Archive for the ‘people’ Category
Friday, February 26th, 2010
The Reverend Aulay Macaulay was born in Brenish in 1669, son of Dugald, grandson of Angus Beag Macaulay, he of the big stone and the critical wife, and brother of Donald Òg. Aulay started his career in Tiree and Coll and was minister at Scarista, Harris from 1712 until his ...
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Friday, February 19th, 2010
[singlepic=1077,280,left]Dr Duncan Maclennan served as the doctor in West Uig from 1935 to 1945. A native of Stornoway, he studied at Aberdeen and Uig was his first post. He was greatly liked throughout the district, as this piece from the Stornoway Gazette on the occasion of his leaving demonstrates:
20 July 1945
On Tuesday, 3rd ...
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Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
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Rev Norman Morrison, with his wife, sister (behind him) and children. Rev Morrison was minister at Baile na Cille from 1931 to 1950.
He wasn't the first of that name in Uig; the third known minister in Uig was also Norman Morrison, 1742 to 1777, who was a grandson of John ...
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Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
Cha robh cam, nach robh crosda.
The following is an account of a familiar tale of the island - perhaps the most famous told of Donald Cam, the chief of the Macaulays in Uig, as given by Capt FWL Thomas in his Traditions of the Macaulays of Lewis (1880).
In 1597 some ...
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Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
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) ...
Posted in emigration, people | 2 Comments »
Saturday, November 7th, 2009
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Posted in life in uig, news & events, people | No Comments »
Sunday, September 20th, 2009
The following comes from the Spring 1987 edition of Sanais, the Comann Eachdraidh's quarterly publication under the editorship of Anna Mackinnon. There are many tales about the Old Soldiers of Uig and this is another about the doughty Calum Olach of Valtos, serving with the Seaforth Highlanders as one of ...
Posted in history, military & police, people, tales | 1 Comment »
Friday, July 17th, 2009
Another item from the endlessly entertaining Lewsiana, by W Anderson Smith (1874/1886).
From the fact that every crofter owns a few sheep, wool is naturally the first and most important article in use [in clothing]. This is often torn from the animal, Shetland fashion, in place of being clipped. More wretched ...
Posted in life in uig, people, wool & weaving | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
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 ...
Posted in emigration, history, people | 2 Comments »
Saturday, May 23rd, 2009
From the Inverness Courier of 25 March 1846:
A correspondent has favoured us with some further particulars relative to the late patriarchal Celt, John Martin, who died at Urgay [Urgha], Island of Harris, at the ripe ate of 112. The old man was able to walk about till within twenty-four hours ...
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Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
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Ciorstaidh Mhòr, Christina Matheson, was born in 1861 in Enaclete, a daughter of William Ruadh and a sister of William Dearg. Her father came with his family to Geshader in the late 19th century and built this house at 2 Geshader, on the hillside overlooking the loch on the right ...
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Saturday, April 11th, 2009
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Calum Macaskill (Calum Iain 'ic Asgaill) was a postman and lived at Luachair. Latterly he would walk into Morsgail every day, take a cup of tea there, collect the mails which had come in from Kinloch, and return to Luachair. John Macdonald of Ard Bheag would come to ...
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Friday, April 3rd, 2009
James Shaw Grant, in one of his many books about the folk and tales of the Islands, reckoned that the evidence available does not support the idea that Mac an t-Srònaich was the vicious murderer of popular legend. Mac an t-Srònaich was a native of Garve on the mainland, and ...
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Thursday, April 2nd, 2009
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Piper Lorne Cousin with Sir Sean Connery at the US Library of Congress.
Lorne is an Uigeach, grandson to Murdo Macleod 17 Uigen (Murchadh a Ghobha), himself a piper, and nephew to Murdo Beag. In 2004 he toured with Madonna (Lorne, not Murdo) and has played many high-profile events. On the night ...
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Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
Hector Maclean, who wrote to his sister Annie (Nurse Ruadh) from the Transvaal in 1902, died of enteric fever five months later. From the Highland News (?), 1903:
Sad Death of a Young Man. Information has been received at Crowlista, Uig, from Heidleberg, South Africa, of the death from enteric fever ...
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