Township of Doll

Stone & Clay 1849 

Schedule of the contents and estimated annual value of the lots in the townships together with some of the statements made by the tenants to the Surveyor who asked the following questions: Date of entry, what he paid outgoing tenant and for what plus description of house, by whom built & when built  

JANE CHISHOLM – succeeded her husband JAMES POPE who entered about the year 1816.  He was the first tenant in the lot.  The houses were all built by him of stone and clay and fronted with lime and thatched with straw all at him own cost and were all now in good condition.

JOHN ROSS - 2 lots – succeeded his mother at her death, 10 years ago.  She and his father held the lot for about 20 years before then.  The houses are built of stone and clay and fronted with lime, thatched partly with straw and party with divots.  The dwelling house is old.  It was built at the expense of the Duchess Countess for Doctor? Forbes but is still in middling good condition – offices which were built by himself since his entry are also in a good state of repairs.

WILLIAM MACRAE – succeeded his father 3 years ago – does not know the date of his father’s entry.  The dwelling house was built by his father of stone and clay – pointed with lime – offices which are built of dry stones and pointed with lime were bought by his father at his entry but he does not know what he paid for them.  All the houses are thatched with straw and in rather good repair.

ROBERT GRANT, Ground Officer – succeeded ELSPAT GORDON two years ago – he pays no rent – the houses are in a ruinous state

HUGH MURRAY x 2 lots – succeeded ALEXANDER MACLEOD who went to America 19 years ago. Paid Macleod £16 for the houses and £6 for the croft.  The dwelling house is built of stone and clay and fronted with lime.  Offices of dry stones and all thatched with straw and are now in good state of repair.  Second lot was from the widow of JAMES  SUTHERLAND.

JANET ROSS (lately deceased and succeeded by her daughter ELSPAT SUTHERLAND) succeeded her husband DONALD SUTHERLAND who was first tenant of the lot) 15 years ago – present dwelling house was built 8 years ago by Janet Ross of stone and clay, fronted with lime and thatched with divots, for which she got timber from the proprietor.  Byre and stable (which are old and now almost ruinous) are of dry stones built by her husband long ago.

ALEXANDER SUTHERLAND jnr? - succeeded his uncle JOHN MACRAE about 11 years ago. The houses were built by his uncle (a good while before, cannot say how long) of stone and lime and thatched with straw and are now in good repair. 

JAMES MACKAY (Bain) – got possession of his lot 20 years ago.  He was first tenant in it.  Houses then built by him at his sole cost – of stones and clay – thatched partly with straw and partly with divots.

ISABELLA ROSS – succeeded her grandmother, ISABELLA MATHESON, 4 years ago – the houses were built by her grandmother (but does not know how long ago) at her own cost, except that she got 20 shillings from the Duchess Countess for building a chimney.  The dwelling house is clay built and the other house dry stone walls, thatched partly with straw and partly with divots – all badly built and now in a bad state of repair. 

MARGARET GILCHRIST – got possession of her lot about 26 years ago.  She was the first tenant in it – the houses were put up by her shortly after she entered, only she got timber from the proprietor for them – the dwelling house is clay built and byre and stable dry stone walls – all thatched with straw and are at present in middling good repair.

BETTY MATHESON – got her lot about 29 years ago – the houses were built at her sole expense – they are of stone and clay and pointed with lime and thatched with straw – and at present in good order.

HUGH MURRAY – succeeded Widow SUTHERLAND About 7 years ago.  The dwelling houses then on the lot were in a ruinous state and 5 years ago he built, at his own cost, a good large two storied house of stone and lime and slated, which cost him at least £150 exclusive of hi own labour in carting materials etc.  the offices are those he got in the place – he cannot say how old they are – the walls are of stone and clay pointed with lime and roof covered with tiles to which he has lately made some repair and they are at present in good condition.

