Killean

Located to the north east of Auchindrain towards Inveraray
This was a township in the Mid 1700's

(present day : B&B www.killean-farmhouse.co.uk )

A variety of spellings : Killian - also called St John's (gaelic : Cille Iain - cille translates as monastic cell / church / religious site - don't know which figure the Iain refers to yet)
St John's, related to anglicisation ..
Need to work out When it was Which name through time.

Duke Of Argyll owned it in the 1700's

1766 John MacDonald came to Killean to teach children.
He was born in Craignish, his father was a gardener, who went to work for the Duke of Argyll
Notes from his autobiography are here and can be used to confirm the date of the sale of Killian . http://www.electricscotland.com/books/macdonald1.htm
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL Of JOHN MACDONALD : Schoolmaster and Soldier 1770-1830
1751 - born Craignish
1758 - 7 years old - father gave up job as gardener for son, took a small farm,
1762 - 11 years old - father began work in Duke of Argylls garden
1765 - 14 years old - hired by Mr Livingstone, Scarba to teach children
1766 - 15 years old - Killian (16 families)

and then I agreed with a set of honest farmers in a farm called Killian, three miles west of Inveraray, the capital of Argyle. But that farm, whereon sixteen families lived very comfortable, was taken by one Captain Campbell, who kept a great many cattle, so the people were dispersed, and my school broke up the May following.

1767 - 16 years old - Lochowside - taught for three years.
1770 - 19 years old - Strathlachlan - taught for four years
1774 - 23 years old - school moved to Strachur - taught for 2 years
1776 - 25 years old - Tongue, Sutherland - May left Greenock
Father still living at Inveraray.

1766 Bought by Sir James Campbell of Killean, Perthshire, the brother of Sir Archibald Campbell of Inverneill, which James inherited from his brother later.
then run by his son Captain John Campbell, 4th of Inverneill (1766-1822)

The new owner cleared all the people from their homes and reorganised the farm.
Many of the people from Killean came to Auchindrain according to local lore.
Most moved on, but the McCosham's remained - the township found them a home in ACHDN L the steading across the burn to the east of the other buildings.
Killean was then populated with farm workers employed directly by the factor.

It seems that by 1779 this had all blown over as there were McCosham's back at Killean.
Duke of Argyll Census 1779
Killean - note : run as a farm, none of these are tenants

John McIlvorie 36
Elizabeth Murray, his wife 34
Mary McIlvorie 8
Donald McIlvorie 6
John McIlvorie 4

Duncan Campbell 67
Mary McKeck, his wife 55

John McCoshan 40
Catherine Ferguson, his wife 30
Betty McCosham 7
Peggy McCosham 5
Donald McCosham 4

James Rankine herd 25
Shusy McDougal, his wife, 27
John Rankine 1 1/2

Catherine McVicar cottar 50

Ann Campbell cottar 60

Mary McVean 58
Catherine Sinclair, his wife 20

total 20 : 4 men; 8 women 8 children

1800
http://www.knapdalepeople.com/inverpeople.htm
IP06: Rent Roll Book of the Estates of Taynish, Ulva and Danna for 1794 (Actually 1792 - 1800)
numbers are page numbers of this book.

Campbell Charles 2/28/1800 Killean List Barley from Tenants 1799 IP06 267
Campbell Charles 6/20/1800 Killian List: Sales of Meal, see Folio 264 IP06 265
Campbell Charles 6/20/1800 Killian Barley 1799 Distribution & Sales IP06 272
Clerk Duncan 6/20/1800 Killian Barley 1799 Distribution & Sales IP06 272
Crawford James 6/20/1800 Killian Barley 1799 Distribution & Sales IP06 272
Ferguson John 6/20/1800 Killian Barley 1799 Distribution & Sales IP06 272
Ferguson John 6/20/1800 Killian List: Sales of Meal, see Folio 264 IP06 265
McIntyre Donald 6/20/1800 Killian Barley 1799 Distribution & Sales IP06 272

