Ewen Mackinnon (Inverness)

Ewen Mackinnon arrived in Demerara in 1799 with an introduction to Joseph Macdonald, on plantation Dochfour. Macdonald found him a position on a nearby plantation belonging to George Inglis. Macdonald described him as ‘a fine young man & I am persuaded he will do well’. Although his initial salary was low, £50 with board, Macdonald believed he would soon be earning £200. [NAS GD47/684 Joseph Macdonald to Hector Macdonald Buchanan, WS, Edinburgh 5 April 1800]

Mackinnon became manager of Inglis’ plantation Bellefield but died there towards the end of 1800. George Inglis, in Inverness, heard of this ‘by a lad Mackenzie from this place’ and noted that Mackinnon's ‘miserable old mother & sister are starving’. Mackinnon’s father had died a few months earlier and had only a small pension as an invalid soldier. In a letter to Simon Fraser of Farraline, a merchant in London, Inglis’ wrote: ‘the young man Mackinnon who lately died in Demerary was formerly manager of my estate & from him conducting himself much to my satisfaction I was interested in him’. [Inverness Museum, Letter Book of George Inglis]