The Story behind the Stone – the families, estates and stories of Kirkmichael, Cullicudden, the Black Isle and beyond

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Bayfield_story_656x496withblueborder.jpgJohn Mackenzie of Bayfield, Captain of the Prince Kaunitz, Justina Anderson of Udol, and Bayfield in Easter Ross – with its Smugglers’ Tunnel

North_Ornate_Medieval_Crosses_656x496withblueborder.jpgThe Ornate Medieval Crosses of the North of Scotland

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StMartinsStory_poem_656x496inclblueborder.jpgAlexander Urquhart of St Martins and his spouse Agnes Munro of Novar – and the Hilton of Cadboll Pictish Stone

StMartinsStory_Duff_656x496incblueborder.jpggAlexander Duff and his three wives, and the Hilton of Cadboll Pictish Stone

Preserving Our Ornate Medieval Crosses

The OtherMedieval Ornate Stones at Kirkmichael


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Our Claymore Stones

The Pierced Hand and Chalice Stone at Cullicudden – a remarkable survival from pre-Reformation days

Udale_story_cover_656x496includingblueborder.jpgUdol or Udale under proprietors Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty, Andersons of Udol, Captain George Mackay Sutherland of Udale and Gun Munros of Poyntzfield and Udale

Mary McDonald’s Shattered Tablestone

The Maciver and Rankin family of Ferryton – and Ottawa

Lance Corporal James Young
and the Youngs of Upperwood

Kenneth Urquhart of St Martins, the Newhall Factor,
a Man Maligned

The Thomsons of Kinbeachie Mill and Drumdyre –
Sex and the Session


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The Sutherlands of Flowerburn, Uppat and Udale

The Pediments of the Urquharts of Braelangwell

The Lyon-Mackenzie Family of St Martins and Braelangwell

Can Graffiti become of Historic Interest?

Our Sculptor from London: Charles Regnart (1759–1844) – and the George Gun Munro Memorial in Kirkmichael

The same sculptor? Kirkmichael and Cullicudden stones compared with similar in Rosemarkie, Alness, Contin – and London!

Blacksmiths and Registrars: The Urquhart Family of Whisky Park, Newhall Smiddy and Shawfield Cottage

Kirkmichael and the ’45 – the Second Jacobite Rebellion, 1745 – and connections with Wardlaw Mausoleum


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Hugh Munro (1820 – 1887), for 36 years farm manager at Poyntzfield Mains

The War Memorials of Resolis

The Grants of Ardoch and Resolis
and Moynes, Dunskaith, Balkeith and Polnicol…

The Emigration of Hector Holm and Catharine Cameron – on the brig Lady Grey from Cromarty in 1841

Our national poet, Robert Burns, and Kirkmichael in the Black Isle

Hugh Miller’s “McCulloch the Mechanician”, Benjamin Franklin and the McCullochs of Woodside

The Lady Ardoch Mausoleum, erected at Kirkmichael by Sir Harry Munro of Foulis, Baronet, 1768

Lady Ardoch, Ann Gordon ms Munro, c1688–1762, the Gordons of Ardoch and the origins of Poyntzfield House


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DonaldMcDonald (1817–1896), Cullicudden schoolmaster and Resolis Registrar

The Cameron and Murray families
of Fraoch Cottage and Ivy Cottage, Cullicudden

David Aitken (c.1739–1809), Surveyor to the Highlands – and Gardener of Newhall and Poyntzfield

The Last Gardener in Ardoch, the First Gardener in Poyntzfield or – The Which Blair Project!

