Saddell Castle
Having been granted the land by King James IV, Bishop David Hamilton started to build Saddell Castle in 1508, making use of the many stones from the ruin of Saddell Abbey. It was a major operation, with building work taking over 4 years to complete. He had left nothing to chance, and planned the castle well, even building a convenient trap door into the main entrance passage, which when activated it sent unwanted visitors into a prison pit which had no other exit or escape.

However this did not deter the English, who raided and burnt the castle in 1538, but from the ashes rose a new, much larger and stronger castle. Within the next 60 years it had fallen into the hands of the Clan Campbell, whose family kept a tight grip on the castle, the surrounding people and countryside for the next 400 years, but they never gained control over the ghosts of the monks and abbot's who were angry about the original construction of the castle.

Some of the fireplaces inside the grand rooms were made from the tombstone's of the abbot's and monks graves, moved here from the ruined abbey, and this naturally didn't impress nor please the dead. Their spirits rose to cause trouble and disturb future residents of the castle, and this continued throughout the centuries.
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An altered 15th c keep of 4 storeys with a garret. The courtyard has been replaced by a collection of 18th c buildings. Portions of an earlier castle may be incorporated within the remaining structure.

The lands originally belonged to the Abbey of the same name, founded by Somerled's son Reginald. Robert the Bruce is said to have been given shelter here by Angus Og MacDonald in 1306, though in 1507, the estate had passed to David Hamilton Bishop of Argyll, who built the keep as it stands today. The castle was held for the Bishops by the MacDonalds, though later came to the Earl of Argyll. In 1599 it was sacked by the Earl of Sussex

On the building of the Saddell House,the keep was used to house the servants.

It was restored in the 19thc and re-roofed during WW2.

Adapted from 'the Castles of Scotland, 3rd ed, p Goblinshead 2001

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The Saddell estate consists of a castle, three cottages and a house. Views are looking over the Kilbrannan Sound toward Arran. The castle stands by the shore near a small river.

Near to Saddell Abbey and the grave of Somerled, stands Saddell Castle. Built by Bishop David Hamilton during the period 1508-1512 using some of the stones of the ruined abbey, the castle was burnt by English raiders in 1538, but later reconstructed and enlarged. Similar to Cawdor, it has a convenient trap door placed in the main entrance passage which was activated to send unwanted visitors into a pit-prison which had no other exit.

The castle is nowadays rented out as a self-catering property from the Landmark Trust. There are 2 single bedrooms, 2 twin rooms and 1 double room.

It is complete though the barmkin is slightly ruinous.
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The Macdonald of Saddell Castle was a very great man indeed. Once, when dining with the Lord-Lieutenant, an apology was made to him for placing him so far away from the head of the table. "Where the Macdonald sits," was the proud response, "there is the head of the table."

http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs/celtic/sprightlytailor.html
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Saddell. The plethora of Norse names along this coast is a sure indication of the extent of the Norse occupation of Kintyre. They were defeated and driven out by Somerled during the 1150s and he went on to become the first ?Lord of the Isles?. Before he was killed in 1164 he founded the Cistercian abbey at Saddell and the work was completed by his son.

Though much of the Abbey has disappeared, it is clear from the size of the site, just how important this medieval monastery was. Saddell became a centre for the production of carved grave-slabs and there are several on display, including life size stone warriors and clerics. The Heritage Lottery Fund has recently awarded #250,000 for the preservation of the stones and for the provision of interpretation at the site. Work should commence on this fairly soon.

On the other side of the road from the Abbey is the entrance to Saddell estate, with access to Saddell castle. Visitors are welcome to leave their cars at the Gatehouse and to explore the estate on foot.

The castle is an impressive tower house, in a magnificent setting on Saddell Bay and was completed in 1512 as a residence for the Bishop of Argyll. Inevitably it passed into the control of Clan Campbell. Much of the stone for the buildings around the castle came from Saddell Abbey. The castle and the estate are now owned by the Landmark Trust who have renovated the tower house and cottages and now let them out for self-catering holidays.

