Lt Col John MACDONALD, of Kingsburgh

1759 - 1831  (71 years)

• Name	John MACDONALD
  Prefix	Lt Col
  Suffix	of Kingsburgh
  Born	30 Nov 1759	Kingsburgh, Rosshire, Scotland
  Gender	Male
  Died	16 Aug 1831	Exeter, England
  Person ID	I3703	My Genealogy
  Last Modified	28 Nov 2021

  
  

  Father	Alan 7 MACDONALD, of Kingsburgh,   b. Abt 1720, Kingsburgh, Rosshire, Scotland ,   d. 20 Sep 1772, Kingsburgh, Rosshire, Scotland  (Age 52 years)
  Mother	Flora of the '45 MACDONALD, of Milton,   b. 1722, Milton, North Uist, Scotland ,   d. 5 Mar 1790, Kingsburgh, Rosshire, Scotland  (Age 68 years)
  Married	6 Nov 1750	Milton, North Uist, Scotland
  Family ID	F1655	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Daughter BOGLE, of Kingsburgh,   b. Abt 1776, Kingsburgh, Rosshire, Scotland ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Married	Abt 1792	Kingsburgh, Rosshire, Scotland
  Last Modified	27 Nov 2021
  Family ID	F1662	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 2	Frances Maria CHAMBERS,   b. Abt 1779, Bengal, India ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Married	Abt 1795
  Children	1. Alan Norman MACDONALD, of Kingsburgh,   b. Abt 1800,   d. 22 Jun 1804  (Age 4 years)   2. Major Robert Collins MACDONALD, of Kingsburgh,   b. 2 Oct 1800,   d. 11 Apr 1841  (Age 40 years)   3. Capt John Alexander MACDONALD, of Kingsburgh,   b. 20 Feb 1802, Kingsburgh, Rosshire, Scotland ,   d. 18 May 1832, At Sea  (Age 30 years)   4. Maj Gen William Pitt MACDONALD, of Kingsburgh,   b. 4 Apr 1804, Kingsburgh, Rosshire, Scotland ,   d. 12 Mar 1867  (Age 62 years)   5. Lt Reginald Wilton MACDONALD, of Kingsburgh,   b. Abt 1807,   d. Yes, date unknown   6. Captain James Murray MACDONALD, of Kingsburgh,   b. 22 Sep 1807,   d. 7 Aug 1847  (Age 39 years)   7. Charles Edward Chambers MACDONALD, of Kingsburg,   b. 11 Dec 1807,   d. 17 Jun 1832  (Age 24 years)   8. Flora Frances MACDONALD, of Kingsburgh,   b. Abt 1809,   d. Yes, date unknown   9. Henrietta Louisa Lavinia MACDONALD,   b. Abt 1811,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Last Modified	27 Nov 2021
  Family ID	F1663	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  John Macdonald was born at Flodigarry on Skye in 1759, the son of Allan Macdonald of Kingsburgh and Flora Macdonald, the Jacobite heroine, his wife. Educated at Portree and Edinburgh, he acquired an Indian cadetship in 1780 and became a military engineer because of an early aptitude. He moved to the Bengal Engineers in 1783 and was posted to Sumatra three years later. There he was raised to the local rank of Captain and commander of artillery, and spent his spare time making observations and maps which are now held in the British Museum. He was made 1st. Lieutenant in 1794, and in 1796 took sick leave home. Back in Edinburgh he became Commandant of the Royal Edinburgh Volunteer Artillery. He retired from the Bengal Engineers on half-pay in 1800 and was made Lieutenant Colonel of the Alpine Fencible Infantry, and served with them for a year in Ireland before they were disbanded. He published translations of French military works, then moved to Dover to work on the Cinque Ports. Later work on military telegraphs took him to Exeter where he settled, and was much involved in charity work. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1800 and was one of the original members of the Asiatic Society. He died in Exeter in 1831.