Alasdair Ban MacLeod

Alasdair MacLeod Ban (* about 1788 in Balelone (Kilpheder) North Uist ; † 12. April 1854 in Knoydart ) was a Scottish physician, engineer and scientist of the infrastructure on remote islands North and South Uist and Skye earned made and when Dr. Ban was a popular "folk hero".

Life

Family and education

Alasdair (Alexander) "Ban" came from the MacLeods clan based in the Hebrides. His ancestors, who included the clan chief Alexander V. MacLeod von Raasay (c. 1615 - c. 1648), lived in Rigg on the Isle of Skye. The father, Dr. Murdoch MacLeod of Kilphe (a) was a military doctor in the American Revolutionary War from 1776 to 1784 , the mother Mary was a daughter of the MacLean of Boreray. Alaisdair "Ban" was the fifth child and first attended the local school on Uist. He later studied medicine in Edinburgh and took over his father's practice on North Uist in 1809. As word of his abilities got around quickly, patients were soon traveling from near and far. MacLeod particularly believed in the health benefits of seafood and red algae.

Worked as a doctor and estate manager

In 1815 he married Mary, the daughter of Kenneth Campbell of Strond and Anne MacLeod of Bernerary. The two had two sons and four daughters. As a sideline, MacLeod was the estate manager of the MacLean of Boreray and Grimasay, where he proved himself with his engineering knowledge and ensured a thorough modernization of the infrastructure. He had dams built, wells drilled, sand dunes fastened with grass, seaweed harvested and used as building material, safe fords laid, wasteland cleared, oats, barley and potatoes grown. Like no other, MacLeod is said to have rendered services to the population throughout his life in the actually very unpopular profession of administrator. After bad harvests, he never insisted on collecting the rent that was actually due, but ensured that the economic situation of the needy smallholders improved as quickly as possible so that they could meet their financial obligations again. In Scolpaig on North Uist, for example, he had an observation tower built today as a job creation program against a famine.

He leased a farm in his native Kilphe (a), built a house there and stayed there until the death of his brother Murdoch. Around 1820 he moved to Baile-an-Loin on North Uist. The then owner of the island, Lord MacDonald, was so impressed with MacLeod's skills that he made him general manager. In this capacity MacLeod lived in Portree , the capital of the Isle of Skye, from 1829 until the death of his employer in 1835 . There he was committed to the development of the town into a seaside resort, sponsored the construction of an unfinished observation tower and a museum, and saw to the drainage of moors and the improvement of roads.

Death and fame

In 1835 he returned to his native Baile-an-Loin / North Uist. From 1840 he was administrator in the service of the landowner Colonel Gordon of Cluny, Benbecula , South Uist and Barra . After his death, MacLeod worked briefly again as a doctor, but from 1851 lived again in Portree, where he opened a practice. Famous and popular, he was appointed medical advisor to the parishes of Strath , Sleat and Knoydart on the Scottish "mainland" in 1853 by the younger Lord MacDonald . On April 12, 1854, on his first visit to Knoydart, where he was treating the wife of a shepherd in the extremely inaccessible moorland, he had a fatal accident on the way back when he fell down a 20 meter high slope. Judging by his injuries, he was said to have died immediately, but was only found two days later. He was buried in Kilmuir churchyard on North Uist.

Among the inhabitants of the Hebrides, Dr. Ban mourned long after his death. In addition to his commitment to the economic development of the islands and his reputation as a doctor, his humor was also remembered.

The brothers Murdoch and John were also successful as doctors: Murdoch in the Caribbean colonies, John as a British military doctor. A sister made a name for herself as a herbalist on the Isle of Skye.

Appreciation

The Scottish poet Mary MacPherson (approx. 1821 - 1898) sang MacLeod under the title "The Fair-Haired Doctor" in an eulogy:

"I hope we shall find a Bard / Who will compose a choice song for him, / That will be written on his cairn, / Now that he is without speech."

(Translation: I hope we will find a bard / who will sing his praises to him / and put it on his tombstone / now that he has to remain silent forever.)

literature

• William Mackenzie: Old Skye Tales: Traditions, Reflections and Memories , Edinburgh 2002. ISBN 9781841582016 .
• Otta Swire: Skye: The Island and its Legends , Edinburgh 2006. ISBN 9781841584799 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ There are about 25 locations on Uist with the former or current name "Kilphe (a) der". What is obviously meant is Balelone on North Uist [1] ; Entry on Balelone  in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland's database
2. ↑ William Mackenzie: Old Skye Tales: Traditions, Reflections and Memories , Edinburgh 2002, unpag., (2nd chapter) [2]
3. ↑ [3]  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ [4]
5. ↑ [5]
6. ↑ William Mackenzie: Old Skye Tales: Traditions, Reflections and Memories , Edinburgh 2002, unpag., (2nd chapter) [6]