William MacIntosh

     William MacIntosh was born, about 1786, in Grange Parish, Banff, Scotland.^1,2,3

William MacIntosh married Janet Cheyne.^4,5,6

The baptismal record of John MacIntosh documented William MacIntosh as his father, 18 December 1825, at Cook Bog, in Aberdour Parish, Aberdeen, Scotland. The following is a transcription from the Register of Baptisms, Parish of Aberdour, 1820-1854, "18 Dec'r 1825 Wm. MacIntosh in Cook Bog had a Son baptized 18th Dec'r 1825 Named John. Witnefses John Cheyne (543) & James Man both there".⁷

William MacIntosh listed on the 1841 Scotland Census, in Aberdour Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He was head of household and a crofter. Also in the household were Janet MacIntosh, Isabella MacIntosh, Ann MacIntosh and William MacIntosh. He was listed as 55 years of age and born in Aberdeenshire.⁸

The following biographical information was submitted by an informant about William MacIntosh. "The first member of the family that we know anything about is William Macintosh, as listed as the groom's father on the marriage certificate of John Cheyne Macintosh. He is believed to have been born on March 26, 1786, son of John Macintosh (born 1756) and Helen Wilson (born June 15, 1766), both of Grange, Aberdour. John Macintosh (born 1756) was, in turn, the son of Lachlan Macintosh (born 1707) and Elspet Littlejohn, both of Keith, Banffshire of Black Isle, Cromarty. Cromarty is on the tip of the Black Isle, which is not an island but a peninsula situated at the mouth of the Cromarty Firth. Cromarty is a small sea port and is said to be the Highlands' best preserved historic town, and a "jewel of vernacular architecture". It is only half an hour or so from Inverness. Details are very limited but we do know is that he was the part owner of a coastal steamer plying up and down the coast from Aberdeen as far south as London. I am indebted to John Sharwood and Edith Kathleen Macintosh (Chum) who assembled material on the family obtained from various family members in a manuscript entitled The Families Macintosh. This information provided the basis for much of the early history of the family and the extracts of Mary Emma Macintosh's diary gave an incredibly interesting insight into the Port Elizabeth Macintosh family. One night he was illegally seized by the press gang. The press gangs operated at night seizing persons on the streets and 'pressing' them into service on the warships of the Royal Navy. They were not allowed to seize persons of sub-stance but, as in my ancestor's case, they did so from time to time. Those unlucky enough to be caught normally spent years in service in the Royal Navy because few people could swim and, when in port, warships were normally anchored some way from the shore in one of the southern port cities and, as a result, served in the Royal Navy under Nelson at the Battle of the Nile in 1798. When he got back to Scotland, he sued the British Government for restitution because, having disappeared off the face of the earth, his assets had been seized by his creditors. At that stage he seems to have given up a life at sea because he was described on both John Cheyne Macintosh's marriage certificate and in an obituary for his eldest son, as a farmer and general merchant living in the Parish of Aberdour near Fraserburgh. He is believed to have died in New Pitsligo, County Banff. William married Janet Cheyne. The birth certificate of John Cheyne Macintosh as well as his marriage certificate lists his mother as Janet".⁹

William MacIntosh and his wife Janet MacIntosh were listed on the 1851 Scotland Census, at Cowbog, in Aberdour Parish, Aberdeen, Scotland. He was head of household and a crofter of 13 acres. Also present was his child, Isabella MacIntosh. He was listed as Mr. William Mcintosh, 65 years of age and born in Grange Parish.²

William MacIntosh, farmer, was listed as the father of the groom on the marriage record of John C. MacIntosh and Jane Hogg, 9 July 1856; Free Church of Scotland, after banns.^10,11,12