When The Black Isle Army Marched On Dingwall. Land Reformers Thomas Nicol, John Maclennan and Donald Murray

The Jigsaw Stone
Robert McKenzie, carpenter, and Christina Holm of Balblair

John Falconer of Ballicherry – and Crowhall, Moray: a rescued headstone

Repairing the memorial to David Anderson (1834–1907), Resolis Registrar and Newhall Estate Ground Officer


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Hugh McKay Munro – engineer and Governor of the Black Isle Combination Poorhouse

William Clark of the 79th Cameron Highlanders of Canada and the Clark family of Gordon’s Mills

St Kilda and Kirkmichael

Reading the Unreadable. The Urquhart of Ferriton 16th century inscription deciphered by photogrammetry

The early photography of Donald Fraser, Cullicudden

Anna McCulloch of Plaids, spouse of William Urquhart of Braelangwell

Lieutenant General Sir Hugh Fraser of Braelangwell – hero of Copaul Droog

Repairing the memorial to Sir Hugh and Lady Isabella Fraser of Braelangwell – a monumental task


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Murray Macdonald M.P. and other distinguished descendants of Hugh Macdonald, gardener Poyntzfield and farmer Woodside

“The Kirkmichael Needle” commemorating Roderick Fraser (c1838–1911) and Grace Aird (1831–1920)

The Bowed Stone and Barney Tunach (William Fraser)

The John McComie Slab – an exercise in photogrammetry and raking light

The Resolis Origins of Wilson Pugsley MacDonald (1880–1967), “Canada’s Poet Laureate”

Two Hearts Entwined: the Tablestone Erected by Helen Reid to her Husband, David Gray

Cameron alias Mackeddie, and the Uckfield, Sussex, Connection

Rescuing the Headstone with the Strange Base


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H is for Holm, or, How many gravestones does one man need?

The Barnett Family of Resolis Cottage

The Mackenzie family, the first Masons in Chapelton

The Origins of the Village of Chapelton or Newhall Point

The Morrison millers of Newmills, Town Milns Tain, Allan Mill, Ardross Mill, Dalmore Mill and Shore Mill

The Leaning Headstone of Murdoch Ross (c1796–1831) and Janet Ferguson (1795–1826)

“The Saucy Kate”

The Broken Shield – the Life of Isabella Ferguson (1832–1922)


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Whisky Park, the Cameron family there, and D.M. Cameron, Canadian M.P.

John Macleod, 30 years Inspector with the Great Western Railway

Oh see how soon the flower of life decays Jane Urquhart, daughter of William Urquhart and Catherine Matheson

The Three Gravestones of Alexander Urquhart and Henny Stuart, or, AU 1805 ♥ HS XX

The Kirk Officers of Resolis, a Holm Dynasty

The Scott and Campbell families of Auchmartin, Cullicudden and Newmills

Ferguson of Moulin, Perthshire; Kildun, Dingwall; and Burnside of Newhall, Resolis

The 50 memorials rescued by the Trust!


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From Pulteneytown to Jemimaville: Hugh McGregor, the Blacksmith from Caithness

From Balblair to Belize: the life of Thomas Stuart (1803–1857), merchant of British Honduras

Acrostics and other puzzles: the Gibb family of Resolis

The Junor Stone, and the solution to a mystery involving Cromarty geologist and writer, Hugh Miller

Cullicudden Quarry and Findon Quarry, and some of the Quarriers – Urquhart, Munro, Forbes and Morrison families

The Four Urquhart Brothers, Quarriers at Cullicudden Quarry, and the 1843 Cromarty Riot and Jailbreak

The Sequestration of Alexander Munro (1824–1898), quarrier at Cullicudden Quarry and farmer

John Cowe, the Grieve at Braelangwell, his wife Jane Peter, and the Poppelwell family


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William and Janet McLennan of Teaninich of Poyntzfield, their adopted daughter, and the McLennans of Ardmeanach

The Tenant of Ballicherry: James Munro and his spouse, Margaret McKenzie

Richard Miller, theckstar and tenant, and his spouse Euphemia Murray

Alness Ferry and the Stewart dynasty of Ferrymen and Farmers

William Melville (1828–1896) and Isabella McCulloch (1839–1889) of Resolis

Two Centuries of the McCulloch Family in Resolis

Brothers Thomas MacCulloch (1828–1900), farmer Ballicherry, and Reverend Dr James Duff McCulloch (1836–1926)

