Thanks very much!
DonM, you write that "there are and were Catholic Campbells everywhere." I had read somewhere, and more than once, that the Catholic population of Scotland was @ a mere 3 percent. Just a quick look at Wikipedia and I read: "By the eighteenth century, Catholicism had been reduced to the fringes of the country, particularly the Gaelic-speaking areas of the Highlands and Islands. Numbers probably reduced in the seventeenth century and organisation had deteriorated. ... Clergy entered the country secretly and although services were illegal they were maintained. In 1755, it was estimated that there were only 16,500 communicants, mainly in the north and west, although the number is probably an underestimate. By the end of the century this had probably fallen by a quarter due to emigration. ... In 1799, the Lowland District seminary was transferred to Aquhorthies, near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire, so that it could serve the entire country. It was secretly funded by the government, who were concerned at the scale of emigration by Highland Catholics." Well it does say that the numbers were likely underestimated. But according to Karly Kehoe in her article 'Creating a Scottish Church: Catholicism, Gender and Ethnicity in Nineteenth-Century Scotland' "The growth of Catholicism in nineteenth-century Scotland was astounding (due in large part to Irish immigration, in particular during after the outset of the famine.) (But) At the beginning of the century, Scotland was overwhelmingly Presbyterian and Calvinist, and part of a United Kingdom that perceived its identity as fundamentally Protestant. There were only about 30,000 Scottish Catholics, representing less than two percent of the Scottish population - a small remnant that had survived centuries of persecution and was confined largely to the more remote Highlands and Islands."
- As for the number of Gaelic speakers in Cape Breton outnumbering those in Scotland, I've heard that more than once as well. It seems it's a myth. But it's interesting to read that in the mid-19th cent., Gaelic was the 3rd language spoken in what is now Canada after English French and excluding indigenous languages.
- I will look at the Drouin collection, thank you, this is the 1st I've heard of it. I'm about to explore where your link to the RC parishes leads as well.
- And Skoosh thank you very much as well. I will learn what I can about Lochaber and whereabouts Catholic Campbells might have been situated there in the 1820s.
Sincerely,
Rob in Toronto