A brave Chelsea Pensioner, Dornoch and his family

[MairiD]

John MacIntosh was born at Cambusavie, Dornoch c. 1775 and guessing from a protracted court action, 1776-1778 which went to the House of Lords, (involving Wm. Sutherland v. the Countess of Sutherland,) I imagine his parents were moved from this farm.
He signed up c. 1795/6, joining William Wemyss' 93rd Regiment of Foot.  (He may in fact have been in the earlier Sutherland Fencibles but his discharge papers of 1815 say the 93rd. and were signed by Wm. Wemyss.)
John fought at the Battle of New Orleans and lost a leg there.  He returned to Cork, Ireland with the remaining men and presumably made his way home from there. This endurance test is unimaginable!  I do not know whether he was obliged to return to Fort George or disbanded elsewhere.
He married, in 1817, Jean/Jane Fraser who, judging by records, hailed from Dores, by Loch Ness.
(Perhaps he met her as he staggered, somehow or other, up the Great Glen towards Inverness.)
They settled at Balvraid.  One census document gives the address Balvraid muir, so that would be on poor land. Prior to enlistment he was a shoemaker (stated on his army papers). He may have been able to continue this occupation despite his disability. Remarkably he raised a family of two there;
Ann, b. 1818 (who married a John Matheson and who emigrated to Australia,, with children, some time between 1851 and 1861)
and John b. 1823, also at Balvraid (who married Barbara Sutherland in 1846.) More of his family in another post.
Brave John, the Chelsea pensioner, lived on for around thirty eight years with only one leg. He died at Balvraid in 1852 while his wife, Jean/Jane died in 1863 there.
I have tried to find John in the first Census of 1841. It looks as if he might have been in Fodderty, at Bottacks. (Perhaps displaced there, as the returning men were cheated out of their previous tenancy.) However his wife is listed as Ann and there is a so far unidentified Christian, aged eight, living with them. Balancing those facts are John's age (correct) and his description (Army P.)
I have identified his neighbour there, Duncan/Donald McIntosh also a shoemaker.  He was younger and also at new Orleans where he was wounded in the thigh.
If anyone can add to these facts or correct me, I would be delighted.
Thanking you in anticipation,
MairiD
 

[djct59]

The 1841 census records for Sutherland disclose three men named John McIntosh, all in Dornoch, two aged 60 and one listed as aged 70.  The "rounding" of ages in that census to the nearest five years was notoriously inaccurate, particularly in rural areas where people often did not know their true age, so if the record you have is less than an 80% match to your expectations, I might spend some of my hard-earned on looking at the other two John McIntoshes.

[Annette7]

I am only able to view transcripts of the Scottish census but he was in Dornoch in 1841 i.e.

W. Balraid (as transcribed), Dornoch

John McIntosh    60     Penr.              b. Sutherland
Jane McIntosh    60                           b. Scotland
John McIntosh    15                           b. Sutherland

1851 Census - Baloraid (as transcribed), Dornoch

McIntosh John    70     Chelsea Out Pensioner    b. Dornoch, Sutherland
McIntosh Jane    66                                          b. Inverness, Inverness.
McIntosh John    grandson  3                            b. Dornoch, Sutherland

Annette

[MairiD]

Thank you djct59 and Annette.  I have been typing MacIntosh in the search 'form' as the family was often recorded thus and then choosing 'Surname variants' to cover the various spellings as these would vary from time to time.  For some reason I was not getting the full list of Johns doing this.   
 By typing McIntosh I seem to get a longer list.  I did find them in Wester Balvraid in 1851 and thanks to you, now see them in 1841 at Balvraid.

Last night I came across a Napier Commission Report---'Bonar Bridge, Sutherland, 9th October 1883--John Campbell' which mentions Balvriad and Badinish in descriptions of the land, tenants, clearances and extortionate rents.  Though the date is late 19th century, references are made to the early part.   
Again thank you for your help.
Will record more, of the next generation, soon.  I have not seen this particular family mentioned in other posts of Dornoch MacIntoshes/McIntoshes in the Sutherland thread.
MairiD

[Sldesormeaux]

Hi Mairi,

I am researching my maternal grandfather's family in Scotland.  My great-grandfather (Robert Campbell b. 1853) was born in Bonar Bridge.  He had a brother by the name of John Campbell b. 1857.

Would it be possible to see this Napier Commission of the area?  It might help to clarify my family tree.

Thank you for your attention to this.

Regards,
Suzanne Desormeaux
Quebec, Canada

[MairiD]

Hi Suzanne,

 If you type 'Napier Commission + Sutherland' in your search engine then you should find it.  On the upper right hand side there is a list of the places in Sutherland covered by the Commission's report.  Bonar Bridge is one. Click on that to see the report.

Best wishes,
Mairi