Colin Drummond (abt. 1692 - bef. 1737)

Born about 1692 in Perthshire, Scotland [uncertain]

Husband of Janet (Barnet) Drummond — married 28 Feb 1712 in Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland

Descendants

Died before 21 Apr 1737 before about age 45 in Borlandbog, Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland

Biography

Colin Drummond is a member of Clan Drummond.

Native Scot (born, married, and died in Scotland)

Historical Context

Colin Drummond lived during a turbulent time in Scottish history. It is possible that he had already been born by 1 November 1688 when, - after storms defeated an earlier attempt on 19 October 1688 - William of Orange sailed from Holland with an enormous invasion fleet of 6o warships and 500 smaller vessels, landing at Torbay in Devon, on the south-west coast of England on 5 November 1688.^[1]

King James VII of Scots by Godfrey Kneller.

Despite having a large army of 25,000 men, King James VII doubted their loyalty and called upon James Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee for help. Dundee marched to London with 6,000 Scots troops but the King's English forces turned their coats and joined the invaders leaving the Scots army stranded and isolated. On 11 December King James attempted to flee, but was captured and handed over to William of Orange, who, not knowing what to do with him, allowed him to sail for France where he landed on 25 December 1688.^[1]

On 22 January 1689, an assembly in London declared that James' reign was over and that he had de facto - if not de jure - abdicated. Prince William of Orange - James' nephew - and his wife Mary - James' daughter - were proclamed joint King and Queen of England and Ireland on 13 February 1689. However it was not until 4 April 1689 that the Scottish Convention of Estates declared that James VII had "forefaulted" his right to the crown and on 11 April 1689 the Prince and Princess of Orange became William II and Mary II of Scots.^[1]

Nevertheless, Viscount Dundee remained loyal to King James VII and on 27 July 1689 he defeated general Hugh MacKay at the Battle of Killiecrankie between Blair Atholl and Pitlochry. However, despite the stunning victory for the Jacobites, Viscount Dundee's death in the final minutes of the battle robbed King James VII of his most able and charismatic commander and destroyed any hopes of his restoraton as King of Scots. He died in exile at Saint-Germain-en-Laye near Paris on 5 September 1701.^[1]

Georg Ludwig, Elector of Hanover.

There was little actual military opposition to James' nephew William, daughter Mary and Mary's sister Anne. However war almost broke out between England and Scotland on several occassions and the 1707 Union of the Parliaments was seen to be undesirable but a political necessity by the English Parliament in order to ensure that an independent Scotland could not choose a diferent monarch from England. In Scotland, King James VII's son James, Duke of Rothesay and Prince of Wales, was viewed by many to be the logical and legitimate heir and successor to Queen Anne.^[1]

In contrast to the "Bloodless Revolution", which had actually been far from bloodless in Scotland and Ireland, a major civil war was triggered when Queen Anne died on 1 August 1714 and her second cousin, the Elector George of Hanover was proclaimed King of Great Britain and Ireland. The Elector did not land in his new realm until 18 September and his coronation on 20 October was met with protests in Scotland and rioting in more than 20 English towns. The Elector George's succession set the scene for a new round of more than 40 years of dynastic conflict and turmoil. ^[1]

Birth & Baptism

Colin Drummond may have been born around 1687 to 1692 assuming that he was aged 20 to 25 at his marriage to Janet Barnet. ^[2] His exact date and place of birth and baptism is unknown. The Old Parish Register of Births & Baptisms for Auchterarder dates back to 1661 with the baptism of a Janat Drwmond, daughter of John Drwmond and Betrix Gairdner being recorded on 15 December 1661, so there were certainly Drummonds in Aucherarder parish from the date of the earliest parish records. ^[3]

Banns & Marriage

On 20 February 1712 in the town of Auchterarder in the parish of Aucherarder in the county of Perthshire in Scotland, banns were proclaimed between Colin Drummond and Janet Barnet, both resident in that parish. They were married on 28 February 1712. ^[2]

Children

Colin Drummond had two known children with Janet Barnet:

1. James Drummond, born at Borland in Auchterarder parish, Perthshire, Scotland and baptised on 12 July 1713 ^[4] It is not known whether James Drummond survived infancy.
2. Margaret Drummond, also born at Borland and baptised on 03 August 1715. ^[5] Margaret Drummond went on to marry James Steel or Steil, tenant at Clarty Mire and had a large number of descendants. ^[6]

Death & Burial

There is no further mention of Colin Drummond in the parish records after the baptism of his daughter Margaret on 03 August 1715. The dramatic events that happened in and nearby the town of Auchterarder in the next few months may give some clues as to why this might be.

It had been believed that Colin Drummond might have died in 1715, but he survived until 1737, dying at Borlandbog and left a will which was proven on 21 Apr 1737.

Auchterarder and the 1715 Civil War

James VIII and III by Alexis Simon Belle.

