Campbell's in North Uist ?

[Little Bernie]

As this is my first posting; I'm thinking this is where I should begin.(I hope!)
I've read that up there in North Uist was predominantly Protestant and MacDonald's, and if that be the case, the family rumour that we came from there must be wrong.My family are Catholic Campbell's and that would eliminate them from more-or-less coming from there... Yes ? It's possible that over in Cape Breton,Nova Scotia we're a bit stuck in the old days.My grandfather was not fond of either the Protestants or the MacDonalds, and no MacDonald has directly married into our Campbell line. I also don't think the specifics of date of departure would nullify that. But, as I haven't a clue as to where my gggrandfather and his 3 sons left from, I'm wondering if it was more likely South Uist. I put the date at between 1825- 1845, for arrival into Nova Scotia.
Is there anyone out there familiar with Uist ?
Cheers

[runner]

Hi Little Bernie

You have chosen a cracker as a first post!   

North Uist was almost exclusively Protestant and, as you thought, South Uist was Roman Catholic.
The parish was widely scattered and around 1820-1840 was poorly served by clergy and schools. It was difficult to recruit Gaelic speakers into the ranks of the clergy and everyone spoke Gaelic.
There is a lovely book which would give you perspective on life on Uist even though it is set half a century later
Rea, F.G.      A School in South Uist
      Pub – Birlinn  1997   ISBN  1-874744-87-4

Family records were poor to non-existent for that period. Much was preserved by oral tradition.  We searched fruitlessly for our relatives and eventually resorted to calling on the services of a local genealogical service  http://www.seallam.com/intro.htm
I wish you luck with your search

Russell

[JAP]

So RootsChatters have all information to hand, I mention that similar questions have been posted at:

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,154306.0.html

JAP

[annie mac]

Hi  Little  Bernie
 Like you I was bought up with a  never trust a Campbell  or a Lewis and we were forbidden to marry Catholic. For recent times this strikes me as one  strong vendetta. My Father a Macdonald never forgave the massacre of the macdonalds at Glencoe.
He was born in nz but carried his scottish ancestry to the letter.
Isn't it interesting how family accounts of bygone eras can have so much influence on a person.
I would not be surprised if Campbells lived in North Uist.
Cheers
Annie  Mac

[ali607]

Hi, I've just come back fom the Uists yesterday!!!!!!!!
Couldn't you have posted this two weeks ago??
While i was out there i bought the Rea Book 'A School in South Uist' so let me know if that is of any help - it looks a really good read.
While I was out there I found out that South Uist and Benbecula are and always have been disticntly Catholic - however north uist is now a mixture of both relgions  -that is clear when your there.
I was doing some research for someone else on here while i was out there and i was wandering round graveyards and yes macdonald was the most common name on north uist...can i help with any place names or anything? I've just been out there two weeks and on an island that size yopu get to know the place pretty well in two weeks!
Alison

[ali607]

P.S ...I saw a fair few Campbells in the graveyards of north uist - it was by no means uncommon in the 19th century  -the most common surnames were Morrison, macdonald and Maclean but there were a good few Campbells too...Also I went to Seallam - the visitor centre and genealogical service which is on Harris but serves the whole of the outer hebrides. they have a lifetime of work and dedication there - i myself was looking for a family for someone on here whose ancestors lived on the isle of berneray and Seallam (pr. Shallom) had publiched books on each individual croft on all the islands out there...
Please let me know if i can help
Alison

[Little Bernie]

Dear Alison,
                   I hope this is a private message...well it's meant to be, and I'd love your help, as ...simply put-I'm between jobs in Beijing,China, NOT the most ideal setting for genealogy-They don't even have obituaries here(for Chinese),as there are too many people(I guess?).I believe I have enough(more would be better,of course) information to  make a connection to Scotland/Highlands, and being from Cape Breton and having been in the Scottish Highlands(1993-4), I found the people to be quite similiar(accent etc..) and I suspect that if I was there in person I could/would get assistance from people in the pertinent areas...your request to help..would you be living in the vicinity ?

Donald (The Weaver) Campbell was from North Uist as told to me by an aunt that NEVER had been out of Canada(so how else could she have heard of "North Uist"?).The family were Roman Catholic(bad for 1841 census, but GOOD for mainstreaming Campbell choices).This Donald Campbell came to Nova Scotia with 3 sons,but NO wife, so I suspect she had died there in the Highlands.Her name-Mary Campbell came to me when I followed the naming order of the grandchildren;the 3 sons all had 1st sons named Donald, and 1st daughters were Marys.The 3 sons of Donald and Mary were trained as Tailors in Scotland, and the father being a Weaver(same industry),so they might have worked together.The 3 sons were: Malcolm born abt. 1825,Angus abt. 1830, and Neil abt. 1833.I also suspect that they left for Canada between 1849-1852,but I also suspect there were more children in the family, that either stayed or moved elsewhere.

[ali607]

Hi, I'm on the other side of Scotland in Aberdeenshire but as i said iv just been out on the outer hebrides for a fortnight!
Im not sure what it is you want me to look for - is it deaths, marriages, census details?
Alison

[Little Bernie]

Well Donald "the weaver" Campbell is buried in Cape Breton(as is his 3 sons), only his wife "Mary" MAY have died and been buried there.I was thinking that those parts of Scotland, like my parts of Cape Breton are sparsely populated and people tend to be friendlier and not only more helpful,but some of the older folks carry with them a wee bit of genealogy history with them.When I got home last year I was up to Inverness County and was talking to this old fellow at a petrol station who knew my Campbell family(they left the area about 1910,but would return for ceilidhs)
The 1841 census I was told omits(?) Catholics, so I'm not sure about that. possibly a Catholic marriage between a Donald Campbell and a Mary ? around 1820-25,but again, it's a Catholic marriage

From here in China I tried the Mormons site where you input family data,but it didn't come out like I had hoped,though it rarely does,eh? I was trying to get a Donald Campbell with 3 sons; Angus,Malcolm and Neil and IF there were a few I'd aim for the ones with the closest dates to what I have,BUT that never materialized. Can you think of anything ?