/newsletter.asp to your "Favourites".

Regulars

Feedback continues to be a little less than conventional. The editor was more than a little gratified when a reader recently identified himself as such, and then produced a litre-sized bottle of Glenfiddich as a mark of appreciation!

Where there is one appreciative reader there may be more, so a "visitor counter" was added to the last issue, halfway through the fortnight. It clocked up about 150 "hits" in a week, so it will be interesting to see what happens in a full fortnight.

Not all correspondence lends itself to publication, but the following message was received on 13 October - if anyone would like to offer information, please contact the editor and the message will be forwarded:

"Neil McMillan, who was my great great grandfather, was born on the Isle of Colonsay in 1812. He married Maryett Rowley (McMillan) in October 1839.
She was born in Volney, New York, USA, on August 17, 1822.
I do not have any information any farther back, so all I know is that apparently Neil emigrated to the US sometime between 1812-1839.
He was an Indian trader and farmer, and his daughter Martha Jane McMillan was born March 26, 1861 in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, US; she was a teacher and my great grandmother."

We will be happy to receive more letters and, as always, the editor would like to hear from anyone who might wish to contribute. Individual articles on news or local events will always be welcome.
Contact
the Editor - byrne@colonsay.org.uk