David,
Many thanks for your posting to the Campbell List.
Bellanoch is a clachan (minute village) on the Crinan Canal between
Ardrishaig and Crinan in Argyll. Maybe there are now six or seven houses.
I believe that in 1844 it would have been a part of the Poltalloch estate.
The Malcolms who owned Poltalloch were a local family of MacCallums
(originally MacKessacs - or MacIsaacs) who had used Malcolm as more
appropriate while running their West Indies estates. Poltalloch house,
built in the 1820s I believe, is nnow a ruin and Robin Malcolm of
Poltalloch, a very fine man, lives with his wife in Duntrune Castle which
his family bought from the Campbells of Duntroon in about 1792 I believe.
Kilmahumaig (pronounced 'kilmaHUMaig') is a pleasant steep-gabled farmhouse
with a fine position set on a little pass between wooded hills. A field
slopes down in front of the house between woods and there are more native
woodlands behind on higher ground. Below the field are some cottages along
the road built by the County Council and a graveyeard on the site of an old
church, now gone. SW of the house of Killmahumaig the single track (with
passing places) paved road crosses the pass over to Old Crinan Harbour to
the NW, with a branch winding round north to Crinan Basin, the end of the
canal. The road comes up past Kilmahumaig after running NW from Bellanoch
(pron. BELLanoch) along the side of the Crinan Canal. SE of Kilmahumaig the
canal and road separate at the bottom of the hill as the canal had to turn
north and then NW again around a high wooded bluff to reach the Crinan Basin
and locks where the canal enters Loch Crinan and the sea. From Bellanoch to
Crinan Basin the canal has the sandy and muddy tidal estuary of the river
Add on the NE side and tree-hung cliffs for much off the SW side, except
where a little valley goes up to Kilmahumaig. I would think that the
present house at Kilmahumaig would have been built after 1844 because it has
three high gables to the SE front looking down the little valley. The road
passes it outside the grounds to the SW, partly hidden by a rocky knoll with
big deciduous trees. Beyond the road is a little conical knoll which is
said to be where at one point the 'Lord of the Isles' (MacDonald of Islay)
addressed his friends gathered there. That family held the area for about a
century in the 13 and 14 hundreds. The hills on the SW side of the pass and
the little valley is now planted with sitka spruce conifers, a cash crop.
All the other woods are native scrub oak, ash, birch or, on the wet ground
by the canal, alder. The canal is now mostly used by yachts in summer to
avoid going around the Kintyre peninsula (often now mistakenly called 'the
Mull of Kintyre' after the Beatle's song, when in fact the 'mull' is the
bluff at the SW corner of the end of the peninsula).
The lands were likely held first by the MacSweens up to 1263, who then went
to Ireland. Then Stewarts, Earls of Menteith had then cared for by a
kinsman Sir John Stewart up into the 13 hundreds, then the Campbells of
Lochawe looked after them for the MacDonald of Islay and locally they were
held by the MacNeills of Taynish - cousins of the MacSweens - and then in
the latre 14 hundreds the whole area was put under the overlordship of the
Campbell Earls of Argyll. The MacNeills were owners under them until the
second half of the 18th century when they sold to Campbells of Inverneill
who had made money in American during the revolution. They eventually sold
to the Malcolms of Poltalloch. The present owner of the house and steading
(farm buildings) of Kilmahumaig is Mike Murray whose business is running a
powerful two outboard catamaran out to the Gulf of Corrievreckan for divers
who like to risk themselves in the tidal waters of the whirlpool when it is
not whirling. He also takes people on half day trips in the boat to see the
sort of tidal whirlpool and my brother went on one and said it was worth
doing. It was more of an overfall. It is created by full tide running
between the islands of Jura and Scarba.
I imagine that the tombstones in the kirkyard below Kilmahumaig migth be
worth a look for Archie. I could take a look next time I am over that way
as my brother is having a cottage built (or re-built) at old Crinan Harbour
so I am by that way from time to time. I fyou wanted to write to Mike,
contact me direct and I can give you his address.
