[37] Sir James Grant of Grant, bt. (1773-1811)
HE WAS COMMONLY CALLED 'the good Sir James'. His wife was Jane Duff of Hatton. Sir James was born in 1738, so he lived to 73, a good age for those days. He was educated at Westminster School. Then he graduated from Cambridge University, and afterwards he did the 'Grand Tour' on the Continent. So we see that he had a wider education than any former Chief.
He was married at Bath in Somerset in 1763, which was then a fashionable spa. The couple took up residence in Castle Grant, and James gradually assumed the management of the vast estates, and the good care of the estate tenants. He was M.P. for Morayshire. In 1766 he began to put into effect his plan to create Grantown-on-Spey, the capital of Strathspey. A town plan was laid out, and building plots were gradually taken up. Linen and wool factories were established. A town hall, jail, church, water supply, roads and schools were constructed until the town became much as we see it today. It is reported that by 1792 it was a thriving village of over 300 inhabitants. No mean feat when one considers that Highlanders had never been accustomed to living in towns.
James also laid down rules, or bye-laws as we would call them today, for the good running and well-being of the town. A number of necessary trades were established together with training courses, such as for carpentry, metal-working and the like. Perhaps it would be of interest to read what Mrs. Grant of Laggan, who wrote the well-known Letters from a Mountain, said of Grantown in 1785: 'Strathspey is quite a civilised country compared to this [Laggan], and has a good neat village in it, where the father of the district has been cherishing some exotic manufactures . . .'.
Encouraged by his success at Grantown, James then decided to create another town at Urquart in 1769, so he established Lewistown (Drumnadrochit), just at the back of the castle. This is a pleasant little place today, which has not expanded much. Incidentally, the hotel there was run by the Seafield Estate, until the Trustees sold it off some years ago. It proved unprofitable [38] for them. Even in those days, James complained that there was great difficulty in collecting rents in Urquart. For example, his factor had been stabbed at a rent collection by an intoxicated tenant. It was partly for this reason that the Seafield Trustees sold off the Urquart estates when my late cousin inherited on her attaining 40 years of age in 1946, thus leaving Glenmoriston as the sole Grant estate in this old Grant area. This Urquart estate had been known for a long time as Balmacaan estate, after Balmacaan House, which was the large and rather palatial shooting lodge for the moor. It was regarded as the second residence of the Chief of Grant after Grant Castle, Cullen House being, of course, the Ogilvie residence.
As may be imagined from his father's history, James found a very heavy debt on the estate, the government not having paid anything towards the military expenses of the clan, which debt was estimated at £71,800 sterling. This, together with other debts, meant that James was short of about £130,000, whereas the total estimated value of the estate was only £123,000 at that time. Quite a problem for him, as he also had to pay heavy interest on the debt, which resulted in him being minus £100 annually; so he had no surplus to pay his own living expenses. However, he survived, by a few sales of property, general economies, and efficient management.
He renewed pressure to obtain financial aid from Lord North, the then prime minister. The only result he had was an appointment to a low-salaried position as General Cashier of Custom Duties in Scotland in 1795, which was intended as a token compensation. He took up residence in Edinburgh (at 64 Queen Street) in order to perform his duties.
James must have been an exceptionally patriotic man and a devil for punishment, because in 1793 during the Napoleonic wars, we find him immediately offering a regiment of Grant Fencibles (which offer was accepted by a Royal Warrant) for service in Great Britain. We have already read about some of the uniforms and weapons (see p. 5 above). The Grant Fencibles were first mustered, 500 strong, in 1793. (It should be remembered that since the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion the Highland population had increased considerably and hence there was massive unemployment, as well as food shortages. This possibly accounts to some degree for the large numbers of Scots in British regiments, right through the 19th century.) In August, the Grant regiment was quartered in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Dumfries, and other Lowland centres. They made an excellent impression on locals wherever they went until 1799, when they were demobilised.
James also raised a Strathspey regiment, the 97th, in 1794, of 1,500, all ranks, for general service. They served as Marines under Lord Howe in the Channel Fleet for some months, and then the next year were drafted to other units; two companies going to the Black Watch for service in the West Indies. From this stems the adoption of the Black Watch tartan, as the Grant 'undress' or 'hunting' tartan.
[39] James was Lord Lieutenant for Inverness for many years. It is worth record- ing that the famous Ayrshire poet, Robert Burns, lunched at Castle Grant in 1787, with James and his family. Lady Grant died in 1805, a great loss to all. James died at Castle Grant in 1811, and was buried at Duthill. Like his wife, he was greatly mourned.
