Marion Sinclair Gunn 1787 - 1837 Part B

No mention is made in the obituary of John’s second wife Janet McKay who was still alive. 

Marion and John’s gravestone at the old Berriedale cemetery

Unveiling Ceremony

In 1912 at the unveiling ceremony of the memorial cairn, in his address mentioning the homes of former days to those gathered, Mr George Gunn did not forget John and Marion Gunn: 

“There was the home of his relatives, John Gunn and Marion Sinclair, his wife, and their family of five sons and six daughters”.

The Memorial Cairn at Badbea. An Interesting Unveiling Ceremony, John O Groat Journal 8, November 1912.

The Gunn Home in Badbea

A few glimpses of the home life of his parents Marion and John were given by Alexander Gunn:

“The people were industrious and frugal. Every house had its spinning ­wheel, on which was spun the material for clothing the whole household, male and female, and if their homemade clothing did not come up to the fine finish of shop-bought, it had the advantage over it in warmth and durability. Spinning and carding were learnt by all the young women at their mother's knee, so that when they got houses of their own, they were at no loss to supply the wants of the goodman in respect of clothing”.

A Native of Badbea, Rambling Recollections of Berriedale, Badbea, and Neighbourhood. Article I, Northern Ensign, July 17, 1879

“We were most religiously trained, and every ordinance of religion was most punctually observed, as the following will show. On Saturday night there was strict preparation made for the Sabbath. Everything that could be done that night was done, so as to leave nothing to do on the Sabbath but the real works of necessity and mercy. The water barrel was filled up to the brim, that there might be no need for bringing in so much as a jig of water on the Sabbath. The peat neuk was replenished, and the peats required for Sunday’s use broken, ready to be laid on the fire. The hearth was cleared of all superfluous ashes, the floor clean swept, and everything tidied up, leaving nothing to be done on Sunday morning but to set up the fire. The very potatoes were washed and put in the pot, ready to be hung on the crook. The day began and ended with family worship, not only on Sunday, but on week days as well, a practice which I am sorry to say, seems to have fallen into decay in Scotland, once so famed for its religious observance”.

A Native of Badbea, Rambling Recollections of my Schools & School Days. Article XXI, Northern Ensign Oct 19, 1892

“But many a child of God found food and shelter in Badbea, especially at the communion seasons at Berriedale. We have seen ten or a dozen people lodged in our house on such occasions, from Thursday to the following Monday, and John Badbea would have as many entertained in his house. The prayer meetings held in the evenings, after returning from the day's services, were on such occasions the most sweet and solemn we ever witnessed, and it would be sometimes one and two o' clock in the morning before people would disperse. These were indeed precious times, and I believe no one who enjoyed them can ever forget them. As I have already said, the Badbea people were simple and kind - hearted, and were ready at all times to extend a helping hand according to their means, to any one of whom they saw stood in need of help”.

A Native of Badbea, Rambling Recollections of my Schools & School Days. Article III, Northern Ensign, August 27, 1879

“Old James Horne used to call that way. I remember the old man's visits. He used to call occasionally, riding a quiet dun pony. He would halt in front of our house and cry with a snivel, "John!" If my father was about at hand he responded to the call, and held the stirrup till the Laird dismounted. He then gave father the bridle, when the two walked along to Auchincraig, and after traversing the lawn, and being assisted to remount, the old laird retraced his steps back to Auchastle at a walking pace. He never put the pony to a trot. I remember on one occasion his appearing in front of the house and as usual uttering the same cry; but father was not at hand that day, and it was a pouring-down shower of rain. My mother responded to the call and assisted him to alight, and as he had no umbrella or any protection from the rain, mother invited him into the house, which invitation he accepted. I question if he ever had been inside the house of any of his tenants previously, and it is very likely he had very little idea of what the interior of the house was like”.  

“This is the description of the one he honoured with his presence this time:- The one entrance served for man and beast. On entering, the cattle sheded to the right and the rest of the inhabitants to the left, having a wooden partition separating the cattle and the family. There was the fire in the middle of the floor, and the peat neuk close at hand. The furniture was all home-made, and ranged on each side of the fireplace: but, need I say, there was no soft-bottomed chairs - just the hard board, with a rung an inch thick in front and back. I omitted to say there was a "but" and a "ben" but let me come back to the laird, who got to the hinder side of the partition, when mother set a chair beside him. He looked at it, but made no sign of using it. Mother divined the reason, and she went and fetched a pillow, placing it on the chair, when the laird sat down and remained till the shower ceased. Then mother had the honour of holding the stirrup, when the laird mounted and moved off. There was great expectation and speculation amongst us youngsters as to the amount of cash that was about to change hands for all the kind offices which were performed on this occasion: but whether the laird had left his purse behind him or failed to find a key to open his heart, we never knew. The only thing we were certain of was that he left nothing behind him to commemorate his visit. Now a stranger not acquainted with the place is apt to think that the construction and arrangements of the house I have described were exceptional. Well, they are, in so far as in many of the houses the wooden partition spoken of did not exist at all”.

Langwell Lairds Past and Present. Northern Ensign, 26 June, 1894

A Caithness chair at the Helmsdale museum

How Bizarre

This next extract is really bizarre, but it does illustrate both how superstitious folks were and how much they believed in manifestations – but also how utterly impossible it was for the crofters to defend themselves.

“In my last I described a brewing adventure and a surprise by the gaugers. There was none of the malt found in the possession of anybody, and the scattering of it among the heather and the grass was the worst result of the day’s adventures, as far as we could judge. M’Dougal, the local gauger, seems to have thought differently, as he lodged information against my father, charging him with being the owner of the malt, and grounded his charges on his having seen a woman leaving the hills, who, he said, was my mother, a circumstance altogether impossible, as my mother was dead seven years before this. My father was summoned to Wick, where he attended, having engaged Mr Miller, late town clerk, to defend him, and he succeeded in getting the case decided in his favour by the justices. The Excise appealed to the Quarter Sessions, who also decided in my father’s favour; but the Excise determined to carry the case to the Court of the Exchequer, where my father was not able to follow it and defend himself, and, as might be expected, against him on the evidence of a man who swore that he saw a woman who was seven years in her grave come out of the kiln where the malt was found. I cannot tell whether M’Dougal is still in the land of the living or not, but if his story has not met him already, it will meet him at a future tribunal. I need not say where the malt was, but my father was unjustly dealt with at that time, as he had no more connection with it than the man in the moon”.

A Native of Badbea, Rambling Recollections of my Schools & School Days. Article XXI, Northern Ensign May 25, 1892 

        

My Comments:

Although there is no record of the cause of Marion’s death the following article appeared in the John O Groat Journal on 10^th November 1837 and could perhaps be a clue:

Fever

“It gratifies us to state that this distressing malady is considerably on the decline in the town and its more immediate vicinity.  The disease is, however we understand spreading in the country and we have heard of several deaths in the neighbouring parishes.  A few days ago a woman died of fever in this place and three others who were in attendance and in the enjoyment of good health on the day of the funeral have since been carried off by the same malady.

The fever referred to could have been possibly either Typhus fever or Typhoid fever.