To learn more about how Robert Robertson and Janet Guild fit into the story of various Robertsons in the Killin area in the 1700s, see The Robertsons of Killin page.
Gilbert Stewart 11th of Fincastle was born in 1721. He is relevant to this story because: (a) his granddaughter Susan Ann Stewart would marry into the Robertson family described on this page, and (b) his daughter from his second marriage married Alexander Robertson, the then Chief of the Clan Donnachaidh in 1805. See below from 1755 for the continuation of the story.
As we will see below, Robert Robertson and Janet Guild married some time around 1739/1740 and their first child was baptised in Kilspindie in Perthshire. Exactly who Robert Robertson was is yet to be determined. Research into this subject has been ongoing since around 2013. He may be one (or none) of the following boys born in Perthshire from 1715 to 1723:
He may also be one (or none) of the following with the 'e' on the end of his last name, born in Perthshire from 1715 to 1723:
Janet Guild may be either (or neither) of the following:
A key question in terms of Janet's identity is - why would she (and Robert) have been in Rait or Kilspindie in 1740 to give birth to a son, James Robertson? Had they come from another location?
In terms of identity, the Janet Guild born in 1719 seems more likely - we see the names James and Isabell in the children born to Janet and Robert Robertson (below), so it seems quite possible that Janet named her second daughter after her mother and grandmother, as per Scottish custom. It may be that Janet and Robert's first son was named after Janet's father and their second son (John) after Robert's father, while their first daughter Mary would be named after Robert's mother - or perhaps they chose Mary as Isobel/Isabell was also Janet's mother?
Colin Campbell and Kathrine/Katharen McIntyre from Easter Ardeonaig were married in Killin before 1734. Kathrine may be the Cathrine McIntyre born to Finlay McIntyre and Jenet McCaile/NcCaile on 27 October 1715 in Killin (Ref 361 10/65). Two men named Finlay McIntyre are recorded in 'Scottish Highlanders' in 1769 (and they may be the same person): One was a joint tenant fatmer at Ballimenoch, north side of Loch Tay, while the other was a tenant farmer at Blairliargan, also on the north side of Loch Tay ['Scottish Highlanders', page 138 (SL)].
There are several Colin Campbells in 'Scottish Highlanders'; Colin may be the 'wright in Killin, witness 1738, bond registered 7 February 1740 [Source: Scottish Highlanders', p.11 (PSC)]. A 'widow of Colin' is recorded as a tenant farmer in Milton of Lawers, on the north side of Loch Tay in 1768 ['Scottish Highlanders', page 14 (SL)]. Colin's parents are unknown but they may have been Thomas and Jean, based on the names of the children born below.
Colin and Kathrine Campbell had the following children, all registered in Killin:
The location of Rait and nearby Kilspindie, to the east of Perth and Scone. The village of Rait has a street named 'Westend' that runs parallel to the Rait Burn.
A Google maps street view of Westend in Rait, with the Rait Burn, in 2023
Robert Robertson (possibly born 1718) presumably married Janet Guild (possibly born 1720) in around 1739/1740 but the record of thir marriage has not yet been located in the records of Scotland's People. It seems, from the details of their children's births, that they first lived in the Rait/Kilspindie area east of Perth and then moved to the Ardeonaig then Auchmore/Killin area on the south west side of Loch Tay. Was there a reason why they were in Rait/Kilspindie, and then had to leave that location? And why Killin ? Robert would become an innkeeper at Auchmore which suggests he had enough money to set himself up as one.
Robert and Janet Robertson had the following children. Note that the second child, Mary, was born in Killin, 55 to 65 miles away on the western side of Loch Tay.
Baptism record of James Robertson in 1740, with the parents from 'the west and of Rait'
Baptism record of Mary Robertson in Killin in 1743, the 'there' likely refers to Easter Ardeonaig, noted in the births above
Baptism record of John Robertson in Killin in 1744, parents noted to be still in Easter Ardeonaig
Baptism record of Patrick (later Peter) Robertson in Killin in 1747, parents noted to be in Acharn. Note that the original name was crossed out and 'Patrick' written instead.
Baptism record of Isabell Robertson in Killin in 1752, parents noted to be in Ballachraish? (location not known).
Baptism record of Duncan Robertson in Killin in 1756, parents noted to be in Achmore.
As can be seen in the extracts above, by the time of Mary's birth in 1743, the family was recorded at Easter Ardeonaig, on the southern side of Loch Tay, about 10 kms from Killin. Their son Patrick was born a year or so after the Battle of Culloden in 1746 (see below). At the time of Duncan's birth, the family was recorded at Auchmore, an area closer to Killin. It is believed that Robert Robertson was an innkeeper at Auchmore (Source: Peter Durbin).
After the Battle of Culloden in the north of Scotland near Inverness in 1746 (to quell the Jacobite uprisings), and in particular after 1762, life began to get even worse for highlanders. Large scale emigration from Scotland to America began after the battle. Clan structures were broken up and the highlands were 'cleared'. Many were forced off the land (from their crofts) and moved to the coast from where some migrated overseas. It is not known why Robert and Janet decided to move from the Rait/Kilspindie area but perhaps it had something to do with his occupation in the Killin area as an innkeeper.
Duncan Robertson of Struan, the second cousin twice removed of his predecessor Alexander Robertson, the 13th Chief, became the 14th Chief of the Donnachaidh clan in 1749 when Alexander died.
Although various Irish and Scottish had been initially forcibly been taken as convicts or indendured servants to Jamaica from the 1600s, by the mid-1700s, the Jamaican economy entered a period of sustained growth and fortunes were being made. By 1774, '.. the Scottish represented a large percentage of Jamaica's population. Jamaica had gained a reputation for being a place to earn a quick fortune, and the Scottish belief at the time was that the surest way to wealth in Jamaica, was to enter the island with a profession. ... Scotland had a high standard of education. The law required every parish to have a school, and families who could not afford the fees received financial help from the local authorities. As a result of this focus on education, many Scots became qualified for professions at a time when the Scottish economy could not support all these professionals. So, many embarked to the colonies to apply their skills with the hope of making a quick fortune. (Source: The Arrival of Scottish Settlers in Jamaica, on the Jamaica Timeline website, accessed 4 June 2025).
Various records indicate that Finlay Clark was a joint tenant farmer at Edramucky on the north side of Loch Tay. He married Janet McIlduine / McIlGuine (presumed the same person) by 1752 (when Janet became pregnant) and they had several children:
Note that at least one other Finlay Clark was recorded as the father of children during and after this period. It is assumed they may have been related somehow.
Donald McEwen, possibly the son of Patrick and Janet McEwen, baptised 12 March 1749 in Killin (Ref 361 10/203) married a Christian Campbell from Ardeonaig before 1755. Given the dates, this person is not believed to be the Christian Campbell who was baptised on 14 August 1747, the daughter of Colin and Kathrine Campbell (see above), but it could be possible if she was actually born several years before she was baptised.
Donald and Christian McEwen had the following children who were all registered in Killin:
Donald McEwen may be the 'merchant in Killin' recorded in 'Scottish Highlanders' in 1775 [Source: Scottish Highlanders, page 30'(NAS.GD112/11/1/2/8)]
Gilbert Stewart 11th of Fincastle (born 1721) married Susan Menzies in 1755. They had a son, Robert Stewart 12th of Fincastle (1756 - 1822). See below from 1765 for details of the marriage of Alexander Robertson of Struan that links with a daughter from Gilbert's second marriage, and 1792 for details of Robert Stewart's marriage to Louisa Maria Henrietta Graham - and the eventual connections between the Stewart and two different Robertson families.
