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« on: Tuesday 27 February 24 22:44 GMT (UK) »
Many made their living as crofter/fishermen, taking to the Pentland Firth when the demands of the croft allowed. Within the parish there were smiths, millers, cobblers, weavers (My g-g-g-grandfather wove the burial cloths for those not interred in a coffin) and latterly cattleman from Skye and shepherds from Northumberland as sheep took over the harsher straths where it was difficult to grow enough to survive AND pay rent.
There were no roads. Supplies came in and left by boat, so that was how your ancestors would reach Thurso. The people werere hardy; if you survived infancy you could expect to live to eighty.
As I understand it, the land and climate of Nova Scotia and PEI, while harsh for many, differed little in the skills requred to farm it from the lands they left