Aulay MacAulay, 12th Laird of Ardincaple

The last Laird, the 12th Laird, Aulay MacAulay of Ardincaple,

• In c.1705 the lands of Milligs, Kirkmichael, Buchanan and Drumfad were sold to Sir John Schaw of Greenock, who later sold them to Sir James Colquhoun of Luss in 1752.
• In 1737 he was forced to sell Ardenconnel, Faslane, Easter and Wester Blairnairn.
• 1753: The rambling pile of Ardincaple Castle was in ruinous condition. By the early 1750s its roof had fallen in, and it was virtually uninhabitable. Finally, deeply in debt and virtually bankrupt, Aulay had to sell Ardincaple Castle and its lands in 1753 to John Campbell, the 4th Duke of Argyll, who later sold it to a Ewan. Apparently, a significant portion of the sale price went to settle Aulay's debts. A part of the deal may have included employment for Aulay to preserve him from utter penury, for he became Commissioner of Supply for Dumbartonshire—a post he held as late as 1764.
• In 1753, at the time of Ardincaple's sale, however, Dr. George Macaulay relieved a part his cousin's emotional and financial distress by buying from among the ancestral properties two adjacent farms, Lagarrie and Blairvadden.
• The last Laird of Clan Aulay survived his philanthropic cousin, George, for hardly a year, dying in 1767, virtually penniless, and according to Welles, "childless, landless, and friendless" (Welles 148). Had it not been for George Macaulay, Aulay would have been even worse off.

Sources

1. Red Book of Scotland (Vol. 6, 227).