Thought the list would like to know that I have the list of those who lived in Rogart and made a donation, if anyone wants a look up on that. To respond to Jim's thoughts on the payments: "On an uncommonly fine day in July 1833, ten thousand people came to Dornoch for the funeral of the Duke of Sutherland. He was buried in the ancient cathedral where the Earls of Sutherland had been laid since 1248. The 'common people' were brought into the town by their ministers and elders. It was said they came willingly. They were stationed along the road from Dunrobin to Dornoch in order of their parishes; Golspie, Loth, Kildonan, Reay, Clyne, Rogart, Lairg and Assynt The road from the castle avenue to the further extremity of Rhives plantation was lined on the right by a row of men from Kildonan and Loth. At Kirkton another line began, people from Rogart and Assynt, Tongue and the Reay country. A mile from Dornoch the line stretched on both sides of the road. As the funeral procession passed, each group of men stood with heads bowed, hats in hand, each with his own private thoughts. For some men it was an eighty-mile walk home! In the months that followed, James Loch made plans for a statue of the Duke to be built on Ben Bhraggie. Collections were taken from two thousand people in Sutherland, and in the midst of all the distress caused by clearance, food shortages and mass emigrations those who could raise a shilling gave it, and those who could not awaited in terror the consequences of their default". Enough said? Christine Highland Hearts http://www.highlandhearts.com/ -----Original Message----- From: Jim Gibson [mailto:jasgibson@clear.net.nz] Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2001 11:03 AM To: SCT-SUTHERLAND-L@rootsweb.com Subject: SUT: Ben Bhraggie Monument Hi Listers, I have a list of the 170 Golspie subscribers to the Duke of Sutherland's monument erected in 1834 on Ben Bhraggie. Maybe someone would like a name checked out. I visited this monument about 20 years ago and read on the plaque that it was erected by the grateful tenants of the duke. This surprised me somewhat, knowing what dastardly deeds were carried out in his and his wife's name during the Sutherland Clearances. A cousin, who lived in Golspie, told me the tenants had no option but contribute and that "they should knock the bloody thing over."!! This cousin's father-in-law living in Golspie whose name was SUTHERLAND and who was the secretary of the Clan Sutherland Society told me that the stories about the duke during the time of the Clearances were greatly exaggerated. Who to believe? Jim Gibson ==== SCT-SUTHERLAND Mailing List ==== You may, at times, wish to check out previous messages to this list. You can do this at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/SCT-SUTHERLAND-L/ ============================== Shop Ancestry - Everything you need to Discover, Preserve & Celebrate your heritage! http://shop.myfamily.com/ancestrycatalog --- Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.264 / Virus Database: 136 - Release Date: 7/2/01 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.264 / Virus Database: 136 - Release Date: 7/2/01