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THE GORDONS AND SMITHS

AT -MINMORE, AUCHORACHAN, AND UPPER DRUMIN IN GLENLIVET.

JOHN MALCOLM BULLOCH

PRIVATELY PRINTED 1910

AN EXPLANATION.

It was not without hesitation that my brother and I decided to print the Mintnore portion of this record, as, unfortunately, there appears to be no written evidence to show relationship between the families of Minmore and Auchorachan. That they were related I have always understood ever since I knew that there had been Gordons in Minmore, though I ought to add explicitly that no one else on either side whom I have lately consulted is of that opinion.

Mr Bulloch's notes show that there was a Harry Gordon of Minmore in Auchorachan in 1652, and according to a memorandum which my brother made of a conversation with the late Colonel John Gordon Smith, one of the Auchorachan Gordons, was in Minmore towards the end of the 18th century, These isolated facts, however, unsupported by any other information, reveal little. One fragment of evidence, very suggestive to my own mind, rises up from the past. I remember my mother speaking of the Gordons of Deskie as relatives of hers. More than once, whtn I happened to be in Glen- livet, I have enquired about these Gordons, and was always told that the family formerly in Deskie were Stewarts, not Gordons. My mother knew Glenlivet so well that this puzzled me a good deal, until Mrs Donald Gordon (whose late husband was one of the Minmore Gordons) incidentally mentioned lately that some of the Minmore Gordons had been in Deskie, though only for a comparatively short time.

My late brother William, who was very accurate in his statements, told me that my mother also frequently spoke of the Gordons of Glen- bucket as relatives of hers. But here again no documentary evidence is forthcoming.

Apart, however, from the question of relationship, my brother and I feel that the following account of the Minmore Gordons by so distinguished a genealogist as Mr Bulloch deserves printing on its own merits, as a valuable contribution to Scottish county history Our warmest thanks are due to Mr Bulloch for having not only put the result of his researches at our disposal, but still more for the special trouble he has taken in writing the whole of this record for us — the notes signed by me excepted — at a time when he must have been overwhelmingly busy with his own important literary work.

The close connection, too, of this piece of family annals with the old house which we have known since our childhood, and in which we have spent so many happy days, constitutes an additional reason for giving it a permanent record. T. G. K,

Ringwood, Hants, October 1909.

C O N T K N T S.

Pages.

MINMORE GORDONS 7"44

William I. (alive 1662) 7-13

Ludovick II. (died 1733) 13-14

William III. (died about 1767) 14-15

John IV. (died about 1776) 1519

Major John (son of IV.) 32-44

William V. (died 1829) 20-31

AUCHORACHAN GORDONS 45-51

GORDON SMITH FAMILY 52-57

INDEX TO PLACES 58

THE GORDONS IN GLENLIVET.

rpHE Gordons of (more correctly in) Minraore form part of a large group of the house of Gordon in the district of Glenlivet ; the name given to the southern part of the parish of Inveravon, which runs right across Banffshire, from Aberdeenshire on the south-east to Elginshire on the north-west. The group consists broadly of the families in Achnarrovv, Auchorachan, Clashnoir, Inchnacape, Lettoch, Min more, Mofirsh, Tomnachlaggan, Tomnavoulin, and Tullochallum, with Croughly in the adjoining parish of Kirkmichael.

The associations between Glenlivet and the Gordon family have been long and intimate. To begin with, Glenlivet is associated with the battle of 1594, in which the Earl of Huntly signally defeated Argyll. To this day the Marquis of Huntly bears the title of Lord Gordon of Strathavon and Glenlivet, created for his ancestor, the 4th Marquis, in 1660 ; and the district belongs to the Duke of JRichmond and Gordon. As such, it retains much of the character of feudal times. In the Glenlivet district his Grace owns 4275 acres, divided into 234 holdings of under 50 acres each, and rented on an average at 12s 8d an acre. The interesting point brought out before the Committee on Small Holdings is that in many cases the families on these holdings have been there for "hundreds of years."

The fact is unfortunate for the genealogist, because it is chiefly through land owning, and not mere tenancy, that one can trace a family record. Another great obstacle to the family historian is to be found in the fact that many of these Glenlivet families are Catholics, and consequently they are often unrepresented in the parish register, which frequently proved a disability to those men who went soldiering and applied to the War Office for pensions.

The families in the group mentioned differed considerably in social importance, some being mere crofters and others farmers on a large scale, and some being almost independent of the noble family from whom they held their lands. To this set the Gordons who dwelt in MimiDre belonged. Unfortunately many of their records were destroyed when Drimnin House, in Argyllshire— where the Minmore family is naw represented — was burned to the grounl; but we know enough from other sources to ba able to piece their history together.

Minmore Castle is now a ruin, and on the adjoining site stands the famous Glenlivet Distillery, belonging to the family of Smith-Grant,

which combines .three of the Glenlivet groups — the Gordons in Minmore, the Gordons in Auchorachan, and the Smiths in Upner Drumin. The Smiths are descended from the Auchorachan Gordons, and though the blood relationship of the latter with the Minmore Gordons is by no means clear, the continuity is asserted in the tenancy of the Smith family on the estate of Minmore.

The three strains — Minmore, Auchorachan, and Upper Drumin— are here treated in succession. The facts have been gathered from many sources, but special acknowledgement is due to Mrs Skelton, the author of " The Gordons Under Arms,;: in preparation for the New Spalding Club; for without her patient research it would have been impossible to have pieced together the military careers of the Minmore family. For most of the information on the Smith group the writer is indebted to Brigade-Surgeon George Grant, and to his sister, Mrs Grant Robertson, Ringwood, Hants (the " I.G. K. ' of the notes), to both of whom the present little book is due. It is an enlarged reprint of a series of articles which appeared in the " Huntly Express" (the greatest source of Gordon genealogy) between June 1 and July 27, 1906 ; Feb. 14, 1907 ; and Feb. 28, March 6, 1908.

THE GORDONS IN MINMORE.

^PHE lands of Minmore were tenanted by a family of Gordon, for over two centuries — at least from 1632 to 1840, when the family of Smith, in Upper Drumin, took up the tenancy. The Minmore family is still represented, notably in Mr J. C. Gordon, of Drimnin, Argyllshire, but it hr>s ceased t) be connected with the country of Glenlivet, the nearest approach to a northern connection being in the ancient family, the Gordons of Abergeldie, who owe their continuity of Gordon blood in the male line to the family of Minmore.

The Minmore Gordons trace to the Gordons of Knockespock, in the Aberdeenshire parish of Clatt, twenty miles to the north east as the crow flies.

Alexander Gordon of Knockespock, son of William Gordon, who was the third son of the famous "Jock" Gordon, of Scurdargue, the cousin of the lady who founded the ducal line — married " Ardneedlie's daughter, Bailie, Lady Asswanly, with whom," according to the Balbithan MS., " he begat four sons and daughters." The second son was Mr Alexander Gordon, burgess of Elgin. The burgess married Anne Gordon, the laird of Strathavon's daughter, but he also had a natural son "gotten with a gentlewoman of the sirname of Stuart, called William Gordon of Menmoir."

This bar sinister had nothing whatever of the stigma attaching to it to-day. The ducal line of Richmond itself, owners of Glenlivet, are proud of it, and the great majority of the Gordons in the north, including Lord Aberdeen's family, trace to "Jock" Gordon of Scurdargue, and to his brother, " Tarn," of Ruthven, who were both natural sons.

WILLIAM GORDON, I. IN MINMORE.

rpHE burgess of Elgin proved that he thought nothing of the stigma, for he planted his natural son William in Minmore, and by a commonplace irony his legitimate descendants have all vanished, while the house of Minmore still flourishes.

The first reference to Minmore as associated with William Gordon occurs in what is believed to be the year 1632. On May 7 and 8 of a year not actually stated, the Synod of Moray, meeting at Elgin, ordered William Gordon " of " Minmore and others to be " processit " as " papists " (Cramond's " Synod of Moray," p. 24).

William must have been a man of some note, for on March 28, 1635, he was commissioned by the Privy Council to arrest certain "broken'' men (including twenty-eight Gordons) who were terrorising the country-side in carrying on their fierce vendetta against Crichton of Frendraught, for the death of their chief, Lord Huntly's son.

A few years later, Minmore himself was being hunted by the Council. A staunch loyalist, he appeared at the battle of Alford on July 2, 1645, at the head of 200 " Straithawine men," and the author of " Britane's Distemper" proudly describes him (p. 130) in this connec- tion as William Gordon "of Minimore, a waliant gentleman, who shew himself a loyal subject of his King, and a faithful and constant follouer of the house of Huntly in all their expeditions." He fought in the battle accompanied by "three of his sonnes." His bravery, however, was not proof against the pressure of the reformers, for, according to the same authority, he was captured in 1646 by Middleton's Covenanting troops, who sent him to Edinburgh with Gordon of Newton, old Leith of Harthill, Captain Mortimer, and Thomas Stewart of Drumin.

Even then his opponents did not feel safe, for Major General James Holburn (as quoted in " Analecta Scolica" 1st series, p. 247), writes from Fettercairn to the Lord Advocate on April 27, 1647, that Minmore and two other officers werj "alse wicked enemies as thir kingdom ever had." He goes on to add most significantly :

Whatevir course you may tak to spare their lives, yitt I shall desyre they may never have their liber tie while you have war in Scotland : for, besyde their most wicked and malignant disposition, they live in such places where they have donne and are able to doe, much mischeife ; and, they being keept, those places are queyet. The general was quite right, for William continued in his ways, and on April, 1658, the Synod of Moray ordered that William Gordon "of Minniemore" and three women should have the sentence of excom- munication against them for " obstinacie in poperie," intimated in all the congregations of the province (Cramond's " Synod of Moray," p. 125).

William did more than help his chief with arms. Be lent him money, for in November 1632 Lord Gordon wadset to him for £1000 the easter half of Lettoch, and on May 24, 1647, William Gordon, younger of Minmore, and his mother had sasine on Easter Lettoch on a charter by Huntly, registered at Banff, May 29, 1647.

Again, he was one of thirteen gentlemen commissioned on December 18, 1662, to carry out the important task of discovering what lands, lordships, and others belonging formerly to the Marquis of Huntly were possessed by the late Marquis of Argyll for the five years preceding his forfeiture, and to report thereupon to the Privy Council ("Privy Council Register," 3rd series, vol. i., p. 280). William appears twice in the Inveravon parish register : —

1638, August 2. — William Gordon of Minmore wit- nessed the baptism of William, son of Patrick Camronach in Minmore and Isobel Gordon, his wife.

g

1642, April 17.— William Gordon in [sic] Minmore

witnessed the baptism of William, son of William Gordon

in Achnarrow.

William Gordon is credited by the Balbithan MS. with having

been twice married to ladies of the family of Grant : (1) Janet Grant,

whose parentage is not statsd ; and (2) " Grant of Auchorachan's

daughter." " Elspet Gordon, goodwyff of Minimor," witnessed a

baptism on April 7, 1640. She seems to be the "gentlewoman

(spouse to Mr Gordon of Munmore") who, when Huntly was captured

at Delnabo, December, 1647, took him word to Blairfindy that the

men of the country would rescue him. ("Illustrious Family of

Gordon," ii., 546.) The Balbithan MS. assigns him four sons :—

1. Alexander Gordon. He was born about 1622, for, as chamberlain and bailie to the lands of Glenmuick, Glen- tanner, Strathaven, and Glenlivet on the Huntly estates, he gave evidence in 1662 before the Commission on which his father served, to ascertain the value of the lands of Aboyne, describing himself then as "about the age of 40 years: maryed man." He is evidently the Alexander Gordon, lawful son of William Gordon, who witnessed a baptism in Inveravon on March 16, 1637 : and also the Alexander Gordon in Minmore, who witnessed the bap- tism of Alexander, son of William McCullie in the Corries, and his wife, Catherine Gordon, on March 7, 1644. As Alexander Gordon, "younger of Minimoire," he was one of the large number of Gordons whom the Lyons of Muiresk promised (May 5, 1663) not to harm ("Privy Council Register," 3rd series, vol. i., p. 362), On April 15, 1663, he gave a bond of caution not to harm the * <A-

Lyons. He was, as stated, married, but his wife's name \?f*j£3z*f j does not transpire. He had, however, three natural VVj daughters, as the Inveravon parish register shows : — *\j *TjJ j-A

(1) Janet. "Alexander Gordon, Minimor's lawfull

sonne, his daughter, in fornicatione, baptised Jonet,

August 14, 1642" : witnesses, Thomas Gordon and Agnes Mcintosh.

(2) Helen. "Alexander Gordon of Minimor had a natural daughter, Helen, by Muriel More, baptised," August 11, 1644.

(3) Marjorie. "Alexander Gordon, Minmor, his eldest sonne, his naturall daughter gotten with Elspet Brabiner, baptised Marjorie," Jan. 11, 1646, "Thomas M'Innes, his broyr, in Over Downan, witness."

2. Captain Patrick Gordon of Laichie, the old Kirk- ton of Mortlach, situate on the banks of the Dullan. On July 14, 1644, Patrick Gordon, the lawful son of William Gordon " of Minimor," witnessed the baptism of William, son of Alexander Nelson, mason in Minmore, and Marjorie Gordon, on June 13, 1659. Com- missioned by the Privy Council, July 14, 1664, to arrest

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rebels, he is called Captain Patrick Gordon. Patrick Gordon was clearly a man of mark, for when Colonel Ashfield wanted a man to keep guard of those parts of Banffshire, lying near the Highlands, "from the incursion of those looss people which dayly breake downe upon them, doeing great spoile and carrying away much goods," he followed the advice of the governor of Bal- venie Castle "with the gentlemen in those parts whom it most concerines as to securitie" that Captain "Petter" Gordon was a man ''fitt and able for that charge." "If he be thought soe by them," wrote Ashfield from Aber- deen on April 30, 1653, "I supose the rest of the shire will not opose : and therefore I desire he may be the man imployed in that busines" ("Scottish Notes and Queries," vol. ii., 2nd series : pp. 43-4). On May 28, 1673, Captain Patrick Gordon of "Lequochie" transferred, in payment of a debt, to 'Robert Cuming of "Ricklettich," the rights in a decreet which he (Gordon) had been awarded in an action inithe Sheriff Court of Banff against Andrew Rose of Lynemore. Hugh Gordon in Lequochie was one of three witnesses to Patrick's warrant that the transference 'should be registered in the Books of Council and Session (Tarmore Papers : Brit. Mus.). He married Jean Gordon of the Cluny family. "Captaine Patrick Gordone, sone lawfull to William Gordon of Miniemore, as procurator for himself and for Mistres Jeane Gordone, his spouse, having . . ane contract and dispositione of wodset, of date at Westertoune, 3 June, 1659, granted . . . be Johne, Anderson of Ardbreak, with consent of James Andersone, his eldest lawfull sone, to the said Captain Patrick and Mistres Jeane Gordone ... of fourtie bolles victual payable of the nethermost pairt of the toune and landes of Argathnie. . . ," received sasine from Mr Alexander Anderson, son lawful to the said John Anderson (who married Anne Gordon : died 1670). William Gordon " off Miniemore" was a witness to the contract of wadset. Westertoune, Argathnie, 'and Ardbreck lie in the parish of Botriphnie. Captain Patrick had : — (1) Captain Charles Gordon "in Pitchaise." He is de- scribed in 1692 as "in the Mains of Kirdels," Knock- ando. On July 24, 1695, Patrick Nairn of Morinsh gave a bond at Carron for £44 to Captain Charles Gordon in Kirdels : registered May 11, 1697 ("Elgin Commissary Records"). Another notice of him occurs in the same records : — "Be it kend to all men be thir presents, me, Charles Mitchell, writer in Edinburgh, and Jean Blackwood, my spouse, and I, the said Jean Blackwood for myself, for my right I have to the same underwritten : Forasmuch as upon the 25th day of January 1695, there was ane decreit obtained at our instance against Captain Charles Gordon, there- in described in Pitchash, now in the Mains of Kirdels, befor the Commissar of Murrey, decerning