At the far end of Saddell Bay, above a tiny cottage, is an Iron Age Hill Fort, dating from before 500BC. It is easily found by climbing up the hill through the trees.

http://www.kintyre.org/carradale-activities.html

Andrew Ralston biography b 1839
SOURCE Computerized Heritage Association:

ANDREW RALSTON
--------------------------------------------- (3) Andrew Ralston, farmer; P. O. Fletcher; born in Miami County Jan. 26, 1839; is a son of
(2) Barnabas and Melinda (Welchans) Ralston. Barnabas was born in this county Aug. 9, 1807, being probably one of the oldest men now living in Miami County. His wife, Melinda, was born in Warren County, Ohio. The grandfather,
(1) Allen Ralston, was born in Scotland and came to this country with his parents when only 3 years of age, arriving on the last ship that was permitted to come over prior to the Revolutionary War.
(1a) The mother of Barnabas was a daughter of
(0) Barnabas Blue, of pioneer history in the early settlemet of this county.
(2) Barnabas and Melinda were the parents of five children, viz.,
(3) Jacob, David, Catharine, deceased; Mary, deceased, and Andrew..
(2)Barnabas, the father, has always, from his birth, lived upon the same section of land, Sec. 22, and after his marriage, he settled, cleared, and cultivated the farm from its native woods.
(3 Andrew-single) Mr. Ralston, our subject, has lived with his father most of his life, being unmarried, and having taken charge of and carried on the farm for several years. Politically, he is a Democrat. In August, 1862, during the War of the Rebellion, he enlisted in the 110th O.V.I., and served till the close of the war; he was in the battles of The Wilderness, Cold Harbor, Spottsylvania Court House, Petersburg, and several other engagements under Gen. Sheridan in his Shenandoah Valley campaigns of 1864; he was sent back to the Potamic Army, with which he remained, taking part in many of the engagements that occured up to the close of the war; in the final engagement at Petersburg, it was their 6th Corps, as declared in a speech of General Mead, that broke the rebel lines, which resulted in the evacuation of Petersburg and, consequently, of Richmond; then followed the surrender of General Lee, which glorious sight was witnessed by Mr. Ralston.

http://www.tdn-net.com/genealogy/stories/biograph/biog-ms/1151.htm

1930 US Census Ohio Co-Welshans
1930 usa census welshans ohio co

Ella s Welshans city, Ohio, info abt 1866 location info
Paul l Welshans city, Ohio, info abt 1898 info
Edgar Welshans city, Ohio, info abt 1905 info
Madelane a Welshans city, Ohio, info abt 1922 info
Earl Welshans name Welshans city, Ohio, info abt 1898 location info
Wilma Welshans name Welshans city, Ohio, info abt 1908 info
Earl Welshans name Welshans,
name Welshans city, Ohio, info abt 1925 info
Wilda Welshans name Welshans,
name Welshans city, Ohio, info abt 1927 info
Charle Welshans name Welshans,
name Welshans city, Ohio, info abt 1928 info

1930 US Census Marion Co-Welshans
Lillian Welshans city, Marion, info abt 1857 location info
Carrie E Welshans city, Marion, info abt 1858 location info
Nelle Welshans city, Marion, info abt 1884 info
Bertie Welshans city, Marion, info abt 1879 location info
Charles Welshans city, Marion, info abt 1908 info
Carl Welshans city, Marion, info abt 1910 info
Harry Welshans name Welshans city, Marion, info abt 1902 location info
Hester Welshans name Welshans city, Marion, info abt 1903 info

