Visiting the cemeteries on Tiree is a very interesting experience. Deaths were not recorded. According to a fellow I met my the side of the road, when people died, they held a "wake" in the home of the deceased and then carried them up to the cemetery and buried them. The grave was marked with a "stone" - a Head stone. When I asked how the graves were identified, he said, "They knew." Of course when "they" were gone the identity of those buried went with them. In later years, very beautiful, grave stones with inscriptions were erected. There was someone from Scotland (Catriona ??) (she was at the Gathering in Guelph) was working on a project to photograph and record all of the inscriptions. I don't know what happened to that project. I offered to go over and devote myself to that, but never got a reply to my offer. Russ or Ann, can you help with this? Babs Barbara Humphrey

Hi Babs, Yes, you are thinking of my fourth cousin, Catriona Smyth (a MacDougall/McLucas). She is working with An Iodhlann on a project to do one of the cemeteries on Tiree, the East End one at Kirkapol. It is my understanding that she initiated the project herself since our MacDougalls were East Enders, and will eventually be producing the work for sale, with profits going to the Archive, out of gratitude for all the help they have given her over the years. I don't know if she has finished the "field work" on this project already, but she may have. I know the real work involved was going to be trying to match up the stones with the genealogy records (OPR etc., hence the Archive's involvement). However, last I heard there is still nothing planned for transcribing the West End cemetery (at Soroby, I think?). And the inscriptions are disappearing as we speak! So that is maybe where your generous offer could be best used. Why don't you write directly to the Archive? I will send you the contact info for them and for my cousin in a private message, and you can discuss it with them. Can you have it done in time for the Tiree Homecoming in May? ....just kidding... Louise MacDougall Vancouver Island, BC P.S. I hear there are some beautiful old medieval carved slabs in the West Cemetery. And over the centuries some of them have been used to make new burial stones. Which gets a gold star for recycling, but an "ouch" for history. It's hard for us in the "New World" to understand that -- I guess because we don't have any old history, we think it's more important than the "Old World" folk think it is -- probably just everyday commonplace to them. -----Original Message----- From: BabsFayth@aol.com [mailto:BabsFayth@aol.com] Sent: February 10, 2006 10:03 AM To: SCT-ARL-TIREE-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [SCT-ARL-TIREE] MI's Visiting the cemeteries on Tiree is a very interesting experience. Deaths were not recorded. According to a fellow I met my the side of the road, when people died, they held a "wake" in the home of the deceased and then carried them up to the cemetery and buried them. The grave was marked with a "stone" - a Head stone. When I asked how the graves were identified, he said, "They knew." Of course when "they" were gone the identity of those buried went with them. In later years, very beautiful, grave stones with inscriptions were erected. There was someone from Scotland (Catriona ??) (she was at the Gathering in Guelph) was working on a project to photograph and record all of the inscriptions. I don't know what happened to that project. I offered to go over and devote myself to that, but never got a reply to my offer. Russ or Ann, can you help with this? Babs Barbara Humphrey ============================== Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 267.15.6/257 - Release Date: 10/02/2006 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 267.15.6/257 - Release Date: 10/02/2006