Among the private papers of the Campbell Family of Achallader Perthshire catalogued by the National Register of Archives for Scotland (reference NRAS4355) is a voucher for a payment made on 27 March 1756 to 'Robert Robertson, Achmore [sic] for feeding various workmen and others in 1755'. (Source: Peter Durbin)
Details of the charter on the NRS website
Robert Robertson, innkeeper at Auchmore, along with 'James Robertsone his (then-16 year old) son' were both witnesses to a charter on 30 March 1756, titled 'Sasine (William Duncan, Dunblane diocese, notary) in favour of John, earl of Breadalbane, on extract registered disposition 24 November 1755-6 March 1756 by John Stewart of Benmore etc. of Corriecherich etc. and warrandice lands'. (Ref GD 112/2/49/31, National Records of Scotland (NAS)). Robert's youngest child Duncan was born the same year.
(According to the NAS site, reference GD 112/2 consists of 'Titles to particular lands, 1329-1869: These are arranged according to the old handlist, which placed the various lands in roughly alphabetical order. They related mainly to the Breadalbane lands in Argyll and Perthshire, extending not just 'from Ben More to Kenmore', but from Easdale to Perth, and include material concerning the families of McDougall of Phantilands and Menzies of Shian, and the suppression of the McGregors. )
According to the Red Book of Scotland, Alexander Robertson of Struan married Mary Best on 3 August 1765 in Mansfield, Yorkshire. Mary was the daughter of William Best. Two children were born from this marriage and then, for reasons as yet unknown, Alexander married again in 1805 - see below.
See below from 1805 for the children of Alexander's second marriage.
Robert and Janet Robertson's eldest son James Robertson (born 1740) studied divinity and oriental languages at University and was recomended by William Robertson, the principal of the University, to become a Minister at Callander. William Robertson's letter states that he had sought opinions (e.g., character references) from 'Mr Campbell of Achallader who has known him [James] from his early years' and 'Mr John Campbell of the Bank in whose family he [James] has resided five years as tutor to his children'.
According to the book the 'Lairds and Lands of Loch Tayside by John Christie (1892), 'Auchmore, including Auch and the mill of the property was wadsetted early in the last century to John Campbell of Achallader, Chamberlain of Breadalbane'. (Source: Peter Durbin)
James Robertson married in 1777 - see below.
As noted above, Gilbert Stewart 11th of Fincastle was previously married to Susan Menzies in 1755 from which marriage their daughter Susan Ann Stewart was born. At this stage it is not known what happened to Susan (nee Menzies). Gilbert married a second time in 1770 to Cecilia Stewart. From this second marriage was born Jean Stewart who would marry Alexander Robertson of Struan, the 16th Chief of the Donnachaidh clan in 1805.
Peter (baptised Patrick) Robertson (born Acharn, registered in Kenmore on 19 November 1747 (Ref 360 20/178) - 21 April 1816, Edinburgh), married Janet Adamson by 1771. They had four children (previously believed to be three, no birth has yet been found for Archibald):
Peter Robertson was an innkeeper (like his father) at Dalwhinnie on the road from Blair Athol to Inverness, on the western edge of present day Cairngorms National Park. (Source: Peter Durbin)
James Robertson (1740 - 1812), a Minister, was based at Callander about 12 kms north west of Doune on the road to Killin, from the mid 1770s to 1812. James married Isabell Graham/Grahame on 14 August 1777 in Callander (Ref 336/20/107, Isabell's surname was recorded as 'Grahame').
James and Isabell Robertson (nee Graham) had the following children:
Siblings James and Janet appear to have remained in Callander until their deaths. Other Robertsons in Callander from 1829 to 1854 recorded in the parish baptisms include (a) George and Janet Robertson (nee Ferguson) and their four children born from 1829 to 1852, (b) Peter and Janet Robertson (nee Stewart) and their six children born from 1839 to 1854.
Based on research carried out by Peter Durbin, Duncan Robertson was on 26 May 1780 'examined and received an ample diploma' from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. The entry in quotes appears in Volume 6 (1771-1793) of the Minute Books of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, page 174. Another entry earlier in the same volume suggests he may have started his training in July 1777 as an apprentice to Benjamin Bell, a very distinguished 18th century surgeon.
Dr Duncan Robertson appears to have travelled to Jamaica after he completed his training.
According to an account written by his son James Peter Robertson (born 1822) in the book 'Personal Adventures and Anecdotes of an Old Officer', published in 1906, his father Duncan Robertson '... was educated for the medical profession and settled for many years in Jamaica where he practised as a physician, and as a member of Council got the title 'Honourable', eventually becoming the owner of a very fine estate there called Friendship'.
Duncan Robertson acquired an estate in St Elizabeth, West Jamaica, named 'Friendship'. See this page about Duncan Robertson in Jamaica for more details, and below from the mid 1810s for details of his life after he returned to Scotland and bought Carronvale House near Larbert. (Source: Peter Durbin, quoting the 'Red Book of Scotland' by Gordon MacGregor)
Within the next twenty years, Duncan encouraged, brought or enticed four of his nephews to Jamaica:
Duncan is also believed to be connected or involved with the travel to (and to live and work in) Jamaica in the early 1800s of brothers Alexander Gilbert Robertson (1806 - 1884) and Robert Joseph Robertson (1807 - 1851), the sons of Alexander Robertson the 14th Chief of the Donnachaidh clan and his wife Jean nee Stewart. How Duncan knew of the Stewart family is not yet known, but when he returned to Scotland (see below) in the mid 1810s he married Susan Ann Stewart, the half-cousin of those two men.
Note that Duncan's own son James Peter Robertson travelled there in the early 1840s where he visited his late father's property and met relatives.
Alexander Robertson of Struan became the 15th Chief of the Donnaichaidh clan in 1782 when Duncan Robertson, the 14th Chief, died.
Francis Robertson was the son of Alexander Robertson of Struan from his first wife Mary Best, and the brother of George Duncan Robertson (born 1766). As noted above, the Red Book of Scotland stated that Francis was 'lost at sea', but he appears in Jamaica by 1792 where he fathered two white children from an unnamed mother before he died in 1798. These two children, both listed in the 'White Children' section of the register, were baptised in 1800; the baptism record states that they were the 'Reputed children of Francis Robertson deceased'.
Francis worked as a surveyor in the St Elizabeth area and is understood to have known Dr Duncan Robertson (senior or junior, or both, to be confirmed) and Dr John Robertson.
By the late 1700's, more forced evictions were occurring. Lieutenant-General John Campbell (30 March 1762 - 29 March 1834), the 1st Marquess / Marquis of Breadalbane, and a Scottish soldier and landowner, had become the Earl of Breadalbane in January 1782. In 1792 many families were forced to leave to the coast and many others emigrated.
Robert Stewart 12th of Fincastle (1756 - 1822), the son of Gilbert Stewart 11th of Fincastle and his first wife Susan Menzies, married Louisa Maria Henrietta Graham of Inchbrackie in 1792. They had one daughter, Susan Ann Stewart who, as we will see, would marry Duncan Robertson (senior) after he returned from Jamaica in the mid 1810s - see below.
