Hi folks, The North Carolina Scottish Heritage Society publish their journal (Argyll Colony Plus) three times a year, and a feature article in their Fall/Winter issue (Vol. 29, No. 3) is regarding the McKerrells of Islay, Kintyre, Alabama and Illinois, by John Hutton. It's a well researched and documented with pictures, photos, graphs and especially family charts. He claims the McKerrels first settled in Scotland on the Ayrshire coast to a town called "Carlestoun" (the town of the Cairels), later disbursing north through Kintyre and to Islay where many lost their lives to the epidemic of typhus (Lurabus). Emigration to North America followed - some of the family immigrated to Canada before 1840 (Hugh and Margaret Reid), but most of the article covers those who were found in the States, and their participation in the Civil War in great detail. The McKerrells apparently held a reunion on Islay in 2004 (wasn't that when many of us were there for "The Return of the Children"? We might have crossed paths!) I think it's possible to order a copy of the journal, even if you are not a member (although I personally think it's worth it!). You can check with the editor, Anne Landin to see if you can purchase a copy of this issue through their website "The Argyll Colony Plus". It's a great read! Cheers, Toni