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and ordaining him to content and pay to us the sume of £161 19s 3d Scots money as principal 1 contained in an subscribed accompt granted be him to me, the said Jean Blackwood, therein designed relict of George Smellin, merchant burges of Edinburgh, dated the 24th of February 1691, years . . we . . . constitute . . George Chalmer, toun clerk of Elgin, . . our factor . . Edinburgh, November 8, 1695, before these witnesses — William Gordon and William Robertson, writers in Edinburgh." Pitchash is in the parish of Inveravon, on the opposite bank of the Spey from Mains of Kirdels. On May 26, 1696, William Gordon, brother to John Gordon of JCdintore notes that " grants were to have been received from Charles Gordon in Kir- dels, the soume of ane hundredth and two merks half merk, Scots money, contained in a bond and oblig- ment, granted by him as principall to John Cumming in Tarmore, Inveravon, as cautioner : and therefore I, the said William Gordon, simpliciter, discharges the said Charles Gordon," Keith, September 2, 1696 : registered September 7, 1696. Charles shifted about, for in August 1699 he is described as "of Auchinhar- roch, now of Abergeldie" (Commissary Court Books of Moray). It has been stated, with no very clear proof, that he was captain and adjutant of the Scots Guards in 1688. Robert Gordon, Kirdels, is one of the witnesses ("Elgin Commissary Records"). By 1698, Charles Gordon married Rachel Gordon, the heiress of Abergeldie, Aberdeenshire, and founded the existing Abergeldie line, perhaps the oldest land- owning Gordon family in Aberdeenshire. He was made a Commissioner of Supply in 1704, and built the house of Birkhall in 1715. He had three sons (" House of Gordon "; (93)-(110), the eldest being :—

Peter Gordon, XI. of Abergeldie Cdied 1733), who was three times married, and had : — Charles, XII. of Abergeldie (died 1796), who had seven sons, including : —

Peter Gordon, XIII. of Abergeldie (1751- 1819).

David Gordon, XIV. of Abergeldie (1753- 1831). He was the father of : — Michael Francis Gordon, XV. of Aber- geldie (1792-1860). Robert Gordon, XVI. of Abergeldie (1796-1869).

Adam Gordon (1801-1839), who was the father of : — Hugh Mackav Gordon, XVII. of Abergeldie (1826-1901).

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Lewis Gordon, XVIII. of Aber- geldie (1828-1903), father of : — Eeginald Hugh Lyall Gordon, XIX. of Abergeldie, born 1863.

(2) 1 Captain Alexander Gordon. On March 6, 1699, Gethrad Abraham, spouse of Captain Alexander Gor- don of Leachie, gotisasine in liferent, and George and Patrick Gordon, her sons, in fee of the lands of Leachie, Tomnan, Tomnamind, and others ("Banff shire Sasine"). This Alexander may have been the son or the brother of Captain Patrick Gordon of Leachie. The name of his wife seems to be Dutch : so he may have been in the Scots Brigade in Hol- land, though this, of course, is all pure guesswork.

(3) 1 Gordon, daughter. According to the Brouch-

dearg MS., John Farquharson of Inverey, the famous Black Colonel, married a daughter of "Leacachy." She is called Mary in the "Braes of Mar." Accord- ing to the Boharm Register, a Margaret Gordon mar- ried John Farquharson of Inverey, November 18, 1670. The fact that she had her son baptised (May 2, 1672) Patrick is suggestive of Captain Patrick Gor- don of "Leachie" having been her father (or brother?).

3. Harry Gordon. He married Margaret Stewart. There was recorded at Elgin on June 16, 1653, a contract matri- monial "at Tombreakachie, 7 May 1652, between Robert Stewart of Nevie and Arthur Stewart, his eldest lawful! sone, for Margaret Stewart, the said Robert Stewart, his lawfull dochter, on one part, and William Gordon of Minmore and Alexander Gordon, his eldest lawfull sone, for Harrie Gordon, sone lawfull to the said William Gor- don, on the other part [for Harry and Margaret] : before thir witnesses — Thomas Stewart of Drumine, John Grant of Blairfindie, Patrick Gordone, sone lawfull to said William Gordon of Minmore, Thomas Stewart in Tom- breakachie, and Robert Stewart, sone lawfull to Robert Stewart of Nevie." On June 14, 1652, "Harie Gordone in Auchorachan," gives a bond for £100 to his "father- in-law, Robert Stewart of Nevie, and on December 8, 1655, Robert Stewart of Nevie grants receipt of said £100 from "Harrie Gordon in Nevie." Harry and his wife Margaret had apparently been on friendly terms before their marriage, for the Inveravon parish register records under date July 15, 1645 : — "Herie Gordon, sonne lawfull to William Gordon of Minimore, his n[atu]rall sonne gotten in fornica[ti]one with Margaret Stewart in Nevie, baptised James : Mr James Cuming in Thomore, Alex- ander Gordon in Minimor, p[rese]nter of the child in absen of the fayr, witnesses." Whether Harry was the progenitor of the Gordons in Auchorachan of a later date is not clear.

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4 John Gordon (Balbithan MS.).

5. William Gordon. The William Gordon, younger of Minmore, mentioned in a sasine of 1647, may have been the son of the second marriage, though he is not men- tioned in the Balbithan MS.

6. Isobel Gordon married John Leslie of Parkbeg, in Mort- lach, son of John Leslie of Aberlour (Macfarlane's "Gen- ealogical Collections").

William Gordon I. of Minmore seems to have died in 1674, for the Mortlach Session record notes, under date September 20, 1674 : — "John Leslie [probably in Parkbeg], having borrowed the Mortcloth to Minimoir, and not being a parishioner, did promise to pay a rex dolor."

LUDOVICK GORDON, II. IN MINMORE. Died in 1733. nPHERE is a difficulty with William's successor, for it is not clear in what relationship the next laird we hear of, Ludovick Gordon, stood to him. He seems to have been the grandson of William I., or perhaps the great grandson, the son of the latter's elder son Alexander, for an Alexander Gordon " of Minmore" witnessed the baptism of Alexander Catanach, the boatman of Cromdale, on March 3, 1716. (Cromdale Register.) It is most unlikely that he was the son of William, " younger of Minmore," who had sasine of Easter Lettoch in 1647, and who discharged the Lettoch wadset in 1683 ; but a Ludovick Gordon got sasine in Minmore in 1676, so that this particular William seems not to be Ludovick's father.

This Ludovick had a brother William, mentioned in 1676, who seems to be the William Gordon," lawful son to the deceast Minimor," and who witnessed, on February 4, 1692, a disposition of 1000 merks by Robert Grant of Del more to his spouse, Barbara Leslie, at Del- more, January 21, 1692 : registered February 4, 1692 (Elgin Com- missary Record.) All this is very fragmentary, but we know some definite facts about Ludovick Gordon, as follows : —

1676, November 29. — "Ludwick Gordon of Minimoir" had sasine on the lands of Minmore (Banffshire sasines).

1681. — Bond for 100 merks by Lodovick Gordone of Minmore to William Mackphersone and Patrick Mack- phersone, alias Mackullie, in Wester Corie. Signed at Minmore, December 6, 1681, before witnesses William Gordon of Dunnoone and William Gordon, brother ger- man to the said Lodovick : recorded April 17, 1693 (Elgin Commissary Records).

1693, February 13. — Ludovick Gordon of Minmore had sasine on the lands of Over Dunan (Banffshire sas- ines).

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1696, June 1. — Bond for 400 merks by Patrick Nairne of Morinch (with Ludovick Gordon of Minmore as cau- tioner) to William Grant, chamberlain of Knockando. Mcrinch, June 11, 1692 (Elgin Commissary Records).

1699, October. — Ludovick Gordon "of Minimore" signed a bond for the peaceable behaviour of his men (seven in number), who included his own son William and a William Gordon in Upperdunan (Allardyce's "His- torical Papers," p. 18).

1700, November 5. — Renunciation of feu ferm of Min- more, by Lodvick Gordone of Minmore ; also renuncia- tion and grant of redemption of lands of Over Dunan, by the same ; both in favour of Duke of Gordon (Banff- shire sasines).

1700, December 20. — Lodvick Gordon of Muniemore and William Gordon, his son, had sasine of the lands of Minmore (Banffshire sasines).

1712, July 22. — Elspet Gordon in Dounan had sasine

of the annual rent of 8C0 merks out of the oxgate of

Dounan.

The name of Ludovick's wife is unknown. She may have been

Helen Grant (daughter of Robert Grant of Tombreakachie), who on

May 1, 1683, got sasine in liferent on Minmore. Ludovick, at anyrate

had a son who succeeded him.

William Gordon, III. in Minmore.

Ludovick died in 1733, for on June 1, 1733, -C3 was paid for the mortcloth to Lewis Gordon, Minmore (Aberlour Parish Register).

WILLIAM GORDON, III. IN MINMORE.

Died about 1767. XXE was the son of the second holder of Minmore, but very little is known about him.

1725, May 13. — William Gordon of Minmore was one of the witnesses to the Duke of Gordon's bond in favour of William MacWilliam, eldest lawful son of Duncan MacWilliam in Corries for 5000 merks : subscribed at Gordon Castle (Banff Sasine Register).

1732. — In this year the name of William Gordon "of Minmore" appears in a list of persons owing rent for grazing in the parks of Badeglassan and Pitchaish. His debt amounted to £4 10s (Ballindalloch estate accounts in the Tarmore papers, Ms. Department, British Mus.).

1732, January 19.— The sum of £6 14s 4d was paid to William Gordon of Minmore for a boll and a peck of victual, with the straw furnished by him to William Grant of Blairfindy for maintaining Grant's horse (ibid.).

1737, February 25.— William Gordon of Minmflre and Margaret Stuart, his spouse, had sasine on Milnlands of Refroish (Banffshire sasines).

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1759, February 1. — William Gordon of Minmore and Patrick Grant of Nevie are mentioned under this date. William (Jordon is stated to have married Margaret Stewart, by whom be had

1. John Gordon in Minmore.

2. Anselm? In the catalogue of the students at Ratisbon there occurs a reference to " F. Anselmus Gordon, rilius Wilhelmi de Minmore." He was bom February 16, 1721. He began philosophy under the Dominicans and theology in October 1739, under the same teachers.

William seems to have died in or about the year 1767.

JOHN GOEDON, IV. IN MINMORE.

Died about 1776.

TTE was the eldest son of William Gordon in Minmore, to whom he was served heir August 24, 1767. He was a captain in the Jacobite army, and commanded Prince Charlie's bodyguard at Culloden. According to the official return of the rebels, he had "behaved discreetly and protected the houses of Sir Harry Innes and several ministers."

The following are the dry facts of his land transactions : -

1757, September 24. — John Gordon, yr. of Minmore, is mentioned in a document of this date as acting as an arbiter (Elgin Commissary Record).

1767, December 8. — Sasine was presented in favour of John Gordon of Minmore as heir to his father, William Gordon of Minmore, in all and haill the town and lands of Minmore extending to eight oxgate lands ; proceeding upon a precept of clare constat granted by the Duke of Gordon. Sasine was also presented in his favour on four oxgate lands of Downan, proceeding on a precept of clare constat granted by Elspet Grant, his spouse, to John Grant in Downan with consent of her husband (Banff- shire sasines).

1767, December 26. — He renounced the lands of Min- more and DoAvnan in favour of the Duke of Gordon. On September 24, 1771, George Gordon of Gight had sasine on Minmore (Banffshire sasines). He is probably the John Gordon in Alinmore, for whose mortcloth 18s was paid on August 11, 1776. Simila* sums were paid on December , 1772, and February 18, 1776, for mortcloths to Min- more's wife, whi<:h looks as if he had been twice married. He had: —

1. William Gordon of Minmore.

2. Lewis Gordon. He started his career as a soldier. In a return to the War Office in 1828, he states that he en- tered the army in 1782 at the age of 15 (which would make 1767 his birth year) as an ensign in the Northern Fencible Highlanders. The regiment was disbanded in

16

1783, but no half-pay was given to the officers. He then served as a private in the 1st Volunteer Corps formed in Scotland, at Edinburgh, from August 1794-March 1797. He is stated to have been appointed an ensign in the 1st Strathspey Fencibles, February 13, 1796 ("London Gazette," p. 163). In his own return he states that he was appointed lieutenant in the Edinburgh Royal High- land Volunteers, March 10, 1797, receiving no pay, for the officers' pay was spent on clothing the rank and file. He became captain and adjutant on August 31 (or September 9), 1797, at 3s 9d a day (again spent on cloth- ing for the men) : resigning in August 1801. The regi- ment was disbanded in 1802 on the Peace of Amiens. On November 19, 1801, he was appointed ensign of the 8th West India Regiment, and purchased a lieutenancy in the 35th Foot, May 27, 1802, being placed on half-pay, October 25, 1802, upon the reduction of the 2nd battalion. In June 1803, the Highland (Edinburgh) Volunteer Regi- ment was re-established, and he was appointed captain. He then became major of the 1st or Highland Edinburgh Local Militia, March 23, 1809 : it was disbanded in 1814. All this time he had been associated with the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, the service of which he entered in 1792 (Ramsay's " History of the Society,'' pp. 520-1). In 1795, he was appointed depute-secretary, and was admitted a member of the Society in 1799. On March 22, 1820, he wrote a letter to E.L. Snee, secretar;/ to the Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor, London, as follows (British Museum, Add. MSS., 35.652, f. 337): — "In compliance with the wish of the committee of the Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor, expressed in your letter of 17th inst., addressed to Mi' Macdonald, I beg to annex a list of the local agricultural societies which have been formed in Scotland, so far as known to me. It is possible there may be a few other farmer clubs recently instituted, of the formation of which the Highland Society of Scotland have not as yet been apprised. It will afford me peculiar satisfaction if I can at any time, in the least degree to promote the highly important and humane objects of your Society." Ill-health compelled him to relinquish his post in 1821. During his term of office he "discharged the varied offi- cial duties of the situations he filled in such a mannr- as to merit the uniform approbation of every member of the Society. Few officers, in like situations, have evi- denced so much zeal, united with so sound a discretion, in the exercise of their official duties as Mr Gordon " : and when the state of his health obliged him to retire "to the country," the directors recorded a vote of thanks to him and presented him with a piece of plate valued at £60. He took up his residence in Aberdeen, and died there unmarried on January 23, 1839, at the age of 72, and the

17

directors of the Society recorded in their minutes "the deep sense entertained of the great zeal, assiduity, and attention uniformly evinced by him during the long period of his connection with the Society, which it was known to several directors present had contributed in no incon- siderable degree to the extension of the numbers and usefulness of the Society." He is commemorated by a stone in the Roman Catholic Chapel at Tombae.

3. John Gordon, major in the army, died 1819. I treat him separately.

4. Harry Gordon, said to be a major in the army. He is not, however, identifiable in War Office records.

5. Sarah Gordon : married Reid, Aberdeen, and had : —

(1) Henry Reid, major in the English army. "He was one of those who formed the Body-guard of Louis XVIII. during Waterloo" (Information from Miss Katherine M'Cann Gordon).

