This visit focuses on locating the rented property and surrounding lands once associated with my ancestor John Loudon McAdam and his family. It was here that McAdam lived while serving as a re-victualizing agent for the Royal Navy in the western ports.
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Earlier Research Journeys
My exploration has included several connected trips:
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Falmouth, Cornwall – 24th April 2023
A visit to make local contacts and identify the Flushing address linked to the McAdam family. -
Bristol – 24th May 2023
Here I visited family residences in Berkeley Square and Sion Hill, along with McAdam’s former offices in Park Street and Small Street. I also stopped at Bristol Cathedral to see the memorial plaque of my 4th great-grandmother, Gloriana Margaretta McAdam, who was buried there on 17th February 1825, aged 65. -
Scotland – 21st–23rd February 2023
This leg of the journey took me to the ancestral lands of Glenstrae, Glenlochy, Glen Lyon, and Glen Orchy, as well as Loch Awe, the Sauhrie estate, and Lagwyne in Ayrshire.
An excerpt from my research captures the depth of this lineage:
“I counted John Loudon McAdam, the inventor of the greatest advance in road construction since Roman times, among my ancestors. Their line descended from the 9th-century King Alpin, bearing the clan crest of a crowned lion’s head and the Gaelic motto ‘S Rioghal Mo Dhream’—‘Royal Is My Race.’ The McGregors once held the lands of Glenstrae, Glenlochy, Glen Lyon, and Glen Orchy, but through legal manipulation, these were lost. When the clan was outlawed under James II of Scotland (1430–1460), Adam, grandson of Chief Gregor McGregor, settled in the lowlands and took the name McAdam. Generations later, his descendant John McAdam transformed Britain’s roads, laying the groundwork for the modern railway system.”
This unfolding exploration connects the landscape, lineage, and legacy of a family whose story bridges centuries—from ancient Highland roots to innovations that shaped the modern world.