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From the archives: Gaelic was a skill employers desired for a variety of jobs including a manager role at an auction mart in Dingwall





There is a huge amount of material held by the Highland Archive Service that relates to business and industry.

Two recent Facebook posts by the service that have been particularly popular are relating to historic job applications.

One of these is a century-old document showing a list of applicants for a manager role available at an auction mart in Dingwall.

The first auction mart in Dingwall was set up in 1884 by D Mackintosh and Coy in the area around Pefferside park. Seven years later a second mart, McCallum Bros, was established on ground to the rear of the Commercial Hotel. They eventually relocated to Church Street in 1899, around the site where Tesco now stands.

McCallum Bros were bought out by Hamilton’s Auction Marts of Inverness in 1918, and it was this mart these people were applying to be employed by. It documents some interesting details on the skills each person could bring to the position.

The two neighbouring marts had a great rivalry and survived under various names until their amalgamation in 1992 to form Dingwall Auction Mart Ltd. Dingwall Mart still operates today from its modern premises on the southern approach road to Dingwall, maintaining its history as an agricultural market town.

Unfortunately we do not know who the successful candidate was.

Another example comes from the collection of Alexander Fraser & Co. This collection contains material relating to the varied personal and business dealings of the family pertaining to Inverness and the surrounding area, covering the years 1775-1854.

The Fraser family had dealings in timber, coal, wool, among many other goods. The service has items from a bundle of applications for the role of shop manager at the grocery, wine and spirit shop in Church Street in 1832.

The post was advertised nationally and drew several applicants from the towns and cities in the south. We can see Allan Reid of Glasgow had a wealth of experience growing up in a family grocery business, however he had no grasp of the Gaelic language, “but might be able to learn as much as serves [him] in business by daily intercourse with the inhabitants”. John McNiven, on the contrary, was a Highland man born in Strontian, who spoke Gaelic, yet lacked the relevant experience in the grocery business. He maintains he “thinks a few days will make him acquainted with it”.

There were around 20 candidates who applied for the position. We do not know who was successful, although the preservation of their applications provides an interesting background for family historians. From a local history perspective, it documents the widespread use of Gaelic in Inverness in the 19th century, with so much weight being placed on the language as a desirable skill.

• Highland Archive Centre is open by appointment only. To make a booking for Tuesdays and Thursdays or enquire about remote archive or family history research, either email archives@highlifehighland.com or call 01349 781130 or visit here.


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