Saying toodleoo!
Before he traipsed off to India again, Lachlan toddled off up to Mull and Ulva to say his farewells. Not all Campbells were like Mull's owner, the Duke of Argyle. They weren't all murderous scumbags and opportunists. The foreigners of Scottish heritage with their confected hate of all Campbells is rather sadly pathetic, really, and rarely closely allied with the truth. Yes, there were treacherous Campbells, but frankly all Scottish clans and families (except mine, of course!) had their traitors, butchers, and opportunists.
As it happens, however, Lachlan's mother was a Campbell. Aha, you knew I was leading up to something, didn't you! But while his mother was to live on to see her son become a general and the governor of New South Wales, she wasn't the Campbell woman I was leading up to. Oh, no sirree.
While up Britain's backside, as most English considered it, Macquarie attended a caelidh, so the story goes, with family and friends celebrating his departure. Oh, come on, I wasn't suggesting they were glad to see him go. Rather, they were proud of their newly successful robber on-his-way-to-being baron. He still had his land and mostly ill-gotten gains and was undoubtedly the wealthiest man in the clan. And if anyone knew of his peccadilloes of one sort and another, they weren't publicising the fact. As far as the family was concerned he was a man on the make, and being now sadly-widowed, therefore a very suitable and eligible bachelor.
Maybe Macquarie could have married again for money and/or land, or even a title. Although those up the ranks may have been rather sniffy about his origins and the source of his money, let alone the wigging they certainly would know he'd just received from the royal Duke of York. Maybe he really saw and instantly fell in love with Elizabeth Campbell. Or perhaps he thought she would be a good child bearer to carry on the family name - his, not hers (although it was quite common for married Scottish women to retain their "maiden" names, their children took the name of their father).
Or, of course, it's quite possible he knew Elizabeth from his previous life in Scotland. She was after all, a sort-of relative, his mother's sister's sister-in-law, thereby a sort of "aunt-by-marriage". In the close knit community in which they lived, Elizabeth also appears to have been some sort of cousin, something-or-another removed.
In reality, these relationships are unimportant. Well ... probably ... or ... maybe ... possibly. Let me explain, but first I want to give a brief indication of the familial situation on Mull (and Ulva).
What follows is based on amateur genealogical work, which is fraught with problems, principally because of gross inaccuracies and disagreements. I could, with the time and inclination, sort through this stuff for myself, but the final outcome with regards to the point I'm making here would still be the same. So, if I've got the occasional name or connection a bit askew, please let me know and I'll see if I need to or can correct it.
I've already indicated, I think, and if I haven't I'm doing it now (!), Lachlan's mother was Margaret McLean (Maclean, Maclaine, and several other spellings!), and her brother was Murdoch Maclean, 19th of Lochbuy (or Lochbuie). Murdoch hadn't expected to inherit the estate, but was fortunate to do so because of being predeceased, at an early age, by other claimants, suddenly finding himself considerably better off than he was left by his father, a younger son who had two brothers inherit the estate, one of whom himself had a son who conveniently died without an heir leaving Murdoch in .
Now, Margaret and Murdoch's mother was a Campbell, Jane, daughter of John Campbell, 5th of Airds, and Jane Campbell. That wasn't her married name, by the way. Her father was Lord Archibald Campbell of Stonefield. Were Jane's parents related? It's hard to say in the Highland and Island clans, as all members of the clan, related or not, became known by the patronym of their clan chieftain at some stage of proceedings, whether they were blood relatives or not.
Okay, back to Margaret and Murdoch. Their father was Lachlan MacLean (the nothing of Lochbuy, not to say he was a "nothing", just that he didn't inherit the estate as he was a younger son), son of Hector MacLean, the 12th of Lochbuy, and Flora MacQuarrie. Or, as we know it, Flora Macquarrie, who was the daughter of Lauchlan Macquarrie, 16th of Ulva, and the old bugger who lost the lands of the Macquarries of Ulva and Mull, our Lachlan Macquarrie's clan chieftain.
Right, Lachlan Maclean's father, Hector, was married to Margaret Campbell, whose father was Colin Campbell of Lochnell, whose wife is listed in my source as Anna Campbell. Whether that was her birth or married name I'm unsure. And the extent to which all these Campbells are related is another matter of which I plead ignorance.
What we have, however, is the possibility that all these people are cousins of one sort or another. I don't know if this increases the risks of inbreeding or not, which would anyway depend on the closeness of the cousinships. What I mean is, if two second cousins have a child who marries a second cousin, who have a child who marries a second cousin - are they at more risk of child "abnormalities" (sorry, can't think of a better word off the top of my head) than, say, two fifth cousins who have a child who marries a third cousin, who have a child who marries a second cousin, who have a child who marries a fourth cousin?
Crikey! What I do know, however, is that Lachlan and his wife, Elizabeth, had at least six miscarriages, a daughter who died at the age of three months, and a son who was a sickly child and who, as we shall see, had significant issues as an adult. These issues might be completely unrelated to the marital habits of Mull and Ulva, or they might have been consequent upon Lachlan's syphilis. Or, indeed, they could have been the result of causes which in 2017 have still not been identified.
So, the story goes, on the night prior to Macquarie's departure from Scotland, Lachlan proposed to Elizabeth and was accepted. Presumably she didn't then know of her swain's syphislis, but whether she did or not, faced with a life tutoring rich people's children stretching out ahead of her, as that appears to have been her prospective fate, Elizabeth decided marriage to Lachlan was much the lesser of evils, even if she had to wait several years for his eventual return from India. Presuming he returned, of course.
