James Matheson (afterwards Sir James Matheson of the Lews) purchased the Achany Estate from Sir John Gladstone of Fasque in 1844. In addition to the main estate holdings at Lairg and Ullapool, the sale also included the Estate of Blackwells, Dingwall, which Gladstone’s wife, Anne Robertson, had inherited from her father Andrew, a solicitor and former Provost of Dingwall. Upon Sir James Matheson’s death in 1878, the estate passed to his widow, Lady Mary Jane Matheson (d.1896) and thence to his nephew Donald Matheson (d.1901), whose son, Duncan (d.1930), and grandson, ? (d. 1934) inherited in turn. Duncan and Duncan acted as local factors for the Blackwells portion of the estate, to which these records predominately relate.