Inverness Academy
When Inverness Academy was founded in 1792 it had received subscriptions of over £6000 of which £1301 came from the Caribbean [Douglas Hamilton, Scotland, the Caribbean and the Atlantic World, 1750-1820 (MUP, 2005)].
In 1810 it received donations of £285 13s from Demerara [AUL KC Ms874 p234]:
- Phineas Mackintosh Esq £52 10s
- Charles Simpson £26 5s
- Alexander Grant £21
- Donald Mackay £21
- Henry Tulloch £10 10s
- D Campbell £10 10s
- H B Fraser £5 5s [Civil Commissary, Demerara]
- Colin Macrae £10 10s
- John Noble £10 10s
- Thomas Fraser £10 10s [possibly Thomas Fraser of Artligan]
- William Fraser £5 5s [possibly William Fraser of Artligan]
- James Fraser £5 5s
- Donald MacPherson £6 6s
- N Mackinnon £5 5s
- Roderick MacLeod £5 5s
- William Morrison £6 6s
- Lachlan Macbean £5 5s
- M Downie £10 10s
- Hugh Junor £10 10s
- George Mackenzie £10 10s
- Donald Dingwall £5 5s
- Peter Rose £5 5s
- John Gordon £5 5s
- John Mackintosh £21
One of the first teachers was William Haig, who taught there for fourteen years before moving to Dumfries. His third son, James, died aged 22 at Success Island, Demerara, on 26 August 1817 [Inverness Courier - Thursday 18 December 1817].
Pupils at the school included Alexander, John and Colin Macrae, from Jamaica, all listed as 'coloured' in the admission register in 1806; William, George, Hugh and Helen Inglis of Demerara, the children of George Inglis of Kingsmills; William Chisholm of Demerary, 1803-04; and William Murray of Demerary, 1803.
In 1811 John Noble, in Demerara, sent his son John to be educated at the school asking that he be accomodated 'as a boarder with one of the Masters or at any other Genteel Boarding House' [NAS GD23/6/527].
In 1823 James Simpson, Demerara, won a prize for Latin (Inverness Courier, 26 June 1823). In 1824 James Robertson, Demerara, won a prize for algebra (Inverness Courier, 30 December 1824).