(2) Reid : married at Edinburgh, August 1, 1809,

John Gordon (1783-1831), younger son of William Gordon in Lettoch. John Gordon was a wine mer- chant at Gibraltar. He had the following issue : — i. William Robert Gordon : born September 24, 1812. On the death of his father in 1817, he and his sister were sent home from Gibraltar to Aber- deen, where they were taken charge of by their grandmother, Mrs Reid. He was educated at the Grammar School and Marischal College, where he was a Bajan and Semi in 1825-7. He was apprenticed to a firm of solicitors at Aber- deen, and in July 1833, started business for him- self at Keith. He was appointed Procurator- Fiscal of Banffshire, January 1842 (removing to Banff), and held the appointment until May 1879. During this period he prosecuted in upwards of 2000 criminal indictments, and there was only one libel which was not sustained, on the ground of relevancy or regularity of form, while convic- tions on the merits were obtained in at least 99 cases in a hundred. About 1850 he joined forces with Mr Cameron, Elgin, afterwards with Mr Alexander Watt, and finally with his own son Clement. On the occasion of his retirement from practice in 1879 he was entertained at dinner by the members of the Banffshire Society of Solici- tors. For some years after his retirement he resided at Elgin, and ultimately went to Edin- burgh, where he died October 16, 1898. He was four times married : (1) in 1837 to Margaret, second daughter of James George, Haughs, Keith (who ran the Keith Brewery) — she died leaving two sons and two daughters : (2) to Clem- entina Grigor, sister of Dr John Grigor, Nairn —

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she survived only two years, leaving a son, Clement : (3) to Elizabeth Birks, his children's governess, who died twenty-two years later, leav- ing two children : (4) to Clarissa, daughter of James Hutchison of Springfield, and widow of James Gordon, corn factor, Inverness (by whom she had Forrester Hutchison Gordon, marine engineer, Glasgow, and James Gordon, solicitor, Peterhead). Mr W. R. Gordon had issue by his first three wives, as follows : — (i.) James John Gordon (by first marriage) took the degree of Doctor of Law at Edinburgh University in 1859, and became a solicitor in Banff. He wrote "A Treatise on the Prac- tice of the Criminal Law in Scotland," written for and dedicated to the University of Leipzig, June 30, 1868 : printed at the "Banffshire Journal" Office (29 pp.). He was one of the Procurators for the Poor of Banff- shire, and died unmarried (in England 1 ) (ii.) Harry Gordon (by first marriage). He is

on a ranch in Australia, (iii.) Clement William Robert Gordon (by the second marriage, through which he heired some of the Grigor money). He was a soli- citor, succeeding his father, whom he prede- ceased, dying at York, Dec. 1, 1897, He was twice married — (1) to Isabella Gilzean, daughter of James Petrie, solicitor, and bank agent, Dufftown : (2) Mary Josephine, daugh- ter of Colonel Michie Forbes Gordon, H.E.I.C., of the Minmore family. He had—

a. Clement Grigor Gordon (by first mar- riage), solicitor in Nanango, Queensland.

b. Ludovick Francis Joseph Gordon (by second marriage), born December 10, 1881. Apprenticed to a civil engineer in Inverness, he is now in Queensland.

c. Alastair Gordon, born May 8, 1888 : now in (Queensland.

d. Hilda Mary Stewart Gordon, born May 13, 1880.

e. Beatrice Gertrude Gordon, born Sept. 13, 1883.

f. Mary Angela Gordon, born Mary 31, 1885.

g. Dorothea Marv Josephine Gordon, born April 4, 1890.

(iv.) Francis Gordon (by the third marriage).

He was delicate and died young. He was to

have been an architect, (v.) Louisa Gordon (by the first marriage) died

May 31, 1904. She married George Gordon

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(1832-1908), land surveyor, Tullochallum, Morfclach, afterwards of Edinburgh. He be- longed to the Gordons in Achnarrow, Inver- avon, who had been connected with that farm for generations. About the end of the seven- teenth century they moved to the farm of Upper Clochan in the Enzie. Mr Gordon's grandfather, John, succeeded a maternal uncle in the farm of Tullochallum in Mortlach in 1771, where he also had the hill grazings of Culraggie, which extended to the march with Inchnacape at the water-shed between Glen- livet and Tomintoul. Mr Gordon had : —

a. Alexander William Gordon, surveyor, Inverness. He is married to Margaret, daughter of Andrew Macdonald, Sheriff- Clerk, Inverness, and has a son George.

b. Henry Gordon, C.E., South Africa. He is married, and has a son George.

c. Daughter : unmarried.

(vi.) Mary : married James Brand (eldest son of Charles Brand, railway contractor, Glas- gow). Mr Brand, who died on January 1, 1909, aged 77, had six sons and five daughters ("Book of Robert Burns," iii., 27-8). The sons were : —

a. Charles Joseph Brand.

b. James Gordon Brand.

c. Henry Francis Brand.

d. William Robert Joseph Brand.

e. David Guthrie Brand.

f. Clement Ignatius Brand.

(vii.) Gertrude Gordon (by third marriage).

ii. Louisa Gordon : died unmarried.

iii. Mary Anne : married at Aberdeen, October 1, 1839, to Donald Gordon Stuart, Liverpool, whom she predeceased. She died October 8, 1855, aged 39. He was the son of William Gordon of Inch- cape : then of Scalan and then of Back Street, Keith, by Margaret, sister of James Stuart of Lower Thames Street, and he adopted the name of Gordon. (Stuart's brother Gabriel was the great-grandfather of Sir John Knill, now Lord Mayor of London). They had no issue.

6. Margaret Gordon : married Alexander McNab of Wester- ton, Aberdeenshire, and had issue. A Margaret Gordon, who married Alexander McNab, died February 8, 1844, aged 77, and was buried in the Snow Churchyard, Old Aberdeen.

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WILLIAM GORDON, V. IN MINMORE.

Died 1829.

rpHE eldest son of John Gordon, IV. in Minmore, he began his career soldiering, getting a commission in the Northern Fencibles (1778-1783), the aeoond of the four regiments raised by the Duke of Gordon. He entered as an ensign in the Northern Fencibles, September 26, 1778, enlisting two men for service in the regiment- He seems to have resigned his commission on April 16, 1780, on account of his private affairs.

According to a statement made by himself in 1796, he had no idea after the reduction of the Fencibles of serving in the army, but the " London Gazette " seems to indicate that he had connection with the 81st Aberdeenshire Highlanders as lieutenant in February 1780, and later with the 133rd Regiment.

His military ambition was rekindled by the raising of the Gordon Highlanders, for which Lord Huntly got letters of service on February 10, 1794. Seven days later, John Gordon, Coynachie, wrote from Tullich to John Menzies, the Duke of Gordon's factotum at Gordon Castle : " If Minmore apply for any commission and it is thought necessary to appoint one in the country for the sake of recruiting, he will have the best success." Minmore duly applied, and was appointed on the usual terms ; his commission as lieutenant being dated 1795. His connection with the regiment was not a conspicuous success. To begin with, " owing to his living in a remote part of the country, and the irregularity of the posts, he received his commission at a time when a greater part of the other officers had made considerable pro- gress in recruiting." Then there was trouble about the payment of his recruits ; his health gave way, and his brother John got into arrears with his rent and left the country.

He found much difficulty in getting recruits at all. Thus on November 1, 1795, he wrote to Menzies : —

I cannot say with propriety that I can boast of my success in recruiting since I came to the country. I be- lieve that no bribe will induce men to enlist just now, but I expect to get a few in the course of the winter.

Just a year later, (November 25, 1796) he wrote from Edinburgh informing the Marquis of Huntly of his inability to join owing to ill-health. The Marquis sent a rather stiff reply, intimating that no excuse would be sustained, either for Gordon's not joining the regiment without delay, or for getting out on half-pay. If either of these alternatives was not adopted, Gordon would be superseded in justice to the other officers, on account of the daily complaints from the men (whom Gordon brought to the regiment) that they had not been settled

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with. The Marquis therefore hoped that Gordon would write immediately to the paymaster to settle with the men for all just demands, thereby removing all future clamour.

Gordon thereupon sent a memorial to the Marquis, dated Edinburgh, December 3, 1796, covering seven foolscap pages, and running into over 2500 words. He maintained that the reports sent by the recruits were unfounded. He declared that every penny of the bounty and subsistence of his men were regularly paid to them previous to their leaving the country. He admits that two of his recruits, William Gordon and Peter Gordon (the nephews of one Stewart), were enlisted on a different footing, as they were good men. He offered William 20 guineas, and his brother Peter 25 guineas, but William insisted upon being made a sergeant ; failing which the lieutenant was liable to him for sergeant's pay, deducting what he should receive from the regiment. Peter demanded a shilling a day, as that had been offered to him on behalf of Colonel Hay's recruiters. The lieutenant agreed to these terms, in the hopes that Huntly would appoint one of them sergeant, and he employed William Gordon in that capacity on recruiting service, giving him a sergeant's pay until he joined at Fort- George, after which the lieutenant had no opportunity of seeing him. As a matter of fact, Huntly made him a corporal, but owing to misbe- haviour William was reduced to the ranks while the regiment was at Southampton. The lieutenant further maintains that he had paid £5 sterling to Mr Allan at Huntly in satisfaction of a debt due by Gordon. When the regiment was at Gibraltar, Gordon wanted him to pay another sum of £10, due to a merchant in Aberdeen, which he agreed to do on getting particulars, but these were not forwarded. In regard to Peter, the lieutenant gave him 3 guineas before he left the country as payment of threepence three farthings a day of deficiency for which the memorialist was liable to him. He would have done so regularly if he had been with the regiment. As it was, he had written Captain Gordon of Coyuiachie to settle with the two Gordons in the best way he could, trying in the first place to get one of them promoted, and in the second place to commute the bargain ; and he was unaware, except from gossip, that this had not been done.

Another case was that of a recruit named Johnstone, enlisted in Edinburgh on a 10 guineas bounty, five of which were to be paid at the time and five later on, but owing to a misunderstanding the second portion had not paid. In the case of a third man, named Innes, the lieutenant said that he had rather too much money, and suspecting that his pockets would be picked, Innes gave Gordon back a guinea of his bounty for safety's sake, which Gordon had paid to the recruit's father. He proceeded to declare : — ■

Having stated this much in regard to the supposed complaints of the recruits, which the memorialist will

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not hesitate to say one of them would never have had occasion, nor would they have attempted to make, had he been on the spot and whose conduct in making such in the circumstances above mentioned the memorialist shall not say a single word, further than leaving it with the Marquis of Huntly, whose candour and liberality will not allow him to form an opinion against any person, at least without hearing him.

The memorialist shall now proceed to notice what he has hinted above as having been reported to the Marquis, namely, that the severe indisposition which he has had the misfoi'tune to labour under these ten months past was rather pretended than real. The memorialist must confess that his feelings hardly permit him to write or speak upon this point with coolness or precision, such an insinuation being so inconsistent with and derogatory from the conduct and character of a gentleman. But he is happy to say that, independent altogether of the testi- mony which the medical men, whose assistance he had, have bore to the fact, it was well known and notorious in the country round that for a considerable part of that period the memorialist was unable to rise out of his bed or put on his cloaths without assistance ; and, tho', when he became a little stronger, moderate exercise, such as riding on horseback, and in this way making short excur- sions from home, was recommended to him, yet the mem- orialist was then, and he is sorry to say does still con- tinue, in a very low way ; and the memorialist will only add on this subject that, if any person was so malicious as to insinuate such a thing to the Marquis of Huntly, they were paying as little compliment to the integrity and skill of the medical gentlemen whose certificates he had procured, as they were to the memorialist's own character.

But were it all to be supposed that the memorialist could be capable of such loose conduct as that which is above alluded to, it would have been more likely that on the occasion of his being ordered to join in November 1795 [sic], that he would have made the excuse of bad health ; but it is well known to everybody concerned that no such excuse was given. The only reason the memor- ialist then or for months after assigned for not being able to comply with the orders he had received was the mul- tifarious country concerns which at that time had in a great measure unexpectedly devolved upon him by his brother John's departure [for the West Indies]. Ever since the memorialist found that his brother was fixed on getting forward in a rpgiment of the line, he has wished for the Marquis of Huntly's leave to sell out or retire on the half-pay, the latter of which modes would, however, be most agreeable to him. . .

Upon the whole, the memorialist trusts, in the first

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place, that he has satisfied the Marquis of Huntly that it was out of his power to have prevented any complaints which may have been made by the recruits, and that he is now ready and willing to transmit payment to them in such a way as may be pointed out, and also to satisfy Lord Huntly for whatever he may be indebted to him on account of his commission or other ways. And as to the situation in which he was left with his brother's matters, he presumes that is not unknown to the men of business of the family of Gordon and to the country in general.

The memorialist cannot conclude without expressing a hope that, upon the Marquis of Huntly's perusing the above state of fact, every unfavourable impression will be done away with, which to him is of the greatest pos- sible consequence and the concern nearest his heart. And he is still not without hope that when every circum- stance is considered that the Marquis will condescend to permitt him to operate an exchange on the half-pay or sell out, at least in case it shall not be agreeable to his lordship to allow the memorialist to remain for a little time longer in the country untill his health is re-estab- lished and his affairs arranged. At all events, he humbly trusts that Lord Huntly will prevent anything being done to his prejudice in the meantime, as, rather than incurr the odium of being superseded in consequence of being returned absent without leave or otherwise, the memor- ialist would most certainly give in the resignation of his commission to the Marquis of Huntly, from whom he got it. On December 9, 1796, Menzies wrote from Gordon Castle an- nouncing : —

I find the Marquis considerable soothed and disposed to allow you to remain a little longer at home, upon this express condition that you return immediately to the country [from Edinburgh] and make every exertion in your power to obtain men for the regiment. His lord- ship has now every reason to believe that it will not be drafted, and therefore he is exceedingly anxious to have it compleated to the ffull establishment. He is much in- debted to his friends by using their influence so success- fully in preventing his regiment from being drafted, which, you know, is considerably above the number of those that are kept on the establishment, and, therefore, it is incumbent on him to use every means in his power to compleat the regiment to prevent the reflexions being thrown on his friends and also its being drafted.

His lordship continues anxious that the complaints exhibited against you by the men you carried to the regi- ment be enquired into and explained ; and for that pur- pose desires that you may transmit to the regiment your own state of effects, along with a particular account of

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the bounties and subsistence paid to each man, mention- ing any promises made to them at the time of enlisting or afterwards. ... I flatter myself that, considering this additional indulgence shown to you by the Mai*quis, you will lose no time in returning to the country and ex- erting yourself for the good of the regiment. Gordon's name is crossed out in the MS. Army List of 1797, now in the Eecord Office. From half-pay of the Gor- dons he qualified, in terms of the Military Act, to be captain in the Aberdeenshire Militia, May 2, 1803 ("London Gazette," p. 680). According to the same authority (p. 1174), he became a lieutenant in the 92nd again on September 10, 1803.

It is clear that Minmore did not get on well with his fellow- officers. Major Simon Macdonald of Morar, writing to Lord Huntly from Morar, March 19, 1798, says : —

Gordon, Tombay and others of that ffamily have been officious with her Grace of Gordon and the ffamily in regard to me. I can truly aver I never spoke disrespect- fully of her Grace or ever spoke indifferently of any of the ffamily, and if anything of the sort is alledged I have that confidence in your lordship's known character that it will not be concealed. Indeed, Tombay said once to myself at London he would be upsides unless I passed from ordering Minmore to join.

