Plockton is on the north side of the Loch Alsh peninsula. Kyle is the town on the south side of the peninsula that had the ferry to Skye when I made the crossing in 1979. In 1999, I was fortunate to spend a week in Plockton. It is a lovely town. I hope to visit again. By the way, is anyone researching a Kenneth Matheson, who could be described as a "merchant" in Plockton between 1750 and 1800, and had a daughter named Mary born about1787. Marleen Van Horne

Afraid not that particular Matheson family - but if Kenneth had a brother Murdoch Matheson, who married a Mary Matheson - and had a son Dugald, who ended up on the Isle Tanera Mor - I'd love to know! I just cannot get there whereabouts (1750-1800 ish). Kate On a rather breezy Isle of Lewis at the moment....... ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marleen Van Horne" <msvnhrn@jps.net> To: <ROSSGEN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 1:15 AM Subject: Re: [RossGen] Re: Plockton > Plockton is on the north side of the Loch Alsh peninsula. Kyle is the > town on the south side of the peninsula that had the ferry to Skye when > I made the crossing in 1979. > > In 1999, I was fortunate to spend a week in Plockton. It is a lovely > town. I hope to visit again. > > By the way, is anyone researching a Kenneth Matheson, who could be > described as a "merchant" in Plockton between 1750 and 1800, and had a > daughter named Mary born about1787. > > Marleen Van Horne > > > ==== ROSSGEN Mailing List ==== > To remove your email address from this list, visit this url: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~cheps/maillist.htm > > >

Hi Marleen, I suspect a problem with the timeframe of your Kenneth Matheson, merchant in Plockton c1750-1800. I learned from Dr Iain Matheson, a Plockton resident and researcher of both local and Clan Matheson histories, that Plockton first came into existence in 1804. Apparently the site was first surveyed in 1794 by the British Fishery Society, which had earlier established the village of Ullapool, but the absence of fresh water on the promontory delayed the start of settlement. It was only in 1804, after water supplies had been secured, that the village was laid out. There may have been some minimal settlement prior to 1804, given the safe east-facing harbour, but the absence of a spring must have made a village out of the question, and the absence of a village makes the occupation of merchant highly unlikely. The gaelic name for the promontory was An Ploc, hence the anglicisation to Plockton from 1804 onwards, but before that there was no Plockton. The oral history of my family talks of a forebear from Plockton, but my research shows that he was in Easter Ross by 1794 and in Glasgow by 1804, so it's unlikely that he had ever come from Plockton. The name normally used for the entire district in those days was the parish name of Lochalsh. If your Kenneth was really from Plockton, it suggest that the timeframe should be post-1804, but if the 1750-1800 timerame is correct, maybe you need to look wider in the Lochalsh area. Regards, Ken Mathieson, Uddingston LKS ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marleen Van Horne" <msvnhrn@jps.net> To: <ROSSGEN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 1:15 AM Subject: Re: [RossGen] Re: Plockton > Plockton is on the north side of the Loch Alsh peninsula. Kyle is the > town on the south side of the peninsula that had the ferry to Skye when > I made the crossing in 1979. > > In 1999, I was fortunate to spend a week in Plockton. It is a lovely > town. I hope to visit again. > > By the way, is anyone researching a Kenneth Matheson, who could be > described as a "merchant" in Plockton between 1750 and 1800, and had a > daughter named Mary born about1787. > > Marleen Van Horne > > > ==== ROSSGEN Mailing List ==== > To remove your email address from this list, visit this url: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~cheps/maillist.htm > >

Hi, I've enjoyed the messages on Plocton and the Matheson's, a lot of my family came from Plocton and Ross Shire. Isabella Matheson m. John MacCarlach(MacKerlich) in Lochalsh 16 April 1833. No background info on either of them. Their children: Roderick MacKerlich m. Margaret Matheson, in Plocton Free Church, 6 Feb. 1868. Donald MacKerlich. No info Margaret Matheson's parents: Kenneth Matheson b. 1824, son of Donald Matheson and Mary Murchison and Margaret Matheson, b. 1818, daughter of John Matheson of Drumbuie and Catherine? Kenneth and Margaret Matheson were married 10 March 1840, Lochalsh. Children of Kenneth and Margaret: 1. Margaret Matheson---Roderick MacKerlich 2. Donald Matheson---Jessie MacDonald 3.Mary Matheson--- ? MacInnes 4. John Matheson---Ellen MacKenzie 5. Roderick Matheson--Christina Matheson 5. Kenneth Matheson--?MacCulloch Roderick MacKerlich and Margaret Matheson were the parents of my Grandfather who immigrated to Montana, USA, 1908. Kenneth MacKerlich, b. 21 Feb. 1875, in Drumbuie. He married my grandmother in 1919 in Forsyth, Montana. Catherine, (Katie-Kitty) MacRae, b.15 July 1881, in Glasgow, Scotland. Anyone have any further information on any of these MacKerlich/Matheson families? Would love to hear from you. Thanks, Laura Seward Montana, USA ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ken Mathieson" <ken@kenmath.free-online.co.uk> To: <ROSSGEN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 6:15 PM Subject: Re: [RossGen] Re: Plockton > Hi Marleen, > > I suspect a problem with the timeframe of your Kenneth Matheson, merchant in > Plockton c1750-1800. I learned from Dr Iain Matheson, a Plockton resident > and researcher of both local and Clan Matheson histories, that Plockton > first came into existence in 1804. Apparently the site was first surveyed in > 1794 by the British Fishery Society, which had earlier established the > village of Ullapool, but the absence of fresh water on the promontory > delayed the start of settlement. It was only in 1804, after water supplies > had been secured, that the village was laid out. > > There may have been some minimal settlement prior to 1804, given the safe > east-facing harbour, but the absence of a spring must have made a village > out of the question, and the absence of a village makes the occupation of > merchant highly unlikely. The gaelic name for the promontory was An Ploc, > hence the anglicisation to Plockton from 1804 onwards, but before that there > was no Plockton. > > The oral history of my family talks of a forebear from Plockton, but my > research shows that he was in Easter Ross by 1794 and in Glasgow by 1804, so > it's unlikely that he had ever come from Plockton. The name normally used > for the entire district in those days was the parish name of Lochalsh. If > your Kenneth was really from Plockton, it suggest that the timeframe should > be post-1804, but if the 1750-1800 timerame is correct, maybe you need to > look wider in the Lochalsh area. > > Regards, > > Ken Mathieson, > Uddingston LKS > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Marleen Van Horne" <msvnhrn@jps.net> > To: <ROSSGEN-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 1:15 AM > Subject: Re: [RossGen] Re: Plockton > > >> Plockton is on the north side of the Loch Alsh peninsula. Kyle is the >> town on the south side of the peninsula that had the ferry to Skye when >> I made the crossing in 1979. >> >> In 1999, I was fortunate to spend a week in Plockton. It is a lovely >> town. I hope to visit again. >> >> By the way, is anyone researching a Kenneth Matheson, who could be >> described as a "merchant" in Plockton between 1750 and 1800, and had a >> daughter named Mary born about1787. >> >> Marleen Van Horne >> >> >> ==== ROSSGEN Mailing List ==== >> To remove your email address from this list, visit this url: > http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~cheps/maillist.htm >> >> > > > > ==== ROSSGEN Mailing List ==== > To remove your email address from this list, visit this url: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~cheps/maillist.htm >