Chronicles of Clan Colquhoun

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Arms of Colquhoun of Luss

Winter 2014

New Issue Vol 1 No 1

Whole No 37

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© 2015


Dear Fellow Clan Colquhoun members I am honoured to be asked to pen a few words of introduction for this, the first issue of “The Further Chronicles of Clan Colquhoun” in succession to the original publications so painstakingly put together by James Pearson. As a clan, we are exceptionally lucky to have someone with James’s ability, energy and knowledge of clan history in his honorary role of Clan Historian. We can all be enormously grateful to him for taking on this position, and now that he and Jan have permanently moved to Luss to take charge of the Clan Museum, I am quite certain that it will soon develop in all kinds of interesting ways. The newly formed Clan Colquhoun International Society has gone from strength to strength in 2014, and I cannot adequately express my gratitude not just to James and Jan, but in particular to Patrick Calhoun, our President, and Michael Lloyd Stern, the CEO of the CCIS has done more than anyone to get the new Clan Society up and running. They are not the only ones of course, and so to all Clan Colquhoun members and officials who have helped in any way, I offer my profound gratitude. We are indeed lucky to have such people, many of whom I was privileged to meet during my visit to Stone Mountain Highland Gathering in October. And so, as we come to the end of what has been quite a momentous year in Scotland, I offer my fellow Clan members warmest Christmas greetings. As I have remarked before, we are a small clan, but with a big heart – and even bigger ambitions. I am certain that in 2015 we shall start to see the realisation of those ambitions, and I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible. There will always be a warm welcome to you in Luss. With all good wishes

Sir Malcolm R. Colquhoun of Luss Chief of Clan Colquhoun


= = = = = = Keir House, home of the Stirling family = ^==q~äÉ=çÑ=qïç=tÉÇÇáåÖëKKKKKK= ^==q~äÉ=çÑ=qïç=tÉÇÇáåÖëKKKKKK= Lilias Colquhoun was introduced to readers in issue No 3 (Autumn 2003) of the Chronicles of Clan Colquhoun which told of ‘The Wooing of Lady Lilias’. Lilias was the eldest daughter of Sir John Colquhoun of Luss and his wife Margaret Baillie, the daughter of the late Sir Gideon Baillie of Lochend. Sir John Colquhoun, known as ‘The Black Cock of the West’ because of his swarthy complexion and black hair, had married Lady Margaret Baillie in 1648 without going through the normal procedures. The calling of Banns on three separate Sundays was required before a marriage ceremony. Though her mother and step-father approved, the usual channels were not followed. Her widowed mother had remarried to Sir John Crawford of Kilburnie, and these parents sent a letter to the couple dated 12th May 1648 : Honorable and dear son, we have sent you the richest jewel belonging to us in this world, our dearest daughter Miss Margaret Baillie, heiress of Lochend who we desire to be your dearest wife....................................


They were summoned by the Dumbarton Presbytery, and the Luss minister Archibald M’Lauchlan who performed the ceremony was deposed from his position. However the Presbytery were more lenient with the couple, and in December 1648 adjudged that the’ Lady’s mother’, Magdalene Carnegie, Lady Kilburnie ought to ‘confess her fault in her own parish kirk’. Sir John Colquhoun had through this marriage, acquired the estates of Lochend, in Haddington, East Lothian, his wife being the Sir John Colquhoun of Luss heiress of the lands. As no marriage ‘Black Cock of the West’ contract had been arranged before the marriage, a contract was agreed in 1650 in which he granted her liferent from part of the Luss estates, including Garscube, Mains of Colquhoun, Dunnerbuck and Auchentorlie. Note:There are conflicting dates for the Lochend family, as most writers agree that Sir Gideon Baillie of Lochend was killed at the explosion of Dunglas Castle in 1640 aged 24 years. Most genealogical histories state his birth as 1616, and his marriage date as 1636, which by this chronology must put the birth of Margaret Baillie, and her sister Jean between the years 1636 and 1641. Yet the Dumbarton Presbytery records for 1648 show that Sir John Colquhoun and Margaret Baillie were censured by the Presbytery for undergoing a marriage ceremony without the necessary calling of Banns. Another document records her attaining full age and being then entitled to her share of her father’s estate, and this document is dated 1650. Attaining her full age (21 years) in 1650 would indicate that her birth occurred in the year 1629, and make her age at marriage 19 yrs. Thus, somewhere along the way the genealogical histories have compounded errors previously made.


This decade was a time of turmoil as the king, Charles I was at odds with the people, which led to Civil War in the kingdoms. Following the execution of King Charles I in 1649, and the throne passing to his son Charles II, the Scots were drawn into the quarrel as the new king sought help from his kingdom north of the Border. Once again, religion was at the heart of the disputes, when Episcopacy was resisted by those with different Christian Lady Margaret Baillie approaches to worship. Many Scots did not support the king’s stand on episcopacy, but believed in the divine right of kings. Drawn into the dispute the Scots found themselves facing the Parliamentary forces of England, and many chose opposing sides. Sir John Colquhoun was the nephew of James Graham, known to history as ‘Bonnie Dundee’ and naturally supported the Royalist cause. In 1654 Rossdhu was a number of times occupied by royalist troops and then Cromwell’s Parliamentary forces. The defeat of the Scottish army at Dunbar in 1650 settledthe matter for a number of years. It also led to the transportation of a large number of ‘rebels’, sentenced to a period of years as ’indentured servants’. Sir John, for his ‘crimes’ was fined the sum of two thousand Pounds. (This later was reduced to 666 Pounds of which he paid half.) Sir John and Margaret Baillie had a large family of two sons and seven daughters. It was into this world that Lilias Colquhoun was born on 21 March 1654, the eldest daughter of the family. Sir John played a prominent role in the county being Parliamentary representative for Dumbartonshire in the Parliament


