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| Below is a brief sketch of our trip to Scotland in May of 2004. I've been to 18 seperate countries world wide and there are none like this! But maybe it's just 'cause I'm an old Gaelic softie who loves the land his fore-fathers (and mothers) hailed from. When I do finally sleep in the heather, there will be a mighty Clan Gathering! I look forward to the day we can all meet. |
| My Great-Grandfather & Great-Grandmother came to the USA from Scotland in 1903. Her maiden name was Mulholland, which is Irish. John & Margaret both had strong Celtic, Gaelic heritage. But since they left from Scotland, it is the country I feel most connected to. Still, Irish blood mixes well with Scots (NOT Scotch!) Kyle is a name which, according to the version you prefer, comes from Scotland as well as Ireland. It is used to describe a straight, narrow body of water (Scotland) or wooded path (Ireland) of the same description. It is also translated as wood or forest and sometimes candle. Kyle is a District in Ayrshire at Scotland's South-West corner. However, Kylemore Abby, a monastery, is located in the County Mayo, Ireland. The Kyle of Lochalsh near the Isle of Skye in northern Scotland also raises a good case for the name origin. The proud Kyle Crest was given in both countries. It typically displays three candlesticks. The one in the center denotes the eldest son, which I am and my father was.. Different arrangements may be uses by other members of the clan or family but this, the original, is passed from eldest son to eldest son. |
| Below are a few monuments for the souls who were born in America, and now "lay in the heather" never having seen Scotland. Stones from that country have been placed on each of their graves in the old Scottish tradition. Lamb, my Grandma Kyle's maiden name is English but has a stone as well. |
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| My rugged old dad died when I was just under 20. |
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| Dad's sweet little English mother was one of the few women I ever cared deeply for in my life. God Bless |
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| This pittiful little stone lays on grandma's brother, Warren's grave. |
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| Here's the ship that brought Margaret & the kids to the US in 1903, the HMS Mongolian. Her Irish (Mulholland) fire could scare anyone in family. The Irish & Scots never got along until it came to their dislike of the English. So poor grandma "Ginny" Kyle got a lot of the worst from these humble beginnings. It makes me glad for what I have today, to be sure! |
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| The sleepy little town of Avonbridge, my Great-Grandfather's last known residence in Scotland. The Celtic cross in the center of the town is a memorial to members of the area's armed forces in WW I. |
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| This is Glenfinnian, near Loch Shiel in Inverness-shire. It is here where Prince Charles Edward Stewart (Bonnie Prince Charllie, "Pretender to the Throne") arrived in 1745. A monument, one of Europe's tallest, was erected to him for his leadership of the Jacobite Rising near this bridge. The rebelion against English rule ended terribly at Culloden Moor where the slaughter of all the clans began. Those who escaped were hunted down and killed, often with theirfamilies. Weapons were outlawed as were bagpipes, tartans, kilts and anything Scottish. You may also recognize this bridge also from a scene in one of the "Harry Potter" films. |
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| Just one part of the beautiful Loch Lomond. Look closely at the bridge and other areas around the falls. There are "walkers" hiking in the area surrounding the loch. |
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| Edinburgh Castle |
| John Kyle left Avonbridge, Scotland in 1903 on the Columbia, which sailed from Glasgow. He was a coal miner who came first to Pennsylvania, then Indiana to work the mines here in the US. He was married in 1885 to Ellen Brown in Shotts at the Church of Scotland. She passed away and three years later, he married Margaret Mulholland in Glasgow's St. Joseph Catholic Church. In those days anyone switchin religion was considered a "fence sitter" and frowned upon. I don't think it bothered him greatly. Margaret followed him to America later the same year and they raised four children, Joseph, William, Lillian and Don, my grandfather. Don also became a coal miner and had four sons; Don C. (my dad, also a miner) Jerry, William and Daniel. My father married Mary Alice Benson and she raised three children; myself, Don L. and Sheri J, all born four years apart. Great-Grandpa John died in 1934, Grandpa Don in 1950 and my dad, Don Carlos in 1970 in a mining accident at Ayrshire Coal Company. Strange as it may be, the Kyle name as I mentioned above began by many accounts in Ayrshire, Scotland. My wife Janice and I went to Avonbridge in May of 2004, the only family members ever to do so. It felt like going home to me. |
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| Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen. |
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