New Year, 2001

As far as is known, one and all enjoyed a splendid New Year; the snow and ice had melted and conditions were perfect for first-footing. There was an excellent ceilidh in the New Hall on the night of the First, and particular thanks must go to Seamus for all his work in organisation and as M.C. That night saw the debut of Colonsay's latest solo performer - Caitlin gave a splendid rendition of Brocan Lom.

On Tuesday, lots of people made their way to Balnahard and enjoyed the generous hospitality of David and Jill. All sorts of other gatherings took place and it was with some sadness that islanders waved goodbye to the busy outgoing ferries on Wednesday and Friday.

Community Council Meeting

The Council met on Tuesday 9th January, and about fifteen persons were present. The plans for the four new Housing Association properties were considered, which will be constructed in close harmony with the two "business units" (sharing access road in particular). The house designs met with general approval, but it was agreed that their exact siting could bear further thought. Those present wanted to ensure that there would be no conflict of interest between the residents and the business occupants, and wish to avoid any development that might needlessly inhibit future expansion.

The meeting then considered the Calmac Fares Review, which had been studied in some detail by a number of individuals. It was felt that Colonsay would wish to make an adequate and considered reply, not least in recognition of having been consulted. The nature of the Review dictates that a measured response will require careful thought and, in view of the complexity of the issues, professional input. In view of these circumstances the Council decided to request an extension to the consultation period; the letter to Calmac to be copied to Mrs Boyack, to Mr Morrison, to the MSP, to the County Councillor and also to Oban Times and WHFP.

Another scene from New Year's Night

Coal Supplies

Vale

Snippets

Colonsay enjoyed an average of 4.3hrs daily sunshine in 2000; Rena is said to be in good spirits but is still "under observation"; the BBC called Hughie (on foot of reports that our roads were untreated during the recent snow) to ask how the community was handling the crisis - "Waiting for the thaw!"; the lunar eclipse (pictured below!)was visible from Colonsay in perfect conditions, although a couple of people said it looked more colourful on TV; the western approach to An Sraid Cham is to be repaired; there is STILL no reply from the Argyll & Bute on application to erect a memorial for Ricard Prior

A Sheep Shearing

Sheep shearing in Balnahard 1957

From left
1. we don't know who - can a reader help?
2. Donald McIntyre - Roger's brother
3. Jimmy Watson - "Jimmy the Butler"
4. Donald "Garvard" McNeill
5. Hugh Galbraith
6. Angus Clark
7. Peter Kelly - without beard
8. Hugh Brown
9. Who's that behind Peter?

Taken at back of steading

Nature Notes

Nooks and Crannies - Dun Ghallain

I understand that the milling engine featured in our last issue was probably operated by horses, rather than by hand. Apparently there was a "manual" version, but it was really rather more of a treadmill … Moving on:

Dun Ghallain, "The Fort of the Stranger" was a stronghold of the Norsemen or Vikings. It is a magnificent promontory fort and the picture shows part of the curtain wall. The fort overlooks an important harbour or "vik" of the Norsemen (or "Vik"ings), which lies between the 5th and 6th hole of the golf-course.

Murdoch McNeill tells us that "Latha Cath na Sguab air taobh tuath Dhun Ghallain" was a well-remembered day in the annals of the locality, when a battle was fought on the sands of Traigh an Tobair Fhuair between natives and Norsemen, who, it is surmised, were attempting to land. The combatants on one side, probably the natives, appear to have been armed with sharpened sheaves of birch. That it turned out to be a deadly conflict for one side or the other, notwithstanding the primitive weapons in use, is proved by the number of human bones which have been exposed from time to time on the sands of the bay. There is a belief that if any one disturbs the bones by digging for lug-worms, the favourite bait in flounder-fishing, a storm will arise which will prevent the person from being able to use the bait thus obtained. It is a curious coincidence that the last time bait was dug here a storm came on which half-swamped the boat of those who set the lines".

The "proof" of the battle is weakened by the fact that no bones have been found in recent years; if the ones to which Murdoch refers were really 1,000 years old, it seems odd that none of them survived for another one hundred years. Very possibly they were the remains of mariners - for example, six men were lost in the wreck of the "Clydesdale" on Eilean Nam Ban in December 1848 and there were countless less dramatic tragedies.