in Edinburgh. The young lady grew into a beauty and her hand in marriage was sought by two suitors, both widowers, Sir John Stirling of Keir and the Laird of Buchanan, a much older man. As marriage in those days was a political and financial arrangement rather than romantic, and her father favoured Buchanan. She decided, with her mother’s approval, on Sir John Stirling of Keir. He was Dame Lilias Colquhoun a 37 year old widower. The Stirlings were a notable family around Stirling and Perthshire. The marriage took place in on 2 December 1675 at the Abbey of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh. Lilias moved to Keir House. Soon after, her father Sir John began to suffer ill health. He had a post nuptial Contract of Marriage drawn up to ensure his daughter was financially secured in her marriage, and this was signed on 2nd March 1676. The document began: At the Canongate foot, the second of day of March, one thousand six hundred threescore sixteen (1676): Forasmuch as there was a Minute of Contract Matrimonial passed between the honorable parties following, to wit, Sir John Stirling of Keir upon the one part and Sir John Colquhoun of Luss for himself, and as taking burden for Dame Lilias Colquhoun his eldest daughter, and now spouse to the said Sir John Stirling upon the other part, of the date, at the Canongate foot, the second day of December 1675, whereby the marriage therein contracted and thereafter solemnised between the said Sir John Stirling and the said Dame Lilias Colquhoun, the said Sir John Stirling is bound and obliged to infeft and sease the said Dame Lilias Colquhoun in liferent during all the days of


her lifetime, in his manor place at Calder and office Houses thereto belonging, and in so many of his Lands at the west end of his barony of Calder, as will extend to four thousand merks of yearly rent, besides KAYNES, services, and customs; to be used and enjoyed by her during her lifetime in case she survive him, to be holden in manner underwritten It was witnessed by some notable citizens and relatives, Sir John Stirling of Keir the Earl of Crawford & Lindsay; the Earl of Dundonald; and among the witnesses was Sir John Stirling’s two brothers Archibald of Garden and James. Not long after the completion of the document Sir John Colquhoun of Luss died on 11th April 1676. For Lilias and her husband Sir John Stirling, a son, Archibald was born in October 1676; followed by another son John born October 1677, and a third son George in November 1678 two of whom died young. This was an age where women were dependent upon men socially and financially, and men dependent upon women to run the household and family, remarriage was often a necessity rather than a choice. No doubt maintaining relations with her daughter brought Lady Luss into closer contact with the Stirling family and almost a year after the death of her husband, in April 1677, she married Sir Archibald Stirling of Garden, the younger brother of Sir John Stirling of Keir, her son-in-law. Her relatives and friends were somewhat surprised at the haste in which she decided to enter into the marriage, but had no real objection.


Her brother-in-law Patrick Lindsay of Kilbirnie wrote on April 24 1677 ‘I shall not say but the news of your marriage surprised me, neither shall I dissemble my thoughts so far as not to confess I had rather wished you had continued unmarried for the advantage of your son’s affairs; but since the case is otherwise, I shall not condemn your choice, since the gentleman is very deserving. If your sons’s business go well on, it is that which I Sir Archibald Stirling of Garden shall look upon as the height of Married Margaret Baillie, Lady my abbition, the family of Luss beLuss ing one of the families on earth I wish most happiness to.’ She was regarded as ‘a pattern for temperance and modesty’ and had a high reputation as ‘a faithful wife and mother’. She must have still been an attractive lady as she appears to have been some twenty years older than her new husband who was born in 1651. So we have mother and daughter married to two brothers, the mother with the younger. Margaret, now Lady Garden gave birth to a son in 1678. The child, a son, was named Archibald Margaret’s third daughter Beatrice who was studying in Dumbarton took ill and died in 1679 .though it is not clear whether she predeceased her mother, Lady Garden who died on 20 July 1679. We have no record of why Margaret died, though no mention is made of failing health. It may be that she was again with child and around the age of 50 years, perhaps complications arose. An elegy to Margaret Baillie survived at Garden which ended with the lines : .....................so she while here below Had no compare for anything we know


It is most sure she lived all her life A most kind Mother, widow and a Wife Lilias gave birth to her fourth son James on 1 November 1679 and just over one year later, her first daughter Lilias in January 1681 A further addition to the family was a fifth son in William in March 1682. A second daughter Elizabeth was born in June 1683. Worse was to come when just a year later in June 1684, Sir John Stirling of Keir died. He was just 46 years of age. Under the terms of her husband’s will she was appointed tutrix to the children, not all of which had survived. the eldest being only 8 years old and the youngest 1 year. Her son Archibald died young, and son. John succeeded but he too died at the age of 16yrs in 1694. The estate eventually came into the hands of James, her fourth son in 1694. Lilias moved to her estate at Calder (Cawder). Lilias later remarried to Hon. Lilias Colquhoun and grand Charles Maitland in 1702 and lived -daughter Lilias Stirling until 1726 when she died on 31st December in her seventy third year. She was buried at Cawder on 5th January 1727. At that time in history, when age differences were common, it is unusual to find two brothers married to a mother and daughter of the same family. . Sources Fraser, Sir Wm. Fraser Sir William Sterling A.M.