The McCulloch of Woodside siblings, and Isaac Hood and Adam Hood


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Gilbert Macculloch, teacher in Jemimaville and Superintendant of the Royal Blind Asylum and School, Edinburgh

George MacCulloch (c1720–1778), farmer, merchant, schoolmaster Fort Augustus, and Elizabeth MacConichie

“The most famous man we have” – Dr Alexander Mackenzie of Elgin, New Tarbat, Bayfield and Cromarty

Samuel Gordon (1798–1866) and Helen Hunter (1803–1867) – Glenmuick, Argyll and the Mains of Braelangwell

Gregor Macleod (c1834–1917) of Assynt and Sally Mackay of Lairg (1833–1858)

James Mitchell (1774–1810) and Janet Macdonald of Knockando and Teaninich, Resolis

The Family of John and Isabella Ferguson of Woodside, Cromarty

A Dynasty of Shoemakers: the family of Alexander Urquhart and Helen Murray of Ferintosh, Jemimaville and Alness


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Poyntzfield Nursery Maid Elizabeth MacBean (c1784–1849)

From Kirkmichael to Alness, Aberdeen and New Orleans: the dispersed family of Finlay Ross, carpenter, and wives Henrietta Shearer and Henrietta Cameron

The memorial erected by Duncan Mackay of Overscaig to his parents, Kenneth Mackay and Margaret Macrae of Poyntzfield Mills

John Johnston, Grieve at Poyntzfield and the Laird’s right-hand man, and the Basque Cross

John Mackay and Margaret Cameron of Resolis Cottage, and Hugh Taylor and Isabella Mackay of Balblair Post Office

Thomas Thomson of Peddieston and George Thomson of Wester Brae and Allerton

Schoolteacher against the odds – Annie Reid and Newhall School

Hector Holm (1752–c1837), one of the “Men of Ross-shire”, and his son, Hector Holme (1799–1838), Governor of George Heriot’s School


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Alexander Elphingston of Newmills (–1724) Chamberlain of Sir William Gordon of Invergordon – and smuggler

The Absconding Rioters: Eppy Aird, Thomas Urquhart, David Mackenzie and William Fraser

Early Barklys in the Birks, Ballicherry, Kirkton and Kirkmichael

The remarkable Barkly family – and their Kirkmichael origins

Thomas Mackeddie or Cameron and Margaret Ross of Brae and Rosefarm

The Peddieston connection: Patrick Fraser and Anne McLeod, Donald Ross and Catherine Fraser, and the Morayshire Brick and Tile Works

Lillias Fowler Holm (1820–1906), the Holm family of Wester Ferryton and the Resolis Disruption Riot of 1843

Anguish Holm and Kathraine Simson, and the new Church and Glebe at Resolis


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Margaret Cameron of Ferryton and Sheep Park and the 1843 Resolis Disruption Riot and Cromarty Jailbreaking

1738 Donald Matheson and Margery Davidson, and the Davidson connections with Kirkmichael

The italicised line, or, Two monuments for James Cameron alias Mackeddie and Christian Fraser

An advertising manager, a newspaper editor and a Boer War casualty: the John Urquhart and Elizabeth Campbell headstone in Kirkmichael

The oldest dated gravestone in the Black Isle – and the Digital Art comic project

The Upperwood Headstone, and the Eviction of the Frasers of Upperwood

The MacCullochs in Udale, a Scandal leading to Excommunication and the Cromarty East Church painted Panels

Murdo_Mackay, the shepherd from Lochcarron, and Ann Mackay his wife


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William Fraser and Margaret MacGregor, and the Jemimaville Lodging-House of their Daughter, Mary Fraser

David Munro and Margaret Burgess of Gordon’s Mill – and the moral compass

John Bisset and Rebecca Forsyth, William Bisset and Henrietta Macdonald, the Cromarty Jailbreak of 1843, and the Temperance Hotel Invergordon

