We have no picture of John McBeath or of his wife, Annie, but we do have this word picture from his great grandson Doug Hood: Descendants Douglas and Louise Hood drove to Cuaig on 18 May 1990. They tell us that “When we visited Cuaig … we were struck by the beauty of the ar ea, al though it was very de solate. It had a beautiful panorama some distance down to the sea, barren landwitho ut tre es. The people who li ved ther e in the mid 1800s musthave been very poor…Probably had dirt floors, sod roofs and no water , electricity , etc. The village [is] mostly ruins of small cott ages and animal shel ters on a bl uf f overl ook ing sea … two or three occupied structures and a tiny , fairly new , church. Otherwise only two or three summer cottages were occupied.” “Mr. Gillanders of Arrina (a village about five miles away) saidCuai g once had a populati on of 60- 70 peopl e. They wer e crofters/fishermen [He] Pointed out vacant tiny building which was occupi ed for many years by a McBeath family…gone now for many ye ars. ..st one wal ls and met al ro of re main…only one permanentresident family left invillage. Name is McRae. I thought perhaps the McRae fami ly might be relat ed to Annie. Unfort unatel y we were unable to get in touch with them, either when we were there or by mail.” Chapter 3--1 1. John and Ann ie (Mc Rae ) McBe ath John McBeat h, My gre at grand fatherwas born in 1831, at Cu ai g Ross- sh ire, Scotland located about 10 mi1es North of Ap pl ec ros s (1 4 miles, West of Shieldaig) on Northwest coast. Jo hn operat ed the Kes sock Fer ry fro m North Kessock (Black Isle) to South Kessock (Inverness) John was called “Black Al ec” . He was a big man with black hair . In youth he was wa tc her for revenue agents at an illicit whiskey still . At the time of his marriage to Annie he lived in Arrenacrinach [now called Arrina.] In Inverness he became known as being ef fective in prayer , particularly called upon to stop bleeding in childbirth. John Died: 10 Feb 1902 (71), and was buried Kilmuir Burial Ground, Ross shire, Scotland (Black Isle). Of “Senile Decay .” In Inverness: the family lived at #7 Pumpgate Street, Inverness, Scotland (South Kessock). [Editor’ s Note: On Doug Hood’ s first trip the Kessock Ferry was a motor ferry. When we, the John W atkins family, visited Inverness in 1992 a bridge had replaced the ferry. W e visited the Inverne ss library and found description s and pictu res of the old ferrie s. T ypical ly they were open boats about 30 feet long, propelled by fore-and-aft sails when the wind served and greatoars duri ng calms . I’m sur e it to ok a str ong man t o work them. They car ried pass engers, cargo, and often cattle. [The cattle wer e pushed into the water and led over by the ferry.] The water is open to Moray Firt h in the east, and Beauly Firth in the west . The foul weathe r forwhich Scotland is famous must have made John McBeath’s job very harsh and dangerous attimes. The ferries we re mann ed by a small crew of one or two so we can righ tly claim ou rancestor as a captain. I have heard his daughter , my grandmother “Gammie” W atkins boastthat men said they “would rather cross with McBeath even blind in the worst storm than any other ferryman.”