According to a page about the Robertson family memorial at Callander on the website geograph.org.au, the Rev James Robertson then residing at Callander wrote a report in the Old Statistical Account about the small hill in Callander. He wrote that '... there is a curious conical hill or mount at Callander, where the old church stood. This mount, which seems to be artificial, is called TOM-MA-CHESSAIG, the HILL OF ST KESSAIG; and, according to tradition, was used for butts, where the people, upon Sabbath evenings, exercised themselves with their bows and arrows, according to an ancient [Scottish] law for that purpose. There is another hill, larger than Tom-ma-Chessaig, at Little Leny, where Norie's Chapel stood, and which is still used as a cemetery by those of the name of Buchanan'. He also noted that '... the greatest fair is held on the 21st of March, or the 10th old style, which is called Fil-ma-chessaig, or the Festival of St Kessaig.'
James' son and successor as Minister in Callander, Peter Robertson, wrote a report in the 'New Statistical Account' about the same hill. See below.
The 'Papers of the Campbell family, Earls of Breadalbane', dating from 1306 to 1908 (Archives of Scotland reference GD112) include references to Robertsons along the southern side of Loch Tay, east of Ardeonaig, as follows. Further research needs to be undertaken to identify if or how any of these people are related to the other Robertsons described on this page.
John Robertson (25 December 1771, Cramond, near Edinburgh - 21 September 1818, Newington, Edinburgh) trained to be a medical doctor. At some point likely before 1800 he moved to Jamaica where his uncle Duncan already resided.
Duncan Robertson (1781 - 1850) was the third son of James and Isabella Robertson (nee Graham/Grahame). His father James Robertson, a Minister, had settled in Callander, Scotland. Perhaps encouraged by his namesake uncle or his cousin John Robertson (born 1771) who was also already in Jamaica (see below), Duncan is believed to have arrived in Jamaica by around 1801 ('in his early 20s' - it was said he had lived in Jamaica for 'nearly fifty years' when he died in 1850).
Duncan's younger brother, Alexander Robertson (1 September 1783, Callander - 1854, Callander), appears to have joined him, at least temporarily. The property known as 'Struan Estate' (which may have been owned by Francis Robertson who died before 1800 - see above from 1792) was recorded in 1829 as being owned jointly by the brothers; Alexander was recorded as an 'absentee owner'. Alexander may have returned to Scotland when his father James died in 1812. He was reported to be in Callander in 1837.
Archibald Robertson was the youngest child of Peter Robertson and his wife Janet (nee Adamson) and the brother of John Robertson (1771 - 1818). Archibald moved to Jamaica in the early 1800s but it is not known when and if he travelled there with his brother John.
Very little is known about Archibald's life in Jamaica. He signed a slave register on 12 September 1817, stating that he owned eight slaves in Manchester Parish. He owned a coffee plantation called 'Dunsinane' (or 'Duncinnan') in the May Day Hills southwest of Mandeville in Manchester parish. The following is the text of the advertisement placed in the Jamaica Royal Gazette after his death:
FOR SALE, DUNCINNAN Coffee-Plantation situated in May-Day Mountains, Parish of Manchester, the property of the late Dr Archibald Robertson, patented in 1800 by Dr John Robertson for 300 Acres. There are on the property a comforable Dwelling-House, Barbicues, Mill &c. Also from 15 to 20 Acres of excellent old COFFEE. The Land in all that District is of a very superior quality for the Culture of that Article. With the Property will be sold 10 well-disposed and able NEGROES, accustomed to work thereon. Application to be made as above to the Subscriber. D Robertson, sole Excr
(Source: Advertisement in the Jamaica Royal Gazette (Vol. XLII from Saturday, December 16, to Saturday, December 23, 1820, No. 52 Supplement, placed by Archibald's cousin Duncan Robertson of Gilnock Hall (1781-1850).
For the details of his will, see the entry for 1820 below.
Janet (Jessy) Robertson (1769 - 8 May 1859) was the eldest child of Peter and Janet Robertson (nee Adamson). Janet married William Mitchell (1756 - 1839) at Dunblane (north of Stirling) on 29 April 1804 (BDM Ref 348/30/409). William was tacksman ('A person who holds a lease and sublets land to others') of Gordonhall farm on the Invereshie estate in Invernesshire. William's father was Andrew Mitchell. William's siblings were James Mitchell of Kinnairdie (mentioned in the will of Margaret, William's daughter - see below), Andrew Mitchell, and Margaret Mitchell, all born in Ayreshire in the late 1750s to early 1760s.
William and Janet Mitchell (nee Robertson) had the following children. Details of these children are important in relation to the will of Janet/Jessy's brother Archibald who died in 1820 - see below in 1861 and 1862.
Janet's husband William Mitchell died in 1839 - see below. Janet then appears to have lived with her son Peter (1841 census) and her daughter (1851 census). She died in 1859.
John Robertson (1771 - 1818) married the widow Caroline Plummer (nee Swaby) by licence on 3 January 1804. (Source: Saint Elizabeth, Copy Register, Baptisms Marriages Burials, Vol. 1, p. 310.)
Caroline Swaby (1785 - 1874) was the daughter of Joseph James Swaby, custos of St Elizabeth and his wife Ann Badioli (of Italian parentage, born in London). Caroline married Thomas Plummer of St Elizabeth in 1801. The marriage was noted in The Gloucester Journal of 1 February 1802. They had a son named Swaby Plummer, born on 2 December 1802. Swaby graduated as a medical doctor from Edinburgh University and died in Paris in January 1823. (Source: Peter Durbin)
Unfortunately for Caroline, Thomas died in 1803. He was buried on 7 August 1803 at New River (Source: Saint Elizabeth, Copy Register, Baptisms Marriages Burials, Vol. 1, p. 342, via Peter Durbin)
Extract from the 'Baptisms of White Children in 1806', showing two children born at New River to John Robertson and 'Anne his wife'
John and Caroline Robertson (erroneously stated in the register to be 'Anne his wife') had the following children. There is an obvious connection here for the first two with Duncan Robertson of Friendship, John's uncle. Based on the baptism of their children Janet and Mary in Scotland, it would appear that they travelled to Kilmadock, Scotland around 1809 and again by 1817 (a year before John died). The connection with Kilmadock is not yet known. As can be seen, all of the children except Joseph James Robertson moved to England.
Note that John Robertson died on 21 September 1818, leaving his (now twice widowed) wife Caroline (who may have been pregnant with Isabella at the time) with some very young children.
Alexander Robertson, the 16th Chief of the Donnachaidh clan, was first married to Mary Best in 1765 and had two children. It is not yet known what happened to Mary, but Alexander Robertson married Jane/Jean Stewart, the daughter of Gilbert Stewart and his second wife Cecilia Stewart, on 26 May 1805. Note that the Red Book of Scotland states that Alexander's second wife was Cecilia Stewart but it is believed this is a mistake - Jane/Jean's mother was Cecilia.
Alexander and Jane/Jean Robertson had two children:
See below and also the page on Robertsons in Jamaica for more information about the lives of Alexander and Robert in Jamaica.
John and Caroline Robertson (nee Swaby) had the following children. Based on the baptism of their children Janet and Mary in Scotland, it would appear that they travelled to Scotland around 1809 and again by 1817 (a year before John died).
The Reverend James Robertson, the son of Robert and Janet Robertson (nee Guild) who had been a minister at Callander from 1768, died in (or before) July 1812. His death was recorded in The Scot's Magazine of July 1812 (page 567).
