Lt (Angus) John MacDonald HEICS

[MJHS1]

I'm trying to identify the ancestry of Lt (Angus) John MacDonald HEICS (1737-1810). He was reputedly in the army for 17 years and served with distinction in India fighting against Hyde Ali and Tippo Sahib. He was subsequently appointed Controller of Customs in Ullapool. I thought that he should be listed in the ‘Alphabetical List of the Officers of the Bengal Army With the Dates of Their Respective Promotion, Retirement, Resignation, Or Death, Whether in India Or in Europe, from the Year 1760 to the Year 1834 Inclusive, Corrected to September 30, 1837’
 https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Alphabetical_List_of_the_Officers_of_the/kMOEAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1 but I can’t find him. Most of the John MacDonalds were killed and the one Lieutenant that I found showing ‘Retired July 30  1800 Half Pay’  (Engineer) went on to be a Lt Colonel. I have also checked Angus MacDonalds to no avail. Can anyone please tell me whether all HEICS officers should be listed in this document and, if not, where else I could look? I should like to find out in which regiment he originally served, to help establish his origins.

[ShaunJ]

There's a similar publication for officers of the Madras Army https://tinyurl.com/y32bo5l2

[MJHS1]

Thank you, Shaun. Very helpful. I'll take a look. Kind regards Mike

[ShaunJ]

There is a suggestion here https://sites.google.com/view/highland-roots/2-john-macdonald?authuser=0 that he may not have been an officer

[ShaunJ]

How would finding his original regiment help you establish his origins ?

[MJHS1]

Hi Shaun, That is my own website! I've just located a marriage certificate for his daughter, Jessie, which states that he was a Lieutenant. I was hoping that by identifying his original regiment that I might glean some idea as to where he was recruited (ie if he was in the 78th Regiment, he probably originated in MacKenzie territory). I have found a bunch of MacDonalds who were HEICS and wondered if he could have been related to them. https://www.clanmacfarlanegenealogy.info/genealogy/TNGWebsite/familychart.php?familyID=F14643&tree=CC . I can't find him listed in the Madras Army list either, which is strange.

[ShaunJ]

 As far as I'm aware the armies of the Honourable East India Company were organised on "European" and "Native" lines.  I don't think they had Scottish Regiments.

[MJHS1]

Excuse my ignorance. How did a soldier become HEICS? I had assumed that they transferred from a regular British Army regiment.

[ShaunJ]

Until the late 1850's the HEIC army was entirely separate from the British Army and did its own recruiting in the UK for service in India.