about signatures (a followup) and leases and setts

if you want to know if one of your ancestors left a signature on an Inverneill Estates paper, one that I can photo for you, go to KnapdalePeople in the Inverneill People listing. The "tenants" therein listed will have signed a "set agreement" with the Proprietor.

In the early 19th century and before, most Knapdale people lived on agricultural "estates". SOME of them were "tenants", that is, they had leases or "setts", agreements with the landowner to farm portions of the estate. "Cottars" did not have this status. Lots of cotters were retired tenants; or relatives that were not 'tenants', but farmed some of the land and paid rent to the tenants for that privilege. The tenants, on the other hand, were people 'of standing', and played a role beyond that of simple renter. The Agreement made in 1802 for the farm at Cosandrochaid states:

(PRESENCE AT ESTATE BARON BAILIE COURTS)
The forenamed Tenants Engage to give ?Juste & presence to the Baron Bailie Courts held upon the Estate by the Proprietor or his aforesaid or other authorised by them as often as Cited thereto And to observe and fulfill all the lawful Enactment thereof for the Improvement of the Estate maintaining Civilization and good order in the Parish

Most of the tenants I have noticed were either the widows, the sons or the sons-in-law of previous tenants. In fact, if you check the "Kilmory Ross" agreement at KnapdalePeople, you will see that Duncan Campbell, son of John Campbell, expected to 'inherit' the right to be a tenant, because he was the ELDEST son (unlike Archibald). As I have mentioned, the Knapdale Estates were a very awkward combination of modern farming management with ancient tradition. It is no wonder that it did not flourish, financially or socially.

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.