John Mclennan research notes by Anne Pollitt The first of our McLennan branch to come to Australia was Kenneth McLennan in 1833. He was also the earliest of all our forebears to come to this country.
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John McLENNAN Research notes by Anne Pollitt The first of our McLennan branch to come to Australia was Kenneth McLennan in 1833. He was also the earliest of all our forebears to come to this country. Although he was born in England we generally think of him as a Scot. Camden, NSW, became his home at some time between 1839 and 1848. KENNETH McLENNAN Born: 21 November, 1813, Woolwich, bap’d 28 Nov, 1813, Scots Church , Woolwich, Eng. Died: 17 August, 1903, aged 89, Westbrook near Camden, NSW Married: (1) 21 March, 1848, aged 34, St John’s C. of E. Church, Camden, to Sarah Gardiner (2) 25 April, 1870, aged 54, at his home, to Ann Mary Dabinett Sixteen children:- John, William Henry Thomas, Charles, Louisa, Kenneth, Lucy, Emma, Mary Ann, Arthur E., John George, Rhoda Jane, Rebecca May, Selina Prudence, Elizabeth A., Kenneth Dabinett, Sophia H.. JOHN McLENNAN Kenneth’s father, John, did not come to Australia. He lived most of his life in Scotland but was in England for at least a decade. The following information about him comes from Kenneth’s second marriage certificate, British army records, the 1841 census, the I.G.I. and some Inverness baptism records. John McLennan was born in late 1788 in Kintail parish, Ross-shire (PRO ref: WO 97/1248 XC 112242). Kintail is said to be a McLennan area, though on the MacRae website reference is made to a census in 1793 with the comment that only a few residents of Kintail were not of the MacRae name. John would have been about 5 at the time of that census. We can only assume that this ‘census’ was the “Statistical Accounts for Scotland” which unfortunately does not include names of individuals so it does not reveal the names of his parents. Kintail is a beautiful area of Scotland, on Loch Duich, a region rather than a specific locality. At the confluence of Lochs Duich, Long, and Alsh is the well-known Eilean Donan Castle. It would have been a ruin when John knew it, as it was mortared into rubble by government troops in 1719 and was not rebuilt until the 20th Century (MacLeod p. 158). Virgin birth by men? There should be exactly the treasure I wanted in the parish registers for Kintail from 1777 to 1854, since I knew when John was born within a half-year period and that there were not many McLennans to confuse the issue. Should be, ought to be. But no. In the critical decade the only births recorded were those of the minister’s own children, plus one other. But those old ministers were tough. While it appears that the person who actually presented the child for baptism was the person whose name was recorded, plus sometimes the name of that man’s father as an identification issue, it is offensive to my mother eyes that the person who did all the hard work of bearing, birthing, and rearing the child didn’t get a mention. Unless the father had died. Or in the case of fornication, adultery or incest. The minister wasn’t averse to recording the mother’s name then. **** [Where did the LDS find the record in the 1992 IGI of a John McLennan born “about 1784” at Kintail to ________ McLennan and Mary Macrae? Such an entry does not appear in the Kintail OPR.] The triangle that is Kintail is the shoreline, hill, and glen, between Lochs Duich and Long (the two arms of Loch Alsh) and extending inland to the watershed at the heads of Glen Affric and Glen Cannoch. The MacKenzies were Lords of Kintail before they became the Earls of Seaforth. It was in 1719 that they chose Eilean Donan and Kintail as their base when trying to raise the Jacobite clans, and that was the same year the castle was ruined. Boswell and Johnson visited Kintail a few years before the 1793 census and found the conditions primitive. Boswell wrote, “We all sat down on a green turf seat at the end of a house, and they brought us out two wooden dishes of milk. We had there in a circle all about us men, women and children, all Macraes, Lord Seaforth’s people. Not one of them could speak English.” (quoted on Macrae website). John’s home would have been a stone house with a thatched roof, dark and smoky with only a couple of small windows, close to other such houses. A photo of a clachan in Kintail is reproduced in the book written by the late Chief Ronald McLennan, showing us the kind of place John may have lived in. A clachan was a very small township where the people lived while working the land communally, reallocating strips of land from year to year in the runrig system, this arrangement pre-dating crofting (MacLeod p. 143). John became a dyer. MacLeod on p. 289 describes wool dying: wool was washed in streams, and “dyed from natural colourants – mosses, lichens, soot – in big black three-legged pots, set on open peat fires by these same streams.” Carding, spinning and weaving were then done inside the black house, and the finished cloth was ‘fulled’ or tightened in tubs of stale urine. Black houses were so called because the smoke from the peat burned in the open fires coated the inside of the house before seeping out through gaps in the thatched roof. Windows were not glazed, but simply stuffed with sod to keep out cold winds (McPhee pp. 6-7). It would have been difficult or impossible to keep the cloth clean. Land tenure in the Highlands had for many years been based on the value of tenants as warriors. Originally the land belonged to the people in a patriarchal tribal society, but over time and with the authority of Law, the chief took over personal ownership of his clan’s land (Prebble p. 139). There were four layers in a pyramid structure. At the top was the landowner, the chief, the ‘father’ of his clan. The second layer down consisted of tacksmen, usually kinsmen of the chief, who leased his land and paid rent in kind or in services. Tacksmen sub-let the land to sub-tenants who mostly had fairly meagre patches of land which got increasingly smaller with each generation as it was divided among the sub-tenant’s sons. The largest layer, at the bottom of the pyramid, were the cotters, or landless men. “The cotter was from birth a