Iona and the Ionians, Mull, Staffa & Tiree (1857) - Searchable PDF & Clan Index

Step Inside 1857 Iona, Mull, Staffa & Tiree During the Era of the Highland Clearances & Overseas Emigration

Originally published in Glasgow in July 1857 by W. Maxwell—a veteran officer of the 79th Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders who served under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Duncan M'Dougall of Soroba—Iona and the Ionians: Their Manners, Customs, and Traditions, with a Few Remarks on Mull, Staffa, and Tyree is an extraordinary firsthand account of the Inner Hebrides at a pivotal moment in Scottish family history. Illustrated with original lithographic plates from sketches drawn on the spot by Colin Alexander M'Vean, Esq. of Iona, this volume bridges the medieval clan monuments of St. Oran's Chapel and Iona Cathedral with the everyday lives, crofting customs, and overseas exodus of 19th-century Hebridean families.

What's Inside This Enhanced Fairbairn's Crests Digital Edition:

• Complete 84-Page Master Digital Edition: Combines 4 pages of newly typeset Fairbairn's Crests Front Matter (Pages i–iv), all 75 authentic historical text and lithographic illustration pages from the 1857 Glasgow imprint, and a newly compiled 5-page Back-of-Book Alphabetical Surname, Clan & Place Index.
• Archival Cleanup with 100% Intact Native OCR Search: We have stripped 40 blank unprinted backing/flyleaf pages and duplicate plate scans while leaving the 75 original historical text and plate pages—and their native embedded Optical Character Recognition (OCR) search layer—completely intact for instant Ctrl+F / Cmd+F keyword searching.
• Medieval Clan Tombs & Effigies of Iona (Icolmkill): Detailed descriptions and lithographic plates of the carved monuments in Reilig Odhráin (St. Oran's Burying-Ground), Iona Cathedral, and the Augustinian Nunnery, including the MacDonalds of Kintyre, the Lords of the Isles ("heirs of mighty Somerled"), the warrior effigies of Clan M'Quarrie of Ulva, and the septs of Clan Maclean (Duart, Lochbuy, Coll, and Grulin), alongside Prioress Anna and the Four Priors of Iona (1500).
• 1850s Emigration & Social History: Documents the post-blight crofting economy of Ballymore (Iona), cottage handloom weaving of plaids, Established and Free Church congregations, peat-cutting in the mosses of Mull, and the emigration of "upwards of fourscore individuals" (80+ residents) from the district to North America and Australia.
• Ross of Mull, Bunessan, Tobermory, Staffa & Tiree: Covers agricultural improvements under the 8th Duke of Argyll, Chamberlain John Campbell of Ardfinaig, and Captain Campbell of Possil at Achncroish, plus descriptions of Pot I, Bunessan, Loch Laigh, Loch Asapol, Tobermory, Mary's Well, Drumfin, Skerrymore (Skerryvore) Lighthouse, Fingal's Cave on Staffa, and the "Granary of Iona" on the Island of Tyree (Tiree).

Historical & Regional Overview

For genealogists tracing ancestors from the Parish of Kilfinichen and Kilvickeon (Iona, Ross of Mull, and Bunessan), the Parish of Kilninian and Kilmore (Tobermory), Ulva, Coll, or Tiree, mid-19th-century parish registers rarely record the social conditions that impelled families to leave the Western Isles. Writing in July 1857—when Iona's population had dwindled to roughly 200 inhabitants—Maxwell provides an eyewitness record of croft sub-division, kelp and sea-weed top-dressing, the survival of ancient domestic quern-mills, local Highland folklore, and the chain migration funded by remittances sent home by Iona emigrants in Canada, the United States, and the Australian goldfields.

