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Argyll was the second largest Scottish county. It stretches 115 miles north to south down the west coast of Scotland. It included over 100 islands including Mull, Iona, Tiree and Islay. Various local government changes have resulted in most of Argyll falling within the Argyll and Bute District with Ardnamurchan, Ardgour, Kilmallie, Morvern and part of Appin being allocated to Highland Region. Argyll's county town is Lochgilphead, other important towns being Oban, Campbeltown, Inverarary (the traditional home of the Dukes of Argyll) and Tobermory.
You can get a feel for the lives your ancestors lived by visiting the area they came from. These are areas where, for centuries, families lived together in a tightly-knit community. In the Highlands they are linked to clan heartlands, whereas, in the rest of Scotland the names are often those of the local landed families. Although it is unlikely that family historians can link their ancestry to clan chiefs or family dynasties, it can still be a moving experience to tour the clan and family heartlands.
Here is a selection of the most common names in this area.
Campbell: centred on the residence of the Dukedom of Argyll
McDonald: Clan Donald was divided into separate groups, notably MacDonalds of Glencoe
McDougall: centred around their ancient stronghold, Dunollie Castle, north of Oban.
McMillan: originally at Knapdale but forced south by Campbell expansion to Kintyre and later, to Galloway
Lamont: especially in Cowal and Knapdale
The Parish Church can unlock many secrets for ancestral researchers. Not only was it the place where children were baptised, proclamations of marriage announced and the dead buried, it was also the centre of most social activity within the Parish. There is, however, no such thing as a definitive list of parishes. Over the decades they have merged, divided, been renamed and had changes made to their spelling. The following list is based largely on the situation at the time of publication of the New Statistical Account (1834-1845).
Ardchattan,
Ardnamurchan,
Campbelton (Campbeltown),
Craignish,
Dunoon and Kilmun,
Gigha and Cara (Gigha),
Glassary,
Glenurchy and Inishail,
Inveraray,
Inverchaolain,
Jura,
Kilbrandon and Kilchattan,
Kilcalmonell and Kilberry,
Kilchoman,
Kilchrenan and Dalavich,
Kildalton,
Kilfinan,
Kilfinichen and Kilviceuen (Kilvickeon),
Killarow and Kilmeny (Kilmeny),
Killean and Kilchenzie,
Kilmadan,
Kilmartin,
Kilmore and Kilbride,
Kilninian and Kilmore,
Kilninver and Kilmelfort*,
Lismore and Appin*,
Lochgoilhead and Kilmorich*,
Morvern,
Muckairn,
North Knapdale,
Saddell and Skipness,
South Knapdale,
Southend,
Strachur and
Stralachlan*,
Tiree and
Coll*,
Torosay
* subsequently divided into seperate parishes, ( ) denotes alternative name or spelling
Detailed information on life and work within each of these parishes can be found in the Old (1791-99) and the New (1834-45) Statistical Account of Scotland. These are freely accessible on http://edina.ed.ac.uk/statacc. Part of their charm is the individual views of the minister, which can include some fascinating accounts of a parish's history, topography, employment, landowners, communications, agriculture and even the morality of the parishioners
Almost every municipal authority in Scotland has a collection of local history publications, maps and archives. Although most of these libraries are prepared to undertake a limited amount of searching on your behalf, it is far more fulfilling to visit them yourself. You could lose yourself for hours, pouring over old newspapers and photographs.
The following is a list of the libraries in your chosen area:
Argyll and Bute Library Service Local Collection
Highland Avenue
Sandbank
Dunoon
PA23 8PB
Tel: +44 1369 703214
Fax: +44 1369 705797
E-mail:
eleanorharris@argyll-bute.gov.uk
Open: Mon-Fri, 09:00 - 17:00.
Covers the entire Argyll and Bute area. There are also small collections in Oban, Rothesay, Dunoon and Campbeltown.