servant. Tradition and customary right gave him a little grazing for a cow on the township pasture, a kail-yard and potato patch for his round stone hut, and for these he paid a lifetime of service to the sub-tenant. He was what other men were not, herdsman, blacksmith, weaver, tailor, shoemaker, armourer, axeman, and bowman in the last rank of clan.” (Prebble p. 21). From Prebble’s descriptions, we are fairly safe in assuming that John McLennan as a dyer belonged to the cotter category. There were few escapes from this life of poverty, insecurity, and dependence on the goodwill of those higher up the pyramid. For the chiefs, the dependence and insecurity of those below him meant that he could call on them as soldiers whenever he chose. One means of escape was to join the English army, which is what John McLennan did. From the “Statistical Account of Scotland” we learn about life in the parish of Kintail in 1793 when John was a boy of five years. The account for Kintail was written by Rev R. Morison, and for Glensheil by Rev J. MacRae. In the early part of the Eighteenth Century the parish of Glensheil was also called Kintail, which is why I include MacRae’s comments with Morison’s. The following eleven paragraphs are information from Morison’s account, and the next eight paragraph’s from MacRae’s. Kintail, derived from Chean-dha-haal, “head of two salt water bays”, was a parish only 13 miles long and 6 miles wide. This parish consisted of three districts, Glasletter which belonged to the Laird of Chisholm and was mostly hill pasture in ten separate grazings, and Croe and Glenelchaig which belonged to a McKenzie, Lord Seaforth. On McKenzie’s land lived 840 people, all MacRaes except for two or three families of MacLennans. The MacRaes and MacLennans were separated not only by the Croe River running into Loch Duich but also by some differences in language and accent. Kintail is surrounded by high hills, the highest being Tulloch-ard. A burning barrel of tar on the highest ridge was the signal for all Seaforth’s tenants and vassals to rendezvous next morning at Eilean Donan castle ready for war. The oldest parishioners told Morison they had seen armed Kintail men dancing on the leaden roof of the castle, before setting out for the battle of Sheriff-muir where they were annihilated. Bullets from the 1719 destruction of the castle were used in Morison’s time by some folks as weights when selling their butter and cheeses. The people were farmers, primarily raising short-legged black cattle. Each also kept a few sheep and goats which could access steeper pastures. Milking cows sold for 4-5 pounds and goats for 6 shillings. The 300 horses in the parish were essential for labour including ploughing, and cost 6-7 pounds. A wooden plough was pulled by four horses abreast, with harness made of deerskin leather. Several men were involved in ploughing:- one as a driver who held the reins gathered on a cross stick and walked backwards, another as a ploughman holding the two handles which were almost perpendicular, and a third to follow with a spade to deal with any earth that resisted the plough. Kintail had little arable land, amounting to only 162 pennies or 54 oxen-gates. A penny of land, plus its share of hill grass, had the carrying capacity of eight milking cows each with a following of three ‘yield cattle’ [meaning??] which included the calf. (An oxengate was the land that an ox would plough in a year, generally 15-20 acres [Torrance, p.43]. Thus we know Kintail’s total arable land was about 1,000 acres.) For the full two months of April and May sowing of oats, barley and potatoes was undertaken. Potatoes were preferred as they were less subject to weather conditions, and provided half the year’s food supply. Fish, especially herring, from Loch Duich were a most important food source in August and September. In August, much natural grass was cut. After drying it was made into ropes and carried into barns for storage. In this form it was more easily carried into distant glens for hungry cattle in stormy weather. Fields were fertilized with sea weed. In the warmer weather from 1st June to 12th August the young adults took the flocks to high grazings. Roads in Kintail were few and poor. Many Highlanders preferred to not have good roads; “the more inaccessible, the more secure” [p.244]. However, while inaccessibility had its advantages, lack of roads made life harder. Other hardships included the shortage of wood and fuel, and when a shortage of salt coincided with a big haul of herring. Incessant rain made it difficult to carry heavy peats for fuel from the high hills or across the lochs. The farms closest to the mountains suffered periodically from ‘scriddan’, or ‘mountain torrent’. After heavy rains high areas became so overloaded that an opening on a mountainside would occur, with a loud frightening explosion as gravel and stones rolled down to cause desolation of the fields below. Kintail people imported meal, whisky, linen, tanned leather, fir-planks, and shelly sand for the fields. They exported cattle, horses, furs, kelp, tallow, butter, and cheese. There was a famine in the summer of 1791 when much meal had to be imported, though soon afterwards a good haul of herring saved the day. Morison described the people of Kintail as “tall, robust, and well-limbed; able to endure much cold and fatigue; generous and hospitable”, [p.246], though sometimes peevish towards strangers if they felt encroached upon. The people used to wear only locally-made woolen clothing, but by the time of Morison’s account everyone bought linen and was neatly dressed. There was a parochial school at Croe-side and a subscription school at Glenelchaig. The church, called Kiel Duich, was badly damaged in 1719 by the same warship that ruined the castle but was in good condition in Morison’s time. Only a third of the people could readily reach one of the three places of worship, namely Kiel Duich, Glenelchaig, and the town of Dornie. Kintail’s population in 1792 was 840, with 395 males to 445 females. There were 140 children under 6 years of age, one of whom would have been our John. There had been 54 births and 32 deaths in the preceding twelve months. Macrae’s account for the parish of Glenshiel is very similar to