The Magazine Section

Portrait of Lord Colonsay

This portrait of Lord Colonsay by "Spy" was published as "Scotch Law", and appeared in Vanity Fair on September 13 1873. Lord Colonsay (Duncan McNeill, 1793-1874) purchased Colonsay from his brother Alexander in 1847 and sold it to his brother John in 1870; he was very highly regarded in the island, and is commemorated by a granite obelisk overlooking Scalasaig. During the post-famine period he secured an imaginative re-interpretation of the Drainage Acts, enabling him to provide Relief work on Colonsay's roads and dykes. An original copy of this portrait has just arrived at Colonsay Bookshop, for sale mounted and ready to frame.

The full title of this essay is "National Culture of Mobility": The Colonsay-Canada Connection, and it is reproduced, with kind permission of the publishers, from "Transatlantic Studies", Will Kaufman and Heidi Slettedahl Macpherson ISBN 0 7618 17905 (University Press of America, Inc., 2000). The book can be ordered online at www.univpress.com

John Sheets has an extensive academic and personal knowledge of Colonsay, built up through some thirty years of research; he has kindly prepared a list of all his publications (given elsewhere in this issue) as a reference aid to our readers. Professor Sheets asks that we add the following personal note to the on-line publication, as it would normally appear as part of the preamble to his various publications: "I acknowledge the permission of the Registrar-General for Scotland to consult documents at New Register House, Edinburgh."

Part 2, of 4 instalments.

"The largest district was Kilchattan with 255 people in 43 households, or nearly six people per household. The year 1846 started ominously when the widowed "Old Laird" died on February 24. The potato famine struck the west of Scotland months later and its lethal effects lingered for over a decade. With it came a new wave of departures from the Highlands and islands to the towns, cities, and points abroad."

To continue:

"In 1846 Angus McKinnon, his wife and four children left Ardtun in Mull for Ontario, and upon arrival 14-year-old Janet contracted smallpox. Her "Uncle John" came from Erin "with a team of horses and wagon and took them home, a journey of 18 miles over rough road and it was too much for her weakened system and she died." Such dire consequences would not deter others from leaving Colonsay, though. From 1841 - 51 Colonsay lost over 15% of its population size, from 979 to 827 residents. Kilchattan went from 255 to 226 people, by emigration and by death. Duncan McNeill (1793 - 1874), John McNeill's second son, Member of Parliament and the future Lord Colonsay, owned the island but neither his legal nor his political stature could stop its depopulation. Moreover, the increasing number of Baptists in Colonsay had always aggravated the McNeill lairds, staunch supporters of the Church of Scotland. The "Old Laird" had even refused work for some of the Baptist men. By the 1850s the Baptist movement in Colonsay coincided with the surveying and settling of Ontario lands near Lake Huron, the "Canada West" of Bruce and Grey counties. Lachlan McKinnon in Erin owned lots in Bruce County's Elderslie Township around the Saugeen River, a future and favourite destination for Colonsay emigrants.

Given the pressure of more and more emigrants arriving from famished Ireland and Scotland, the provincial government of Ontario initiated the survey of Bruce County in 1849. It used a 1000-acre sectional system of "100 Acre lots more suitable to immigrant farmers" served by "colonization roads" like the Durham Road from Garafraxa to Kincardine, and the Elora and Saugeen Road to Southampton and Port Elgin. The enumerator of Bruce County's first census in 1851, Hugh Johnston, recorded that "until 1849 it was a wilderness. On Christmas Day of that year Mr. William Johnston (styled King of Brant) left Mr. Muck's tavern in Bentinck on a raft to settle here. I believe there was one man before him …." But the area already had human inhabitants; it was the home of the Saugeen and Newash bands of the Ojibwa Indians. About them, Johnston could "spreak from experience having had twelve years intercourse with them," and his opinions resembled American attitudes about the natives on their westward frontier:

"They are better supplied with oxen, cows, ploughs, and all other farming utensils than any other tribe north of London [Ontario] to bvery little purpose as they are decidedly the laziest set of beings in existence…. They eke out a living by what they call farming, hunting, and fishing and depend too much upon their annual income from the Government."

In 1851, 149 Indians lived on the "Arran and Indian Reserve" with a Head Chief, Methodist minister, schoolmaster, agent and interpreter; nearby Brant Township already had 621 people. Elderslie, on the other hand, listed 14 settlers of three "English Episcopalian" families and one "Scottish Presbyterian" servant. They lived in log houses, had no stock or crops, and anxiously awaited the completion of a saw mill and open roads.

