Hugh Crawford of Carbost, Isle of Skye (1776-1844)

[MacLost]

I am looking for further information on Hugh Crawford (c.1776- d.1844) former Inn Keeper and General Merchant at Benbecula, who resided at Carbost, Isle of Skye. He died in Benbecula, but lived in Carbost around the time of his death.

I believe that Hugh was born in Benbecula, and Captained a boat that brought trade from Skye to Benbecula.

He was married to Catherine Cameron, they had three children, all appear to have been born in South Uist:

Mary (c.1835)
Catherine (c.1839)
Hugh(c.1845) his father died before he was born.

His wife was resident at Tobermory in 1891, and I have not been able to trace his children any further.

I am specifically interested to find out more about his life and times in Carbost.

- MacLost

[angusm1939]

Capt Hugh Crawford lived in Benbecula all his life though he inherited lands in Skye. He was son of a mason from Mull and of Mairi Bheag a natural daughter of Hugh Cam MacDonald, Flora MacDonald's stepfather,  who provided the passport that allowed Flora to take Prince Charlie from Benbecula 'over the sea to Skye' dressed as Betty Burke, on the night of 27/28 June 1746. It was as a result of his affair with a rather important married woman, Mairi Mhor MacPherson, in Balivanich that Hugh and family had to remove to Armadale Skye shortly before the Prince arrived in the Uist. Capt Hugh Crawford built the original inn at Creagorry and also ran a shop, the Taigh Traisg there. As far as I recall, he had four daughters, two of them illegitimate and all married in Benbecula.

[MacLost]

Thank you Angus for your reply.

I know that Hugh had two illigitimate daughters with two separate women, Jane and Mary.

Recently I found an OPR for a Hugh Crawford, baptised in 1849, with a Hugh Crawford (deceased) named as the father, with the informant being Mrs Hugh Crawford.

I also know from his Will & Testament that Capt. Hugh Crawford died in Aug 1844. He obviously did not know it at the time, but his wife Catherine Cameron was pregnant with his son, and 3rd child by wedlock.

In an amendment to his Will & Testament in 1891, it states that Hugh Crawford was a resident of Carbost, Isle of Skye and that he had died in Benbecula.

It also states that his wife was present for the amendment of his Will, and that she was currently resident in Tobermory. Catherine had most likely returned to her roots, as I believe she is listed as being born in Mull in the 1841 Census.

I know that three of his daughters married and remained in Uist, but I was not aware that the youngest daughter Catherine also married in Benbecula, and there are certainly no references to Hugh Crawford the younger in the Statutory records.

Hence, I am interested to find out more about the purpose of Hugh Crawford being resident at Carabost, and what became of his wife, daughter Catherine and son Hugh following his death.

[angusm1939]

Hi again: If you think about it, Hugh was born at Sandivig on the northern tip of South Uist with only the South Ford between him and Creagorry; long before the first Census, he was on the Benbecula rent roll; his family were all living in Creagorry; he had both inn and shop to run there when not trading between Glasgow and the islands; he died in Creagorry as two black dogs with flaming eyes were spotted carrying his soul off to Tophet across the Lionacleit machair. My view is that the Carbost reference was mostly notional as a residence; it was something he owned whereas the Benbecula lands (50 acre farm in all) were rented.

There was no Protestant church in Benbecula at the time so, unless the entry was nit-picking about him being conceived before Catherine married John Cameron, the baptism for Eoghan Og was wrongly entered. If you recall, Hugh Crawford died in August 1844, Catherine remarried in Feb 1849 and Hugh was born three or four months after that. There does not seem to be futher record of him so perhaps he died young

Mary b. c. 1814-1894 was a ship cleaner b. Greenock across the Clyde from Glasgow, d.o. Margaret MacKinnon and married Roderick MacKenzie from Gareloch, Ross-shire but the couple were settled at Uiskevagh in the eastern pendicles of Benbecula. Jane 1830-1903 was daughter of Margaret MacDonald and married my first cousin a few times removed, Malcolm MacPherson in Lionacleit. Malcolm was a descendant of the MacMhuirich bards who served the Lords of the Isles from about 1230 to 1500 and then Clanranald till 1800.