Hugh Ferguson of Inverbreakie Ferry and Balblair Ferry Inn, and Janet McKenzie his wife

The Children of Henrietta Gordon of Newhall and the Children of David Urquhart of Braelangwell

David Urquhart of Braelangwell, the origins of Agneshill and the development of “Tartan Scotland”

The Forbes Family of Cullicudden

The Urquhart of Kinbeachie Memorials, the Newhall v Kinbeachie boundary dispute, and the longest ha-ha in the North


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Memorials to Ministers: Hector MacPhail, Thomas Hog, John Kennedy, Donald Sage, John Porteous, John Macdonald, Thomas Inglis, Robert Arthur, John Fraser, Walter Ross, James Calder

Death on Udale Bay, or, the restoration of the Ross or Gow Chapelton headstone

The Mackenzie family: tacksmen of Craighouse or Castle Craig, and the Ardchronie connection

The Macdonald family of Castle Craig, otherwise Craigton or Craighouse

Pipe Major Colin Thomson (1869–1933) of Resolis and Golspie
and his “stepfather”, Pipe Major John Wemyss (1861–1927) of Dingwall and Bothwell

Taylor of Burnside – and of Newmore, Teaninich, Balloan of Culduthel, Millcraig, Grafton in Ontario and Winnipeg

The Gaelic Inscription, Alexander Holm Ferryman,
and the Great Chapelton Robbery of 1847

James Urquhart, flesher and pork dealer, and Isabella McKenzie: an early family in Jemimaville


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The Urquhart Family of Gordons Mill

Samuel_Urquhart_story_656x496includingblueborder.jpgMr Samuel Urquhart of Bullister, son of Alexander Urquhart of Newhall and Nicola Guthrie

Ethie_Holm_story_656x496including_blue_border.jpgWeavers and Shoemakers: The Holm Family of Ethie, Cromarty, Invergordon, Prince Edward Island and Melbourne

McLennan_Agneshill_656x496includingblueborder.jpgThe Origins of Agneshill, Resolis, the McLennan Crofts in Agneshill, and Kennuck the Deer

Evan_Paterson_story_656x496_includingblueborder.jpgEvan Paterson, Crofter in St Martin’s

Guisachan_cover_image_656x496includingblueborder.jpgThe Memorial Fragment – Hugh Munro, forester, and Mary Mackenzie of Braelangwell and Kiltarlity,
and the Golden Retrievers of Guisachan

Hossack_Holm_chisel_breaking_656x496includingblueborder.jpgA Tale of Two Tombstones – Alexander Hossack and Isobel Holm

James_Holmes_story_Rosskeen_old_bridge_656x396includingblueborder.jpgThe Rosskeen Riot of 1843
and rioter James Holm or Holmes of Resolis, Invergordon, Brora and Bonar Bridge


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Urquhart Blacksmiths of Raddery – or, the Kirkmichael Trust to the Rescue!

Colin_Davidson_story_tailors_symbols_656x496includingblueborder.jpgColin Davidson of Jemimaville, Master Tailor – and Rioter
and the Davidsons of Knock na Fanaig, Ferintosh

Hugh Miller’s Dream, and the Letter Carving of Hugh Miller

Hugh Miller’s Dream, and the Stuart family of Ardeville, Cullicudden and The Treasury

The Scandal of Christian Grant, Wife of the Poyntzfield Grieve, and the story of the Mackenzies, masons of Balblair

Trent_story_Ships_in_Inverness_656x496including4blueborder_205db0.jpgWilliam Trent, Merchant of Inverness, and his Family including son William Trent, founder of the City of Trenton, Capital of New Jersey, and brother Maurice Trent, Merchant of Leith

Mounteagle_Tower_of_London_656x496incblueborder.jpgMounteagle by Loch Eye: Urquhart of Mounteagle and Barkly of Mounteagle


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