Morison’s so I will include here just the extra details he has provided. This parish is 16 miles long and varies from 1 ½ to 4 miles wide. It contains two narrow glens extending 2-3 miles from the head of Loch Duich. Very high steep mountains surround the higher parts which are often rocky and covered with heath although the valleys are covered with grass and some wood, but there is not much arable land in that part of the parish. The lower part of the parish is called Letterfearn and is green intermixed with heath and a greater proportion of the land is arable than in the higher valleys. At that time, about 1793, there were 17 farms in the parish. Each of 15 of them “is occupied by a number of tenants, so that each farm forms a village” [p. 125]. The number of head of stock and the area of arable land held by each tenant was proportionate to the rent paid by each, but each did not have to keep his stock on his own particular ground as Macrae says that the tenants grazed their cattle “promiscuously”. The farm was not always divided evenly. In parts where the steepness prohibited the use of horses, men had to plough the land with a hand plough. On the heights the soil is thin, stony and barren while along the coast it is thin but a black gravelish light earth, and sea weed from the shore was used to manure the land. It was not good country for agriculture, and some farms were capable of growing enough food to last only ¼ of the year. Dry weather could be expected for only 3-4 months from mid to late May to the middle of September. The rest of the year had almost incessant rain and storms. Snow didn’t stay long on the ground in this coastal area, and the frosts were less severe than further inland. However, two of the most common diseases, rheumatism and sciatics, were linked to the daily damp conditions, and the third major medical issue, ruptures, was caused by the heavy lifting and carrying the men had to do in the absence of roads and in this rough country. A previous problem, small pox, was now kept in check because every person was inoculated. Oats were sown from the middle of March and sowing of barley and potatoes began on 20th April. Sowing took until the end of May, and five months later at the end of October the harvest was mostly finished. The small black cattle were the staple production. The horses and sheep were also small in size. The milk and meat of goats was believed to have medicinal qualities. Herrings came to Loch Duich about mid-August for a short time. The people laid up stores of herrings in September and October, and these with potatoes were almost the only food for the poorer people for ¾ of the year. The loch provided other fish, too, such as haddock, cod, and flounder, and shellfish such as mussels, wilks, cockles, and limpets were gathered on the shore. Scarcity of fuel was the chief disadvantage for the people of Glensheil. Although there was plenty of moss, but the distance and difficulties of getting it from the rugged summits made it hard to keep up a supply. Macrae mentions coal laws that caused bitter complaint from the people of the west coast of Scotland. The military road from Fort Augustus to Fort Bernera ran for twelve miles through the height of the parish, but the road and bridges had been neglected since the 1770’s. Glensheil had a parochial school. There were only two whisky outlets, one being the Sheil Inn stage house on the road from Fort Augustus. Excess drinking generally occurred only at Martinmas. Macrae described the people as “frugal, plain, open, sincere,” and skilled in the management of black cattle [pp 129-30]. Despite the hardships of the climate and lifestyle, there were many instances of longevity with people living into their 80’s and 90’s. The people of Glensheil and Kintail were principally Macraes and Maclennans. They were united, but sometimes clannish animosity was aroused. The people had a deep-seated attachment to the Seaforth family. In 1793 the population of Glensheil was 721. There were 21 people on the parish roll of the real poor, but apparently there was a “swarm of sturdy beggars” [p.131] who were an annoyance. They were mostly “stout able women” who could have worked but preferred to go from house to house. A number of farmers had emigrated to North Carolina in 1769 and 1772. Macrae did not say whether that was due to Highland Clearances. But he did say [p.128] that in 1786 sheep farmers offered triple rent for the higher parts of the parish. The owner refused the offer, declaring he “would never prefer sheep to men”, yet at the same time he let the land to the old inhabitants “on their paying a pretty moderate augmentation”. The infamous Highland Clearances began around 1770 and continued for nearly 90 years, the most intense clearing in 1782-1820 and 1840-1854. Many of the chiefs, or lairds, surviving after Culloden started to wish for a lifestyle with more luxuries and pleasures. They found that grazing cattle and sheep brought in a far better income than they gained from thousands of subsistence level tenants, so they started to increase rents and to not renew tacksmen’s leases. They combined small holdings into larger ones and leased them as grazing runs to southerners who could afford to pay. More and more people were evicted and forced to live on the edge of the sea or in bog land, and encouraged or forced to migrate to North America and later to Australia. Truly dreadful things were done by factors on behalf of landowners to clear the Highlanders off the Highlands. Harvest failure and cholera in the 1830’s and potato blight in the late 1840’s added to the picture of misery. Prebble’s book traces the history and the horrors of this period. It is likely that John McLennan joined the army because of the Highland Clearances. Recruiters were scattered over England and Scotland (Duncan vol I, p.170). John enlisted on 5 November, 1808, aged 20, as a private, a gunner, in the Royal Artillery. He was assigned to the 6th Battalion, in the Company or Troop known as the Sinclairs, and was stationed at Woolwich, England. See the map showing the Royal Artillery Barracks. John is described as 5’ 9 ½” tall, of fair complexion with brown hair and grey eyes. Here John met and married Isabella Noble. The entry in the