Peter McAuslan, in addition to being an important and controversial person in the history of the LDS Church, is of considerable interest to McAusland family historians.

His grandfather was seemingly the last tenant of Stuckiedow, which would make him a relation of Robert McCasland of Newlandmuir – see earlier post. Robert McCasland received a Grant of Arms as Robert McCasland of Newlandmuir on 10 February 1863, with supporting documents which demonstrated that his ancestors “had been in Stukkidow from a very remote period and extending over nine generations as extracted from an old M.S. Book written by the Petitioner’s Father in and previous to the year Eighteen hundred and thirty four.”

According to Historic families, notables and memorabilia of the Lennox (1891) by Donald MacLeod, the farms of “Prestalloch, Stockidow and Innerlaurin” were once owned by three brothers named Peter, James and Humphrey McAuslane. If true, this would make Peter McAusland and Robert McCasland of Newlandmuir relations of our own McAusland line from Inverlaurin.

Finally, Peter McAuslan believed he was descended from the McAusland Barons of Caldenoch, who also held the lands of Prestilloch, Innerquhonlanes (possibly Innerlaurin?) & Craigfad. If true this could mean our first recorded McAusland ancestor was John McAuslane of Caldenocht, who witnessed a charter in 1395 whereby Humphrey Colquhoun of Luss granted his brother Robert the lands of Camstradden.

However, it should be noted that if Robert McCasland of Newlandmuir’s father’s genealogy of the McAuslands who inhabited “Stukkiedow” “over nine generations” made reference to the McAusland Barons, no mention of them appears in the grant of Arms, in which their occupation was said to be sheep farmers.

In 1664, a Sasine of £8 land of cites Caldenoch, Prestellach, Innerquhonlanes and Craigfad, in Dunbartonshire, to Alexander McCauslane as eldest lawful son and heir of the late John McCauslane of Caldenoch, on a precept of clare constat by Sir John Colquhoun of Luss, 20 May 1664. (Campbell: Abstract of Argyll Sasines).

There is no mention of Stuckidow in this charter and if the McAuslands of Stockidow were descended from the McAusland Barons, it seems likely that they were a cadet branch whose inheritance was a lesser property.

Were the McAuslands of “Prestalloch, Stockidow and Innerlaurin” related as stated in Donald MacLeod’s 1891 book and was Peter McAusland the great (x2) or great (x3) grandson of the last Baron McAusland? Having theories is one thing, but finding primary sources to prove them another!

Polly Aird’s Book

The life story of Peter McAuslan is well known, being told in his great (x2) niece, Polly Aird’s excellent biography: Mormon Convert, Mormon Defector: A Scottish Immigrant in the American West, 1848-1861 which is available from Amazon and other booksellers.

As mentioned in a previous post, while the book’s main focus concerns Peter McAuslan and his relationship with the Mormons, the early chapters of the book are of particular interest to McAusland family historians.

On the first page of the first chapter, Peter McAusland reveals in a letter to his daughter that he believed his grandfather was the son or grandson of the last Baron McAusland who was obliged to sell his lands to the Colquhouns of Luss.

The family story corresponds well with historic fact as Janet, the daughter of Alexander McAusland, the last Baron of Callenach, sold the McAusland lands to the the Colquhoun Laird of Luss.

Peter McAuslan, junior (1824-1908)

Peter McAuslan was described in the Old Parish Register of Births & Baptisms for Strathblane in Stirlingshire as: “Peter, lawful son of Peter McAuslan Calico printer Nethertown and Betty Adamson his spouse, was born 30 Janry and baptized 14 March 1824.”

Peter McAuslan was the second of the eleven children of Peter McAuslan senior and Elizabeth Adamson, who also emigrated to the USA. Peter McAusland junior went on to marry Agnes Wallace McAslan – who may have been a distant relative – in March 1854 at Liverpool before emigrating to the USA.

Peter McAuslan, senior (1801-1869)

Peter McAuslan senior was reported to have been born on 01 March 1801 in the parish of Bonhill in Dunbartonshire and baptised there on 03 March 1801. While these dates appear coherent with those in the census records of 1841 and 1851, I have been unable to find a record of his birth or baptism.

Peter McAuslan (born ca 1774?) said to be the last McAusland tenant of Stuckidow

Although Peter McAuslan senior’s birth and death registration have not been located, his parents are reported to have been Peter McAuslan and Jean Marshall. This would be logical as the second daughter of Peter McAuslan senior and Betty Adamson was Jane Marshall McAuslan, who appears to have been named after her maternal grandmother.

Jean Marshall appears to have been baptised on 23 July 1774 in Bonhill parish, but no obvious baptism for Peter McAuslan, last McAusland tenant in Stuckidow has yet been found. For the moment we will assume that he was approximately the same age as his wife and born around 1774.

Can we piece together a possible tree from the Stockidow McAuslands? If Peter McAuslan was the tenant of Stockidow, it is likely that he was the eldest son of the eldest son of Robert McAusland in Stockidow and Elizabeth Erskine, who were the grandparents of the genealogist John McAusland of Newlandmuir.

Peter McAuslan might have been a son of Robert McAusland and Jean McAuley, of Patrick McAusland and Janet Bain, or of another son and his as yet unknown wife. It should be noted that the name Patrick was often interchangeable with Peter.

The mystery is far from being solved, but we now have a working hypothesis to investigate.

Watch this space as they say!