1841 census
entry before Auchindrain
St Johns McNicol Nicol M 42 1799 Blacksmith Argyllshire

1859
Janet McNicol is married at St Johns Killean 2nd June 1859
http://auchindrain.org.uk/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I232&tree=achdn

Campbells of Inverneill
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverneill_House

http://www.housespotters.com/docs/1232537056PDF506.pdf

It is not really completely clear to what extent the early Campbells of Inverneill actually lived on their Argyll lands. There may have been a mansion house of sorts on the lands when Sir Archibald bought the estate. When his brother succeeded, Sir James already had a house on his own lands of Killian or Killean, near Inveraray.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Campbell_(British_Army_officer)

In 1774, after an unusually bitter electoral battle with Colonel James Masterton (1715–1777), of Newton, Colonel Archibald Campbell (now styled 'of Inverneill') became the Member of Parliament for the Stirling Burghs, aided by his guardian, Viscount Melville. James Boswell acted as Campbell's legal advisor.

Following his exciting electoral victory, Colonel Campbell left his elder brother, Sir James Campbell (1737–1805) of Killean, to keep his parliamentary seat warm and sailed for America in command of the 71st Regiment of Foot, Fraser's Highlanders, where the American Revolutionary War was in progress. In 1776, after a battle aboard a vessel in Boston Harbor, Campbell was captured by the Americans and held prisoner until 1778.

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL Of JOHN MACDONALD (Part 1)
http://www.electricscotland.com/books/macdonald1.htm

I was born in the parish of Craignish, in the shire of Argyle, North Britain. My predecessors for some years back were gardeners to a very ancient family of the names of Campbell, whose seat gave name to the parish, viz., the Castle of Craignish. My father had ten children and of whom I was the youngest.

When I was about seven years of age my eldest brother married, and he being bred a gardener, my father willingly dispensed with his place to see him well settled, and took a small farm where he cultivated a garden, by which and by the farm he lived pretty comfortably. He lived only four years on this spot of ground when, being very well recommended, he was taken into the Duke of Argyle’s garden, where he continued for the most part of the remainder of his life. My father was never very rich, but had an excellent spirit, and abhorred anything that was mean; he gave all his surviving children as much education as was necessary to qualify them for business. At the age of fourteen years I was hired by a man of the name of Livingstone in the island of Scarba to teach his children to read and write. In this island I stayed a year, and then I agreed with a set of honest farmers in a farm called Killian, three miles west of Inveraray, the capital of Argyle. But that farm, whereon sixteen families lived very comfortable, was taken by one Captain Campbell, who kept a great many cattle, so the people were dispersed, and my school broke up the May following. I then was hired to teach a more extensive school in the adjoining parish, in a place called Lochowside, where I continued to teach with great success for three years, during which time I had the curiosity to learn to play on the bagpipes, an instrument very much used in that part of the country. I was then recommended by the minister of that parish and several others to a charity school in the parish of Strathlachlan, where I continued to teach four years; the managers of the charity school then thought proper to remove the school to Strachur, the adjoining parish, and there I remained for two years more, which I may safely say was the most agreeable part of my life, being placed among a set of free and hearty gentlemen, who took a great deal of notice of me and encouraged me very much.

But in the midst of my felicity I received a letter from Mr Lewis Macgregor, inspector of the charity schools, with an order to remove from Strachur to the parish of Tongue in the north part of the shire of Sutherland, and there to teach a school newly erected by the Honourable Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge. I must own I did not much like this news, being very well contented with my situation where I was, and wanted no changing. I was obliged, however, to comply with the order or lose my bread. Accordingly I went to Greenock and agreed with the master of one of the herring fishing vessels to take my chest on board and carry it to Badcall, an arm of the sea in the north of Sutherland near the place where I was to set up school, I myself choosing to travel it. So having parted with my good friends, the gentlemen of Strachur, I went to my father’s house at Inveraray where I stayed two nights, and in May 1776 set out for my journey.