James McLeod 1835 - 1917 Part A

Rumsdale

Rumsdale from Google Earth

Rumsdale stone dyke

James McLeod was born at Rumsdale and christened on 16 April 1835 (probably at Achrenny). His mother’s name is spelled incorrectly on his birth record as Catherine instead of Christina. There are no witnesses recorded.

James was probably named after his mother's half-brother James who was born in Badbea in 1789. Although we have the birth record for James Sutherland he does not appear in any more records nor is he named on the Badbea memorial, so he probably died young. 

James McLeod is shown on the 1841 census for Rumsdale as being 5 years old and living at home with his mother and father. Also at home are Mary age 12, William age 9, Esther age 7, James age 5, Jannet age 3 and Farquhar age 1. Two Gunn men are also living there as Ag Labs (Agricultural Labourers). Older siblings Elizabeth and Donald have left home and Kitty has died.

James next appears in the 1851 census as 16 years old, still living at home and a scholar. Also living at home is Esther age 18, Janet 13, Alexander 8 and Catherine 5. It seems unusual for those times for a lad of 16 to be still at school but it was common for young people to go to school until nearly adulthood just for the winter and get work in the summer. Often the summer jobs would be cattle related or, my guess, is that James helped his father with the sheep work as the Ag Labs seem to have gone. As sheep farming is so labour-intensive I can’t understand how John McLeod was supposed to manage on his own without more labour. It is clear that James was experienced with sheep farming practices when he got to New Zealand.

Orkney

Older brother William got work as a shepherd at Orkney and it seems that James went with him.

The remains of an old drove road from Rumsdale that John McLeod used to drive
 his sheep to market. His sons sometimes went with him and later used their droving skills in New Zealand

The Orkney Islands off the coast of northern Scotland have been inhabited for over 8000 years. There has been constant movement of people and boats between the two “mainlands” for hundreds of years so for James and William to go there would have been fairly straightforward.

To New Zealand

In 1855 William and James left Orkney and sailed to New Zealand. William was 25 years old and James 20. The story of their voyage out is told in the blog September 2017 William McLeod – to New Zealand.  I won’t repeat it all here.

On arrival in New Zealand William and James McLeod stayed working together. They went to manage a block of land for their uncle Alexander Sutherland at Akitio. Again, the stories of these two brothers run parallel, so for more details refer to the blog William McLeod Part C Akitio posted on 14 February 2018.

The Akitio venture was not successful. In late 1856 Akitio was sold and Alex Sutherland bought a property 12 miles from the river mouth up the Pahaua Valley which was nearer Lyall’s Bay. 

See William McLeod Part D Pahaua and Whakapuni

From this time the stories of these two brothers diverge and have vastly different outcomes. William McLeod, over time, was able to purchase the Whakapuni property and become a station owner. James, on the other hand remained managing Pahaua for his uncle and had no real long-term security of management or land ownership.