John (Claizy) Clazy (1755 - bef. 1825)

Born 19 Apr 1755 in Lithtillum, Berwickshire, Scotland

Ancestors

Husband of Margaret Paulin — married 15 Sep 1777 in Hutton, Berwickshire, Scotland

Descendants

Died before 10 Jan 1825 before age 69 in Horndean, Berwickshire, Scotland [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Paul Fergie [send private message]

Biography

This profile is part of the Clezie Name Study.

Note: Spelling varied wildly before the 20th century. Anyone searching for ancestors in this family should consider alternative spellings: Clazey, Clazie, Clazy, Clezie, Clezy. The name has even been found as Clacey, Clacy, Claisye, Claise, Clasey, Clasie, Cleasie, Clisy, Clize, Clizzee.

Birth

A church record from Coldstream, in the Scottish Borders, shows:

“1755 April 27 - George Claizy in Lithtillum had his son John baptized who was born the 19th Instant”

His parents were George Claisye and Agnes Middlemist. Spelling was fluid - the surname has been found written various ways. Our ancestors didn't quibble over minor spelling differences! Most of them couldn't write at all. Names were written by a clergyman or public official at the time of baptism, marriage or burial, so the spelling varied widely.

"Lithtillum Wood" is located 4 km west-north-west of Coldstream. It includes a small stream of water - "Lithtillum Burn" - that empties into a small body of standing water - "Lithtillum Loch".

The Ordnance Survey, 1856-1858, explains that “Lithtillum Loch” was also called “Loch Tillum”, which was described as, “A small lake on the farm of Hatchednize”. The property included, “A good dwelling house with large and suitable out houses and an arable farm of land attached." But what was there, a century earlier, when John was born?

Military Service

As a young man of 21, John enlisted in the Royal Artillery on 10 March 1777. The military record describes "John Clazy" as 5 feet 8-1/2 inches tall, dark complexion, black hair and grey eyes.

Following his enlistment, John's name appeared in the Muster Roll of Major Forbes Macbean's Company at Perth in April & May 1777. Later he served in Newton's company, under the command of L.H. Newton and A. Campbell.

In September 1777, seven months after he enlisted, John married Margaret Paulin at Hutton, Berwickshire. The record in the Kirk Session Book is worded as follows (note the spelling differences):

“John Clazie in his Majesty’s Corps of Artillery at Perth & Margaret Palen in this parish were married before these Witnesses: David Dickson & James Scot.”

Robert Paton (who researched Muster Rolls at the National Archives) advises: John Clazy spent the first 2-3 years of his military service at Perth, Scotland; then 5 years in England, mainly at Woolwich but also some camps; 2 years in Gibraltar; 5 years in Jamaica; 5 years in England, mainly Brighton; then several more years in the West Indies.

A record found at FamilySearch in early 2020 suggests that (despite the spelling difference) John and his wife were together for at least part of the time in Jamaica, and had a son born there in 1786. A Church of England record at Port Royal, near Kingston, Jamaica, shows:

"1786 May 29 - William son of John & Margaret Clizy, born"

Port Royal was once considered "the wickedest city on Earth" - a den of pirates, thieves, prostitutes, ne'er-do-wells. John Clazy appears to have been there for approximately four years, from December 1785 until January 1790. A son, William, was born there in 1786 (his surname recorded as "Clezy"). But what became of this child, William? Did he die in infancy, or live to adulthood? No later record is known.

After the couple returned to the Royal Artillery headquarters at Woolwich, another son - named John after his father - was born in April 1790. Nine months later, the young son was taken all the way to Scotland for baptism at the Paulin family home, near Ladykirk, Berwickshire. That record shows:

"Horndean, January 30th, 1791 - John Clazy and Margaret Clazy his spouse had a son baptized named John."

On 2 November 1803, the Royal Artilleryman, John Claizy/Clazie/Clazy/Clezy, now age 48, was placed in an "invalid battalion". The nature of his illness or injury is unknown but it apparently was not permanent as he continued in the Royal Artillery for 7 more years.

John's pension record, dated 31 May 1810, shows that he had served in the Royal Artillery for a total of 33 years and 3 months, from 1777-1810. That period in history saw the American and French Revolutions, colonial wars in India, Africa and the Caribbean, large-scale migration to Canada and Australia, abolition of the slave trade, and the early Napoleonic wars. It was an eventful time!

Royal Artillery records further show that John held the rank of private for 12 years & 10 months (until about 1791); then bombardier or corporal, for 10 years & 11 months (until about 1801-02); and finally serjeant or sergeant, for 9 years & 6 months (until 1810). After his military service ended, he received a pension of 1 shilling, 11 & 1/2 pence. Sounds very small; how often was that amount paid?

Retirement

John, his wife and at least 1 son then returned to live in Scotland. The census taken in May 1811, at Horndean, in the parish of Ladykirk, Berwickshire, showed "John Clazy". His household consisted of 2 males and 1 female: presumably John, his wife Margaret and their son. But which son was it: William, born in Jamaica, or John, born at Woolwich? No name, age or description was shown.

The senior John's occupation was shown in the census as neither "agriculturalist" nor "manufacturer" but "other". He was 56, a pensioner, at a time when average life expectancy was much shorter than today.

No record of death or burial has been found, either for John or his wife Margaret. But John's Royal Artillery pension record shows that he was "Struck off B O 10 Janry 1825", which probably means that payments stopped because word was received of his death, about age 70.

^[1]

Do you have information about John Claizy / Clezy / Clazie / Clazy? Please contribute to his biography. Everything on WikiTree is a collaborative work-in-progress.

Sources

1. ↑ Entered by Rick Heiser, Feb 15, 2013

• The Old Partnership, by Peter Steele Clezy (Sydney 2002)

• https://scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/digital-volumes/ordnance-survey-name-books/berwickshire-os-name-books-1856-1858/berwickshire-volume-12/41

• Now in Remission: A Surgical Life, by Ken Clezy (Adelaide: Wakefield Press, 2012)

• Royal Artillery Pensions Register, 1815-1818, copies obtained in 2015 by Robert Paton, also found at: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14420518

• https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939N-VM9C-35?i=17&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AVH6D-34N

• https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200921-jamaicas-port-royal-the-wickedest-city-on-earth

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Rick Heiser for starting this profile.

Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Rick and others.