Place:Barra, Inverness-shire, Scotland

source: Family History Library Catalog

Until 1975 Barra was an island and parish in Inverness-shire, Scotland. The island was part of the Western Isles from 1975 to 1996 and since then has been in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland.

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Barra (Scottish Gaelic: Barraigh, Eilean Bharraigh) is an island in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. Apart from the adjacent much smaller island of Vatersay, to which it is connected by a causeway, Barra is the southernmost inhabited island of the Outer Hebrides. In 2011 the population was 1,174, almost 100 higher than the 1,078 counted at the time of the 2001 census.

As a parish, Barra includes Vatersay on which there are three settlements: Vatersay, Caolas and Uidh. The settlements on Barra itself, as noted on a map provided by The Gazetteer for Scotland, are as follows: Castlebay, Ledaig, Nask, Garrygall, Glen (Barra), Brevig, Leanish, Skallary, Earsary, Balnabodach, Bruernish, Ardmore (Barra), Ardveenish, Northbay, Cleat, Greian, Cuier, Allasdale, Balnacraig, Borve (Barra), Tangusdale, Kentangaval, Eoligarry, and Saltinish.

History

The Clan MacNeil has strong ties to the Isle of Barra and claims descent from the O'Neills of Ulster. The name Barra is thought to take its name either from Saint Finbarr, the founder of Cork in Ireland, or from Saint Barr, the great-grandson of Niall of the Nine Hostages, the legendary 4th-century king of Ireland.

Alexander, Lord of the Isles granted the island to the MacNeil clan in 1427. The clan held the island until 1838, when Roderick MacNeil, the 40th Chief of the Clan, sold the island to Colonel Gordon of Cluny. Gordon expelled most of the inhabitants in order to make way for sheep farming. The displaced islanders variously went to the Scottish mainland, Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America and Canada. Barra was restored to MacNeil ownership in 1937 when the Barra estate, which encompassed most of the island, was bought by Robert MacNeil, a U.S. architect, and 45th chief of the clan.

In 2003, the ownership of the Barra Estate was passed by the owner, Ian MacNeil, to the Scottish Government. The estate can be transferred to the inhabitants in the future, at their request. MacNeil, the 46th chief of the clan, who died in early 2010, had previously transferred Kisimul Castle to Historic Scotland in 2000.

For a 19th century description of the island, see the description from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) as transcribed and copyrighted by Colin Hinson and provided on the web by GENUKI.

Notes for the Highland Council Area and the Western Isles Council Area

The local archives are held by The Highland Archive Service which is based in Inverness with branches in Stornoway, Fort William and Caithness. It is "responsible for locating, preserving and making accessible archives relating to all aspects of the history of the geographical area of the Highlands."

Family history societies and historical associations covering the Highland Council Area and the Western Isles Council Area are:

• The Highland Family History Society based in Inverness.
• Lochaber and North Argyll Family History Group based in Fort William.

These associations publish their aims on their websites as well as a list of publications. In many cases the publications are also available through the Scottish Genealogy Society (see below).

• The FreeCen Project--Scotland has a searchable (not browsable) transcription for each of the counties in the area. Nairnshire and Caithness have the 1841, 1851, 1861 and 1871 complete. Inverness-shire and Ross and Cromarty have 1841 complete with some work on 1851 and Sutherland has not completed 1841.

Transcriptions of Gravestone Inscriptions

• The Scottish Genealogy Society provides a series of monumental inscriptions either in print in booklet form or on CD for each of the counties in the area (Caithness, Inverness-shire, Nairnshire, Ross and Cromarty, and Sutherland). Some of the booklets cover only one graveyard, others cover a group. Prices vary. In many cases the coverage is of pre-1855 stones only--this is because gravestone inscriptions are often used by family historians as death registration equivalents in the era of the Old Parish Registers (when deaths were not universally recorded).
• The Fearn Peninsula Graveyards Project has a paid website which allows browsing in ten graveyards in Easter Ross. They charge £2.50 for 24 hours of usage with unlimited searches.
• An index of monumental inscriptions from Caithness compiled by D J Ryrie might prove to be a useful start for searching gravestones in that county. GENUKI states "All (?) of the monumental inscriptions (MIs) in Caithness have been collected and are in print currently from Books From Scotland amongst other places." The Scottish Genealogy Society also has a list of their holdings.
• Sutherland cemeteries are covered in Pre-1855 tombstone inscriptions in Sutherland burial grounds by A S Cowper & I Ross, published at Edinburgh in 1989 by the Scottish Genealogy Society.
• There are no specific notes for gravestone transcriptions for either Inverness-shire or Nairnshire in GENUKI. However, the Scottish Genealogy Society lists booklets for both counties.

Sources for Emigration Records

• Hebrides People have a database containing lists of people who emigrated to North America from a number of parishes in the Western Isles.