James McInroy

12th Aug 1759 - 12th Jul 1825


Biography

Partner in McInroy Parker and McInroy Sandbach which evolved into Sandbach Tinne. Married Elizabeth, daughter of William Moore of St Eustatius, with whom he had four children: James Patrick McInroy and William McInroy (each of whom q.v.), and Margaret and Elizabeth. Elizabeth Moore's sister, Anne Patricia married Robert Hagart of Torhouskie (1770-1850), West India merchant and first cousin to Charles Hagart I of Bantaskine, also a West India merchant. James McInroy died in 1825 leaving £172,913.

  1. '[Born] 12 August 1759 at Moulin near Pitlochry, Perthshire. [Died] 12 July 1825 at Lude near Blair Atholl, Perthshire (Several genealogies posted on ancestry.co.uk state that he was born at Lude, Blair Atholl, but he did not purchase this property until c. 1820.) Probate £172,913 (Scottish probates). Occupation Sugar planter and merchant in Demerara (British Guiana), then a West Indies merchant in Glasgow (McInroy Parker & Co.), and landowner in Perthshire, while also apparently continuing as a merchant in Demerara, as McInroy Sandbach & Co. In 1883 his son William McInroy (1804-96) of Lude, Perthshire owned 15,880 acres worth £2460 p.a. in Perthshire. Of Lude near Blair Atholl, Perthshire at death. He purchased this property in c. 1820. Father James McInroy (1706- 78), "wadsetter" of Balnbruich (genealogy on ancestry.co.uk) (A "wadsetter" is a person who holds tenure of a property by "wadset," a type of mortgage in Scottish law. "Balnbruich" appears as Balnabroiche, east-south-east of Moulin in James Stobie's 1783 map of the counties of Perth and Cackmannan.) Mother Margaret, apparently nee McInroy (1715-83), a relative of her husband. Education Unknown. Marriage In 1797 in Glasgow, to Elizabeth (1782- 1870), daughter of William Moore (1759-1837), "from St. Eustatia" (online genealogy) (=St. Eustatius in the Dutch West Indies) (two sons, two daughters). Religion Presumably Church of Scotland. Public [Offices]: None known. Miscellaneous: He came to Demerara in 1782 as a sugar planter and was later a sugar merchant in Glasgow. He was a partner with Samuel Sandbach (1769- 1851= 1851/2, left £100,000), George Stewart Parker (c. 1771- c. 1828= 1829/34, left £105,893), and George Robertson (1756-99). The Liverpool branch of this firm was later the well-known firm of Sandbach, Tinne & Co.'

  2. James McInroy, son of James McInroy and Margt. McInroy in Ba[?faded], baptised in Moulin 14/08/1759. James McInroy, merchant in Glasgow, married Elisabeth Moore, lawful daughter of William Moore of the Island of St Eustatius, in Glasgow 25/12/1797. Their eldest son James Patrick was baptised in Glagow in 1799, witnesses Chares Hagart and John McCaul.

  3. Mr McInroy of Lude owned a house on the south-west corner of Buchanan and St Vincent Streets in Glasgow which he sold to the Western Club c. 1825.

  4. Memorial inscription in Glasgow Cathedral: "In memory of James McInroy Esq. of Lude Perthshire born August 1769 died 2[?] July 1825 and his daughter Elizabeth born 10th January 1801 died 4th January 1808 and his son Charles Hagart born 21st June 1810 died 13th March 1819 and Elizabeth Moore his wife born 2nd May 1782 died 29th Novr 1870." Memorial inscription in Kilmaveonaig Scottish Episcopal Church Cemetery: "JAMES McINROY Of Lude / Born at Balnabruich, Parish Of Moulin Perthshire, Twelfth August MDCCLIX / Died At Lude Twelfth July MDCCCXXV. / Also, / ELIZABETH His Eldest Daughter, Born At Glasgow Tenth January / MDCCCI, / Died There Fourth January MDCCCVIII. / And, / CHARLES HAGART His Youngest Son, Born At Glasgow / Twenty First June MDCCCX / Died There Thirteenth March MDCCCXIX / Also, / ELIZABETH MOORE His Wife / Born In St Eustatius / Second May MDCCLXXXII / Died At Edinburgh / Twenty Ninth November / MDCCCLXX"


Sources

David Alston, Slaves & Highlanders rserhttp://www.spanglefish.com/slavesandhighlanders/index.asp?pageid=552969 [accessed 29/09/2015].

  1. W.D. Rubinstein, Who were the rich? Vol. I 1809-1839, [MS, 2nd edition] 1825/37. We are grateful to Bill Rubinstein for making available his MS revisions to the first edition (Social Affairs Unit, 2009).

  2. GROS OPR Births 384 10 19 Moulin; GROS OPR Marriages 644/1 270 245 Glasgow; GROS OPR Births 644/1 190 451 Glasgow.

  3. J. Frazer, The story of the making of Buchanan street: with some reminiscences of the past half century (1885) p. 53.

  4. Glasgow Cathedral, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/136987485/charles-hagart-mcinroy [accessed 06/09/2021]; Kilmaveonaig Scottish Episcopal Church, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/168683643/james-mcinroy [accessed 06/09/2021].

We are grateful to Veronica Hagart, Grant Buttars and Jim Brennan for their help compiling this entry. Alison Clark of Edinburgh University (Alison.Clark@ed.ac.uk) is currently (2018) undertaking research towards a doctoral thesis on James McInroy.


Further Information

Absentee?
British/Irish
Spouse
Elizabeth Moore
Children
James Patrick; William; Margaret; Elizabeth (1801-1808); Charles Hagart (1810-1819)
Wealth at death
£172,913
Occupation
West India merchant
Rubinstein
1825/37

Associated Estates (2)

The dates listed below have different categories as denoted by the letters in the brackets following each date. Here is a key to explain those letter codes:

  • SD - Association Start Date
  • SY - Association Start Year
  • EA - Earliest Known Association
  • ED - Association End Date
  • EY - Association End Year
  • LA - Latest Known Association
1826 [EA] - 1826 [LA] → Previous owner
- 1825 [LA] → Owner

Legacies Summary

Commercial (1)

Name partner
Sandbach Tinne
West India merchant  
 

Relationships (4)

Father → Son
Father → Son
Uncle → Nephew
Son-in-law → Father-in-law

Addresses (3)

Moulin, Perthshire, North-east Scotland, Scotland
Buchanan Street, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Central Scotland, Scotland
Lude House, Blair Atholl, Perthshire, North-east Scotland, Scotland