marriage register of St Alfege Church, Greenwich (or Charlton), reads “John McLennan, of this Parish, bachelor, and Isabella Noble, of the same, spinster, were married in this church, this 11th November, 1812, by me, George Mathew, Vicar. Witnesses: John Riddle, Margaret [unreadable].” See the photograph of St Alfege Church in Greenwich. Their son Kenneth was born on 21 November 1813 and christened in the Scots Church, Woolwich on 28 November 1813. The vicar of St Alfege Church in 1986 searched the baptism registers for John and Isabella but found neither. The 1841 Inverness census confirms that Isabella was born in England but does not give the place. In 1841 living next door to John and Isabella in Inverness was a couple named William and Catherine Noble. They were 70 years old, Inverness-shire born, and William was a weaver. It is probably pure coincidence that Nobles lived next door, but a possibility is that Isabella did have Scottish parents but, like her own son Kenneth, was born in England with her father in the English army. The neighbouring Nobles may have been her parents, an uncle or other relative, or no connection at all beyond neighbour. Note that the previous two sentences contain only speculation, not facts. Where John and Isabella lived in Woolwich is a question of interest. The army discouraged marriage as it wanted complete commitment. At that time 6% of soldiers could be given official sanction to marry and then live in the barracks. Whether or not John had that permission is not known. If he did, then the couple may have lived in a curtained-off corner of a barracks room, and Isabella would have been provided with rations in return for help with washing, mending, and cooking, and would have been allowed to accompany John on overseas actions. If not, then he would have had to maintain outside accommodation for her, which he may not have been able to easily afford, and she would have had to stay in England without financial support when he was overseas. (See letter from Paul Evans, librarian at Royal Artillery Museum). There was no comment on how children fitted into life in the barracks, but one can imagine that even if one was tolerated there would be strong pressure to not have any more. By the time John enlisted in the Royal Artillery, a minimum height of 5’ 9” was a requirement. In 1799 the regimental dress for gunners was white breeches, long black leather boots fastened to the back part of the knee of the breeches by a strap and buckle, blue single-breasted coats laced with yellow worsted lace in front and on the cuffs and flaps and with two worsted straps on the right shoulder (Duncan vol I, p.412). John remained a private, which means a gunner, for five years and seven months, and then in mid-1814 was promoted to bombardier. It appears that he served in the West Indies (PRO ref: WO69/655, 10347, folio 44). The Royal Artillery participated in most of the Peninsular Wars and the Battle of Waterloo in the period that John was in the RA, but of the 100 RA companies and 12 RHA troops, only 13 were deployed by Wellington at Waterloo (Duncan vol II, p.185). At present I have not been able to determine in which actions or expeditions John was involved, as explained in the next two paragraphs. At the time he left the army in 1819 John was in the Sinclair Company (or 4 Coy) of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Artillery. Capt JS Sinclair was the commanding officer of that company in 1819. Tracing the placement of that company from the formation of the 6th Bn in 1799, we find that it was stationed on Guernsey from April 1808 until October 1814. In November 1814 the company embarked for Jamaica and did not return until September 1817, and from then on was at Woolwich for the remainder of John’s time in the army. John enlisted in Nov 1808, at which time the Bn was on Guernsey (keeping an eye on Napoleon?). Presumably as a raw recruit he did some training at Woolwich, or was sent straight to Guernsey and trained there. But if he was on Guernsey all that time, how did he meet Isabella Noble? Their marriage was in Nov 1812 in Greenwich, and their child conceived about February 1813 and born Nov 1813 and christened at 7 days old in Woolwich.
Until 1825, each company was known by the name of its commanding officer rather than by a number. The commanding officers for the company that came to be known as the Sinclairs were, from the time the 6th Battalion was formed in 1799, Capt David Meredith, Capt H. Hickman from 1806, Capt C. Baynes from 1807, Capt W.D. Nicholls from 1817, and Capt J.S. Sinclair from 1819. It is easier if I refer to this company as 4 Company. The Royal Artillery was formed in 1716 and by the time John enlisted it was composed of ten marching battalions (plus horse troops in the RHA). There were 100 companies in the RA and they were dispersed in places over much of the globe. Later, the regimental motto became “Ubique” for very good reason! Because of Napoleon Bonaparte’s activities, regiments of the English army were built up to strengths as never before. In 1810, the RA had 16 companies in the Peninsula, 5 in Italy and Sicily, 56 on home stations, 8 in Canada, 3 at the Cape of Good Hope, 3 in Ceylon, 6 in Gibraltar, 11 in the West Indies, 4 in Malta. Each battalion had 1490 men, which is an average of 149 for each company, and a total of 14 900 for the whole Royal Artillery Regiment (Duncan vol II, p. 262). At that time 4 Coy of 6th Bn was stationed on Guernsey, one of the home stations. No doubt the whole regiment could not be accommodated at the Woolwich barracks; but also, stationing troops at strategic places made them easier to mobilize as needed. While Guernsey was still a long way from Spain and Portugal, it was a few days sailing closer than coming from the mainland. 