Meanwhile, Robert Russell had completed a comprehensive tree for the Gillanders family and we were able to locate many of their property holdings. The fact that George Gillanders (elder) was Factor to the Seaforth MacKenzies ; held the tacks of several farms on Lewis and owned Highfield House does suggest that William MacGregor must have been very well connected to end up marrying Helen, George Gillanders‘ (younger) eldest daughter.

An attempt was made to identify all the former Factors and Chamberlains of Lewis to try to determine how George Gillanders (senior) came to take up his role. It was hoped that this information might help to shed more light on how William MacGregor came to be connected with the Gillanders family.

1612 -1642 Alexander McK IV of Achilty 1^st Factor https://www.hebrideanconnections.com/people/65933

? Donald Bain d 1645 Battle of Auldearn

1640 -1690 Murdoch (Murchadu Mor) McK V of Achilty 4^th Factor d before 1692 https://www.hebrideanconnections.com/people/41654

1709 - Alexander McK (grandson of Murdoch McK V of Hilton) Chamberlain drowned 1759

https://digital.nls.uk/histories-of-scottish-families/archive/96684488?mode=transcription p259/460

c1717-1730 Zachury McAulay Chamberlain d1735 https://www.hebrideanconnections.com/people/64830

https://wikivisually.com/wiki/Clan_Macaulay_of_Lewis

The Seaforths forfeited their estates in 1725 after the Jacobite rebellion of 1715.

1730? Roderick McK of Brae & Longcroft (grandson of Murdoch McK V of Hilton) Chamberlain bc 1680

http://pdfbooks.co.za/library/ALEXANDER_MACKENZIE-HISTORY_OF_THE_MACKENZIES.pdf p261/460

http://www.clanmacfarlanegenealogy.info/genealogy/TNGWebsite/getperson.php?personID=I90673&tree=CC

(Sons: John; Colin McK of Glack & Sir Peter)

(Colin McK of Glack b 1707 Minister of Fodderty. Helped collect rent for McKs of Cromarty post Culloden

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=392092.0

http://ecclegen.com/kennedy-tree/ )

1739 – 1740? Colin (Cailean Dearg) McK Chamberlain d 1757 one daughter Isobel https://www.hebrideanconnections.com/people/41293

1740 - 1742 Alexander McK VI of Achilty Factor & Chamberlain 1740 d 1742

https://digital.nls.uk/histories-of-scottish-families/archive/96684488? mode=transcription P507

c1742 – c1761 George McK of Dalmore Factor b 1703 - d 1761/7

(Brother Dr John McK of Stracathro Commissioner to Seaforth b 1705 - d 1775 )

1761 – c1779 George Gillanders Factor 1761 (c 1781 when he bought Highfield) b 1730 - d 1801

c1779 – c1791 Alexander Gillanders (son) Chamberlain b1751- d1794

(m Elizabeth daughter of Thomas McK V of Ord)

The great-grandson of the third Earl of Seaforth, and male heir of the family, Colonel Thomas Frederick Humberston Mackenzie, fell at Gherish in India in 1783. His brother, Francis Humberston Mackenzie, obtained the Seaforth estates, and was created Baron Seaforth in 1796

c1791- c1815 George Gillanders (son) Commissioner of Seaforth bc1779 – d1833-1841

Lord Seaforth appointed Governor of Barbados in 1800

c 1806 James Chapman Chamberlain of Lews

Francis Humberstone MacKenzie, Lord Seaforh (MP, Col of 78^th Regiment, Baron McK of Kintail, Governor of Barbados 1800-1806) died Jan 1815. The estate passed to his eldest daughter, Mary Frederica Elizabeth, Lady Hood, whose husband, Admiral Sir Samuel Hood had died eighteen days earlier. Lady Hood married James Alexander Stewart of Glasserton (1784 –1843) in May 1817, after which Mr Stewart assumed the additional surname MacKenzie.

James Alexander Stewart MacKenzie presumably ousted George Gillanders as Chamberlain, in favour of Major Forbes MacKenzie, after he married Lady Seaforth.

1816-1820 Major Forbes MacKenzie (McK of Brae - son of Rev Colin McK of Fodderty) (Ross- shire Militia) , Deputy Lieutenant of Ross-shire b1758 http://www.ecclegen.com/kennedy-tree/ https://www.hebrideanconnections.com/people/65026

( sons: 1^st son Roderick died; 2^nd son Alexander (Hilton X) Chamberlain of Ferntosh b 1756 (?)

https://digital.nls.uk/histories-of-scottish-families/archive/96684488?mode=transcription p378

1823 James Adam Factor & Chamberlain of Lewis (ref: Lewis: A History of the Island. Donald MacDonald)

c1827 Thomas Knox, Factor of Lewis

James Alexander Stewart MacKenzie was Governor of Ceylon from 1837-1841 leaving his estates in the hands of

? -1835 Alexander Stewart Chamberlain (married Anne, daughter of Capt John MacKenzie III of Lochend)

https://digital.nls.uk/histories-of-scottish-families/archive/96684488?mode=transcription P449

http://www.pjsymes.com.au/articles/JASM.htm

1841 Donald Munro (known in Lewis as the ‘Shaw’) arrived in Lewis to take up the posts of Procurator Fiscal and Legal Agent for the Lewis Seaforth Estate. bit.ly/39MrPHN http://direcleit.blogspot.com/search?q=Chamberlain

James Alexander Stewart MacKenzie died in 1843 forcing his widow to sell Lewis to Sir James Mattheson in 1844.

1854 Donald Munrho becomes Factor

From http://www.pjsymes.com.au/articles/JASM.htm, it was noted that:

There had been a branch of the Aberdeen Commercial Bank on Lewis some time prior to 1820 with the Factor of the island as the agent, but at the death of the Factor the branch was “given up”.

In 1835 Alexander Stewart the retiring Factor of Lewis, in a letter to Stewart Mackenzie, bemoans the bank agency being in the hands of Roderick Morison and L. McIver, who monopolised the fishing industry and the distilleries on Lewis. (Roderick Morison also acted for the Seaforth estate.)

Another observation was that it appeared that George McK of Dalmore and his brother Dr John McK of Strathcaro were merchants in Jamaica at the same time that Alexander McK XI Hilton and Brea was out there.

It was also interesting to note that the McKs of Achilty regularly inter married with the McKs of Gairloch http://www.stewartbooks.com/graphics/Mackenzie/Mackenzie_Sample.htm

eg Alexander McK VI of Achilty’s 3^rd wife was Isabel, daughter of Alexander McK, V. of Gairloch

Murdoch Mackenzie, VII of Achilty, married Anne, third daughter of Sir Kenneth Mackenzie, first Baronet and VIII of Gairloch, in 1728,

Colin Mackenzie, VIII of Achilty, an Officer in the 78th Regiment, who married Janet, third daughter of Sir Alexander Mackenzie, second Baronet and IX of Gairloch.

The final point that stood out was that Alexander Stewart (Chamberlain <1835) had married Anne, daughter of Capt John McK III of Lochend. This Lochend connection may add weight to the idea that William MacGregor was somehow related to the family.