James was buried in the Tom na Chessaig churchyard in Callander. His gravestone included the following inscription in Latin: 'parentibus carissimis liberisque quattor' ('dear parents and four children'). See below after 1854 for an image of the commemoration to James and three of his sons in that churchyard.
After the death of his wife Ann (nee Luttman) in Jamaica, Duncan Robertson (senior) returned to Scotland and registered his intention to marry (banns) Susan Susan Anne Jane Stewart on 15 November 1817 in Dull, Perthshire. They married on 23 November 1818 at Fincastle, Perthshire, Scotland (Source: The Morning Post, The Scots Magazine, The Perth Courier, and The Edinburgh Magazine and Literary Miscellany).
Susan was the daughter of Robert Stewart 12th of Fincastle (1756 - 1822). Robert Stewart's half sister, from his father Gilbert Stewart's second marriage to Cecilia Stewart in 1770, was Jane/Jean Stewart who had married Alexander Robertson of Struan in 1805 - see above.
It seems likely that Jean Robertson (nee Stewart) and her husband Alexander and their two young boys (Alexander, born 1806 and Robert, born 1807) attended the wedding of Duncan and Susan. Perhaps Duncan encouraged the young boys to 'make their fortune' in Jamaica - and they may have decided to do just that after the death of their father Alexander in 1830. (In James Peter Robertson's memoirs, he suggests that his father took this two boys to Jamaica when they were young, but he may be mixing them up with his own first cousins).
Duncan Robertson 'of Roehill, Perthshire', acquired the property that became known as Carronvale in 1819. According to the Carronvale House website, 'Dr Robertson planted trees, laid out a new drive and built a Lodge. He also added two wings to the old house and lined the rooms with mahogany grown on his Jamaican Estate.
The following (slightly edited) details about Duncan Robertson, dated October 2011, was found on the website: http://memento-mori-scotland.blogspot.fr/2011/10/robertson-family.html. Permission to use this material has not yet been received.
Dr. Duncan Robertson is documented to have purchased, for just under two thousand pounds, the seventy acre Broomage Estate at Larbert. The estate had an existing six bedroomed mansion house which he extended by adding a lodge and two wings and re-named ‘Carronvale’ (as it was likely on or near the Carron River). Much of the interior was furnished with mahogany which is said to have been sourced from his plantation in Jamaica.
Duncan and Susan Robertson had three children, all believed to have been born in Edinburgh:
John Robertson (born 1771), the son of Peter and Janet Robertson (nee Adamson), died on 21 September 1818 at Newington, Edinburgh. At the time of his death he was noted as residing at Gartincaber in the country of Perth. For reference, there is a 'John Robertson Burial Ground' in Greyfriars graveyard in Edinburgh where his father Peter Robertson is interred.
The Morning Post of 29 September 1818, noting his death, described John Robertson as 'of Bellemont, St Elizabeth, Jamaica, many years a medical practitioner on that island'.
The following is the text of John Robertson's will, made on 16 May 1818:CC8/8/149 John Robertson of Bellemont in the parish of St Elizabeth, Jamaica. Residing at Garlincaber in the county of Perth. Executors: John Chambers of Northampton Estate, St Elizabeth; William Aldam of Warminster Estate, St Elizabeth; Duncan Robertson of Friendship Estate, Jamaica (at present in Great Britain); Joseph Lawes Swaby of Montpelier (at present in Great Britain); James Robertson, writer, 2 Heriot Row, Edinburgh (cousin); and Caroline Robertson (wife).
Inventory
£1000 sterling in deposit by the British Linen Company, £75000 sterling in deposit receipt by Sir William Forbes and Company, £167 12s 3d balance of account current with the branch of the Bank of Scotland at Stirling. A debt due from Major E. M.Pherson of the 79th regiment.
Will
Executors to be trustees for whole property.
Payment of just debts, sickbed and funeral expenses. £200 per year to wife Caroline Robertson. Should she wish to live again in Jamaica she shall be able to occupy my house in Bellemont and use all household furniture within it. £500 to her in order to purchase furniture which shall remain her absolute property.
My mother Janet Robertson to be allowed possession rent-free throughout her lifetime the second flat at number 10 Buccleuch Street, Edinburgh, which belonged to my father and which has been occupied by her since his death.
My father sold to Sir John McLean, Lieut. Col. of the 27th regiment of foot, the lease of the farms of Gaskenloan and Dalwhinnie in Inverness-shire which he had obtained from the Commissioners of the Forfeited Estates. £90 per annum still due from Sir John McLean for the remainder of this lease, which I allow my mother to draw for the rest of her life. If she survives after the end of the lease then my trustees to pay her £50 per annum for the rest of her life.
The residue of the whole proceeds, rents and profits of my estate real and personal estate to be spent by my trustees to pay towards the clothing, maintenance and education of my beloved children Ann, Joseph James, John, Janet, Peter, Eliza, Caroline and Mary Margaret Adlam and any other children which I may leave at the time of my death until they reach the age of 21 or at marriage. The surplus each year to be invested in stock in the three percent consols as an accumulating fund to be added to the capital. My estate to be shared between my children equally as tenants in common and not as joint tenants.
Should my children all die before age 21 then my property to be divided one third to my wife, one third to my sister Jessy Mitchell [his older sister Janet], wife of William Mitchell of Gorden Hall, North Britain, the final third to my brother Archibald Robertson of Dunsinane at present in the parish of St Elizabeth, Jamaica.
Executors and trustees to also be guardians of my children.
Codicil adds £100 annuity to wife Caroline Robertson in addition to that already allocated and £1000 to buy a suitable house for her.
Source of the above information: John Robertson of Bellemont', Legacies of British Slavery database (accessed 2 April 2023)
Archibald Robertson (date of birth not known) was the son of Peter Robertson and his wife Janet (nee Adamson). As noted above, he moved to Jamaica in the early 1800s and died on 11 September 1820. His will provide some clues to his life:
Note that, at the time of his death, Caroline Robertson (nee Swaby)(1785 - 1874), the wife of Archibald's brother John Robertson (1771 - 1818), was likely still living in Jamaica with her eight surviving children - see the names above in 1804.
The sources of the above information (all via Peter Durbin) are:
Alexander Robertson of Struan became the 16th Chief of the Donnaichaidh clan in 1822 when his predecessor Alexander Robertson died.
Duncan Robertson (born 1756) died in Edinburgh on 12 February 1824 and was buried at Larbert churchyard. (Source: Peter Durbin, a descendent of James, and also the Memento-Mori website).
Duncan Robertson left Carronvale to his eldest son, also Duncan, who had a commission in the Indian Army, where he met his future wife Miss Ogilvie, niece of the then Earl of Airlie. The two-year-old James Peter Robertson inherited another estate, 'Roehill', located in Perthshire. On the death of Duncan Robertson (junior) in 1856, that estate was sold to John Bell Sherriff, son of George Sherriff, a notable engineer who was trained by Boulton and Watt (the famous James Watt; inventor and developer of the steam engine).
It may not have been possible for Duncan and James' mother to maintain the estate. Carronvale was advertised ‘for rent’ in 1826 and again in 1827. The Stirling Journal of 2 March 1826 advertised the house as follows:
Modern, containing a dining room, drawing room, parlour, library, and a number of bedrooms, and other conveniences, all in the best order, having been lately painted and thoroughly repaired. The offices were large and complete and the Garden contained up-wards of a Scots Acre, well enclosed with Birch Walls, and completely stocked with Fruit Trees in full bearing.
See the Carronvale House website for information about the property.
