People Named 

LAMONT

Living

in the

Parish of Kilfinan, Argyllshire, Scotland

in 1833

In 1833, the Reverend Joseph Stark travelled around the Parish of Kilfinan, Argyllshire, Scotland, 'catechising the people from house to house'. He recorded the names of all of the people whom he found living in the parish during that year, in two small notebooks - one lined, the other, slightly smaller, unlined. This pair of notebooks were bound in to the formal Parochial Register [Volume 2 - Baptisms, 1820-1854, & Marriages 1820-1854, Parish No. 518], near the back.

The leaves of Stark's notebook were numbered after he made his entries - probably when it was turned over to the General Register Office after 1855 [perhaps in the 1938-1940 period. There is a group of records in the National Records of Scotland which are catalogued as 'Recovery of Old Parochial Registers', GRO5/233]. The leaf numbering starts with '24', and ends with '71' and a notation 'End of Book'. The second smaller, unlined notebook of about nine leaves was 'tipped in' to the fore of leaf 70 of the slightly larger one.

The place each individual or family was encountered was usually faithfully recorded, although Stark's handwriting can sometimes be difficult to decipher, and his spelling is sometimes more 'phonetic' than consistent.

Note that a wife's maiden surname was usually (but not always) recorded. It should also be noted that some children's names were written down, and then stroked through with a single pen line. I've presumed that these were children who were remembered within a particular family, but who had died by the time Rev'd Stark got to that particular household.

This pair of notebooks represents as close to a 'census' of the population of the parish as we're ever going to get. The only information lacking is the age of each person, and each adult's occupation.

Below is a list of all of the people with the surname LAMONT who were found in Stark's notebook. The southern reaches of Kilfinan Parish, centered around Ardlamont at the Kyles of Bute, was the ancestral home of members of the small Lamont Clan.

The numbers in parentheses after some entries below represent the leaf number where each entry was found, with (r) signifying the 'back side' or reverse of the leaf referenced, as appropriate.

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At Ardlamont Point Farm:

• John MILLER & Amelia Lamont, children Mary, John & Amelia; servant Amelia BLACK.

At Knap:

• Hector McLEAN & Georgina Lamont, children Christian, Lachlan, Augusta, Amelia, Mary, Sally & Rebecca.

At Moss Cottage:

• Norman Lamont & Marg't McCALLUM, children Mary, John & Amelia.
• Euphemia Lamont, and children Mary & Robert McLACHLAN.

At Craig Cottage:

• Mrs GORDON, Miss Lamont, [serv'ts ?] Mary McCallum, Mary McLachlan, Isabel McINTYRE & Geo MUNROE.

At Sheanacha Corracha:

• Alex'r Lamont & Widow McKENZIE, (her children) Alex'r, Duncan, Isabel.

At Stron-duthauh:

• Coll. Lamont & Sally Black, John, Catherine, Alex'r, Mary SMITH (Serv't).

At Caolachadh:

• James Lamont & Euph'a CAMPBELL, children Agnes, Mary, Charles, Catherine, Sally, Colin, Euphemia, John Campbell.

At Achadalmhoire:

• Arch'd COWAN & Janet Lamont, child Mary. (33)
• Cha's Lamont & Mary Cowan, children William & Gilbert. (33)
• Widow Lamont, children John, William. (33r)

At Achagoil:

• Donald Black & Barbara Lamont, children Emelia, Arch'd, Peter, Angus, Donald, Anna & Alexander. (34r)
• Peter Lamont & Emelia Black, children Margaret & Archibald. (35)
• Peter Lamont & Ann McKELLAR, child Mary. (35)
• James STEWART & Helen Lamont. (35)

At Mill-house:

• Angus Lamont (widower) & C[hildren] -----. (36)

At Machdar Stialaig:

• John McLEISH & Mrs McLeish, children Donald, John, Malcolm, Hector & Janet; Peter Ferguson (servant); Duncan Lamont (servant). (39r)

At Pol Fail [?]:

• Alex'r Lamont & Janet CAMERON, John Lamont (his brother) and Duncan Cameron (her relation). (40r)

At Craig-na fithich:

• John Ferguon (widower) & children Archy & John; Cath: Lamont (servant). (42r)

At Auchalick (Machdor):

• Arch'd McINNES & Helen Lamont; children Catherine, John, Lachlan, Archibald, Helen, Sally, Mary & Alexander. (45)

At Tobar man Sul [?]:

• Arch'd WEIR & Ann HARKNESS; children George & Robert; Servants John Irvine & Sally Lamont. (57)

At Otter Ferry:

• John Lamont & Margaret Weir; children Archibald, John, Mary, Janet, Peter, Margaret, Duncan & William. (60)

At Strone:

• Archibald Lamont & children Mary, Sally, Archy, Jean, James & John, (61r)
• Peter FERGUSON and his sister Mary; servants Marg't Black, Arch'd Lamont, John Campbell, Hugh SMITH & Dunc'n McEWEN. (70)

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Missing from this record is Peter Lamont, son of Archibald and Mary [nee JOHSTON] Lamont (whose names being absent from the notebooks are believed to have been deceased by 1833). Peter was born and baptised in Kilfinan in 1794. He was the younger brother of Georgina (wife of Hector McLean) of Knapp, above; Norman; and Euphemia (widow of Hector McLachlan), both of Moss Cottage, above. Peter was married to Elizabeth Stewart in Glasgow in 1828. Their first son - John, was baptised in Kilfinan in 1830. But by late 1833, at least, Peter & Elizabeth had moved south to Rothesay in Buteshire where he found work as a gardener - their second child, son Archibald James, was baptised in Rothesay in December, 1833. Although Stark left no sense in his notes about just when he might have perambulated the parish, the fact that Peter & Elizabeth and their son John were not named in Stark's notebooks confirms that they had removed from Kilfinan by the time Stark made his rounds of the parish,  We might consider that he did so on more pleasant days in the summer months.

Others named Lamont who were natives of Kilfinan were also quite likely not detailed in Stark's notebooks because they, too, had moved elsewhere by the summer of 1833.

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The full record is accessible through New Register House in Edinburgh, one of the National Records of Scotland establishments, via the website <ScotlandsPeople>, a 'pay-per-view' site. This item is not separately indexed by <ScotlandsPeople>, rather it forms part of the information returned on some search terms as appropriate. It's described in <ScotlandsPeople> as a 'Family Register', and in some instances represents the only indication that a couple was married, or that a child or parent had died.

This item is also accessible through an LDS Family Search Center - search the catalog for the location 'Scotland, Argyll, Kilfinan', and access through 'Parish registers for Kilfinan, 1728-1876', microfilm No. 1041069, Item 4; DGS 7908472.

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