They had seven sons and seven daughters, but several died young. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Lewis Alexander, who was born in 1767, and who succeeded also as the fifth Earl of Seafield. His eldest daughter, Anne, lived at Grant Lodge, Elgin, and was the subject of the famous Grant Clan march on that town in 1820 (see below).
Sir Lewis Alexander Grant of Grant, Bt. (1811-1840)
He was afterwards fifth Earl of Seafield, Viscount Reidhaven, Lord Ogilvie of Deskford and Cullen. Sir Lewis was born in 1767. He was educated at Westminster School, and then at Edinburgh University. He took studies in the law and passed in Scottish law. In 1788, at the age of 21, he was made Provost (Mayor) of Forres. In 1789 he was called to the Bar, and in that year he attended the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, where he made a well-reported speech. He was an able and learned young man, with considerable eloquence. In 1790 he was elected M.P. for Elgin. After his father's death he retired from public life, owing to poor health, and lived. on his estates in various houses, but mainly at Grant Lodge, Elgin. When Lewis retired, his brother, Francis William, took over the management of the estates.
This would perhaps be the best point at which to explain how the Ogilvie Seafield titles and estates came to the Chiefs of Grant. As opposed to the Grant honours, the Ogilvie ones could go in the female line, failing heirs male. Sir Lewis succeeded to these in 1811, on the death of his cousin, the fourth Earl of Seafield, and the seventh Earl of Findlater; he being the closest heir male through Lady Margaret Ogilvie, who had married Sir Ludovick Grant in January 1735. As we have previously read, she was the eldest daughter of the fifth Earl of Findlater and Seafield. (See Appendix IV.)
Readers may enjoy this account of the last clan raid, namely, the march of the Grants to Elgin in 1820, written by William Fraser in his History of the Chiefs of Grant:
Lady Anne Grant was a lady of great personal beauty and accomplishments, and was looked up to with pride by every one on the wide-extended estates of Grant, and especially by the Highlanders of Strathspey, where from her infancy she had been well known and almost idolised. Proof of this was given in a remarkable manner in 1820, during a contested election of a Member of Parliament for the Burghs of Elgin, Inverurie, Banff, Kintore, and Cullen, commonly known as the Elgin burghs. In Elgin particularly, where Lewis Earl of Seafield, with his sisters Anne, Margaret, and Penuel, resided at their mansion [40] of Grant Lodge, political feeling ran high. The contest lay between Mr. Farquharson of Finzean, brought forward by Lord Kintore to represent the burghs, and supported by the Earl of Seafield's interest, on one side, and General Duff, backed by Lord Fife, on the other, and the burghers of Elgin strongly favoured the cause of the latter. During the heat of the election the Grant ladies dared scarcely appear on the streets of the town without being annoyed by the rabble. Such conduct the high-spirited Lady Anne could ill brook, and on the morning of Sunday, 12th March, she communicated to her friends in Strathspey intelligence of the treatment to which she and her sisters were being subjected. What followed may be given in the words of one who was an eye-witness and actor in the proceedings. Grant Lodge was completely beleagured by the towns- people, who were all on the Fife side-not a soul was allowed to go in or out of the house, and those of the Town Council who were favourable to Colonel Grant were carried across the Firth to Sutherlandshire in an open boat, frighten- ing the poor bodies out of their lives. Lady Anne contrived the escape of one of her grooms in the middle of the night, with a note to young Patrick Grant describing how they were situated, and saying she was sure his father's son, mere boy though he was, would not hear of the daughters and sisters of his chief being insulted as they were without making an effort for them to gather men as quickly as possible and come to their relief. A similar note was written. to Captain Grant, Congash, the factor of Strathspey. Accordingly instant steps were taken. A fiery cross was sent round, and, in the course of a few hours, some five or six hundred men were on their way from Strathspey to Elgin. Some of the people were assembling at their parish churches when the news reached them. But instead of worshipping, they all joined in the march for Elgin. They got there just at daybreak, and marched through the town to Grant Lodge, at the gate of which they found a party of the towns-people, who had provided themselves with baskets filled with broken bottles to hurl at any one who might attempt a rescue. Seeing the numbers and resolute bearing of the Highlanders, the burghers instantly fled. The Strathspey men entered the grounds, where they were joyfully welcomed-Lady Anne, queen-like as she was, going about with a word of grateful greeting to every one. Their blood was up, and the difficulty was to get their men away without sacking and burning the town of Elgin. It is said that the Provost of Elgin was so afraid of this, that he contrived to obtain access by a back entrance to Grant Lodge. He implored Lady Anne, on his knees, to induce the Highlanders to spare the town, and return to Strathspey. This appeal was backed by the Sheriff of the county, and the persuasions of these gentlemen, aided by the bagpipes, prevailed. The Highlanders then started for Strathspey. Lady Anne sent orders to Forres, and every inn on the road, to give the Highlanders anything they wanted. At Forres they made a regular night of it, eating and drinking and dancing till morning, and so on to Strathspey without a halt, so that the men from the remoter parts must have walked fully eighty miles without going to bed. Sir Patrick adds, "The news spread like wild-fire, and, had the struggle been protracted, we should have had the whole of the Highlands in the Lowlands-the Frasers in the Aird, the Mackenzies in Ross-shire, the Macphersons and Macdonalds in Badenoch and Lochaber, were collecting when the contest was ended by the election of Mr. Farquharson as member for the burghs".
