Are you one of those people who, like me, used to hear the ‘old’ people in your family regularly discussing family history – yet, in the blissful ignorance of youth, completely ignored what was being said?
These days, with the benefit of hindsight and a (very small) accumulation of wisdom – what I wouldn’t give to be able to go back and discuss this almost-forgotten family history with my forebears.
More recently, though, it has become trendy to take an interest in your ancestors. Television programmes such as ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ have helped fire the enthusiasm of many people in a society where family life has become increasingly fractured, and family histories are being lost.
People, naturally enough, want to know where they have come from.
At Inveraray’s Nichol Hall last Tuesday evening, Inveraray and District Local History Society enjoyed a fascinating discussion on the subject of genealogy by Strathlachlan native, Dr Alastair MacFadyen.
One definition of genealogy is ‘the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history’ (courtesy of Wikipedia). Alastair MacFadyen used his own family history to illustrate the process in a presentation punctuated with anecdotes about his ancestors, bringing colour and life to people who otherwise might have been little more than names on a page to the audience.
A former lecturer, Alastair modestly described himself as “an amateur genealogist who has been dabbling for 30 to 40 years.”
He has traced his paternal side of the family back to his great great great grandfather, one Archie MacFadyen or Mcffaiden, as recorded in an 1826 old parish record of the birth of his son, Thomas.
Archie was one of the original tenants of the township of Balure, or Newton, on the shores of Loch Fyne at Strathlachlan. Newton was a village planned by the landowning MacLachlan family in the late 18th century, and families were moved from villages inland to become crofters/fishermen on the coast.
Using old parish records along with the record of births, marriages and deaths (which began in Scotland in 1855) and census schedules (from 1841), Alastair has pieced together not only the identity, but also the  occupations, movements and other details of his forebears.
“Headstones are a good place to start,” he pointed out. “They contain important information in the inscriptions. He also advised: When you’re researching your family history, it is better to start from the present and work your way back.”
Records from Strathlachlan Estate have also revealed intriguing details of the MacFadyen clan. One record, from 1894, shows payment to Thomas MacFadyen for killing rabbits and mending nets for the estate.
Alastair told the story of his grandfather, Archie MacFadyen, who became known as ‘Archie Rabbit’. He was a native Gaelic speaker, who, when asked about the nature of his employment by an English tourist replied, after some thought about the translation into English: “Well, I’m a yacht in summer...and a rabbit in winter.”
Like many young men of the district, the crewing of yachts for wealthy Glasgow owners during the season was a main source of income,  while rabbits provided valuable cash over the winter months.
A highly informative evening closed with a vote of thanks by Leonard McNeill, who remarked: “Alastair, for an amateur of 30 years, you haven’t done too badly.”

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