‘Treasure trove’ archive is donated
Ex-pat Peter passes on local history files to Comrie
A Scot living abroad has donated a vast collection of historic files to Comrie Community Council.
Peter McNaughton hopes the archive can be housed somewhere locally where it can be accessed by anyone wishing to research the local area, or by those wishing to take a trip down memory lane.
Peter, who was born in the village but now lives in Canada, told the Herald: “The material I sent to Comrie was essentially my father’s files. I felt that it was a suitable place for them and hope they will be considered as such.
“The intention is to collate and catalogue the information in the files so that folk who are interested can use them for research purposes. There are five boxes full of information about western Strathearn and essentially covering from Neolithic times to today.
“They are, in my opinion, very valuable.”
Peter also hopes the files will complement the information and photographs on his website, www.highlandstrathearn.com, which provides an overview of the evolution of the village from the Ice Age and contains a variety of accounts relative to the village and its population loss after the Napoleonic War.
He continued: “I am also downloading my own website as a supporting document as it includes my rather ‘potted’ history of Strathearn.
“The scope of the project follows the area described in my book ‘Comrie in the Distance Fair’ and essentially falls between the Turret Burn and Lochearnhead, but Crieff does play a significant part. In time I will provide many photographs
of old Strathearn from roughly Methven to Lochearnhead.
“Furthermore, there will be old photographs of Strathyre (Balquhidder to Doune) and over by Dunblane to Muthill and Crieff. This completes the circle around Comrie.
“With all the new folk coming into the village and surrounds I think it is important that they know a bit about the area because, with all its nooks and crannies, it is the most interesting of places. Further, I can think of no other village in Scotland that would have a treasure trove such as this. It can be added to by local folk.”
Peter added: “My father instilled in me and my brother the notion that ‘if you do not know where you have been,
then you do not know where you are at, and if you do not know where you are at, you do not know where you are going’.”
Locals Mairi Philp and Rosie Mitchell are helping to sort through the archive and put the information into categories.
Rosie has been uncovering a lot of information on local families. She said: “A lot of families from the glens emigrated to Canada aboard the Curlew in the mid-19th century and there is a lot of information about what happened to them – the ages of the children etc – everybody is documented, such as William McNiven and Ann Taylor who emigrated to upper Canada from Blairinroar. The McNivens lived for centuries in Glenartney.”
Comr ie community councillor Lindsay
Brown said: “We are making use of those with local knowledge.
There is lots of information about
Comrie and about specific families, as well as general
Strathearn.
“I t ’s been interesting going through the files and learning about the history of the village – how and when people emigrated to Canada – and the links we still have with Canada, which are being kept alive through the twinning.
“It’s important that we make sure the important information is kept for posterity.
“Finding a location to keep it is probably going to be the hardest thing but, in the short term, we hope to put together an exhibition.”