The 'Raid of Elgin', as it was called, is rightly described by Sir Patrick Grant as a grand exhibition of the loyalty of Strathspey, and forms a testimony of no ordinary kind to the affection which the noble character of Sir James Grant [41] called forth from his dependants, and was thus displayed towards his family long after his death. A sequel to this remarkable instance of attachment is told by a correspondent of the Banffshire Journal, writing on 23rd November 1872, and affords an illustration of how the conduct of the Strathspey Highlanders was regarded even by the Sovereign himself. On the occasion of King George the Fourth's visit to Scotland in 1822-at one of the presentations which took place during his stay at Holyrood, or at the ball given to His Majesty by the Peers of Scotland, the King asked one of the lords in waiting to point out the lady on whose account so many of the Highlanders went to Elgin two years before. The lady being pointed out, the King emphatically remarked, 'Well, truly she is an object fit to raise the chivalry of a clan', the lord-in-waiting, or some other courtier, remarking that 'it was questionable whether His Majesty could depend upon so spontaneous a demonstration in his favour from any quarter of His Majesty's dominions'. The narrator of this anecdote, it is asserted, 'happened to have, at the time this event took place, every facility to know its truth'.
Lewis did not marry, and he was succeeded by Francis William, his brother.
Colonel Sir Francis William Grant of Grant, Bt. (1840-1853)
Later sixth Earl of Seafield, Viscount Reidhaven, and Lord Ogilvie of Deskford and Cullen.
Francis William married, firstly, Mary Anne Dunn, and, secondly, Louisa Emma Maunsell. He was born in 1778, and whilst it is not known where he was educated, we do know that he lived his early life at Grant Lodge, Elgin. In 1793 he was commissioned into the Grant Fencibles as lieutenant, and in 1794 was made a major in the Fraser of Lovat Fencibles. In 1799 he was commissioned a lieutenant-colonel in the 3rd Argyllshire Fencibles with permanency in that rank; hence he was thereafter popularly known as Colonel Grant. In 1800 he went to Gibraltar with his regiment, and the following year they returned home when peace was concluded.
In 1802 he became an M.P. (which he remained until 1840), and also acted as Lord Lieutenant for Inverness-shire, as well as looking after the estates and tenants, which he inherited in 1840. After his succession, he took his seat in the House of Lords, which resulted in his sitting in parliament for a record of 50 years.
He was particularly noted for tree planting, a tradition which has been continued to the present day. In fact, he planted more trees than anyone else at that time, even exceeding the Duke of Atholl, who, I have been told, used to have seeds shot to the tops of inaccessible hills by gun! Francis William also landscaped the beautiful surroundings of Cullen House, and effected improvements to Cullen and Portsoy harbours, as well as to the town of Cullen. The town used to be gathered round old Cullen church, just in front of Cullen House, and he had it rebuilt on its present and better site. He liberally con- tributed to literary societies in local towns.
[42] After a short illness, aged 76 years, he died at Cullen House, from whence he was conveyed to Duthil via Castle Grant. His first wife, Mary Dunn of Higham House, Sussex, had died in 1840. In 1843 he married Louisa Emma Maunsell of Limerick, Ireland.
He had six sons and one daughter by his first wife. His first two sons pre-deceased him, and so he was succeeded by his third son, John Charles. His fourth son was James, from whom the present family is directly descended, and who will be discussed later. His fifth son, strangely enough, also married a daughter of Maunsell of Limerick, and his sixth son, George Henry, married a daughter of Gordon Cumming of Altyre. His only daughter, Jane, married Major-General Forester Walker, which is interesting, because the third wife of his son, James, was also of that family.
