MacIntosh Family of Ross and Cromarty.....

[Dusty44]

My great g/mother Mary Ann (Annie) MacIntosh was married in 1872 in Paisley to George Donald. Her parents were Donald MacIntosh a saddler and Margaret (nee McGregor) who were married at Knockbain, Ross & Cromarty in 1837. Did she have any siblings? How did she come to move from R & C to Renfrew area. Would also love to know birth and death dates for her parents. Seem to have come across a brick wall when doing any research on this family. Can anyone help?

[LesleyB]

Hi Dusty

How did she come to move from R & C to Renfrew area.

This is not at all unusual at that time - it seems many young people moved south from the Highlands at this time to work in the central belt - often Glasgow or Edinburgh in my family's case. As far as I'm aware the reasons for this movement from the Highlands to work elsewhere were complex, but the major forces were the knock-on effects of the Highland Clearances, the Agricultural Revolution & the development of the Industrial Revolution coupled with improved road systems and new railways which made moving south easier. Life was hard in the Highlands - it was no doubt felt that you could make a better life for yourself by moving south to the prosperous cities.

Not that it always worked out for those who moved south - life in the cites must have seemed very alien to the Highlanders, overcrowding in industrial cites was a major problem causing insanitary conditions & outbreaks of various life threatening diseases. Life could not have been very easy for a lot of them - hundreds of miles away from their families, in most cases English was not their first language, hard work & often in working conditions we'd be appalled to see, long hours and insanitary living conditions... it must have been tough.

Although it is a site for school children this seems to be a useful summary of what was going on;
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/scottishhi ... /index.asp

Best wishes
Lesley
JJ