Highland Council Genealogy Centre
Inverness Library
Farraline Park
Inverness
IV1 1NH
Tel: +44 1463 236463 Ext 9/+44 1463 220330 Ext 9
Fax: +44 1463 711128
E-mail:
genealogy@highland.gov.uk
www.highland.gov.uk/leisureandtourism/what-to-see/archives/highlandcouncilarchives/
Open: Mon-Fri, 09:00 - 13:00 & 14:00 - 17:00.
Almost every municipal authority in Scotland has a collection of local history publications, maps and archives. Although most of these libraries are prepared to undertake a limited amount of searching on your behalf, it is far more fulfilling to visit them yourself. You could lose yourself for hours, pouring over old newspapers and photographs.
The following is a list of the archive offices in your chosen area:
Highland Council Archive
Inverness Library
Farraline Park
Inverness
IV1 1NH
Tel: +44 1463 220330
Fax: +44 1463 711128
Open: Mon-Thu, 10:00 - 13:00 &14:00 - 17:00.
Advance booking is advisable.
The archive comprises the Highland County, Burgh and District records, except those for Caithness. These include school log books and admission registers, poor relief registers and court papers. Only the Northern part of Argyll is covered in this collection.
Argyll and Bute Council Archives
Manse Brae
Lochgilphead
Argyll
PA31 8QU
Tel: +44 1546 604120
Fax: +44 1546 606897
www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/content/freedomofinformation/corporateservices/archives/
Open: Tue-Fri, 10:00 - 13:00 & 14:00 - 16:30.
By appointment only.
Only the southern part of Argyll falls within this resource.
Scotland is a country with a remarkable history. So it should come as no surprise that Scotland is home to a remarkable collection of museums and heritage centres. These range from the major, internationally renowned collections in Edinburgh's Royal Museum of Scotland to hundreds of small centres that specialise in the history of local communities. The following museums are all in your chosen area. A visit to any one of them may well shed new light on the lives led by your ancestors.
Ross of Mull Historical Centre
Pier Road
Bunessan
Isle of Mull
Argyll
Tel: +44 1681 700659
Email: enquiries@romhc.org.uk
Open: April - October, Mon - Fri, 10:00 - 16:30.
November - March by arrangement
Discover local history and heritage, the people, how they lived, their songs, stories, ancestry, emigration, archaeology, geology, crofting and wildlife.
Cambeltown Heritage Centre
Big Kiln
Cambeltown
PA28 6JU
Tel: +44 7783 485387
Open: April - October, Mon - Sat, 12:00 - 17:00 & Sun 14:00 - 17:00.
Depicts the cultural and economic history and development of Kintyre in an interesting and informative way.
The Museum of Islay life
Port Charlotte
Isle of Islay
PA48 7UA
Tel: +44 1496 850358 (winter months +44 1496 850310)
Open: Easter - end October, 10:00 - 17:00, Mon - Sat, 14:00 - 17:00.
All aspects of life through the ages. Reference library, old photographs and archives.
Easdale Island Folk Museum
Easdale Island
By Oban
PA34 4TB
Tel/Fax: +44 1852 300370
Open: Apr-Oct, daily 10:30 - 17:30.
Exhibitions of the history of the islands slate industry and its people in the 18th and 19th Century.
Glencoe and North Lorn Folk Museum
Glencoe
Argyll
Tel: +44 1855 811664 Open: May-September, Mon-Sat, 10:00 - 17:30.
Set within four heather thatched buildings, includes exhibits reflecting Highland rural life. Records include those of the Ballachulish Slate Quarry, listing employees, and of local burial grounds.
The Aluminium Story Visitor Centre
Linnhe Road
Kinlochleven
Lochaber
PA40 5SS
Tel: +44 1855 831663
Fax: +44 1855 831663
Open: April-October, Mon - Fri, 10:00 - 13:00 and 14:00 - 17:00
Based on audio visual displays describing the aluminium production plant established in 1908, and the effect on the local community. There is also a small library.
Auchindrain Township Open Air Museum
By Inverary
Argyll
PA32 8XN
Tel: +44 1499 500235
Open: April-September, daily 10:00 - 17:00.
An original west Highland township with all the original buildings as they would have appeared in the late 19th Century.
