Hi Paul,
Welcome to the board - it's nice to hear from a Cameron in South Africa.
Staffin,as you probobly know,lies on the north-east coast of the Island of Skye.It lies in the Parish of Kilmuir,in a sub-parish called Stenscholl,and in the 19th century,the village of Staffin was also called by that name.
I had a look in the person-index for the 1881 and 1891 Censuses for a Neil Cameron,but there was no appropriate listing on Skye.However,moving back ten years,I came across this family:
CENSUS 1871:County of Inverness,Parish of Kilmuir,Sub-Parish of Stenscholl:
At 7 Stenscholl:
-Archibald CAMERON,head of household,married,51,Teacher of English,born Perthshire,Dull.
-Flora,wife,35,b.Invernesshire,Kilmuir.
-Niel,son,unmarried,18,Shopkeeper,b.Invernesshire,Kilmuir.
-Duncan,son,unm,16,Agricultural Labourer,b.Inv.,Kilmuir.
-Catherine,dau,14,General Servant(Domestic),b.Inv.,Kilmuir.
-Donald,son,12,Scholar,b.Inv.,Kilmuir.
-Peggy,dau,5,b.Inv.,Kilmuir.
And back ten years:
CENSUS 1861:County of Inverness,Parish of Kilmuir,Sub-Parish of Stenscholl:
At 4 Stenscholl:
-Archibald CAMERON,head of household,widower,41,English Teacher,b.Perthshire,Dull.
-Isabella,dau,12,Scholar,b.Inv.,Kilmuir.
-Archibald,son,10,Scholar,b.Inv.,Kilmuir.
-Niel,son,8,Scholar,b.Inv.,Kilmuir.
-Duncan,6,Scholar,b.Inv.,Kilmuir.
-Catherine,dau,3,b.Inv.,Kilmuir.
-Donald,1,b.Inv.,Kilmuir.
-Flora McLEAN,servant,unm,24,Domestic Servant,b.Inv.,Kilmuir.
And back another ten:
CENSUS 1851:County of Inverness,Parish of Kilmuir,Sub-Parish of Stenscholl:
At 31 Stenscholl:
-Archibald CAMERON,head of household,married,33,Teacher("Promiscuous"School),b.Perthshire,Dull.
-Margaret,wife,25,b.Inverness,Stenscholl.
-Archibald,son,1 month,b.Inv., Stenscholl.
-Ann McISAAC,visitor,unm,55,b.Invernesshire,South Uist.
-Mary McLEAN,servant,unm,25,House Servant,b.Inv.,Stenscholl.
And next door at no.32:
-Sophia LAMONT,head of household,widow,61,Former House Keeper,b.Lanarkshire,Shotts.
-Isabella CAMERON,visitor,2,b.Inv.,Stenscholl.
Do you think this is your Neil and his family?If the names Archibald and Margaret crop up amongst his children,it is likely that it is.
Incidentally,we can see that Neil's mother died around 1860/1,and from another source that her maiden surname was McLEOD.
Compulsory registrations of Births,Marriages,and Deaths only occurred in 1855,so there is no record of Neil's birth ( he was probobly baptised in the Free Church of Scotland).However,if you go to the
www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk website,you will be able to pay to view the Death Certificate of his mother (that will give you the names of her parents),and that of his father's marriage to Flora in circa 1864/5 (that will give you the names of his parents).This would allow you to trace the families back further.The website will also allow you to search for Neil's location in Scotland for the Census years of 1881,91,and 1901.
Hope I'm on the right line with this Neil!
Cheers,
Chris.