George Duncan Robertson of Struan became the 17th Chief of the Donnaichaidh clan in 1830 when Alexander Robertson died.
According to a history of the Village of Killin by Ella Walker, the death of John Campbell in 1834 'heralded a time of great hardship and sorrow for many of his humble tenants'. His son, the 2nd Marquis, did little to manage the estates and instead left the Estate to the care of his Factor, a Mr James Wyllie, 'a name long remembered with dread in Breadalbane'. According to the history, Wyllie cleared the tenants from several parts of the Estate to make room for the formation of large sheep farms, often using means 'of great cruelty and injustice'. This may have started from the early 1800's and continued after the death of Campbell. Many of the original farm houses were destroyed; the remains of many the old stone farmhouses remain scattered around Loch Tay to this day.
After the death of Duncan Robertson in 1824, Susan Robertson (nee Stewart) was a widow for some time. On 16 November 1835, she married again, to Rev Thomas Liddell.
According to UK Parliamentary Papers, Alexander Robertson, stated to be an absentee owner-in-fee, claimed £657 5s 10d in relation to 40 enslaved people located at 'Jamaica Manchester 307 (Strewen Castle) on 14 December 1835 (T71/860). His brother Duncan was listed as the attorney. (T71/72, p.349. The compensation for a further 54 enslaved people on the same estate was awarded to his brother Duncan.
Source: Website of the Centre of the Study of Legacies of British Slavery accessed 7 June 2025
Duncan Robertson married Elizabeth Frances Smith, the 19-year-old daughter of Edward Smith on 21 June 1834. According to the Jamaica Almanac 1838, Duncan was reported having 70 apprentices.
Duncan and Elizabeth Robertson had the following children, including one born in Scotland, suggesting a trip back during this time.
Alexander Robertson (1783 - 1854), the son of James Robertson (1740 - 1812), a minister at Callander, was recorded in Pigot's 1837 National Commercial Directory at East Mains Callander. (Source: Pigots National Commercial Directory of the whole of Scotland p. 668), quoted in this web site. He appears in the 1841 census in Callander and also appears living with his brother James Robertson in the 1851 census in the same location, see below.
Janet (Jessy) Robertson (baptised 1769) was the eldest child of Peter and Janet Robertson (nee Adamson). Janet's husband William Mitchell (born 1756), tacksman of Gordonhall farm on the Invereshie estate in Invernesshire, died in 1839.
A Janet Mitchell aged 70 and a Peter Mitchell aged 25 ('tenant') are recorded in the 1841 census at Gordonhall farm. It is not known if this Peter Mitchell is the same man who died in Victoria, Australia in 1857 aged 50, but it is possible if no-one knew anything about him; his death record shows no parents.
Robert Joseph Robertson (1807 - 1861) married Jane Eliza Chambers (1813 - 1868) on 23 February 1839. (The Red Book of Scotland records her surname as Chalmers). Jane was described by James Peter Robertson, when he visited Jamaica in around 1841/1842 (see below), as the 'black wife' of his cousin. Jane was the daughter of John Thomas Chambers and an unknown woman; John Thomas Chambers was the one of two children of John Chambers (1764 - 1831), the proprietor of Northampton pen, a Jamaican livestock farm in St Elizabeth parish), and Jane Garrang (1768 - 1832), his mulatto housekeeper.
In a 1949 newspaper article referring to alleged attempts to oust him from the chieftanship of the Clan Donnachaidh, Robert's great-grandson Langton George Duncan Haldane Robertson stated that Robert had married Jane 'by Scottish declaratory marriage which was also conducted by a priest of the Church of England'. He said that his great-grandmother was 'a woman of very great loveliness, of so attractive beauty that she was generally known as 'Venus'.
Robert's brother, Alexander Gilbert Robertson (born 1806), who had become the 19th Chief of the Donnachaidh clan when his father died in 1830, likely attended the wedding.
A child named George Duncan Robertson was born on 28 March 1838 and baptised on 8 November 1840 in St Elizabeth. No parents are listed but his abode is shown as Fincastle which suggests the boy was the son of Robert Joseph Robertson and an unnamed woman or of Robert and Jane (nee Chambers) Robertson before they were married.
Robert Joseph Robertson and his wife Jane (nee Chambers) had three children:
Exactly when James Peter Robertson (born 1822) visited Jamaica is not known. He refers to emancipation (in 1834) but he was only 12 at that time; given other events described in the book, it seems more likely he visited in his late teens or early 20's, perhaps around 1841/42.
See the page on Jamaica for some of the observations he made while in Jamaica.
Alexander Gilbert Robertson (1806 - 1884), then 19th Chief of the Donnachaidh clan and a direct relative of James, was not married when James visited. He did not marry until 1863, so James described him in his memoirs as an 'old bachelor'. He also referred to a cousin with a 'black wife' and a flourishing family; this was Robert Joseph Robertson and his wife Jane Eliza (nee Chambers) although he only had a small family in 1841/1842.
James Peter Robertson noted that the then Chief of the Robertson/Donnachaidh clan (presumably George Duncan Robertson, the 18th Chief) wanted to sell part of the ancestral property but '... needed to get the permission of the two next heirs (as he had no family himself) to the chieftanship, and it was ascertained, by going back a good many generations that the legal heirs were my two cousins in Jamaica. With their permission (they receiving a small sum as compensation) he sold part of the estate.'
This happened again, this time for the sale of the entire estate but, before the sale went through, the (18th) Chief died (in 1864) and his uncle, James' bachelor cousin in Kingston (Alexander Gilbert Robertson, born 1806)) 'succeeded to the title and estates' but at the time had no heirs at the time. James noted 'Here was a comically sad state of things. The prospective chief of the Robertsons (his nephew) was a delightful black man' ... '. The 'delightful black man' is believed to be Robert Joseph Stewart Robertson (1839 - 1880) who, by 1863, had married and had a son also named Robert Joseph Stewart Robertson (1863 - 1926).
However, the chief (Alexander Gilbert Robertson (born 1806) married in 1863 and had a family [actually one son, Alasdair Stewart Robertson (1863 - 1910)], and so the black man's nose was put out of joint.'
However, as it turned out, Alexander Gilbert Robertson's son Alasdair Stewart Robertson, the 20th Chief, died in 1910 and he was succeeded by Robert Joseph Stewart Robertson (born 1863) to 1926, a succession that does not seem to be recognised by the Donnachaidh Clan.
George Duncan Robertson (1867 - 1949) was the 21st chief from 1926 until 1949. He married Lilian Margaret Ramson on 10 November 1896. Their son Langton George Haldane Duncan Robertson (1898 - 1983) became the 22nd Chief. Langton Robertson married Laurie Constance Lindo on 1 July 1927 and their son, Alexander Gilbert Haldane Robertson became the 23th Chief (current as at 26 June 2025).
The Clan Donnachaidh Society page shows details of this succession.
The 1841 census records the following individuals noted on this page:
Callander
Kingussie and Insh/Inverness / Gordonhall
Laggan, Inverness / Blayly House?
The following (slightly edited) details about Duncan Robertson, dated October 2011, was found on the Memento-Mori website. Permission to use this material has not yet been received.
Two sons of Duncan Robertson (1756 - 1824), Duncan Stewart Robertson (1819 - 1856) and his brother James Peter Robertson (1822 - 1916) both served in the army.
