In the spring of 1838, Archie Darroch and Mary Milloy’s children ranged from three to seventeen years old. In this sketch, Archie takes his family to their ancestor’s grave to instill in them “the tradition of the stone.”
On Saturday, March 10, 1838, the sun shone brightly as Archie Darroch led his family out of their house and to the church grounds. As they arrived at the cemetery, he called back to them over his shoulder.
“Children, I want to show you the oldest stone in the parish.”
Mary had lost count of the times she had heard this story. She first heard it eighteen years ago, when Archie mentioned “the tradition of the stone” just before their wedding. This centuries-old gravestone had a particularly strong pull on him. His bond with Clachan was not just through living relatives, but through those who had gone before.
Mary instinctively watched over her children as they gathered around the large grave slab. Five-year-old Archie brought three-year-old Margaret to the front so she could see. He regularly watched over his little sister. Unbeknownst to any of them, Margaret would later return the favour as an adult, by watching over him and their aged mother—albeit on a different continent. Mary’s attention turned back to her husband.
“I’ve shown you Mulmorich Darroch’s stone before,” he said, “but today I draw your attention to the date he died.”
The children peered at the inscription, but could not decipher the weathered characters. That did not matter, for they had heard the story so many times they knew his death date by heart.
Fifteen-year-old John spoke, “I get it. He died in 1638. It is now 1838…two hundred years since he died.”
“That’s correct, son. Not just two hundred years, but two hundred years to the day: March 10th. The Darroch clan has a fine reputation in this parish, and the anniversary of Mulmorich’s passing is worth noting. We need to remember this stone for another two hundred years.”
This story is derived from Frank Darroch’s account of finding a note among his father’s papers describing the oldest stone in the parish. Frank stated his grandfather and great-grandfather “…must have been proud of this ancestor of theirs when the tradition of the stone was handed down in the family after they came to Canada.” [2] What does the tradition of the stone mean?
Frank went to great lengths to find this stone and revitalize its importance in the family narrative. In 1966, he travelled to Scotland and found the grave to which the note referred. It served as a catalyst for writing his red book.
The epitaph on the stone reads:
HERE LIES MULMORICH
DARROCH, PERSON, WAS IN
Kilcalmonell who died
10th March 1638 aged 63
and Served the cure
MORICUIS D HIC SITUS EST
VOCE FIDELI QUIE DOCUIT
POPULUM NUNCIA LETAS DIE
MEMENTO MORI
RENEWED BY
J. and ARCHd DARROCH
1864
As mentioned in the vignette, two hundred years after his death, Mulmorich's stone was starting to weather. The inscription "RENEWED BY J. and ARCHd DARROCH 1864" was added later, when Archie's nephews, John and Archibald Darroch, had the stone refurbished. Colin Darroch offers the insight that the mason who renewed the stone has a special connection to it. In an 1880 letter, Mary (Darroch) Currie names Dugald Glen as the mason, and Colin has since discovered he was the son of Helen Darroch, a descendant of Mulmorich. [5]
In the 1960s, the letters on the grave slab were fading again. Frank endeavoured to have it refurbished a second time but the stone was determined to be too thin to withstand another engraving.
The inscription served the cure refers to the longer phrase: “to serve the cure for souls in the parish.” In other words, souls were cured through ministering and preaching the word of God. The lines in Latin have been translated as: “Here lies Maurice Darroch who taught the people faithfully the glad tidings of God. Remember death.”
The “tradition of the stone” may have originally referred to family members’ personal visits to the grave. No Darroch descendants currently live near Clachan, and few of us have travelled there to see it. Nonetheless, the phrase can also be a metaphor for remembering and honouring our ancestors through reading and documenting their stories.
Have you seen Mulmorich’s gravestone in Clachan, or know of someone who has? If so, please comment below. If you have a story or photo to share, please email me or submit it on the Submissions tab. We would love to further the tradition of the stone by posting it here.
The next story will take us back another 200 years, to the time of Mulmorich Darroch's death.
References
[1] Photo of Mulmorich Darroch's 1638 gravestone by Keith Robertson (2011).
[2] Frank Darroch, A Darroch Family in Scotland and in Canada (1974), 20.
[3] Pat. Forbes, Considerations on the Constitution of the Church of Scotland: On the Nature, Intention and Advantages of and Established Church, Particularly of the Scottish Establishment; and on the Modes of Appointing Minsters to Vacant Parishes, Edinburgh, 1841 (p. 70). Available as an e-book on Google Books.
[4] The Latin translation is according to The Ancient Monuments of Argyll, as quoted by Frank Darroch in A Darroch Family in Scotland and in Canada (1974), 21.
[5] Colin Darroch, Searching for the Darroch Family: The possible origins, history from the 1300s and contributions they made (2021), 340.