Letter from Alexander Macalister to William Lesley, 1665-06-14

Letter from Alexander Macalister to William Lesley, 1665-06-14

Scotland

Mission reports

Conversion

Scottish schools

Letter from Alexander Macalister, schoolteacher in Scotland, to William Lesley, procurator of the Scottish mission in Rome. He writes that he has 24 pupils at the house of count MacDonnell in Glengarry. The students are from the following families: "Macdonaldi, Cameroni, Mackmartini, Fraserij, Scotti, Stuardi, Makiuerij" [MacDonnell, Cameron, MacMartin, Fraser, Scott, Stuart and MacIver]; all but one have converted to Catholicism. Macalister adds that he is in great need of books. Winster has promised to have the necessary books sent from London, but Macalister is afraid that they will be seized. Its noted that some children have had to learn how to read from ‘heretic’ books. Macalister first taught on the Isle of Skye, but when the ministers noticed that he was Catholic and was converting his students, they banned him from the island. He never received any money from anyone, until he received 60 scudi from the prefect [Alexander] Winster, sent by PF. The letter dated 14 June 1665. 

Date discussed, 1665-11-09

Additional comments

Alexander Macalister

APF SOCG 308, 224r-225v

1665-06-14

Addressed to William Lesley

For a summary of this letter (as well as other letters from the same bundle) and the related decision, see: APF SOCG 308, 206r-208v, 231v (database item 331).
For the discussion of this letter, see: APF ACTA 34, 203r, 224v-227v (same information; not in this database).

Copy, unsigned, dated

Italian

Letter

336

Origin: [Scotland]

Destination: Rome