Chiefs of Colquhoun Stirlings of Keir Sterling Genealogy


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háêâé~íêáÅâ=pÉ~=`~éí~áåë= The 18th and 19th centuries brought frequent wars between Britain and the European nations, being a small nation and an island, Britain’s its power was in its naval capability. The nation had no territorial ambitions in Europe and it could never occupy and hold any land gained there. Yet, always at odds with its European neighbours it was always threatened with invasion. Spain, France, Holland often united against England and it was the ability to carry on a war at sea that held these nations at bay. As an island nation, seafaring was a common occupation and skill. She struck back at her enemies by attacking their shipping and damaging their communication with their overseas colonies. The French were in Canada and India, and it was here that most of the actions were concerned. Britain had the western seaports of Bristol, Liverpool, Whitehaven, Maryport, and across the Solway Firth the ports of Dumfries and Annan, and of course Ayr and Glasgow. The movement of ships between the Scottish seaports and those in north west England were frequent and led to many set-


tling in the north western towns of England. Kirkpatricks are quite numerous in Cumberland, Westmorland and were usually associated with the sea. A browse through documents of ships captains over the 18th and 19th centuries find the name Kirkpatrick recurring, but many times they are only identified by their surname. We shall look at two instances occurring where the Captains were named Kirkpatrick, almost a century apart. During the Seven Years War with France (1756-1783) the struggle between the two nations was mainly in Canada and India where both sought control. The cutting of supplies and munitions to the enemy armies in these colonies was a prime concern as much as defeating his warships. Both sides utilised ‘Privateers’ to interrupt this supply. The difference between ‘Privateers’ and ‘Pirates’ was that ‘Privateers’ carried ‘a letter of marque’ which gave official authorisation to their activities. Privateers received reward for their actions in the form of a share of the prize money and a share from the sale of the goods captured. It often led to sea battles between the merchantmen and the privateers, but once taken, treatment was usually civilised. Ships tried to travel accompanied by others as most Privateers worked alone, this gave a better chance of discouraging an attack. In April 1758, Captain Walter Kirkpatrick of the merchant ship Pemberton left Liverpool sailing for Africa she was a fast ship and soon outdistanced her consort. Sailing on, they The French privateer l’Machault


spied another ship which they took to be a merchantman on a homeward run and fell in closer, then noticed it was a French Privateer. It was the Machault out from Bayonne and she was armed with 26 guns Shattered masts, sails, and rigging forced and 320 men. Captain Kirkpatrick to surrender Kirkpatrick made a run to escape the heavier armed ship and carried on a running fight with the Machault for over two hours firing from her stern guns. Whenever the ships could bring their broadside guns into action they exchanged broadside for broadside and held their own. However, of the 320 men on the Machault almost 100 of them were soldiers whose small arms fire drove the seamen on the Pemberton from their battle quarters Captain Kirkpatrick reported “had it not been for the continual fire from her small arms, whose balls were like showers of hail and obliged my men to run from their quarters, perhaps we might have got clear, notwithstanding her superior force. Finally, the Pemberton struck her colours Kirkpatrick stating “Thus overpowered we were obliged to strike. Our rigging, masts, yards, and sails were very ill shattered, though our people were tolerably well sheltered. The crew were taken to a French prison where the Captain was allowed to contact the ship’s owners reporting the position. They were kept in close confinement but if the men could raise bails, they were allowed out on parole up to a distance of 10 miles. Crews and cargoes were often ransomed and those who received letters of credit from their owners find confinement easier. Just what happened immediately after this is not clear, but a note in the news of 1796 reported that Cap-


tain Kirkpatrick had died at New Mills, Crackenthorpe, Westmorland at the age of 78 years. As for the Machault, she was seized in January 1759 by a British naval ship, HMS Juno. The Privateer Machault had taken the Bristol ship Indian Queen and was making for home with the prize when the Navy appeared. The prize escaped and the Machault was taken into Plymouth Sound. She must have been ransomed as she is once more on the scene in 1760. This three masted frigate was the flagship of a group of six French ships carrying supplies and reinforcements from Bordeaux to the French in Canada. She was attacked in the Restigouche river in the St. Lawrence between Quebec and New Brunswick. She fought until her ammunition ran out, then blew up the ship with the munitions still contained in the hold. The second Captain Kirkpatrick whose situation follows has not been clearly identified, but again although almost a century later than Walter Kirkpatrick, the locality is still the same. On 22 August 1848, the Cumberland Pacquet and the Whitehaven Advertiser reported : ‘A handsome new ship of 550 tons, built expressly for Mr Isaac Scott of the Brow Top, Workington was on Friday last launched from the building yard of Peile, Scott & Co at that port. This splendid vessel was christened by Joseph Bushby Esq., who named h e r t h e ‘Camertonian, as she majestically moved from the berth on which she had been Early Calcutta, Camertonian’s destination constructed into


her destined element. This magnificent ship stands A1 at Lloyds, London for 12 years. The north -west coast of England was heavily involved in shipping and the ports of Workington, Whitehaven were synonymous with Liverpool shipping. The ship appears to have had a rotation of Captains for her voyages. She traded from LivWorkington, Cumberland c. 1840 erpool to Calcutta and China. The sailing time from England to India was five months so of course to China would add extra time to the journey, so often Captain and crews were away from home for almost two years. Leaving in 1852 she had completed a round voyage from Liverpool to India under Captain Spear. On 26 May 1854, the Camertonian sailed from Liverpool for Calcutta under the command of Captain Kirkpatrick. (I have not been able yet to discover from where Kirkpatrick arrived in Liverpool.) Things seem to have proceeded normally until the ship near Calcutta and the Hoogli River. Captain Kirkpatrick, on his arrival at the Sand Heads, followed a schooner to the upper floating light vessel, he asked for a pilot, and was informed that one would be sent if he forwarded a boat, and was request to proceed to the southward and anchor. He replied that he had no boat fit for the service, and was told to stand to the southward until half-flood, and then steer N.W. by N. for Saugar, and anchor in seven fathoms of water. This was 13 September 1854, and the Camertonian accordingly stood off, “ but came a second time for a pilot, when a like order was repeated”, and “she went again to the S.E. The ship bore up a third time at 5.30. P.M., when the crew hailed the Hope light-ship, reporting she had six feet of water in her hold, and was fast sinking. Im-


