clan chisholm society nzclan chisholm society nz newsletter # 42 november 2007 page 3 nz branch...

Clan Chisholm Society NZ Newsletter # 42 November 2007

Acknowledgements:

Thanks to the following for contributing to this newsletter: Audrey Barney, John Ross, Strathglass Heritage, Thomas Wallace FSA (Scot), Marg Whitford & Joseph Chisholm, Sue Thompson, Bob Chisholm (UK branch genealo-gist) , Jan Peleton, Ken Chisholm, Eve Lutz-McKenzie, Bill Bryson (“A Short History of Nearly Everything”), Merrit Chisholm, Carolyn Chown.

Newsletter Editor: Robert Chisholm 09 817 7131 [email protected]

Editor’s note:A safe and happy Christmas to all readers, and good times for 2008. This issue of the newsletter has a mix of articles, and news items, no one particular trend, although the Clan Chis-holm DNA project is quite topical at the moment, and weaves it way into many of the pages. Other current projects for the Society worldwide are the fine tuning of the International Ge-nealogical database, organisation for the International gather-ing in 2008, and an Australian event in 2009.

From the President 2

Society news 3

DNA: Dr Eve Lutz-MacKenzie 4

Blood of the Clan 6

New Relatives: by Audrey Barney 7

Sonny Chisholm 8

Australian Celtic Festival 2009 11

Ancient relics in Strathglass 10

International Gathering 2008 12

A Stirling Chisholm 14

Inside this issue:

Newsletter # 42 November 2007

Clan Chisholm Society NZ

On the web this month: For a general overview of things related to Chisholm and the Chisholm name, see www.chisholmname.com

In music, Duncan Chisholm of Inverness continues a long line of Chis-holms who are famous for the art of fiddling. Check Duncan’s music out at www.duncanchisholm.com. A preview MP3 sampler is at-tached to the newsletter.”Moonlight on Loch Ness”

Interactive Chisholm Genealogy-History on one CD , now for sale.

The big advantage of the CD is that the documents are hyper-inked which makes searches that much quicker. It costs $30.00 plus postage. Proceeds go to the CCS DNA project .

Only a few copies available, contact the editor if you are interested.

Congratulations to Fay White on being re-elected as Convenor of the Wellington Branch of the NZ Society of Genealogists.

DNA project donations: A grateful thank you to the following people who have kindly contributed to the DNA project fund. Thanks to your generosity, a DNA test has been done on a descendent of Chief Alexander XVII, which may enable the project to determine the DNA line of the ancient chiefs: Eve Lutz-MacKenzie, Alice Fairhurst, John J Chisholm, Murray Chisholm, Stephen Chisholm, Muriel Chisholm, Audrey Barney, An-gelika Chisholm. Contributions can be made online at www.familytreedna.com by anybody wishing to sup-port the ongoing work of the Clan Chisholm DNA project.

Christmas Quiz: This question rolls History, Genealogy, and Mathematics, into one.

Given that Hamish is the 33rd chief, allowing that some chiefs have been brothers rather than sons, and also allowing that there would be some generations prior to the entry of the first Chief into the historical record, let us assume that there have been 30 generations since the Chisholm name was established. Re-gardless of whether your own specific Chisholm family descends from this particular line, how many direct ancestors do you think you have had over the last 30 generations? Answer on page 6.


From the President

President: John Ross, 8 York Place, Palmerston North

(06) 357 4614. email: [email protected]

Secretary/Treasurer: Barry Chisholm, Palmerston North .

Limited Edition of CD now available in New Zealand.

Susan Chisholm of Chisholm has kindly arranged for this CD of highland tunes with a Chisholm flavour to be made available for NZ members. Price $20.00, available from John Ross. Great for yourself, and also for that special Christmas gift.

Some of the tunes:

Music varies between band, accordion, pipes, whistle & fiddle, and vocals.

Ceud Mile Failte, The Old Chisholm Trail, Miss Chisholm of Chis-holm, Highland Laddie, Erchless Castle, The Ceilidh Song,

Lament to William Chisholm, Ross’s March to Strathglass,

Highland Wedding, and many others

Dear Chisholm Clanspeople

Greetings, one and all,Mainly, this is to forewarn you of events in the next two years. We decided at this year's AGM that in 2008 it should be in Wellington, and it's now scheduled for

Saturday 24 May in the church hall, in Miramar, where we had it four years ago. This is later than in past years, and the reason is that our Secretary/Treasurer, Barry Chisholm, tends to be out of the country (or only just back) in late April.Various elderly members would presumably find the Miramar venue easier to get to than an out-of-town one.

In 2009, we should have our NZ Clan Gathering in Dunedin, and if the late-May timing proves con-venient for people, would stay with that.

