Morvern Livingstones and the 19th century Clearances

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Canadian Livingstone
Posts: 2770
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2009 9:00 pm

Morvern Livingstones and the 19th century Clearances

Post by Canadian Livingstone »

Hi all,

Alexander Mackenzie in his 1914 book History of Highland Clearances notes the population increase and decrease over the years in Morvern Parish, Argyll. He notes in the period between 1831 and 1881, Morvern was reduced to about a third of it's 1831 population much to it do with tenants being cleared out of Morvern by their landlord, the rest being voluntary immigration and death.

1755 - 1223, 1795-1763, 1801-2000, 1821-1995, 1831-2137, 1841-1781, 1851-1547, 1871- 973, 1881-714, 1911 -635

In comparison in neighbouring Lismore and adjacent Appin area the existing tenants and their families seem to have fared much better during the same period of 1831 to 1881 with about three-quarters of the 1831 population number in the year 1881.
1831-4365, 1841-4193, 1851-4097, 1881- 3433, 1911-3279

Number of Livingstons/Livingstones/Levingstons residing in Morvern Parish according 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901 Census Records

1841 Livingston 89 Livingstone 0 Levingston 1 Total 90

1851 Livingston 68 Livingstone 0 Levingston 11 Total 79

1861 Livingston 55 Livingstone 14 Levingston 0 Total 69

1871 Livingston 19 Livingstone 6 Levingston 0 Total 25

1881 Livingston 8 Livingstone 11 Levingston 0 Total 19

1891 Livingston 11 Livingstone 1 Levingston 0 Total 12

1901 Livingston 3 Livingstone 6 Levingston 0 Total 9

From the 40 year period from 1841 to 1881 the population of our Clan was significantly reduced from 90 to 19 and by the time of the 1901 Census there were only 9 Livingstons residing in Morvern Parish. And of that number, some were not born in Morvern Parish but elsewhere in Argyllshire. So by the end of the 19th century, the Morvern Livingstons had been almost completely removed from Morvern Parish.

For an excellent detailed history of Morvern Parish in the Nineteenth Century, may I suggest Morvern Transformed by Phillip Gaskell which was first published in 1968 by the Cambridge University Press and since then reprinted in 1980 and 1996.

My great-great-great grandfather Miles Livingston, as a young man perhaps had some sort of premonition of what was in store for the Morvern Livingston tenant farmers in the future, and he and some of his Livingston relatives left Morvern in the late 1790's or early 1800's apparently for the Isle of Islay where Miles and his apparent cousin Donald Livingston developed a skilled trade as boatbuilders and found themselves some years later, recruited because of their knowledge of boatbuilding for one of Lord Selkirk's British North American settlements in 1811 or 1812 by one of Selkirk's highland agents. The last of those Livingstons that stayed behind in Morvern in the later years in settlements along the western coast of Morvern included elderly family members who were howeverreduced to being paupers in many cases. This was the sad reality of many of the remaining Livingtons in Morvern in the latter part of the 19th century I have found from going through the Morvern census records.


regards,

Donald
Maverick1975
Posts: 42
Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2016 12:46 pm
Location: Aabybro, Denmark but from Texas and Indiana originally

Re: Morvern Livingstones and the 19th century Clearances

Post by Maverick1975 »

It'd be interesting to know how many of those Livingstons immigrated to the southern Ohio area between 1840 and 1880. Those two counties we've talked about, Scioto and Lawrence, were big furnace counties. It's just sad to think of all that happened to the Highlanders between the battle of Culloden and the clearances.
Canadian Livingstone
Posts: 2770
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2009 9:00 pm

Re: Morvern Livingstones and the 19th century Clearances

Post by Canadian Livingstone »

Hi Kristen,

Well I believe some of those Morvern Livingstons in the 1841-1881 period may have gone to America, others to Canada and others to Australia and New Zealand. Some may also found work somewhere in lowland Scotland. As the U.S. and Canadian census just indicate they were Scottish and I suspect it is the same for Australia and New Zealand, the Census records in these Countries won't tell you much about the specific County or location in the County in Scotland they came from. Only a family history will do that I should think.

regards,

Donald
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