mediately after this the ship brought up, and anchored close to the Hope, and in twenty minutes after went down. Two men W. Daglish, carpenter and Henry Woodland reached the Hope light-ship by swimming. The following morning at daylight two men were seen clinging to the wreck lines. Lines and buoys were veered from the Hope in hopes that the men might lay hold of them, as the gale prevented the boat being sent, but we regret to say they had not the least chance. Evening set in and the next morning they had disappeared, no doubt they had fallen off through exhaustion and perished.� The list of dead was given as : Capt.Kirkpatrick; Robinson, of Orkney Islands, chief mate; Scott Robinson, his brother, ordinary seaman; Thomas Twentyman, of Woking, apprentice; John Henry Reynolds, of Liverpool, apprentice; Joseph Smith, of Holland, steward; William Smith, of Aberdeen, seaman; Abraham Mason, of Exeter, seaman; Peter Bar, of Glasgow, seaman; Charles Mitchell, of Dublin, seaman; John Thomson, of Prussia, seaman; and three Dutchmen. Other than the two men who swam to the Hope light vessel, named as W.Daglish, carpenter, and Henry Woodland, a further survivor was Robert Simpson, who landed at the new Light House at Saugor on the morning after the wreck. He and two others had escaped in a small boat, but the other two men had been washed away during the night. These events took place in Asia and it was late in the year before the news of the events filtered back to England. Somewhere, within families lie the full names and details of such tragedies, unfortunately not recorded. Men like both the Kirkpatrick Captains took enormous risk with enemy ships and the unpredictable weather to carry on commerce. Sources Allen's Indian Mail, Vol.12 (Jan. to Dec. 1854) The Cumberland Pacquet and Ware's Whitehaven Advertiser 1854 Sidney Morning Herald November 1854 Workington Shipping Register 1839-1855


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Choctaw Indians playing Lacrosse

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William Scott Colquhoun of Dumfries, Virginia began his career as 2/Lieutenant in the 7th Infantry in 1819. He was born in 1792, the son of James W. Colquhoun & Letitia Scott of Prince William County, Virginia. He had an elder sister Elizabeth, who in 1811 married Francis Dunnington. They held land in Dinwiddie within the county but in March 1815 their mother died at the age of 40yrs, then six months later in September 1815, their father died at the age of 48yrs. Just when the Colquhoun family arrived in Virginia is not yet clear, though we find that there were two men named Colquhoun who worked as factors for the mercantile store of W. Cunningham of Glasgow. This mercantile store had outposts in Virginia and were supplied from Scotland. One was named Robert Colquhoun who died circa 1814 in Virginia , the other being Walter Colquhoun who lived some years longer. It is probable that the men were brothers though this has not yet been ascer-


tained. Following the death of his parents, when he was old enough William decided to join the army and was commissioned 2nd Lieut in the 7th Infantry on 4 December 1819. He was stationed for several years at Fort Towson. Fort Towson was established in 1824 in response to a need to quell conflicts between lawless elements. The Native American peoples were trying to fend off settlers who were claiming the area as part of Arkansas Territory. It was situated on the border between the United States and Texas, which at that time was Mexican territory. The boundary was in dispute and the settlers in the territory were worried about the validity of their holdings. An attack against the Commanches in Indian Territory was being threatened by some citizens in the disputed area. This would have raised problems as those who proposed the idea lived under the Mexican flag, though it is doubtful whether they considered themselves Mexican. The unrest caused the Commanding officer of Fort Towson to send Lieutenant Colquhoun to Pecan Point to report on the situation. He met with the prominent settlers in Miller County, Burkham and Wright. Pecan Point was a name equally applicable to either bank of the river. (After the break-up of Miller County, Arkansas, in 1828, only the Texas settlement was so called.) Pecan Point was not a town but rather a centre of settlement. Geographically the point was actually a peninsula formed by a loop of the Red River and cut off at its base by Pecan Bayou. Lieut. Colquhoun reported: Sir—In obedience to your order, on my arrival at Pecan Point, I demanded of Mr. Nathaniel Robbins (one of the Commissioners named in the communications of Mr. Saucedo, the Chief of the Department of Texas), by what authority he and others had acted in opposition to the government of the United States, by holding meetings and making projects of civil and military associations, in violation of the established law. After having repeatedly assured me that nothing farther would be attempted, until the boundary line is


run; and that their principal object is to acquire titles to their lands, from the Mexican Government, under whose jurisdiction they feel assured of coming, as soon as the division line between the two countries is known, Mr. Robbins exhibited to me a letter addressed to the inhabitants of Pecan Point, from Jose Antonio Saucedo, Chief of the Department of Texas, and also a project of rules and regulations intermediately to be adopted, between the period of running the line and the arrival of proper instructions from the Mexican Government, (copies of which papers are herewith inclosed). Learning that a Mr. Burkham, who lives twenty miles below Pecan Point, had been commissioned a Captain in the Mexican service, and intended raising under the flag of that nation, a body of men, to make war on the Comanche Indians, I felt authorized, for his government as well as others who might join him, to warn him that the band would be treated as public enemies, and promptly put down by the authorities. I also stated, in a notice I left with A. Hanscom, Esq., at Pecan Point, that the authority said to have been given to establish a provisional government, could not exist, from the very tenor of the letter of Mr. Saucedo, the Chief of Texas. In conclusion, I have to report, that, in riding through the country, I discovered no disposition on the part of the inhabitants to join any party; but all seemed anxious for the boundary line to be run, so that they may obtain titles to their lands.