William Gordon had two families. By one lady, whose name I do not know, he had Sir Charles Gordon. His wife was Mary Stewart, daughter of Robert Stewart and sister of John Stewart, who bought Belladrum. She was a Protestant at the time of his marriage, adopting the Roman Catholic faith, from which the Minmore Gordons have never swerved. She died October 1, 1842, aged 63. The issue of William Gordon, who died Nov. 5, 1829, aged 74, was : —

1. Sir Charles Gordon succeeded David Watson as recorder and clerk of the Highland and Agricultural Society in 1815, and was at the same time elected assistant depute- secretary. He had been regularly bred to business, hav- ing at the time of his appointment been first clerk in the office of Campbell and Clason, W.S. He was a solicitor before the Supreme Court, for which he passed in 1818. In 1819 he was nominated joint depute-secretary along with his uncle, Lewis Gordon ; and in 1835 he succeeded to the post of secretary, the charter iof 1834 having created the new office of hon. secretary. He purchased the estate of Drimnin in Argyllshire about 1835, in which year he joined the Society as a member. On April 26, 1837, he was knighted at St James's Palace by William IV. Mr Ramsav has, in his history of the Society (1879, p. 521), stated that the only meeting of the Society he was unable to attend dur- ing his secretaryship was in July 1845. He died at Edin-

25

burgh, September 25, 1845, aged 52, and at the first meet- ing of the directors (resolutions were passed recording the regret with which they heard of his death, " bear- ing testimony to the very able and upright mauner in which his multifarious and ofien oppressively laborious duties were discharged during a period of above thirty years : to the extraordinary zeal, patience, judgment and discrimination which he displayed, not only in conducting the routine business of the Society, but on various occa- sions when difficult and delicate negotiations with the Government were involved : and to the combination of those gifts and qualities which will render it difficult fully to supply his place." He is commemorated by a stone in Tombae Churchyard. In 1826 he married Helen, eldest daughter of John Fletcher of Dunans. She was born at Dunans, and died at 8 South Castle Street, Edin- burgh, March 25, 1881 ("Times"). Sir Charles had five sons and three daughters : —

(1) William M. Gordon, "eldest son," born June 18, 1828 ; died April 13, 1838 ; buried in Greyfriars, Edin- burgh (Brown's "Epitaphs," p. 122).

(2) John Gordon. He entered the 74th Highlanders as an ensign, May 23, 1848 ; and became lieutenant 1850. He was wounded during the fourth attack on Water- kloof during the Kaffir war, November 6, 1851, and died three davs later. The incident is described by Capt. W. R. King, 74th Highlanders, in "Campaign- ing in Kaffirland" (pp. 150-7). "After leading our flank into the bush in person and giving his final orders, Colonel Fordyce proceeded to the left of the regiment to direct their movements, against the fast- ness held by the enemy from the shelter of which they kept up an annoying fire. At this moment he had advanced to the edge of the bush in front and was in the very act of directing the attack upon it when he was shot through the body, and fell to rise no more. The last and only words of our brave chief were : 'Take care of my regiment.' The regiment boldly and steadily advanced to storm under a fatal fire, which told fearfully among our ranks. Gordon was mortally wounded (November 6) by a ball which passed through both thighs, and lodging in the body of a soldier close by, killed him on the spot. . . The wounded who lay on their stretchers on the ground received every possible attention. Poor Gordon, over whose head we had built a shelter of green boughs, suffered dreadful agonies all night. The doctors, when questioned as to his case, shook their heads in doubt ; the ball had entered the out- side of the riaht thigh, and passing through it, en~ tered the inside of the left one, fracturing the bone close to the socket, and leaving two frightful lacer-

26

ated wounds. So close was the Kaffir who fired it that Gordon had attempted to seize his gun. The next day the bodies of the dead were placed in a mule waggon for burial at Post Relief, 15 miles across the table-land, for which place ib set off, accompanied by a party of officers who had obtained permission from the General to join this sad office. I followed slowly after them, with a strong escort guarding the woun- ded accompanied by our surgeon, Fraser. Poor Gordon, from the nature of his wounds, was unable to bear the motion of a waggon, and was carried on a stretcher the whole distance by the men of his com- pany. Gordon's suffering were very great, though borne with a fortitude only equalled by his courage in the field ; his thirst was insatiable. When about half-way one of the stretcher poles broke in two. We had, however taken the precaution to bring a spare stretcher, which was laid on the ground, the other placed gently on it, its poles withdrawn, and we went on again as before. ... At the fort, a miserable barrack-room with roughly paved floor and smoke- blackened rafters was hastily cleared for poor Gor- don, into which we carefully bore him, and adding every obtainable blanket or plaid to the thin straw mattress, and doing all in our very (limited power to cheer him and alleviate his sufferings, left him for the night (with his trusty and attached servant Stuart. . . . We visited Gordon again in the morning be- fore starting for the camp, and assisted the surgeon to dress his wounds and arrange his bed, and sat as long as we possibly could, wiping his brow and moistening his lips. On leaving, he begged us to come over as often as we could to see him during his probable long confinement in this lonely place, which we promised to do, but never saw him again. After three days of excruciating agony, the broken limb suddenly mortified, and he was carried off in a few hours. So died this young soldier, alone in a wild mountain fort, thousands of miles away from home and relatives, and only a servant to witness his last moments. Poor Ricketts of the 91st, dan- gerously wounded on October 14, in the Waterkloof . . . died the same day. . . His death, which occurred some hours the first, was purposely kept from Gordon, but the sound of the funeral volleys reached his ear, and in a quiet voice he blamed his servant for not telling him of it. In two hours after, a like salute was fired over his own grave. His loss was sincerely mourned both by officers and men, his honest, sterling qualities, kindly heart, and dauntless bravery in the field having endeared him to all" [Another John Gordon, lieutenant in the 91st, and said to be an Irishman, was also killed in the Kaffir War.]

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(3) Charles Menzies Gordon, born 1831. He entered the Society of Jesus, resigning the property of Drim- nin to his brother, Jose Clement. The " Catholic Who's Who" (1908) says he fought as a volunteer in the army of Pius IX. He was rector of St Aloysius, Garnet Hill, Glasgow, for some years prior to his consecration in St Andrew's Cathedral, Glasgow, on the Feast of the Assumption, 1889, as Bishop of Thyatira and Vicar Apostolic of Jamaica. The nave and Gospel side of the Church were set apart for members of the new Bishop's late congregation of St Aloysius's ; the Epistle side was taken by mem- bers of the Cathedral congregation and others. The ceremony was performed by the Archbishop of Glas- gow, the Bishop-Elect having as his assistants the Archbishop of Edinburgh and the Bishop of Argyll and the Isles. On arriving at Jamaica, he was pre- sented in the steamer saloon with an address begging the new Bishop to accept a carriage and pair for his special Episcopal use. In reply he isaid : — "I feel that God has indeed blessed my mission, and that my future will be ia future of happiness in His ser- vice, for whatever else may happen, if the cause of the Church proceeds well, I am quite happy, and I am sure it will proceed well. We do not seek to hinder others. We have only the greatest love and affection for all who may differ from us, and we will never have a word to say against them. At the same time, we cannot forget our own affections, and I am certain, therefore, that we shall promote this to the best of our power, but not in the slightest degree to offend the spirit of charity with regard to others. I dare say we shall find here, as I have found in other places, that however men may differ from one another in points of faith, all agree in pro- moting works of charity, and so far as possible we shall do our best to aid our brethren in that, and to keep unity amongst ourselves and them whether separated from us or not. Now I must come to a conclusion. I dare say you do not feel the heat as much as I do. I am not unsuited to heat ; I have been in Africa, the land of the sun par excellence, but somehow or other, I ihave not got accustomed to stewing as eels are said to get accustomed to skinning, and last night the heat was terrible in my berth." He retired in 1906, and lives at Roehampton.

(4) Henry Fletcher Gordon, died January 3, 1836, in his third year (Brown's " Greyfriars Epitaphs" p. 122).

(5) Jose Clement Gordon of Drimnin : born 1838 : mar- lied 1875, Mary Teresa, only daughter and heiress of William Hoy of Stoke Priory, Suffolk. He has: —

28

i. Charles Augustine Gordon : bom 1882 : edu- cated at Stonyhurst : writer to the signet in Edinburgh.

ii. Helen Mary Gordon: graduated M.B. :Ch.B., Glasgow University, 1900. She was for some time clinical assistant of the City Asylum, Bir- mingham, and is mow practising at 22 Greek St., Stockport.

iii. Monica Mary Gordon, M.A., Glasgow Uni- versity.

iv. Elizabeth iMary Gordon.

v. Clementina Gordon.

(6) Alexander Gordon, died, without issue, 1868.

(7) Margaret Gordon, died unmarried 1860.

(8) Helen Isabella Gordon, married Clement Philli- more Penny, Fleet Paymaster, R.N., and d.s.p. May 20, 1891.

2. William Gordon, Floors, Grange, first wife family. He had :

(1) Charles Gordon, died unmarried.

(2) Donald Gordon, married Catherine Gordon, daughter of Alexander Gordon, Tullochallum. 1 am greatly indebted to Mrs Donald Gordon, who re- sides at 50 Crescent Lane, Clapham Park, London, for many details about the family. Mrs Gordon has two sons and three daughters: —

Donald Stuart Gordon. Alexander Gordon. Catherine Gordon. Margaret Clementina Gordon. Madeleine Mary Gardon.

(3) Lewis Gordon, died unmarried.

(4) Jane Gordon.

3. John Gordon. Grant Stewart, in his "Lectures from the Mountains" (1st series 1860, ip. 102), calls him the eldest son. He was the commander of one of the East Inda Company's traders. He commanded the Hamersjee Bomangee. He died at Singapore, July 4, 1833, aged 27 (tombstone at Tombae), and his will was proved at Bombay, September 18, 1834 (India Office).

4. Michie Forbes Gordon, Bombay Staff Corps : born 1812. A cadet in 1828, he entered the 11th Native Infantry, 2nd European Regiment, as an ensign, August 24, 1833. He was adjutant of the Guzerat Provincial Battalion, 1836- 7 : lieutenant 2nd Bombay European Light Infantry Regiment, October 8, 1839 : captain, January 21, 1846. He was appointed assistant to the Commissioner, South Mahratta, August 18, 1847 (Civil employment), remain- ing there till February 10, 1855, when he became Com- missioner at Inam. He had political charge of the Amirs of Scinde. He reached the (army) rank of major Nov. 28, 1854, still holding the Commissionership of Inam : and the (regimen-

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tal) rank and Staff Corps, January 1, 1862. He was lieut.- colonel on the Staff Corps, July 16, 1863, and retired July 18, 1864. He was created Knight of St Gregory by Pius IX. in 1854. He married on November 21, 1844 Jemima Catherine (born May 3, 1824), daughter of Sir John Curnin, of the Calcutta Mint. She died Feb. 24, 1893. Gordon died at Southport, March 7, 1894. He had :—

(1) William Gordon, born September 24, 1824: died September 20, 1846.

(2) Mary Josephine Gordon, born April 27, 1847. She married as his second wife, June 24, 1879, Clement Robert William Gordon, solicitor, Banff, son of William Robert Gordon (1812-1898), Procurator- Fiscal of Banff, etc., member of the Lettoch family, as already noted.

(3) Harriett Plauda Gordon, born July 21, 1848 : died March 29, 1851.

5. James Fraser Gordon, born September 7, 1816. He was at Marischal College, Aberdeen, in 1831, and was ad- mitted a W.S. July 15, 1852. He married, July 27, 1851, Eleanor Sinclair, daughter of Archibald Leslie of Balnageith, by Eleanor Atlee (1800-92). Mrs Gordon died in 1851. Gordon died at Reigate, April 12, 1861, aged 44. A biography of his mother-in-law was written by J. M. Stone for the Art and Book Company, London and Leamington, 1899. Archibald Leslie was the son of Rev. William Leslie, St. Andrews, Lhanbryd. He came under the influence of Father Clapperton, in Edinburgh, and Mrs Leslie entered the Church of Rome in 1846, one of her friends, Mr Robert Aitken (who had run a dissent- ing chapel in Waterloo Road, London), writing her — ■ " You will be damned, I believe, eternally." James Fraser Gordon had a son : —

Michael Fraser Gordon, born 1857 : died unmarried.

6. Lndovick Gordon : died an infant.

7. Ludovick Gordon : died an infant.

8. William Fletcher Gordon, was born in Sept. 1826. He was educated at Blairs College and the Edinburgh Mili- tary Academy. He entered the Bombay Infantry as a cadet, February 18, 1844. He was second lieutenant in the 1st European Regiment of Fusiliers, December 21, 1844, and first lieutenant, June 19, 1846. He served in the Central Mutiny Campaign, 1848. He acted as sub- assistant commissary-general (at Hyderabad) 1849-55, and became deputy-assistant commissary-general, Oct. 4, 1855. He went through the Indian Mutiny under Sir Hugh Rose, being present at the sieges of Jhansi (where Francis David, son of Michael Francis Gordon, laird of Abergeldie, was killed), Calpee and Gwalior, being two years under canvas. He served also in the Persian Ex- pedition under Sir James Outram, and received the

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medals for Central India, Mooltan, and Persia. He be- came captain (still holding his commissary-general ap- pointment), January 17, 1859: major, April 26, 1860: assistant commissary-general at Gwalior, December 1861: and as brevet-major, retired, July 18, 1864. He was made a Military iKnight of the Order of St Gregory the Great by Pope Pius, July 31, 1860, and on Tuesday, September 18, 1860 was invested with the Order "as a reward for his bravery in the field and for the assistance generally afforded by fiim to the Christian community during the late Indian rebellion." The ceremony was so notable that the "Times" (September 22, 1860) thought fit to quote a paragraph from the "Caledonian Mercury" about it ; while the "Tablet" (September 29, 1860) gave a column and a half condensed from the "Glasgow Free Press." The ceremony took place at bt Margaret's Con- vent, Greenhill Gardens, Kdinburgh. Mass having been said, the Bishop delivered an eloquent address, in which he described the origin of Christian chivalry, its appli- ances in former times, and the uses it still serves. The maiden sword of Major Gordon was then blessed by the Bishop, who, in handing it to 'him, exhorted him to cany it faithfully for his Queen and country, and never to use it in the cause of injustice. A special office for the oc- casion having been read, the ceremony of investing Major Gordon with the Order of St Gregory then took place. "The gallant Major was accompanied on the oc- casion by two esquires — [Capain] A. Smith Sligo [High- land Volunteers] of Inzievar, and another gentleman [Mr Gray], a relative of the Major [distinguished for his services in India]. They were all dressed in full High- land costume. Two young ladies [nieces of the Major, and pupils of the convent] carried silver salvers, on which were placed the insignia of the Order. The party kneeling at the altar, Bishop Gillies formally invested the Major with the Order, the insignia of which consist of a cross and a riband, which were fastened on the Major's breast by the Bishop himself. Father Corry, of the Society of Jesus, read the Latin rescript of the Pope, a translation of which was afterwards read by Bishop Gillies. The Bishop was assisted on the occasion by the Rev. Mr O'Donnell, chaplain of the convent ; the Rev. Mr D'Arcy, Portobello : the Rev. W. Gascoigne, Edinburgh ; and the Rev. Messrs Mahoh and Corry, S.J., Edinburgh. The ceremony lasted about an hour and a half, and excited the utmost interest among those who were present A dejeuner, in celebration of the •event, afterwards was given at the Clarendon Hotel. M->ior Gordon took the ihead of the table, with Bishop Gillies on his right and the Rev. Dr Marshall on his left. At the opposite end was James Gordon, brother of the Major. In the early seventies he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of Pope Pius IX. While re-

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siding in London he took an active part in many Catholic works, notably the Papal Defence Fund, 1870-1, of which he was honorary secretary. He took a keen interest in the Aged Poor Society, of which he was for many years a member. In 1889 he went to live at Wimbledon. He married, April 4, 1861, at York, Katherine McCann. She was the daughter of Jarrard Edward Strickland of Loug- ghgly House, Roscommon (cadet of the Stricklands of Sizergh Casfcle, Westmoreland) : and a descendant of the Plantagenets (Ruvigny's "Plantagenet Roll," 315). She had married, April 20, 1852, William McCann of Booterstoun, Dublin, by whom she had a daughter, Anne Mary, who afterwards took the name of Gordon. Mr McCann died July 30, 1852. His widow married (2) in 1861, as noted, Major William Fletcher Gordon. Born on September 1, 1827, she died at St Edmond's, Wimble- don, November 10, 1904 ; he died at St Edmund's, Nov. 28, 1905, aged 79 ("Times"). Part of his library was sold at Put-tick and Simpson's, London, March 2, 1904.