Lee Ralston Biography (father: Allen 1839-1909)
LEE RALSTON

(3) Lee Ralston, one of the highly esteemed retired farmers of Brown township, was born in this township and belongs to one of its most highly honored families. His paternal grandfather,
(1) Allen Ralston, was a native of Scotland, of Scotch-Irish blood, and immigrated to the United States in young manhood, settling in Lost Creek township, Miami county, Ohio, where he passed the remainder of his life. (2) Andrew Ralston, father of Lee Ralston, was born in Ohio, January 26, 1839, and was there married in October, 1889, to
(2) Elizabeth Ralston, also a native of that state. Shortly after their union
(2) they came to Lost Creek township, Miami county, where, under a buckskin land grant issued over the signature of Andrew Jackson, Mr. Ralston secured eighty acres of land in Lost Creek township. He continued to be engaged in agricultural operations until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Tenth regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, an organization with which be saw service in twenty-three engagements. At the close of the war he returned safely to his home and there continued to be engaged in farming until February 26, 1900, when he retired to Fletcher and here his death occurred March 16, 1909, when he was seventy years of age. He was a man of prominence in his community, accumulated a large property through industry and good management, and served as county appraiser and in other capacities.
(2) Mrs. Ralston, who survives him, lives at Fletcher with her unmarried children,
(3) Miss Vesta and Lee. Minnie, the eldest child, died when young, and Mary, the second in order of birth, is the wife of Justus Burnside, an agriculturist of Staunton township.
(3)Lee Ralston was educated in the public schools and engaged actively in farming until 1900, since when he has supervised the operation of his farms. He is the owner of about 134 acres of well- cultivated, highly-improved and productive land, which is devoted to general farming, and his sister,
(3) Vesta, owns 100 acres. He has a number of social, fraternal, including the Knights of Pythias, of which he is chancellor commander, business and civic connections, and has always discharged his responsibilities in a highly commendable manner. He is a Democrat.

Return to the Biography Index <../biograph.htm>
http://www.tdn-net.com/genealogy/stories/biograph/biog-ms/3265.htm

History of the Clan Tartans
Identifying Tartans
by Blair Urquhart

Extracts from the book

Identifying Tartans
'Every isle differs from each other in their fancy of making plads, as to the stripes and Breath and Colours. This Humour is as different thro the main land of the Highlands in-so-far that they who have seen those places, are able, at the first view of a man's plad, to guess the place of his residence...'. So said Martin Martin writing in 1703, making the first documented reference to tartan as a means of identification. Since that time, the spirit of the idea has grown to the extent that we have come to believe that the pattern of woven coloured stripes has become an important part of our cultural identity. The pages of this guide are intended not only for this study but also to introduce the historical connections, apparent in the designs, which add to our understanding of the structure of our social and family heritage.

The Origins of Clan Tartans
It is now generally accepted that clan tartans were established and named towards the end of the 18th century. Prior to that time, while clan, district and tartan were often closely associated, the idea of a single uniform clan tartan had not yet emerged. It would be wrong, however, to assume that the tartan patterns were created at this time. William Wilson, the foremost weaving manufacturer since c.1770, took a great interest in reproducing "perfectly genuine patterns" and engaged in extensive correspondence with his Highland agents to gather information and actual samples of the cloth woven in the clan districts.
The natural development of the art of tartan manufacture in the Highlands had been completely curtailed for over 50 years. The battle of Culloden (1746) was still within living memory and the disarming acts which followed included the proscription (ban) of Highland dress which was not repealed until 1782. Tartan manufacture survived only in the hands of the military and their Lowland suppliers. Efforts to restore the spirit and culture of the Highlands after this lengthy period of repression, were encouraged by the newly formed Highland Societies in London (1778) and Edinburgh (1780). The warlike reputation of tartan, ruthlessly crushed at home, was put to great military advantage by the Highland regiments in their exploits abroad. By 1822, the year of the first Royal visit to Scotland since the rebellion, all the ingredients for a spectacular tartan revival were in place. Wilson had over 200 setts recorded in the firm's pattern books, many of them tentatively named, and the Highland Society of London had persuaded the majority of the clan chiefs to account for their clan tartans. So it was in the capable hands of Sir Walter Scott that the Royal seal of approval was added to the now highly fashionable Highland Garb by a kilted King GeorgeEIV. The chiefs of the clans were commanded to attend the king at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh wearing their Highland dress. This Royal patronage was later continued and extended by Queen Victoria in her passion for all things Scottish.