On July 30, 1852, the Crown Lands Department in Quebec announced:

"Lands in the Counties of Bruce, Grey, and Huron are now open for sale…. Ten Shillings per acre, payable in Ten equal Annual Installments … occupation to be immediate and continuous … cleared at the rate of five acres annually for every hundred acres … not more than two hundred acres to be sold to any one person on these terms."

True to Hugh Johnston's prediction for Elderslie that "settlers have just commenced flocking in and will increase rapidly," they rushed onto the land without roads, bridges, schools, doctors or preachers. Two of the early settlers to cross the Saugeen River were Malcolm McLugash from Kilchattan and his wife, Euphemia Currie, with their children. In 1852 the brothers Angus, Archibald, and Donald Galbraith arrived from Colonsay and, like others, rafted down the river to their claims. In Colonsay, their relative Archibald Galbraith lost his first wife in 1850; he and three children migrated to Prince Edward Island where he remarried to a Colonsay descendant, and all came to Elderslie. A leader of the Colonsay Baptists, the widower Lachlan McNeill in Kilchattan, sent his son John to Ontario in the early 1850s. John's letters so encouraged everyone that nine more family members came to Bruce County in 1852. They settled near the Colonsay enclave, then lost their patriarch, Lachlan, who died on September 14, 1854. He became one of the first persons buried in Rusk's cemetery, where his gravestone reads "Age 69 Native of Colonsay".

In 1854 the government made two decisions which accelerated the settlement of Elderslie: it negotiated a land treaty with the Saugeen and Newash and held a land consignment in Southampton to register deeds for the lots in Bruce County. Donald Blue, a Baptist from Balerominmore in Colonsay, acquired two 100-acre lots and then sold one to an Irishman from Cork. Blue became sick and died, but not before he bequeathed the other lot to his five brothers and sisters in Colonsay. They immediately emigrated, divided their land into 20-acre farms, and built identical houses with "scooped out" roof beams, thus creating what everyone knows today as "Scooptown". News of such opportunities reached Colonsay people living elsewhere. All of these Gaelic speakers would travel, settle and cooperate with one another during their early years of arrival, adjustment and hardship. Amid Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, and Presbyterian settlers from England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany and America, their children tended to meet and marry one another. For example, Isabella, daughter of Lachlan McNeill, married Angus, son of Alexander and Flora Munn; Flora, daughter of Malcolm and Euphemia McLugash, married Archibald Bell, son of John Bell."

To be continued…

Angela's House

Progress at Angela's house, 11 January

Some readers may have explored on-line learning opportunities in Scotland and the UK; if you have had a good experience, please let us know. In the light of personal experience, I can recommend the "Virtual University" and have availed of their courses in Genealogy and HTML. Anyway, here is their blurb - see for yourself!

Virtual University has announced its Winter 2001 Calendar of classes. New courses include Express Yourself: Six Weeks to Better Writing, Self Help for Stress, Paint Shop Pro Tips and Tricks, Memoir Writing, and Psychology of Serial Murder (Criminal Profiling). Classes on HTML and web design, Javascript, self-help topics and academic courses are also being offered this term.

Winter classes begin Monday, February 5. To view course descriptions and sign up for classes, visit http://www.vu.org/calendar.html

Virtual University is a worldwide learning community dedicated to the helping hand mission of empowerment through knowledge. More than one million people from 130 countries have attended online classes at VU.

Many thanks for numerous kind messages, including those from Jerry D. McAfee, David Jardine, Gary Snyder, John Sheets and others. Many thanks also for the CD archive of pictures, genealogy and screensavers from Gary, and for the bibliography from John.

This next message got overlooked in earlier editions - it leads to an account of Sir John McNeill's V.C., which was recently offered for sale. A full account of Sir John's military career would be of interest; a lot of the material is already to hand, but details of the Red River and Tipperary episodes are lacking - can anybody help? Just as a matter of interest, does anybody happen to know what sort of weapons the natives were using in the VC incident?

Gregory IK McNeill wrote on November 24th to advise us of this useful site and to suggest a link. It is planned to freshen up our entire website shortly and we will hopefully include this and other links then:

I really like the site and would love to come and visit the island
http://www.chapter-one.com/vc/awards/m/0812.html
best wishes
Greg
greg@mcneillfamily.com

_______________________________________________________________ The letter which follows sheds most interesting light upon the "General Washington", whose 1791 voyage from Colonsay to Wilmington seems to have cleared a large (and unwilling) percentage of the population; can any reader access a copy of Laing? :

Hello,
I have contacted you twice before and I'm sorry to hear of your computer incident. Having fouled up my machine several times I can readily sympathize with the frustration.

