Genealogy at the Clan Donald

GENEALOGY ithin a generation of Prince Lord MacDonakTs Reels thought to be particularly relevant. By W Edward Island becoming a 1990 we had collected over 6,000 books British colony, the single-largest To begin with, the Trust concentrated but there was nowhere that our visi- cultural group was the Scots. By the on collecting a library. The subject tors, or staff, could use them. They mid-1800s over half of the Island's pop- areas tended to be historical, espe- filled every nook and cranny of the ulation was Scottish, and the second- cially relating to Skye and the other Trust's offices and, until the books took most common language heard here lands of the Lordship of the Isles, or over, what had been a staff flat. was Gaelic. Even a century later, over relating to MacDonalds and other clans. At the same time more and more of a third of Islanders considered them- Genealogical materials were not really our visitors, not just the MacDonalds, selves to be of Scots descent. Although the flow of this immigra- tion came from all over Scotland, a large •^^^w!'WSwfi^ ^ T* 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 influ- ence 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 Genealogy "the children of Donald." His descen- dants and followers became at the "MacDonald." Also acknowledged as: "Lords of the Isles," Clan Donald ruled much of Scotland's western coast until Clan King James IV removed the title - and much of the Clan's power - in 1493. The Isle of Skye has been the seat of Donald 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 JiillPitSfefi 31 line what they cover for usually called the "OPRs" for short, for those who may not have much the same area as we have for the used them before. censuses. There is also an index for Censuses - We the whole of Scotland, again produced hold microfilm copies by the Mormons. of the censuses for In Skye there are no parish records most of the western earlier than 1800, when the parish of highlands and islands Portree first began recording marriag- covering the period es and baptisms. The other six Skye 1841-91. The British parishes gradually followed suit so that government maintains by 1823, records were kept for the a 100-year closure peri- whole island. Even then they were by od on records includ- no means complete. This was for a vari- ing personal informa- ety of reasons. It was not compulsory, tion, such as censuses, but it was expensive, with an entry for a so the 1901 census is baptism costing in the 1820s, the equiv- not yet available. Nor alent of half a day's wages. As well, are the first four cen- people did not need a record of their suses (1801-31) much birth and other such documentation in use for genealogical the same way we do today. purposes as they were Even where events have been record- simply a numerical ed, only a basic amount of information count, giving little is given. For instance a marriage record detailed information will only very occasionally include a ref- and the returns were erence to the father of either the bride The Isle ofSkye. not preserved. From or groom. More commonly the entry 1841 more information will record just their names and place was collected, as each of residence. Birth records are slightly were asking questions about their roots householder had to fill i n a schedule, or better as they register the child's name, on Skye and adjacent districts. We form, giving information on those peo- both parents - including the mother's realised we had to get hold of the rel- ple, not necessarily family members, maiden surname - and the place of resi- evant information. In 1984 we bought staying in the house on census night. dence. Just occasionally, perhaps when copies of the census and parish records These were collated by the district the session clerk had been having a for Skye as well as a microfilm machine. enumerators into books known as the really bad day, the record will have This was set up in the museum entrance Census Enumerators Books (CEBs). blanks. I have seen marriage records but as using it became more and more It is films of the CEBs that we use. where the bride's name is not included popular there was often quite a traffic The CEBs are based on the sched- or as in one extreme case, a baptism jam. Somehow new space had to be ules originally handed out by the enu- where only the child's name and sur- found. merator. He would not have done this name, and dates of birth and baptism At the beginning of 1990 we set about in a haphazard way, but would have have been recorded. The parents' refurbishing what had been originally gone systematically round his district, names, as well as the place they lived, the head gardener's house, lived in lat- handing out the schedules. He would have been left out altogether. terly by the dowager Lady Macdonald. then have copied them in the same Deaths were rarely recorded in the This is the building that opened in 1990. order into the CEBs. This means that OPRs. In Skye the only death records We now have a store with a controlled the censuses are not an alphabetical are in the late 1830s for the parish environment, two small galleries for listing of the families in an area, but of Bracadale. St Kilda also has deaths temporary exhibitions (this year's exhi- rather a geographical listing, depend- recorded, though parish records there bition is on crofting and the Battle of ing on where each family lived. This do not begin until the 1840s; over half the Braes) as well as an office and a can present a problem if a researcher are the deaths of babies who died of the work room, but what is most important is not too sure where his family origi- eight-day sickness - tetanus thought is that we can now offer researchers a nally came from, but as compensation to have been brought on by the tradi- proper reading room, and the space to offer a glimpse into what an ancestor's tional application of a mixture of fulmar use our library, archive and genealogi- community looked like. oil and dung to the umbilical cord. cal collections. Luckily we have two indexes to the In 1855 statutory civil registration of censuses. One for 1851 covers only births, marriages and deaths was intro- Skye, Wester Ross and the town of duced. As Scottish records include a Genealogy research Inverness, while the other, recently mass of information, we try to maintain published on CD ROM by the a good relationship with the Registrar Our main sources, the census and the Mormons, covers the whole of Great in Portree who holds copies of the reg- parish records, will be familiar to any Britain and is searchable by computer. isters for the whole island. one working on 19th century Scottish Parish records - We also have One of the main problems in using family history. They are available else- microfilm copies of the Old Parish any of these sources is the lack of vari- where (not just our library) but I will out- Records of the Church of Scotland, ety of names in use, both surnames and 32 first names. This is probably familiar to papers. Basically these are the busi- we like to try. It makes family history many in Prince Edward Island, especial- ness papers that detail the day-to-day come alive if the actual place of origin ly in those areas where Highland settle- operation of his estate. The earliest can be identified. ment is concentrated, and where there documents are charters granting prop- are many families with the same sur- erty to the various Macdonald chiefs name such as Nicolson, or MacDonald, (a seemingly endless succession of Sir The Dance Called America MacKinnon or whatever. However this Donald Macdonalds, with the occasion- is often unfamiliar territory to those who al "Sir James" thrown in). There are Annoyingly, the archive does not have grown up outside Highland areas. also letters, account books, bills and include much information about emi- They come hoping that we will find their receipts, reports and so on, the great gration - there are very few detailed John Macdonald, Neil MacKinnon, or bulk of them dating from the 18th and ships lists, or lists of emigrants.

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