I have read of Kilmahumaig being let to visitors in the summer in the 19th
century and believe that there may be a book of their memories. I do not
have a copy. Mike Murray or his wife might.
As to the Duke of Argyll business, the present family know little of their
history, other than what they can read. I mean few family stories have come
down due to the kind of succession which has taken place. Much personal
material was lost in the fire at Inveraray Castle in the seventies although
the historic and estate archives were saved. So I would be extremely
surprised if you can find any confirmation or otherwise of the schoolroom
story. The concept of 'cousinship' with the chief is very old. Some papers
of my own family from 1485 had the then Earl of Argyll (they were not made
Dukes until 1701) calling my then ancestor Dougall Campbell 'cousin' but we
know for a fact that there were probably at least four generations back
before they were related. The custom continued as a courtesy and as a means
of acknowledging loyalty to the chief.
I hope all this is of some help. At first I thought you were a friend David
Black from Seattle whose mother was a MacEwen from Argyll.
Diarmid Campbell in Argyll in Scotland.
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Black" <blacknit(a)gte.net>
To: <CAMPBELL-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Friday, January 31, 2003 4:09 AM
Subject: Campbell's from Kilmahumaig
Hello list: I would like to relate some of what I know about my
Campbell
family from Kilmahumaig and see if someone can help my find some further
information.
My gr gr grandmother, (Jessie Campbell born 1820), kept a wonderful
scrapbook full of family history and from it I have been able to gather
the following information.
Jessie came to Canada around 1845 with her sister Mary and three
brothers Neil, John, and Archibald. They left behind one sister in
Scotland, Agnes, who married a chemist named Hugh S McDonald and they
lived at 51 London Street, Glasgow. The other Five Campbell siblings
settled in Adelaide Township, Middlesex County in Ontario.
Jessie's youngest Brother was quite well known in the American civil
war. His name was Archibald P Campbell. He was a full colonel in the 2nd
Michigan Cavalry and rose to the rank of brevet brigadier general,
commanding the 1st division of the army of the Cumberland. There is much
information in many books about him and much more in Jessie's scrapbook,
so I wont relate much more here about him now.
Her other brother Neil left Canada in 1852 and moved to Australia,
settling on Argyle farm Avoca, Victoria county, near Melbourne. Her
brother John was a sailor in his younger years and spent the latter part
of his life in Chicago. Her sister Mary Married another Campbell and
they stayed in Cardoc, Middlesex County for the rest of their lives.
Because Jessie lived a little longer than her siblings she was able to
include the obituaries for each of them in her scrapbook. They all state
her fathers name as "Archibald Campbell of Kilmahumaig". Also included
in the book was a letter, written from a place called Bellanoch, stating
that their father had passed away in February of 1844 and their mother,
I don't Know her name, had passed in August of the same year. These are
the things I know for certain. I thank you for reading this far on a
long letter. I will end this with a bit of the family lore that has
always been very strongly impressed on our family.
The story was recorded on tape by my grandfather, and has been verbally
related to all branches and generations of our family,
It goes as follows
Jessie father Archibald was a friend or possibly cousin of the Duke of
Argyll and was an overseer of his estates. The Duke asked Archibald to
put together a classroom setting for his children and he could include
his children in the class also. For generations now the wonderful
educations that they received has been almost legendary in our family.
The problem with the story is that as far as I can tell, it would have
been the 6th Duke at the time period that my Campbell's would have been
educated and he had no heirs. But his brother who became the 7th Duke,
did have children in the same age range as our families Campbell's.
Perhaps he is the one referred to in the story, I would like to find out
if there is any way to verify any of this story, Maybe it is just a
story.
I don't know where to look. can any one out there help?
Additionally, I also can't find any of them on the IGI
database. I would very much like find their birth records and find out
Jessie's mothers name.
Again, sorry about the length of this message, I hope I have not
bothered any of you too much
I am and always have been, honored to be a Campbell
Best Regards
David K Black
Kenmore WA.
USA
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