Janet Mackay 2
- Born: Abt 1780, not Caithness 3
- Marriage: William Mackay on 30 Aug 1803 in Farr, Sutherland 1
- Died: After 1840
Chronology:
She resided in 1803 in "Grubmore", Farr, Sutherland. 4 http://her.highland.gov.uk/hbsmrgatewayhighland/DataFiles/LibraryLinkFiles/259563.pdf
Grummore, Gruamamor or Grubmore was one of the several townships, in all 236 families, removed from west Strathnaver in May of 1819. The east side had already been cleared in 1814 and had resulted in Patrick Sellar being brought to court for his brutal methods, but being found not guilty.
In 1815 Grummore was still in the possession of 'sundry small tenants' although Muidale to the west had already been let to a Captain Mackay to run cattle and sheep, while Syre to the west, also still populated, was described as 'only calculated for sheep, people can make no advance here.
The account of the 1819 clearances tells how the clearing and burning of houses began at Grummore, (sixteen houses) the first settlement to be reached by the clearing officers approaching from Altnaharra. No mention is made of the small farmsteads to the west, but if not already abandoned they would certainly have been cleared on this occasion. The area was divided into sheep farms, with Grummore, together with Syre, becoming part of
the farm of Langwell, leased by Patrick Sellar himself. Blaeu's map of Strathnaver indicates woodland west of 'Groubmoir' and similar woods are
indicated around the township on Roy's map of the 1750s. The impact of sheep farming on native woodland appears to be the opposite of what is frequently assumed. The removal of small tenants and their damaging practices of taking wood or barking trees appears to have allowed considerable regeneration. Malcolm Bangor Jones (2002) writes:
Janet married William Mackay on 30 Aug 1803 in Farr, Sutherland.1 (William Mackay was born about 1768 in not Caithness 5 and died after 1840.)
|