Place:Blarmacfoldach, Inverness-shire, Scotland

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Blarmachfoldach (or Blàr Mac Faoilteach; Blàrmacfaoltach) is a small crofting settlement in Lochaber, in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is located in the Mamore Hills, south of Fort William on the old military road to Kinlochleven. In past centuries, Blarmachfoldach was mainly a Clan Cameron settlement.

Historically, the area spoke Lochaber Gaelic, which had a number of distinctive features.

In the 19th century, Blarmachfoldach had a population of over 800. Reflecting the tragedy that gradually befell the Highlands as a whole, the population has gradually fallen to around 30, the last native dying in 2006. This was exacerbated by the cholera epidemic of the 19th century, when a ship in Loch Linnhe brought contaminated linen.

The Gaelic etymology of the name is not clear. Blàr typically refers to a field, often a battlefield, whereas the faoiltich are the cold early months of the year, corresponding to January (Faoilleach) in modern Gaelic.

Blàr mac Faoltaich is one of the 'four blars' in the area, comprising Blàr Mac Faoltaich, Blàr a' Chaorainn, Blàr nan Cléireach, and Blàr Mac Droighnich (also spelt Mac Droighneach, Mac Druineach, and nan Druineach, and meaning the field of the wise men).

The river Cìochnis (Cìoch Innis), shown by Ordnance Survey as "River Kiachnish", which originates in Lochan Lùnn dà-Bhrà, (Loch Lundavra) and passes through Blàr Mac Faoilteach, was the source of hydro-electric power for the first electric street lighting in Scotland, in nearby Fort William high street. The ruins of the turbine house and a bridge to cross the river (although dangerous to cross now) are still here to see today.

The West Highland Way passes through the clachan near one of its two endpoints.

Blar Mac Faoilteach was known locally as one of the last places to celebrate the old Highland New Year on January 12.

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.