OS and Alexander Carmichael

Richard B Gorrie (rgorrie@uoguelph.ca)
Mon, 23 Jan 1995 08:34:51 -0400

Alexander Carmichael, a native of the Island of Lismore, spent the greater
part of his working life travelling in the Highlands and Islands of
Scotland, working for H.M. Customs and Excise. A Gaelic speaker, he
gathered a vast amount of Gaelic verse and prose while travelling for his
work. This was published in the 6 volumes (4 posthumously) of the
"Carmina Gadelica". The collecting was done during the latter half of
the nineteenth century. At the same time, the first editions of the OS
maps were being prepared. Surveyors recorded the names of places,
provided by individuals in the survey areas, in notebooks known as Name
Books. These recorded the placename, other forms or spellings, the
name of the person who supplied it, and any other information.
Carmichael collected a great deal of his verses on the islands of Barra and
South Uist, my present study area. The Name Books for Barra record an
individual - "A.A. Carmichael" - as having provided information on correct
Gaelic Spellings for place names. Since Carmichael is not a name found
commonly in these islands, I am inclined towards the opinion that these
are one and the same Carmichael, but I have no direct evidence.
I have been unable to find any information on whether Alexander
Carmichael had a middle name beginning with A. Both the original volumes of the
Carmina and the recent reprint by Floris Books (1992) give no clues. The O.S.
has advised me that records for this period were lost during World War II.
Can anyone throw light on whether Alexander Carmichael was involved
formally or informally in advising the O.S.? Are there other records relating
to the Name Books that might help?

Any suggestions gratefully received.

Jim McNeil.

j.mcneil@sheffield.ac.uk

20/01/95 14:44