9. Mary : died an infant.

10. Anne : married James Petrie, banker, Dufftown. She died on September 7, 1858, aged 47, and is commemor- ated by a stone in Tombae Roman Catholic Church- yard. The inscription over her runs : Expecting a blessed resurrection, the mortal remains of Anne, the beloved wife of James Petrie, Esq., here repose in the fear of the Lord, which >is the beginning of wisdom ; in faith, without which it is impossible to please God ; in hope, the anchor of the soul, sure and firm ; in charity, which never faileth, she placidly resigned her spirit to its Creator, 7th September 1858, aged 47 years.

Her children rise up and called her blessed, Her husband also, and he praiseth her. Favour is deceitful and beauty is vain. The woman that feareth (the Lord, She shall be praised. — (Pro., ch. 31). Requiescat in pace. Mrs Petrie had a son and two daughters, as follows : —

(1) Alexander Petrie : died unmarried.

(2) Mary Peti-ie : died unmarried.

(3) Isabella Gilzean Petrie : married as his first wife Clement Gordon (who married, secondly, her cousin Mary, daughter of Michie Forbes Gordon) : and had

Gregor Gordon : now in Australia.

11. Elizabeth Stewart Forbes Gordon : died unmarried in the Convent of Mercy, Glasgow, April 10, 1854, aged 32, and is commemorated by a stone at Tombae.

William Gordon, V. of Minmore, died on November 5,1829, aged 74, and is commemorated by a stone erected in Tombae Church- yard by his son, Major William Fletcher Gordon.

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MAJOR JOHN GORDON (Died 1819),

HPHE career of Major John Gordon has till recently been very- obscure, but the remarkable military studies of Mrs Skelton have made it almost completely clear.

He was the son of John Gordon IV. in Minmore, who, having been out with Prince Charlie, sought to regain lost ground by putting his sons, William. Lewis, and John, into the army,. A good oppor- tunity afforded itself in the patriotic regiment raising of the 4th Duke of Gordon.

The Duke apparently intended to give John the appointment of surgeon in the Northern Fencibles, which he raised in 1773, for he writes to Cox & Mair, the army agents, on October 9 of that year : — " Mr Gordon, the surgeon, has been with me, and as it is not certain whether he can hold the surgeoncy or not, being, as I am iuformed, appointed quartermaster to the 48th, I beg you will not take out the commission till you hear from me.'' And on December 27, 1778, his grace wrote :— "It is my desire that John French, mate, be appointed surgeon, vice John Gordon, who has resigned."

John seems to be the Dr. J. Gordon, who wrote from London to the Duke on December 1, 1798 : — "Pardon the remissness of my aot writing you earlier, just on my arrival in London, after a long and tedious passage. It was believed we should be immediately ordered for the West Indies, but the unexpected revolution that happened in that quarter of the globe by the taking of Dominique, in which was three companies of our regiment, and the uncertain situation, the remaining part may be in. [came]" He asks Major Finlason of the Northern Fencibles to send him " an order to receive payment of the regimental agent here for what money may be owing me." Presumably the " our regiment" to which he refers is the 48th, and in view of the fact that he was at the time referred to in that regiment, it seems curious that there should have been money owing to him for service with the Northern Fencibles, to which regiment it seems doubtful whether he was ever really commissioned at this time.

He exchanged in 1784 into a regiment, the name of which is not mentioned ; but presumably it was the 11th. Another reference in the "London Gazette" gives the date of his half-pay as from 1783, while his name appears in the Army Lists as quartermaster of the 48th until 1786.

He returned to his native district a few years later (residing at Tombae), for he was appointed Justice of the Peace for Banffshire May

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21, 1792, and in the following year associated himself with the Nor- thern Fencibles, the third regiment raised by the 4th Duke of Gordon. Having enlisted fourteen men, he was appointed ensign and lieutenant in the regiment March 1, 1793, and rose to be captain-lieutenant June 7, 1794, and captain November 12, 1794.

He was appointed, September 15, 1795, captain of a regiment (Lieut.-Col. Skerritt's 7th W. I.) to be raised in the island of St Vincent for general service in the West Indies, being described, not as a captain of the Northern Fencibles, but as " Lieutenant John Gordon, half. pay, 11th Foot."

He seems to have taken this step by reason of his failure as a farmer, for Menzies, the Duke of Gordon's factotum, wrote to John's brother, William Gordon in Minmore. on December 9, 1796 : —

I have to call your attention to the arrears of rent resting by your brother John to the Duke. At settling Mr Marshall's account a few days ago, I was surprised to see his name in the list of arrears for upwards of £112, and there is since another year's rent fallen due.

William, who was in another kind of difficulty at the same time, in a memorial to the Marquis of Huntly, December 3, 1726, mentions his brother's affairs as one of the causes of his own trouble. He refers to the "multifarious country concerns " which in November 1795, devolved upon him by his brother, John's, being under the necessity of sailing for the West Indies —

[His] affairs had been awkwardly and abruptly left to be managed by the memorialist [William]. Had the memorialist known that his brother was to accept of an appointment on the establishment, and go abroad in the way he has since done, he himself would not have thought of soliciting any appointment which might ren- der it necessary to go on foreign sendee.

John and his brother were hand in glove, for when William was ordered to rejoin his regiment, the Gordon Highlanders, John seems to have stuck up for him, for Major Simon Macdonald of Morar writing to the Marquis of Huntly on March 19, 1798, says : "Tombay said once to myself at London he would be upsides unless I passed from ordering Minmore to join."

John did not stay long with the 7th West Indian Regiment, being transferred on November 30, 1796, as captain to the 8th West Indian Regiments ("London Gazette," p. 1131). The regiment seems to have been raised by Lieutenant-Colonel John Drew (of the Drews of Drewscourt family, Limerick), of the 45th Regiment, in which three Drew brothers were officers. Gordon got his majority on August 18, 1798 (" London Gazette," p. 769), but, according to a witness at his court-martial, did not join the regiment till two years later. For a.

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time all went well, and in Jnly 180', he assumed command of the regiment in lieu of Lieut.-Colonel Wilson, who had come home on sick leave, 1801.

It is difficult to trace the history of the 8th, save that on the night of April 9, 1802, the regiment mutinied, killing one or two of the white officers. Many causes contributed to the revolt, and at this distance of time ,it is practically impossible to take up the critical position. In the first place, the regiment and the island fell under the domination of an extremely bad egg, Andrew James Cochrane Johnstone (the son of the 8th Earl of Dundonald), who became Governor of Dominica and Colonel of the 8th in 1798. " His rule was marked by tyranny, extortion and vice. He drove a brisk and profitable trade in negroes, and kept a harem." He ended his career by being kicked out of the House of Commons, and disappeared no one knows where.

After the mutiny Johnstone and Gordon indulged in a series of mutual recriminations, described in three pamphlets of unnecessary length and now extremely rare :

(1) " Proceedings of the General Court Martial in the Trial of Major John Gordon" : printed for E. Lloyd, Harley Street, 1804: 8vo., pp. 302.

(2) " Correspondence Between the Hon. Cochrane Johnstone and the Departments of the Commander-in-Chief and the Judge-Advocate-General" during the period from September 1803. to August 1804. London : printed by J. Barfield, Wardour Street, 1805: 8vo., pp. 128.

(3) "Defence of the Hon. Andrew Cochrane Johnstone," in- cluding a view of the evidence produced on his trial, with the sentence and varied commentaries thereon, by the Judge Advocate-General : and with a relative series of interesting letters previous and subsequent to the pro- secution : to which is prefixed a letter to His Royal Highness the Duke of York on the 'present administra- tion of military law. The whole respectfully inscribed to the general officers who composed the Court Martial at the said trial. London : J. Barfield, Wardour Street, 1805 : 8vo., pp. cxix., 1., and 280 (making in all 449 pages).

The only account of the actual mutiny which I have seen occurs in a book entitled " Sketches and recollections of the West Indies," by " A Resident," published by Smith Elder in 1828 (8vo., pp. xii, 300). A copy now in King's College Library, Aberdeen, has the words " By Hugh Gordon, Esq.," pasted on a printed slip over " By a Resident." This Hugh Gordon may be the Hugh Gordon, Esq., late of Dominica, who was married at Macduff, Oct. 27, 1807, to Catherine, daughter of Rev. Thomas Wilson, minister of Gamrie, and who seems to have been the father of the Rev. George Gordon (1808-1839), minister of Knock- ando. Hugh sailed to Dominica via Barbados from Gravesend " three

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years after Sir Hugh Christian's disaster," which occurred iu 1795. On landing he was enrolled in the St George's "Regiment at Roseau, and soon got a commission (p. 34). He took part (1797) in a fight with a French privateer which swooped clown on Roseau and carried off a large sloop (owned by a captain of the St George's) and laden with sugar and rum. The privateer was chased by a fast sailing armed schooner on whieh Gordon sailed (p. 91). He was in garrison during the insurrection of Guadeloupe, 1803 (p. 99). In 1804 he was sent to Prince Rupert's garrison (p. 159). Having been exempted from militia duty, he offereduhis services as a supernumerary aide-de- camp, and was despatched with orders for the light infantry of- the St George's Regiment to take post at the river side and edge of the ford until further orders. He was still in garrison at Prince Rupert's in June 1805. He returned to England the same year. His book is difficult to read intelligently, for it is almost dateless. It is par- ticularly tantalising that, being of northern origin, he does not go out of his way to give more precise information about John Gordon. He deals, however, at length with the mutiny (pp. 105-116).

The regiment was stationed in a fort at Prince Rupert's which is situated on a small promontory connected with the mainland of Dominica by an isthmus mostly made up of marshy brushwood, called the Swamp, 90 acres in extent. This place was supposed to have been the cause of the constant outbreak of fever which decimated the regiment, and Johnstone declared that he set the men to clear it with a view to reduce the dangers of malaria. According to Hugh Gordon, " the regiment had latterly received no pay, and although the major commanding and paymaster had made repeated applications on the subject to Johnstone, the governor, they had been made in vain ; two companies not having received their pay since October 24, and two from November 24, 1801."

There were 500 black men in the garrison, and less than twenty whites. Hugh Gordon gives a glimpse of the night of the mutin y April 9: —

The officers who escaped on the night of the mutiny, and joined the troops next day, were Major Gordon, Captain Cassan, and Ensign Greenshields : those taken prisoners were Captain Barr, Lieutenants Alexander and Allan Cameron : and those who unhappily lost their lives, together with the artillerymen, and every other white person in the garrison, with the exception of Mr Barron, of the ordnance department, and a few women, were Captain Allan Cameron, 'Lieutenant and Adjutant Mackay, Lieutenant Wasteneys, and two others, names forgotten. The major escaped, through the fidelity of a man of Captain Cameron's company, who save him notice, a few minutes before the work of death began. These officers determined to use their personal influence

36

with the men. The -major proceeded instantly to the barracks at the barrier ; Captain Cameron went to those of his company, in Fort Shirley. Captain Cameron was so firmly persuaded of their attachment to him, that he entertained little doubt of detaching them from the mutiny, and of holding Fort Shirley, until relieved. His company, however, instantly made him a prisoner, but assured him of personal safety, and that they would sacri- fice their own lives to defend him. The work of death immediately began. The iew artillerymen in the fort were butchered in cold blood by these savages ; and, in other parts of the garrison, they proceeded to destroy every white person whom they could find, with the ex- ception of the three officers, who were favourites, and saved by their own companies. Captain Cameron's fate was tragical in the extreme. After escaping in the com- mencement, he was shot by a man whom he had ordered into confinement the day before, who had now been liber- ated, an i was not aware of, or would not understand, the favourable intentions of his own company towards him. The man was immediately put to death by his comradi s. The major's endeavours to stop the mutiny were equally fruitless. With difficulty he escaped with his life, being pursued and fired at, and his horse woun- ded. Lieutenant Wasteneys, a fine youth of eighteen, on guard on the inner Cabarite, was savagely bayonetted. The death of Adjutant Mackay was still more tragical. The monsters, not satisfied with killing him, actually cut his body in pieces. He was one of the stoutest men in the army ; of great talent, and undaunted resolution. He defended himself until entirely overpowered by num- bers. Several officers and men of the ordnance, com- missaiiab, and quartermaster-general's departments ex- perienced a similar fate ; and the miserable women, who fell into the power of these wretches, suffered every species of indignity and degradation.

The news of the massacre was brought by express to "Roseau, the capital next morning, (April 10), and Hugh Gordon describes its effect : —

So strong was the apprehension that these proceed- ings were the first step towards a general insurrection amongst the slaves, that the white inhabitants only whis- pered their terrors to each other, afraid to declare, in the hearing of the black population, all that had taken place at Prince Rupert's. The Governor, however, lost not a moment in summoning the Council, to whom he declared his intention of immediately embarking ' with the garrison of Morne Bruce (the gallant 68th Regiment) and part of the St George's Regiment of Militia, to at- tack the mutineers in their stronghold, and to send off immediate expresses to the commander-in-chief for rein- forcements. Martial law was instantly put in force ; and

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by ten o'clock, the same morning, the troops were em- barked and under weigh, with supplies of provisions, ammunition etc., sufficient for their use. Fortunately, two British men-of-war, the Excellent and Magnificent, of seventy-four guns each, commanded by the Hon. Com- modore (now Admiral) Stopford and Captain Giffard, anchored in Prince Kupert's Bay the same evening to take in wood and water ; and receiving immediate notice of what had happened, the Commodore disembarked the marines, of both ships, to cut off the communication of the mutineers with the country, and to confine them to the garrison, of which they had entire possession, with a supply of provisions and ammunition for many weeks. The mutineers fired repeatedly on the men-of-war from Fort Shirley and the outer Cabarite, but found that they had anchored out of reach of their gunnery ; and their attempts to dislodge the marines and militia, which had joined them from Point Round, were equally unsuccess- ful.