While serving in India, Duncan Robertson met his future wife Hariette Anne Mary Ogilvy (born around 1818 - 23 April 1849), youngest daughter of Hon. Col. Donald Ogilvie of Clova and Maria Morley - see below in 1844.
James Peter Robertson spent most of his life in military service. He attended Edinburgh Military Academy where he studied military drawing and surveying and it was whilst at Edinburgh, he received a commission and was gazetted to the 31st Regiment in 1842. His service took him to Asia, South Asia and India as well as serving throughout the Indian Mutiny and the Crimean War. His book ‘Personal Adventures and Anecdotes of an Old Officer’ was published in 1906 and was dedicated to the Rt. Hon. R. B. Haldane, M.P., Secretary of State for War 'In grateful remembrance of the life-long friendship that existed between the author and his noble-hearted and worth father, the late Robert Haldane of Cloaden.'
Duncan Robertson (1756 - 1824) married Hariette Ogilvy in September 1844. They had two children:
Details of Julia and Donald are from the Memento-Mori website
According to a page about the Robertson family memorial at Callander on the website geograph.org.uk, the Rev Peter Robertson (born 1849) acquired the property known as Braendam House in Stirling by 1844.
According to a page about the Robertson family memorial at Callander on the website geograph.org.uk, the Rev Peter Robertson (born 1849), the successor to his father as the parish minister, was the author of the report on the Parish of Callander that appears in the New Statistical Account (1845); the corresponding report in the Old Statistical Account (1794) had been written by his father the Rev James Robertson (d.1812), who is commemorated on another side of this memorial. See below for an image of the memorial.
Duncan Robertson's wife Hariette Robertson (nee Ogilvy) died on 23 April 1849, leaving him with two very young children aged 4 (Julia) and 2 (Donald).
Duncan Robertson (born 1781, the son of the Rev James Robertson) died in Jamaica on 9 May 1850 and was buried in the burial ground at Gilnock Hall, St Elizabeth the following day (Saint Elizabeth, Copy Register, Baptisms Marriages Burials, Vol. 4, page 528, entry 33.). (Source: Peter Durbin). There is a memorial to him in Black River church.
Callander
32 people with the surname Robertson were recorded in the 1851 census in Callander. Five of the Robertson siblings are recorded living together in two separate properties:
The missing siblings are Robert (1778 - , Henry's twin), Duncan (1781 - 1850 in Callander) who had died already, Jean Dundas Robertson (1791 - ) and the Rev Peter Robertson who may have been living at Braendum House in Stirling from 1844 but is not yet identifiable in the 1851 census for that area. Henry, 'of Mansfield Callander', died in September 1853; his brother Alexander inherited £1000 under Henry's will, proved on 21 October 1854 - see details below. (PROB 11/2199/261). Alexander and Janet, also noted in the will, also died in 1854.
Children of Duncan Stewart Robertson - Glenprosen
The 1851 census shows the following Robertson children living with the Ogilvy family at 'Balnaboch' in Glenprosen, Kirriemuir, Angus:
It is not known where Duncan Robertson was at this time as he does not appear in any census record. He died in 1856 aged around 37.
Janet McArthur and Peter Mitchell - Rogart, Sutherland (Ref 055/3/10)
The 1851 census shows Duncan McArthur, his wife Janet (nee Mitchell) and quite a few others living at the Rogart Manse.
As noted above, Henry Robertson was a medical doctor who lived in Callander with his younger sister Isabella. Henry died on 1 September 1853. He was buried at the Callander Burial ground.
Henry Robertson left a relatively complex will that made his brother James (1780 - 1856) the executor, some of which is repeated here because of the reference to individuals already noted on this page. In total, his assets amounted to around £12,345-19-11 - equivalent to just under one million pounds in 2017 (Source: National Archives UK calculator)
Henry divided his assets as follows (in summary). Note that there is no mention of his siblings Robert Robertson (whose history is not yet known), Duncan Robertson (then in Jamaica), or Jean Dundas Robertson (history also not known).
Alexander Robertson (born 1783) and his sister Janet Graham Robertson (born 1789), the children of the Rev James and Isabell Robertson (nee Graham), were recorded living with their brother James (born 1780) in the 1851 census. Both died in 1854. James died in 1856. It is presumed that both were interred in the Callander Burial Ground.
Siblings Henry Robertson (died 1853), Duncan Robertson 'of Gillnock Hall, Jamaica' (died 1850 in Callander), and (the Rev) Peter Robertson 'of Braendum (House, Stirling)' are commemorated in a family grave at in the Callander Burial Ground. Their father who died in 1812 is remembered on the other side of the commemoration. (Source: This page on the geograph.org.uk website
James Robertson (born 1780), the son of the Rev James and Isabell Robertson (nee Graham), who was recorded living with his siblings Alexander and Janet Robertson in the 1851 census, died in 1856 in Callander. As noted above, James appears to have been the primary beneficiary of his brother Henry's will. It is not yet known how this inheritance was divided after James died.
The following (slightly edited) details about Duncan Robertson, dated October 2011, was found on the website: http://memento-mori-scotland.blogspot.fr/2011/10/robertson-family.html. Permission to use this material has not yet been received.
Duncan Stewart Robertson age 36 died of Broncho-Pneumonia at The Manse, Lochmaben, Dumfriess-shire on 20 October 1856 where he was temporarily resident. There is no occupation listed on the registration, only that he was a widower. His death was registered by Rev. Thomas Liddell, his step-father (his step-mother was Susan Ann Jane Liddell). At the time, his daughter Julia Robertson was 11 and his son Donald Robertson was 9. The Death Registration shows his place of burial was Larbert Churchyard.
Duncan's 35-page (handwritten) will states that the trustees of his will were to be Mrs Harriette Ogilvy or Robertson 'my beloved wife' (who pre-deceased him), Lieutenant James Peter Robertson of Her Majesty's Thirty First Regiment of Foot 'my only brother', Lieutenant Walter Ogilvy of Her Majesty's Eighty Fifth Light Infantry 'eldest son of the Honourable Donald Ogilvy of (Clova?)' and Robert Haldau (?) Esquire, 'writer to the Signet'.
Duncan Robertson's property Carronvale was sold by his trustees to John Bell Sherriff in April 1857. It is presumed that the proceeds were split between his two children, Donald Robertson and Julia Robertson.
Peter Mitchell (baptised 19 October 1809) was the son of William and Janet Mitchell (nee Robertson, the daughter of Peter and Janet Robertson (nee Adamson), and brother of Janet Mitchell (1805 - ?). At some point after 1851 (when he was last recorded in the census living with his sister Janet at Rogart), he left for Victoria, Australia. A Peter Mitchell, a 45 year old farmer without any other family with him, arrived in Melbourne in 1853 on board the Ann Dashwood. This may and may not be the same person.