Sir John Charles Ogilvie Grant, Bt. (1853-1881)
Seventh Earl of Seafield, etc., and first Baron Strathspey, K.T. (Knight of the Thistle).
John Charles married the Hon. Caroline Stuart, who will be discussed in Chapter Seven. He was born in 1814 and went into the Royal Navy as a midshipman at the age of fourteen. He left the Service in 1840, when he became Viscount Reidhaven. In 1858 he was created Baron Strathspey of Strathspey, under which title he sat in the House of Lords. He developed the estates and was held in high esteem by the tenantry, as he tried to look after them, and he continued the tradition of re-afforestation. His Castle Grant herd of Highland cattle was well known and received many show awards, although he did not try to compete with his tenants' cattle. When at home he lived at Cullen House or Castle Grant, or at Balmacaan.
He was a ruling elder in the Church General Assembly at Edinburgh. In 1879 he was invested with the Order of the Thistle, a rare honour rather equivalent to the English Order of the Garter. One of the most valuable things he did for posterity must have been to initiate the private production of The Chiefs of Grant, by William Fraser, so that a detailed chronological history could be handed down, and he took part in the general research and production up to the time of his death.
There was a serious quarrel between John Charles and his brothers, because he seems to have refused to account adequately to them as to the cash position during the period that their father, the sixth Earl, had managed the estates for his uncle, the fifth Earl, when the latter was mentally incapacitated towards the end of his life. Also, whilst John Charles is said to have been ‘a red hot' Conservative, his brother, James, who became the ninth Earl, was said to be a Radical. As a result of these differences it seems that John Charles disentailed the estates, by agreement with his brothers, on the understanding he would re-entail them at a later date. But this he failed to do before his [43] death, thus it was possible for his son to leave them to his mother, John Charles's widow.
Many people will be unfamiliar with the term ‘entail'. In simple language, it means that real estate had to pass to the nearest next male heir, or according to the deed of entail. 'Disentail' means that by permit of the Court of Session, the entail was broken and the estate would pass on death to anyone as specified in the deceased's will. It is quite a mystery as to why John Charles's two brothers agreed to this disentailment, as it resulted in their being entirely excluded from what should have been their vast inheritance, and, in fact, this continued until my late cousin, Countess Nina, inherited in 1946.
John Charles died at Cullen House and was buried at Duthil. There were reported to be 10,000 mourners at his funeral, in a heavy snowstorm, with the customary pipe bands. With his death ended the era when the Laird's ruling hand had been ready to help and guide his family and clan, as will be understood by readers of the following chapters, largely because of his quarrel with his brothers. He left one child, Ian Charles.
Sir Ian Charles Ogilvie-Grant, Bt. (1881-1884)
Eighth Earl of Seafield, second Baron Strathspey, etc., etc.
Ian Charles was born in 1851. He was educated at Eton for some years, in 1869, was commissioned into the Life Guards. He relinquished his com- and mission in 1877. On his 21st birthday there were the customary massive celebrations at Castle Grant, including bonfires and so on. The Strathspey tenants presented him with a portrait of himself painted by Sir Francis Grant, the then President of the Royal Academy of Arts. Whilst I have not seen the portrait presented to Ian Charles (it is an interesting one as it shows in the background a burning beacon on top of Craigallachie) I have nevertheless, an excellent engraving of it, which I acquired quite by chance. When my H.Q. was in Edinburgh some years ago, and I was travelling north, I often used to stop for a few minutes to look round the little antique shop at Newtonmore and exchange a word with the two ladies who owned it. One day they said 'We have just thrown out one of your ancestors into the town rubbish dump, you had better go and see!' So I rushed off to the smouldering dump and searched around and lo, I found the engraving of Ian Charles in good condition. It now hangs in my home.
General Sir Patrick Grant performed the presentation with an appropriate address, and there was a reply by Ian Charles. This was followed by a banquet in a marquee 120ft. by 60ft. at the castle front. All Grants and tenants were invited to the celebrations, and it illustrates the size of the celebration to record that General Ulysses Grant, the President of the United States of America, sent a representative!
Ian Charles died at Claridges hotel in London after an operation to relieve a slight lameness, which entailed lifting and tying an artery. He made good progress towards recovery for a few days, but suddenly he became weak and [44] faint, and four days later expired from nervous exhaustion. He was buried at Duthil, and his mother produced an 'In Memoriam' book of the funeral and the official condolences, running into 192 pages. At Appendix V is a copy of Ian Charles's will, made some two years before his untimely decease.