A French man-of-war schooner, from Guadeloupe, with despatches, happened to be at Roseau on the morn- ing when the evil news arrived ; and her commander immediately offered to convey Governor Johnstone and his staff to Prince Rupert's. He was, accordingly, dis- embarked the same evening at Point Round, where he was joined by Commodore Stopford and other officers. The Magnificent was under weigh, in an hour afterwards, to bring part of the Royals from the Saintes, where they were in garrison, only a few hours' sail from Prince Rupert's. The 68th Regiment and Militia arrived from Roseau the same evening.

Johnstone first took a trip to the village of Portsmouth in order to interview Gordon, who, he says, was seated in a tavern, although it was his first duty to have secured the isthmus, so as to prevent the mutineers from reaching the island. Johnstone adroitly draws a curtain over the method by which he quelled the mutiny, but Hugh Gordon, in his muddling way, goes into details : —

The morning after the governor's arrival, he sent in an officer and flag of truce to the mutineers, to summon them to surrender ; but they refused to admit him within the lines, or to treat on the terms proposed by the Gover- nor, who wished to save the lives of the three valuable officers whom they kept prisoners, and who were in momentary expectation of being put to death, amidst the contending opinions of the furious and savage mutineers, some of whom were desirous to save, and others to de- stroy, them. The mutineers had made repeated at- tempts to dislodge the marines and militia from the swamp, which formed the isthmus between the garrison and town of Prince Rupert's, but were always repulsed. They also canonaded the posts held by the troops in the

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neighbourhood, but their shot fell short. The return of the Magnificent, with two hundred men of the Royals, under command of Major Paxley, now determined the Governor to attempt to storm the fortress. The 68th Regiment was 500 strong, and commanded by Majors bcott and Hamilton ; the marines were 150 ; detachment of Royals, 200 ; the St George's Militia and other com- panies, about 400— in all 1300 men, whilst the mutineers did not exceed 450.

Major Hamilton volunteered to head the attack, and Captain Blakeney, and other officers, followed his ex- ample in pressing to be entrusted with commands. The arrangements had been completed, and the assault was to be made the same night, when a flag of truce was perceived coming from the garrison. On its arrival, Lieutenant Alexander Cameron, of the 8th West India Regiment [who died, a victim to the climate, at Prince Rupert's several years after], proposed terms of surren- der. Aware of their danger, the mutineers offered to throw themselves on the mercy of the Governor, stipu- lating only that the lives of the whole regiment should be saved. This Governor Johnstone peremptorily re- fused ; but he urged Lieutenant Cameron to remain, and not again to put himself in the power of the mutineers. The lieutenant's reply was heroic, as it was impressive. "Never will I consent to save my own life at the certain expense of that of my brother officers, still in their power — I promised to return ; and, whether life or death shall await me, I must go back." The noble self-devotion of this brave officer, and the state in which he appeared amongst his fellow-soldiers, inspired them with the de- termination to effect his release, if spared until the hour of assault, or to die in the attempt. He had come into the cantonments without hat, coat, or shoes, all having been stripped from him by the daring and blood-thirsty men whom he had commanded only a few days before.

After some delay, it was unexpectedly agreed to by the mutineers that the regular troops should march into the garrison of Prince Rupert's lat five o'clock in the evening, and that the 8th West India Regiment, drawn up on parade, and placing themselves at the mercy of the Commander-in-Chief in the West Indies, should lay down their arms on receiving the word of command from the Governor.

Accordingly, at four p.m., the regular troops were under arms, and, soon after, they began their march, with Governor Johnstone at their head, to enter the garrison. Several officers and privates of the militia, with all the civilians attached to the army, followed unarmed, anx- ious to be spectators of the approaching scene. Having entered by the barrier gate, where the black sentinels presented arms as they passed, the troops marched on towards the parade ; the detachment of. Royal Artillery,

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under command of Captain, now Lieutenant-Colonel, JBrough, halting, with their guns a little to the left of the 8th West India Regiment, which were already drawn up in line on the parade ; the three officers (their pris- oners) standing in front of their respective companies, to the command of which, it appeared, they had been restored. The Royals, 68th Regiment, and Marines hav- ing taken up their ground in front of the mutineers, and within twenty yards of them, Governor Johnstone rode up to address them. Scarcely, however, had he ex- pressed his regret and sorrow that the corps, of which he was the colonel, and which had distinguished itself at the capture of the Danish settlements, should have so acted, when the angry feelings betrayed by the muti- neers led him to wheel a little round ; and, again front- ing them, he, without losing further time, gave the word for them to order and ground their arms. A few only obeyed this order, and one of their ring-leaders, stepping out, called to them " not to lay down their arms, as Governor Johnstone would cheat them." At this critical moment, the Royals, perceiving that resistance would be made, and scarcely waiting for orders, fired a volley, which was followed by another from the 68th Regiment and Marines, who, directed by Major Hamilton, imme- diately advanced at the point of the bayonet. The mutineers, after a straggling fire, gave way on all sides, scrambling up the sides of the outer Cabarite, from the top of which two or three hundred of them precipitated themselves into the ssa down a steep, which, until then, had been considered impracticable, and with very little loss of lives, a few only being destroyed by their fall. They left seventy or eighty killed and wounded on the parade by the fire of the troops, who pursued them to the top, killing or capturing all whom they overtook. On the part of the troops a few men only were killed, and two or three officers and a dozen men wounded. The three officers of the 8th West India Regiment es- caped unhurt.

Parties of the mutineers (the guards of the day, per- haps) were still occupying Fort Shirley and the batteries on the inner Cabarite, and from the latter a discharge of grape-shot was now received, which, being aimed too high, did no mischief. Captain Brough immediately turned his guns on the party who were firing, and, by his first fire of grape, killed the greater part of them. The rest fled across the swamp, where some of them were taken and others killed by the militia ; two were by this time under arms, though not in time to intercept the main body of the mutineers, who had fled over the outer Cabarite, and got off into the country, mostly with- out arms.

A detachment immediately proceeded to take pos- session of Fort Shirley, where, on the magazines being

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opened and examined, a train was found to have been laid for the purpose of blowing up the assailants.

The troops now received the thanks of the Governor on parade, measures were taken for the pursuit of the fugitives, and the wounded on both sides left on the field of contest were carefullv removed to the hospital. The wounded officers were placed by the Governor's direction, in the barrack in Fort Shirley, appropriated for his own quarters ; and it is but justice to this now fallen star to mention that he was to be seen, for several following days, administering to their wants with his own hands. The situation of the unfortunate officers of the 8th West India Regiment, who had lost all their pro- perty, also received his early attention.

Amidst our warlike operations and harrassing duty one circumstance afforded great and universal satisfac- tion, viz., the fidelity of the slaves, who not only evinced their accustomed subordination and obedience to masters and managers at the time the strong garrison of Prince Rupert's was in the hands of the mutineers, but took every opportunity of showing their abhorrence of such proceedings, and their desire to assist in securing and bringing them to punishment. Many instances of the warmest and most devoted attachment to their masters by slaves on this trying occasion might be mentioned.

The Governor issued a proclamation congratulating the colony on the suppression of the mutiny, and prais- ing the peaceable and good behaviour of the slaves. The thanks of the council and assembly were at the same time voted to the commanding officers and different corps, and to the men-of-war, including the French ships, which had rendered such important service to the colony. Whatever portion of blame may have attached to Gover- nor Johnstone respecting the cause of the mutiny, he unquestionably displayed, in the suppression of it, great talents and address.

When the garrison was a little restored to order, and the danger to the state no longer imminent, we formed ourselves into parties, and were allowed to make excur- sions to the country ; but the arrival of transports, with the 4th West India Regiment, and a detachment of ar- tillery, soon relieved the 68th Regiment and the greater part of us from farther duty at Prince Rupert's. A court-martial was held immediately at Prince Rupert's, when seven of the ringleaders were tried and condemned. The Commander- in-Chief, Sir Thomas Trigge, ordered the mutineers, who were at length all accounted for as killed, wounded, or prisoners, to be sent to °Barbadoes, then the headquarters. They left Dominica on April 24.

A court of inquiry was held at Fort Charles, Barbadoes, on May 24 1802. The ringleaders were tried by court-martial on June

41

6, 1802, and several of them executed ; others, who were less impli- cated or left the standard of rebellion, were, with their officers, drafted into other West India regiments, but the greater part was formed into a corps of pioneers, and attached as labourers and servants to the different regiments doing duty in the West Indies, the 8th being finally disembodied on September 24, 1802.

Gordon then came home, arriving in London in February 1803, and taking lodgings at 194 Piccadilly. Johnstone was recalled, and began preferring charges against Gordon, who wascourt-martialledat Chelsea Bospital, January 30-February 14, 1804. Gordon was found generally not guilty. Here are four of the charges against him, and the verdict of the court : —

1. Having entered into a co-partnership with the late Lieutenant Mackay, the acting quarter-master, re- lative to the baking for or furnishing bread of the 8th West India Regiment, and taking and receiving from him different sums of money as the profit and emolu- ment arising therefrom, contrary to his duty and in de- rogation of the character of a commanding officer, and to the prejudice of the service between the month of July 1801, and the end of the month of April 1802.

2. Having unwarrantably received from Messrs James and Addison, auctioneers at Dominica, on or about the month of April 1802, the profits arising from the sale of flour and rice issued from the King's stores and stated by him, Major Gordon, to be the joint pro- perty of the late Lieutenant Mackay and himself.

To these charges the Court returned a verdict of not guilty, adding : —

The Court thinks that the Major has been very irre- gular in not keeping an account of the monies which he received on that account as well as of expenditure, which might have enabled him to have stated the same cor- rectly, instead of the vague distribution thereof given to the Court.

The next charge had reference to the pay of the regiment, Gordon being charged with

3. Having in the pay lists of the 8th West India Regiment, certified by him as commanding officer, signi- fied that the accounts of the men had been settled and paid to the 24th of December 1801, which accounts were transmitted to the War Office as just and true accounts : whereas two of the companies had been paid only to the 24th of October and two to the 24th of November 1801.

To this charge the Court returned the verdict not guilty, adding

by way of rider :--

But the Court cannot forbear observing that there appears to have been culpable neglect in having suf- fered the certifying of the pay lists for the months of

42

October, November, and December 1801, to be procras- tinated until the 6th of April 1802, which circumstance Major Gordon admits and on the ground rests the truth of the certificates, which would not have been true in fact had the certificates been signed by him at the end of those respective periods.

The last charge of all was perhaps the most unpleasant brought against Gordon, who was charged with

4 Having received from the paymaster of the regi- ment at Barbados, and, injuriously and contrary to his duty, withheld different sums of money issued by the warrant of the Commander of the Forces in the West Indies as a compensation to the representations of the deceased officers for their losses, namely, the sum of £120 10s for the deceased Captain Cameron ; £138 10s for the deceased Lieutenant Mackay ; and £60 for the de- ceased Lieutenant Wasteneys, and having quitted the West Indies without accounting to the widow of the late Lieutenant Mackay [adjutant], as was his duty to have done, for the above sum of £139 10s allowed for her husband's losses ; and not having accounted for the above sum of money to the officers of the regiment, the War Office, the agent of the regiment, or to the repre- sentatives of the deceased officers. The Court acquitted Gordon on this charge, holding that it had not been established by evidence to the satisfaction of the Court : —

It has, however, appeared to the Court that Major Gordon did receive the sums of money stated in the charge on account of the deceased officers therein named ; but he has shown that the monies so received were applicable towards the payment of the debtB of those respective officers, and that he has accounted to the relatives of Captain Cameron for the money received on his account, and has paid several sums of money on account of the other officers named in the charge, viz., Lieutenant Mackay and Lieutenant Wasteneys ; but al- though the Court does not consider the monies in ques- tion as coming under the description of the first article of the 19 th section of the Articles of War, Major Gordon appears to have been negligent, and to have subjected himself to censure in not having taken further measures in order to have accounted for the whole of the monies which he had (received on account of the two officers ; and the Court is of opinion that he should be called upon to render a satisfactory account to His Majesty's Secretary at War of the expenditure as well as of the balances now remaining in his hands.

Gordon was placed on half-pay and never again employed. In due course he preferred charges against Johnstone, who was court-martialled at Chelsea, March 1805, and deprived of his rank

43

and government. Some extraordinary statements are made about him in "Public Characters" (vol. 10), and in A. Mackenrot's "Secret Memoirs of A. Cochrane Johnstone," 1814. Mackenrot remarks : —

The accusation of his having caused a mutiny in one of the West India, i.e., black, regiments in garrison at Dominica, whom he wanted to work as field negroes on his own plantation, and of causing it to be fired upon by the soldiers of another corps, when the blacks refused to lay down their arms, is a circumstance perfectly re- concilable with the general atrocity of his character, aa besides instances of his dealings in human flesh and blood at St Christopher's, he and his brother are guilty of other malpractices, usurpations, and as Mr Brougham calls it, felonies against the persons of natives of Africa.

After his retirement Gordon farmed Drumin, in Inveravon, just at the point where the Avon and Livet join, and near the ruins of the old castle of Drumin, the seat of the Barons of Strathaven (Stewart's " Lectures from the Mountains " 1860 : 1st series p. 101). On July 1799 he was admitted a member of the Highland Society, of which his brother Lewis was secretary.

He married on November 29, 1807, Magdaline Cuming, Kirk- michael. This marriage is the subject of a big dossier at the Public Record Office in London for it was never registered, and when Mrs Gordon, " in indigent circumstances," came to apply to the War Office for a pension she had to put herself to a great deal of trouble to bring witnesses before the Commissary at Aberdeen (July 8, 1819) to show that she and her husband were habit and repute man and wife while residing in Upperkirkgate, Broadford, and Frederick Street, Aberdeen, while the Rev. William Grant, the parish minister of her native Kirkmichael, forwarded this very interesting note : —

These certify that the late Major Gordon, of the 8th West India Regiment, and also his relict, Mrs Gordon, now residing at Tomintoul in this parish, were of the Roman Catholic persuasion ; and it has not been custo- mary here for some time past when both parties are of that persuasion, for them to be married by a clergyman of the Established Church, and consequently the regis^ tration of their marriages has been almost wholly neg- lected. Given at the Manse of Kirkmichael, the 18th day of August 1819.

This letter satisfied the authorities, for the widow of Gordon who lived in Holburn Street, Aberdeen, in April 1819, was granted a pension of £70 from April 4, under a warrant dated November 13, 1819. He had three children, who were all placed on the Com- passionate List on the recommendation of his brother Lewis, and the Duke of Gordon at £12 a year each, May 26, 1820. Mrs Gordon was living in Constitution Street, Aberdeen, in 1823, having probably

44

gone into the town to keep house for her brother-in-law Lewis, who also went to Aberdeen in that year.

Major John Gordon's three children were : —

1 John William Gordon, born and baptised in London, March 1805. On attaining the age of 18, he was struck off the pension list of 1823, but as a special favour, was granted £3 from December 25, 1822, to March 27, 1823.

2. George Henry Gordon, born and baptised at Aberdeen, March 1809. He is apparently the George Henry Gor- don, '" Banffshire," who was at King's College, Aberdeen, in 1823. He was appointed hospital assistant in the army by commission, July 10, 1824, and was on half-pay September 14, 1829-July 1830. He was appointed staff- assistant surgeon, July 29, 1830 : and assistant surgeon 16th Foot, October 12, 1830, embarking for Bengal on October 25. He arrived in England on sick leave from Bengal in May 1833 : was transferred from the 16th Regi- ment to the Staff, December 6, 1833. He took his M.D. at Glasgow University, and died at Tilbury Fort, Essex, on June 6, 1834 ("Gentleman's Magazine," vol. civ., part 2, p. 443).

