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Ruaraidh Mor had two sons called Donald, Domhnull Mor born about 1828 and Domhnull Beag born about 1857. For the whole story of Domhnull Mor and his family, who spent many years living on the Shiants, see Adam Nicholson's excellent book, Sea Room. After the death of Domhnull Mor's wife Catherine in 1901, the family returned to Harris. Domhnull Mor had a son Iain (John) Campbell who being deaf from birth could neither hear nor speak and was known as Am Balbhan. He was however renowned for his skill with his hands. While Domhnull Mor lived in the Shiants, the two communities communicated with signal fires. The second photo shows the top of the ridge above the westmost houses, called Cnoc an Teine (the hill of the fire) from where a fire on the Shiants could be seen and where a fire could be lit which in turn could be seen on the islands. When Domhnull Mor's wife died all the folk in Molinginish were away at the communions in Tarbert. Realising that no fire would be seen Iain got to work and with the few tools to hand and using driftwood built a coffin for his mother. Once the Molinginish folk returned a fire was seen on the Shiants and a boat sent over. When the remains were landed in Tarbert the local undertaker who examined the coffin stated that apart from adding the handles he could not have done better in his own workshop. Iain passed away in 1926 at the age of 74.

So far as I can tell Amhlaidh Mor (Aulay MacLeod) was not related to Ruaraidh Mor. His first appearance in the official record is in the Molinginish census of 1841 aged 25 and married to Christina (or Chirsty) with a 6 year old son Angus. He does not seem to have had any land and is variously described as a fisherman, a cottar (ie a landless occupier of a house) and a boatman. His house is right out at the far end of the village, in the shadow of a high cliff, between two burns and just above the high water mark, as if thrust out to the uttermost edge. On a stormy night with a high surf roaring on the beach and the burns thundering down on either side, they must have felt at the mercy of the elements. The house is barely bigger than what would be regarded as a small room nowadays, but here Amhlaidh and Chirsty raised six children. A flat stone projects from the seaward corner of the house at seat height. I imagine Amhlaidh sitting here of an evening puffing on a pipe of black twist. It must have been a pretty hand to mouth existence though. His son Seonaidh Amhlaidh (John) told his own grandson (now a retired headmaster) that when he was a boy, his mother would give him an oatmeal bannock and a bottle of milk and would tell him to go down to the shore at low tide and help himself to whatever he could find. By 1871 the family had left Molinginish and moved to the head of Loch Shell in Lewis. A small landslide seems to have inundated the ruin at some time. Amhlaidh passed away a widower in Tarbert, Harris in December 1897 aged 82. His many descendents prospered and are to be found today in various parts of the islands as well as further afield.