Also, in 2009, all New Zealand Chisholms are warmly invited to come along to the Australian Clan Chisholm Gathering, at Glen Innes in New South Wales, from Thursday 30 April to Sunday 3 May. It will coincide with the annual Celtic Festival and Fair, centred on the Standing Stones Park in (or near) Glen Innes. This town is in northern NSW, north of Armidale, and looks to be more quickly ap-proached from Brisbane than from Sydney. See page 11 for more detailed information If you're thinking you could maybe get to this, please do contact Carolyn Chown, the Secretary of the Clan Chisholm Society of Australia,at: [email protected]. It's way ahead, as yet; but relatively early indications of serious interest would both help her planning, and enable her team to book accomodation for you. Alterna-tively, you could contact the Aussie Vice-President, Donald Chisholm, at: [email protected]. If enough of us turn up, it could become a kind of joint Gathering.

Sadly, the recently elected President of the other clan body I belong to, the Clan Ross Associa-tion of New Zealand, Alan Ross, died a couple of months ago. He was 78, and on the day he died had just done a full day's school-teaching. A fine-looking man, his forte was pronouncing the Ad-dress to the Haggis. Our sympathy to his family, likewise to any of yourselves who have lost family members this year (as I have).

Every good wishJohn C. Ross


NZ Branch News:

William and Margaret Chisholm arrive in Whangarei Thanks to the Daily Southern Cross, which was edited in 1863 by the two sons of William Chisholm Wilson, we have a much better idea of how William and Margaret Chisholm went about establish-ing themselves in Kaurihorere.On April 30 1863, three months after their arrival on the Silver Eagle, waste land on the Apotu block, north of Whangarei, was put up for sale. And William Chisholm was involved in buying a large proportion of it, either by himself or with his Forsyth son-in-law. At that sale, in all, he bought approximately 600 acres for £600!Ten days later, according to the Whangarei Correspondent for the Daily Southern Cross, William had arrived in Whangarei on the Annie Laurie, with his family, goods and chattels and fourteen head of cattle."We hope and believe they will be a valuable accession to the district,” said the correspondent.

New Zealand War GravesWhilst travelling in Italy this year, our tour party stopped at a War Cemetery at Arezzo, just south of Florence, where fierce action had taken place against the Germans, when they made a stand over 4 days in July 1944 before being driven back. Nearly 1300 Commonwealth soldiers lost their life here, including 27 young New Zealanders. Amongst them was Private Percival Ewan Chisholm,25Bn, 2 NZ Div, son of William and Isabella Chis-holm of Fortrose, Southland. He was just 22. It is pleasing to report that the cemetery is beautifully kept and very peaceful. Contributed by Jan Peleton. (Pte Chisholm was a descendant of the country blacksmiths from Kirkhill, near Beauly, refer Chisholm Pioneers in Colonial NZ, page 174)

Fronds of the Fern

The death occurred in Dunedin, on 19th September after a short illness, ofBernard Stuart Chisholm, aged 80,the last remaining of eight brothers of

Shona Kempton of Kaitangata . Stuart is survived by his wife Audrey, his three children and seven grandchildren. Our sympathies go to Audrey and family at this time.Sincere condolences also go to our President, John Ross, and his family, following the recent passing in Wellington on 27th October dear mother, Joyce Ross, nee Chisholm.

DNA Genealogy Tests at FTDNA through the Clan Chisholm Group Project

Christmas discounts, limited offer only.A $30.00 discount is available for the next two participants who order a 37 or 67 Y-DNA marker test. A $15.00 discount is offered to the next two participants who order a 25 Y-DNA marker test. A $15.00 discount is offered to the next two participants who order a mitochondrial DNA test (maternal line) Offers expire 31 December 2007. All prices are US dollars.

Normal Fees: Y-DNA 12 =$99.00; Y-DNA 25= $148.00; Y-DNA 37=$189.00:

Y-DNA 67= $269.00; mtDNA =$129.00 or $189.00.

Contact the editor if you wish to join the Clan Chisholm DNA project, a great Christmas Gift, everlasting, to discover your deeper ancestral heritage, and to see how it is woven into the tartan of Clan Chisholm genealogy .

Wedding Bells mixed with the sound of the bagpipes in October for Frances Chisholm, who married Richard Ayers. The service took place overlooking the Whau in West Auckland, on land which was part of the Whau estate of Frances’ great grandfather, colonial pioneer Robert Chisholm.


Why is DNA testing useful for genealogy?

Dr Eve Lutz-MacKenzie, University Lecturer in Molecular Biology, Glasgow.