3. Eliza Hellen Gordon, born and baptised in London 1807. She was living in Aberdeen in 1828.

45

THE GORDONS IN AUCHORACHAN.

rpHE continuity of the Minmore Gordons in the lands of Min more has probably been maintained by the Gordons in Auch- orachan, who married into the family of Smith in Drumin.

Auchorachan, which is in the parish of Inveravon, was apparently held by Harry Gordon, son of William Gordon I. in Minmore, for he is described in 1652 as '* in Auchorachan." A gap occurs in the history of the farm, but on February 23, 1745, John Gordon (died before 1767), son and heir of the famous Jacobite, John Gordon of Glenbucket (died 1750) had sasine on the lands of " Auchroachan" (Banff Sasines). This seems to have been the origin of the belief that the Gordon- Smith family is descended from the Glenbucket line. John's son, William, had sasine on December 8, 1767, on an annual rent of £400 Scots, " to be taken partly of all and haill the half daugh lands of Auchroachan."

Curiously enough, the next Gordon connected with Auchorachan is also a William, but, so far as is known, he was not connected with the Glenbucket family. In reference to this William, a very interest- ing document, written by James Glashan, writer in Keith, and subscribed at Auchorachan, August 9, 1790, before Patrick McKay, servant at Auchorachan, and the said James Glashan, was recorded at Elgin, July 2, 1793. It is one of those documents that does the heart of the genealogist good, so full is it of the detail for which he hungers. William died at Auchorachan, Sept. 8, 1790, aged 71.

I, William Gordon of Bogfoutain at Auchorachan . . . am resolved to settle and destine my temporal matters in my own lifetime so as to obviate and prevent all disputes and controversies after my death respecting the succession thereto ; wherefore and for the love, favour and affection which I have and bear to William Gordon, my fourth lawful son, wit ye me to have granted and disponed . . . with the reservation of my own life- rent thereof and under the several other conditions and respective burdens specially after insert . . to and in favour of the said William Gordon, my fourth lawful son, all and whole my personal estate, means and for- tune of every kind . . ; as also to have made and con- stitute . . . the said William Gordon . . . to be my sole executor and universal intromitter . . but under the burden of . . the following provisions to my other children, viz., the sum of £300 sterling to John Gordon in Tomnavoulan, my eldest lawful son, to whom I hereby destine, legate and bequeath the same ; item the sum of £200 to Robert Gordon in Castletown, my second lawful son, to whom I legate . . the same and that over and above such sum or sums of money as he may be due and resting on me at the time of my death, and of which he is hereby acquitted and discharged : item

46

the sum of £300 to Alexander Gordon, my youngest law- ful son : item the sum of five shillings to Margaret Gor- don, my second lawful daughter, and Andrew Smith in Drumrnin, her husband . . item the sum of five shil- lings to Jean Gordon, my youngest lawful daughter, and William McAlister in London, her husband . . : and also to make payment annually as a yearly annuity to Elspeth Gordon, my eldest lawful daughter, the sum of one pound sterling : all which provisions ... I de- clare to be in full of all bairns part of gear, portion natural, etc., . . and further I legate and bequeath to Charles Gordon, my third lawful son, to assist him in giving education to his daughter the sum of £20 over and above the other engagements incumbent on me by the contract of marriage betwixt him and Helen Grant, his present spouse. . And declaring as it is here specially declared that in the event of the said John Gordon, my eldest son, giving or attempting to give the said William Gordon, my Disponee and Executor, any trouble respect- ing a subsett executed by me in his favour of this date foi" the remaining years yet to run of my principal saish or lease from the Duke of Gordon, the heritor upon the lands of Auchorachan and others therein specified, then and in that case I hereby peremptorily reduce and re- strict the foresaid sum of £300 so provided to him to the sum of 5s sterling money. [The special interest to ns of this extract is that it suggests a probable explanation of the rather puzzling fact that William Gordon left his daughter, Mrs Andrew Smith, only 5s. The threat in his will to reduce his eldest son's portion to the same amount makes it almost conclusive that for some reason she was out of favour, and had been practically cut off with the proverbial shilling ; possibly he was dissatisfied with her marriage. The next extract also throws an interesting light on past events.] £400 stg. contained in a bond granted by His Grace Alexander Duke of Gordon to the said William Gordon of Bogfoutain, dated 23rd March 1773, payable 20th December 1774, with interest at 5 per cent., etc. [Two other bonds are mentioned ; one for £600, the other for £500 ; nlso £120 interest due. Alto- gether the Duke seems to have owed William Gordon at this time over £1400. These bonds were ''conveved by the said William Gordon to and in favour of William Gordon, his fourth lawful son."] Moreover, I hereby destine, bequeath and mortify .... to the poor of the parish of Aberlour, to be paid in at the sight of the minis- ter, to the treasurer of said parish of Aberlour within six months after my death the sum of £3 6s 8d stg.,ancl that besides one pound like money, and two bolls of oat- meal to be distributed among the poor of the parish of Inveravon above the Cragan and such other poor people as may attend at Auchorachan the day of my interment ;

47

and further I hereby burden the said William Gordon, my disponee and executor, with the payment annually to Helen Orel, my spouse, (1) of the sum of £3 sterling in terms of the contract of marriage betwixt her and me, and for the payment of one pound to purchase a mourn- ing gown for her.

Helen Ord was Gordon's second wife — or at any rate the step-mother of his fourth son. The Knockando Register records that William Gordon, Inveravon, married Helen Ord, Knockando, April 23, 1775, William Gordon had a brother, Robert Gordon, in Glenrinnes. He himself had at least five sons and three daughters : —

1. John Gordon in Tomnavoulin got £300 under his father's will. Light is thrown on him in a document, written by Mr Alexander Thomson, schoolmaster in Mortlach, and subscribed at Hardhaugh, March 1. 1792, before Robert Grant at Mains of Morange, and William Gordon in Lettoch, and recorded at Elgin, December 3, 1792: — "The parties following, viz. John Gordon in Tomna- voolan on the first part, Robert Gordon in Castletown on the second part, and Charles Gordon in Achorrachan on the third part — all children of the deceased William Gordon, some time in Achorrachan, and brothers ger- man of the also deceased Ensign William Gordon, last of Bogfouton, considering that by an agreement entered into betwixt them by a letter dated at Achorrachan the eighth day of December 1791, said agreement being en- tered into and proceeding upon the assertion of the said John Gordon in Tomnavoolan to be supported and proven by the evidence of Robert Stewart in Deskie and Gavin Stewart in Dounan, wTho were said to be witnesses to a communing betwixt said John Gordon in Tomna- voolan and his deceased brother Ensign William Gor- don relative to the transaction about which this submis- sion is entered into : we, the said Robert and Charles, became bound to make payment to the said John Gordon in Tomnavoulin of the sum of £2C0 sterling at the term of Whitsunday, and that in proportion, to the different sums legated and bequeathed to us by the said deceased Ensign William Gordon, our brother, me the said John

(1) Very little seems to be known about the wives of any of the Anohoracban Gordons. William Gordon appears to have had two — 'Margaret Stuart and Helen Ord. Both are mere names, a Some details have reached me of the wife of one of hie pone — ) Ensign William Gordon possibly, who, according to the late Colonel John Gordon Smith, married a Miss Farquharson from Glenconglaes. She •vme related to the Fa rquh arsons of Inver- cauld, and must have been one of the Farquharsons of Ach- , riachan, a small estate which was for about 200 years in pos- (■ session of ia branch of the Invereauld family. This lady got 2 military pensions for the services of her husband. — I. G. R,

48

Gordon always bearing a proportion of the said sum of £200 offering to the sum legated and bequeathed to me by the said William Gordon, and the said parties being desirous to have the proportion falling to be paid by each of them according to their several legacies fixed and ascertained they . . submit and refer to William Grant in Tombreckachy and the Rev. George Gordon, minister of Mortlach, arbiters mutually chosen, and in case they differ in opinion to Lieut. Thomas Stewart in Pittyvaich, oversman hereby appointed. . . ." The arbiters by decreet dated April 30, 1792, appointed Robert to pay £47 12s 6d, and Charles £142 17s 6d, the balance (£9 10s) being John's proportion. John died on July 6, 1831, aged 92 (stonp in Mortlach Churchyard). His widow, "Margaret Gordon," died July 13, 1844, in her 78th year. He had: —

(1) William Gordon : mentioned in his uncle William's will. His " second cousin," the Rev. J. F. S. Gordon (2) in his edition of Lachlan Shaw's "Moray," says of him (i., 150): "He had no great sympathy with modern ideas of advance. For fifty years the whole steading was of the most primitive makeshift caste. ' Tamoul,' as he was called from his farm, in his garb was equally unadorned, the same tattered rags having done duty for years. However, on high occasions he appeared bon-ton. While most pen- urious, when an auld acquaintance paid him a visit at the roadside farm house (if such it could be desig- nated), Tamoul was kind and hospitable, setting down bread and cheese and a bottle of real Glenlivet. He held the appointment of collector of seat rents of the Roman Catholic chaoel at Tombae, and was proud of the original mode in which he kept the roll, somewhat puzzling to all but the patentee. The con-

(2) Rev. James Frederick Skinner Gordon, D.D., deserves a word of ivo'ti"e here. He was Rector of St Andrews Episcopal Church, Glasgow, from 1844 to 1891, and appears to have been horn at Keith and educated at St Andrews and Edinburgh. I have failed to discover whose son he was. As he himself says in hi.i edition of Lachlan Shaw's '* Moray," that he was/ William Gordon, Tomnavoulin's second cousin, pr-esuimably he was a grandson of William Gordon of Auchorachan find Bogfoutain. He wix>te several books, the best known of which are " The Ec- clesiastical •Chronicle for .Scotland" and "The Chronicles of Keith." He appears to have been something of a bibliophile, and it is rather pathetic to find him writing with reference to a fire in November 1881, which ourned part of his church —

" My antiquarian library in the vestry (my idol) was in half an hour demolished."

If Glenlivet was aware of Dr Gordon's existence, we never heard of him from anyone there : rather an interesting com- mentary on the gaps in the history of his family, — I. G. R,

49

tributions were classified in three separate divisions — ' Good,' ' Bad,' and ' Indifferent.' He was a rigid dunner and often persuaded the delinquents with foot and tongue." He died on January 30, 1875, aged 84, the Auchorachan family becoming extinct in him. "The popular mind of the district magnified his ample means into an immense hoard, which at his death amounted to about £7000." (2) Helen Gordon, married Alexander Anderson, officer of Excise. She died March 3, 1810, aged 23, leaving three children (stone in Mortlach Churchyard): — i. John Anderson, baptised July 28, 1806 (Rothes

Register), ii. Alexander Anderson, baptised April 11, 1803

(ibid.), iii. Margaret Anderson, baptised February 25, 1810 (ibid.). 2. Robert Gordon in Castletown. He got £300 under his father's will. He married, and had a son : —

(1) John Gordon. He appears in a deed, written by John Marshall, advocate in Aberdeen, and subscribed at Aberdeen, October 26, 1791, and recorded at Elgin, December 21, 1791: — "Know all men by these pre- sents me William Gordon, fourth lawful son to the deceast William Gordon of Bogfouton, heritable pro- prietor of the subject after disponed, for the favour and affection I bear to John Gordon, only lawful son to Robert Gordon in Castletown, and in considera- tion of the confidence I repose in the Rev. Mr George Gordon, minister of the gospel at Mortlach, and Robert Mitchell at Parkmore to have disponed . . . . to and in favour of the said Mr George Gordon and Robert Mitchell, or either of them ... all and whole the town and lands of Bogfouton lying in the county of Aberdeen as described in the writs and title deeds thereof. . . for the use and behoof of the said John Gordon, his heirs and assignees, and for other piu*poses mentioned, but providing that the said John Gordon himself shall not be entitled to enter to possession or management of the same until he arrive at the age of 21 years complete, at which time my said trustees are to denude themselves of this trust . . and the said subject I hereby burden with the payment of the sum of £2 stg. yearly to Helen Ord, my stepmother, in terms of her contract of marriage, and £1 sterling yearly to Elspet Gordon, my sister, conform to my father's settlement, ordain- ing my said trustees . . to bestow the whole yearly rents of the premises towards the maintenance and education of the said John Gordon after payment of the above sums . . . excepting the sum of £14 sterling annually, which sum . . they are to ac- cumulate until the majority of the said John Gordon, when it is to be paid to him."

50

(2) Jean Gordon.

(3) Margaret Gordon. These girls are mentioned in their uncle William's will.

Charles Gordon in Achbreck. He figures in a deed, written by John Marshall, advocate in Aberdeen, and subscribed at Aberdeen, October 26, 1791 : and re- corded at Elgin, December 21, 1791: — "Know all men by these presents me William Gordon, fourth lawful son to the deceast William Gordon of Bogfouton, whereas the said William Gordon, my father, by his subtack and assignation, dated August 9 last, subset and let to me, my heirs and sub-tenants all and whole the town and lands of Auchorachan, comprehending these parts called Chap- pelchrist, Tamachform and others of whatever denomina- tion . . lying within the lordship of Glenlivat, parish of Inveraven . . and whereas I am resolved to settle and dispose of the said tack and farm in the event of my dying before the expiry of the term of years of said tack, therefore to have assigned ... to and in favour of Charles Gordon in Achbreck, my brother german, all and whole the said town and lands of Auchorachan with the privileges and pertinents contained in the subtack and assignation." He married Helen Grant, and had: — ■ A daughter (unmarried), who got £20 for her education under her grandfather's will.

William Gordon. He seems to have been his father's favourite, and is described as " Ensign." He died be- tween October 1791 and 1792. He made his will in 1791. It was written by John Marshall, advocate in Aberdeen, and subscribed at Aberdeen, October 26. 1791, and re- corded ab Elgin, December 21. 1791: — "Know all men by these presents me William Gordon, fourth lawful son to the deceast William Gordon of Bogfouton, consider- ing that it is proper for every person so to arrange his affairs as to prevent disputes among relations in case of sudden death, and being at present in a bad state of health but sound in mind, memory and judgement, to have made as I hereby make my last will and testament, viz., I nominate . . . the Rev. George Gordon, min- ister of the gospel at Mortlach, to be my sole executor . . . for the purposes aftermentioned, viz., I ordain my said executor . . to pay my just and lawful debts and funeral expenses and to retain for his own trouble the sum of £50, and thereafter to pay the following lega- cies . . viz., to John Gordon, my eldest brother, the sum of £40 sterling . . to William Gordon, son to the said John Gordon, the sum of £60, on his attaining the age of 21 years . . to Robert Gordon in Castletown, my second brother, the sum of £200, to each of Jean and Margaret Gordon, daughters of the said Robert Gordon, the sum of £150 . . to Alexander Gordon, my young- est brother, the sum of £10 ; to the poor of the parish

51

of Inveraven the sum of £5 ; and the whole residue . . to Charles Gordon, my brother, burdened with the pay- ment of £2 10s to each of Robert Gordon in Glenrinnes, my uncle, and Elspet Gordon, my sister yearly."

5. Alexander Gordon: benefited under his father's and his brother William's will.

6. Elspeth Gordon : got an annuity of £1 from her father.

7. Margaret Gordon : married Andrew Smith of Drumin, and gob five shillings under her father's will. Her son George founded the famous distillery at Minmore.

8. Elspeth Gordon : married William McAlaster, London, and got an annuity of £1 under her father's will.

52

THE GORDON SMITH FAMILY.

rpHIS family wa=,- founded by Andrew Smith, farmer, Upper Druniin, who married in 1776 Margaret Gordon. Auchorachan, daughter of William Gordon of Bogfputain. The origin of Andrew Smith does not transpire (3).

