1. Donald Gunn (b.1767 – d. After 1841)

The research that has been done on our family is fairly conclusive in confirming that our branch of the Gunn family is descended from Donald Gunn of Kildonan, Sutherlandshire, Scotland.  Donald’s wife was Ester Sutherland from Caithness (~1770 – after 1841) they were married about 1790.

I was able to confirm this by contracting a professional genealogist associated with Timespan Heritage Centre in Helmsdale who was able to provide details from the sauces available to her.

Donald was born about 1767 and died in West Helmsdale, Loth sometime after the 1841 census of that parish. His father was likely Robert Gunn (1715-1802) of Achaneccan Farm, Sutherlandshire and his mother was probably Isobel Elder. Robert and Isobel were married in 1750.

The records from this part of Scotland are not complete for the time period before 1850. However, as our family descended from what has been called the “Chiefly Line” there has been some attempt to document the various generations. Some of the Old Parish Records (OPR) exist and there is an extensive library of “Sutherland Estate Papers” in the Archives of Scotland that have been available to researchers.

I have a genealogical chart that purports to show the descendants of George Gunn the Coroner who died in 1489, On this chart, that Donald, his brother John (1759 - <1861), sister Elizabeth (1764---) and brother David 1764-1827) were born in Houstry, in the Parish of Latheron, Caithness. Younger siblings, Alexander (about 1788 ?? to 1859) and Anna (no birth date given were said to have been born in Kildonan. The listed children of all siblings are shown as been born in Kildonan.

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The Gunns of Kildonan apparently had a bit of a reputation. The following is an extract from the court records.

“Miscreants dealt with at JP Court 3 April 1811 at instance of Excise officials, mainly for smuggling offences…

Alexr Gunn, Achniken, Kildonan parish, discovered 5 Dec 1810, 98 G[allon]s Wash, Distilling privately in his Stable, Appeared, Fined £4...”

The records of the Kildonan Riots of January 6, 1813, show that a Donald Gunn and his son Robert were present along with two individuals named Alexander Gunn. Robert Gunn is named as a participant in this short-lived protest of the Sutherland clearances.

Notes:

During the early part of the 19th century there was a considerable mobility of tenants between farms. Crofters were cleared from small farms so that the landlords could improve their profits by leasing larger tracts of land to sheep farmers and also so that the better growing land could be farmed more efficiently. Some tenants were relocated to purpose built villages such as Helmsdale where they were encouraged to become fishermen. Others were given smaller less viable plots of land on hillsides or near the sea. Marrel and Badbea are two examples of villages created to house these tenants.

It appears that, in many cases, the leases on plots were for short terms only and this further encouraged mobility.

There are other factors, which may cause some confusion for researchers. The boundaries of the parishes changed. This is the case for Loth and Kildonan. There is also the matter of the same names being used for different areas. Kildonan is a parish but it is also the name of a farm in that parish. Kildonan Farm is near Kildonan Kirk in the parish of Kildonan and Kildonan Lodge is a short distance up river.

Latherton in Caithness is a settlement and the site of Gunn Heritage Centre. However it is also a large parish that borders on Kildonan Parish in Sutherland.

In most of the early records, the places named refer to the actual farm. Many of these settlements (Corrish, for example) were vacated and obliterated as a result of the clearances. Further confusion is caused by different spellings given to place names as some were translated from Gaelic or misspelled in transcription.