!SOURCE: Rev. Dr. Donald MacKinnon and Alick Morrison, THE MACLEODS --
THE GENEALOGY OF A CLAN, Section III, "MacLeod Cadet Families",
Edinburgh, The Clan MacLeod Society, 1970, pp. 206, 214.
John was born in the island of Pabbay, Harris, in 1696 and died one of
the oldest men in Skye, at Bay in 1792. He succeeded in the farm of the
tack In Pabbay and also in the stewardship of St. Kilda some time about
1727. In that year the Rev. Alexander Buchan, in his DESCRIPTION OF ST.
KILDA, referred to him as follows: "The Laird of MackLeod is proprietor
of this Isle (i.e., St. Kilda); and with the Bailie or Steward, who at
present is one called John MackLeod, and lives all the winter in another
Isle called Paba, with his family, and such as he is pleased to take along
with him". [Buchan, DESCRIPTION OF ST. KILDA, 1727, p. 23.] In 1734,
the Steward and his brother, norman, conveyed Lady Grange (Rachel
Erskine, nee Chieseley), from the little island of Heisker, off the coast
of North Uist, to the lonelier island of St. Kilda. William MacLeod of
Hamer (Alias Theophilus Insulanus) also referred to John MacLeod of St.
Kilda in his very interesting book, a TREATISE ON SECOND SIGHT in 1763.
"John MacLeod, tacksman of Bay in the Isle of Skye, a gentleman not in
the least tinctured with enthusiasm, declared to me and several others,
that, in a morning before he awaked, he dreamed that a person whom he
intimately knew, came into his room where he lay told him with much
concern that His late Majesty, George II, of glorious memory, was
departed this life, which he told directly to his spouse in bed with him.
That same day the post having come on before he had well dressed, he
goth the public news, in which he found his dream verified: which is the
more remarkable, that the King''s death was so sudden, the account of his
ailment could not have travelled to many parts in England, much less
have time to circulate to the most remote parts of Scotland". George II
died on the 25th October 1760.
In 1735, John MacLeod became factor on the MacLeod Estates in Skye, a
position he held jointly with Norman MacLeod of Waterstein (son of
Theophilus Insulanus, above). This position John MacLeod held until
1748. By 1743, he is the tacksman of Bay in Skye. This tack probably
came into his hands as a result of his marriage with Margaret, only
daughter of John Beaton or Bethune, the previous holder of the tack.
Theophilus Insulanus'' statement that John MacLeod lacked ''enthusiasm'',
indicated that he had not sympathy with the Jacobite cause. On the 8th
January 1746, he, along with 14 other tacksmen, 9 of them MacLeods,
signed an Address of Loyalty to their Chief in his endeavor to assist the
de facto Hanoverian government of George II against Prince Charles
Edward Stuart.
On 14th September 1773, he dined with Dr. Johnson and James Boswell,
who described him as a "substantial gentleman of the Clan". In 1775,
John of Bay, along with 15 other tradesmen, 8 of whom were MacLeods,
signed the following remarkable document in support of their chief, "We
hereby bind and oblige ourselves not to make any demands for our
principal sums for the space of 6 or 7 years barring unforeseen
accidents or misfortune. We are truly sorry that the heavy buden of
debts and annuities will not afford the young Chief (Norman, 23rd Chief,
then aged 21) the proper maintenance equal to his forefathers and wish
£300 at least to be set aside for his use". John''s signature is second on
the list. Two years later, the tacksmen gave a further demonstration of
their attachment to the chief and their determination to save the
ancestral estate of the clan from alienation. In 3 remarkable documents,
the tacksmen of Harris, Skye and Glenelg entered into a voluntary
obligatio to pay an additional 7 1/2 % increase of rent to the Chief. This
action proves the non-feudal or family element inherent in the clan
system.
In 1786 John Knox visited John MacLeod at Bay and found him "a
venerable person aged 90". He died at Bay in 1792, and was buried in the
old churchyard of St. Mary''s, Kilmuir, Dunvegan. John MacLeod married
(1) Frances MacKenzie of Davochmoluag (she died in 1741), with issue.