Equally valuable for clan historians, the volume preserves C. A. M'Vean's fine lithographic illustrations of Ballimore ("The Great Town"), the Nunnery of St. Augustine, the Tombstone of Prioress Anna, Maclean's Cross, the Parish Church and Manse, the Tombstone of Maclean of Lochbuy, the Tombstone of a Bishop of Iona, St. Martin's Cross, the Broken Cross and Cathedral, and the basalt columns of Staffa, accompanied by H. D. Graham's complete ornithological catalog of the birds and wildlife of Iona.

Surnames, Clans & Historical Figures Indexed in This Volume:

Anna (Prioress of Iona), Argyle (Duke of Argyle / Campbell), Barnett (John Barnett of Iona), Campbell (Campbell of Ardfinaig / Ardfenaig, Captain Campbell of Possil, Duke of Argyle), Columba (Saint Columba / Colum Cille), Dermot (Diormit), Donald, Eugene (Eugenius, Priors of Iona), Fingal, Graham (H. D. Graham of Iona), John (Johannes, Prior of Iona), Johnson (Dr. Samuel Johnson), Linnaeus, Lords of the Isles, Macadam, M'Donald / MacDonald (MacDonalds of Kintyre), M'Dougall / MacDougall (Lt.-Gen. Sir Duncan M'Dougall of Soroba), Mackinnon / MacKinnon (Clan Mackinnon), Maclean / M'Lean (Maclean of Coll, Maclean of Duart, Maclean of Grulin, Maclean of Lochbuy / Lochbuie), M'Quarrie / MacQuarrie (Clan MacQuarrie of Ulva), M'Vean / MacVean (Colin Alexander M'Vean of Iona), Martin (Richard Martin, St. Martin), Maxwell (W. Maxwell, 79th Cameron Highlanders), Murray (Thomas Murray and Son), Oran (Saint Oran / Odhrán), Ossian, Patrick (Patricius, Prior of Iona), Pennant (Thomas Pennant), Somerled (Somhairle, Lord of the Isles), Walton (Izaak Walton).

Islands, Parishes, Settlements & Monuments Indexed:

79th Cameron Highlanders, Achncroish (Achnacroish, Mull), America, Angel's Hills (Cnoc nan Aingeal), Ardfinaig (Ardfenaig, Ross of Mull), Ardtun Fossil Beds, Argyle Arms Inn (Bunessan), Argyleshire (Argyll), Australia, Ballymore / Ballimore (Baile Mòr, Iona), Black Stones of Iona (Na Clachan Dubha), Bunessan, Campbelltown (Campbeltown), Carn-cul-ri-Erin, Carsaig, Cladh-nan-Druidhneach (Druids' Burial-Ground), Clam Shell Cave (Staffa), Cobha Culdich (Culdees' Cells), Coll (Isle of Coll), Colonsay, Craignure Ferry, Drumfin (Tobermory), Dumbarton, Dun I, Dun-i-Manich (Monk's Fort), Established Church of Scotland (Iona), Fingal's Cave (Staffa), Free Church of Scotland (Iona), Glasgow, Great Gun of Staffa, Hill of Mourning, Icolmkill (Iona Cathedral / St. Mary's Abbey), Inverary (Inveraray), Ireland, Isla (Isle of Islay), Ivillan-nam-Ban (Eilean nam Ban / Wives' Island), Jura, Kintyre, Loch Asapol, Loch Laigh (Loch na Lathaich), Lochbuy (Lochbuie), Mackinnon's Cave (Staffa), Martyr's Bay, Mary's Well (Tobar Mhoire, Tobermory), Morven (Morvern), Mull (Isle of Mull, Ross of Mull, Sound of Iona), Nessan River, Norway, Nunnery of St. Augustine, Port-a-churich (Bay of the Wicker Boat), Port Lathrican, Pot I (Monks' Fish-Pond Loch, Ross of Mull), Relig Oran (Reilig Odhráin / St. Oran's Chapel), St. Kilda, St. Martin's Cross, St. Mary's Loch (Tobermory), Scarba, Skerrymore Lighthouse (Skerryvore), Spouting Cave (Iona), Staffa, Tobermory, Tyree / Tiree (Tir-I), Ulva.