Coordinates: 56°13′N 4°13′W / 56.21°N 4.22°W / 56.21; -04.22

Balquhidder
Ruins of Balquhidder Church.
Balquhidder  Balquhidder shown within the Stirling council area
Council area	Stirling
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
EU Parliament	Scotland
List of places: UK • Scotland •

Rob Roy's Grave.Postcard c.1910-1920

Balquhidder ( listen (help·info); Scottish Gaelic: Baile a' Chùil Tìr the land lying behind the country)^[1] is a small village in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It is overlooked by the dramatic mountain terrain of the Braes of Balquhidder, at the head of Loch Voil. Balquhidder Glen is also popular for fishing, nature watching and walking. The village's railway station is no longer open.

The MacLarens acquired the district as early as the 9th century and occupied it for several hundred years until forced to share the area by the MacGregors, a neighbouring clan, who had repeatedly raided their lands, and, in 1558 slew the chief and many of his followers.^{[citation needed]}The Parish is also an ancient seat to branches of the Stewart and Fergusson Clans. Balquhidder was the scene of some of the exploits of Rob Roy, who died there in 1734. The local kirkyard is his final resting place, his grave marked with the appropriately defiant motto 'MacGregor Despite Them'. He lies with the remains of his wife and two sons, the graves marked by three flat stones. One of these is contemporary, but the remaining two are re-used medieval grave monuments.^{[citation needed]}

St. Angus[link]

St Angus came to Balquhidder Glen in the 8th or 9th century and recognised what the Celts called a "thin place" where the boundary between Earth and Heaven was close. He knelt and blessed the glen at the spot where the house "Beannach Aonghais" (Gaelic 'blessing of Angus') now stands and built a stone oratory at Kirkton, where he spent the rest of his life. Angus was the first to bring Christianity to Balquhidder. Behind the present kirk is Tom nan Angeae, the hill of fire, where until the 19th century hearth fires were renewed at Beltane and Samhain to encourage ancient gods to bring warmth to the land. Angus was buried at the foot of this hill and a flagstone laid over him which stands today in the present church. This stone, formerly in the floor of the medieval church, has a crudely incised figure of a priest holding a chalice. The carving is probably late medieval in date.^{[citation needed]}

There are some foundations of the east end of the small medieval parish church of Balquhidder around the grave of Rob Roy and his family (which seem deliberately to have been buried at the site of its altar). A few metres to the west are the roofless ruins of this building's 17th century seccessor. The present church, built on a new site to the north of the ancient graveyard, is of 19th century date. As well as the slab attributed to St. Angus, the ancient, primitive font, probably of early medieval origin, is preserved in this building. There is a display on the history of Balquhidder in the church, which is open to the public during the summer, when there is also a programme of evening concerts in the building.

Glen Buckie, now a quiet backwater on the south side of Balquhidder Glen was the scene of one of the last acts of the 1745 rising. Dr Archibald "Archie" Cameron of Locheil had returned to Scotland in the early 1750s hoping to raise support for a possible last-ditch coup against George II.^{[citation needed]} He was captured in the glen, and was later hanged in London, the last Jacobite to be executed for treason.^{[citation needed]}

The Reverend Robert Kirk, who translated parts of the Gaelic Bible and wrote The Secret Commonwealth, also lived here for several years from 1664.^[2]

Notable people associated with Balquhidder[link]

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• Sir James Black, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine; his family traced their origins to a dominie from the village^[3]
• James Cameron, the Canadian film director, traces his family origins to the village
• David Carnegie, who funded the construction of Sankta Birgittas kapell in Gothenburg, modelled on the Kirk in Balquhidder, where the Carnegies had a home
• Sandy Lyle, golfer
• William Stewart of Baldorran (c1440-c1500), founder of the Balquhidder Stewart clan.
• Robert Roy MacGregor, Scottish patriot, buried in Balquhidder Church yard.