The proposed attack never took place, mainly because there seemed little support among the settlers for the expedition. In a dispute with a senior officer, Lieut Colquhoun was cashiered from the army in 1829. He returned to Virginia and worked his land. President Andrew Jackson In April 6 1831, his mill dam


washed away, and he needed to raise money and sought employment. He wrote to the army seeking work, and his letter was passed to Lewis Cass, Secretary of War. At this time, the Removal Act of 1830 was being enacted against the native Americans. Following earlier treaties between the Government and the Indian tribes, the native Americans had acknowledged themselves as under the protection of the U.S. Whilst, as history records, numerous treaties and promises were made to the Indians, these were broken by the settlers and government as frequently as they felt the need. President Andrew Jackson set about a plan to systematically remove the Indians in the Mississippi region from their tribal lands to less valuable territory beyond the borders of Mississippi and Arkansas. He persuaded Congress to pass the Removal Act of 1830, by which the President could grant land to the tribes that agreed to give up their homelands With the Act in place, Jackson and his followers were free to persuade, bribe, and threaten tribes into signing removal treaties. This also allowed the Indians to live there under the protection of the U.S. Government forever. William Colquhoun proceeded to Washington to meet with Secretary of War Cass, and because of his experience in the area, he was appointed Special Agent. He was sent on 5 July 1831 to go to the Choctaw nation and consult with Leflore and other Choctaw chiefs. Colquhoun made reports of conditions and opinions found in the Choctaw Nation. Leflore was asked for advice which he gave freely. The first removal began Lewis Cass Secretary of War in October 1831 when 4,000 made Colquhoun Special Agent


Choctaws were sent on foot and by wagons to the Mississippi river where they were sent west by steamboats. Poor planning and bad weather caused the river voyage section of the journey to end, and the Choctaw were forced to walk much farther than had been planned. Most of the first group did not arrive in Oklahoma until March 1832, most were tired and ill. Wagons were in short supply and many roads Choctaw Chief Laflore were only passable on foot. Inadequate clothing caused great suffering and sickness, and when Colquhoun saw the state of the people when they reached Vicksburg he wrote to Brigadier gen. George Gibson. He reported that a party of Choctaws had arrived after marching 24 hours through sleet and snow, “their situation is distressing and must get worse, they are often very naked, and few moccasins are seen amongst them”. A party of 2,500 arrived by steamboat and were disembarked at Arkansas Post and kept in open camps throughout the worst of the blizzard Others had to wait for weeks for horses that were being driven overland. On one steamboat Cholera broke out near Memphis which frightened the Indians so they refused to travel by steamer and continued the journey on foot. The same treatment was meted out to the Creeks, Cherokees and other southern tribes and by the end of Jackson’s Presidency, he had removed 50,000 Indians from their homelands. The ‘Trail of Tears’ cost many lives among the natives of the southern tribes. As Choctaw Agent, William Colquhoun was given money for disbursements and expenditure. He is described thus in a letter by George S Gibson Mr Colquhoun is very capable and the utmost reliance may be placed upon him as a faithful,


active, and Intelligent assistant In 1832 these payments were undertaken by the army and it is noted he was suspended from duty by Major Francis W. Armstrong. The Choctaw agent Armstrong, Steamboat on the Mississippi 1832 who the year before had neglected to provide the army commissary officers with the money needed to buy supplies, was convinced that the Indians removed the previous year had been "spoiled," and he went along with one of the parties to supervise. When Armstrong neglected to issue each family their blanket, and refused to let the Indians disembark when the boats stopped, Colquhoun, complained. An argument ensued and Colquhoun pulled out his pistol and tried to kill Armstrong. Colquhoun was dismissed. That was in November but he would be paid up till 11th December 1832. He returned to his home at Dumfries, Virginia though correspondence continued between Colquhoun and the army, mostly over petty discrepancies in the payments in the accounts. There was a lot of profiteering and corruption in the business of the Indian removal which is difficult to track. Some of the payments were queried and some disallowed, though there is no allegation of dishonesty against Colquhoun. He participated in civil administration in the county. In 1834 he is listed among citizens serving as a Magistrate in Prince William County in Virginia. He seems to have been owed outstanding amounts from his service in the army. In 1839, we find William being awarded the sum of six hundred and eighty seven dollars fifty cents for services to the Dept. of the Commissary General between 10 Dec 1819 and 27 July 1821.


His sister Elizabeth, who had married Francis Dunnington in 1811, took ill and died on 27 Nov 1841. She had already lost her husband in 1827, her inscription reads “Widow of F.H. Dunnington who departed this life 27 Nov 1841 aged 51 yrs 9mths and 28 days. A pure Christian, a devoted wife, an affectionate mother, a warm friend, charitable to the poor. After a long and painful illness which she endured with Christian resignation she gave up her soul to the Creator, she left to her children and friends the ...... of many virtues. She was buried in Dumfries Cemetery. In 1850 Census, William was living in Washington DC with Mary S. Williams The Value of his Real Estate was set at $700. In the 1860 Census, he is aged 68, still living in Washington DC with Real Estate valued at $4,000 and his Personal estate at $250. In May 1862 he submitted a Petition claiming payment for the service of a released slave, as under the Act of Congress of April 1862. He owned a 20 year old slave, James Dyson, and declared that the value of his labour in money was $200. He declared that he was loyal to the United States in the rebellion and had not borne arms or given aid or comfort to those in rebellion. He had not ‘purchased’ James Dyson, he was the son of a female slave who was his property, and had been continued to be so until her death. James Dyson had been in his service for his 20 years, though his left hand and arm had been paralysed at his birth, he was still strong and healthy. William Colquhoun is not found on the 1870 Census and it must be presumed that he died between 1862 and 1870, though with the turmoil of the Civil War it may have escaped notice in the news. Sources Virginia State Historical Society. Memorial of Choctaw and Chickasaw nations