Peter was working as a shepherd near Winchelsea in Victoria, Australia, when he accidentally poisoned himself by taking (drinking with milk) arsenic instead of sulphur and cream of tartar as a remedy to treat sore legs. The Coronial inquest contains quite a few witness statements. The house servant to Charles Beal (also Peter's employer) said that Peter woke her saying he was feeling ill so her husband called Charles Beal. Charles Beal, stated that: 'I have known the deceased Peter Mitchell about seven months, he has been in my employ between four and five months, acting as shepherd. I had told him he must wait till I could get some one in his places, as he was complaining of being ill and showed me his legs which were sore. I told him to take some sulphur and cream of tartar and he said he had taken a great deal of it but he would take some more.' Beal told him to take more sulphur from the store and ask his wife to mix it with cream of tartar and milk, for him to drink. Some of the powder was still in the newspaper. At around three or four in the morning of 22 April 1857, he was woken by the house servant's husband and told that Peter was vomiting very much. Beal gave him castor oil and gin and noticed that the powder 'might not be sulphur'. It was in fact arsenic. He gave Mitchell olive oil and mustard and water to increase the vomiting and sent for the doctor. Beal stated that Mitchell had been in the store where the sulphur and arsenic were both stored (in different locations). Beal added that, as Peter realised that 'he was not likely to live, he begged me to write to his mother and tell her how he came by his death, that he had taken poison but it was through accident, saying 'be sure to say that''. Beal also stated that he kept the sulphur and arsenic 'for the purpose of sheep dressing'. Mitchell died in the early morning.
Janet (aka Jessy/Jessie) Mitchell (nee Robertson) (born 1769), the only daughter of Peter and Janet Robertson (nee Adamson), died on 8 May 1859 in Inveran. Janet was the mother of Janet Mitchell (who married Duncan McArthur, Peter Mitchell (who had died in Australia in April 1857), and Margaret Mitchell (who pre-deceased her in 1835).
Note that, according to the 1820 will of Janet's brother Archibald, 'immediately after my decease, all of my property in this country [Jamaica] shall be sold and the money arising therefrom be remitted Home, that my [sister Jessy] shall have the use of the interest of the said money during her life, and at her death the whole be equally divided among her children share and share alike'. Janet's death presumably was the reason for the court cases involving her daughter Janet McArthur (nee Mitchell) in Edinburgh in 1861 and 1862 - see below.
Bristol, England - Julia and Donald Robertson
Julia Robertson (1845, Edinburgh - 1911, Somerset), the daughter of Duncan Robertson (1756 - 1824) and his wife Harriette (nee Ogilvy), is listed in the 1861 census as a Boarder in Clifton, Bristol, England. Her brother Donald Robertson has not yet been found in the census.
Archibald Robertson (date of birth not known) was the son of Peter Robertson and his wife Janet (nee Adamson). As noted above, he moved to Jamaica in the early 1800s and died there on 11 September 1820. Apart from 145 Jamaican pounds given to his former housekeeper and an unnamed child, Archibald's will bequeathed the proceeds from the sale of his property to his sister Janet/Jessy Robertson (later Mitchell)(born 1769) for 'the benefit of her children' and, after her death, equally to her children. By the time of her death in 1859, only one of Janet's children still survived - Jannet/Janet McArthur (nee Mitchell) who had married the Rev Duncan McArthur in 1838 and had four children (see above). From the details below, Janet's husband Duncan had already died by this point as she is referred to as a widow and relict of Duncan.
Two cases were brought to the Edinburgh Sheriff Court in 1861 and 1862.
The 1861 case details are shown below.
At Edinburgh the second day of October eighteen hundred and sixty one the following inventory of the personal estate of the deceased Archibald Robertson and Deed relative to the disposal thereof were presented by Mr John Marshall. Inventory of the personal estate of the late Archibald Robertson, Practitioner of Physic and Surgery in the Parish of Manchester and Island of Jamaica who died at Bellemont in the Parish of Saint Elizabeth Jamaica on the eleventh day of September eighteen hundred and twenty. Principal sum decerned [sic] or about to be decerned for in the action at the instance of Mrs Janet Mitchell or McArthur residing at Inveran in the County of Sutherland widow and executrix dative qua relict of the late Reverend Duncan McArthur Minister of Rogart in said shire as executrix dative qua next of kin decerned to the said deceased Archibald Robertson and sole surviving residuary legatee under the deceased's last will and testament [from?] against Mrs Caroline Robertson of Bellemont foresaid and others - the summons in which action is signeted [sic] twenty first November eighteen hundred and sixty. £623. Interest thereon from eighth May eighteen hundred and fifty nine in terms of said decree to date of giving up inventory at five per cent £73.14.9. Amount of personal estate £696.14.9. Note the deceased died in Jamaica and the executor under his will (also now deceased) realised his estate in that Colony. The amount of the estate so realised is not known to the present deponent. (Signed) Janet McArthur. (Signed) B Mackenzie JP, at Creich the nineteenth day of September one thousand eight hundred and sixty one in presence of Boyce Mackenzie Esquire one of Her Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the County of Sutherland appeared Mrs Janet Mitchell or McArthur residing at Inveran in the County of Sutherland who being solemnly sworn and examined depones that Archibald Robertson Practitioner of Physic and Surgery in the Parish of Manchester in the Island of Jamaica died at Bellemont in the Parish of Saint Elizabeth Jamaica ... and the deponent has entered (or is about to enter) upon the possession and management of the deceased's estate as executrix dative qua next of kin decerned to him by the said Commissary of Edinburgh on the first day of November eighteen hundred and sixty and as sole surviving Residuary Legatee under the last will and testament executed by the deceased on the seventh day or September eighteen hundred and twenty and duly proved in said Island of Jamaica on the sixteenth day of November eighteen hundred and twenty an official copy whereof is now exhibited and signed by the deponent and the said Justice of the Peace of this date as relative hereto; that the deponent does not know of any settlement of writing relative to the disposal of the deceased's personal estate or effects or any part thereof other than that now exhibited, that the foregoing inventory signed by the deponent and the said Justice of the Peace as relative hereto is a full and complete inventory of the personal estate and effects of the said deceased wheresoever situated and belonging or due to him beneficially at the time of his death and at this date so far as the same has come to the deponent's knowledge and that the said estate situated in Scotland is of the value of six hundred pounts sterling and under the value of eight hundred pounds sterling; confirmation is required in favor of the deponent; all which is truth as the deponent shall answer to God. (Signed) Janet McArthur (Signed) B Mackenzie JP.
Interestingly, the very next item in the register relates to the death of Janet McArthur (nee Mitchell)'s brother Peter Mitchell at Mount Gilliland [sic - probably Mount Gellibrand], Winchelsea, Victoria, Australia on 23 April 1857 aged 50 (Vic BDM Ref 3353). With the death of Peter and her younger sister Margaret Mitchell in 1858, Janet was now the sole recipient of whatever was left of her grandfather Archibald Robertson's will.
The 1862 case details are shown below.
Archibald Robertson, vide Record of Inventories Vol 110 p240 2nd October 1861. Jamaica SS George the Fourth by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King, and of Jamaica Lord, Defender of the Faith re To our trusty and well beloved Charles Farquharson know ye that we have constituted authorised and appointed and by these presents do constitute authorise and appoint ye or either of ye to administer an/on oath unto William Walker or any other that are witness and can make oath of the signing sealing publishing and declaring of the last will and testament of Archibald Robertson late of the Parish of Manchester [Jamaica] Practioner in Physic and Surgery deceased and thereof you or either of you are to make a due return under your or either of your hands and seals unto our Captain General and Governor in Chief of our said Island or to the Governor in Chief of the same for the time being withis [sic - 'with this'] power annexed so that such proceedings may be ordered therein as may be according to law witness his Grace William Duke of Manchester, Captain General and Governor in Chief of our said Island at St Iago de la Nega the 13th day of October annno domini 1820 and in the 1st year of our Reign --- Manchester --- Passed the Secretary's Office. W Bullock Secretary --- Jamaica SS. In obedience to the within dedumis potestatem ['we have given the power] to me and another directed I have administered an oath unto the within named William Walker as I am thereby directed. Given under my hand and seal this 16th day of Novr 1820 --- Charles Farquharson LS.