Evidence of the previous existence or tartan dates back to the 3rd century A.D., when a small sample of woollen check cloth was used as a stopper in an earthenware pot to protect a treasure trove of silver coins buried close to the Roman Antonine Wall near Falkirk. The two colours of the sample were identified as the undyed brown and white of the native Soay Sheep.

References to tartans occur in various historic documents, paintings and illustrations. A charter granted to Hector MacLean of Duart in 1587 for lands in Islay details a feu duty payable in the form of 60 ells cloth of white, black and green colours (the colours of Hunting MacLean of Duart tartan), and an eyewitness account of the Battle of Killecrankie in 1689 describes "McDonells men in their triple stripe". It is reasonable to assume that any tight knit community would wear the cloth produced by the local weaver in quantities that would limit the variety of patterns, and that when they went to war, many would be dressed in the same material.

Many references support the role of the chief in deciding the pattern and the colour of the plaids to be worn in battle. This tradition is maintained to the present day. New tartans accredited by the Scottish Tartans Society must have the approval of the chief.


The district origins of clan tartans
Many of the oldest clan tartans may have originated in the work of local weavers, whose designs became the patterns we now know as District Tartans. For example;
The Huntly District Tartan.
The Old Lochaber.
The Glen Orchy district tartan.
The Lennox district tartan.

-----------------------------------------------------The Name
The present day name of the tartan is given, along with several descriptive terms which have acquired special meanings in this context. Strong feelings surround the use of the word 'clan'. Some would insist that only the acknowledged Highland tribes can so described, while others regard it as a synonym for family or, in fact, any group of people acting with a common interest. In this book both Highland and Lowland families are described as clans, in line with the many historical references which use the term. Tartans of branches of the main clans are also described as clan tartans. Some names are associated with more than one clan, and it is appropriate in these instances to refer to the family tartan.
Hunting tartans, as their name implies, are designed in subdued colours, often greens or blues, to blend with the natural environment. Wearing of these tartans is not restricted to the grouse moors, but is intended for everyday use and informal occasions. Some clans wear the Black Watch as their Hunting sett: For example, the Munros.

Dress tartans are designed by altering one of the background colours of the formal sett to white. Kilts made of this material are usually worn for dancing; not to be confused with 'formal dress' or 'evening dress'. Names which include Mac, Mc or M' are always spelt Mac in full followed by a capital letter, except where the name refers to an individual who has stated a preference by spelling his name in some other way. In Gaelic, Mac and the name are two separate words.

-----------------------------------------------------Earliest known date
This entry records the first reference to the tartan under its present name. The threadcount at that time may be different from the illustrated sett but there will be sufficient similarity to suggest that the main elements of the design are still apparent in the modern version. The use of parenthesis indicates that there is some doubt about the historical validity of the reference.

-----------------------------------------------------Earliest known source
This refers to the precise origin of the sett described. A visit to the Queen Street Museum in Edinburgh or the Mitchell Library in Glasgow will reward the investigator with a glimpse of the subtle beauty of these early samples. In some cases the earliest reference will be the designer but more often one of the early collections or publications will provide the source. These are discussed in greater detail in their own section of the book.

-----------------------------------------------------Status
The tartan of a Highland clan is determined by the clan chief. The clansmen and followers (blood relations and families taking protection from the clan) wear the tartan of the chief. In most cases the sett has been acknowledged for generations and is well known to chief and clansmen alike, but occasionally the chief may pronounce on a new pattern or disassociate himself from an old one. A case in point is the Clan Campbell tartan. The present chief does not acknowledge the well known Campbell of Argyll, and instead prefers to wear the plain Black Watch Campbell in ancient colours.
The Highland Society of London has a collection of tartans in which each sample is "Certified by the Chief" and bearing his seal and signature.

The Lord Lyon maintains the Lyon Court Books and the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings, in which are registered those clan and family tartans appearing in the families' coats of arms, usually as the background to the clan badge.

The Scottish Tartans Society awards an Accreditation status to newly designed tartans, including clan, family, district, regimental, corporate and clan society tartans, in the Register of All Publicly Known Tartans. Acknowledged tartans which do not fall into any of these categories, are 'Recorded' in the same register.