The second husband, like Hugh, was not regarded as a good man. He was a drover from Morvern and he and catherine had further children, Lexie, Donald, who succeeded his father and was a fiddler with a penchant for whisky, and Archibald.

[MacLost]

Thank you Angus,

You have provided me with useful information that will add to my investigations.

Can I ask whether you know about the Crawfords who settled in North Uist. I have come across an Archibald Crawford, son of Archibald and Kate Cameron. They were at Minish and Baleshare.

Archibald Og was twice married, five and three children respectively. I wondered whether this branch of Crawfords stemmed from the original William Crawford or one of his sons.

Thank you again for the information on Hugh.

Would it be possible to PM you in future?

[angusm1939]

I have wondered before about the North Uist Crawfords but, as it is a different universe, have never followed up. It seems quite likely there was a connection as Crawford is not an island name. They were imported first to Argyll from the Scottish Borders way back by the Duke of Argyll when emigration saw him short of tenants and workers.

Please do feel free to resort to the message system. I would be interested in the origins of your queries and such things are often more easily discussed in private. Angus

[Rosinish]

There was no Protestant church in Benbecula at the time so, unless the entry was nit-picking about him being conceived before Catherine married John Cameron, the baptism for Eoghan Og was wrongly entered. If you recall, Hugh Crawford died in August 1844, Catherine remarried in Feb 1849 and Hugh was born three or four months after that.

Hi Angus & Alexander,

I have had a look at the Uist Crawfords & my belief is that there has been an error somewhere along the line.

On 15 May 1849 baptised, Hugh Crawford born Iochdar to (Hugh, father deceased & Mrs Hugh Crawford)

On 18 Dec 1849 baptised Alexandrina Isabella Cameron born Creagorry Inn to John Cameron & Catherine Crawford or Cameron.

If Hugh was born to Catherine & John Cameron why would Hugh have been mentioned as the father and furthermore I doubt she could possibly have given birth to Alexanderina within the given timescale?

Was it a possibility that the Catherine Crawford married to John Cameron was in fact Hugh & Catherine's daughter?

Was it also a possibility that Hugh born to Hugh (deceased) was actually Hugh (Jnr's) child to his  widow?.............bearing in mind that no forename or maiden surname was given for the mother of Hugh born to a deceased Hugh 

Alexander has Mary, Catherine & Hugh (Jnr) by Hugh & Catherine born c1835 - c1845
      "          "   Hugh (Snr) born c 1776
Therefore Hugh (Snr) would have been 59 yrs old at the time of the 1st birth, Mary!................  not impossible but it somehow seems improbable 

I reckon the 3 kids births were a good bit prior to the circa dates mentioned

Any thoughts or otherwise, just trying to help 

Anne Marie

[angusm1939]

Looking again, I thik I muddied the waters in my earlier response. Forget all the complications. What evidently happened was that Hugh Og was born in a timescale that allowed him to be son of Capt Hugh and his wife but his birth was not registered and, perhaps because of the death of his father or simply the lack of a handy Protestant clergyman, nor was he baptised at the time. Once a second marriage was on the agenda Catherine attended to the matter and while still living with her brother in law in Iochdar, had young Hugh, by then about 4 or 5 years of age, baptised.

The other doubts you have Anne Marie do not stand. Hugh is often recorded as sixty years older than his wife but this was an exaggeration. He was grandson of Flora MacDonald's stepfather, Hugh Cam MacDonald and was born in the first half of the 1770s. Catherine was born about 1814 so the gap was about forty years. The censuses have Alexanderina as 1 in 1851 and 11 in 1861 and the other dates of children are all pretty consistent so there is no great issue there; in fact a pair of innkeepers and an incomer wife were undoubtedly more numerate than any of their neighbours.

Just to summarise, there were two illegitimate daughters Mary & Jane, then from the Hugh = Catherine marriage, Mary 1834, Catherine 1839 and evidently Hugh c. 1844. Catherine's second marriage produced Alexanderina 12.12.1849 & Donald March 1851.

[Rosinish]

Okay Angus,

Your historics are justified as per. I did think about it having been a baptismal date rather than a birthdate but no harm in querying just to get the facts confirmed.

Sometimes cross referencing does throw up mistakes 

There is a George Crawford (4) with his grandparents Murdo & Ann Ferguson in Liniclate (1851)......
Does anyone know who his parents were?

Anne Marie