Harkness – MacGillivray Stories

Tracking down people from the Isle of Eigg

It is perhaps an advantage tracking down a family line that was more-or-less limited to one small island; and yet, I still had to pull a Sherlock Holmes method all throughout the process. Using the search facilities, it is possible to narrow down the search to the “Small Isles”. The population of the island was obviously limited in size, making searches easier. However, many of the families have the same Christian and surnames; we hav ‘Donald’ and ‘Campbell’, and the various Campbells are not always directly related.

For instance, my great-great grandfather was called Donald Campbell (the father of Roderick Campbell). But around the time (second half of the 19th century) there was at least one other ‘Donald Campbell’ living on the island; that is, Donald Campbell the shoemaker. He was known as Domnhall Gobha in Gaelic, which means craftsman. This means that there was a certain repetition of names, which can be confusing.

But with a limited population size, by using a ‘Sherlock Holmes method’, people can be identified through a process of elimination and deduction. However, there was also a fair amount of movement amongst the population, making tracing them more difficult. Throughout the years, there have been emigration and movement to other districts and regions.

The fathers of illegitimate children can also be difficult to trace, such as the family of my great grandmother, Marion Campbell, nee McKinnon. For instance, I was unable to trace Marion’s father Hugh McKinnon because no details are given on the certificates apart from his name; although I’m fairly sure that the McKinnons were from the neighbouring island, the Isle of Muck. This was all based on the oral account of my mother. But then, there were several Hugh or Ewan McKinnons living on the Isle of Muck. This is knowledge members of the family must have had; but as this was several generations ago, this knowledge is probably ‘lost’.  

Have You Ever Heard of the Isle of Eigg? 

Probably not. Eigg is one of the Small Isles in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. It’s fair to say that life on Eigg is very different from life in the city. It is one-of-a-kind in history, beauty, natural heritage, geology, and archaeology. It is worthwhile to take a trip to the island, which several thousand people do every year. I have also visited Eigg on at least two occasions with my son Alan (around 2006-2007), and talked to some local people whose families have lived there for generations.

Talking to locals is an excellent way to improve communication and build trust. Of course, I only visited Eigg on short trips, so the meetings were not that many. The various books and publications about Eigg have also proven useful. Many of the books published about Eigg depict the island’s rich culture, traditions, and uniqueness (see the Bibliography).

My Mother Always Talked about Eigg

My mother has talked to her children about Eigg for as long as I can remember. I never visited the island with my mother as a boy, so it acquired a ‘mythical’ status. I began to ask my mother specific questions about Eigg in connection with writing this book. Talking to my mother about her past memories had brought us closer together. I just regret that we did not have more of these conversations, but they didn’t seem to be so important to me at the time. In retrospect, I can see how her memories of the past also shaped our ideas about our lives. 

First Conversation with my Mother about Eigg (recorded late 1980s/1990s)

My mother describes in her own words the pre-war period. Together with her mother, brothers and sisters, she spent her holidays visiting relatives on the island.

“As a very young child, I visited Eigg with my mother who was returning to her ‘home’ for her yearly visit. As I am now over 70 yrs old, you can tell that was a great long time ago. People should not be concerned about their age, which is why, at the age of 70, I feel like I am still strong. 

I visited Eigg for the last time with Sandy, Stuart and Alistair, and Dad in the 1940s. I loved going to Eigg every year for 6-week periods. The people really made us very welcome, and we, as children, felt exceptional.

I had two uncles and aunts on Eigg. My mother’s brother, Donald, took over the family croft in Cuagach. Donald was also the ferryman. He had five children. My Uncle John and Aunt Flora – they had four children. They were proud, hard-working people and provided well for their own families. Unfortunately, families that we once knew seemed to have gone – the younger ones had left for jobs.

(…) The island had 3 good-sized farms belonging to the estate. My Uncle John had been farm manager for each of these farms. First at Laig, then Sandavore, lastly Kildonnan. I was probably about 12 or 13 years old when I used to go there. My favourite was Kildonnan – a large farmhouse. The garden won prizes for the best garden in the Small Isles. They had crab apples when I used to go there. My Uncle John’s family eventually retired to a croft at Cuagach. John McKinnon from Muck was a second cousin to my grandmother, Sarah McKinnon.” 

Conversation with my Mother about Eigg (recorded 2006)

The following questions and answers are from a conversation I had with my mother, Rhoda on 30th July 2006. I was at her house at 6 Fitzjohn Close, Merrow Park, Surrey, visiting her. At the time, she was about 85 years old, but still had a good memory. She is remembering back to the time when she used to visit the Isle of Eigg as a young girl. As mentioned, she often used to travel to Eigg with her mother in the summer holidays. The trip from Glasgow, where she lived, would take a few hours or more. 

Instead of reporting verbatim the conversation, I will summarise it in the following. There is some repetition here, as this was also described above; I will include it here anyway. 

My mother described the pre-war period when, together with her mother, brothers and sisters, she spent her holidays visiting relatives on the island (non-verbatim):

“I first visited the island with my mother when I was around  3-4 years old.  My mother Morag was returning to her ‘home’ for her yearly visit. I loved going to Eigg every year for 6-week periods in the summer. The people really made us feel very welcome, and they made us children feel ‘exceptional’.

We, siblings, usually visited together; that is, Flora, Violet (baby), Donald, and Alick. We all went except for my father because he was still working. But he would sometimes go to Acharacle, where his people were from . Acharacle is a few hours journey by road and boat to Eigg.

 I had two uncles and aunts on Eigg, Uncle John and Aunt Flora, and Uncle Donald and Auntie Janet. My mother’s sister, Aunt Peggie  was said to have emigrated to Winnipeg, Canada. Auntie Flora was the only one to have  kept in contact with her. 

My mother’s brother, Uncle Donald,  was a ferryman. He had five children. He eventually took over the family croft in Cuagach. My Uncle John  and Aunt Flora  had four children. John McKinnon  from Muck was a second cousin to my grandmother, Sarah McKinnon. They were proud, hard-working and friendly people and provided well for their own families. 

I knew the people at Shore Cottage (the McDonalds), they were friends with Auntie Flora. They always invited us in for tea and cake – sponge cake with banana filling!

When I was a child I was impressed by the way Uncle Donald  and Uncle John held themselves. On the other hand, perhaps the alcohol could have been taken from them. They were all very nice people, but the men drank too much.The island had 3 good-sized farms belonging to the estate. Uncle John had been farm manager for each of these farms. First at Laig, then Sandavore, lastly Kildonnan.