-----------------------------------------------------Type
Three types of pattern are listed. Symmetrical setts contain two pivots; the points where the sequence of stripes, starting at the pivot, can be seen to be identical in four directions, North, South, East and West. The two pivots are connected along the diagonal by plain squares, each of a single colour. The full sett is the sequence of colours read from right to left, turned about the pivot, and repeated left to right. It is usually between 5 and 7 inches in width to accommodate the kilting (pleats). A symmetrical tartan can be recorded as an half sett.
Asymmetrical setts have no true pivots although appearances can be deceptive. The pattern is repeated from right to left across the width of the cloth. Manufacturers using double width looms change the direction of the pattern at the centre, where the cloth will be folded, to allow tailors to match the colours when cutting items of clothing other than kilts. Tailor's off cuts could contain some pieces easily mistaken for examples of a symmetrical form of an asymmetrical tartan. The full sett must be recorded beginning at the colour whose first letter is nearest to the beginning of the alphabet. It is also necessary to establish the front of the cloth: The side on which the individual stitches appear to make diagonal lines from bottom left to top right.
-----------------------------------------------------Equal check
This is the simplest form of tartan involving only two colours. The MacGregor tartan known as Rob Roy is a black and red check. The Moncreiffe tartan is red and green.

1870, 1880, 1900 Census, Cynthia McGlaughlin
SOURCE - http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=hanlontx&id=I01758

ID: I01758
Name: Cynthia J. MCGLAUGHLIN 1 2 3
Sex: F
Birth: 13 MAR 1868 in Meigs Co., OH
Reference Number: 1758
Note:
1870 Meigs Co., OH Census, Columbia Twp., Pg. 21, Household 169:
McGlaughlin, John W., 26 OH
Harriet, 21, OH
Lorenzo, 4, OH
Synthia, 2, OH
Meiles, 2 mo., OH
Cyanda, 24, OH
****************************
1880 Hoaglin, Van Wert, Ohio:
John MCGLAUGHLIN Self M Male W 37 OH Farmer OH VA
Sarah C. MCGLAUGHLIN Wife M Female W 22 OH Keeping House OH OH
Lorenso D. MCGLAUGHLIN Son S Male W 14 OH Farm Laborer OH OH
Cynthia P. MCGLAUGHLIN Dau S Female W 12 OH At School OH OH
Laura L. MCGLAUGHLIN Dau S Female W 5 OH OH OH
Hulda M. MCGLAUGHLIN Dau S Female W 1 OH OH OH
****************************
1900 Van Wert Co., OH Census:
Andrew Cotterman, 39 b. April 1861 OH (Married 16 Years)
Cynthia, 32 b. Mar 1868 OH (5 Births/5 Children)
Mary L., 13 b. Oct 1886 OH
Ada P., 10 b. Sep 1889 OH
Rosetta M., 8 b. June 1892 OH
Tressie E., 5 b. Feb 1895 OH
Bertie W., 2 b. Sep 1897 OH