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= däÉå=açìÖä~ëI=áå=iìëë=é~êáëÜ= däÉå=açìÖä~ëI=áå=iìëë=é~êáëÜ= Glen Douglas is the most northerly of the glens around Luss, the others being Glen Luss, Glen Finlas and Glen Fruin. The Glen runs from Loch Lomond on the east to Loch Long on the west, roughly six miles distant. Douglas water rises in the hills at the western end of the Glen, just three-quarters of a mile from Loch Long. However the drop is steeper and the river runs away to the east to fall into Loch Lomond 5 miles away. The glen lies between Tullich Hill and Beinn Bhreac on the northern slopes and Doune Hill and Mid hill on the slopes to the south. Tullich farm stands on the north of Douglas Water with the larger farm of Doune on the southern side, and Inveruchitan. The land was, in the 14th century, held by Duncan Campbell of Glen Douglas, though in 1385 his daughter Isabel was married to William de Spens at Tarbet in Dumbartonshire. William de Spens was from Lathallan in Fifeshire, and his marriage to Isabel, who was heiress to her father, brought Glen Douglas under his name. In a document dated 1382 , he leased part of the land back to the earl of Lennox for the rent of 6 merks per annum. Mainly, income was raised by landowners leasing


out some of their holdings, which were often far from their own lands. William and Isabel were infefted in the lands of Athaland, Kittedie, and Craig Sanguhar in Fife, as well as some tenements around the town of Perth. The couple had two sons, John and William and a daughter Isabel. William de Spens lived to a good age and died about 1432. The land passed to his son who was named as John de Spens of Glen Douglas. Later when his daughter Isabel was married to Andrew Balfour of the Burleigh family, part of the lands of Glen Douglas were given with her in a document dated 1476. The lands eventually came into the hands of the MacFarlanes who were long associated with the northern part of Luss parish. It was good country for cattle and the MacFarlanes were notorious cattle thieves, with farms in the Luss parish being victims. It was when Robert MacFarlane was declared bankrupt in the early 18th century the lands came into the hands of the Colquhoun family. In 1731 and following years, they took title of Little Ballernick, which was in Row parish , and in Luss parish, Inveruchitan, Corrie Henagan and Inveruglas, also known as Inverbeg, in Glen Douglas. The introduction of sheep into the glens saw the cattle trade decline, as sheep required less attention. The farms in the Glen became the domain of shepherds. In the mid 19th century Malcolm Colquhoun was occupying Doune farm in the Glen in 1862. By 1871 it was occupied by John McPhail and his family, and they were still there in 1881. He was sheep farming, as was the tenant of Tullich, Dugald McPherson and his wife and child. In the last fifty years, the west end of the Glen has been part of the Ministry of Defence installation on Loch Long. Inverbeg at the eastern end of the glen is now part of the holiday park owned by Luss Estates. Sources Fraser, Sir Wm. Fraser, Sir Wm

Chiefs of Colquhoun Cartulary of Colquhoun


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Among the settlers who headed west to California were John McClintock and his wife Sarah Brittingham. John was from Illinois and his wife from Maryland. They settled in Sacramento where John became a grain shipper and later auditor to the city. They had one son named Charles, and in February 1864, another son was born to them and named James Harvey McClintock. The elder son Charles later moved to Phoenix, Arizona where he founded a newspaper “The Salt River Herald”. James completed his education in schools at Sacramento and Berkeley. On leaving school, he decided he too wanted to follow a newspaper career. In June 1879 he followed his brother to Phoenix and worked there on the newspaper learning the trade. Unfortunately, after two years, in 1881, Charles died suddenly, and the newspaper had to be sold. James left for Tucson to work as a reporter on the ‘Daily Journal but in 1882 that newspaper stopped publication. James later related that in 1882 he received a letter from


‘Bucky O’Neill to join him in Tombstone where he could work on the newspaper there ‘The Nugget’. However at the same time he received an offer to take a similar position in Globe. After short consideration he decided to go to Globe to become the Editor of ‘The Chronicle’. Tombstone during 1882 was the scene of the ongoing feud between Wyatt Earp, his brothers and their supporters and the Clanton and their ’ring’. That feud has had many books written so needs no explanation here, however James remarked ‘I missed a lot of the Wild West stuff in Tombstone, but had a very lively experience in Globe where the town was under threat from Apaches, where there were several lynchings and other events of keen interest to a youngster’. He remained in Globe for three years when in 1885 he decided to go to Fort Whipple where his mother and sister were living and working in a boarding house. It would appear that his father had died. He took a job as civilian clerk in the office of the Adjutant General at the Fort. This was the time of Geronimo’s outbreak with his Apache band and they were being hunted by the army but proved evasive. Finally , an agreement was reached between General Miles and Geronimo and the band returned to the reservation. The war over, the AdjutantGeneral’s office moved to California. Now unemployed James decided to take up teaching and headed to Tempe Normal School to gain his qualification. During the time of his studies, he supported himself by working as a reporter for the Tempe News. He acquired a 160 acre Globe, Arizona circa 1900


