Succoth

Succoth is a small hamlet at the head of Loch Long and on the west side of the River Loin.

Roy's Military Survey of Scotland (1747-1755) shows a number of buildings at Succoth, which was recorded as Soccach. You can zoom in to view this in detail.

The oldest buildings in Succoth are Succoth Farmhouse, Succoth Cottage and Succoth Steadings. An early record shows that a tenancy of the farm was granted to John Campbell by the Duke of Argyll on 19th July 1825.

Traditionally the River Loin formed the boundary between the counties of Dunbartonshire and Argyll, so Succoth was actually in Argyllshire and part of the Parish of Lochgoilhead and Kilmorich.

In the 1841 Census residents at the farm included Robert McFarlane (aged 60) and his 50 year old wife, Christy, along with two male servants and two female servants. An Andrew McFarlane is also recorded as living there. No occuptaion is given for him but he is living on Army Half Pay.

In 1851 there were seven people living in Succoth. John Mitchell aged 37, was 'a farmer of 80 acres employing three men and three maids'. John's wife Lucy and their one year old son also lived at the farm along with John Buchanan, a shepherd.

By 1861 the Mitchells had moved on. They had three more children, but their son, Duncan, does not appear on the census return for them at Clachan.

The 1867 Ordnance Survey map of Scotland shows the farmhouse and the steadings as roofed buildings with some adjacent enclosures. The spelling has now changed to Sugach.

In 1891 the farm was lived in by George Hamilton, from Lanarkshire, and his brother John, whose occupation is given as agricultural manager. They had two servants, Christine and Annie McPherson. In Succoth Shepherd's House lived the Campbell family, Robert, his daughter Jessie and son Robert. They had four lodgers on the night of the census; one fisherman and three navvies. At Succoth Steading Dougald, a ploghman, and Margaret McGregor lived with their two sons and three daughters. This Census also records whether or not the population spoke Gaelic, Gaelic and English or just English. Of those mentioned above only George and John Hamilton, Margaret McGregor and her children spoke no Gaelic.

By 1901 the farm was in the hands of a manager, Finlay McDiarmid who lived at the Farmhouse with his sister, Margaret, who acted as housekeeper and a young servant, Catherine Ferguson. William Henderson, a shepher, lived in the cottage and Angus Livingstone, his wife and four children lived in the Steading.