As I stated before, I am trying to locate my family's home in Scotland. Family rumor has our home on Jura but I have yet to find any indication we were there (at least long enough to leave a permanent record). All the evidence I have gathered seems to point to the five brothers (John, Daniel, Archibald, Peter and Dugald Blue) leaving Colonsay in 1791 and family rumor has it that their exit was not entirely on their own accord.

The brother settled in Moore County, North Carolina (relatively close to Wilmington) and many of us are still there.

My problem is that I have not yet been able to locate a copy of the passenger manifest from the General Washington either. She was a wonderful brig who spent time as a warship in both the American and British Navies (She was the General Monk in the British Navy before being re-captured and having her original name restored). She was sold in the summer of 1874; to whom I haven't discovered yet. I will attach a file of data describing the General Washington I found on the net. It may have a tidbit or two for you. In any case, I need to find a copy of Seafaring America (Laing) to dig deeper.

I truly believe the 1791 manifest will contain my ancestor (John Blue) and I hope that one of us finds it soon.

Have a wonderful day!
Sincerely,
Mark E. Blue

From: Dictionary of American Fighting Ships

General Washington
George Washington was born 22 February 1732 in Westmoreland County, Va. He was commissioned in the Virginia Militia in 1753, rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel the next year, and fought brilliantly in the French and Indian War. Entering the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1759, Washington was a strong champion of colonial rights. In 1775 he was appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, and demonstrated a profound appreciation of sea power as well as great military genius. After years of hardship and arduous struggle, he finally gained the decisive victory of Yorktown. This was one of the great strategic operations of our history in which Washington brilliantly employed the French Navy to cut off Lord Cornwallis from help by sea.
The Treaty of Paris recognized American independence 20 January 1783. After attending the Annapolis Convention of 1787 and presiding over the Continental Convention of 1787, Washington was unanimously elected first president under the new Constitution, and was inaugurated 30 April 1789. His two terms in office laid the foundations for strong government under the Constitution. Returning to his home at Mount Vernon in 1797, Washington was recalled briefly to command the American army when war with France threatened in 1798. He died at Mount Vernon 14 December 1799.

(Ship: l. 130'9"; b. 32'8"; a. 24 9-pdrs.)

General Washington, a swift sailing ship, was commissioned as a privateer by the state of Rhode Island in 1780, Captain Silas Talbot in command. She was captured later in that year by a British squadron and taken into the Royal Navy as General Monk. While in British service, she assisted in the capture of over 60 American vessels. Because of her successes, the merchants of Philadelphia purchased Hyder Ally, in March 1782, armed her, and placed her under the command of Lt. Joshua Barney of the Continental Navy. Barney encountered General Monk 8 April 1782 at the entrance to Delaware Bay; and, after a furious engagement of nearly half an hour, captured her. Restored to her original name, General Washington was taken into the service of the state of Pennsylvania with Barney in command. She sailed 18 May 1782 for Havana and brought back $600,000 in much-needed specie for the Continental Congress.

Robert Morris, then Agent of Marine, purchased General Washington for the Continental Navy in August 1782 for use as a packet between the United States and France. She made three voyages to France, under the command of Lt. Barney. Sailing in October 1782 with important dispatches for the peace negotiations, she returned to Philadelphia 12 March 1783 with a preliminary copy of the treaty. General Washington again sailed for France in June and returned to Philadelphia 20 September. On her third voyage, she carried John Paul Jones to Europe to seek payment for prizes he had captured in European waters, leaving 10 November 1783 and returning in March 1784.

General Washington was sold in the summer of 1784.

Transcribed by Yves HUBERT hubertypc@aol.com

Dear Sirs,
Last summer I had the pleasure along with friends to visit Colonsay. We sailed in and anchored up for the night. Next day we had a fantastic walk and took in some wonderful sights, the island is a credit to you all.

After our walk we went into the small tearoom just up from the pier and had the best lunch and home baking I have tasted yet, and I would be very grateful if you could pass our sincere thanks on to the three elderly women [whoops! - ed.] who served us.

