McKiggan in South Uist?

[Rosinish]

Hi Lisa,

Unfortunately my records are not from SP but have proven to be very reliable to date (thankfully). I always think that the job of census enumerator should be delegated to someone with a good knowledge of the area/names etc. in areas where there is an obvious language barrier although in this day it’s not so bad.

However, I didn't quite take everything in when I read through your post last night as I was interested in trying to find your family on the census records.

You are correct with Boisdale being a registration district but if you look under Howmore, S/U on SP for John & Ann Robertson’s marriage it should be there as they were married in Stoneybridge which is in that reg. dist.

With the given surnames I would assume them to be non catholic - if that helps on SP? I haven't been on SP for a while but I think from memory they differentiate between faiths?

How sad though that Mary lost both parent’s so young and never even knew her Mother.

John MacKiggan b c1830 was the eldest of 8 siblings born to Finlay MacKiggan & (Kirsty/Christian/Christina) MacCuish (dau. of Donald) ranging from 1830 - 1849!

John's 2nd wife was Catherine Beaton (dau. of John) & they had another 7 kids ranging from 1873 - 1886 all b Barra.

I think I found Mary in Vatersay, Barra in 1891?

Mary MacGeggan Servant U 21 Dairymaid b S/U

She is recorded with a “G” – meaning she only spoke Gaelic, no English which is not unusual given the period. This may well explain the reason for the confusion re her mother’s forename as she may have thought she was being asked for her own forename? She was also probably illiterate (on her marriage cert. it will have her mark “X” if that is the case)? In those days though it was a case of marrying under whatever name you were known by e.g. signing as Kate rather than Catherine which seldom is the case these days.

1891 – Bruernish, Barra (MacGiggan) – John’s widow b S/U but family all b Barra

Catherine    Head W 37 Dom. Serv.
Ann             Dau   U 17          “         
Mary Jessie    “         15
Kenneth      Son        13
Findlay          “            9
John               “            7
Murdo           “             5

There was a 2nd daughter Ann b c1882 who is absent from the census.

1841 – Kildonan – MacGigan
1851 – Upper Bornish – MacKigan

I couldn’t locate the Robertson family but you will get their names from the marriage cert. Seems Ann was in Milton, S/U when she married but may have just been working here?

Have more info. to put into my FTM as it’s quicker so will post more at a later date but this will keep you going for now.

The MacLean surname now poses another wee hitch?

Regards,  Anne Marie

[lisagarnham]

Anne Marie - I'm stunned!  Where to begin...

First of all, thanks for the tip on registration districts.  A lot of my searching up to now has been based on educated guesswork about which district to search in, so this certainly helps.  SP do indeed differentiate between the two faiths, which makes for more legwork, especially as I live in Glasgow and can't access the Catholic records at the library here.

Thanks for the name of John MacKiggan's parents - interesting that his mother is a MacCuish, given that Mary goes on to marry a MacCuish - another adventure trying to find out how distantly they are related!  It does indeed raise questions about who the 'aunt' is, but its a very loose term.  Perhaps in digging around in the MacCuish tree I might stumble across her!

Mary living on Vatersay in 1891 is highly plausible - her husband Archibald MacCuish is stated as permanently resident on Vatersay when they marry later that year.  She does indeed seem to have had no English, and I've already come across my fair share of people using (seemingly) whatever name they like on their certificates.  I think shortened versions of middle names are my favourite conundrum!

Your 1891 transcription makes the one I have laughable - no wonder I couldn't find them!:

Robison McGiggan   57 S/U no gender
Ann McGiggan   19 Barra, F
Mary Jesse McGiggan   15 Barra, F
Keneth McGiggan   13 Barra, F
Findlay McGiggan   9 Barra, M
John M McGiggan   7 Barra, M
David McGiggan   5 Barra, M

Dear, oh dear.

I think Ann Robertson may not have been from So Uist myself, though it just a suspicion.  Robertson seems more of a mainland name.  There are large branches of the tree (further down) that are from Argyll, so I think I might start looking there.  I think I'll get some SP credits and get a peek at her death certificate, which will hopefully have her parents names (correctly) recorded and start searching from there.

Thank you so much, again!!!

[Rosinish]

Hi Lisa,

I am 99.9% sure that is Mary (1891) as Archibald is there too - Archibald Maccuish Servant U 24 Farm Grieve  Barra Inverness-shire   G  (b Barra). His birth from memory should come under Boisdale, S/U if he was b Barra. He had no English either and may have that wrong? but those mistakes were common as the enumerators were English spoken. He possibly meant he was a permanent resident having moved from elsewhere but it's a start.

Regards, Anne Marie

[lisagarnham]

That must be them and correct - their daughter Mary Ann McCuish (my ggmother in-law) never had any English, even after her grandchildren began to be born in Glasgow and Paisley.

Trouble is I can't find the entry on Ancestry searching for either Mary McKiggan (various spellings) or Archibald MacCuish (various spellings).  Must be a very imaginative transcription!

[Skoosh]

Folks, this would be before the Vatersay Land Raid,   http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mingulay 
 Was Vatersay not a dairy farm set up by Lady Gordon Cathcart? possibly staffed by strangers.
Skoosh.

[Rosinish]

Hi Skoosh,

It certainly appears to be a farm although not specified as so on the census but there are 20 people there in 1891. I haven't looked at the link but I'm sure Vatersay was a seperate island as were a few around the hebrides, a lot of which are now uninhabited.

Anne Marie

[Skoosh]

Anne Marie,  I spent a wee holiday on Vatersay years ago, beautiful beaches, now connected to Barra by a causeway. Local band, "The Vatersay Boys", quite famous, well on Vatersay? try Google.

Skoosh.

[lisagarnham]

Hi guys, from 'Mingulay, an island and its people' by Ben Buxton, p.124:

"Vatersay was run as a single farm, occupied by the tenant farmer and his workers; it had been crofted before 1850, when the people were evicted, and had been designated as suitable for crofting by a government commission in 1894. ... Some of the cottars from Barra were descended from the former inhabitants, and had continued to bury their dead in the graveyard at the south end of Vatersay. ... In 1883, forty-five Barra cottars, living in wretched conditions and eking out a meagre existence by fishing, applied for holdings on Vatersay, but were turned down by the landowner, Lady Gordon Cathcart.  ... Further appeals failed, including one from Barra Parish Council, and the men grew desperate.  Then, in September 1900, emboldened by the success of cottars raiding the farms on Northbay and Eoligarry in Barra, the men raided Vatersay, though they subsequently withdrew.'

I'm guessing that Archibald and Mary did indeed work for Lady Cathcart's farm.  Having been born of families from South Uist, they would indeed have been thought of as 'strangers'.

[Rosinish]

I have never seen beaches like the hebridean ones anywhere and such a pity we don't get the weather to enjoy them. I have heard of the Vatersay Boys among many others but my favs are Runrig from my youth. I have been to S/U & Eriskay many times and lived for a yr on S/U with my grandmother aged 8/9ish. One of my ancestors was found to have whisky fro the "Polly" hidden on his land :-) My big claim to fame. My ggrandfather was in the paper having found gold washed up on Eriskay but no-one knows what happened to it so a metal detector is on my list haha. www.stornowaygazette.co.uk/news/gold_on_eriskay_1_115289

Anne Marie