The information is presented in the form of a sequence of descendancy charts (accessed from the genealogy home page) which tell the story through successive generations. Each entry has the basic information of event, date and location which have been taken from original sources hence the occasional use of different spellings. Sometimes inferences have had to be drawn from references in other doucments. Where occupations are given they are those revealed in the various documents and appear in the chronological order in which they occur. These add interest and are something of a historical comment. Where you find the note ‘Gaelic and English speaker’ it means that the person was asked the question in either the 1891 census when it was first put or in the 1901 census when it was repeated. This should not be taken to imply that others in their immediate family and those who went before were not speakers of Gaelic. On the contrary it may be taken to assume that they were.
Almost all the genealogical data in this record have been obtained from the various online sources now available but particularly www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk the official website of Scottish Records, while in the early days of my research www.familysearch.org provided information about elusive English and Irish data. www.findmypast.com which makes available on-line the General Registry Office’s Indexes and an increasing range of bibliographical resources, has brought to the computer screen research which would have hitherto proved dauntingly time consuming. I was also able to consult the records in the Mitchell Library in Glasgow. The relevant Australian sources have been the Victoria State and South Australia State Registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
The records for baptisms in the combined Parishes of Dunoon and Kilmun are available from 1744 and for marriages from 1742. The Statutory Registration of births, marriages and deaths in Scotland became mandatory from 1855.
During 2007 I was independently contacted by two direct descendants of Christian Gilmour b1792 who married John McNiel in 1814. Information about descendants from this union have allowed me to produce an entirely new Descendancy Chart which amongst the wealth of information introduces a new Australian division of the family. (See also descendants of Chalres Gilmour b1854). Apart from this, valuable information has been supplied on the Campbells in Kenmore on Loch Fyne and about the Hogarth family on Bute. All these contacts have also provided most interesting details of the antecedents of marriage partners. All this, together with proposed biographical and historical notes as well as illustrations, are areas for future work.
John Bone introduced me to the world of genealogical research and contributed most of the details a about the Sheffield Gilmours.
I extend my thanks to Judy Cagney (née Gilmour) and Marion Cagney in Australia who have together provided all the information about the Australian Gilmours.
Mary Purvis (née Gilmour), a descendant of Duncan Gilmour b1747 by his second wife Cathren McKeller not only supplied invaluable information for this descendancy but her continuing help is enabling me to extend this record of our family.
Janet White provided the whole descendancy of the eldest child of John McNiel and Christian Gilmour, Mary McNiel b1814. Richard MacNeil supplied the descendancy of their second child Duncan McNiel b1815 which includes all the information on the Australian MacNeils.
Murdo McDonald, who retired in 2006 from his position as Archivist for Argyll and Bute, provided advice and inspiration, and Eleanor Harris, Local Studies Librarian at Sandbank, continues to stimulate my interest in those distant families who lived at the head of the Holy Loch and from whose records these earliest Gilmours emerge.
Acknowledgement also goes to the work of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Family History Society www.gwsfhs.org.uk which provides invaluable information and support for its community of genealogists.
Finally my thanks to Margaret White who has supplied so much local knowledge and above all who told us in 2002 where North Gerhallow was, and to her neighbour Margaret who took us there.
The charts on this site are under contiuous active consideration. Pages will continue to be revised as necessary, and where appropriate the date of revision is stated on the page. Also the names of fellow contributors appear at the head of relevant charts. I hope that the publication of these results so far may stimulate further information or discussion. Please contact me at
or where appropriate:
Colin Campbell colcam@fuffles6101932.fsnet.co.uk
Mary Purvis mary_c_purvis@hotmail.com
Richard MacNeil harrismacneil@hotmail.com
Martyn Taylor martyntaylor@msn.com
All the data which produces the various charts and notes that comprise this site are held on Master Genealogist Silver Edition software (Version 4d) from Wholly Genes www.whollygenes.com and it should be noted that a UK edition is now available. The charts were downloaded in ASCII file format to produce the charts you see here.
e-mail: mark.bone7@btinternet.com
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