WILLIAM MELVILLE - succeeded WILLIAM SUTHERLAND who went to America about 22 years ago – paid William Sutherland £11 for getting the lot and for a small patch of potatoes and a little spot of bere.  No house on the lot then but a ruinous dwelling house which he used for one year only he was obliged to rebuild it.  The present dwelling house is the third that he has built since he came to the lot – it is of stone and clay and partly lime and the byre and stable are of stone and clay and all thatched with straw and all at present in middling good repair.

NEIL MACBEATH - succeeded his father JAMES MACBEATH who was first tenant of the lot - about 16 years ago.  The houses were built by the Duchess Countess for his father and mother.  The dwelling house which is built of stone and clay and pointed with lime and thatched with straw is in tolerable repair but the byre and stable are in ruinous but he intends to rebuild both immediately for which purpose he has already got timber from the proprietor.

JANET DEMPSTER – succeeded her father JAMES DEMPSTER about 40 years ago – the present houses were built by her about 20 years since of stone and clay and lime and thatched with straw – but they are now in a bad state of repair.

MARGARET MACDONALD – succeeded her father PETER MACDONALD who was first tenant in the lot about 8 years ago – the houses were built by her father about 30 years ago – the dwelling house of stone and clay and pointed with lime and thatched with straw.  The byre and stable of dry stones thatched with divots.  All the houses are at present in a tolerable repair. 

JOHN MACKAY – succeeded ALEXANDER GRAHAM who went to America about 19 years ago – paid Graham £20 for the houses and £20 besides for crop and other things.  The dwelling house is built of stone and clay and thatched with straw.  The byre and stable of dry stones thatched with divots – all the houses are at present in middling good repair.

JANE MATHESON – succeeded her husband WILLIAM SUTHERLAND who was the first tenant of the lot about 3 years ago.  The houses were built by her husband at his own cost upwards of 20 years ago – the swelling house of stone and lime and byre and stable of dry stones all thatched with straw and all at present in good repair.

ELSPAT GRAHAM – succeeded her mother, CATHERINE MURRAY, at her death 15 years ago – the houses were built by her mother for which she got timber from the proprietor – but they have been repaired by her since her mother’s death and she paid for the timber used in the repairs – the dwelling house is built of stone and clay and thatched with divots – the byre and stable of dry stones also thatched with divots and all of them at present in good condition.

ROBERT MACKENZIE – entered his lot about 29 years ago and was the first tenant in it.  The present dwelling house was built about 8 years ago of stone and lime and clay and thatched with straw and is the third house he has built since his entry at his own expenses except that he got some lime from the proprietor.  The byre and stable are also built of stone and clay and thatched with divots.  All the houses are at present in good condition.

JOHN SUTHERLAND (Gair) – first tenant in the lot – does not recollect the date of his entry.  The hoses were built by him shortly after he entered – all of stone and clay – the dwelling house thatched with straw and byre and stable with divots and all of them is good repair.

CATHERINE SUTHERLAND (Ross on G - - - ) – got her lot 30 years ago – her father possessed land at the Doll before her but he died 40 years ago. There is no house on the lot now.  She married 28 years ago and went to live with her husband WILLIAM GUNN who has a house in Brora.  The house on the lot at that time was merely a black hut of no value which she pulled down and hinched ? the site of it.

THOMAS MACKENZIE – succeeded JAMES MACLEOD 20 years ago. Paid Macleod £11.10 for the houses which were then old having been built upwards of 50 years ago by DONALD BRUCE who occupied the lot before Macleod.  The dwelling house is built of stone and clay and thatched with straw.  The byre and stable of dry stones thatched with divots – he made no repairs on any of the houses since he got them except new roofing the byre and putting glass windows in the dwelling house.  The are all now in a frail ruinous state.

ALEXANDER GRAHAM - fiddler – succeeded ELSPAT CUTHBERT widow of ALEXANDER SUTHERLAND, about 8 years ago.  The houses were built by Sutherland upwards of 60 years ago and are now almost in ruins.

ANGUS SUTHERLAND (Martin) – succeeded his mother MARGARET SUTHERLAND about 13 years ago.  The houses which are of dry stones with cupples rising from the ground, were built by his father at his own cost upwards of 30 years ago, and are now all in a frail and ruinous state.