farm and was also overseeing the construction of roads in the county. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in the town. He was still writing as a reporter but his work also appeared in the newspapers of Tempe, Tucson, Globe and Prescott. He graduated and received his Teaching Certificate in 1887. He decided to take up a teaching position in Pleasant Valley. After a year or so, he chose to return to the newspaper business and by 1890 was in Phoenix and opened a news agency. He soon after became a correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, a role he maintained for 25 years. In 1898 the Spanish American war began with events in Cuba. In April 1898, whilst running his news bureau in Phoenix, he assisted Colonel Alexander Brodie and his old friend Captain William ‘Bucky’ O’Neill in enrolling a cavalry regiment for the war. Later he admitted that ‘none of the Arizona contingent cared particularly about Cuba Captain William ‘Bucky’ O’Nneill nor had any hatred for Spain, but the thousand applicants foresaw great pleasure and excitement’. The government in Washington decided it only wanted two troops from Arizona, and on 4 May 1898 this contingent left Prescott, ‘A’ Troop commanded by Bucky O’Neill and ‘B’ Troop under McClintock. They were both appointed Captains in the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry . The Battalion Commander was Theodore Roosevelt, and the troops became known as ‘Roosevelt’s Rough Riders’. They arrived in San Antonio where they were issued with brown canvas military uniform, brown canvas leggings, a campaign hat and one pair of shoes


and socks. The unit went into action on 24 June 1898 where they suffered heavy casualties. Although ostensibly a cavalry unit, there was no room for the horses so they had to fight on foot. They were in action at Guasimas, Cuba when McClintock was hit in the leg with three machine gun bullets, two through his ankles. His junior officer assumed command and McClintock was evacuated to the beach at Siboney and shipped back to the hospital at Captain McClintock 1898 Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island. He had been promoted ‘brevet Major’ for his gallantry in the action. On 1 July his friend Captain ‘Bucky O’Neill was killed. James never saw any more action and was not discharged from the hospital at Ft. Wadsworth until 24 November of that year. McClintock explained “Rough Riders" is a name given us, apparently, by the people of the east, who learn to ride in riding schools. None of you ever heard of the term, "rough riders,’ before the war. We thought that a man who could mount a bucking bronco and stick to him was doing a fancy feat in riding. But the idea prevailed in the east that if a man could mount and stick to a horse making contortions at the rate of one hundred revolutions to the minute, he was a ‘rough rider’." He was listed on the Rough Riders rolls until they were disbanded. He returned to Arizona and settled in Tempe where he became a board member of the Tempe Normal School. In June 1900 he married Dorothy G. Bacon, she was a graduate of Stanford University and a skilled botanist. He followed an interest in history, yet had political ambitions. In 1902 he was also Colonel of the 1st Arizona Infantry. His rough Rider


Commander, Theodore Roosevelt was now President, and in 1902 he appointed McClintock Postmaster of Phoenix. It was a position he held for 12 years, but still continued his newspaper writing. His interest in history grew and he became an authority on the history of Arizona. He wrote historical articles for magazines and gave speeches at events. He became a great collector of historical material and he began writing the history of Arizona. Among a list of his works written in 1913 were Mines and Miners; Tombstone, The Arizona Rangers; Train Robbers; Outlaws; and Vigilantes and Bad Men. As Postmaster was a ‘political’ appointment, the administration of Woodrow Wilson gave the position to someone else. It gave McClintock time to complete his ‘History of Arizona’ which was published in 1916. In 1919, the state Governor Thomas E. Campbell appointed him as state historian, a post he held until 1922. He was involved in many civic roles being Department Commander of the Spanish American War Veterans; President of the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce; President of the Arizona Folklore Society; and President of the Arizona Archaeological Society. In 1928 President Coolidge re-appointed him as Postmaster, still writing his articles and making radio broadcasts. He continued in this role until 1933 when he retired in December 1933. Early in 1934 he suffered a stroke and he and his wife moved to United States Soldiers Home in Los Angeles, California. He died there on 10 May 1934 at the age of 70 years. He received a full military funeral and was buried in the Military Cemetery in Los Angeles. Sources Arizona Historical Society James H McClintock Collection Quesada, Alesandro de Walker, Dale L.

Roosevelt’s Rough Riders Buckey O’Neill of Arizona


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A man who led a distinguished career in the last century was David Tennant Cowan. He was born 6 October 1896 in Malaga, Spain, son of Charles Thomas and Katie Cowan.. His father was a merchant there and also carried out the role of British Vice-Consul. David was educated at Reading School in Berkshire after which he attended Glasgow University in 1914. He enrolled to study medicine but after one session in 1915, he broke off his studies and enlisted into the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders. He was nicknamed ‘Punch’ because of his large lower Jaw, like ‘Mr Punch.’ On 14 August 1915 he received his commission as 2nd Lieutenant and joined the 2nd battalion. He arrived in France on 7 Dec 1915, the battalion was in action on the Western front in France and took part in the Somme battles. He was awarded the Military Cross in August 1916 for gallantry. In July 1917 he transferred to the 4th Battalion of the 3rd Gurkha Rifles, serving in Mesopotamia, and he spent the rest of the