Ralston info per Betty in Scotland
SOURCE Elizabeth (Betty) Johnston from Campbeltown, Scotland and her brothers: Dunaverty Castle in Southend, near Campbeltown, was a McDonald stronghold. In 1647, the govt troops cut off their supplies to the castle which is on a huge rock promentory over the sea so the McDonalds have to surrender. The troops massacred the McDonalds. This was the end of their power in the area. But when the troops came with their horses and the grain to feed them, they brought rats inadvertantly and the bubonic plague. They also burned the crops and destroyed almost everything. The whole area is devastated. So many die that later families are encouraged to come there to settle. This is when our Ralstons moved here. We were Lowlanders from the Ayr area (near Glasgow). Being a friend of the Earl of Argyll, Sir Ralson of That Ilk was given all the land in the area to lease. The locals did not like the Lowlanders being there or attending their churches. The locals spoke Gaelic but our people spoke English, so our people couldn't understand the sermons. So in 1774 the Lowlanders built their own church which still sits on the south side of the road there. The locals also didn't like sharing the cemetery so they were buried in the Southend cemetery on one side of a stream, our people on the other side.
By 1800, the area is very poor in Scotland. People are starving to death. Some have to resort to tapping their cattle to drink the blood to survive. Land is being offered very cheaply in America to encourage immigration so the Ralstons moved there as did many, many people. Betty's ggrandmother told her that they went down to the harbor once to watch the boats leaving for America. She said there was so much crying and wailing that they could hear it even after the boat was out of sight. The people had to take their own food for the trip. It was unpredictable on the length of time it would take. The neighbors would all get together when someone was to leave and bake oatcakes for them to take to eat on board. The conditions on the ships were very difficult and many didn't survive the trip and even if they did, they knew they would likely never see their relatives in Scotland again.
see: Ralston, Allen+ R b. Dec 07 1771
Scotland **immigrant** d. 1850 m. Blue, Mary

http://www.tribalpages.com/tribe/browse?userid=mibabs&view=0&pid=3794&rand=43113

Info and history re: Kintyre peninsula, Scotland, My 2005 trip there
Topic: Ralstons
Saddell Castle was the one given to one of our Ralston ancestor to rebuild. Its now owned by some business that rents cottages along the water I think, or apartments or something. I had a hard time finding it, having to drive back and forth between towns in the area 4 times. There were no signs pointing to it, just a drive. It was posted not to drive back there, to park and walk if you wanted to go to the beach, no mention of the caste. Since i wasn't sure at the time if it was Saddell Castle back there and when I parked and walked to the road, I couldn't even see anything so far down the road, I cheated and drove down there. It didn't seem like too much fun to walk all that way, with how my injured hip was feeling, only to find I was in the wrong place again.

That's one of the reasons I stopped to talk to a lady walking her dogs when I was leaving, since I was where I wasn't supposed to be. She said it didn't matter as long as people weren't vandalizing when they came in. She explained why there were no signs identifying the castle, since its not open to the public. She even thought about whether there was a way for her to reach the caretaker to get me in, but then she remembered the lady was busy that day or something. It made me chuckle that its small town enough that she knew the other lady's schedule.

I did see the Saddell abbey ruin and cemetery and got pics of some of the wonderful ancient tombstones. They say they are among the finest in Europe. My brochure says "Many churches and graveyards in Kintyre hold carved crosses and slabs which record Warriors and Saints, Shepards and Lords, Farmers and Fisherman of past generations...one of these, which you can see at Saddell Abbey. The grave of Donald McNair and his father Neil shows a Knight, wearing gauntlets, now dead for six hundred years, yet only yesterday in today's Kintyre, as the McNairs farm land near Saddell to this very day."
Just up the road is another castle that they rent out and also they rent the little cottages around it. The prices were good, esp for the gate house meant for only a couple of people, and I tried to rent it but it was all booked when I found it on the internet shortly before leaving. I did stop at the shops at that castle, and I saw how a lady was tanning sheep skins the old fashioned way with bark and natural ingredients. It takes 2 wks of soaking them to do it that way. She had beautiful pelts and things made from them but they were too expensive for me.
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More info from the brochure: "People have lived at the head of Campbeltown Loch for many thousands of years, and throughout Kintyre lie the visable signs of the many who have lived and died here, each adding their own bright fragile strand to its history. Many influences are to be found in the names of places and people here, from the Bronze and Iron ages, then early Christians, through the Kingdom of Dalriada, the Norse invaders, the MacDonald Lords of the Isles, and the brutal Covanters of the 17th Century. All have left their mark carved in the landscape, and today in many places, you can easily see and touch for yourself, the evidence form the Bronze age onwards of those who have ruled, lived and worked the land here."

then the paragraph I wrote above about the gravestones.

