As the first post in this thread says, family sources claim that James Graham (born possibly c.1795?) married Mary Lindock. It is said that James was born in Dumbarton, Scotland and came to Ireland as a soldier in the 81st Foot Regiment of Scotland. Also that he may have run off with a pregnant servant, or had religious differences with his family.
There seems to be absolutely no information about either James Graham or Mary "Lindock" (probably phonetic spelling, in my view) in either Scottish or Irish records. I cannot find any candidates whatsoever, using the main genealogy websites.
Army records do show one James Graham in the 81st foot, getting a medal in the 1893-1913 Peninsular War (which means he must have joined the 81st on or before 1813), and available muster records show a Serjeant James Graham for two periods, Dec 1813-Mar 1813, and Oct-Dec 1815. But we don't know if this our James or not - he would have been rather young for that rank, perhaps, if born in 1795.
The 81st was in battles up to 1813, but was lucky to be absent from Waterloo, being assigned to guard hospitals and baggage in the rear. After spending time in Paris, it was posted to Ireland in April 1817, initially to the south around Cork, and newspaper reports show it marching north to Enniskillen and Cavan in June 1818. I cannot find any more traces of it until it left Ireland in 1822, but newspaper reports show there were certainly troops stationed in Dublin, and they were rotated fairly frequently, so there is every probability that the 81st came close to Kilkeel.
Additionally, I have found one reference to a previous visit of the 81st to Ireland in 1794, when it marched from Dublin to a townland just beyond Kilkeel. So there is some evidence for troops passing through Kilkeel.
I think that if James was in the 81st, we can see how he got to Ireland, and to Kilkeel, and (in my opinion) we don't need the reasons of pregnant servants or religious differences to justify him staying there - it was apparently quite common for ex soldiers to settle down where they had served, especially if they had found a partner there. And of course, another of our ancestors, Duncan Scott, did exactly that, too.
However, I didn't want discard the family stories, as they often contain a lot of truth, and so I investigated further, and I have the pleasure of presenting to you a speculative theory that explains both the pregnancy and the strange surname "Lindock".
There was a famous English general Thomas Graham, aka Lord Lynedoch [sounds like Lindock], named after his country property. Unfortunately, Thomas had no children and his title died with him, but there is another possibility.
Thomas Graham actively supported others in the Graham clan, including finding them posts in the military, and he was in regular contact with Grahams from the West of Scotland, where James was reputedly born. Also, the 81st foot served under him in Holland in 1814, the year before Waterloo.
It is possible that James joined the 81st via Thomas (surprisingly, in those days, the army was a popular choice for young men because if offered status and a regular job). And suppose James knew Thomas well enough to visit Lynedoch, perhaps after the war, and that he made a servant (Mary) pregnant. In those days, servants were often known locally by their master or farm name, giving us Mary Lynedoch, which becomes Mary Lindock phonetically. And he takes her off to Ireland when he is posted there.
It's a nice story, but I can't prove any of it.