References[link]

•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Balquhidder". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links[link]

• Balquhidder Kirk
• http://fotografico.ning.com/photo/scoziamg0693-1?context=album&albumId=3410616%3AAlbum%3A40824
• http://fotografico.ning.com/photo/scoziamg0693-1/next?context=album&albumId=3410616%3AAlbum%3A40824
• Balquhidder at www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk Retrieved December 2011

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Portrait engraving of Rob Roy circa 1820s

Robert Roy MacGregor (baptised 7 March 1671 – 28 December 1734), usually known simply as Rob Roy or alternately Red MacGregor, was a famous Scottish folk hero because he stole from the rich and gave to the poor. He was considered an outlaw of the early 18th century by the nobles and leaders. Rob Roy, who may sometimes be recognized as the Scottish Robin Hood, supported the needy when he could. Rob Roy is anglicised from the Scottish Gaelic Raibeart Ruadh, or Red Robert. This is because Rob Roy had red hair, though it darkened to auburn in later life.

Early life[link]

Rob Roy was born at Glengyle, at the head of Loch Katrine, as recorded in the Baptismal Register of Buchanan Parish. His father was Donald MacGregor, and his mother Margaret Campbell. He married Mary Helen MacGregor of Comar, who was born at Leny Farm, Strathyre, in Glenarklet in January 1693. She bore him four sons: James (known as Mor or Tall), Ranald, Coll, and Robert (known as Robin Oig or Young Rob). A cousin, Duncan, was later adopted.

Jacobite[link]

Along with many Highland clansmen, at the age of eighteen Rob Roy together with his father joined the Jacobite rising led by Viscount Dundee to support the Stuart King James who had been deposed by William of Orange. Although victorious in initial battles, "Bonnie Dundee" was killed in 1689, deflating the rebellion. Rob’s father was taken to jail, where he was held on treason charges for two years. Rob’s mother Margaret’s health failed during Donald’s time in prison. By the time Donald was finally released, his wife was dead. The Gregor chief never returned to his former spirit or health.

Rob Roy was badly wounded at the Battle of Glen Shiel in 1719, in which a British army of Scots and English defeated a Jacobite and Spanish expedition that aimed to restore the Stuart monarchy.

Later life[link]

Rob Roy became a well-known and respected cattleman — this was a time when cattle rustling and selling protection against theft was a commonplace means of earning a living.^[1] Rob Roy borrowed a large sum to increase his own cattle herd, but due to the disappearance of his chief herder, who was entrusted with the money to bring the cattle back, Rob Roy lost his money and cattle, and defaulted on his loan. As a result, he was branded an outlaw, and his wife and family were evicted from their house at Inversnaid, which was then burned down. After his principal creditor, James Graham, 1st Duke of Montrose seized his lands, Rob Roy waged a private blood feud against the duke until 1722, when he was forced to surrender. Later imprisoned, he was finally pardoned in 1727. He died in his house at Inverlochlarig Beg, Balquhidder, on 28 December 1734.^[2]

Another, less romantic version of this series of events states that Rob Roy's estate of Craigrostan and Ardess were forfeited for his part in the rebellion of 1715. The Duke of Montrose acquired the property in 1720 by open purchase from the Commissioners of Enquiry. ^[3]

Legacy[link]

Grave site of Rob Roy MacGregor, marking his wife (Helen) Mary, and sons Coll and Robert.

Glengyle House, on the shore of Loch Katrine, dates back to the early 18th century, with a porch dated to 1707, and is built on the site of the 17th century stone cottage where Rob Roy is said to have been born. Since the 1930s, the Category B-listed building had been in the hands of successive water authorities, but was identified as surplus to requirements and put up for auction in November 2004, despite objections from the Scottish National Party.

The Rob Roy Way, a long distance footpath from Drymen to Pitlochry, was created in 2002 and named in Rob Roy's honour.

Descendants of Rob Roy settled around McGregor, Iowa, and in 1849 it was reported that the original MacGregor seal and signet was owned by Alex McGregor of Iowa. The Scots Gaelic clan seal was inscribed, "Triogal Ma Dh'ream/ Een dhn bait spair nocht", which was interpreted as "I am of royal descent/ Slay and spare not". The signet was a bloodstone from Loch Lomond, and was sketched by William Williams.^[4]

In 1878, the football club Kirkintilloch Rob Roy was founded and named in his memory.

In popular culture[link]

1723 saw the publication of a fictionalized account of his life, The Highland Rogue.^[5] Rob Roy became a legend in his own lifetime, and George I was moved to issue a pardon for his crimes just as he was about to be transported to the colonies. The publication of Rob Roy, by Sir Walter Scott in 1817, further added to his fame and fleshed out his biography. William Wordsworth wrote a poem called "Rob Roy's Grave", during a visit to Scotland (the 1803 tour was documented by his sister Dorothy in Recollections of a Tour Made in Scotland. The editor of the book changed the place of burial to the present location). Adaptations of his story have also been told in film, including Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue, a 1953 film from Walt Disney Productions, and the 1995 Rob Roy directed by Michael Caton-Jones and starring Liam Neeson.

