My
posts of these early kirk sessions meetings were posted in the
following order; if you simply scroll down from here they will appear
in reverse order:
1
- Ballahodh 26th 1732
2
- Cliad 18 Feb 1733
3
- Ballihough 15 Aug 1733 together with 19 Aug 1733
4
- Breacha 23 Sep 1733
5
- Grisibol no day/month 1733
6
- Ballihough 28 March 1734
7
- Grisibol 7 June 1734
8
- Grisibol 21st? August 1735
9
- Grisibol 11 December 1735
10
- Grisibol 30 November 1735
 |
This
map is very helpful for locations; Nicholas Maclean-Bristol, The
Isle of Coll in 1716,
outside back cover.
|
▪ The
register for Coll kirk sessions minutes was digitized in folio layout
(facing pages). The entries appear on hand-numbered pages 1-10,
each entry often beginning or ending mid-page. Page 11 is blank after
the last (1735) entry of this period.
▪ Entries
resume on page 12 with the date 30 May 1775 and the 1776 entries
begin on page 13. The (catechist's) list of Coll inhabitants begins
on page 29 (2 December 1776).
▪ It
is unknown why the November 1735 entry follows the entry of December
1735. It may indicate the clerk was accustomed to taking loose notes
at the session meetings and later transferred them into the register.
▪ Mr.
William Morisson who moderated the first two sessions was the Coll
and Tiree parish minister living on Tiree. The
assistant minister residing on Coll was Mr. Hector McLean (moderator
of most meetings). He lived in a house at Cliad where a room was used
for Sabbath worship. He was a
distant relative of the same-named Laird.
▪ Since
Mr. Hector stayed on as assistant minister until he died in 1775, no
doubt the kirk sessions continued during the intervening years
1736-1775. But whether meeting minutes were written as loose paper
notes or a kept in a separate register, they have not been located.
▪ The
Elders in that early period were:
The
Laird of Coll (Hector McLean at Breacachadh)
Allan
McLean of Totronald
Hector
McLean of Knock
John
McLean of Grishaboll
Lachlan
McLean (Coll's brother)
Hector
McLean of Toraston
Donald
McDonald of Totamore
Archibald
McLean of Uig
In
one set of minutes the latter two men were called "Sessioners."
I am unable to find a distinction between elders and sessioners.
▪ Local
kirk officials mentioned in the minutes were treasurer, collector,
censor, and beadle. Unspoken was the session clerk who actually
recorded the minutes. We are seldom told who filled those positions
from time to time but Donald [---] was appointed treasurer in 1732
and Murdoch Kennedy was the collector in 1733.
▪ Punctuation
in the minutes was obviously not an important issue.
Spellings of personal and place names vary but are generally
recognizable. The use of capital
letters for many words is erratic, perhaps largely due to my lack of
distinguishing them.
▪ Now
having more familiarity with the handwriting and syntax, I will be
reviewing the transcriptions with an eye to possibly filling
in some missing words.
Other
Observations and Questions:
▪ The
Kirk Session was the local court for religious observance and social
conscience. Ranking high among immorality offences was breach of the
Lord's Day by failing to attend the service. The Elders followed a
protocol for all transgressions in a system of rebukes, censures, and
so on. Serious cases, including repeat offenders, would be referred
to the Presbytery of Mull.
▪ More
than a generation, forty years, lapsed in the missing period between
1735 and 1775 which is frustrating for family historians, especially
those who can identify names in the minutes. The adults named here
may or may not have lived until the 1776 list of Coll inhabitants was
made.
▪ Connecting
people of patronymics with the family surnames that were evolving
takes special skill. It was suggested as an example that McIan was
the precursor of what we know as the Johnston surname on Coll. Please
add (in the comments) your own interpretation or guesses ―
Dhoil? McDonchaig? McMurchuig? McIllhalum? and etc!
Anyone
― what is the
significance of the often-inserted Gaelic "oig" (og) after
some names?
▪ Who
can solve the mystery of what the [black]smith was making for the
community? It's likely an archaic word now. "Toggs"?
Something for fishing or agricultural or livestock use? Or a
necessary cooking tool? An item belonging to clothing, such as
something for shoes?
▪ I
take full responsibility for errors and misinterpretations herein.
All corrections and comments are welcome!
Some
Recommendations
Nicholas
Maclean-Bristol. The
Kirk on the Hill: The story of the church in the Isle of Coll AD 550-2007.
Coll, Scotland: The Society of West Highland and Island Historical
Research, 2007.
Nicholas
Maclean-Bristol. The Isle of Coll in 1716. Coll, Scotland: The
Project Trust, 1989.
Ewen
McGee, Isle of Coll: Facets of a gem. UK: Islands Book Trust,
2015.
"The
Kirk and its impact on the people," (website) The Reformation
- http://www.thereformation.info/covenanters2.htm
Hebridean
History - www.hebrideanhistory.com
Isle
of Coll Genealogy - www.collgenealogy.com
2016 Brenda Dougall
Merriman
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