William Hare (4)
I was telling you about William Maxwell, the ‘Breabadair Teine’. He was living in Applecross. Some were of the opinion that he was the infamous murderer William Hare under another name.
A historian who knows the area well has been examining the historical records. He is Alan Gillies. Here is what he found.
William Maxwell appears in the census in Applecross in 1851. That is more than twenty years after Hare had been involved in murder in Edinburgh.
Maxwell was an Irishman. He was born at sea. His father was a mariner. William married an Irish woman, Margaret Blue. They moved, with their daughters, to Kintyre in Scotland. That was at the end of the thirties. Maxwell was living in Ireland when Hare was in Edinburgh.
William was a weaver, but they were poor. He and one of his daughters were involved in crime. They spent time in prison. While William was in prison, the rest of the family were living in Campbeltown.
The marriage between William and Margaret did not last. When Maxwell appears in Applecross, he has a new wife – Mary Maitland. She belonged to Campbeltown. They were living in Knoydart or Glenelg before they went to Applecross.
William’s daughter, Maria Maxwell, was living in Applecross. She had a son born out of wedlock whose name was John. Maria married a William Norris, and they went to live in Aberdeenshire near Peterhead. Eventually, after the death of William, everybody in the family moved to Aberdeenshire. William was buried in an unmarked grave in the Clachan Cemetery in Applecross.
After doing detailed research, Alan Gillies is of the opinion that Maxwell was not Hare. Maxwell was the Breabadair Teine but he was not the infamous murderer.
Uilleam Hare (4)
Bha mi ag innse dhuibh mu Uilleam Maxwell, am ‘Breabadair Teine’. Bha e a’ fuireach air a’ Chomraich. Bha cuid dhen bheachd gum b’ esan am murtair droch-chliùiteach Uilleam Hare fo ainm eile.
Tha eachdraiche le eòlas math air an sgìre air a bhith a’ toirt sùil gheur air na clàran eachdraidheil. Is esan Ailean MacGillÌosa. Seo na lorg e.
Tha Uilleam Maxwell a’ nochdadh anns a’ chunntas-sluaigh air a’ Chomraich ann an ochd ceud deug, caogad ’s a h-aon (1851). Bha sin còrr is fichead bliadhna an dèidh do Hare a bhith ri murt ann an Dùn Èideann.
Bha Maxwell na Èireannach. Rugadh e aig muir. Bha athair na mharaiche. Phòs Uilleam tè Èireannach, Mairead Blue. Ghluais iad, leis na nigheanan aca, a Chinn Tìre ann an Alba. Bha sin aig deireadh nan tritheadan. Bha Maxwell a’ fuireach ann an Èirinn nuair a bha Hare ann an Dùn Èideann.
Bha Uilleam na bhreabadair ach bha iad bochd. Bha e fhèin agus tè de na nigheanan aige an sàs ann an eucoir. Chuir iad seachad ùine anns a’ phrìosan. Fhad ’s a bha Uilleam anns a’ phrìosan, bha an còrr de a theaghlach a’ fuireach ann an Ceann Loch Cille Chiarain.
Cha do mhair am pòsadh eadar Uilleam agus Mairead. Nuair a nochdas Maxwell air a’ Chomraich, tha bean ùr aige – Màiri Mhaitland. Bhuineadh ise do Cheann Loch Cille Chiarain. Bha iad a’ fuireach ann an Cnòideart no Gleann Eilg mus deach iad don Chomraich.
Bha nighean Uilleim, Maria Maxwell, a’ fuireach air a’ Chomraich. Bha mac-dìolain aice dom b’ ainm Iain. Phòs Maria fear Uilleam Norris agus chaidh iad a dh’fhuireach ann an Siorrachd Obar Dheathain faisg air Ceann Phàdraig. Mu dheireadh, an dèidh bàs Uilleim, ghluais a h-uile duine dhen teaghlach a Shiorrachd Obar Dheathain. Chaidh Uilleam a thiodhlacadh ann an uaigh neo-chomharraichte ann an Cladh a’ Chlachain air a’ Chomraich.
An dèidh sgrùdadh mionaideach a dhèanamh, tha Ailean MacGillÌosa dhen bheachd, le cinnt, nach e Hare a bha ann an Maxwell. B’ e Maxwell am Breabadair Teine ach cha b’ e am murtair droch-chliùiteach.