JOHN MACBEATH – got possession 12 years ago of the house left vacant by HUGH SUTHERLAND who went to America for which he, John Macbeath, paid nothing and which he has since occupied rent free.  But 4 years ago he got a lot of work land adjoining the house which he is now improving and for which he pays 2 shillings a year rent.  The house is built of stone and clay and thatched with divots at present in very bad condition.

JANE SUTHERLAND – succeeded her mother, MARGARET SUTHERLAND, widow of ROBERT SUTHERLAND about 6 years ago – the houses then on the lot, which were built by her father about 30 years ago, became ruinous, and she built a new dwelling house of stone and clay and lime and thatched with straw, 3 years ago. Old byre and stables still used but they are quite ruinous.

JOHN MATHESON – got possession of his lot in 1823.  He was the first tenant in it and built a dwelling house of stone and lime, and also a byre, in 1825, at his own expense, except that he got some timer for the byre from the proprietor.  The houses are thatched with straw and in good condition now.

ADAM SUTHERLAND – first tenant in the lot – entered it 30 years ago – built dwelling house and office then at his sole expense, of stone and clay and thatched with straw – they are almost in a ruinous state now.

JOHN MELVILLE – entered his lot upwards of 30 years ago – it was all waste land.  He built his houses then of dry stones at his own cost and 3 years ago he built a new dwelling house of stone and lime mixed with clay and thatched with straw.  It is a good house but he cannot state what it cost him.  The old dwelling house he had converted into a barn but it and the byre and stable being all old and built of dry stones are now in bad repair.

ALEXANDERINA GLASS – succeeded her aunt ISABELLA BAILLIE, widow of GEORGE SUTHERLAND, five years ago – and 3 years ago she built a new dwelling house of stone and lime and slated which cost her at least £100.  The old house which was built of dry stones she converted into a byre but it is in a ruinous state.

ALEXANDER SUTHERLAND – succeeded his mother JANE MURRAY about 10 years ago.  His father was the first tenant in the lot which he entered 30 years ago.  The present houses were built by his mother 12 year ago of stone and clay and thatched partly with straw and partly with divots.  She got timber for them from the proprietor.  The former houses which were built by his father, who also got timber from the proprietor, became ruinous.

JOHN SUTHERLAND McHamish – entered his lot, which was then all waste, about 28 years ago.  The dwelling house and offices which were then built by him at his own cost of dry stones thatched partly with straw and partly with divots are still in tolerable repair.

ELLEN MURRAY – succeeded her mother ISABEL MACKAY about 2 years ago.  Her father ALEXANDER MURRAY, was the first tenant in the lot.  He died about 20 years ago.  The houses were built by him for which he got timbers from the proprietor.  They are now almost ruinous.

ALEXANDER GILCHRIST – entered his lot which was then all waste about 30 years ago.  The houses were then built by him at his own cost, of stone and clay mixed with lime and thatched partly with straw and partly with divots and are still in good condition.

ELIZABETH ANDERSON – succeeded her husband ALEXANDER SUTHERLAND who got possession of the ground 52 years ago – it was all waste then.  Her husband died 37 years ago – he paid no rent.  The present houses were built by her about 20 years since.  The dwelling house of stone and clay and pointed with lime and byre of dry stones pointed with lime – all thatched partly with straw and partly with divots – all at present in good repair.

ANDREW SUTHERLAND – got possession 12 year ago of a house formerly occupied by GEORGE REID, for which he paid £6 but it was so old and ruinous that he was under the necessity of building a new house 4 years ago at his own expenses, only that he got a few cabers? For it from the proprietor.  The new house is built of straw and clay and some lime and thatched with heather and now in good condition – byre of dry stones pointed with lime and thatched with divots – it was only after he built the house that he got the land – then chiefly waste for which he paid 5 shilling a year – this ground was before then possessed as pasture by ALEXANDER GILCHRIST.

