Those Difficult Campbells

The trouble with the Campbells is that (a) there were a lot of them living in Knapdale back then; and (b) they were extremely frugal with forenames: Duncan, Archibald, Donald... and for a flighty moment every now and then, James and Colin. Girls? Margaret, Sarah, Mary, and then.. Anne/Agnes. Katherine and Effy.

I have been working on a data base of people who lived in Knapdale during that century between 1750 and 1850. The reason I started was to try to differentiate among the Campbells, so as to pick out the progenitor of MY ancestor, Donaldborn about 1800. This data base now includes 38,000 entries, and I am still not sure which Donald is MY Donald.

For example, in the Inverneill Papers, we have the following: a 1814 lease agreement involving the deceased John Campbell, his wife Sarah Lamont, and his sons Duncan, Donald and Archibald. The Proprietor of this Kilmory Ross farm was Duncan Campbell. John Campbell, before his death, had signed up for the 9 year lease (in 1809) along with James Campbell (relationship unknown), so we are talking about half the farm. Duncan Campbell (John's son, NOT the Proprietor) was the "Master of the Charlotte Katharine Sloop" and the eldest son of said John Campbell.

I don't know about you, but half way through this, I was reduced to making notes and diagrams.

Also, John's other son, Archibald, had signed on the lease upon his father's death. However, by 1814, Archibald was set aside (pushed?? He left the country?? He hated Kilmory Ross?? There was a better farm down the road??) in favor of Duncan, who was after all John's eldest son. Then, in 1814, Duncan signed over this lease to his mother, Sarah Lamont, and his OTHER brother, Donald, which is what this paperwork is about.

The rent was L42 for the half of Kilmory Ross... which is in today's terms, L1,426 Sterling, PLUS a list of services and chickens and eggs and grains to be delivered to the Proprietor at Taynish... You can read the whole agreement (upon which Sarah made her "mark", and her son Donald wrote his signature) at Knapdale People website, in the "Inverneill Estate" section.