Now, folks, we're quite well aware Elizabeth was an interesting person in her own right. But this guph is not about her, so please don't get stuck into us about how we should mention her more often. Although we may do a separate piece on her later.
As it happens, however, Lachlan's mother was a Campbell. Aha, you knew I was leading up to something, didn't you! But while his mother was to live on to see her son become a general and the governor of New South Wales, she wasn't the Campbell woman I was leading up to. Oh, no sirree.
While up Britain's backside, as most English considered it, Macquarie attended a caelidh, so the story goes, with family and friends celebrating his departure. Oh, come on, I wasn't suggesting they were glad to see him go. Rather, they were proud of their newly successful robber on-his-way-to-being baron. He still had his land and mostly ill-gotten gains and was undoubtedly the wealthiest man in the clan. And if anyone knew of his peccadilloes of one sort and another, they weren't publicising the fact. As far as the family was concerned he was a man on the make, and being now sadly-widowed, therefore a very suitable and eligible bachelor.
Maybe Macquarie could have married again for money and/or land, or even a title. Although those up the ranks may have been rather sniffy about his origins and the source of his money, let alone the wigging they certainly would know he'd just received from the royal Duke of York. Maybe he really saw and instantly fell in love with Elizabeth Campbell. Or perhaps he thought she would be a good child bearer to carry on the family name - his, not hers (although it was quite common for married Scottish women to retain their "maiden" names, their children took the name of their father).
Or, of course, it's quite possible he knew Elizabeth from his previous life in Scotland. She was after all, a sort-of relative, his mother's sister's sister-in-law, thereby a sort of "aunt-by-marriage". In the close knit community in which they lived, Elizabeth also appears to have been some sort of cousin, something-or-another removed.
In reality, these relationships are unimportant. Well ... probably ... or ... maybe ... possibly. Let me explain, but first I want to give a brief indication of the familial situation on Mull (and Ulva).
What follows is based on amateur genealogical work, which is fraught with problems, principally because of gross inaccuracies and disagreements. I could, with the time and inclination, sort through this stuff for myself, but the final outcome with regards to the point I'm making here would still be the same. So, if I've got the occasional name or connection a bit askew, please let me know and I'll see if I need to or can correct it.
I've already indicated, I think, and if I haven't I'm doing it now (!), Lachlan's mother was Margaret McLean (Maclean, Maclaine, and several other spellings!), and her brother was Murdoch Maclean, 19th of Lochbuy (or Lochbuie). Murdoch hadn't expected to inherit the estate, but was fortunate to do so because of being predeceased, at an early age, by other claimants, suddenly finding himself considerably better off than he was left by his father, a younger son who had two brothers inherit the estate, one of whom himself had a son who conveniently died without an heir leaving Murdoch in .
Now, Margaret and Murdoch's mother was a Campbell, Jane, daughter of John Campbell, 5th of Airds, and Jane Campbell. That wasn't her married name, by the way. Her father was Lord Archibald Campbell of Stonefield. Were Jane's parents related? It's hard to say in the Highland and Island clans, as all members of the clan, related or not, became known by the patronym of their clan chieftain at some stage of proceedings, whether they were blood relatives or not.
Okay, back to Margaret and Murdoch. Their father was Lachlan MacLean (the nothing of Lochbuy, not to say he was a "nothing", just that he didn't inherit the estate as he was a younger son), son of Hector MacLean, the 12th of Lochbuy, and Flora MacQuarrie. Or, as we know it, Flora Macquarrie, who was the daughter of Lauchlan Macquarrie, 16th of Ulva, and the old bugger who lost the lands of the Macquarries of Ulva and Mull, our Lachlan Macquarrie's clan chieftain.
Right, Lachlan Maclean's father, Hector, was married to Margaret Campbell, whose father was Colin Campbell of Lochnell, whose wife is listed in my source as Anna Campbell. Whether that was her birth or married name I'm unsure. And the extent to which all these Campbells are related is another matter of which I plead ignorance.
What we have, however, is the possibility that all these people are cousins of one sort or another. I don't know if this increases the risks of inbreeding or not, which would anyway depend on the closeness of the cousinships. What I mean is, if two second cousins have a child who marries a second cousin, who have a child who marries a second cousin - are they at more risk of child "abnormalities" (sorry, can't think of a better word off the top of my head) than, say, two fifth cousins who have a child who marries a third cousin, who have a child who marries a second cousin, who have a child who marries a fourth cousin?
Crikey! What I do know, however, is that Lachlan and his wife, Elizabeth, had at least six miscarriages, a daughter who died at the age of three months, and a son who was a sickly child and who, as we shall see, had significant issues as an adult. These issues might be completely unrelated to the marital habits of Mull and Ulva, or they might have been consequent upon Lachlan's syphilis. Or, indeed, they could have been the result of causes which in 2017 have still not been identified.
So, the story goes, on the night prior to Macquarie's departure from Scotland, Lachlan proposed to Elizabeth and was accepted. Presumably she didn't then know of her swain's syphislis, but whether she did or not, faced with a life tutoring rich people's children stretching out ahead of her, as that appears to have been her prospective fate, Elizabeth decided marriage to Lachlan was much the lesser of evils, even if she had to wait several years for his eventual return from India. Presuming he returned, of course.
Now, folks, we're quite well aware Elizabeth was an interesting person in her own right. But this guph is not about her, so please don't get stuck into us about how we should mention her more often. Although we may do a separate piece on her later.