Member of Clan Chisholm Society, UK BranchThis article first appeared in the UK Branch newsletter, Aug/Sept 2007, and is reprinted here with the kind permission of the UK Branch

As genealogists it is lucky indeed if we can manage to trace our family lines back more than a few generations if our predecessors hadn’t kept records of the passing generations. For those of us whose ancestors were dispersed around the world - either through choice – or lack of it -these ties to family are usually severed, and it is more likely than not that we hit a brick wall as the information that connects us to a particular strand is lost in the distance of separation. It can be a great joy therefore – even a triumph - to find the connection back to the family and land from which that ancestor originated and even more so to see what our ancestors looked like – and whether there is any resemblance to the present generation. We can see that we in-herit the more obvious of our physical characteristics – Grandpa Donald’s nose, Grandma Ann’s red hair, but from whom did they inherit these ? Often, as we look back further and further at more distant generations, there is less that is familiar in the features captured in those black and sepia tinted photos of the late Victorian age, and far less if we are lucky to have an image from the generations that were alive before photography existed. Even as we compare 1st, 2nd and 3rd cousins (once removed) of the present generation, the physical resemblance becomes less obvious the further apart we go, particularly if comparing photographs. So if we are less certain about the connection to a particular individual, it can be very difficult to feel any level of confidence that they are the lost link we have been searching for simply by comparing fea-tures from an image, if that is all we have to go by. And usually we don’t even have that. Yet, as a scientist, I am very aware of the revolution that has occurred in understanding how very connected we actually are as human beings – even as we are unique as individuals. For as we are beginning to decipher the language and instructions that is encoded in our DNA, the blue-print that shapes our features and maps out the potential for our lives, we are also able to use the patterns we see in it to compare and contrast between individuals – within families and be-tween different families across the world. Thus, there is now a way to circumvent these brick walls we reach in our researches.

Fortunately, just like we inherit our physical characteristics, we also inherit the patterns in our DNA from our parents, just as they did from their parents – and these patterns now can be de-termined easily through standard tests of a sample containing DNA. DNA testing may become routine in future as it is likely to be useful, for instance, to help determine the best therapy for an individual if they should become ill, just as blood typing is routinely determined now as its usefulness to medicine became apparent. But for obtaining a sample of DNA, blood isn’t neces-sary, a swab from the inside of the mouth is just as good and far easier to obtain. As scientists, we are fairly used to contributing the data from our various investigations of DNA to a public database and this has been going on for several decades now so that the amount of information these DNA databases contain is huge. Importantly, it is the sharing of information through these databases, that has helped advance scientific understanding of life at the molecular level at an exponential rate. In fact, there are a number of databases with information containing various types of data that have been generated through researching DNA, all freely available to anyone in the world who has access to a computer and a question to ask of it. Importantly, no individ-ual can be identified or exploited – that is the nature of the databases that all who have do-nated biological samples remain anonymous unless they indicate otherwise. The simple fact is, these databases in themselves are powerful research tools as they contain a vast assortment of information that can help an individual researcher narrow down the answer to any particular biological question – without having to repeat the experimental work someone else has already done – otherwise we could spend an inordinate amount of time and money constantly reinvent-ing the wheel. The same promise lies in the database of DNA markers that will be generated by


DNA testing,by Eve Lutz-Mackenzie (cont)

NZ Historian-Genealogist receives award from UK

Inscription on 2 books recently received by Audrey in the post.

“Presented to Audrey Barney for all her hard work keeping the Chisholm families

of NZ connected to their ancestors.

October 3 2007

From Clan Chisholm Society UK Branch, and Kilmorack Heritage Association”

Editor’s note: While our Historian certainly does do as the inscription says, I am afraid it’s a bit more than NZ Chisholms involved. There are Australians, Americans, Canadians, and also UK Chisholms whom she gets involved with. A veritable taonga is our Audrey.

And Kilmorack Heritage Association, with John and Sue Thomson at the helm, have been of enormous help to Chisholms from all over the world, and, one suspects, to Frasers as well.

Visit the Kilmorack Heritage website; there is a great number of interesting articles, links,

and publications. www.kilmorack.com

this project. It is not just members of Clan Chisholm that will be contributing, but people from all over the world – and as the database builds, recognisable patterns that can be attributed to different families and different lines of descent within those families can be determined with greater and greater detail and accuracy. For Clan Chisholm, it may help to draw together and connect more clearly the diaspora that went to various parts of the world following the Clear-ances, helping to confirm genealogical records of the various branches and settle disputed theories – for instance the origin of the Clan. And for those of us who are genealogists – and trying to determine the best line to follow – this should reduce the amount of digging we have to do through obscure parish records that are likely to have disappeared before they could be digitised. The number of discoveries will hopefully increase exponentially, just as it has done in science, and the time wasted in ‘reinventing the wheel’ hopefully will decrease.

Dr Eve Lutz-MacKenzie, was born in Iowa, USA. Her maternal line ancestry goes back to Je-mima Chisholm from the Isle of Lewis, and from here she can trace her family history back to Kilmorack.

