Photocopied letter to Duke of Argyll from John M Geekie, 31/8/1872.
Letter detailing methods of payment of the Seaweed Company to their workforce, and their application for land to graze horses.
1999.11.11
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1999.11.10
Photocopied letter from Edward C. C. Stanford to His Grace the Duke of Argyll, 26/1/1875.
Letter to the Duke of Argyll from Mr Stanford of British Seaweed Co Ltd., asking for a secretary of factor to be sent to witness the good done by the company in Tyree.
1999.11.9
Photocopied letter from Howe-Stanford to unknow recipient dated 3/7/1876.
Letter detailing conditions for lease on property for seaweed factory at Middleton.
1999.11.8
Letter written in 1899 to Lady Victoria Campbell about Gott Bay pier
Transcription of a letter written in 1899 by an unknown correspondent to Lady Victoria Campbell about Gott Bay pier.
Courtesy of His Grace the Duke of Argyll
The new pier at Gott Bay was built between 1909 and 1913 after many years of political pressure by Lady Victoria Campbell, Lord Archibald Campbell, the island’s surgeon Dr Alexander Buchanan and many others.
As stated in the letter, the Duke of Argyll was concerned about the increasing estimated cost of successive surveys. In the end the pier cost over £20,000 to build; £16,000 were spent on construction and plant, over £2,000 on fees and around £2,000 on interest.
It was paid for by contributions of £14,000 from the Congested Districts Board and the Board of Agriculture, £2,250 from the Duke, and the public and the Tiree Association each raised £250. The balance of £3,417 was supplied by an interest-free loan from the Agricultural (Scotland) Fund.
1999.11.7
Photocopy of letter written to Lord Archibald Campbell by R. St George Moore.
The best site for a pier on Tiree and the author`s experience in building piers.
1999.11.6
Photocopied list of names and ages of passengers on board ‘SS Barlow’ bound for Montreal in June 1849.
Click here to view transcript
1999.11.5
List of emigrants from Tiree in 1851
Transcription of the list of emigrants from Tiree in 1851.
Courtesy of His Grace the Duke of Argyll
As a result of the potato famine of 1846, the 8th Duke of Argyll devised a strategy to deal with the endemic poverty and overcrowding on Tiree: assisted emigration of cottars and the smallest tenants, prohibition of the subdivision of crofts, consolidation of small tenancies and the creation of small farms.
This led to a reduction in the numbers of small tenants, increased numbers of larger tenants and an increase in rental income. However, these policies also contributed to the continuing fall in the island’s population. An estimated 3670 people left Tiree between 1841 and 1881.
A second wave of emigration in 1880s confirmed the decline which was sustained throughout the 20th century with many islanders leaving to find work elsewhere.
1999.11.4
Photocopy of handwritten `Jotting about Tyree` by John MacFarlane, Heylipol School.
Document detailing various aspects of Tyree life in 1873, written for the information of the Duchess of Argyll by the headmster of Heylipol School in 1873.
1999.11.3
Payments to emigrants from Tiree to Canada in August 1849
Transcription of a list of payments made to emigrants to Canada in August 1849.
Courtesy of His Grace the Duke of Argyll
In 1847, the second year of the potato famine, the Central Relief Board assumed overall control of the relief efforts of the Free Church and the Destitution Committees of Glasgow and Edinburgh. The following year inspectors were appointed to ensure that all recipients passed the ‘destitution test’.
No-one was eligible for relief until all their means were exhausted. Able-bodied labourers were excluded as were those who had a legal claim to subsistence from the Parish. Those considered fit enough were expected to labour outdoors on public works, the rest to spin, knit or make nets.
To ensure that only the truly destitute would accept relief, the meal ration was cut to one pound a day and paid for by the whole labour of the recipient. Such harsh conditions and the promise of assisted passages from the Estate persuaded a further 364 to emigrate from Tiree in 1849.
1999.11.2
Passenger list for the ‘Charlotte’ in 1849
Transcription of the passenger list for the ‘Charlotte’ bound for Montreal in 1849.
Courtesy of His Grace the Duke of Argyll
In 1849, 364 men, women and children left Tiree to emigrate to Canada, 339 of them on board the ‘Charlotte’, the remainder on the ‘Barlow’. Nearly three-quarters of them were landless cottar families. Over half were aged under eighteen.
After three years of blighted potato crops, conditions on the island were appalling. The implementation of the ‘destitution test’ in the previous year meant that no-one was eligible for relief unless all their means were exhausted. All able-bodied persons were excluded.
Argyll Estate papers show a fall of 1795 in the population of Tiree between 1841 and 1849, of which some 950 can be accounted for through emigration. The rest presumably left to find employment on the mainland.