Durness Parish Register - Part 2

[djct59]

The ruined houses in the valley

[wilros]

djct59 - thanks very much.

What's funny is that I'm familiar with the Loch Croispol school house because [1] my ancestors who lived at Borley attended it, and also [2] because I've read the 2010 report on the school by Issie MacPhail under the GUARD project, but I did not associate "Croispol" with "Crosple", lol.

In "The School at Loch Croispol 1730-1861" MacPhail writes: "The year before William Findlater became minister of Durness, 1811, there was a new schoolmaster appointed to the parish school. He was a young man, William Ross, aged only 16 who had most likely been a pupil at the school as he was almost certainly William Ross who was baptised in Durness on 12 October 1795 son of Donald Ross, Auchuchoran (between Sarsgrum and Grudie on the east side of the Kyle of Durness), and Ann Dunn..." (this is on page 95 of the report)

The descendants of this particular William Ross, who are my cousins, were surprised at the inaccurate suggestion that their ancestor William, born in Durness Parish to parents Donald Ross and Ann Dunn, who was also a young man that emigrated in 1815 from Scotland to Nova Scotia with his parents and siblings, and also who then married, raised a family, and was buried in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, had been mis-identified in the Loch Croispol School report by MacPhail. For the record, here's a quick link to the grave of my cousin William Ross (1795-1862) in Sunny Brae Cemetery, Pictou County, Nova Scotia,

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61820687/william-ross

Also, attached is a screen shot from the map page at Highland Historic Environment Record.

Thanks again!

[wilros]

djct59 - btw the photo is amazing. thanks very much for posting it.

[djct59]

Thanks. The thatched roof was still on the school when my Uncle John (b. 1921) was a boy.

I'm not sure where Graham Bruce obtained the information that William Ross (b.1795) became schoolmaster and precentor in his teens. If he was the William Ross from Cnocbreac born in 1787 he would have been 22 when he led the church singing, 24 when he became schoolmaster and then studied at Aberdeen 1814-16.

Your identification of William as born 1795 and dying in Nova Scotia seems pretty conclusive.

Here is a close-up of one of the Croispol houses

[wilros]

Regarding my original post - the goal of my question was to understand where in the parish my cousins the MacCullochs were raised; that is, the family of Kenneth MacCulloch (1763-1835) and Barbara Ross (1768-1858), who are buried at Balnakeil. I had no idea Crosple was in such plain sight. To finish the thread, Hugh MacCulloch (1793-1842) was one of these MacCullochs born and raised in Crosple in Durness Parish. Hugh was a merchant. There is a historic monument located in the Port of Los Angeles in California that honors the first known commercial structure in the port, which was built in 1823 by the merchant firm McCulloch & Hartnell. This was Hugh MacCulloch from Crosple. When he died Hugh was buried in the Glasgow Necropolis. He left behind a huge archive of merchant correspondence, another testament to the quality of the parish school at Loch Croispol.

[djct59]

Wilros - you say Hugh died in 1842, but the gravestone in Balnakeil says "In loving memory of Kenneth MACCULLOCH tenant at Crospoll who died 12th June 1837 aged 74 years. And of his spouse Barbara ROSS who died 12th January 1858 aged 95 years. Erected 1857 by their eldest son Hugh MACCULLOCH Callao South America"

The stone is flat and very faded - was it perhaps erected in 1837?

I have difficulty tracing Hugh and Barbara's descendants. Barbara's death in 1858 is witnessed by her son-in-law Robert Sutherland of Sangomore, but I cannot trace a marriage that fits for him. Likewise none of Hugh's siblings seem to leave any trace in the Durness parish records. They all seem to have died or moved away.

[wilros]

djct59 - excellent and complicated questions!

It is a bit before dawn here in Northern California, and a work day for me, so I'll get started on some details, but will likely have to stop before I get all the pieces in place.

Let's start with the dates of birth and death for Kenneth MacCulloch. I do not have solid source citations for either, so I use working placeholder values that are circumstantial.

His wife Barbara Ross has a clear baptism in the Durness Parish Register (DPR) in 1768, so that's not a placeholder value. Kenneth does not have a baptism, therefore I assume he was born before November 1764.

