Oatmeal and the Catechism: Scottish Gaelic Settlers in Quebec (Mcgill-Queen's Studies in Ethnic History)

Relying heavily upon oral tradition, the book embraces the diverse disciplines of folklore, history, language, geography, literature, sociology, agriculture, botany, and home economics. It covers emigration history, community and domestic lifestyles, religious and social structure (including songs, poems, legends, and folktales), customs and beliefs, and material culture. Discussions are supported throughout by testimonies of many Townshippers, quoted verbatim, enabling the "voice" of the Gael to continue to be heard. Oatmeal and the Catechism will be of great interest to scholars and students of Gaelic studies and folklore in addition to Quebecers and others whose Scottish ancestors settled in Quebec and eastern Canada and helped carve a country out of the wilderness. "Oatmeal and the Catechism is the story of emigrants from the Outer Hebrides to Quebec in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Most were crofting families from Lewis who had suffered the severe effects of the potato famine of 1846-51. As a solution to the increasing pressure on landlords and government relief bodies, they were offered free passage to 'Lower Canada' and given land grants in the Eastern Townships. To this day place-names such as Stornoway, Tolsta, Ness and Dell in Canada testify to the strong links these communities kept with their homeland." "In this updated edition of her book Margaret Bennett traces the historical background of emigration and settlement in this part of Canada. By means of recorded interviews with descendants of the original settlers, she builds up a detailed picture not only of the social and religious aspects of their lives, but also of how they set about building a new community in the wilderness. For more than a century people in the Outer Hebrides have been asking what happened to those who left for the New World. Oatmeal and the Catechism answers that question."--BOOK JACKET "Bennett relies heavily upon the oral tradition, and she embraces the diverse disciplines of folklore, history, geography, literature, sociology, agriculture, botany, and home economics in the creation of this book." "Oatmeal and the Catechism will be of interest to scholars and students of Gaelic studies and folklore in addition to people whose Scottish ancestors settled in Canada and helped carve a country out of the wilderness."--Jacket Margaret Bennett's study looks at the history, culture and folklore of the Scottish Gaelic settlers in the eastern townships of Quebec.