Statue in Fort William

There is a prominent statue in Fort William at the North end of the High Street. This is a statue of Donald Cameron of Lochiel, 24th Chief of the Clan Cameron who was Lord Lieutenant of Inverness-shire and also its MP. He was born in 1835 and died in 1905. The inscription on the statue is badly in need of cleaning and repairing and is in places illegible. The statue was erected by his family and clansmen in appreciation of a good man who did much for the area and its people.

"DOMHNALL CAMSHRON LOCHIAL, MACDHOMHNAILL DUIBH, XXIV CEANN-CINNIDH NAN CAMSHRONACH, TOISEACH IS FEAR-TIONAL SIORRACHD INBHIRNIS RE IOMADH BLIADHNA FEAR-IONAID NA SIORRAMACHD ANNS A PHARLAMAID. RUGADH E 1835 CHAOCHAIL E 1906. CHUIR LUCHD-CINNIDH IS CAIRDEAN SUAS AN CARRACH SO AN GEALL AIR AM BAIGH AN SPEIS AGUS AM MEAS AIR AN UASAL URRAMACH"

"Donald Cameron of Lochiel, descendant of Donald Dubh, 24th chief of the Clan Cameron, Lord Lieutenant of Inverness-shire for many years, Member of Parliament. He was born 1835; he died 1906. This monument was erected by clansmen and friends as an acknowledgement of his humanity and his esteem and their respect for the noble gentleman"

MORE ABOUT THE HECTOR

In the previous blog, I talked about the "Hector" which sailed from the village of Ullapool on Loch Broom, Scotland to Pictou, Nova Scotia. The journey which had brought the barest of provisions and was grossly overcrowded set out in July of 1873 at a time when the weather was worsening. As it neared Nova Scotia, the ship and its crew were met by a horrific storm which sent the ship backwards and it took another three weeks to reach Nova Scotia. By this time, mid-September, the winter was setting in and there was little opportunity to start clearing the heavily wooded areas which the settlers found were to be their future farms. If it were not for the help from the native Miq Macq Indians and some earlier settlers who had moved from New England, few if any would have survived. A full scale model of the Hector is on permanent display at Pictou. The photograph shows the "Hector" replica berthed at the special museum pier in Pictou.

THE HECTOR

A ship called the Hector sailed from Loch Broom in the west of Scotland to Nova Scotia in 1773 and landed at Pictou. Among those who sailed from Scotland many perished through hunger, and disease. A considerable number of the passengers were children and of those a high percentage did not survive the storm-bound passage. One of the settlers was Alexander Cameron from Loch Broom, who as a youth, had witnessed the Battle of Culloden in 1746. The area where he settled is called Loch Broom to this day and his descendants are still living in the Pictou area. The picture on the left is of myself with Genevieve Oliver who is a direct descendant of Alexander Cameron. We are standing outside the house which was built by Alexander Cameron after he settled in the area.