Capt Alexander Macaulay

Yes, I had a lot of information from a descendent of Aulay Macaulay who said:

I can explain the source of confusion between the Rev. Alexander Macaulay and the Alexander Macaulay who was the son of the second consecutive Rev. Macaulay at Cardross.

In Eunice G. Murray's book "The Church of Cardross and its Ministers," published by Jackson, Son & Co., Glasgow, in 1935, you will find reference to the two Alexander Macaulay's associated with the Cardross church in chapter 14, pages 133 through 136.

Rev. John Macaulay and his second wife, Margaret Campbell had 12 children together and John had one son, Hector, with his first wife Isobel McNeill, who died shortly after Hector's birth.

Rev. John Macaulay's son Alexander, was the twin to Penelope, both born on 19 June 1769 at Inverary, Glenaray, Argyll, Scotland. I viewed and recorded the information from the birth record for Penelope and Alexander (and all the other children of John and Margaret) myself in Glasgow. This Alexander was in the service of the Sierra Leone Company and was the 2nd mate of the Minerva 1801/1802 and Ships Officer 1802. This reference is found in the records held by the Army Museum in Chelsea and was shared with me by Michael Ian Ray. Captain Alexander Macaulay died unmarried. You will notice that Capt. Alexander Macaulay was actively employed after the death of the Rev. Alexander Macaulay with whom he is often confused.

I have read some of the letters of Zachary Macaulay (born 2 May 1768) and have found references to his younger brother, Alexander, being at Sierra Leone in Africa. Eunice G. Murray is correct in his book when he points out the "Fasti" records claiming Rev. Alexander Macaulay was the son of his predecessor, are wrong. This is the source of the confusion between these two men and it has been copied and repeated numerous times all over the internet in family trees.

The Rev. Alexander Macaulay who succeeded Rev. John Macaulay at Cardross was translated from the parish of Strathblane to Cardross. "This was duly accomplished and on the twelfth day of May, 1791, he was inducted to the parish of Cardross, where he ministered for eleven years. He married one of his own parishioners, Margaret, daughter of Thomas Ewing of Keppoch, and they had four children, two daughters and two sons." (page 133 of Murray's book) This Alexander Macaulay died 15 October 1800. (page 135) He likely died at Cardross and his death record should provide more clues, such as his age at death, which will help you learn his date and place of birth, if it is not given.

I have not researched the family of your Rev. Alexander Macaulay, but you should be able to learn more about him by locating his marriage (probably at Cardross) and death records (you already know the date of death and probable location of Cardross). Also, if you trace him backwards in time from Cardross to the parish of Strathblane and further back, you will probably find he is older than Capt. Alexander Macaulay. A quick search online turned up the following information about the Rev.'s career in a tree on the LDS FamilySearch site.

CHURCH: Licensed by Presbytery of Peebles, 1779.
CHURCH: Ordained assistant in parish of Monzie, 1784; translated to Strathblane 1784.
CHURCH: Presented, 1789.
CHURCH: Minister of Cardross and Kilmahew, 1791; translated and admitted, 1791.

If these dates are correct, the Rev. had already finished his formal education, probably a masters degree, by 1779. If he were born as twin to Rev. Aulay Macaulay on 20 Oct 1758, which he WAS NOT, he would have been only about 21 years old when first licensed in 1779, which is unlikely - he probably would not have been able to complete so much education in such a short time. If he were born as twin to Penelope on 19 Jun 1769, which he WAS NOT, he would have been only 10 years old when first licensed, which is impossible.

That the various editions of "Fasti" contain this erroneous information about his various positions before translating to Cardross AND states that he was the son of his predecessor, is truly unfortunate and even more so for having been spread all over the internet.

If you find you are able to make a connection between your Rev. Alexander Macaulay and my Rev. John Macaulay further back in their respective lineages, I would appreciate hearing from you. I would not be surprised to learn they were distantly related. All we know at this point is they were most definitely not father and son.

According to the Scotland's People birth record, Alexander and Penelope were born on 19 June 1769 and both were baptized two days later on 21 June, so they are twins.

It is stated in some reports that Alexander followed his father as Minister of Cardross, but while the next minister had the same name, it is thought that this Alexander is not related to Rev. John Macaulay. Apparently he was in the service of the Sierra Leone Company and was Captain of one of their vessels. (Ministry of the Two Macaulays, Cardross Church History)

My information is that Alexander was a twin, but of Aulay, not Penelope. He was born in 1758 and died in 1800. He was minister in Cardross (where his father had also been), married Margaret Ewing, and had 4 children: John (b Sept 7, 1793)
Jean (b May 31, 1796)
Thomas (b Sept 13, 1798
Margaret (b July 5, 1800)