The Fowler Family

Betty MacDougall.

When studying the Isle of Coll records, an out of the way name appears amongst the usual run of MacLeans, MacDonalds, MacKinnons and MacFadyens - Fowler. There was only the one family and they arrived on the island in 1830 when Donald Fowler was appointed as Gaelic Schools teacher to the East End. They came from the Black Isle where Fowler is a common name. That area was noted for religious dissent and many men of earnest belief found teaching a channel for their spiritual fervour. The Gaelic Schools Society was formed for the express purpose of teaching the people of the Highlands and Islands to read the scriptures in their native tongue.

Donald Fowler first taught in a house at Cnoc Ni Bhalla Ruaidh in Bousd above Sruth Frogach. It was said that he used to march his pupils down to Bousd Strand to use the firm sand in learning their letters as teaching material would be in short supply. He worked there for three years, moved on to Arinagour for the next three years and then transferred to Toraston where he died in 1837. His wife tried to continue his work but had to give up and there is no record of a school in Torastan after that although they continued to operate elsewhere in the island. The system in these schools was that a teacher would work in an area for a period, long enough to leave some monitors in charge to carry on till the master returned after putting in a stint elsewhere.

It was small family, only Donald and his wife Isabella, two girls, Helen and Ann, and a son, Alexander. In 1838, Helen married Alan MacKinnon who held the westernmost croft in Griseabull although he hailed originally from the Cornaig estate. It was Alans's bonnet that was confiscated in surety at the first Stewart collection of rents because of a little shortage. He retrieved it when friends made good the missing sum. His son, Charles, was later captain of the Dunhara and had a croft at Cornaig Mhor, living in the lodge there.

The widow Fowler continued to live in Torastan with her bachelor son, Alexander, and the other daughter, Ann, who was simple-minded.

One Saturday morning in October 1860, after breakfast, Widow Fowler set off for Arinagour to collect her fortnightly allowance of oatmeal from the parish distribution store; she was classed as a pauper. Alexander went out fishing and when he returned in the evening was a little surprised that there was no sign of his mother. He was not unduly perturbed as he thought she might have gone to visit her daughter at Griseabull and decided to stay overnight as the weather had taken a very nasty turn.

The next day, the Sabbath, he set off for church but called on his sister first. There he found that the mother had not been seen nor had any of the neighbours any word of her. The weather was worsening all the time and Alexander set off on a thorough search.

He learned that the widow had been to Gallanach Farm on Saturday evening about sunset and had asked the grieve, Donald MacCallum, if he could spare her enough oatmeal to tide her over the weekend. Apparently, she had been turned away from the Arinagour store as they had not received their supplies. MacCallum had not been grinding but he gave her a bag of about two stone of potatoes, helped to fasten it on her back and she then set, off home.

Alexander raised the alarm in Arinagour and a team set off to search in the ever worsening weather. Hector MacQuarrie, a seaman from Arinagour, was in charge and he stationed his men in a line twenty yards apart to cover the track from Gallanach to Torastan, there being no road at that time. It was Hector himself who came upon the poor woman's corpse with a partly eaten turnip lying nearby. Her death certificate states she was found at the Hill of Trialon, near Lochan Tee, dead of exposure.

Alexander and his sister stayed on at Torastan then Ann died in 1884 and Alexander was alone. He was the first official postman in the East End.

He figured again in the records in a case of theft of money from his house in 1891. His account states, "I am a letter carrier between Arinagour where the steamer calls and the East End of Coll as far as Sorasdal. I deliver the letters on my way to Sorasdal and take them on my return to Arinagour. ....I am paid 8/6 a week from the Post Office, being 7/6 for delivery of letters three times a week and I/- for carrying the mails from the Post Office to the pier. I have no other employment or source of income My house consists of two apartments and I sleep in the room end of it. I keep my money in the drawer of the kitchen table. I am paid weekly and after paying my weekly account in the shop, I wrap the remainder in paper in the drawer. I don't know how much there was but it was silver and copper My house is very dark, the fire is made on the floor, there is no chimney, the smoke getting out through the roof."

In the course of the police investigation a further description of the house was given by a witness. "As the house was dark, the drawer was taken to the door and examined there. There is no window in the kitchen and no light except what finds its way through the roof from which the smoke escapes."

The guilty persons were sons of the Gallanach dairy manager. A young lad from Glasgow had been on holiday with them and was anxious to see a black house with the peat fire on the floor. They had made entry and explored the house. It was not ascertained how much, if any, money had been taken; it may just have been a boy's prank but undeniably illegal entry had been made, that was admitted but theft was firmly denied.

Alexander died in 1893. He collapsed on the East End road with his postman's pack on his back at Cnoc Creagach.

In the census of 1871, the house is described as having one windowed room. In both 1881 and 1891, it is listed as having two windowed, rooms so we have an interesting sidelight here on how unreliable some of the census information is. To see the ruin of the Fowler house go through the gate at Uchd nan Carn and cut straight across to the far side of the Torastan area. Tobhta Fowler is the last ruin, lying against a hillock.

Sources: Records of the Gaelic Schools Society. National Library, Edinburgh.
             S.R.O. Register House, Edinburgh.
             Records of the Procurator Fiscal, Argyll Archives, Lochgilphead.