Glenlochy
Photograph of Glenlochy looking north by Richard Blake
Like many previous generations of his family, Patrick Grant owned the lands of Glenlochy in Speyside. In a desolate glen between Tomintoul and Grantown on Spey life was hard for those who tried to earn a subsistence living and opportunities for Patrick’s sons in the area were non-existent in the years after the final Jacobite uprising in 1745. The bonds of clan kinship provided openings for John and his brother Francis to forge careers away from Speyside. They, and many other educated young men who left their Scottish homes in the 18th century, were not part of any “Highland Clearance”. The Act of Union in 1707 had opened the door for Scots to the British colonies, where fortunes could be made.