On the Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond

Part of doing genealogy is taking the paths less traveled. Sometimes that means walking on small trails in ankle deep mud and wading through thorn bushes. Allow me to explain how we got to this point today. Last night we drove towards Loch Lomond and Drymen. We were looking for a B&B and passed one. We decided to see if they had a room and drove down a little ways to turn around. As we drove, we passed a sign that said "Kilmaronock" and we went "what??" If you remember, my 4th great grandmother Janet Meickleham was born near Kilmaronock at a place called Woodend. The family later moved to a farm between Drymen and Balfron. The Kilmaronock we had gone to was down south by Glasgow and it didn't make sense for the family to live down there and then move all the way up into the Highlands to the Drymen area. So when we saw this new Kilmaronock in the highlands, we wondered! We went back to the B&B and got a room. We asked our hostess, Hilary, about the Kilmaronock sign we saw. She brought out a walking map of the area and told us we were in the former parish of Kilmaronok which was right next to Drymen! To make things more interesting, Hilary told us that the B&B was the old Kilmaronock school house, built in 1790. We looked at the map again and lo and behold, there was a cottage labeled "Woodend Lodge". Hilary said that she runs by that cottage every day and it is very old, as old as the B&B. What are the odds that we would stumble across another Kilmaronock, one that actually makes locational sense, and end up staying in a B&B that was actually the Kilmaronock school house and find an old house called Woodend? It was too coincidental, almost as if some divine ancestral intervention was taking place! After some quick record searching I found Janet's christening record and the place is listed as being Kilmaronock, Dumbartonshire, Scotland. The same Kilmaronock! This also means that because of the years, Janet probably went to school in that school house. So I spent the night where my 4th great grandmother went to school. How amazing is that? We vowed to go exploring the next day but since all explorers need sustenance, we traveled the few miles into Drymen for dinner and ate at the Clachan Inn. The Clachan is amazing in itself because it was founded in 1734 and is the oldest licensed inn in Scotland! Even more awesome is that it was originally opened by MacGregors! According to the local lore, those MacGregors who originally ran it were closely related to Rob Roy. The bar area is actually original from the 1700s. So we each had an ale and I settled for a delicious vegetable curry.

Our B&B and the old Kilmaronock school house.

The old Kilmaronock church where Janet was baptized.

     The Clachan, established 1734.

This morning Hilary served us the typical Scottish breakfast complete with blood sausage. Then we went exploring! We drove into Drymen and went to the local church. It was built in 1771 although a church has been on the site since at least the 11th century. This church is where Janet married Alexander Mitchell in the summer of 1817. Janet's parents are also buried in the cemetery. We walked around the cemetery but there were many stones that were so faded they were unreadable. We did find four Meiklems, probably related. Meickleham can be spelled in different ways. In fact, Janet's christening record and her marriage record have her last name as Mcilquham.

The Drymen church where Janet and Alexander married and where Janet's parents are buried.

Then we resolved to find the path to Woodend Lodge. We found a path that was labeled "path to home farm" so we followed it. We waded through mud, thorn bushes and some water before realizing this wasn't the right place to go. It did take us through some fields with a nice view of the hills. The sun was shining and the flowers blooming, so it was quite nice. We went back towards the Kilmaronock church and parked in the church parking lot. A field of sheep was next to it and they seemed rather perturbed that we were there. It was like a sheep domino effect. One would baa then another then another, and they were all staring at us. We realized we had parked too far away and went back past the baaing sheep, got into our car and drove further down to a pull out. We parked and walked a few yards towards the entrance to the path down to Woodend. It was a nice walk past some little ponds and fields. Woodend Lodge is at the far end of a gravel road, almost a mile from the main road. It is right next to a little river at the foot of a bridge. It is clear there has been some renovation as half of the cottage is from the 21st century, but the front of the cottage looks like it dates back to Janet's time. The style and structure are indicative of the late 18th century-early 19th century. We walked across the bridge and took in the view that Janet would have had as a child. She would have played along the river, run in the fields, and peered into the distance at the snow capped peaks. 

Woodend Lodge, the front part that dates back to Janet's time. 

      The view from Woodend Lodge. 

After exploring the Kilmaronock and Drymen area we went out towards Balfron. We took a wrong turn and suddenly saw a sign that said "Glenfoot Farm". Janet's family moved from Woodend to Glenfoot Farm. That is where her parents died. Then it passed into the possession of her sister and brother, both unmarried. We drove up the drive and saw a very old looking farm. Names don't change and buildings stay the same so the likelihood that this is the right place is incredibly high. We drove back a ways to get a better picture of the farm and then made our way to Loch Lomond.

                  Glenfoot Farm

Loch Lomond is famous and is the subject of perhaps one of the most well known Scottish ballads, The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond. We found a trail that wound through the forest, up the hills, high above the loch. There were ruins on the way up. It was clear that it was once an extensive house or housing complex built of stone. There is a quarry a little ways away. Perhaps these ruins were a place for the workers to live. We continued on up the slope and made it to the top. Yes, we had to wade through some mud and brambles but the view was worth it!  It was beautiful! The loch, hills and islands, with the sun shining, so enchanting! In the middle of the loch there is an island which the MacGregors used as their burial ground. 

After our hike we went to our B&B, Bay Cottage. This cottage is special because it is where my great great great grandmother, Elizabeth MacGregor was born in the 1837. Elizabeth was the daughter of John and Jane MacGregor, remember them? John worked at the dye factory next door. His mother lived with them, presumably until her death. In 1852, the family immigrated to America. It is there that Elizabeth met Moses Meickleham Mitchell, the son of Janet Meickleham and Alexander Mitchell. Moses and Elizabeth were married in Binghamton, New York and then migrated to Canada where my great great grandmother, Jean Elizabeth Mitchell was born in 1858. She married another Scottish-Canadian, William James Russell and moved to Iowa. Their daughter, Elizabeth MacGregor Russell married Elmer Tow, the son of Norwegian immigrants, Andrew Town and Elen Sampson, remember them?  

The current owner of Bay Cottage is an older woman who is also named Elizabeth. When we arrived, she led us upstairs to our room and let us get settled while she prepared tea and scones for us in the sitting room. It felt so amazing to be able to sit, sipping tea and eating scones in the same house my ancestors lived. We told Liz about our connection to the house and our quest and she brought out several books about the area and suggested we visit several other MacGregor sites in addition to the Balmaha church. I can't express the feelings that are rushing through me. My ancestors lived here, they walked these paths, looked out at the lake (the cottage is right on Loch Lomond).

It's amazing. 

Cheers!

Elizabeth

View from Bay Cottage, same view my ancestors had when they lived here.