The chart depicts the makeup of the population of Badenoch's Laggan Parish over a period of 79 years. There is no evidence to suggest that the situation depicted here was different in the other two Badenoch parishes. It shows the Macphersons were the district's dominant clan in 1775 with nearly 40 pct of the population. However, this position steadily declined to less than 20 pct at the end of the period. During the interval the size of the total population declined less than 25 pct. The changes in the size of the other clans living in Laggan Parish tended to be much less drastic during this period except for the clans in the Others grouping which actually grew to representing half the population at the period's end date.
What did the Macphersons see that the other clans didn't? Was it the higher standard of living that prevailed in some of the places that they visited in their travels? Was it their recognition that opportunities abounded beyond Badenoch and could be exploited? We'll never know but the questions are intriguing.