First World War with the Gurkhas. They served in Egypt and the Middle east campaign. Cowan became part of the Indian Army. When the Third Afghan War broke out in May 1919 he was with the battalion in Waziristan where he was Mentioned in Dispatches for his actions there. The war was not a long struggle, but like all Afghan Wars, difficult to fight on the terrain. The war ended in August 1919 with the Treaty at Rawalpindi. He was stationed with the 4/3rd Gurkha Rifles on the North West Frontier around Abbottabad. In 1920 the regiment was disbanded as the army reverted to its pre-war numbers, and he transferred to the 6th Gurkha Rifles. He was promoted to Captain on 8 May 1920. The Indian Army was re-organised in 1922 and Captain Cowan remained with this battalion. He married Anne Elliot Dunlop in Bombay and a son was born to them in 1921, who was named Michael. He served on with the Indian Army and again, in 1927, events in Waziristan called for a military presence. Once again Captain Cowan was Mentioned in Dispatches. He spent the inter-war years on the North West Frontier and in Burma. There were further outbreaks in Waziristan in the 1930’s and disturbances in Burma, however these were mostly tribal outbreaks and civil disturbances rather than ‘wars’. The outbreak of war with Japan in December 1941 brought more pressure on the British as they were still fortifying the country against any German invasion, and fighting the Italians and Germans in North Africa. In February 1942 Cowan took command of the 17th Indian Division who were fighting in Burma against the rapidly advancing Japanese army. The division took heavy losses near the Sittang River where a large number were trapped. MajGeneral Cowan had high regard for his men, among them an officer in the Indian army Sam Manekshaw and the following story is recorded, . Manekshaw saw action in the Burma campaign on Sittang River as a Captain with the 4/12 Frontier


Force Regiment and has the rare distinction of being honoured for his bravery on the battle front itself. During World War II, he was leading a counter-offensive against the invading Japanese Army in Burma. During the course of the offensive he was hit by a burst of LMG bullets and was severely wounded in the stomach. Major General D.T. Cowan spotted Manekshaw holding on to life and was aware of his valour in face of stiff resistance from the Japanese. Fearing the worst, Major General Cowan quickly pinned his own Military Cross ribbon on to Manekshaw saying: “A dead person cannot be awarded a Military Cross”. (Manekshaw survived and went on to become one of only two Indian Army Field Marshals after Indian Independence.) Rangoon fell in March 1942 and the division had to withdraw northwards towards Mandalay. They were reformed to become part of the new Burma Corps commanded by Lieut-Gen. ‘Bill’ Slim, who had also served in the 6th Gurkha Rifles. They were forced to retreat through the hills and jungles to India, a fighting withdrawal against the 33rd Japanese Division. The Japanese had superiority in the air, and the British army was short of transport, supplies, and men. Whenever the opportunity arose, they counterattacked the advancing Japanese. By May 1942, the army was at Imphal just inside the Indian border which they were to defend. They had hardly any equipment left but dug in to repel the pursuing Japanese army. Cowan set about refitting his division with whatever supplies and equipment available. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for the his conduct of the fighting retreat. They became a ‘light’ division equipped with only light mountain artillery, and equipment that was moveable by jeeps and mules. Over the winter of 1942/3 Cowan deployed the division in the Chin Hills and supplies were dropped to the troops by air, and by jeep, along a track stretching 160 miles.


The weather in Burma was atrocious during the monsoon periods, turning everything to mud. As much as 57 inches of rain fell during this period and war almost stopped for up to four months during the year. In March 1944 the Japanese 33rd Division moved into India to try and seize Imphal. They infiltrated India through the hills cutting off the track, thus encircling the British in Imphal. The 17th Division had its headquarters at Tiddim, supplied by track from Imphal. Cowan and his troops attacked the encircling Japanese, fighting fiercely supported by a strengthened allied air force. They inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy and they broke through the Japanese ring and joined the other Indian Divisions at Imphal. For this action Cowan was awarded a bar to the D.S.O. previously appointed. By June 1944 the Japanese invasion had been repelled and they began to fall back. The 14th Army now pursued the retreating Japanese. A British force moved down the Arakan peninsula on the coastal region pressing the Japanese on the west of the mountain range, with the objective of killing as many as possible and to tie up their forces whilst the 14th army drove down the centre of the country. By January 1945 the Japanese had fallen back to the strongly defended town of Mandalay. The Object of the allies was to recapture Rangoon, but needed to break the Japanese defence of Mandalay. Mandalay was supplied from Rangoon so cutting the supply route was important. Cowan and his division were given the task of seizing the town of Meiktila. This involved flanking the Japanese defensive line, so accompanied by a tank brigade, the division crossed the Irrawaddy Lt.Gen Bill Slim Commanded River and got behind the Japanese the British Forces in Burma


lines. They then raced seventy miles for Meitkila before the Japanese could respond to the thrust. They seized the town early in March 1945 and held it. The expected Japanese counter attacks came and the town was surrounded and subjected to ferocious attempts to retake the town. Cowan’s division were supplied by air and given air support in the battle. The Japanese attempt to regain Meiktila diverted their efforts and also used up their failing supplies. The division held the town for three weeks, meanwhile the 14th army captured the weakened town of Mandalay, and so was then able to relieve the 17th Division at Meiktila. It was then that Cowan learned that his son Michael had died in the battle for Mandalay. Michael Harry Tennant Cowan was born in 1921 as his father was serving in India. Michael was now serving as an officer with the 6th Gurkha Rifles, rank of Major, and died on 6th March 1945, of wounds received in the fight for Mandalay. After the relief of Meiktila, Cowan and his Division led the advance driving the Japanese out of Rangoon. Cowan’s command of the 17th Division, almost all of it in the active campaign against the 33rd Japanese Division, was the longest continuous divisional command of the war. General Cowan was rewarded by becoming a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in June 1945. Shortly after, in July he was made a Companion of the Bath (C.B.) After the Japanese surrenderin August 1945, the occupation of Japan followed and General Cowan commanded the BritishIndian division of the allied force there during 1945 and 1946. In 1947 General Cowan retired from the army and settled in Devon.. He was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of the County in 1954. He died at the age of 87 years on 15 April 1983 at Andover, Hampshire. Sources Slim, William Allen, Louis McLynn, Frank Young, Edward M

Defeat into Victory Burma; the Longest War The Burma Campaign; Disaster into Triumph Meiktila 1945: The Battle to Liberate Burma


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The Clan Colquhoun International Society Published in Luss, Loch Lomond, Scotland


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