Comment from a DNA project member, on being informed that his DNA result revealed a Norse ancestor:

“I actually knew that I had Viking ancestry as earlier this year I had some surgery for Dupuytren's contracture which often occurs in people of Viking ancestry. While in the Ork-ney Islands in April I thought that I saw a lot of chaps that looked like me.”Does this ring a bell for any NZ Chisholms - skin in the palms gets a bit knotty, and the index and ring finger start to curl inwards? Scottish Knots perhaps?


Purposes of the Clan Chisholm DNA project:

To establish the bloodlines of the Chisholms; To use this knowledge to assist in genealogical research, helping Chisholms see how and where they are interconnected, to look over that brick wall.

To help clarify the history of the Chisholms. To encourage contact and links with and between Chisholms from all over the world. To enable participants to see into their individual ancestral pasts.

Project Update, October 2007.Publicity given in the Clan Chisholm newsletter (US Branch) has seen an enormous increase in participation. Group membership is now 36, and includes 30 males. All countries where Clan Chisholm societies exist have representation on the project.

USA=22, UK=5, NZ=4, Aus=2, Canada= 3

A definite trend is starting to emerge. We have found a large group with Norse Viking an-cestry, counterbalanced by a large group which could be classified as mainly Celtic.

In between these two major groups are 3 subgroups whose deeper ancestries are less com-

Clan Chisholm DNA projectwww.familytreedna.com

monly found in the British isles: Mediterranean, Eastern European, and Ancient -Mid Eastern.

The “Norse” group is distinguished by the fact that all members seem to be related within the Chisholm era. ie the past 800 years, while within the “Celtic” group, there are only two pairs with a common ancestor within this time frame. The Norse group has an overwhelmingly Border flavor. All of the Chisholms with Border genealogies have returned this result, whereas those with Highland ancestry have shown an incredibly wide variation in their DNA ancestral signatures. Recently, an Aus-tralian participant, with a Highland ancestry, has returned a Norse result. This would appear to be a sign of a provable con-nection between the two branches of Chisholm.

UK genealogist Bob Chisholm has been trying to locate some Chisholms with a confirmed family tree which leads back to the line of the ancient Highland chiefs, to see if a sample can be obtained, and comparisons made. One such person has been found, still residing in Scotland, and he has agreed to be sponsored for the DNA test. The project committee has opened up a facility on the project website, where any members of the Clan Chisholm Society, interested in investigating the origins ofthe Clan, can donate a small amount which will be put to good use in sponsorship of targeted participants. Please visit www. familytreedna.com/(type Chisholm in the search box) and you will see on the left side of the page a place where contributions can be made. The website page has more detailed analysis of results for you to read.

As with all projects of this nature, the wider the sample , the more accurate the results. If you would like to participate, to help work out the structure of the clan, to see where your Chisholm family fits in, to see where you have paternal relatives within the clan (genetic cousins), and most interestingly to see where your ancestors came from in the times back to the Ice Ages and beyond, then participation in the project is a must for you. It would be a wonderful gift to your family if you could attach a DNA signature to your family tree. Most people, with Family tree research, find themselves confronted at some stage with a brick wall which just cannot be penetrated. The DNA project gives you a lift up, to see what lies beyond that wall.

The DNA project, by its very nature, is a scientific project, and it does not delve into the aspects of clanship. Not all mem-bers of a clan are paternally blood related, and over times gone by there have been many reasons for folks to be welcomed into a clan, or to be protected by a chief. These cultural ties are just as strong as any blood ties, and it is part of the mis-sion of the Clan Chisholm Society to cultivate these links of “clanship”.

Stop Press:

This report will be out of date by the time you read it. Updated and fully detailed news on the DNA project, which may be on the verge of a major breakthrough, will be posted on the Clan Chisholm website , following the report to the Clan Council meeting to be held on December 8 2007. Postal subscribers, please telephone the editor for a printed version of the report.

Answer to quiz : Going back 30 generations, you would have over 1 billion direct ancestors, not cousins and uncles, just parents, grandparents, and great grandparents. To be precise, the actual number is 1,073,741,824. Please don't ask Audrey to find out all their names. If she could, she would find the same people appearing in several times over various different branches of your tree. You only need to go back to Roman times, say 64 generations, and your family tree will consist of several million trillion ancestors, which is already many more times the number of people who have ever inhabited this planet. Do you feel inter-related now?


By Audrey BarneyNEW CHISHOLM RELATIVES

Our Newsletter Editor, Robert, has just learnt of New Zealand relatives he didn’t know he had! And Audrey has one less file of mystery Chisholms she has had for years and not been able to fit in. Genealogy may be mainly about dead relatives, but new records for discovering links between people never cease to appear and bear results.

