Michael MacLachlan (c.1740-1802)
Merchant, of Jamaica in the West Indies & Brewery Owner of New York City
He was born in Scotland and liked to say that he was the son of Lachlan MacLachlan, Chief of Clan MacLachlan, who fought for the Pretender and fell at the Battle of Culloden in 1745. However, when enquiries were made to the chief's family after his death, the claim was very quickly disproved and instead they politely suggested - as the Scots frequently do - that, "he probably belonged to a cadet branch of the family". Loosely translated: nobody had a clue about his ancestry and it was almost certainly not glorious. Nonetheless, as "an orphan of Culloden" he came to America and fought in the French & Indian War with the Provincial Troops of New York.
By 1765, he was acting as a merchant at Passage Port or St. Jago de la Vega in Jamaica, and in the same year it was reported in the press that he had been attacked by three negroes on his way to St. Jago. They stabbed him, pulled him off his horse, and robbed him of upwards of £186, a silver snuff box, and some wearing apparel. In December, his name ("Lt. Michael McLaughlin") appeared with several others "late belonging to the troops raised in the province of New York" petitioning for land. But, he remained in Jamaica for the next quarter of a century and his service in the French & Indian War (perhaps combined with service in the Revolution) was seemingly rewarded in 1786 when he was given title to 4,980-acres in Jessup's Purchase, Wells, Hamilton Co., New York.
Having made an ample fortune in Jamaica, in 1789 he established himself in New York City where he acquired a brewery, first on New Slip and then on Chatham Street. It was there, as a comparatively old man, that he married Jane Chambers. They had two children but the son died a young man leaving his daughter, Juliana, as his eventual sole heir. Just seven months after his death in 1802, his widow married his brewer, Philip Garniss, but it quickly transpired that Garniss had only married her to take possession of the brewery. She didn't have any children with Garniss and it is assumed that he was bought off. The MacLachlans were the maternal grandparents of U.S. First Lady Julia (Gardiner) Tyler.
By 1765, he was acting as a merchant at Passage Port or St. Jago de la Vega in Jamaica, and in the same year it was reported in the press that he had been attacked by three negroes on his way to St. Jago. They stabbed him, pulled him off his horse, and robbed him of upwards of £186, a silver snuff box, and some wearing apparel. In December, his name ("Lt. Michael McLaughlin") appeared with several others "late belonging to the troops raised in the province of New York" petitioning for land. But, he remained in Jamaica for the next quarter of a century and his service in the French & Indian War (perhaps combined with service in the Revolution) was seemingly rewarded in 1786 when he was given title to 4,980-acres in Jessup's Purchase, Wells, Hamilton Co., New York.
Having made an ample fortune in Jamaica, in 1789 he established himself in New York City where he acquired a brewery, first on New Slip and then on Chatham Street. It was there, as a comparatively old man, that he married Jane Chambers. They had two children but the son died a young man leaving his daughter, Juliana, as his eventual sole heir. Just seven months after his death in 1802, his widow married his brewer, Philip Garniss, but it quickly transpired that Garniss had only married her to take possession of the brewery. She didn't have any children with Garniss and it is assumed that he was bought off. The MacLachlans were the maternal grandparents of U.S. First Lady Julia (Gardiner) Tyler.
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Contributed by Mark Meredith on 06/02/2024 and last updated on 06/02/2024.