One of my most exciting & surprising discoveries was the extraordinary life of Captain James Tait.
My mother-in-law’s grandfather, John James Tait migrated to Malaya in around 1880, he built roads and owned tin mines and was into horse racing!
We always assumed he was the first to venture to the Far East to seek his fame and fortune, but whilst researching John James’ family I discovered he was born at “Edenside” in Kelso Scotland, one of seven sons of James Tait writer to the signet. (lawyer) and his father was James Tait (lots of people called James in this part of our tree).
James Tait was born in Langrigg farmhouse in 1769, he was the 4th child of Joshua Tait and Janet Johnston (https://notjustanyfamily.wordpress.com/2019/12/09/joshua-tait-of-langrigg/) , in total they had 9 sons and 2 daughters and several of their children were adventurers.
As the century was turning from 1799 to 1800 James was working as a captain of several country ships sailing between Calcutta, Prince of Wales Island (Penang) and Indonesia. He is listed in the East India Company directory as a European resident in Calcutta in 1805 and then for several years in Prince of Wales Island.
A Country ship is the term applied to the ships that traded in the East Indies – they picked up goods and took them to entrepots where the East India Company purchased them. They were restricted from sailing directly to England. The captains were known as free mariners as they had no connection with the East India Company.
There was an incident involving the sale of opium which meant that he ended up going back to Scotland with (possibly a fortune in his pocket).
On 26 June 1815 he married a local girl Margaret, daughter of a prominent writer to the signet George Turnbull.
They first rented and then bought a beautiful Georgian manor house called Edenside, in Kelso Roxburgh, where they have four daughters and a son called James Tait.
He died in 16 May 1847 and is buried in the the churchyard of Kelso. His only son James Tait went on to become a writer to the signet and two of his daughters married the sons of David Brown http://(https://notjustanyfamily.wordpress.com/2015/04/)11/david-brown-of-penang/ an adventurer who set up home in Penang and had large nutmeg plantations, I’m imagining that connection was made to the families during James’s time living in Penang?
Over the last few months I have been researching captain James takes life through reading the gazette the paper published weekly Prince of Wales Island. The paper is useful in that it recalls when ships come and go and other interesting events in the life of the island. I am therefore hoping to eventually write a fuller longer blog tracing the Life and times of this adventurous gentleman.
not just any family 