Hi I am trying to find out how my great great grandfather Archibald McFee/McPhee would have managed to get the position of Lighthouse keeper at this Port Ellen lighthouse. In the 1841 census he was living in Portnahaven with wife Catherine and children - no occupation was given but I assumed he was a fisherman as was his father Donald. By 1851 he has moved with his family from Portnahaven to the lighthouse on The Oa where he lived till he died in 1877. Any help appreciated

An intriguing question Liz. I wonder if the National Archives of Scotland would have records to help you? There's a good book, The Light House Stevensons by Bella Bathhurst, that might interest you. I found a site that has it and others listed https://www.nlb.org.uk/historical/stevenson.htm Good luck - and please let us know what you discover. Sue Visser -----Original Message----- From: Liz Freebairn via Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2015 8:45 PM To: SCT-ISLAY@rootsweb.com Subject: [SCT-ISLAY] Archibald McPhee Lighthouse Keeper Carraig Fhada c1851-1 877 Hi I am trying to find out how my great great grandfather Archibald McFee/McPhee would have managed to get the position of Lighthouse keeper at this Port Ellen lighthouse. In the 1841 census he was living in Portnahaven with wife Catherine and children - no occupation was given but I assumed he was a fisherman as was his father Donald. By 1851 he has moved with his family from Portnahaven to the lighthouse on The Oa where he lived till he died in 1877. Any help appreciated ------------------------------- Quoting the entire text of a previous message in a reply is poor netiquette. Please don't do it. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to SCT-ISLAY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message