‘Tis a long complex story with Robert and Audrey working together to try and extend knowledge of his earliest known ancestor in Breakachy. Slowly, with consultation with the Kilmorack Heritage Association’s Sue Thomson, some further records were verified, and it at last became clear that John Chisholm, Robert’s earliest known ancestor and great great grandfather, had had at least one sister Helen and one elder brother Hugh, with parents Roderick and Catherine, and the family had originated at Balnabruich, near Cannich , the heart of Chisholmland, round the beginning of the nineteenth century. The search widened, to see if we could find if Hugh or Helen married and had families. Yes, slowly records checked proved they did. The picture broadened, till one night it struck Audrey that there was a familiar name appearing in the records being discovered. In the Kilmorack parish registers, we had found that Hugh Chisholm, John’s elder brother, had married Anne Cameron in 1822. Aud-rey remembered she had a mysterious Hugh Chisholm who came to New Zealand in 1874, and whose parents had been Hugh Chisholm and Anne Cameron from Scotland. Was this them?? Did Hugh and Anne have a son Hugh born round 1847? Seemed a little late and the Eskadale register which had produced so many results for this Catholic family, showed no Hugh amongst Hugh and Anne’s children and anyway Hugh had married in the Anglican church in New Zealand. That was a letdown. But better check the 1851 census to make sure! Yes! – Both the 1851 Kilmorack census and the Eskadale Church census showed there was a 4 year old Hugh in this family, showing Anne had produced children over a 25 year period. And this made Hugh the correct age for the Hugh who had come to New Zealand. Many more checks were necessary and records eventually found to

satisfy us without reasonable doubt that the Hugh Chisholm, shepherd, who had come to New Zea-land as an assisted immigrant, had followed here his first cousins Allan, Robert’s great grandfather, and his brother, Simon. All were farm workers, all were assisted immigrants and all had come to the South Island over a three year period in the early 1870s. The question one always wonders: -- Did all three ever meet?

Allan stayed in the rural sector, eventually moving north and owning a farm outside Feather-ston in the Wairarapa, while Simon, his elder brother, seems to have been involved with rela-tively unskilled jobs in both the North and South Island’s rural areas, while Hugh , our ex mystery cousin, had the biggest change in occupation. He spent most of his days in New Zealand as a police-man and gaoler, moving frequently throughout the whole of New Zealand. Read more about Hugh on page 172 of Chisholm Colonial Pioneers. Was it pure chance that he appears in this book straight after Allan and Simon?Our NZ Chisholm archives now hold a picture of the gravestone for Hugh Chisholm and his wife Anne Cameron in the Struy Churchyard.


Donald (Sonny) Peter Chisholm1925-2007

Sonny was the eldest son of Donald Murchison Chisholm and Jessie Kidd. He was a grandson of colonial pioneer Archibald Andrew Chisholm, whose ancestors are traced back into the moun-tains west of Strathglass, and to the little village of Deanie, in Glen Strathfarrar. Born at Winton he spent most of his childhood on the family farm at Spring Hills before the family moved to Makarewa in 1937. His first job was as a grocery delivery boy for McIvor’s Store at Makarewa and then he went on to farm work at various places doing mostly tractor or machinery work. He was a handsome, lovable rogue, tough, stubborn, determined and strong, worked hard and played hard and would give anything a go and do anything for anybody. In fact tell Sonny he couldn’t do something and he would prove you wrong. Anything he did was done with good grace and always with a laugh along the way. He married twice, his first wife dying in childbirth, and had 10 chil-dren from the two marriages.

The following is part of Sonny’s eldest son Joe’s funeral service speech:Dad worked for the Wallace County Council for 41 years operating graders and bulldozers. He

enjoyed his work immensely, many times working 16 hour weeks. While operating his grader, irate, impatient motorists were soon sorted out when the grader suddenly pointed in their di-rection! Twenty years after he retired, people in Western and Northern Southland still told me that he was the best grader operator they have ever seen. A Southland District Council Engi-neer contacted Dad a few years back and asked him for advice on what they could do to build roads the way he used to. Dad was eighty years old at the time. Dad, in his usual manner said to the Engineer: “If you have got a spare couple of days I’ll show you, but before you pick me up get rid of all those @#*#@&% vibrating rollers.” I was told a story the other night about how


