***************************************************************************** This email and any files transmitted with it are intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. ***************************************************************************** In the second half of the 18th century there were a number of Regiments raised in Sutherland - Fencible and otherwise. The Sutherland family exercised a very strong influence in deciding who should become officers. Patronage, as it was called, was part of public life and extended to posts in the customs etc. The middle classes - the large farmers etc - were forever writing to the Sutherland family or their lawyers, trying to persuade the landlord to put in a good word in the appropriate place. PS A word about the 'Duke'. The Countess of Sutherland succeeded in 1766. She married Earl Gower in 1785 but continued to be known as the Countess. He became Marquis of Stafford in 1803 from which point she was the Marchioness of Stafford. He became the Duke of Sutherland in 1833. After his death that year, she was known as the Duchess-Countess. Malcolm Bangor-Jones -----Original Message----- From: T.Knapp [mailto:theresa.knapp@sympatico.ca] Sent: 17 May 2001 04:30 To: SCT-SUTHERLAND-L@rootsweb.com Subject: purchasing of commissions ******************************************************************* This email has been received from an external party and has been swept for the presence of computer viruses. ******************************************************************* Was it a common practice for the Duke of Sutherland to be purchasing commissions for the army etc. during the early 1800's....would one have to be related, close family friend, or this was a common practice... any ideas? theresa. ==== SCT-SUTHERLAND Mailing List ==== You may, at times, wish to check out previous messages to this list. You can do this at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/SCT-SUTHERLAND-L/ ============================== Join the RootsWeb WorldConnect Project: Linking the world, one GEDCOM at a time. http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com