Hello everyone,
Anyone interested in learning about Clan Ian Ruadh of Knoydart, there isn't really much to tell. The only references to the line are genealogical charts put together by Father Ewen MacDonald. There is no written history of the Clan in any form aside from Father Ewen's charts. Did it really exist?
This said I went to the Ontario Archives and spent the day there researching and gathering information for future review. Anyone interested can get in without much issue, just register on line ahead of time and you can just pick-up your pass when you arrive. The archive is located on the York University Campus in Toronto. The best feature of this location is that you can save the micro film to your flash drive and take it home with you.
Father John MacDonald's Diary does have a great deal of genealogical information in it, however, there are only a few small charts that focus on one line with no lateral relations. Some death entries (very few) do have extensive lineages named, these however are the exception. Most entries have a couple of generations listed with no cross referencing to other families.
From reading over this diary and then going through Father Ewen MacDonald's Fonds it is very clear that any of the genealogical charts created by Father Ewen were not based on the work of Father John. It appears that Father Ewen made a great number of assumptions and based relationships by mixing and matching names that matched together somewhat from Father John's Diary. It is highly unlikely that the majority of the lines are correct (aside of course from those few individuals who had a long linage listed by Father John in his Diary).
My family is tied up into this chart most likely due to some priests and an Archbishop that descended from my 5G Grandfather Martin MacDonald. There is a John MacDonald listed in Father John's Diary that closely matches the date of Martin's son from an 1810 Land Petition in Nova Scotia, in 1812 no John was mentioned in the actual grant indicating that he my have moved out of the area.
John's entry in Father John's Diary mentioned that he was son of Martin, son of Donald, son of John, son of Angus. This limited information was enough for Father Ewen MacDonald to include this line into the Clan Ian Ruadh of Knoydart Genealogy Chart. Aside from the name Martin (although not uncommon) how many lines are there in Scottish families that are Donald son of John son of Angus??? I'm not exactly sure but I imagine a great number as there wasn't (over all) a lot of creativity when it came to picking a first name for children in that time period.
If you are a genealogist who is seeking to learn the truth of your linage and heritage, I strongly recommend that you look over what evidence was used to determine the line of your Clan Ian Ruadh genealogy. Many genealogists based their works on that of Father Ewen's Fonds, which they claim as the work of Father John MacDonald which is an incorrect and misleading statement. I believe the newer genealogical works based on the works of Father Ewen MacDonald (and supposedly that of Father John MacDonald) have done much to create confusion among researchers.
Unfortunately, most people who have invested any great amount of research (or very little for some) into their genealogy are very unlikely to take any sort of critical look at how they came to their conclusions. Some might go through the "process" but rationalize as they go over their work to prevent themselves from seeing any issues or fallacies within their research. As coming to the realization that you have been researching for the last 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years on incorrect information/assumptions is too much for many people to handle.
I hope anyone connected to the Clan Ian Ruadh Chart will take the time to critically review the evidence linking their family to the chart. Even better go to the Ontario Archives yourself and view the Fonds in person to judge for yourself.
"Ewan Macdonald Fonds F 970"
If I am incorrect in anything which I have stated in this post please feel free to correct me.
Hope to hear any thoughts/comments,
Peter MacDonald