GEORGE GRAHAM – entered his lot 20 years ago – it was then all waste – the houses were built by him at his own cost – the dwelling house is built of stone and clay and pointed with lime and thatched with broom – the byre of dry stones and thatched with divots – both at present in bad repair

WILLIAM MACDONALD – succeeded ELIZABETH BAILLIE 5 years ago and paid the heirs of Elizabeth Baillie £2 for the houses which are very bad.

DONALD SUTHERLAND, Colin – succeeded DAVID ROSS who went to America 20 years ago – paid Ross £7 for the houses to which he has made considerable repairs since, but they are still in bad condition – they are built of dry stones and thatched partly with straw and partly with divots.

ALEXANDER SUTHERLAND, Og – has been in possession of his lot for upwards of 40 years – he built the first houses at his own cost but a new dwelling house was built for him by the Duke 4 years ago - the new house is built of stone and lime and thatched with heather – old byre and stable built of dry stones and pointed with lime, are still in good repair.

NELLY SUTHERLAND – has had her lot upwards of 40 years – house of turf, built at her own expense now almost in ruins.

ANN SUTHERLAND – has had her lot for 50 years – same description of house as Nelly Sutherland but still more ruinous.

JOHN SUTHERLAND senior – entered his lot 28 years ago.  The houses were built at his own expense except that he got timber from the proprietor for the byre and stable.  The houses are all built of stone and clay and thatched with straw.  The walls are still in good condition but the roofs are in a decayed state.

CATHERINE MELVILLE – Catherine scored out on the actual listing and Francis put in but in the report of the state of the lot he refers to Catherine – succeeded her mother BETTY MUNRO 6 years ago – her mother entered the lot 28 years ago.  The houses were built the the Duchess Countess for her mother but they now almost in ruin and a new dwelling house in is course of building by her brother FRANCIS MELVILLE for her and himself.  The walls which are of stone and lime are just completed. 

ADAM SUTHERLAND – succeeded his father, JOHN SUTHERLAND, 3 years ago.  His father was the first tenant in the lot which he entered upwards of 40 years ago.  The houses were built by his father when he entered.  The dwelling house is built of stone and clay and the offices chiefly of dry stones.  All thatched with straw but the roof of all are now in a bad state of decay.

THOMAS ROSS – succeeded his father who was the first tenant in the lot upwards of 20 years ago.  The present houses were built shortly after his father’s death by him (Thomas Ross) at his own cost and 2 years ago he built an addition to the dwelling house.  All the houses are of stone and clay and thatched with straw and heather and are at present in good condition.

ELIZABETH MACPHERSON – entered her lot upwards of 30 years ago – she was the first tenant in it – she built the house at her entry and got timbers for it from the proprietor and it was repaired lately when she got timber likewise – it is built of stone and clay and thatched with straw.

JOHN MACDONALD – succeeded NELLY SUTHERLAND 16 years ago.  He built the houses and got the timber from the proprietor – dwelling house built of stone and clay and byre of dry stone – thatched with straw and divot and now in bad repair.

ADAM FRASER – succeeded CATHERINE MUNRO 16 years ago. Paid £12 for the houses which are built partly of stone and clay and partly of dry stones – all thatched with divot and are still in tolerable repair.

GORDON ELPHINSTONE – entered 30 years ago – he was the first tenant in the lot – built a new dwelling house a year ago as the old one was getting ruinous – the hew house is of stone and clay and thatched with divot – the byre is old and in bad repair – got the timber for the new house from the proprietor and does not recollect whether or not he got any for the old house.

ALEXANDER GRAHAM, Lam – entered 30 years ago. He was the first tenant in the lot – houses built of stone and clay and thatched with straw – got the timber from the proprietor – they are now old and in bad repair

ANGUS SUTHERLAND, Bain – entered 30 years ago – he was the first tenant in the lot which was all waste land then – the first houses became ruinous and he built a new dwelling house 3 years ago of stone and clay and pointed with lime and thatched with heather which cost him, besides his own labour, £10.  he built a new barn a year before he built the house which cost him £4.  the barn is built of stone and clay and thatched with divot.  He got neither timber nor lime from the proprietor.