4 Coy had been stationed at Portsmouth in early 1808, and it took five days to get across to Guernsey (Laws p. 135). The weapons used in the Peninsula and other wars at that period included 24-pounder brass guns and iron guns, and 18-, 16-, 9-, and 6-pounder guns, some made of brass and some of iron, 10 inch, 8”, and 5 ½” brass howitzers, 10 inch mortars, and even 68-pounder carronades. Grape shot was eight or ten 3-pounder shots tied together in a bag and shot from a larger gun. Some shot was round and some was in spherical casing. Rockets were also used. A great many horses were needed to pull the guns and ammunition wagons from place to place, for example, it took eight horses for each gun and six for each wagon (Duncan vol II pp. 289, 290, 303, 419). The Peninsular Wars ended in April 1814, and in November that year 4 Coy embarked from Guernsey for the West Indies. The United States had declared war on Britain in 1812 as it wanted to annex Canada, so perhaps that is the reason that coy was sent to be close if needed – after all, the voyage took three months. The company disembarked in Jamaica 12 February 1815, but the Second American War had finished a month before, while they were at sea. Nevertheless, the company remained at Port Royal, Jamaica, for two and a half years, perhaps in case hostilities broke out again. The logistics involved and the ponderous nature of moving men, horses, and heavy artillery in the days of sailing ships and slow communication would surely have meant that a company was not moved around any more often than necessary. While stationed somewhere out of the action, training would have continued so that the men were ready for action as soon as the word came. Duncan’s chapter (vol II) on Waterloo more than once notes how the men of the RA were highly disciplined and efficient, and that can only come about by excellent preparation before becoming involved in any battles, sieges, or expeditions. John’s daily pay as a gunner in 1810 was one shilling, five pence, and three farthings. When he became a bombardier his pay would have gone up to two shillings, one penny, and three farthings a day at 1810 rates (Duncan vol II, p.263). It is not stated if the men were paid for seven days a week, or six. There had been an increase of twopence halfpenny for gunners and threepence halfpenny for bombardiers since 1801 (Duncan vol I, p. 418), so it is possible there was another pay rise in the next decade, too. John remained a bombardier for five years one month, and then was discharged due to a pectoral (lung) complaint and general debility. His discharge took effect on 31 May, 1819, and he was then 30 ½ years old and had spent a total of ten years and eight months in the army. He was still a relatively young man with a wife and family to support, but now had poor health. He received a pension at the rate of one shilling a day from 1 June 1819. This was less than half what he was paid as a bombardier, and whereas previously he had a wife and one child and army accommodation provided, he now had a wife and several children and had to pay rent. It is possible that John lived for a while in the Inverary district of Scotland. The researcher in England who found the information on John and Kenneth’s baptism noted the word “Inverary” on John’s soldier documents which suggested that his pension payments were to be made there. Inverary is written in large writing at right angles across the document. She could not find any further records for John in District Pension Returns. There is an extended gap between the birth of Kenneth and the next known child. Perhaps there were others who did not survive infancy; or perhaps John was away from Isabella with the army for significant lengths of time. A son, Farquhar, was 15 in the 1841 census, born in the 1820-’25 period. He was born in Scotland but not in Inverness-shire. I have been unable to find a record of his birth or baptism. (Note that 1841 census ages were rounded down in 5-year blocks for people over 15 years.) A boy named William aged 14 born in Inverness-shire appears in the 1841 census but not in the IGI. He would have been born in or about 1827. Certainly by 1826 the family had moved to Inverness and lived in Castle St. A child named Alexander was baptised on 16 February, 1826, the son of “John McLennen, Pensioner Castle St, and his spouse Elisabeth Noble”. The minister has recorded “Elisabeth” instead of “Isabella”. (IGI and also Inverness Parish burials film). Alexander does not appear with the family in the 1841 census. He was 15 then, and may either have died or have been elsewhere. We must also not discount the possiblilty that he was not the son of our John and Isabella despite the coincidences in address, occupation, and mother’s maiden name. A son named Donald was baptised on 9 September, 1829, with the same details as for Alexander but with the mother correctly named as Isabella Noble (IGI, and Inverness Parish burials film). After five sons, John and Isabella had two daughters born in Inverness town. Mary was born on 10 September, 1831, and christened on 20 September (IGI). She appears in the 1841 census as a 9 year old. Catherine was born on 13 April, 1834, and christened on 25 April (IGI). Catherine does not appear in the 1841 census, so presumably did not survive infancy. The family could not be found in the 1851 census for Inverness. Several John McLennans and several Isabella McLennans are recorded, but none where details of age, birthplace, etc, match those of the 1841 census. Possible explanations are that one or both had died between 1841 and 1851, or they had moved, or some details were recorded incorrectly. A Mary McLennan aged 19 and born in Inverness was working as a servant in the lodging house of a Margaret Young at 36 Petty St, not far from Castle St. Whether this Mary was the daughter of John and Isabella is not known, though age and birthplace details do match. The Caledonian Canal was completed in 1822. It linked, by canals and numerous locks, the three lochs (Linnhe, Lochy, and Ness) cutting diagonally across Scotland from the west coast to Inverness. Unless the family returned to visit at Kintail before going to live in Inverness, the new canal would have been the easiest route from Inverary to Inverness. There were some hard times, or harder-than-usual times, in Inverness in the 1830’s. Cholera was present in the poorer parts of the town in 1832, and in 1836 the harvest failed (Prebble p. 167-173). Whether Castle St was included in the poorer parts is yet to be checked, though it was probably not in the very poorest part because the banker’s house that Kenneth broke into was in Castle St. I have not yet found any information regarding the deaths