Kenneth and Barbara have a marriage registration in DPR on 5 February 1788. This is followed by 7 baptisms of MacCulloch children in the DPR (James, Marion, Hugh, John, Roderick, Joanna, and William), but then there is a fascinating baptism in Thurso, Caithness, image attached. This is an open area of investigation that raises many questions, but for simplicity I let its details stand at face value. Here's how I transcribe the Thurso baptism of their son James MacCulloch: "1804 April 8 - James l. s. [legal son] to Kinneth McCulloch Day Labourer in Town & Barbara Ross Wit: [witnesses] Hugh Morrison & Patrick Dun".

Patrick Dunn is throughout the DPR as an incomer to the parish from Peterhead who married Janet Mackay and together they brought 1 marriage and 8 baptisms into the DPR.

Patrick Brown a single Man in Keoldale had a child baptized called Ann 24th November 1775 but not in lawful Marriage.

Patrick Brown from Peterhead in Keoldale married Janet Mackay alias nin Neil in Keoldale, 4 March 1777.

Patrick Brown from Peterhead, a little tenent in Buailavig, Keoldale, James, 8 October 1777.

Patrick Dunn, alias Brown, tenent in Buailbhig of Keoldale, Jean, 10 January 1779.

Peter Dunn, formerly Patrick Brown, tenent in Keoldale, and his wife Jannet Mackay, alias nin Neil, Neil, 16 March 1780.

Patrick Dunn, alias Brown, tenent in Grudie, and his wife Janet Mackay, alias nin Neil, Jean, 6 May 1782.

Patrick Dunn, alias Brown, tenent in Grudie, and his wife Janet Mackay, alias nin neilicemich, Fairly, 25 November 1784.

Peter Brown, alias Dunn (from Peterhead), tenent in Grudie, and his wife Ann Mackay, alias nin Neil, Peter, 20 February 1787.

Peter Dunn, alias Brown, tenant in Achairn and his wife Ann Mackay, alias nin Neilmacemish, Margaret, 6 April 1789.

That's Peter or Patrick Dunn or Brown and Janet or Ann Mackay nin Neil (with variations). Seems a bit of a rascal with the meandering names, but I suspect he was an endearing companion with a dependable gift for improvisational word play. I've traced a few but not all of their kids. Their oldest Ann Dunn is relevant here because she married Donald Ross (1771-1862) a younger brother of Barbara Ross and an older brother of John Ross (1775-1857) my 3rd GGF.

Returning to the MacCulloch thread in Thurso, baptism witness Patrick Dunn was likely also a traveling companion day laborer in Thurso from Durness as the father-in-law of Barbara's brother Donald Ross. The DPR locates these folks in Keoldale, Grudie, Crosple, Auchchoran, etc. so it seems coherent.

Hugh Morrison I assume to be Kenneth MacCulloch's brother-in-law, married to Mary MacCulloch. This couple are also the parents of the Hugh Morrison who later married his cousin Joanna MacCulloch ("1818 - Oct. 7 - At the Manse Hugh Morrison Shep'd Glassbhinn and Johana McCulloch Saingobeg.")

At this point I have to pause, leave for work, and continue the thread later.

Regarding day labourers from Durness in Thurso civil and parish records, this is the only one I've found, but I suspect there are more.

[wilros]

djct59,

Regarding Robert Sutherland, this one is easy. Barbara's death registration has a clerical error, Robert is the grandson-in-law of Barbara, the husband of Barbara's granddaughter Hughina Morrison.

[wr]

[wilros]

djct59,

forgot to mention that barbara's civil death registration has other errors.

she was not 92 years old when she died.

died 11 july 1858 (civil record)
baptised 25 september 1768 (DPR)
----------
that's 89 years, 9 months, and 16 days (from baptism)
her exact date of birth not known

i'm not sure what the squiggle says in the death registration where barbara's mother's maiden name should be, but does not look like manson to me, which was the correct answer.

meanwhile, over at balnakeil, her tablestone appears to say "died 12th January 1878 aged 95 years"

we now know it should have said "died 11th July 1858 aged 89 years"

oops!

[wr]