We studied the population if Jura during the second half of the nineteenth century through the records provided by the national censuses and watched it drop from 1158 to 614 during the fifty years from 1841 to 1891. We know tha tmany families left the island, both to emigrate and to settle on the mainland. Much of the period during which this exodus took place is give the term ‘The Clearances’, in the Highlands and Islands at large. We must now see whether this description applies to Jura. Was Jura ‘cleared’ of people to make way for sheep and deer, and to allow the landowners to gain bigger incomes than those supplied by the rents of the settled tenants? Miss Campbell insisted to the Commission that nothing of the kind ever took place on the island. ‘Not one single family was ever evicted from their dwelling’ she said, ‘and those who left did so voluntarily, because they preferred to go.’

There are other stories from these times that say that there was some sort of clearance which is about the Cnocbreac eviction in the 1840s. Initially there were five families living there and later only one family was left. The others were relocated elsewhere on the island, in better housing than before, and under the same laird. This doesn’t sound like a clearance in the true sense of the word.

Many people who’s ancestors came from Jura, and who are now living far away from their ancestors homeland, have an interest in finding out where their ancestors lived, worked and who they were. Because of the mass migration many records have gone lost but there are still several sources where information can be obtained. If you are searching for your ancestors from Jura the following information, links and resources could be of any help. Providing you have done some basic research and have knowledge of your family tree, it is possible to access a complete range of Parish, Census and Statutory Registers in several places in Scotland to continue your investigation.

ScotlandsPeople is a partnership between the General Register Office for Scotland, the National Archives of Scotland, The Court of the Lord Lyon and brightsolid (formerly Scotland Online). ScotlandsPeople is the official online source of parish register, civil registration, census and wills & testaments records for Scotland. They are holding over 50 million records, making the ScotlandsPeople database one of the worlds largest resources of genealogical information and one of the largest single information resources on the Web. The website address is www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

Jackie Davenport from the Argyll and Bute Council is the Council Archives and Administration Manager. She has a special Archives email address for Genealogy related questions. Your enquiries can be sent to archives@argyll-bute.gov.uk

Another interesting Jura Genealogy resource is provided by the members from the Jura e-mail list. By “subscribing” to this mailing list, you will become part of a loop of people who are researching their ancestors from the Isle of Jura, Scotland, and the related lines of their study. To SUBSCRIBE, send an e-mail to: SCT-JURA-L-request@rootsweb.com with the word subscribe as your message. you will receive a welcome message with instructions for sending messages to the list.

Below is an interesting collection of links to various resources that might be of help. The links are provided by Gavin, a regular visitor of this blog.

General information:
www.theargyllcolonyplus.org
A history of Jura emigration
Argyll Colony Plus
Gary McKay’s website

Some links to family trees/information:
Descendants of Alexander McDougald
Welcome To Clan Lindsay
The Kenneth Black Family
Journey to Jura by by Elizabeth Buie
Alexander McPherson of Jura

The Crofters Commission has approved the proposal by Ardfin Estate to create six new crofts on the Island of Jura. Drew Ratter, Chairman of the Commission, said, ‘This is just what the island needs, to build on its regeneration. These will be the first new crofts to be created on the island under the Crofting Reform Act, and it’s heartening to see such a positive outcome with six crofts extending to 2.70 hectares each being created to encourage young people to stay on the island.’ The new crofts will be located within walking distance of Craighouse, Jura’s main village. The landlord, Ardfin Estate, intends to impose the exclusion of the ‘right to buy’ option from the croft’s tenancy agreements. There are nine houses on Ardfin Estate, but none on the new croft land. Access to the new crofts will be directly from the main road. The crofts will have access to water and power supplies via connection to the main lines and pipes running into Craighouse. There will be no Common Grazing land for the new crofts.From the date the Commission issue their decision, there is a 42 day period for appeals to the Land Court. The next step will be for the Landlord/Estate to advertise and to select tenants to propose to the Commission for each croft.

Factor for the Ardfin Estate, William MacDonald, said: ‘Jura has over the last few years has seen the population on the island rise to over 200 from 175. Ardfin Estate wants to build on this success by creating six new crofts, providing opportunities for young people to have accommodation and establish new businesses and helping to secure the island for future generations.’ ‘We have already seen several of the older crofters in the township of Knockrome give up parts of their crofts, enabling young people to have ground of their own and to build affordable housing so they can remain on the island. The Estate aims to achieve the same result with the creation of these new crofts’. Area Commissioner, Robin Currie, said, ‘Ardfin Estate is to be congratulated on creating the new crofts on Jura. I see the creation of those crofts as being a major catalyst in retaining and attracting young families to Jura. This in turn will benefit the local services and boost the economically active population of Jura, which are the primary aims of the Initiative at the Edge partnership which operates on the island.’