MACADAM,
the surname of a family who were originally MacGregors, descended
from Gregor MacGregor, the chief, whose 2d son, Gregor, captain of
the clan, with his cousin, gilbert MacGregor, progenitor of the
Griersons of Lagg, took refuge in Galloway, after the outlawry of
the clan Gregor. After being guilty of various acts of depredation
and marauding, Gregor was at last captured and executed at
Edinburgh.
His son, Adam MacGregor, the ancestor of this family, changed
his name to Adam Macadam.
The latter’s son, John, had a son, Andrew, who, July 31, 1569,
obtained, at Perth, a charter of the lands of Waterhead, from James
VI., by the hands of the Regent Moray.
Gilbert Macadam of Waterhead, the 4th in
descent from Andrew, was served heir Aug. 2, 1662. He was a
well-known Covenanter; and in the troublous times of 1682, he was
taken prisoner and carried to Dumfries, on a charge of
non-conformity, but was liberated on caution to the extent of £400,
which, on his non-appearance, was forfeited. Soon after, he was
again apprehended and carried to Glasgow, and on his refusal to take
the oath of allegiance and supremacy, was banished to the American
Plantations. His father gave him £20 sterling with him, and with
this he bought his freedom, and returned to Scotland in 1685. On a
Saturday night, in a cottage near the village of Kirkmichael, he was
surprised, at a meeting for prayer, by a company of militia, and
shot in attempting to escape by the window.
His son, James Macadam, served heir in 1686, married a lady of
the Cunningham family, and appears to have died in 1687. Like his
father, he was a strict Covenanter. In an attempt on his life, he
was followed one evening along the road, by Crawfurd of Camlarg and
Crawfurd of Boreland; but, missing him in the dark, they overtook,
and, in mistake, shot Roger Dunn, his uncle.
The third from him, another James Macadam, was one of the
founders of the first bank in the town of Ayr, in 1763. He married
Susannah, daughter of John Cochrane of Waterside, niece of the
heroic Grizel Cochrane, and cousin-german of the 8th earl
of Dundonald. Her mother, Hannah De Witt, was of the illustrious
Dutch family of that name. He had two sons and eight daughters.
Grizel, the 4th daughter, married Adam Steuart, Esq., and
was mother of William Macadam Steuart, Esq., of Glenormiston,
Peebles-shire, an estate purchased from him by William chambers,
Esq.
James, the elder son, a captain in the army, predeceased his
father, in 1763.
John Loudon Macadam, the younger son, the celebrated improver
of the public roads, was born in Ayr, September 21, 1756. He
received his education at the school of Maybole. His father, having
sold the greater part of his estate to a younger branch of the
family, the Macadams of Craigengillan, whose daughter and heiress
married the Hon. Col. Macadam Cathcart, went to live at Lagwine, on
the river Deugh, in the parish of Carsphairn. His residence there
was unfortunately consumed by fire, and he left Scotland for
America, where he embarked in mercantile speculations. His son at
the time was only about six years old. On his death in 1770, young
Macadam was sent to New York. He remained there until the close of
the revolutionary war, and as an agent for the sale of prizes he
realized a considerable fortune, the greater part of which, however,
he lost.
On his return to Scotland he resided for some time at
Dumcrieff, in the neighbourhood of Moffat. He afterwards lived for
thirteen years at Sauchrie in Ayrshire, where he was in the
commission of the peace and a deputy-lieutenant. In 1798 he was
appointed by government agent for victualling the navy in the
western ports of Great Britain, in consequence of which he removed
to Falmouth.
It was while acting as one of the trustees upon certain roads
in Ayrshire that he first turned his attention to the mechanical
principles involved in that branch of national economy, and during
his residence in England, he continued silently to study the process
of road-making in all its details. In 1815 he was appointed
surveyor-general of the Bristol roads, when he was at length
afforded a full opportunity of carrying his system into practical
operation, and it was soon adopted throughout the whole kingdom. In
1825 he was examined before a committee of the House of Commons
respecting the propriety of converting the ruble granite causeway of
the principal streets of towns into a smooth pavement, resembling
those which he had already formed on the ordinary roads; when he
strongly recommended the change. The leading streets of London,
Edinburgh, Dublin, and other cities, were, in consequence,
Macadamized.
In introducing an improvement of such extensive utility, Mr. Macadam
had expended several thousand pounds, which, in 1825, he proved
before a committee of the House of Commons; and received from
government, in two grants, the sum of £10,000, which was all the
return he ever obtained. In 1834 he was offered the honour of
knighthood, but he declined it on account of his age, and it was
conferred on his second son, Sir James Nicoll Macadam, general
surveyor of the metropolis turnpike roads, appointed a
deputy-lieutenant of Middlesex in 1848. Mr. Macadam died at Moffat,
November 26, 1836, aged 80.
He was twice married, and by his first wife had 4 sons and 3
daughters. His two eldest sons died before him. The eldest son,
William, left 3 sons and 3 daughters. William’s eldest son, William
Macadam of Ballochmorrie House, Ayrshire, succeeded his grandfather
in 1836. He was Surveyor-General of Roads in England, and died,
unmarried, Aug. 28, 1861, aged. 58.