Dad had given his road crew a bit of a stir up. One bloke apparently took exception to this and when Dad was out of sight he hooked up Dad’s locked caravan, towed it down the road at high speed, returning it to the same spot with everything tipped out on the floor. When Dad re-turned to the van that night, probably after a few bevies, he couldn’t work it out. I found an entry in his diary about this event. Dad recorded it as an earthquake! As kids we all went to work with Dad in the school holidays and had lots of excitement and fun. Dad taught us kids to drive at a young age. He had, of course, his own way of teaching these skills. One experience, at age 13, I’ll never forget, was at Tuatapere. Dad told me to get in the grader and drive it to the Otautau Depot. I said ,“But Dad I haven’t driven the grader in top gear before on the main road”. As he was closing the door, Dad said “You’ll be right, you’ll learn on the way and anyway I’ll be right behind you.” At that, I headed off down the road and when I got into top gear I was grinning from ear to ear enjoying driving this huge grader. But then all of a sudden I had this frightening thought, as a 13 year old would, how the hell is he going to help me if I get into strife driving this 13 tonne grader when he is half a mile behind me in his truck? Of course when I looked out the back window of the grader he wasn’t anywhere in sight anyway. However, I made it safely. That’s what Dad was like though - he had the confi-dence in me to do it. Even though we never had a lot of money, Dad was always a good pro-vider, a great gardener, life skills teacher and a friend to the family. He listened to our argu-ments, and our wild schemes, shared our ups and downs, consoled, humoured and inspired us. Dad worked hard, played hard and lived life to the full. There was no beating around the bush with Dad, and he called a spade a spade – he did not easily accept the politically correct world we live in today. On behalf of all the family, Dad, our friend and father it’s been a pleasure and we are all proud to have known you. We will miss you.

Sonny began working for the Wallace County Council at the age of 19 and started out as “the boy” but it wasn’t long before he became the top grader driver in Southland. He was by and large self-taught as the week’s instruction he was meant to have turned out to be half a day. He started out with an Allis Chalmers grader with an under-slung motor, started by a crank handle, but of all the machines he has used he rated the Caterpillars the highest.Work wasn’t without its moments; on one occasion his bulldozer flipped and rolled into a river, he received a bump on the head and saw a few stars but was otherwise OK. Once he was so high up the Takitimu Mountains the oil in his grader became as thin as water.When he knew his job he did everything his way rather than the way of his superiors. One boss told him after checking his work: “It’s half an inch too high on the kerb” Sonny was unconvinced so he added another inch on top of that. When the boss returned to see the improvement was done he said, “Perfect!”. Sonny always liked a job done right, whatever he did, and that is why the WCC had him as their top man.In his late 70’s he was making dairy cattle tracks for the many new dairy farmers in the district and still making a good job but he found the vibration too much for him as he was now struggling with prostate cancer.

He was a keen whitebaiter, enjoyed sea fishing and bowls. Some time ago he and his wife Kitty started Euchre evenings in Otautau, which they both enjoyed for many years.

He was a Chisholm to the end. In this family a Chisholm never admits to pain or unhappiness and although he went through hell, his cancer spreading throughout his body, he always had a joke with someone and seldom complained. If asked how he was feeling he would say “I’m OK.”

He was very interested in the family history and very proud of his Scottish roots and became a participant in the Clan Chisholm DNA project. He has given an important legacy to Clan Chis-holm, he was a pioneer of the DNA project, and the first of the Clan to show via DNA, that be-cause of his Pictish ancestry, his line could be truly native to Strathglass.

Ceud Mile Failte Welcome to new member Joe Chisholm, son of Donald (Sonny )Chisholm.


Mataura Ensign 24/6/1887 .

Mr Archibald Chisholm, farmer of Hedgehope, claims to be heir to the extensive estates bearing his family name in the North of Scotland and which are said to be worth £40,000 or £50.000 a year. "The Chisholm" as the proprietor is always called, has just died at the age of 24 after being in pos-session only a short time.That is all that Audrey found. She was told that Archie was once offered “The Chisholm” title

but turned it down. The DNA project will be able to reveal whether or not there was any sub-stance to this claim. Following the death of Chief Roderick Donald Matheson Chisholm in 1887, Lord Lyon awarded the title and arms to James Chisholm Gooden, grandson of Chief Alexander XXIII, via his only child Mary , who in her time did much to help many Chisholm tenants in Strath-glass during the era of the Highland clearances. With regard to Sonny’s ancestral family, what is more likely is that they were residents of Strathglass long before the family of “Chisholm” was founded. Two short articles below show evidence of ancient activity in Breakachy, just 17km from Deanie in Glenstrathfarrar , earliest known ancestral home of Sonny’s family.

Don’t believe everything you read.

Intrepid sleuth Audrey Barney un-covered a report from a Southland paper, following the death of The Chisholm, leaving no male heir and the possibility of a title and a large estate up for grabs.

