Son of a Highlinder

Son of a Highlander is the true story of the author, a third-generation Australian of Scottish Highland descent discovering his ancestral history over eight generations,
from father to son.

This is a search for authenticity of a verbal story handed down over a two hundred-year period, along with a 1797 penny coin and a collection of photos and correspondence that are one hundred years old, which were from his late grandfather’s old tattered leather case.

The author descended from the Clan MacLeod—Clan meaning “Children in Scottish Gaelic,” Mac meaning “son in Gaelic,” and the Leod derived from the Viking era; it basically means “children of the son of Leod.” The family originated from a small two-acre semisubsistent existence on the Isle of Skye in far western Scotland. The MacLeod Clan was once a warrior race that feuded with neighboring clans in the most bloodiest of warfare.

A clan system of traditions and culture that lasted hundreds of years that eventually came to an end with the notorious Highland Clearance, whereby thousands of people were evicted from their lands and replaced by sheep. With the mass exodus of people, some forcibly while others left in desperation.

This book is the history of one Highland family who survived a dangerous sailing journey to Australia only to continue their struggle against adversity on foreign soil. A search for the whereabouts of a Gaelic-speaking great-great-grandfather to discover he was sent to an island off the Australian coast, where he eventually died and was buried in a pauper’s grave along with 8,500 souls, whose only crime was that they were poor.

This book is a must read for anyone wishing to trace their own ancestral history. It will inspire you and encourage you toward your own personal voyage of discovery.