Lachlan McGillivray
Lachlan McGillivray (c. 1718–1799) was a prosperous fur trader and planter in colonial
Early life
McGillivray was born in Dunmaglass, Inverness, Scotland. Details of his early life are sketchy; he left no account and his biographers often romanticized his tale. They claimed that he was fleeing the Highland rebellion of 1745 and that he arrived penniless in a strange land, though probably neither of these is true. He was born into the McGillivray (or M'Gillivray, as he himself wrote the name) family of the Clan Chattan, a large Scottish clan traditionally led by members of the MacGillivray clanMcIntosh family.
More probable is that he emigrated in the late 1730s to either
Brother to Lachlan and uncle to Alexander McGillivray, Captain Alexander McGillivray (d.1763) regularly transported cargos between Charleston and the West Indies.[1] His will probated in 1764 included a bequest to "brother Lachlan McGillivray, a mourning suit of clothes and a mourning ring."[2]
Colonist in North America
Lachlan McGillivray was one of several
By the mid-1740s, McGillivray was well established as a trader in the Upper Creek nation in what is now central
McGillivray was an accomplished Indian trader and Adair praised his skill in negotiating with the Creek to stay neutral during the French and Indian Wars (1760-1761).[3]
Marriage and family
Though there is no record of McGillivray having married in the
Albert Pickett and other biographers portrayed Sehoy as a beautiful black-eyed Indian princess, with whom McGillivray was instantly lovestruck. Historical and circumstantial evidence suggest the marriage may have been strategic for both sides, as he gained by being allied with a high-status family of Creek, and Sehoy and her family had benefits from a connected European-American trader. They had three children: Alexander, Sophia and Jean (also spelled Jeanne) McGillivray (the latter named after Lachlan's sister).[4]: 344 The children lived most of the time with their mother in the Creek tribe and learned its language and ways, although the father sent Alexander to a European-American school in Charleston and Augusta.
Many Native American chiefs supported such alliances; European traders, who were men of capital, also sought the alliances of marriage into tribes to strengthen their relationships. Though the Creek tribes treated
After the late 1750s, Sehoy married at least two other men (monagamously), with whom she bore at least two additional children, before McGillivray relocated to Savannah. McGillivray made neither provision nor mention of Sehoy in his 1767 will. She was the custodial parent of their son,
Though McGillivray made neither mention nor provision for his daughters in his will, their accounts attest to a relationship with him, as they visited him in Savannah, and Sophia named her oldest son, Lachlan McGillivray Durant, for him.[5] McGillivray's will and other surviving writings frequently noted Alexander, referred to as his "natural son," a euphemism for illegitimate.
McGillivray, a
McGillivray took an interest in Alexander, for he arranged and paid (at considerable expense) for the boy's education at
Loyalist and American Revolution
Lachlan McGillivray returned to Scotland for lengthy visits prior to the American Revolution, but appeared to have identified as a citizen of North America, the source and location of his considerable fortune. He took an active role in Savannah's administration, where his knowledge of Creek leaders and their languages/cultures were useful for negotiations of treaties between the tribes and the city.
In the Scottish insurrections of the early 18th century, his Clan Chattan had mostly sided with the cause of James the Old Pretender and
Death and legacy
In Scotland, McGillivray served as an advisor and guardian for the orphaned head of the Clan Chattan. He continued correspondence with his son Alexander and other friends and relatives in the United States. After his son's death in 1793, McGillivray paid for Alexander's orphaned children, Alleck and Mary (their mother had also died), to be brought to Scotland. He arranged for their education. Although not returning personally to the US, McGillivray took a role in the settling of his son's complicated estate. It was difficult for attorneys to ascertain what parts of McGillivray's lands belonged to him personally and which to the Creek tribe. Some of his assets in cattle and slaves had to be sold to pay off his many debts. Further complicating matters from a Scottish view, the younger McGillivray was a
Lachlan McGillivray died in his native Scotland in 1799 at around 80 years of age. Neither his will nor his place of interment are known. Alleck and Mary McGillivray were still living with him in Scotland at that time. Alleck died as a young adult shortly after his grandfather. Mary McGillivray's life has not been traced.
Marriage and issue
Lachlan married Sehoy Marchand, member of the Wind Clan of the Creek, a daughter of Jean Marchand and Sehoy
They had the following:
- Creeksas they attempted to prevent overrunning of Creek territory covering most of Middle and Southern Alabama and Georgia, as European settlers pushed inland from the Eastern seaboard.
- Jean McGillivray, who married French officer Le Clerc Milfort, later of service in the Napoleonic army and famed as a memoirist.
- Sophia McGillivray who married Benjamin Durant and was mother to a large family and may have died at the Fort Mims massacre in which her nephew Red Eagle was involved.
- John Jack "White Cloud' Ward, III - adopted son who later married Nahoga ("Nancy") Mahala Moniac. John Ward was Red Eagle's War General and Indian Interpreter. Buried at Fort Mitchell in 1813
Sehoy Marchand married again after McGillivray. She had a daughter, Sehoy III. Sehoy III married a man named Weatherford, and one of their sons was William Weatherford, better known to history by his Creek name, translated as Red Eagle.
References
- ^ Hamer, Philip M.; Rogers Jr., George; Wehage, Peggy J. (1970). Papers of Henry Laurens: November 1, 1755-December 31, 1758. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. p. 24.
- ISBN 9781603060141.
- ^ History of the American Indians by James Adair, pg 162
- OCLC 1838277.
- ^ Digital Library on American Slavery, University of North Carolina - Location: Mobile, Alabama - Abstract: Latchlin Durant seeks to regain possession of slaves given by his grandfather McGilveray to his mother.
Further reading
- Cashin, Edward J. (1992). Lachlan McGillivray, Indian Trader: The Shaping of the Southern Colonial Frontier. ISBN 0820340936.