James Small (died 21 August 1777) was a retired

Army officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contex ...

, a

factor Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, ...

of forfeited estates in

Perthshire Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the nor ...

and an improver of

Kinloch Rannoch Kinloch Rannoch (; Gaelic: ''Ceann Loch Raineach'') is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, at the eastern end of Loch Rannoch, 18 miles (29 km) west of Pitlochry, on the banks of the River Tummel. The village is a tourist and outdoo ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

Early life

James Small was a member of the Smalls of Dirnanean and the Robertsons of Straloch. Born in

, he was the son of Patrick Small of Leanoch and Magdalen Robertson of Straloch. Small's younger brother was Major-General John Small, later

Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey The Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey is the representative of the British monarch in the Guernsey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, a Crown dependency of the British Crown. The role of the Lieutenant Governor is to act as the ''de facto'' head of state in ...

. His older brother was Dr. Alexander Small, army surgeon and frequent correspondent of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a m ...

. Small was also a first cousin of John Reid, the last Baron Reid in Perthshire, Scotland. Following the family military tradition, Small became an

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diff ...

in Lord Loudoun's Regiment and was stationed at Finnart.

After Culloden

After the

Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden (; gd, Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite Army (1745), Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a Kingdom of Great Bri ...

(1746),

was in a desperate state. There were no roads, the people were starving and thievery was commonplace. Additionally, the soldiers dispatched to the area to hunt down the

Jacobite Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to: Religion * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include: ** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes ...

survivors contributed to the general sense of lawlessness within the town. As punishment for supporting the Jacobite cause, many of the large Scottish landowners had to

forfeit Forfeit or forfeiture may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Forfeit'', a 2007 thriller film starring Billy Burke * "Forfeit", a song by Chevelle from '' Wonder What's Next'' * '' Forfeit/Fortune'', a 2008 album by Crooked Fingers ...

their estates back to

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differen ...

. In turn, The Crown appointed

property manager A property manager or estate manager is a person or firm charged with operating a real estate property for a fee when the owner is unable to attend to such details personally or is not interested in doing so. The property may be individual title o ...

s or

factors Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, suc ...

to oversee the estates. In 1754 James Small was appointed factor of the forfeited Robertsons of Straun estates, near Kinloch Rannoch. As factor, Small provided for disbanded soldiers to become

crofters A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer, especially in rural area ...

. He gave advice for the building of roads and bridges, the planning of schools and the erection of churches. Working with

Dugald Buchanan Dugald Buchanan (Dùghall Bochanan in Gaelic) (Ardoch Farm, Strathyre (near Balquhidder) in Perthshire, Scotland 1716–1768) was a Scottish poet writing in Scots and Scottish Gaelic. He helped the Rev. James Stuart or Stewart of Killin to tra ...

and his wife, schools were established for the teaching of spinning and weaving. Experienced masons, joiners and wheelwrights were brought in to teach the younger generation useful trades. A less successful effort of Small's was attempting to drain the marshy land surrounding Kinloch Rannoch with a series of drainage ditches, that became known as The Soldiers' Trenches, but overall Small's efforts brought stability and prosperity to the area. While still serving as factor in the Kinloch Rannoch area, James Small died on 21 August 1777, at

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came p ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

. His gravestone, now inside St Laurence, Chorley Parish Churchyard, records that he died at Chorley while on a journey to

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.St Laurence,

Burials 1769-1797, Page 16, Entry 20

Personal life

On 1 January 1739, Small married Katharine Wilson, daughter of the

town clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a To ...

of St. Andrews. The couple had three daughters that survived to adulthood. The husband of Small's daughter, Susan, was

Charles Spalding Charles Spalding (29 October 1738 – 2 June 1783) was an Edinburgh confectioner and amateur engineer who made improvements to the diving bell. He died while diving to the wreck of the ''Belgioso'' in Dublin Bay using a diving bell of his own ...

. Spalding, an

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

confectioner Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categorie ...

by trade, was the improver of the

diving bell A diving bell is a rigid chamber used to transport divers from the surface to depth and back in open water, usually for the purpose of performing underwater work. The most common types are the open-bottomed wet bell and the closed bell, which c ...

. He died diving to the wreck of the Belgioso in

Dublin Bay Dublin Bay ( ga, Cuan Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland. The bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north–south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of ...

in a bell of his design. Small was the grandfather of Sir Archibald Campbell, 1st Baronet of

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic Canad ...

and Canadian

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mo ...

r John MacDonald of Garth. He was the great-grandfather of

Sir John Campbell, 2nd Baronet Major General Sir John Campbell, 2nd Baronet, of New Brunswick, Canada, (14 April 1807 – 18 June 1855), was a British army officer and the son of General Sir Archibald Campbell, 1st Baronet of New Brunswick, Canada. He died in the Battle of t ...

Charles Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton Charles Leslie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton, (born 19 November 1951) is a British Labour peer and barrister who served as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice under Prime Minister Tony Blair from 2003 to 2007. Born i ...

is also a descendant of James Small, as well as

Sheila Legge Sheila Legge (née Chetwynd Inglis; c. 1911 – 5 January 1949) was a Surrealist performance artist. Legge is best known for her 1936 Trafalgar Square performance for the opening of London International Surrealist Exhibition, posing in a cost ...

, the "Surrealist Phantom" from the 1936 London International Surrealist Exhibition.

References

External links

James Small on Find A GraveKinloch Rannoch Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Small, James 1777 deaths Year of birth unknown