of John and Isabella. If John died first, Isabella would not have inherited his pension (see letter from Mrs Hughes 20.11.1987). The surviving District Pension Returns for Inverness start at 1845, and John was not listed in them (Mrs Hughes). He did appear in the 1841 census. Perhaps these two facts indicate that John died in the 1841-5 period. Compiled by Anne Pollitt in 1993 and expanded in 2009, and again in 2010. In the 1992 version of the IGI on microfiche I found a baptism record that MIGHT be our John. John MacLennan born about 1785 at Kintail in Ross and Cromarty, parents Donald MacLennan and Mary McRae. Our John was born late in 1788, so “about 1785” is a bit vague; but it was the ONLY entry on the IGI for baptism of a John MacLennan in that time period at Kintail. I couldn’t find any other entries for John MacLennan in that time frame for other possible local names such as Lochcarron, Lochalsh, Glensheil. The same fiche had the marriage of Donald MacLennan and Mary McRae in Kintail in 1784. I then checked the LDS microfilm no. 990654 of the Old Parish Registers for Kintail for the period 1776-1819. There was no baptism of a John McLennan recorded in the 1780’s. In fact, from 1787 and right through the 1790’s there was only one baptism recorded apart from the six children born to the Rev Roderick Morison. The page numbering for the OPR was not interrupted, so what happened? And where did the IGI reference come from, since it can’t have come from the OPR? Was John’s family Roman Catholic? The only entry I found that could be worth considering was the baptism at Beolagh on 27 December 1784 of a boy named John to a father named John McRae and a mother whose father was Kenneth McLennan of Morvich. But the only possible relevance of this entry would involve a change of surname of John from McRae to McLennan. References: MacRae website: www.clan-macrae.org.uk Royal Artillery Historical Society : research@firepower.org.uk , email from Paul Evans, libr’n 2/2009 Carr, Frank G.G., “Maritime Greenwich”, Pitkin Pictorials, London, 1974, photo St Alfege p.24 NSW Archives Office , Ref 4/4017, Reel 905, Convict Indent no.194 NSW Archives Office, ref: 4/4349, reel 1003, Certificate of Freedom. no. 39/906 NSW Archives Office, ref: 4/4110, Reel 926, Ticket of Leave no. 37/385 Archives of Uniting Church of NSW – marriage record Kenneth McLennan and Ann Mary Dabinett. Census 1841 Inverness, family of John McLennan in Castle St. Source citation:- Parish: Inverness no. 98; Enumeration District: 5; page: 19 Family Anecdotes and Comments: Mel and Julie Kent, Grace Faulkner, Jack Ryan, Minnie Ellen Mitchell, Beryl Brown, Beryl Roach, Tom McLennan, Fraser McLennan, Ray McLennan, Gordon H. Mitchell, John & Dell Brand, Lil McLennan, Ian McLennan, Ailsa Farquharson, Ruth Adlide, May Crocker, Sue Downes, Patti Crocker, Lorraine Bewley, Barbara Wain, Poppy Butler, Christie & Edna McLennan, Patsy Thrilk. Marriage Register of St Alfege Church, Greenwich, John McLennan and Isabella Noble 1812 Mitchell Library – Macarthur papers – lease and tenant list, 1862-87 tenants accounts and sketch map. Scottish record Office, pre-trial precognitions, refs: AD14/ 32/ 142, AO14/30/81, (photocopies of original manuscripts plus typescript copy) “Mt Hunter Public School 125 Years of Education 1859-1984” NSW and Vic. Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages: Birth or Baptism Certificates: William T. H. McLennan 1850, Alice Rose McLennan 1892, Amy Mary McLennan 1896, Mary Ann McLennan 1862, Sydney McLennan 1881, Minnie Ellen McLennan 1886, Marriage Certificates: Louisa McLennan and John McKnight 1882; Kenneth McLennan and Margaret Jane Mitchell 1887; Amy Mary McLennan and Henry O. Anderson 1919; Mary Ann McLennan and Richard Parker 1887; Selina Prudence McLennan and Joseph John Moore 1913; Sophia McLennan and Arthur Faulkner 1921; Harold Everton McLennan and Annie C. Brooks; Kenneth McLennan and Sarah Gardener 1848; Kenneth McLennan and Ann Mary Dabinett 1870; Death Certificates: John McLennan 1901, William T.H. McLennan 1935, Emma Butler nee McLennan 1895, Mary Ann Parker nee McLennan 1938, Arthur McLennan 1939, Selina Prudence Moore 1961, Kenneth McLennan 1947 (Vic.), Harold Everton McLennan 1954, Kenneth McLennan 1903, Sarah McLennan 1864, Parliamentary Votes and Proceedings 1885/Vol. 3 Return of Landholders 1885 Index, p. 309. “The History of Goulburn”, pp 22-3, & 410-11, on convicts in Goulburn 1838, and Templetons, author and publication details not recorded “The Story of Lismore 1879-1929”, compiled by a committee, printed by The Northern Star, Lismore, 1929. John McLennan is mentioned on p. 50 (store), p.103 (Masonic Lodge), and appears in a photo of Jockey Club committee on p. 45 “Jiggi 75th anniversary 1899-1973”, by Joan McKinnon for Jiggi Public School P & C Assoc’n, printed by Lismore City Printery, 1973; McLennans appear in photos p. 37 and p. 60 Macarthur Papers, lease and map of 75 acres at Spring Ck 1862; rental accounts of 108 acres 1866 to 1888; statement of expenses for repairs to Westbrook Public School Oct 1868; standard printed lease document ; list of Camden Estate tenants January 1885 Nash, Caleb: “Remembrances in the life of Caleb Nash”, Dec 1914 (one page typescript) Deceased Estate Files, NSW State Archives, Kingswood NSW, for M.A. Parker Crocker, Patti, “Radio Days”, Simon & Schuster, Brookvale, Aust, 1989 Duncan, Major Francis, “History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery” vols I & II, John Murray, London, 1879 (Available in Nat Lib of Aust 355.0942 DUN, and Newcastle Regional Lib.)