In the name of Almighty God. Amen. I Archibald Robertson Practitioner of Physic and Surgery in the Parish of Manchester being in sound and healthy disposition of body and mind but aware of the uncertainty of this life do make this my last Will and Testament. In the first place I leave and appoint my dear cousin Duncan Robertson my Executor and administrator. Secondly it is my wish that after my funeral expenses and just and lawful debts are paid Nancy Alexander shall receive the sum of one hundred and forty pounds, my heir at law the sum of five pounds all current money of Jamaica and the residue of my property real personal or mixed in this country or elsewhere I bequeath to my beloved sister Mrs Jessy Mitchell of Gordon Hall in Scotland for the benefit of her children, that immediately after my decease my property in this country shall be sold and the money arising therefrom be remitted Home, that my aforesaid sister shall have the use of the interested of the said money during her life, and at her death the whole be equally divided among her children share and share alike. A Robertson --- Witnesses - James McGregor, William Walker, Donald Maclean. Signed and executed this 7th Septr 1820.
Jamaica SS In obedience to the dedumis potestatem hereunto annexed I have administered an oath unto William Walker who being duly sworn on the Holy Evengelists deposeth and saith that he was present and did see Archibald Robertson the Testator in the annexed Instrument in writing named being at that time of sound and disposing mind memory and understanding sign seal publish and declare the same as and for his last Will and Testament and at the same time James McGregor and Donald McLean were also present and together with him subscribed their names as witnesses to the same in the presence of the said Testator and further that he knows nothing of any will since made by the said Testator that can tend to the disadvantage of the will hereunto ammexed given under my hand and seal this sixteenth day of Novr Anno Domini 1820. C. Farquharson (L.S.). Nera copia extur. W G Stewart Sec Geich September 19th 1861. Referred to an oath to Invenstory of the personal Estate of the late Archibald Robertson Practioner of Physic and Surgery in the Parish of Manchester and Island of Jamaica made and signed by me of this date. (Signed) Janet McArthur, (Signed) B Mackenzie J.P.. Compld SY
One presumes that, with the confirmation that Archibald never made another will, the widow Janet McArthur was now the sole recipient of the estate - £696.14.9 including interest. According to the UK National Archives website, this amount was worth approximately £41,153 in 2017, representing 3,480 days of wages for a skilled tradesman.
Robert Joseph Stewart Robertson (1839 - 1880) was the eldest child of Robert Joseph Robertson and his wife Jane (nee Chambers). Robert Joseph Stewart Robertson married Sarah Sinclair on 20 May 1862. They had two children:
Alexander Gilbert Robertson (1806 - 1884), the son of Alexander Robertson (16th Chief of the Donnachaidh clan) and his wife Jane/Jean Stewart, married Charlotte Wilhelmina Hoffman in Jamaica in January 1863. They had three children:
Alexander Gilbert Robertson became the 19th Chief of the Donnachaidh clan, taking over from his nephew George Duncan Robertson the 18th Chief.
Donald Ogilvey [sic] Morley Robertson married Alice Mary Strickland in Pancras District, London, in 1871. (Ref: England & Wales Marriages 1837 - 2005, volume 1B, page 169)
Duncan Graham Robertson appears in Thornton Fylde, Lancashire, in the 1871 census.
In the 1871 census, the 25-year-old Julia Robertson, an annuitant, is listed as a visitor at 1 ‘Freemantle’? Villas in Clifton, Bristol, England. Julia's brother, Donald Ogilvy Morley Robertson (aged 23) and his new wife Alice Mary L. (age 22, born Frome, Somerset) were living at 29 Longford Street, Pancras/Marylebone, London. His occupation is listed as ‘Writer of Guide Books'.
James Robertson was the son of John Robertson and Helen Clark, and the brother of Colin Robertson and Robert Robertson who pre-deceased him.
James' death certificate states that he died on 3 March 1874 at 34 Haig? Street in Stirling. His death certificate states was 84, a 'scavenger' and 'widower of Mary Livingston' (who may be the 'sister' Mary Robertson recorded in the 1851 census or the Mary Young recorded in the 1861 census). His parents were recorded as John Robertson, a farmer, and Helen Clark (same as Colin and Robert). He died of 'senile decay'.
The informant on the death certificate was Duncan McLean of 79 Upper Bridge Street, Stirling, noted as a 'nephew in law'. To be a 'nephew in law' means he was likely the husband of the daughter of James' brother Robert (as brother Colin didn't have daughters); these daughters were Helen/Ellin Robertson (born 1820, Janet Robertson (born 1825), Anne Robertson (born 1827), Margaret Robertson (born 1836), and Christina Robertson (born 1839). It may be relevant here that an Ellen McLean and Duncan McLean are recorded at the same address in Stirling in the 1871 census (Ref 490/14/8). This may be James' niece (TBC - if their address in the census is the same as shown on James' death certificate).
The 22-year-old Duncan Graham Robertson (born 1859) was recorded in Logie, Perthshire, in the 1881 census.
By 1881, 35-year-old Julia CO Robertson is listed as a Church Worker living at 8 Ellenbro Crescent, Weston Super Mare in Somerset, England. She appears to be living with the Penruddock family:
Donald Robertson and his wife, shown as 'Alice' (perhaps a second name) were living in Witham, Frome, Somerset. He was shown as a 'Gentleman of Independent Means'. It is not believed that they had any children. Donald Robertson died on 8 October 1885; his wife Alice died on 4 March 1887. Both are buried at Witham, Somerset.
Duncan Graham Robertson is not obvious in the 1891 census.
By 1891, now 45 year old Julia CO Robertson is back in Scotland living at ‘Winfield’, Whitsome, Berwickshire with two servants, and ‘Living on Private Means’.
Duncan Graham Robertson appears in Crieff, Perthshire, in the 1901 census.
In 1901 the 55 year old Julia CO Robertson has returned to England, and is living with two servants at 8 Arundell Terrace, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, again listed as ‘Living on Own Means’.
George Duncan Robertson (died 1949), the son of Robert Joseph Robertson (1807 - 1861) and his wife Jane Eliza (nee Chambers), became the 21st Chief of the Donnachaidh clan when his cousin Alasdair Stewart Robertson died in 1910 without any issue.
Julia Cecelia Ogilvy Robertson died aged 66 on 12 November 1911. Her death was registered at Axbridge district, Somerset (October - December Quarter).
Lieutenant Colonel James Peter Robertson, C.B., J.P. died at his home at Callander Lodge, Callander on 25 February 1916 age 94 years. His Death Registration shows that he was the widower of Louisa Churchill. (Louisa is believed to have died c1910). Obituaries appeared in both The Glasgow Herald of 28 February 1916 (Page 6) and The Falkirk Herald of 4 March 1916. As well as being an Indian Mutiny and Crimean War Veteran, he was a Justice of the Peace for Perthshire and at the time, the oldest Freemason in Scotland. The Falkirk Herald also added that he was a 'keen sportsman both with rod and gun' and 'at the age of 85 he could take a twenty-mile run on his bicycle without undue fatigue'.
He was buried in Callander Cemetery, Grave 456 on 29 February 1916.
Duncan Graham Robertson was recorded in Newbury, Berkshire, in the 1921 census.
Page created 18 October 2025 from the original page created on 11 December 2011, updated 25 October 2025. Copyright © Andrew Warland. (andrewwarland(at)gmail.com)