The Erchless Pendant

Although not currently on display to the public, the Erchless pendant is an out-standing example of Pictish art work. A small and slender object, some 6.5 cm in length and 3.7 cm wide, it looks as if it is made of jet and is wonderfully carved. An elaborate cross with interlaced pattern is displayed on the front of the pendant, there is a very much smaller and more simple cross together with a small serpent, shown on the reverse. However the dominant motif on this reverse side is a Pictish symbol that is understood to be a serpent as identified by Isobel Henderson, a leading authority on Pictish art history and one of the top experts on the period. The pendant was found in the nineteenth century, 'somewhere at the back of Breakachy', and was given to Roderick Chisholm of Chisholm sometime before 1877. Kept in Erchless Castle until the estate was sold in 1937, it was then purchased by Captain William MacKay who later pre-sented it to Inverness Museum. The Erchless pendant is a wonderful object which has a intriguing story to tell about the Picts and their way of life. Strathglass Heritage www. glenaffric.org

Notes on ancient remains in the Beauly Valley, Thomas Wallace, FSA Scot., June 14 1886

Dun More is at Tighnaleac, in Breakachy, to the west of Farley. Judging from the quantity of material, as well as the situation and plan of defence,this fort must have been almost impregnable. It is built on the summit of a bare isolated rock over 100 feet high, and nearly perpendicular on the north side, with a stream flowing round the base. The inner diameter is 60 feet, and the surrounding wall is 18 feet thick, and seems to have some resemblance to a broch in structure. There are two outworks on the south side. The inner one measures 39 feet from the base of the wall of the fort, and 69 feet wide at its greatest breadth. It gradually approaches the top of the rock, and in two places fills up the intervening spaces be-tween projecting rocks. The outermost enclosure measures 66 feet by 20 feet, and is similar in shape to the inner one. The walls of the two outworks measure 13 feet thick. Of the outmost wall there is nothing left but the foundation stones. The inner wall stands in some places about 3 feet high, while the wall of the dun itself in some places stands in its present ruinous condition from 3 to 5 feet high.


Early notice from across the TasmanGATHERING OF THE CLAN AUSTRALIA 2009

The Clan Chisholm, Australia invites Chisholms from New Zealand to join us for our Annual Gathering and AGM in 2009

Venue: The Celtic Festival in Glen Innes, NSW.

Thursday 30 April to Sunday 3 May, 2009

Held annually this festival gathers all Celts for days of celebration and fun,The Festival runs from Thursday to Sunday and centers on the Standing Stones Park. Set in a large area on the outskirts of Glen Innes, the stones are a striking setting carrying a significant message and com-memoration of our Celtic heritage.There are many activities held at the Standing Stones throughout the days of the Fair. These include; Pipe bands, ceremonies, stalls, musical entertainment from classic folk and country to blues, highland dancing as well as traditional wares and fare;

Check out the website: www.GlenInnesTourism.com

Early plans for Chisholm activities include:

Get-together and welcome dinner, Thursday night

Sightseeing programme, Friday

Dawn ceremony at the Standing Stones, Saturday

A day at the Celtic Fair, Saturday

Annual Clan Dinner Saturday eveningMarching with the pipe bands under our Tartan, Sunday morn-ing

AGM Sunday morning

Lunch and farewell after the AGM

Glen Innes is set in lovely countryside in the New England area. There are plenty of tourist highlights locally that a visitor can enjoy. Early indications of expressions of interest would be helpful for our plans. As time gets closer we will have accommodation options, venues booked etc. As none of us live in the area all accommodation/activities will be at your own cost;

Please contact: Vice President, Donald Chisholm; [email protected], Carolyn Chown: [email protected]

Milestones: Pamela Chisholm Died 23 May 2007, Hertfordshire.

The NZ branch of Clan Chisholm Society extends its condolences to Pamela’s husband Ruari, children Mairi-Angela and Sir John, and to the wider family of Chief Hamish. Pamela was a member of the society for 48 years, and was well known as a great hostess when Ruari was President, and a continuing supporter after Ruari retired from the Presidency. Ruari, brother of the late Chief Alastair, is a foundation member of the Clan Chisholm Society.


Clan Chisholm Society International Gathering - 2008 - Banff, CanadaThe dates of the Gathering will be Friday, August 29 - Monday, September 1, 2008 (and will be held in con-junction with the Canmore Highland Games. Go to the Clan Chisholm website for further details.

A preliminary schedule is printed below


International Clan Chisholm Gathering -2008 Banff/Canmore, Canada

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MEMBERS OF CLAN CHISHOLM TO CELEBRATE THEIR SCOTTISH ROOTS IN THE HEART OF THE CA-NADIAN ROCKIES

The Gathering will be held on Friday, August 29 –Monday, September 1, 2008 (Labour Day Week-end) and will be held in conjunction with the Canmore Highland Games.

The Radisson Hotel and Convention Centre, www.radisson.com/canmoreca, located in the Town of Canmore, which lies just outside the East gate of the Banff National Park, has been selected as the “Host Hotel” and Gathering headquarters. It is a superb facility, ideally located and one that is able to more than adequately meet our planned social function needs. A block of 100 rooms has been established at prices starting at $153.00/night (an extremely good rate). All attendees are responsible for their own accommodation arrangements which can be made through the hotel website using the code word “clan” under “Promotional Codes” or by telephone at 403-678-3625. Booking can also be made on line thru our website using the code word “clan” un-der “Promotional Codes”

An interesting and full event schedule is being planned for the long week-end including a Meet & Greet, a President’s Reception, Dinner with The Chisholm, a Western BBQ/Ceildh, Golf, Coach Tours of the Banff Area including a picnic and Afternoon Tea at the Banff Springs Hotel which could prove to be one of the highlights of the Gathering. This hotel, built in baronial style by Scottish stone masons in the late 1800s, is without doubt, the crown jewel of the Canadian Rockies.