The civil war of 1715 began less than a month after the baptism of Margaret Drummond when John Erskine, 23rd & 6th Earl of Mar sailed from London to Scotland. On 27 August at Braemar in Aberdeenshire he held his first council of war and on 6 September the standard of "James the 8th and 3rd" was raised there and the King was acclaimed by some 600 of his supporters - this despite the Earl of Mar receiving no commission from James to start a rising. ^[7]

A few weeks later, the Earl of Mar and his whole army marched from Perth and arrived in Auchterarder on 16 October 1715. ^[8]

Before the end of the month, Lt-Gen Alexander Gordon arrived in Auchterarder from Argyll with Jacobite Highland clans and on 04 November 1715 the Earl of Mar, then back in Perth made reference to the celebrated Roy Roy MacGregor being in Auchterarder. ^[8]

On 10 November 1715, Mar with 2300 horse and 5000 foot reviewed his troops at Auchterarder and was joined the next day by General Gordon with the clans, who numbered 100 horse and 3000 foot. ^[8]

On 13 November 1715, the inconclusive Battle of Sherrifmuir took place near Dunblane, with both sides claiming victory, although it was a strategic victory for the Hanovarians who prevented the Jacobites from marching south. ^[9]

The Battle of Sherrifmuir, 1715 by John Wootton (1682–1764) .

With thousands of soldiers marching back and forth in Auchterarder, there would undoubtedly have been a great deal of disruption with soldiers being billeted in houses and items such as food and shoes being requisitioned for the army. But much worse was to come.

On 17 January 1716, the Earl of Mar gave orders, carried out on the 25th, to "burn and destroy the village of Auchterarder, and all the houses, corn, and forage, whatsoever within the said town, so as they might be rendered entirely useless to the enemy.” There are some detailed and harrowing accounts of this, such as the minister pleading that his mother was dying and to give her a few minutes to die in peace in her own home but being dragged out into the snow and expiring soon after. ^[10]

John Erskine, 23rd & 6th Earl of Mar, later 1st Duke of Mar.

One witness reported "There was burnt in this parish 142 houses, these not included which were set on fire, but partly sav'd, and all theire corns, so that there was nothing left them to preserve theire cattle and sow theire grounds; and besides the starving condition to which the people of all ages were reduced by the frights, cold, and fatigue they endur'd, many dyed soon after, and several lost the use of their limbs.” ^[10]

In these circumstances, it is perhaps telling that there were no more recorded children for Colin Drummond and Janet Barnet after the baptism of Margaret in 1715. Margaret obviously survived as she went on to marry James Steel or Steil, tenant at Clarty Myre in 1737, but the fates of Colin and Janet and their son James are unknown.

On 14 October 1731, a Commission of Inquiry declared that a number of people had proved losses sustained by the burning of Auchterarder and surrounding villages and amongst those awarded compensation was a Janet Barnet who was to get £2 12s and 1d sterling (as opposed to Scots). There is no indication that this was the same Janet Barnet who married Colin Drummond, but it does seem to be a distinct possibility. ^[11]

Account of Compensation Paid by Government to the Sufferers By The Burning Of Auchterarder, Dunning, Blackford, Muthill and Crieff in 1715.

As for Colin Drummond, it is unclear whether he was the scion of a noble family - see Research Notes - or simply a local whose baptism was not recorded. Was he a Jacobite or a Hanovarian or merely an innocent bystander? Did he perish at the Battle of Sherrifmuir, was he one of those who died following the burning of Auchterarder or did he die of natural causes? There is still much that remains unknown.

Research Notes

It had been believed that he might the Colin Drummond baptised in 1684 in Errol parish and some internet trees even describe Colin Drummond of Auchterarder as Sir Colin Dummond, Earl of Lennoch - Lennoch was actually a Scottish feudal barony ^[12], not an Earldom. However, it has been demonstrated that Colin Drumond, son of Adam Drummond, 9th of Lennoch and 2nd of Megginch had a distinguished career as Professor of Logic, Metaphysics and Greek at Edinburgh University, died on 02 November 1753 and was buried in Greyfriars kirkyard.

Our Colin Drummond is clearly a different person and it seems possible that he was born locally but that his baptism was not recorded in the Old Parish Registers of Births & Baptisms.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} The Story of Scotland (2000) Magnus Magnusson. HarperCollins Publishers
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Old Parish Register of Banns & Marriages entry for Colin Drummond and Janet Barnet DRUMMOND COLIN JANET BARNET/ 28/02/1712 329/ 10 159 Auchterarder
3. ↑ Old Parish Register of Births & Baptisms entry for Janat Drwmond DRWMOND JANAT JOHN DRWMOND/BETRIX GAIRDNER F 15/12/1661 329/ 10 5 Auchterarder
4. ↑ Old Parish Register of Births & Baptisms entry for James Drummond DRUMMOND JAMES COLIN DRUMMOND/JANET BARNET M 12/07/1713 329/ 10 165 Auchterarder
5. ↑ Old Parish Register of Births & Baptisms entry for Margaret Drummond DRUMMOND MARGARET COLIN DRUMMOND/JANET BARNET F 03/08/1715 329/ 10 180 Auchterarder
6. ↑ The history of the Steel Family of Auchterarder
7. ↑ Christoph v. Ehrenstein, 'Erskine, John, styled twenty-second or sixth earl of Mar and Jacobite duke of Mar (bap. 1675, d. 1732)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 14 August 2020
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2} Annals of Auchterarder and Memorials of Strathearn Auchterarder in Mar's Year
9. ↑ The Battle of Sheriffmuir
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Annals of Auchterarder and Memorials of Strathearn The Burning of Auchterarder
11. ↑ Annals of Auchterarder and Memorials of Strathearn Account of Compensation Paid by Government to the Sufferers
12. ↑ Barons in Scotland