Andrew Smith and his wife had five sons and two daughters. 1 William Smith, born 1777 : married in 1806 Christina Grant, daughter of John Grant of Mid-Bellandie, after- wards of Lynbeg, a small farm, and Isobel Macdonald. •Her brother, Captain William Grant, 92nd Gordon High- landers, fought at Waterloo. She was a first cousin of Mrs George Smith of Minmore. He had: —

(1) Charles Smith, born 1807 : married Mary Turner, and had : —

i. George Smith, ii. Helen Smith.

iii. Isabella Smith : married Robert Mackay, far- mer.

(2) James Smith, born 1809.

(3) Isobel Smith, born 1811 : married in 1830 the Rev. Patrick Grant, son of George Grant, writer, Edin- burgh, and Christian Mclnroy, Edradour, Pitlochry. She apparently belonged to the same family as the Mclnroy's of Lude, Blair Atholl, who &r<* saiH to be a branch of the Robertsons of Struan. They had: —

i. Francis William Grant, born June 20, 1832 : died in infancy.

(3). My cousin, Colonel John Gordon Smith of Minmore, told me about a year before bis death that he traced the Smiths back to an armourer who lived about the middle of the 14th o?ntury. Owing to his occupation, the family came to be called " Go'.v," though their real name was Macintosh or Macphereon, more probably the fanner. He added that their crest had el- wajvs been the same as .the well-known Macintosh and Mao- pherson crest: a cat rampant, and the motto, "Touch not the cat bot the glove." Later the Gow was anglicised into Smith. They owned land in Glenrinnes, which they lost through neg- lecting to perform some obligation ('probably feudal) connected with its tenure. After this, being less prosperous, Andrew Smith and his brother went down to Glenlivet and took the farms of Corshellachie and Mullochard. The name of And.'ow Smith's wife appears to have been Helen Grant, as the following extract from the Parish Register almost certainly refers to thom — " 13th May 1737 — Margaret, daughter of Andrew Smith and Helen Grant, Corshellachie, baptised." His son Andrew was born at Corshellachie on 31st May 1742, but the date on which the latter moved to Upper Druniin is not recorded. — I. G. R.

53

ii. George Grant, M.B. He entered the Indian army in 1859, and retired as brigade-surgeon, October 30. 1885. He married in 1874 Amy Florence Hathaway, eldest daughter of Dr Chas. Hathaway and Mary Cecilia Barlow, daughter of Major Barlow, 9th Lancers and 10th Queen's. Dr Hathaway traced his descent from Anne Hatha- way, Shakspeare's wife. He was the first Sani- tary Commissioner of the Punjab, and Inspector- General of Prisons : afterwards Private Secretary to Lord Lawrence, Governor-General of India. Brigade Surgeon Grant has :— (&**■ OU-Z"* «jn)

(i) George Patrick Grant, born September 22,

sjT /""/V* 7T ~^-\1876. He entered the army as 2nd lieutenant

0><<o*Vc(f: (J<<r**JZ Ctn*.- >m tne Border Regiment, and joined the ln-

U^cf u^cylt^. CU. /dian army on August 27, 1901. He took

/ o • jpart in the attack and capture of Nodiz Fort,

i lAt^t $ij/<i^^"~ ie****vri Mekran, 1901, and was twice severely woun-

^ / /(ecsLlu**. fZcAlesJx-\de<}. He was awarded the D.8.O. He i< at

/ rrcL '/ Present (1909) Deputv-Assistant Adjutant- (eUual&A-^

~Yrt.ll- J'O. ^ih^Gcneral Mhow, Central Provinces, India./^,^^^/ ' ^juM^jfo Ir**"*- He married, on December 4, 1909, Gladys^ , „ J

Q Constanca Maud, only daughter of Macdon-/?Vi^'CW,W

aid Beaumont of Hylands, Epsom, solicitor, \Ue>c<s Jow~ \ Lincoln's Inn, Jvondon/ A f2cJ*-vdL,Pt*<*\

(ii) Charles William Grant: entered the Indian \M.ec^ Hi- "f/6 Civil Service in 1902, and is (1909) acing \ magistrate and collector, Lalitpur, Jhansi, United Provinces. #-e H*.o**-itcC su. ?i~wt /P? /<jf/S^ &UeL. (iii) Isabella Kathleen Grant : married Captain Arthur Wilson Chitty. Indian army, 1904, and has : —

a. Arthur Grant Chitty, born 1908.

b. Isabella Mary Amy Chitty, born 1905. iv. William Grant, C.E., born March 5, 1841 : died

October 28, 1894. iii. Christina Grant, v. Isobel Jane Grant: married 1867 John Grant

Robertson Bengal Civil Service, who died Dec.

1873, and has : —

(i) John Herbert Robertson : entered the In- dian Civil Service 1889. and is (1909) magis- trate and collector of Kurnool, Madras Pre- sidency. He married in 1894 Helen Rowena Simpson, daughter of Rev. James Harvey Simpson, late rectirof Little Common. Bexhill, and Prebendary of Chichester. She is descended on her mother's side from the Keiths of Dunnottar, Kails Matischal, and one of her ancestors was Nicholas Roh-p (1674-1718), dratnaMst and poet-laureafp. He has : —

/ <\UuS£, /sruajZ #y^wv Q/x^^i

54

k'JUL

\ec*+tJ2-

ICUA-- I-

a. John Keith Grant Robertson, born Ausr. >JL7 1895>.

bTlTaraTsh Gordon Grant Robertson, born March 16, 1905.

c. Jessica Macinroy Grant Robertson, born April 3, 1897. £>. y. 0-

^■Jf>%Lm>-tf/*> . ~~~y-^rJv) Charles Grant Robertson, .Fellow of All

/n«xw^. if?- C lAcju^&X. Mt^riU. Souls College, Oxford, and senior tutor in SA^& f^dru. rU* history Magdalen College, Oxford.

s(in) Isabella Grant Robertsony^artist. ^ImithTborn 1812^

\CULe,. /if.. >J<*

4) Helen Hmifch, born 1812 : married William Gardner, Edinburgh, said to be descended from Colonel James Gardiner (1688-1745), who was mortally wounded at PifRtonpans, and is commemorated in the "Lite" by Doddridge. They had: —

i. William Gardner: went to Sydney, New South Wales, in 1888 : married there 1905, Ada Taylor, widow (nee t 'awthorne), with one daughter, aged 7, Greta Taylor; has: —

Isabella Helen Grant Gardner, born January 1906.

ii. Helen Gardner : married Captain Fraser, army retired, and went to New Zealand with her hus- band. She ceased to write home, and all trace of her has been lost.

iii. Christina Gardner : died June 1872.

2. John Smith, born 1782.

3. Charles Smith, 1789, known as " Camdalmore " : he mar- ried, and had issue, all of whom migrated to Canada.

4. George Smith, born at Upper Drumin, 1792 : educated at Burnside of Deskie. He began his remarkable career as a builder and architect, and about 1817 became tenant of part of the farm of Upper Drumin. In 1824 he built a legal distillery on the farm, much to the disgust of his neighbours, who carried on the business of smuggling. He was so successful that the distillery had to be ex- tended four times. In 1837, he took the farm of * astle- ton of Blairfindy, in 1838 the farm of Nevie, which is within a mile of Upper Drumin : and in 1839 the fine farm of Minmore, with which the Gordons had been associated so long. In 1850 he took Delnabo above Tom- intoul, and carried on a distillery which was upon the farm, known as Cairngorm In 1858 he united his distil- leries by building a large one at Minmore. In the course of his career as a farmer he reclaimed 300 acres, and left his son with more than 800 acres of arable land and some 10,000 to 12,000 acres of hill pasture. He was famous as a breeder of Highland cattle and shorthorns. A very handsome presentation of silver plate was made to him by an influential body of subscribers in the county

55

in recognition of his ability and public spirit. He married in 1817 Ellen, daughter of Lieut. Stewart, 1st Royals, who fell at Aboukir while serving under Sir Ralph Abercromby, and died November 1871. An ex- cellent account of him appeai'ed in the "Elgin Courant," December 1, 1871. He was buried in Tombae Catholic Churchyard, December 2. He had two sons and a daughter : —

(1) William Smith, born 1817. He farmed Nevie, and died unmarried in 1846.

(2) John Gordon Smith, born at Upper Drumin, June

22, 1822 : educated at Blairs College, Aberdeen. He began his career in the Caledonian Bank, Elgin, and then entered the office of John Shand, W.S., Edin- burgh, staying there until 1846, when the death of his brother brought him home to farm Nevie and assist his father. A few years later his father took him into partnership in the distillery, the firm becoming G. and J. G. Smith. He took the keenest intei'est in farming, and established a fine herd of polled cattle at: Minmore (dispersed in 1891), and later a herd of shorthorns. He joined the 6th Volunteer Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders at its inception on April 10, 1867, and rose to Lieut.-Colonel, retiring on Dec.

23, lc91. He bought the estate of Delnabo from the Countess of Seafield in 1891, and the estate of Auch- intoul (long associated with a branch of the Gordon family) from the Duke of Fife in 1899. He also took a prominent part in the life of the county. His por- trait, painted by Horsburgh, was presented to him by the Regiment, as a mark of esteem and in recog- nition of his services. He died unmarried at Delna- bo, September 1901, being buried at Tombae.

(3) Margaret Smith (1820-1880): married William Grant, Ruthven. She had : —

i. George Smith Grant, AnHiorachan (now also of Minmore and owner of the Glenlivet Distillery). 1867 he joined the 6th Volunteer Battalion Gor- don Highlanders, and gradually rose to he colonel. On the 17th of August 1909, he was presented with his portrait, " in recognition of his personal work and public service. The pre- sentation was made bv the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, on behalf of many subscribers. The portrait, which represents Colonel Smith Grant in his uniform as a deputy-lieutenant of the county, is a striking likeness. It was painted by the well-known Scottish artist, J. H. Lorimer. He married in 1891, Miriam Hill. Stalybridge, Manchester. She is the daughter of Henry Cheetham Hill (by his wife, Elizabeth Mellor),

whose father, James Hill, married Mary Cheet- ham. The Mellors and the Cheethams are Lan- cashire families, cotton spinners. The (1909) Member for Stalybridge, Mr John Frederick Oheetham, is a second cousin of Mr Henry Cheetham Hill. Both Mr J. F. Cheetham and his father had long Parliamentary careers. One of the Mellors, the late Thomas Mellor, repre- sented Ashton-under-Lyne for many years. Mrs fcmiith Grant received a beautiful silver salver at the same time (August 17, 1909) and from the same friends as presented Colonel (Smith with his portrait, which was reproduced on a small scale in , the Christmas issue of the " Northern Scot," JilginJ n<M^.*"^ 1909. Colonel Smith Grantjias : — /fj^ SmiyL.- s^ ^ Jk*L^ &<u*J» ""(i) J^mn~Trordon~Smith Cheetham,Grant,(borri\ fas*j*^ $>y*

ft.. Jh. J-, k.UUcL LnjUvuM (u) George Gordon Hill^rant, born 1894 -J died) ^^^ /ty^,

1894. ,- • , /'"'__. — *<*c-i •

(iii) William Henry^Gran^born 1896.]^2*tL^£l^*^ (iv) Ellen Stuart MiriamXlrant, born 1897.

. Isabella Margaret Grant : married Dr Robert Macpherson, Stalybridge, Manchester : born in Inveravon, Dec. 27, 1847 : died Feb. 11, 1895. He had :—

(i.) James Macpherson, born Nov. 29, 1874, M.P.,

CM., Aberdeen, 1895: married Margaret hlaton :

died Dec 23. 1907, and had :— Margaret Macpherson, who died in infancy. (ii.) John Gordon Smith Macpherson born August

23, 1876, M.B., CM.. Aberdeen, 1898. SxiA **1 5W*~

CM. (iii) George Macpherson engineer: at present

(1909) in British Columbia. (?*fiJk^- J^^m^JL^L (iv) Robert William Macpherson, M.B., Ch.B. aldock, HertSy %+t*> te^-Jl*.^ a^u^ <R. a. lu.Q-

(v) Margaret Isabella Macpherson. (vi.) Alexina Ann Macpherson : married April 1907, George Chalmers, M.B., CM., D.P.H., Beeston, Notts, and has: —

Isabella Margaret Chalmers, born May 1, 1909. . Ellen Stuart Grant: married Dr Abater Cameron, " The Falls," Glenlivet, who died 1902 : now Mrs Gordon Smith Cameron of Delnabo and Auchintoul, also of Ravensdale Corpach, Inver- ness-shire.

77

•?Myj-*-tte-«»o

5. Andrew Gordon Smith: farmed Turielan had issue.

married and

57

6. Gordon Smith : went to America. (4)

7. Helen Gordon Smith, born 1780.

8. Margaret Gordon Smith, born 1785 : died young.

(4) This entry is from my brother's notebook. It is practically all I have heard of Gordon Smith since the days of my child- hood, when I used to pause in dressing my dolls to listen to the anecdotes of his wit which my father and mother were both fond of recalling'. My father seemed particularly to delight in these recollections of him, and I gathered the impression that " Gordon " invariably kept whatever company he was in in ut6 of laugih'ter. Another impression that remains is that he was in the Gordon Highlanders at one time, but as I was only a child, I may have confused him in this connection with some other Gordon relative of my mother's. — I. G. B.

!<J

58

SOME OF THE PLACES IN THIS BOOK

Aberdeen,	... 16,19,43,55.	Inchnacape,	19.
Abergeldie,	.. 7, 11, 12.	Inverey,	12.
Achbreck,...	.. 50.
Ardbreck,...	.. 10.	Kirdels,	10.
Argathnie,	.. 10.	Knockespock,.	7.
Auchinharroch, .	.. 11.
Auchintoul,	.. 55, 57.	Laichie,	11-12.
Auchorachan,	.. 12, 45-51, 52.	Lettoch,	8, 13, 17, 29.
Auchroachan,	.. 45.	Lynbeg,	52.
Badeglassan,	.. 14.	Minmore,	7-44, 52, 54.
Banff,	.. 17, 29.
Bellandie, ...	... 52.	Nevie,	12, 15, 55.
Blairfindy,	.. 9, 12, 54.
Bogfoutain,	.. 45-9, 52.	Parkbeg,	13.
		Pitchaise,	10, 14.
Camdalmore,	. 54.
Castletown,	.. 45, 47, 49, 55.	Refroish,	14.
Delnabo	.. 9, 54, 57.	Scalan,	19.
Dominica,...	.. 32-34.
Drimnin, ...	.. 7, 24, 27, 28.	Tombae,	17, 25, 31, 55.
Drumin,	. 8, 43, 46, 52.	Tombreakachie, .	12, 14.
Dufftown,	.. 31.	Tomnamind,. ...	12.
Dunan,	. 9, 13, 14, 15.	Tomnan,	12.
Dunans, ...	.. 25.	Tomnavouiin, ...	46.
		Tullochallum, ...	19, 28.
Glenbucket,	. 45.
Glenmuick,	. 9.	Weste une, .--	10, 20.

Imprinted by

Joseph Dunbar

at Hunt';/, N.B.

THE GORDONS AND SMITHS

AT MINMORE, AUCHORACHAN, AND UPPER . DRUMIN IN GLENLIVET.

JOHN MALCOLM BULLOCH

PRIVATELY PRINTED 1910