Extract from ‘Outer Isles’ by Ada Goodrich Freer

Transcription of an extract about food and drink from ‘Outer Isles’ by Ada Goodrich Freer.

Ada Goodrich Freer was sponsored by the Society for Psychical Research to investigate second sight and supernatural tales in the Hebrides. She visited Tiree in 1894 and, after spending several months on the island, went to South Uist and Eriskay.

While on Eriskay, Ada befriended the local priest, Father Allan MacDonald, who was himself a collector of Hebridean folklore and traditions. She borrowed a number of his manuscripts on which she based a series of articles and lectures, earning herself an undeserved reputation as a folklorist.

By the time her book ‘Outer Isles’ was published in 1902, she was living in Jerusalem and her reputation as a clairvoyant and psychic researcher was in question. In 1905 she married a German-American Hans Henry Spoer with whom she moved to America in 1923.