(It stops in 1815, after battle of Waterloo.) Laws, Lt-Col M.E.S., “Battery Records of the Royal Artillery 1716 – 1859”, Royal Artillery Institute, Woolwich, 1952 (Available in Nat Lib of Aust YYq 358.120941 L 425, and University of NSW library) “The Northern Star”, Lismore NSW, 9 Oct 1901 obituary John McLennan ; advertisements and news articles regarding John McLennan in 1876 and 1878: 17.6.’76, 8.’76, 2.9.’76, 14.10.’76, 25.11.’76, 1.’78, 19.1.’78, 9.3.’78, 30.3.’78, 30.3.’78, 30.3.’78, 6.4.’78, 2.5.’78, 27.7.’78, 3.8.’78, 10.11.’77, 15,9,’77, 20.5.1936. Photo of Lismore Railway Station early 1900’s 22.8.1995. Will McLennan death notice and obituary 20 and 22 July 1935. Obituary Mrs Will McLennan 31 Dec 1927. Robert McLennan Real Estate article/advertisement 30 Aug 1996. Death notice Geoff McLennan 3 May 1978. Article on Goolmangar mentioning Winnie’s Rosella pickle 15 Aug 1981. Photos Cheryl McLennan 24 June 1978 and 30 Oct 1982. Articles on Cheryl McLennan 6 Aug 1987and 9 Feb 1988. Photo Sue McLennan 29 June 1981. Article Tom McLennan 17 Sept 1980. Photos Heather’s daughters Cheryl and Leanne 9 Jan 1979 and 21 Jan 1983. Article on John Schweitzer 30 Apr 1993. Death notice Raymond Harold McLennan 30 July 1990. Death notice Minnie Ellen Mitchell 13 Sept 1980. Death notice Reg McLennan Sept 1975. Wedding photo Rosemarie Kent and Marius Els 1975. Article on Mel Kent 15 July 1987. Photo Chester Kent 6 June 1977. Article on Chester Kent 29 Nov 1986. Article on Anthony Kent 28 Feb 1986. Letter to Editor by Jasper Kent 19 Nov 1986. Article on Beryl Roach 14 Mar 1984. “Richmond River Express” 11 Oct 1901, obituary John McLennan
“The Argus”, Melbourne 23 Aug 1917, legal notices, re Cecil McLennan, sourced through NLA Australian Newspapers online Uncited newspaper, probably from Grafton, Sept 1991, article on Lil McLennan “The Camden News”, 20 Aug 1903, obituary for Kenneth McLennan Clan Maclennan Association Newsletter no. 10, Oct 1980, Obituary for Minnie Ellen Mitchell Jack Ryan, letter to Richmond River Historical Society regarding John McLennan’s children Christie McLennan and daughter Allison, letter to Lil McLennan, re. supposed French connection Memoirs, Lil McLennan Public Records Office (UK) – Non-conformist Register for Scots Church, Woolwich, Register Book of Births and Baptisms belonging to the Scots Church Woolwich Kent, RG 4/1480 Kent 113a II, Foll p. 19, for Kenneth 1813 P.R.O. Soldiers Documents Class WO p 97/1248 regarding John McLennan; and WO69/655 10347 on corporals and bombardiers at end of service and rates of pension includes John McLennan BritishBattles.com website on Waterloo Wikipedia website on Waterloo Inverness Parish O.P.R.s 1820-59, baptisms of Alexander 1826 and Donald McLennan 1829, microfilm no. 0990670 from LDS church titled ‘Inverness Burials 1820-1853’ I.G.I. for Inverness, baptisms of Donald, Mary, and Catherine McLennan Sidman, G.V., “Town of Camden” Wyatt, Ransome T., “The History of Goulburn”, Lansdowne press, Sydney, 1972. Maclennan, Ronald, “The History of the Maclennans “, 1978 re. Kintail pp. 58-63 Macleod, John: “Highlanders, A History of the Gaels”, 1996 Hodder and Stoughton, London, pp. 24-5 on Kintail, pp. 334-5 on the Clearances, p. 289 on wool dying, pp. 143-4 on run rig and clachans, p.158 on Eilean Donan castle MacDonald, Micheil, “The Clans of Scotland”, p.145, pub. Brian Trod, London, 1991 McPhee, John, “The Crofter and the Laird”, Angus and Robertson, London, 19** Morison, Rev Roderick, “Statistical Account of Scotland” Parish of Kintail, Presbytery of Lochcarron, County of Ross, Vol VI, Number 29, pages 242-254. 1793 (microfiche no. 40) Macrae, Rev John, “Statistical Account of Scotland” Parish of Glensheil, Presbytery of Lochcarron, County of Ross, Vol VII, Number 9, pages 124-132 (microfiche no. 46) Torrance, D. Richard, “Weights and Measures”, 1996, The Scottish Association of Family History Societies (in GSQ SCT/405/002) A merk is 13 shillings and 4 pence (p.41) Bateson, Charles, “The Convict Ships 1787-1868”, Brown & Son & Ferguson, Glasgow, 19** Sweeney, Christopher, “Transported: in Place of Death”, Macmillan, 1981 1837 Convict Muster Book. (Info. Collected in 1836). Atkinson, Alan, “Camden, Farm and Village Life in Early New South Wales”, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1992 Prebble, John: “The Highland Clearances”, Secker and Warburg, London, 1963 Wrigley, J.D., ed., “Pioneers of Camden”, Camden Historical Society, 1981 “Camden Pioneer Register 1800-1900”, Camden Area Family History Society, 1998, p. 155, for birthdates of all Ken McLennan’s children. (Much of the information in this was supplied by Daphne Koob who has spent many years researching Camden families.) Nixon, R.E., “Interesting Bits and Pieces of the History of Camden”, Camden Historical Society, 1990 Wrigley, J., and Nixon, R.E., “They Worked at Camden Park” “Australian Dictionary of Biography 1788-1850” vol 2 on McLeay Family trees provided by Lorraine Bewley nee Heggie, Dell Brand Somerville, John, poem “Rosehill Handicap”, published in Hall, Glen, “The Road to the River”, compilation of Richmond River district poetry, p.50, publication details not recorded. ** Beaumont, Janise, article “Radio’s Golden Days” on Patti Crocker in “Ita” November 1989 Return thanks cards on deaths of Geoffrey McLennan, Fraser McLennan, Reginald McLennan Maytag washing machine information sheet NSW Supreme Court Probate Division – no grant of probate or letters of administration for Ken McL “Pioneers at Rest”, The Uniting Church Cemetery, Cawdor , compiled by Daphne Koob Photos: Kenneth McLennan (1813-1903), Ann Mary McLennan nee Dabinett (2 photos), John McLennan (1848-1901), sketch of John McLennan’s shipping agency building in Lismore, Mollie Matts nee McLennan, Minnie Ellen Mitchell nee McLennan, Jack Ryan, Will McLennan (on horseback, and at Minnie Ellen’s wedding), McLennan homestead and dairy at Georgica, wedding of Minnie Ellen McLennan and Gordon E. Mitchell including her parents and four siblings, Garnet McLennan, Allan and Lil McLennan with their four sons, Percival Butler (3 photos), Butler family graves at Camden, Rhoda McLennan, Minnie Ellen Mitchell nee McLennan (several photos), Reg and Virginia McLennan and house at Georgica, opening The Tower church at Georgica[?] Jiggi[?], Roach timber mill at Cawongla, four Roach children, Chief Ronald MacLennan with Minnie Ellen Mitchell, the site of Kenneth McLennan’s Spring Ck home, a post and rail fence constructed by Kenneth or his son Arthur, grave of Kenneth and Sarah, Mt Hunter church, St John’s Church Camden,
