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"Survey return from Donald Murray"
Knock, Stornoway.
1850.
RCP/COL/4/8/157
Donald Murray was a church minister in Knock.
Knock was a quoad sacra parish within the parish of Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in the historic County of Ross and Cromarty. Most of the inhabitants were employed in herring and cod fisheries. For further information on the whole parish, see the entry for Stornoway.
[[Addressee]]
The Revd
Donald Murray
Knock
Stornoway
[[Survey]]
QUERIES
1. How many Medical Men practice within the Parish of Knock?
Two
2. The Names and Addresses of these.
Roderick Millar Surgeon
Charles MacRae M.D.
3. Has the number increased or diminished of late years?
Charles MacRae began to practice within these last two years.
4. Have any left the Parish since you became connected with it? If so, for what reasons?
None
5. Is there any complaint among the people of inadequacy in the supply of Medical aid?
None now
6. Do you know of any cases of protracted suffering, or of injury by Accident, such as might have been alleviated had proper advice been at hand?
I know of none
7. To what extent is the deficiency of qualified Practitioners made up by the efforts of other parties?
Little or nothing is done, but what is done by those mentioned above
8. Does your experience enable you to suggest any measure – of general applicability – such as would be likely to relieve to some extent the evils (if they exist) of deficiency in the supply of Medical aid?
No
9. What Heritors1 are resident, either generally or occasionally, in your Parish?
None. Mr. Mathesons the sole Proprietor of the Lewis.
When he is in the Island resides in the parish of Stornoway.
[[Additional Text]]
I may state that Knock is a “quoad sacra2 parish” and is one aspect a part of the parish of Stornoway. D.M.
Explanatory notes:
1. A heritor was a landowner, under Scots Law, whose holdings were sizeable enough for them to be liable for the payment of public burdens such as Poor Law rates, road and bridge assessments and the church minister’s stipend.
2. Quoad sacra translates from Latin as "concerning sacred matters". Where a civil and an ecclesiastical parish are coterminous, the area is designated a "parish proper", a parish quoad omnia ("concerning all"), or a parish quoad civilia et sacra ("concerning the civil and the sacred").
Remote & Rural Remedies