Attendance at the Annual Canmore Highland Games www.canmorehighlandgames.ca to be held on Sunday, August 31st will also be arranged. These Games, one of the largest in West-ern Canada, attract participants from all over North America and Scotland.

Our Chief, Hamish Chisholm of Chisholm, and his family, have accepted our invitation to attend. We have requested that he be recognized as the “Chief of the Games” and as such will participate in all official functions. The sound of the pipes echoing along the Bow Valley with the majestic Three Sisters watching sedately overhead will be truly an exceptional experi-ence.

Plan to spend some additional time in the area as the Banff National Park is a world fa-mous international tourist destination offering a variety of activities ranging from heli-hiking in the rugged Rockies to shopping along Banff’s famous Caribou, Elk and Bear Streets. For detail please refer to: www.banff.ca/home.htm

We hope to have at least 200 attendees. Should you wish to join us for this exciting week-end, please complete the Registration Form as soon as possible and return it along with your cheque to cover the costs of the various events to Merritt Chisholm at #4 – 9885 Sec-ond Street, Sidney, BC V8L 3C7; Tel: 250-656-0030 or Email: [email protected]

Registration Forms are also available on line at www.clanchisholmsociety.org or from your local branch executive.


We often spare a thought for the tough times faced by our ancestors. Many Chisholms in the former British colonies owed their presence in Australia, NZ and the Americas, to the policies of Highland Clearances, or the search for a better way of life. For some, it was a brutally forced journey, people convicted of crimes, often relatively minor misdemeanors. One such colonial immigrant to Port Ar-thur in Tasmania was David Duncan Chisholm. In 1827 he was accused of assaulting John Scott and stealing 4 pennies. He was acquitted on the theft charge but was found guilty of the assault, despite his, and his mother Catherine’s adamant denial. He was known to the authorities on only one previ-ous occasion, where he spent 2 months in the House of Correction, the Edinburgh Bridewell. Unfor-tunately, David Duncan Chisholm kept company with “Robertson” who must have been well known to the police. This association may have sealed his fate. He was sentenced to be “transported be-yond the seas for a period of seven years, not to be found at large in any part of her majesties do-minion, without lawful cause, or to suffer death”. At the age of 19 he was wrenched away from his mother, never to see her again, nor his father and siblings. He was packed away on the Bengal Mer-chant in August 1828 to commence his sentence. He retained a strong Chisholm streak, showing some defiance in 1830 when he received 50 lashes for insolence and disobedience, and 25 lashes in 1833 for “neglect of work”. Just two months before his release in 1834, he received further time, plus hard labour, for insubordination, and for harbouring 2 runaways. David was eventually released, moved to Victoria, and set about establishing a lasting dynasty down under. He was born in 1809, in Stirling. As this town is the gateway to the Highlands, UK genealogist Bob Chisholm pondered about his parents, were they coming, or were they going? Possibly neither, as just a few miles out of Stir-ling there was established in the 15th century, a separate branch of the Chisholm family, the Chis-holms of Cromlix. One of David Duncan’s descendents is now doing a DNA test as part of the Clan Chisholm DNA project. This question may be answered, and others: 80 years after the forcible sepa-ration, will the descendants of David Duncan Chisholm’s siblings ever find each other?

Here is a view looking down from Calton Hill towards the Bridewell, or house of correction. Building of the Bridewell began in 1791. It was completed in 1796. In the background are Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Craigs

David Duncan Chisholm knew the insides of both of the buildings pictured here. Below is the Prison building at Port Arthur, and to the left, the Edinburgh Bridewell. The Bridewell is named after a House of Correc-tion in the vicinity of the Holy Well of St Bride, Fleet Street, London. Similar Houses of Correction were set up in other cities and came to be known as Bridewells. Bottom left is a quotation from a contemporary source.

"The want of such a house seems to have been felt at a pretty early period in the Scottish Metropolis."Edinburgh", being become, as it were, the common re-ceptacle for the strolling poor, lazy beggars, idle va-grants, and common prostitutes, who crowded hither from all parts of the kingdom, wherefore it was, in the year 1632, judged necessary to erect a House of Correc-tion, for employing and punishing these disorderly per-sons, and pests of mankind."

David Duncan Chisholm: Bannockburn to Victoria

clan chisholm society nzclan chisholm society nz newsletter # 42 november 2007 page 3 nz branch...

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