In 1894, a bartender at the Waldorf Hotel in New York City created the Rob Roy cocktail in honor of the premiere of Rob Roy, an operetta by composer Reginald De Koven and lyricist Harry B. Smith loosely based upon Robert Roy MacGregor.^[6]

See also[link]

• Clan MacGregor
• Auchenbathie Tower

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Nigel Tranter (1991). Rob Roy MacGregor. New York: Barnes and Noble. ISBN 1-897784-31-7 (2005 reprint).

External links[link]

• McGregor village museum with a King James Bible bearing Rob Roy's signature
• Rob Roy on the Web
• Undiscovered Scotland - Robert Roy MacGregor
• The MacGregor trilogy, by Nigel Tranter, Hodder & Stoughton, 1989. MacGregor's Gathering, 1706-1708. The Clansman, 1711-1716. Gold for Prince Charlie, 1743-1746.
• FAQs about Rob Roy
• Rob Roy MacGregor - The Legend and the Truth
• "Robert 'Rob Roy' MacGregor: outlaw and folk hero", by Brendan O'Brien, from Scotsman.com, 27 Jan 2005.
• Find-A-Grave Rob Roy MacGregor
• "Glengyle House. Built by Rob Roy MacGregor". http://www.broughtysands.co.uk/glengyle-house.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-17. 

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Roy MacGregor is a Canadian author of fiction and non-fiction. He grew up in Huntsville, Ontario.^[1] His work tends to focus on Canadian topics; Shelagh Rogers has dubbed him the "heir to Peter Gzowski". He has a longstanding interest in the life of Tom Thomson, and has written both a novel and a biography exploring the artist's life and mysterious death.^[2]

Bibliography[link]

RoyMacGregor talks about Northern Light on Bookbits radio.

• Northern Light. Random House, Canada, 2010.
• Home Team: Fathers, Sons and Hockey
• A Life in the Bush
• Canadians: A Portrait of a Country and Its People
• Canoe Lake
• Screech Owls

References[link]

This article about a Canadian writer or poet is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Alma Gluck

Alma Gluck (May 11, 1884 – October 27, 1938) was a Romanian-born American soprano, one of the world's most famous female singers at the peak of her career (circa 1910).

Life and career[link]

Gluck was born as Reba Feinsohn to a Jewish family in Bucharest, Romania, the daughter of Zara and Leon Feinsohn.^[1] Gluck moved to the United States at a young age. Although her initial success came at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, Gluck later concertized widely in America and became an early recording artist. Her recording of "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" for the Victor Talking Machine Co. was the first celebrity recording by a classical musician to sell one million copies. Gluck was a founder of the American Woman's Association.

Her daughter Marcia Davenport was the child of her first marriage (to Bernard Glick, a dentist - ???). Gluck later married violinist Efrem Zimbalist and had two children, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. and Maria. Gluck evidently adopted her professional surname as a variation of her first husband's surname ("Glick").

Gluck retired to New Hartford, Connecticut to raise her family in 1925. Although by background an assimilated and nonpracticing Jew who continued to consider herself ethnically Jewish, she found herself attracted, along with her husband Efrem, to Anglican Christianity, and they regularly attended the Episcopal Church in New Hartford. Efrem Jr. and Maria were both christened there, and the couple financed Efrem through an Episcopal boarding school in New Hampshire. Efrem Jr. later became active in evangelical circles and was one of the founders of Trinity Broadcasting Network.^[2][3][4][5] Gluck recorded several Christian hymns in duet with Louise Homer, among them "Rock of Ages",^[6] "Whispering Hope",^[7] "One Sweetly Solemn Thought",^[8] and "Jesus, Lover of My Soul".^[9]

Death[link]

Alma Gluck died in 1938, aged 54, from liver failure in New York City.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Fan site with photos and biographies
• Alma Gluck biography on Marston Records

Recordings

• Discography of Alma Gluck on Victor Records from the Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings (EDVR).
• Alma Gluck: streaming audio at the Library of Congress.