Postillon at Kilkerran estate

[TKirouac]

Does anyone have any insight as to the occupation of "postillon" in the late 1700s? Would it simply refer to a coachman or coach driver or something more?
My 5x great Grandfather Dugald Kennedy was listed as "postillon at Kilkerran" on one child's baptism and in a descendant's narrative as "an official on Kilkerran estate".
Interestingly the Kilkerran estate once belonged to the Kennedy's but by 1686 belonged to the Ferguson clan.
Tracey

[johnniegarve]

I think a postillion rode a coach horse rather than sitting on the coach.

[Montrose Budie]

Per Wikipedia

A postilion (or postillion, occasionally Anglicised to "post-boy") rider was the driver of a horse-drawn coach or post chaise, mounted on one of the drawing horses. By contrast, a coachman would be mounted on the vehicle along with the passengers.

Postilion riders normally rode the left (or "near") horse of a pair because horses usually were trained only to be mounted from the left. With a double team, either there would be two postilions, one for each pair, or one postilion would ride on the left rear horse in order to control all four horses.

mb

[Currie]

Particularly useful when towing something heavy and dangerous where long sets of reins would be impractical.

Artillery.
http://wholesale-prints.net/MBB0883/MBB0883623T.jpg

Coronation Coach.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/-8jpUbk6NZEA/TFyeP ... C04128.JPG

But not necessarily.
http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/paintin ... -Game-Cart

Or just a case of nowhere else for the driver to sit.
http://geoffstovold.info/workingstuff/postillion.jpg

Alan

[TKirouac]

Wow! Thank all of you for your help. It's sounds like a fair dangerous sort of occupation...possibly why my Dougal Kennedy died at the young age of 31.
Tracey

[paddyscar]

There is also a link to a number of old Scottish occupations on our site at http://www.talkingscot.com/links/useful-sites.htm

It describes a Postillion as one who rode as a guide on one of the near pairs of horses drawing a coach or post chaise

Hope this helps for future unknown occupations,
Frances

[hunterboa]

I've just found your request for information about Dougald Kennedy's role at Kilkerran. You may be interested to have a look at my website : www.hunterboa.com. In the "Families from Carrick" page you will find a link to the accounts book of Dougald's employer, Sir Adam Fergusson .His coachman while Dougald was alive was a forebear of mine, Jeremiah Campbell. In it you will find that Sir Adam kept minute details of his expenses - including the cost off Dougald's funeral. The original accounts are very detailed. A few years ago, the present owner of Kilkerran kindly allowed me to visit his archives, where I noted details which caught my eye. You will find that Sir Adam spent a lot more on his teeth than he did on our ancestors!

Best wishes
Hunter Boa.

[SarahND]

Hello Hunter Boa and
You have a very interesting website! Tracey should get an email notification of your post, but in case you don't hear back soon, a private message might work.

All the best,
Sarah

[johnniegarve]

Good site Hunter, the Ross-shire Boa's get a mention in one of Iain Thomson's books, it might be "The Long Horizon" ?

[johnniegarve]

Thomson's "Isolation Shepherd" is on this interesting (if you're into sheep!) site, http://www.ramshornstudio.com/blackface_10.htm