Clan Adair Places & People

Adair Places

Dunskey Castle

Built by the Adairs of Kinhilt, who also owned the Castle of St John in Stranraer, in about 1510. The castle was extended in the 17th century.

Adair People

John Adair (9 January 1757 – 19 May 1840)

Born in South Carolina to Scottish immigrants, John Adair was an American pioneer, soldier, and politician.

At the outbreak of the the American Revolutionary War, Adair signed up to serve in the South Carolina colonial militia and was twice captured by the British. After the war he turned to politics, and as a politician he served as the 8th Governor of Kentucky, and represented the state in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Gilbert Adair (1944 – 2011)

Gilbert Adair was a Scottish novelist, poet, film critic and journalist. best known for the translation of Georges Perec’s novel A Void, in which the letter e is not used. This won him the Scott Moncrieff Translation Prize. He is also known for films adapted from his novels; Love and Death on Long Island and The Dreamers which was directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.

Originally born in Kilmarnock, he mostly lived in Paris. His works included Alice Through the Needle’s Eye and Peter Pan and the Only Children. Winner of the Author’s Club First Novel Award in 1988 for his novel The Holy Innocents, he also wrote the “Scrutiny” column for The Sunday Times from 1992 to 1996.

Adair died from a brain haemorrhage, 13 months after suffering a stroke which blinded him.

James Makittrick Adair (1728-1802)

Born in Inverness and educated at the university of Edinburgh he was the youngest son of James Makittrick. He is famous for his ethical treatment of slaves and the poor

He began a military career, later becoming a surgeon’s mate on board the Porcupine sailing to the Leeward Islands, after this he moved to Antigua where he began t study medicine. It was during his time there that he became aware of the condition of slaves on the plantations. Though not an abolitionist he became concerned about the poor conditions of slaves on the island and was well known and respected among the slave population.

During a visit to the America he became friendly with Benjamin Franklin.

While on another extended period in the West Indies he changed his name to Adair in order to ensure

John Adair (c. 1655-1722)

John Adair was a Scottish mapmaker and surveyor who was known for excellence of his maps, and was made a fellow of the Royal Society in 1688.

In 1683, the Privy Council commissioned Adair to survey the regions of Scotland who was known at the time as a “mathematician and skilfull mechanic”. Three acts of tonnage were passed in 1686, 1695, and 1705 to raise the funds for his work, however, financial difficulties persisted which greatly affected his work. Very few of his maps were engraved during Adair’s lifetime, and unfortunately, most of his map manuscripts were destroyed in a fire in 1811.