Scots kinship, migration and early settlement in southwestern Newfoundland

• Main Author: Ommer, Rosemary
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 1973
• Subjects: Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/7356/; https://research.library.mun.ca/7356/1/Ommer_RosemaryE.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/7356/3/Ommer_RosemaryE.pdf

The role of kinship has not achieved prominence in geographical studies of migration and rural settlement. The present study examines the impact of a traditional kinship system, that of the Scottish clan, on the migration of Highland Scots to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and, via Cape Breton, to southwestern Newfoundland. The nature and persistence of Scots kinship ties in Newfoundland, until the third generation after settlement, is documented and analyzed, as is their effect on settlement morphology. Kinship is shown to underpin the development of ‘clachan’ forms in the Newfoundland-Scottish settlements examined, and a hitherto undocumented importance of affinal kinship links is noted.