The Hudson’s Bay Company was founded in 1670 by King Charles to exploit the natural resources of the North American Colonies, notably around Hudson’s Bay in northern Canada (as it was to become). Orkney is famously a source of HBC men but Lewis too sent many sons to spend a few years, or a lifetime, [...]
Read more →The Uig Landscape Project (Durham University) is looking at sites around Crowlista, including the old settlement of Bereiro at the head of Traigh na Sruban. The last inhabitant of Bereiro was Donald Matheson, born about 1794, who was a Hudson’s Bay man, returned to Uig, and emigrated again in 1834.
Read more →The following was written by Maggie Smith for Hebridean Connections. The genealogies of all the known inhabitants of the island of Vuia – uninhabited since 1841 – can be found here. Life on the island of Vuia Mhòr was hard, with little fertile land and no safe anchorage. The peats were cut and harvested in [...]
Read more →Further to the previous item about WJ Maclean of Gisla, who was a Chief Trader with the Hudson’s Bay Company: an account of the one Christmas he and his family spent at Fort Pitt before it was burned to the ground in April 1885. This is from an article by W Bleasdell Cameron in The [...]
Read more →We’ve mentioned before the story of William “Big Bear” Maclean, who was born in Scaliscro in 1837 and, after his family moved to Gisla, went on to an eventful career with the Hudson’s Bay Company in Canada. His HBC record has recently come to light (thanks to Donald Macaulay, Stornoway) and it gives much more [...]
Read more →Fearchar (Farquhar) Macdonald, son of Angus, was about born about 1809 at Capadal, roughly on the site of 3 Ardroil. In 1832 he joined the Hudson’s Bay Company, as a “slooper” – a crewman on HBC decked vessels. According to the Company’s personal records, he boarded the Prince Rupert IV on 23 June 1832 for [...]
Read more →O an strì ann an tìr a phailteis, O am fallas, o am fuachd, Cha robh cùisean mar bha dùil seo idir Le olc is aingidheachd is cruas. – Tìr a Phailteis, Calum Martin The Megantic Outlaw, Donald Morrison, is a folk hero in Quebec and Uig alike and his story is well-known on both [...]
Read more →The National Film Board of Canada has just launched an extraordinary website with hundreds of clips from 90 years of film-making in Canada. So far I’m not finding anything specifically Hebridean, but here’s a full-length dramatisation of the settling of the prairies, featuring a family from Montreal that takes a new farm in Saskatchewan in [...]
Read more →Family home from Canada for a visit to Geshader. Dolina (or Ina), #3, married Duncan Macleod from Embo, Sutherland in Toronto in 1921 and lived in Vancouver; they came home for good after WW2. Ina, Christina and Catriona were three of the five daughters of Effie and Angus. Back: 1. Christina Morrison (nee Macritchie) with Murdo, 1 Ungeshader (wife of Calum Sunndach, [...]
Read more →Donald Maciver was born in Crowlista in 1857, son of John Maciver, the Gaelic schoolmaster and missionary, and they lived in Ness and then South Lochs. Donald also became a teacher, at Lemreway (see the school log), Breasclete and latterly Bayble. The family had come from Carnish, just across the sands, which had been cleared [...]
Read more →In 1851, at least six emigrant ships took Lewismen to Canada: the Marquis of Stafford (500 passengers), the Barlow (287), the Wolfeville (69), the Prince George (203), the Islay (68) and the Urgent (370). In 1852, the Blanche (453) and the Melissa (330) followed. The first port of call after crossing the sea was usually [...]
Read more →By Peggy Eiric Maciver, Kneep; an elegy for Iain Morrison, son of Angus Morrison of 13 Reef who was a policeman in London. Iain emigrated to Canada and was killed in a mining accident in 1970. Marbhrann air Iain Moireasdan, Uig agus Lunnainn, a chaochail an Canada. Iain ‘s mòr an àmhghair rinn do bhàs [...]
Read more →A further entry from the 1851 Diary of John Munro Mackenzie, enumerating his difficulties in getting the emigrants away. They sailed first for Troon, and thence for Quebec. It seems the Marquis of Stafford that took them to Canada was a steamer, unless the reference here refers to another boat that transfered them to Troon first [...]
Read more →On TB Day, 18 June 1929, TB Macaulay of the Sun Life Assurance Company, Montreal, visited Valtos and was presented with an illuminated address by Rev Malcolm Maclennan, on behalf of the people of Uig. Rev Maclennan gave a speech, and TB followed, as reported by the Gazette: Mr Macaulay, acknowledging the presentations, said it was [...]
Read more →Pic: some of the worthies of Uig and Stornoway at the ceremony. TB Macaulay, president of the Sun Life Assurance Company of Montreal and descendent of the Macaulays of Uig, visited Lewis in the summer of 1929 to open the new Municipal Buildings in Stornoway (replacing those destroyed in the fire of 1918) and to [...]
Read more →Donald Matheson, an Saighdear Chaluim Bhain, was a son of Malcolm Matheson (Calum Bàn) of Valtos and Crowlista. (Calum Bàn has some interesting ancestors who can be found by following the lines back via Hebridean Connections.) Donald was born in the 1740s and joined the army, serving at the siege of Louisbourg in 1758, and [...]
Read more →Calum Aonghais a’Bhreabadair was born in Valtos in 1862, a son of Angus Maclennan who had travelled the world. The family moved to 11 Kneep. Calum went to Canada as a young man and studied at McGill University in Montreal. He worked for some years as a minister in Canada before returning to Scotland and [...]
Read more →Following his tour of the island in the spring of 1851 to assess arrears owed by tenants and determined which of them were “to be emigrated”, the Chamberlain of the Lews, John Munro Mackenzie, drew up the following memorandum (from the Acair publication of his 1851 Diary.) Two emigrant ships, the Marquis of Stafford and [...]
Read more →[singlepic=1045,280,left]William J. Maclean was born at Scaliscro in 1837, son of Angus Maclean, mason, and Ann Macrae, daughter of the farmer Alexander Macrae. The family had moved to Gisla by 1861. William emigrated to Canada (his brother Duncan, who remained at Gisla, remembered travelling to Liverpool to see him off) and became factor for the [...]
Read more →From the Diary of John Munro Mackenzie, Chamberlain, in 1851: Friday 14 Feby. Met the people of Crowlista, Aird Uig, Carishader, Geshader, Enaclete, Ungeshader and having explained the conditions on which they were to be emigrated, their condition state of arrears etc the following results were arrived at – Crowlista, 6 families, £34.8.4 in arrears, [...]
Read more →