Surrounded by salty ocean breezes, profound silence, and broad vistas of the Atlantic
Ocean, John and Catherine MacLeod celebrated the birth of a baby boy in May 1815.
Their thatched-roof home on Sithean or "Fairy Knoll" lay at the westernmost edge
of Geàrrannan, a seaside village on the Scottish Isle of Lewis in the northern Hebrides.
Christened John MacLeod, the baby became known as "Iain ‘an ‘ic ‘Iain," or "John
the son of John the son of John." The baby’s father, John MacLeod Sr., a "crofter"
or farmer by trade, toiled on acreage leased from others. As the MacLeod’s eldest
son came of age, he too worked the land, managed the livestock (sheep and cattle),
and fished commercially. These activities took precedence over an education. A contemporary
referred to him as "a splendid looking man physically [and]…well behaved." His participation
in local sports competitions earned him a reputation for strength and endurance.
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