Where to begin??

[jenn270]

I am hoping something might be possible. A friend is a Macmillan, descended from Miles Macmillan, b. abt. 1755 in Scotland and died in 1807 in New Brunswick, Canada. It is believed he left Renfrewshire with the Black Watch Regiment but his county of birth is unknown. He accepted land in Canada in lieu of a military pension so evidently there is no trail to follow that way. He married Kathlin McGuire of Ireland. Can you point us in a particular direction? He would so much love to know where in Scotland his Macmillan line originated.

[mckha489]

Have you made enquirers of the Blackwatch?

https://theblackwatch.co.uk/research/trace-a-soldier/

Then

https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/search-our-records

There  are not many Miles/Myles/Moiles coming up for me. And all born a bit late.
Considering the Scot’s naming patterns it might be worth looking at some of them to see if you can fit your man in.

Were they RC or Protestant in Canada?


I would look at FindMyPast but it isn’t loading for me at the moment.
I see it says

“ There are few records for the 42nd & 73rd Regiments prior to 1800. There are no records for those who served in the French-Indian or Revolutionary Wars in North America.”

So if he was in the revolutionary wars, that might be a problem.

[mckha489]

Have you followed up this reference?

Detail  Source
Name:   Miles McMillan
Arrival Year:   1785
Arrival Place:   New Brunswick, Canada
Primary Immigrant:   McMillan, Miles
Source Publication Code:   1640.13.40
Annotation:   Most are date and place of mention in America; some are date and port of arrival. Name of regiment, military title, place of origin, date and/or place of birth, name of parent(s), place of settlement, reference to original sources, and other genealogical
Source Bibliography:   DOBSON, DAVID. Scottish Soldiers in Colonial America, Part One and Part Two. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield Co., Inc., 1997. 62p.

[jenn270]

Thank you so much for the book reference!
I had previously checked Scotland's People and there are very few possibilities there as you say.
All subsequent generations of Miles' descendants were Protestant so we would assume that Miles was as well. My friend's father spent much of his leave time during WWII in Scotland trying to find his roots but unfortunately never did.

[jenn270]

The reference to Miles you cited - where did you find that? I can only find Part III online and he is not in that.

[mckha489]

The reference to Miles you cited - where did you find that? I can only find Part III online and he is not in that.

I found the reference on Ancestry, but the book itself you might have to look at in a library.