I hope to visit again this year on foot to take in a bit more of the island and once again, after a hard day's walk, taste the home baking.

thanks to you all,
Gordon Frame

Hello! My daughter stumbled across your web site and we thought that MAYBE you would be interested in this little genealogy tidbit from my family, on my maternal side. It is a copy of an article from our local historical society) I say this because the MacAfee clan seat is the Isle of Colonsay and this has to do with my relatives of that name. I cannot verify when Isaac MacAfee came to America, but the area that is described as his home is near the port of Wilmington Delaware ( Chester County, Pennsylvania is the actual area.) My family has lived in this area for many generations, mostly as farmers. Anyway, I have added the text to the end of this email in the hope that maybe it can help you with your search. Stay in touch - I would love to hear from you.

Very best regards,
Jen Storms

. JACOB MACFEE, residing in East Nantmeal township, about one mile from the village, is a splendid representative of that class of man known as independent farmers, who by the exercise of energy, perseverance and keen forethought are enabled to live comfortably and at the same time acquire a competence which will prove of lasting benefit to them in their declining years. He was born in West Vincent township, Pennsylvania, February 2, 1I847, the son of Isaac and Catherine Macfee.

Isaac Macfee, father of Jacob Macfee, was a shoemaker by trade and conducted his operations along that line in West Vincent township. He was an upright, conscientious man, and faithfully performed all the duties and obligations which fall to the lot of every man. He married Catherine Smith, daughter of John and Mary Smith, and through this union ten children were born, seven of whom are living at the present time (1903). Jaohan, a farmer in West Vincent township, William, engaged in agricultural pursuits in the town of Birchrunville; G. W. Powell, ,a farmer in East Nantmeal township; Margaret wife of Levi Shoffner, a prosperous agriculturist of West Pikeland township: Hannah, wife of William H. Walleigh, a farmer of Chester Springs; Amanda, widow of John Eaches, who during his life time was engaged in farming in East Nantmeal township; and Jacob Macfee.

The public schools of West Vincent township afforded Jacob Macfee a good English education, which is an important and essential requisite in the life and career of every individual. He chose for his life work the occupation of farmer,, conducted extensive operations on a tract of land which he rented for that purpose, and in the year 1891, having accumulated sufficient funds from his many years of labor, he purchased a farm situated in East Nantmeal township, about one mile from the village, which was formerly the property of Joseph Phipps. His farm consists of ninety-four acres of rich and arable land, sixty acres of which is under cultivation, whereon he raises a general line of farm and garden produce. He also has a dairy of twelve head of cows, some of the finest specimens of Jersey cattle in Chester county, having devoted considerable attention to the breeding of this species for the past twenty years. Ever since attaining his majority, Mr. Macfee has voted the Democratic ticket, and with the exception of one year has been the incumbent of the township offices, among which have been the positions of constable, assessor and collector.

Mr. Mcafee was united in marriage to Martha Hoffecker, daughter of Jacob and Rebecca (Ramstine) Hoffecker, the farmer named having been a prosperous farmer in East Nantmeal township, in the vicinity of East Nantmeal Post Office. Their children are: 1. John A., a farmer in East Nantmeal township, married Ada Christman, of East Nantmeal township, (daughter of George Christman, the old veteran fox hunter of Chester county. The Christman family date back to the Revolutionary period, as do also the Macfee family, who are of Irish parentage, and came to this country in the early days, settling near the town of Phoenixville, Chester county, Pennsylvania. 2. Emma, wife of William T. Miller, a farmer of West Vincent township. 3. Walter, engaged in farming pursuits in East Nantmeal township, married Carrie E. Eyrich, daughter of Wellington Eyrich, a member of one of the old families of East Nantmeal township. 4. Maggie. 5. Jacob, Jr. 7. Laura. 8. Florence. The four latter named reside at home with their parents. Mr. Macfee and family hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church of East Nantmeal township.

The Emma mentioned above was Mom's grandmother on her mother's side.

The website belongs to a descendant of Henery Hoffecker, brother of Martha Hoffecker who married Jacob McAfee. Henery & Martha children of Jacob & Rebecca (Ramstine) Hoffecker

Editor's note: the earliest information that we have received all seems to suggest that one or more McPhie men left Colonsay c. 1650, and went by way of Edinburgh and/or the borders to the north of Ireland. (One of my own ancestors (a Gormley) and his brother married two "Duffie" sisters, daughters of a Scot who came to Goldsbridge, Co. Tyrone in 1680 as an experienced shepherd, in order to restore farmland devastated in a flash-flood.) After 1690, a small number of McPhies or MacAfees made their way to the New World directly from Ireland, and Pennsylvania has been mentioned as one of their destinations (also, what is now New Ypork State).

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.
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