ISABEL ROSS – succeeded her father, WILLIAM ROSS, who was the first tenant in the lot 4 years ago – the houses then on the lot which were built by her father, were old and ruinous and she has built a new dwelling house since, which has cost her £10 besides her own l- - - - - - and getting timber for it from the proprietor.  It is built of stone and clay and thatched with divot – byre and stable are old and in bad repair.

CATHERINE MURRAY – succeeded from her husband JOHN SUTHERLAND who died 2 years ago – he was the first tenant in the lot and entered about 30 years ago – the present houses were built by him.  The dwelling house was built 10 years ago of stone and clay – the byre and stable a few years before also of stone and clay and all are thatched with straw and in good condition.  And there is a small corner of this lot occupied by MARION SUTHERLAND Gow, rent free which she has had for 21 years.  She built a house on it at her own expense of dry stones, thatched with straw which is now in good condition.

JOHN SUTHERLAND, Pensioner – entered his lot 20 years ago – houses built then and cost him £20.  he got no timber for them from the proprietor – the dwelling house is built of stone and clay and thatched with straw – and the byre of dry stones thatched with divots – both in good repair.

WILLIAM SUTHERLAND entered his lot 13 year ago.  He then married the widow of ALEXANDER SUTHERLAND who was the first tenant in the lot and who died 2 years before then – the houses were built by Alexander Sutherland about 25 years ago at his own cost.  They are built of dry stones pointed with lime and thatched with straw – all now in good condition having had some considerable repairs done to them 3 years ago.

ISABELLA MELVILLE, widow of GEORGE ROSS – succeeded her husband 26 years ago – her husband entered the lot 28 years ago – the houses which she now occupies were built by her husband shortly after his entry of dry stones and thatched  with divots – they are now old and frail. She built a new dwelling house 4 years ago but it has not yet been finished inside and consequently not yet inhabited – it is built of stone and clay, pointed with lime and thatched with straw.

GEORGE MACKAY, cooper – entered his lot 22 years ago – he was the first tenant in it – first dwelling house built by him failed and the second also – the present dwelling house was built only a year ago – it is a good house built of stone and clay, thatched with divots and cost him £7.10 shillings besides his own labour and - - - timber which he got from the proprietor.  Byre and stable are old but still in good condition.

GEORGE ELPHINSTONE – entered at Whit 1849 – lot all cultivated moor – dwelling house newly built at his own expense of stone and lime and thatched with divots – cost £12.10 shillings – mason work – got some timbers for it from the proprietor.

WILLIAM GUNN – succeeded his father in law ALEXANDER MELVILLE about 20 years ago – the houses were built by his father in law about 30 years ago of stone and clay and thatched with divots – he got no timber from the proprietor for them – they are all now in bad repair.

BETTY GRANT, widow of ALEXANDER MACKAY – succeeded her husband 16 years ago.  Her husband was in the lot for 20 years before then.  The present dwelling house was built 10 years ago of stone and clay, thatched partly with straw and partly with divots and are all at present in good condition.

ELSPAT SUTHERLAND, widow of GILBERT GRAHAM – succeeded her husband at his death 3 years ago – her husband entered the lot about 50 years ago – present dwelling house was built 4 year ago of stone and clay and pointed with lime, thatched with straw.  Got timber for it from the proprietor – the byre and stable are old and in bad repair.

MARGARET SUTHERLAND, widow of JOHN SUTHERLAND – entered her lot about 30 years ago – she built the houses then which are of dry stones, thatched partly with straw and partly with divots and now in a very frail state.

CATHERINE CAMERON widow of WILLIAM SUTHERLAND – succeeded her husband who died 2 years ago – and who succeeded his father about 22 years ago – the present houses were built by her husband about 12 years ago – the dwelling house of stone and clay, thatched with straw, the roof of which is now getting frail – the byre and barn are of dry stones thatched with divots – now in bad repair.

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