See and print the photo of Castle St Inverness which can be found on “history of Castle St Inverness” online. Find the Cecil McLennan who called on Julie Kent in 2004 looking for information. He had been to RR Hist Soc. (Possibly in Navy or possibly named after his uncle who was in navy.) Is he a son of Jack who went to Darwin before WWII, and a grandson of Horatio? I tried in 2010 but the RAN has no record of him. Find Charles McL - was still alive in 1903 (Ken’s DC) . Try Vic BDM ‘fiche at SLQ, and Electoral Rolls, or get marriage cert in Grafton. Re Charles: check if Charles H. Mclennan 1854-1915 was him. This Charles had been a dingo trapper in the Victorian mallee, was the first ranger at Wilsons Promontory Nat Park, and wrote articles under the pen-name Mallee Bird. (emailed query to Birds Australia 20.3.2009). According to his death certificate his name was Charles Henry McL, mother’s name Eliza, born Beaufort Vic, died 10 Dec 1915 aged 61, watchman, 6 yrs in Sth Aust, buried Coburg, wife Annie Frederica Juers (sp??), son Eugene born about 1890. Check SA ‘fiche for marriage and child. Check Camden Park and Brownlow Hill records to see if Ken worked there before taking up the Spring Ck lease. See intro and McL entry in “They Worked at Camden Park”: indicates unlikely to have been a labourer at CP; therefore Brownlow or Goulburn more likely. Any more lease documents or accounts prior to 1862? Try electoral rolls for Ken McL . Goulburn and Camden areas (note Camden museum – an aboriginal man was on electoral roll for 1839 ?) 1841 census for Goulburn, total pop’n 655, incl 139 male and 11 female convicts – mentioned in p/c pages with book details unrecorded - was Ken there? Contact Uniting Church Archives re the list of 43 Presbyterian convicts in Goulburn made by Rev Wm Hamilton on 8.2.1838. Was Ken still in Goulburn? See Wyatt’s “History of Goulburn” p 410-1. Find out about the censuses mentioned by Atkinson (pp 77-8) for 1841, 1846, 1861, and list of long term residents at Camden Pk in 1859. Search more “Northern Star” issues re John, Bill, and Ken jnr McL, including photo of Ken jnr playing cricket. (NS is on microfilm at State Library Qld). Email Royal Artillery for history 1808 -1819. Was John in the Indies? (done, 15 Feb 2009)
Check IGI microfiche of Glasgow area and Argyle for births William McL 1817-22, Farquhar McL 1820-26, to John and Isabella; and of Kent and Middlesex for birth of Barbara 1817-21 to John and Isabella, and Isabella Noble to William and Catherine Noble 1790’s. Follow up with Uniting Church Archives: on 8/2/1838 Rev William Hamilton forwarded to the presbytery in Sydney a list of 43 Presbyterian convict servants residing in Goulburn. Was Ken McL one of these? For death of John McL in Scotland, try District Pension Returns, class WO 22 at the Public Record Office in England. From 1842 pensions were paid by staff officers who sent in monthly returns of people who had moved or died. Burial records film for death of Catherine McLennan, 1834-41, and any of her siblings, Inverness Inverness newspapers for obituaries for John and Isabella Get copy of photo of Richard McLennan in naval uniform in RRHS Museum, likewise Cecil McLennan, in Lismore. And get photographic print of the photo of hansom cabs outside railway station. In Richmond River Historical society Museum, find and copy the photo in File: Lismore, Photo Box Case 5, of the corner of Molesworth and Woodlark Sts 1882 known as ‘Baillie’s Corner’. The ironmongery store built by James Baillie, on e of LLismore’s first blacksmiths on the site of his first smithy is at right. He sold the building to Mr J. Simpson of casino 25 Nov 1882 and sold the vacant corner which he owned to John Harrison for 900 pounds. The building on the left was built by John McLennan and sold to James Barrie. Look at weekly newspapers “Camden Times” from 1879 and “Camden News” from 1880 for any comments on McLennans, Butlers, Loaders, and Roberts. (Mentioned Atkinson p. 121). NSW Dept of Education Archives, or state archives, regarding rolls from 1858/9 for Mt Hunter/Westbook National school to see which McL children attended and for how long. Also, Uniting Church Archives for rolls for Wesleyan day School from 1852. Check if any more “Parliamentary Proceedings” for earlier years re. Ken’s acreage and stock holdings.
regarding Scotland: “The History and Traditions of the Maclennans of Kintail” by Dr Jon McLennan and James McLennan” ($25), and “In Search of Clan MacLennan” by Malcolm Lobban and James McLennan ($50). These two books can be ordered from the Clan Maclennan Association in Melbourne, as mentioned in their newsletter no. 82, Nov 2005, on their website. Regarding Camden area: “The Story of Camden” ed by James Jervis 1940 (50th Anniversary Booklet of Camden Municipality 1889-1940), out of print but can be consulted at Camden Historical Society “Camden, an Historic Town and District” , William Freame, the Nepean Times, and “My Recollections”, William Russell (Werriberri), as told to A.L.Bennett, printed at The Camden News Office, 1914. These last two can be consulted at the Mitchell library in Sydney, and possibly also at Camden Historical Society. Finding John McLennan: Work backwards through the monthly Muster Rolls held in the Public Record Office from John’s last known placement which was May, 1819. Given here are the details for 6th Bn, 4 Coy. (NB: At this period the companies were known by the name of their commanding officer, not by a number.) However, if John is found to have transferred from another coy at some stage, then the tables from Laws’ book will have to be consulted again. I have a copy of the pages for 1808-1819 of “Battery Records of the Royal Artillery 1716-1859” by Lt-Col Laws. It might also be necessary to read Duncan’s history of the RA for detail of actions. YEAR MONTHS STATION CAPTAIN PRO REFERENCE NOS. of MUSTER ROLLS 1819 1 – 5 Woolwich J.S. Sinclair WO 10/1313 1818 1 – 12 Woolwich W.D. Nicolls WO 10/1273 1817 10 – 12 Woolwich W.D. Nicolls WO 10/1224 “ 8 – 9 at sea, HMS Active “ “ “ 1 – 7 Port Royal, Jamaica “ “ 1816 1 – 12 Port Royal, Jamaica “ WO 10/1171 1815 2 – 12 Jamaica “ WO 10/1043 “ 1 at sea, T/p L’Aigle “ “ 1814 11 – 12 “ Nicolls & C. Baynes WO 10/1044, 1070 “ 1 – 10 Guernsey C. Baynes WO 10/ 1044, 1070 1813 1 – 12 “ “ WO 10/978, 1002, 1007 1812 1 – 12 “ “ WO 10/914, 938, 944 1811 1 – 12 “ “ WO 10/852, 876, 881 1810 1 – 12 “ “ WO 10/ 796, 815, 820 1809 1 – 12 “ “ WO 10/738, 757, 763 1808 4 – 12 “ “ WO 10/ 684, 702, 710 Yüklə 103,5 Kb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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