Inveraray Jail
Church Square
Inveraray
Argyll
PA32 8TX
Tel: +44 1499 302381
Fax: +44 1499 302195
E-mail:
inverarayjail@btclick.com
www.inverarayjail.co.uk
Open: April-October, daily 09:30 - 17:00,
November-March, daily 10:00 - 16:00.
Voted best Scottish attraction of the decade. Exhibits include the 1820 courtroom (and listen to trials), the airing yard and the two prisons. The web site includes a listing of former prisoners.
Castle House Museum
Castle Gardens
Dunoon
Argyll
Tel: +44 1369 701422
www.castlehousemuseum.org.uk
Open: Easter-mid October, Mon-Sat, 10:30 - 16:30 & Sun 14:00 - 16:30.
The museum illustrates the history of Dunoon and the Cowal peninsula over the years. It includes special exhibits on Victorian life and captures the spirit of the era when Glaswegians went "doon the water" for their holidays.
Isle of Bute Discovery Centre
The Winter Garden
Rothesay
Isle of Bute
Tel: +44 8707 200619
Email:
info@rothesay.visitscotland.com
Open: all year round
A unique building housing a fascinatling free exhibition on the Isle of Bute, comprehensive tourist information centre facilities and incorporating Bute sons and daughters genealogy project.
Local societies are run by volunteers who meet together periodically. Most maintain an index of members' interests - and this could well lead to the discovery of a long lost cousin or two. If there are any such societies in your chosen area, they will be listed below.
Highland Family History Society
c/o Highland Council Genealogy Centre
Inverness Library
Farraline Park
Inverness
IV1 1NH
Tel: +44 1463 236463
Fax: +44 1463 711128
E-mail:
angus.bethune@tesco.net
www.highland.gov.uk/leisureandtourism/what-to-see/archives/highlandcouncilarchives
Details of members' research interests held on computer.
Glasgow & West of Scotland Family History
Society
Unit 5, 22 Mansfield Street
Glasgow
G11 5QP
Tel: +44 141 339 8303
www.gwsfhs.org.uk
Open: Tue 14:00 - 16:30, Thu 10:00 - 21:30 & Sat 14:00 - 16:30.
A members' surname index database is maintained. Various indexing projects in progress.
It may seem a little odd, but a visit to the burial ground of an ancestor can make you feel more closely connected to them. However, tracking down the specific plot, or lair as they were referred to in Scotland, depends on the period of time when the deaths occurred.
Up to the mid-19th century it was the normal practice for people to be interred in the Parish Kirk burial ground - although this was only rarely marked with anything as grand as a headstone. The Scottish Association of Family History Societies (SAFHS) is currently co-ordinating a major project to develop a National Burial Index, relating to pre-1855 records. This will eventually be available on CD ROM. Although this will help to confirm that burials took place in parish burial grounds, it will not, unfortunately, indicate the location of the lair.
If your ancestor was wealthy enough, their grave may have been marked by an inscribed headstone. Over the years, family history societies and other volunteer groups have painstakingly transcribed and indexed such inscriptions - and these are nearly always held in the relevant local history libraries or family history research centres.
By the mid-19th Century, many parish burial grounds had become seriously overcrowded, especially those in urban areas, and this led to the creation of both private and municipal cemeteries. If you know the place and date of death, you should be able to discover the location of a lair, although not all cemeteries and records have survived.
The concept of cremation started to gain popularity in the late 1940s and has increased ever since. Ashes may be taken away by the family, scattered in the garden of remembrance or buried either in the crematorium or in a family plot.
Cemeteries Office
Operation Services
Argyll & Bute Council
Kilmory
Lochgilphead
Argyll
PA31 8RT
Tel: +44 1546 604 113
Fax: +44 1546 604 643
Email: alison.mcilroy@argyll-bute.gov.uk
Requests for searches of the cemetery register and for extracts are required to be made by form. The standard fee is £11.33, to be paid in advance, for work up to half an hour. Subsequent research is payable at the same rate.
