and then there were the parties at Auchindrain...

This is a whiskey jar. Sturdy little thing, isn't it?

As to Auchindrain. Okay, I live on the other side of the world from Argyll. But I am EXTREMELY interested in that little corner of the world, so I will tell you what I think. MY suggestion would be to put the Argyll Bute Archives - with a FULL TIME archivist, by the way!!! - on the Auchendrain site. The resulting centre would, I think, work really well for the museum, and the totally marvellous records that are held by the Archives.

Auchendrain Museum: another hearth!

Another hearth, this one with a chimney! and, to repeat:

"Auchindrain Museum outside Inveraray (http://www.auchindrain-museum.org.uk) is a wonderful example of a traditional farm township of the kind our forefathers inhabited and worked. Hundreds of similar townships throughout Argyll were abandoned or cleared but this little gem has survived.Please will you help to preserve this unique township by writing or emailing to the Achindrain Manager to support a bid to get Auchindrain recognised as being a Museum Collection of national significance through the Scottish Museums Council’s Significance Scheme. Letters or emails must refer to the completeness of the township and that it survived the Highland Clearances. It should also be mentioned that it was the first open air museum to open in Scotland (greatly supported by the late Miss Marion Campbell of Kilberry, an outstanding local historian) and that the original buildings are located within their original context etc etcPlease write or email to support this bid. Note that names and addresses must accompany emails to verify their provenance."

Auchindrain Museum and the Hearth Tax of 1694

I want to start a section of the "poor" in my website, Knapdale People, and am currently obsessing over the 1694 Hearth Tax lists (the hearths throughout Britain were counted, reported, and the people were supposed to be taxed accordingly.) One of my conclusions has been that - in our terms - the Highlanders, even the "rich", were really really poor.

The above is an example of a hearth. The little pile of brown stuff underneath the kettle is 'peat moss'. In the absence of wood and coal, our ancestors, "rich" or "poor", used peat as their fuel, for cooking and for heat. Peat was cut out of the surface of the earth, collected and stored near the home, and dried over the summer. If the summer was particularly wet and rainy, the peat did NOT dry properly, and it was a cold cold winter.

Such a 'hearth' as you see in that Auchindrain Museum exhibit would have been situated in the centre of the home. The smoke drifted out through a hole in the roof. Over time, the house ceiling would become black with that smoke. Hence these houses were often known as "black houses."

more on Auchindrain... and weaving

Among the exhibits in the museum part of Auchindrain (as opposed to the various homes on the site) is a loom. It was given to Auchindrain by the McTaggart family. This family had been weavers in Kilmory Knap since at least the early 1800s. Duncan McTaggart, 48 in the 1851 census, was called a "country weaver." His wife, born in NORTH Knapdale parish, was Janet McDougall, and he had lots of children, among whom was John (11 years old), who in 1861, when he was 21, was ALSO a weaver. According to Marion Campbell of Kilberry, who gave her heart and soul to this museum, and the history of Mid Argyll, this loom was hand made!

Auchindrain: an open air museum

Yep, it is a very impressive 'museum.' This is a photo of SOME of the buildings on the site (which is, by the way, south of Inveraray, on your way to Lochgilphead, by the side of the road). The teensy green-topped hut is a "cotter's hut." When I was there I had a good time just wandering around looking inside the buildings. Each of them is furnished with items peculiar to the status of the family which lived in it. It is an incredibly vivid way to 'see' how our Scottish Highlander ancestors actually lived!

Auchendrain Museum, south of Inveraray...

I received this email and want to ensure that a LOT of people interested in Knapdale know about this, and extend their help in the manner suggested:

"Auchindrain Museum outside Inveraray (http://www.auchindrain-museum.org.uk) is a wonderful example of a traditional farm township of the kind our forefathers inhabited and worked. Hundreds of similar townships throughout Argyll were abandoned or cleared but this little gem has survived.

Please will you help to preserve this unique township by writing or emailing to the Achindrain Manager to support a bid to get Auchindrain recognised as being a Museum Collection of national significance through the Scottish Museums Council’s Significance Scheme. Letters or emails must refer to the completeness of the township and that it survived the Highland Clearances. It should also be mentioned that it was the first open air museum to open in Scotland (greatly supported by the late Miss Marion Campbell of Kilberry, an outstanding local historian) and that the original buildings are located within their original context etc etc

Please write or email to support this bid. Note that names and addresses must accompany emails to verify their provenance."

Arichonan Affray and Allan McLean family

It was obvious that Allan McLean and his family left North Knapdale after the July Arichonan Riot in 1848. His brother, Duncan, was one of the people imprisoned for his role in that event. Allan's wife, Catherine, was very pregnant in July, and gave birth to a child, Allan, that October.

I have been interested in the fate of this family: the Glasgow slums, Australia, Canada or the USA, Knapdalians left their homes for all of these places.

Well. I have heard from one of Allan's descendents! It seems that he and his family went to Canada in 1849. "They owned land and farmed in Ekfrid township, Middlesex County, Ontario. Once in Canada, they had two more children.* Allan died September 10, 1868, and his wife, Catherine, June 30, 1870. They are buried in a small rural cemetary called Murray Cemetary in Ekfrid township, Middlesex County, Ontario."
* (Janet, born 1851; and Daniel, born 1857.)