John Lovet MacTavish ( – June 21, 1852)Sylvanus Urban: ''The Gentleman's Magazine'', Volume XXXVIII, New Series, July to December 1852, John Bowyer Nichols and Son, London, p. 213. was a Scots-Canadian heir to the

North West Company The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...

and diplomat.

Early life

MacTavish was born around 1787 in Stratherrick,

Invernesshire Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in populatio ...

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 the ...

into

Clan MacTavish Clan MacTavish is an Ancient Highland Scottish clan. History Origins Notwithstanding several and varied origin traditions, the MacTavishes may have come from Ireland to Scotland during the years of the Scoto-Irish settlement era. Very old Iri ...

. He was the son of Alexander MacTavish (1753–1788) and Marjory (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Fraser) MacTavish (1758–1828), and a nephew of

Scots-Quebecer Scots-Quebecers () are Quebecers who are of Scottish descent. Background Few Scots came to Quebec (then New France) before the Seven Years' War. Those who did blended in with the French population. Perhaps the first Scot to settle was Abra ...

entrepreneur

Simon McTavish Simon McTavish may refer to * Simon McTavish (kayaker) (born 1996), Canadian sprint kayaker * Simon McTavish (fur trader) Simon McTavish (1750 – 6 July 1804), of Montreal was a Scottish-born fur trader and the chief founding partner ...

, who took him in to raise after his father's death. His paternal grandparents were John McTavish,

tacksman A tacksman ( gd, Fear-Taic, meaning "supporting man"; most common Scots spelling: ''takisman'') was a landholder of intermediate legal and social status in Scottish Highland society. Tenant and landlord Although a tacksman generally paid a year ...

of Garthbeg, and Mary (née Fraser) McTavish of Garthmore. His grandmother was descended, through Simon Fraser of Dunchea and the Frasers of Foyers, from an illegitimate son of the 1st Lord Lovat.

Career

MacTavish served as the

British Consul British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

to the

State of Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to it ...

. After his wedding to Emily Caton of Maryland, they lived at Brooklandwood estate in the Green Spring Valley of

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City of ...

, where Emily had been born, before moving to 1,000 acres of the "finest farm land in Howard County, given as a wedding gift from his wife's grandfather and named "Folly Quarter" after the MacTavish family estate in Scotland. Folly Quarter was built near her grandfather's estate and home Doughoregan.

Personal life

On August 15, 1815, MacTavish was married to Emily Caton, the fourth daughter of

Richard Caton Richard Caton (1842, Bradford – 1926), of Liverpool, England, was a British physician, physiologist and Lord Mayor of Liverpool who was crucial in discovering the electrical nature of the brain and laid the groundwork for Hans Berger to disco ...

and Mary (née Carroll) Caton.John Martin Hammond: ''Colonial Mansions of Maryland and Delaware'', J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia & London, 1914, pp. 125-127. Emily's maternal grandfather was

Charles Carroll of Carrollton Charles Carroll (September 19, 1737 – November 14, 1832), known as Charles Carroll of Carrollton or Charles Carroll III, was an Irish-American politician, planter, and signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He was the only Catholic sign ...

, the only

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and the longest-surviving signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...

.Anne Sebba (reviewer): ''"They adore titles..." Sisters of Fortune: The First American Heiresses to Take Europe by Storm, by

Jehanne Wake Jehanne Deirdre Alexandra Wake (née Williams) is a British biographer, historian and archivist. She has written critically acclaimed biographies of Princess Louise, the sixth child of Queen Victoria, and of the four early American Caton sister ...

'', , accessed 10 Oct 2011. They were staunch

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

s, members of St. Paul's Catholic Church in Baltimore County. John and Emily were the parents of four children: * Charles Carroll MacTavish (1818–1868), who married Marcella Scott, youngest daughter of Gen.

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...

. * Mary Wellesley MacTavish (1826–1850), who married the Hon. Henry George Howard, youngest son of

George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle of Castle Howard, (17 September 17737 October 1848), styled Viscount Morpeth until 1825, was a British statesman. He served as Lord Privy Seal between 1827 and 1828 and in 1834 and was a member of Lord Grey ...

.Thomas Allen Glenn: ''Some Colonial Mansions and Those Who Lived in Them'', Philadelphia: Henry T. Coates & Company, 1899, p. 362. * Alexander Simon MacTavish (1829–1863), who married Ellen Gilmor (1835–1909), sister of

Harry Gilmor Harry Ward Gilmor (January 24, 1838 – March 4, 1883) served as the Baltimore City Police Commissioner, head of the Baltimore City Police Department in the 1870s, but he was most noted as a daring and dashing Confederate cavalry officer dur ...

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

officer.Green Mount Cemetery: ''Features'', http://greenmountcemetery.com/greenmount-cemetery-features.html, accessed 10 Sep 2011. * Richard Caton MacTavish (1831–1841), who died young. Emily's three sisters Marianne, Bess, and Louisa Caton, entered

British society English society comprises the group behaviour of the English people, and of collective social interactions, organisation and political attitudes in England. The social history of England evidences many social and societal changes over the histo ...

and married into

British nobility The British nobility is made up of the peerage and the (landed) gentry. The nobility of its four constituent home nations has played a major role in shaping the history of the country, although now they retain only the rights to stand for election ...

. Marianne marrying first Robert Patterson (brother of Elizabeth Patterson, the first wife of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's younger brother

Jérôme Bonaparte Jérôme-Napoléon Bonaparte (born Girolamo Buonaparte; 15 November 1784 – 24 June 1860) was the youngest brother of Napoleon I and reigned as Jerome Napoleon I (formally Hieronymus Napoleon in German), King of Westphalia, between 1807 and 1 ...

) and second Richard Wellesley 1st Marquess Wellesley and

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...

(older brother of the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

); Bess marrying Sir George Strafford, 8th Baron Strafford of Costessey Hall in

Norfolk, England Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North ...

; and Louisa marrying first Sir Felton Hervey-Bathurst, 1st Baronet and second Francis D'Arcy Osborne, Marquess of Carmarthen (the future 7th

Duke of Leeds Duke of Leeds was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1694 for the prominent statesman Thomas Osborne, 1st Marquess of Carmarthen, who had been one of the Immortal Seven in the Revolution of 1688. He had already succeeded as ...

). MacTavish died on June 21, 1852, at age 65. His widow died on January 26, 1867, at Folly Quarter and was interred with MacTavish at

Green Mount Cemetery Green Mount Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as many ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

References

External links

*
Carroll-McTavish Papers, 1652-1867, MS 220
at the

Maryland Historical Society The Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC), formerly the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS), . founded on March 1, 1844, is the oldest cultural institution in the U.S. state of Maryland. The organization "collects, preserves, and inte ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacTavish, John 1787 births 1852 deaths People from Highland (council area) People of colonial Maryland American Roman Catholics