Dear Carswell List,
I thought that the pasted story below may be
of interest to the Carswell Clan that is spread far & wide.It about the
Carswell's of Duncarnock Farm in Mearns Parish , Renfrewshire Scotland.
Kind regards,
John Carswell NSW Australia.
The Carswells of Duncarnock .An Ancient Scottish Family.
By N Mc N Brodie Nova Scotia ,written
in 1884.
The house of Duncarnock had been built after a primitive type of
architecture . It was long low thatched building that varied in its
functions & character as you went from one end of the range to the other. At
the west end was the dairy next to which was the cow house & stable, between
which & the kitchen there was a passage across the building , & beyond this
the other rooms of the family dwelling. Here the building was terminated ,
but after the interval of a passage about 15 feet wide , it was resumed by
the barn & ended by the cart house . This primitive but commodious homestead
stood in a mossy table ground beneath the shadow of a lofty hill. Before the
front door was a large garden surrounded by a stone fence & tall ash trees
like giant sentinels guarded its borders. Further out at the end of the
corse one of the most extensive views in Scotland in a clear day presents
itself. Although to the West & South the scene is curtailed & abridged by
rocks & moorlands that are comparatively near. To the Southeast the eye
stretches far away over valley & ridge till it rests on the hazy outline of
Tinock standing above the blue mists of the horizon. Rising from a plain of
the east & towering over & beyond the dim gloomy City of Glasgow, are to be
seen the Campsie Hills in Stirlingshire , while nearer & more to the North
are the braes of Kilpatrick in Dumbartonshire & behind the latter the famous
range of the Grampians, blue as the Summers sky & stretching away into
Perthshire. To the North down over the village of Barrhead looking past the
Ferenese braes & the town of Paisley, then rising above the hills of
Dumbarton, the eye lights upon the lofty summit of Ben Lomand, & then roams
wonderingly athwart the rugged peaks of Glenorchy, once a bone of contention
between the Campbells & Macgregors.
Duncarnock has been owned & occupied by the Carswells of that ilk from a
very remote period, for I once saw part of an old record ,which stated that
William Carswell was a heritor there , as far back as the reign of William &
Mary, the same standing that his namesake & successor maintained during the
reign of the last two Georges & of William 1V. Probably the same family
lived in Duncarnock for a long period preceding the time of William 3rd, &
not unlikely they were there at the time of the Norman conquest,& how long
before that period we do know not, but circumstantial evidence may be
gathered from certain characters of the family , such as the non Saxon but
British type of features & complexion, with a decided conservation of ways &
means that have been long proven & tested, & a prudent aversion to things
that are merely speculative. These & other items favour the thesis , that
they were there from the time of the Druids. Probably these Carswells dwelt
by the Craig of Carnock & spoke Welsh along with the other Britons of
Strathclyde in the days of the famous King Arthur. Further more by a very
little stretch of the imagination Carswell may be derived from Caer isel
which in Cymrag signifies Low Camp to distinguish it from Din Carnedd , or
stone fortress above on the Hill.
We know of no written history of this ancient battleground. It only awaits
a careful visit of the learned archaeologist to draw from its timeworn rocks
& grisly features, the long secret of its remote history. In the meantime we
may safely conclude that this was an important place in the earliest part of
our nations' history when the Britons & their Caledonian Kindred may have
combined against the hosts of the Roman Caesars. In further proof of the
above , there still remains the name at least of a town which points to a
time of Celtic rule & occupation, at least as far back as has been
suggested. Fingalton is neither Norman or Saxon but claims a period when the
house of Fingal, the son of Maini defended albyn of the hoary cliffs against
the invading forces of the King of the World.
Fully 50 years ago two aged brothers & their widowed sister , dwelt in the
peaceful farm house. William the laird was the oldest of the three & must
have been about 90 years of age. Robert was six years younger , & Mrs.
Allison was 3 or 4 years younger than the Laird . (there was another
sister,Mrs Glen of Paisley). William was never married though he had been
proprietor of that estate ever since the death of his Father hard upon 80
years before.
Roberts memory could just reach back to the time of his Fathers funeral
when someone lifted him up in arms to look at the slow procession of
mourners winding round the foot of the hill on their way to the Churchyard
at Neilston. After this the three fatherless children grew up together in
unity under the charge & care of their excellent Mother. When Robert grew up
to manhood , he went to a large manufacturing town in order to learn a
trade, but his elder brother sent for him to come back & live on the farm,
where they had been born, as there was enough of employment & produce to
maintain them all for the rest of their life.
Robert wisely acceded this advice & while the laird attended in his part
to the grist mill , for the next 60 years , the younger brother took charge
of the farm till 12 years after Williams death.
Robert married when he was 40 years of age , more or less, & was the
father of a large family of sons & daughters , whom he endeavoured to train
up in the fear of God.
The bible was read morning & evening , in that house by one of the members
of this family, & prayer & praise ascended to the god of their fathers. When
I first read the book of Genesis about Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob, I did not
turn to the east to find their model among the sheiks of Palestine or
Arabia, but saw them better & more truly represented in the old men who
dwelt close beside us at the foot of the ancient British hill. Those aged
people are long since gathered to their people , but while they lived they
were the Salt of the Salt of the Earth; a blessing by their spirit & example
to their neighbours , for even the habitual swearer & profane jester had to
restrain themselves , & maintain decorum in their presence. After William
died , a number of people were speaking of his good qualities , when one
ventured to speak of him with less respect than the others when Andrew
McFarlane , the talented but unfortunate shoemaker answered - " If Laird
Carswell is not in Heaven then there is not such a place" & another added
"If he is not there few will enter" In every locality there may be some
professors whose shortcomings are pointed at in derision, an godless triumph
by the unbeliever, but no one had room for such unholy pastime against the
Men of whom I am writing.
Robert the youngest died 40 years ago at the advanced age of 97 revered &
beloved by the great circle of relatives & friends.
This aged family is a sample of many that I have known , who lived & died
trusting in their Saviour, but when wheat is separated from the chaff, many
shall come from the east & from the west , from the north & from the south ,
& shall sit down with Abraham with Isaac & with Jacob in the kingdom of
Heaven.
Signed N MC N Brodie.1884.