Mr William McMillan

- Abt 1685

• Name	William McMillan
  Title	Mr
  Gender	Male
  Property	1677	Balmaclellan, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland
  	Heritor of the lands of Caldow
  Occupation	1678	Balmaclellan, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland
  	Heritor of the lands of Caldow
  Residence	1678	Balmaclellan, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland
  	Caldow
  Imprisonment	18 Jul 1679	Dumfries, Dumfries-shire, Scotland   [1]
  	Order by the Privy Council for his release, having been held for some time in Dumfries Tolbooth for attendign conventicles
  Legal	1683	Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland   [2]
  	On Porteous Roll, indicted for "treasonable harbouring recepting corresponding [etc]" with conventicel preachers and others
  Role	1685	Leith, Midlothian, Scotland
  	Transported prisoner - died
  Religion	1685	Scotland
  	Presbyterian - Covenanter
  Imprisonment	17 Feb 1684/85	Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland   [3]
  	Held in Canongate Tolbooth. Reported as willing to swear the oath of allegiance but not accept 'His Majesties supremacy in matters ecclesiastick"
  Imprisonment	24 May 1685	Dunnottar, Kincardineshire, Scotland
  	Held in Dunnottar Castle until c12 August, then marched to Leith arriving 17 August
  Imprisonment	18 Jun 1685	Dunnottar, Kincardineshire, Scotland   [4]
  	Subject of a petition to the Privy Council by his wifeGrissell Cairnes, seeking to alleviate conditions in the Dunnottar Prison
  	“Anent a petition presented by Grissell Cairnes and Alison Johnston in behalfe of Mr William McMillan and Robert Young, wright in Edinburgh, their husbands, and the rest of the prisoners in the Castle of Dunnottar, shewing that the petitioners said husbands, who are under no sentance, with many others haveing been sent prisoners to the said Castle, they are in a most lamentable condition, there being one hundreth and ten of them togither in one vault, where there is litle or no daylight at all, and, contrare to all modestie, men and women promiscuously togither and fourtie tuo more in another roume in the same condition, and no person allowed to come near them with meat or drink, but such bread and drink as scarce any rationall creature can live upon, and yet at extraordinär rates being tuentie pennies each pynt of ale which is not worth a plack the pint, and the peck of sandie dustie meal is afforded to them at eightein shilling per peck, and not so much as a drink of water allowed to be caryed to them whereby they are not only in a starveing condition but must inevitably incurr a plague or other fearfull deseases without the Councill provyd a speedy remidy, and therfor humbly supplicating that warrant might be granted to the effect underwritten. The Lords of his Majesties Privy Councill, haveing heard and considered the forsaid petition, doe hereby continow that part of the desire for liberty till they considder furder of the petitioners caise; but in the meantyme gives ordor and warrant to the deputy governour of the Castle of Dunnotar to suffer and permitt meat and drink and other necessars to be brought in to the petitioners by their freinds or servants at the ordinary easie rates, and to allow the saids Mr William McMillan and Robert Young a distinct roume from the rest, and in regaird of the heat of the season of the year that all the prisoners may be so accomodate without throng that their health be endangered as litle as possible.”
  Imprisonment	Aug 1685	Dunnottar, Kincardineshire, Scotland   [5]
  	Reported to have subscribed to the "oathes of alleadgeance and abjuration", and his declaration sent to Edinburgh
  Departure	5 Sep 1685	Leith, Midlothian, Scotland
  	Aboard the Henry and Francis
  Title Suffix	of Caldow
  Name	William Mckmillen  [6]
  Origin	Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland
  Death	Abt Oct 1685	At sea   [7]
  	Not on the list of 'Such as dyed'. The PC record suggests that he may have been released on 18 August, to behave "regularly and orderly" on pain of 5,000 merks for failure to do so Aboard the Henry and Francis
  Person ID	I44671	East Jersey Genealogies
  Last Modified	16 Apr 2026

  
  

  Family	Grissell Cairnes
  Family ID	F31178	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	16 Apr 2026

  
  

• Event Map

  Property - Heritor of the lands of Caldow - 1677 - Balmaclellan, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland Occupation - Heritor of the lands of Caldow - 1678 - Balmaclellan, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland Residence - Caldow - 1678 - Balmaclellan, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland Imprisonment - Order by the Privy Council for his release, having been held for some time in Dumfries Tolbooth for attendign conventicles - 18 Jul 1679 - Dumfries, Dumfries-shire, Scotland Legal - On Porteous Roll, indicted for "treasonable harbouring recepting corresponding [etc]" with conventicel preachers and others - 1683 - Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland Role - Transported prisoner - died - 1685 - Leith, Midlothian, Scotland Religion - Presbyterian - Covenanter - 1685 - Scotland Imprisonment - Held in Canongate Tolbooth. Reported as willing to swear the oath of allegiance but not accept 'His Majesties supremacy in matters ecclesiastick" - 17 Feb 1684/85 - Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland Imprisonment - Held in Dunnottar Castle until c12 August, then marched to Leith arriving 17 August - 24 May 1685 - Dunnottar, Kincardineshire, Scotland Imprisonment - Subject of a petition to the Privy Council by his wifeGrissell Cairnes, seeking to alleviate conditions in the Dunnottar Prison - 18 Jun 1685 - Dunnottar, Kincardineshire, Scotland Imprisonment - Reported to have subscribed to the "oathes of alleadgeance and abjuration", and his declaration sent to Edinburgh - Aug 1685 - Dunnottar, Kincardineshire, Scotland Departure - Aboard the Henry and Francis - 5 Sep 1685 - Leith, Midlothian, Scotland Origin - - Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S3611] Privy Council of Scotland, The Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, 3rd Series, VI, 284. [S3526] National Records of Scotland, (Location: Edinburgh;), JC26/64/4/1. [S3611] Privy Council of Scotland, The Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, 3rd Series, X, p144. [S3611] Privy Council of Scotland, The Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, 3rd Series, XI, p70. [S3610] Anderson, James, The Black Book of Kincardineshire, p19. [S3610] Anderson, James, The Black Book of Kincardineshire, p9. [S3601] Glasgow, W. Melancthon, History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America, pp 230-231. https://archive.org/details/historyofreforme00glas