"Standing Stones, 34 at least in Kintyre, reach back into Neolithic times as far as 2500BC, and burial cairns of Neolithic farmers like that still standing at Blasthill Farm by Southend, emphsise for just how long Kintyre has been a fertile agricultural area. The many Bronze and Iron Age Forts and "Duns" give a hint to how long this land has been fought over too. Kildonan Dun, a few miles south of Saddell dates from perhaps as early as 200BC, built with stone walls, well preserved, on a rocky hill by the shore next to the road. Artefacts from it are to be seen in Campbeltown Museum, and help us understand how sites like this provided home and shelter for several families in each, who worked the surrounding land and sea, yet, it had already stood there for 1500 years when Donald MacNair passed away.

By 300AD, the Gaelic-speaking Irish tribe, called Scotti by the Romans, started crossing the North Channel from Antrim to Kintyre, founding a kingdom called Dalriada after their home in Ireland. By the 6th century they had spread throughout what is now called Argyll- "The coastland of the Gael". In 843AD Kenneth MacAlpin of Dalriada became ruler of a joint kingdom of Picts and Scots, and within 200 years Gaelic language and culture had penetrated to almost every corner of the kingdom, now called "Scotland". By 500AD there were important forts throughout Argyll but including Tarbert, Dunaverty (at Southend), and some of the islands.

Above the medieval chapel at Southend, on a rocky outcrop, two footprints are carved in the rock. One of them is known to have been carved by a local stonemason in 1856, but the other (nearest Ireland) is ancient and perhaps was used in the inauguration of kings, who would promise to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors. St. Columba sailed to Iona in 563AD, and landed in Kintyre at that time to pay his respects to the ruler of Dalriada. The outline of a rectangular building to the W of the footprints may just be all that remains of an Early Christian chapel, possibly established by Columba himself, since the medieval chapel below is dedicated to him. In the distance the island of Sandra reminds us the Columba was not the first to bring Christianity to Kintyre, for there the chapel dedication is to St. Ninian of Whithorn, who died in 422AD.

The great Celtic war-leader Somerled, who freed Argyll from Viking dominance in 1156, founded the Cistercian Abbey at Saddell which spearheaded a flourishing of church-building in Kintyre in the 13th century. One of the churches built at this time is the chapel of Kilcolmkill which lies just to the North of the main road, a mile West of the village of Southend.

Around this time the origins of Tarbert Castle were founded on a Dalriadic stronghold, the oldest surviving parts built for the Lord of the Isles in the 13th Century, but it was enlarged and strengthened by King Robert the Bruce. He repeated the feat of Magnus Barefoot, in dragging his ship over the narrow isthmus, this time to fulfill a prophesy of final victory over the English.

But the darkest deed in Kintyre's history must be the dreadful massacre at Dunaverty Castle in 1647, when after the Battle of Rhunahaorine Moss, the remnants of MacDonald's army surrendered at Dunaverty after a seige and were murdered by the Covenanters under General David Leslie. Little was left to bear witness to the destruction of a site fortified for a thousand years.

In more genteel times, Kintyre became so justly famous for farming and its whiskey, served for decades until recently..."
----------------
I was at the ancient chapel in Southend and saw the footprint carved in the rock. It is on a small hill right next to Southend cemetery where the Ralstons are buried. As I mentioned, I was also at Saddell Abbey and cemetery and castle. I also saw where the Dunaverty massacre happened.
Concerning the mention of Magnus Barefoot, I went to a Magnus Barelegs Viking festival in Northern Ireland May 28, 2005. I'm sure they mean the same person. He was a viking king who invaded. He got the nickname Barelegs because the vikings wore short pants then. I saw a reinactment of the battles and Magnus was eventually killed in the last. Then they reinacted how they carried his body through town and put him in his ship which was set asail and burned.
The mention of carrying the boat across and other mentions of Kintyre as an island were explained to me this way. Kintyre is a peninsula but there was something about someone owning all the land that could be gotten around in his ship, meaning he was to get the islands. He wanted Kintyre, so he sailed around the peninsula then dragged his boat across the narrow part at the top near Tarbert, thereby declaring it an island and his.
That's this history lesson...I can't wait to get my pics to see and share. hugs, Barbara