Our Genealogy - Person Sheet
Our Genealogy - Person Sheet
NameCatherine Unknown 8, GGGG Grandmother, F
Deathbef 1825
Spouses
1James Sutherland Sr. 8, GGGG Grandfather, M
BirthTain, Ross-shire, Scotland198
Death24 Aug 1825, Cawnpore, India141
OccupationSergeant in the 59th Regiment of the Foot; Labourer in Scotland prior to enlistment140,198
ChildrenJames , M (1813-1889)
Notes for Catherine Unknown
Her first name is derived from her son James’ baptismal record.
A eye-witness description of November 11th 1813, the day after the Battle of the Nivelle, describes the arrival at St. Jean de Luz where Catherine, accompanying her husband in the 59th Regiment, was to give birth to their son the next month:
“Early on the morning of the 11th, the left wing got under arms; but it was near eight o’clock before the first division advanced towards the banks of the Nivelle, the repairs of the bridge at St. Jean de Luz, and the construction of a flying bridge to assist in conveying the troops over, occupied the artificers a considerable time, so that it was mid-day before they were rendered passable for artillery, and the march was consequently delayed till this was effected. About half-past twelve the columns of the fifth division [the division in which her husband James’ regiment, the 59th, served], and the second brigade of Guards, passed the Nivelle at St. Jean de Luz, part by fords close above the town, and part, with the artillery, over the bridge. The first division passed at a ford about a mile higher up the river, together with the Portuguese brigade of Brigadier-General Wilson. It rained torrents the whole forenoon, but the spectacle of the allied columns descending from the fortified position in files to the banks of the river, and then forming columns in the most perfect order; with the grand style in which the troops forded the river and ascended the opposite bank, was remarkably striking. The ford was broad enough to cross by platoons, and though the water was deep, and the right bank exceedingly muddy, all passed in high spirits. Many of the soldiers’ wives were seen wading through the river and dragging themselves through the muddy banks and swampy ground of the opposite shore by the sides of the companies to which their husbands belonged. The more sanguine looked forward to penetrating at once into the interior of France. At night the left wing bivouacked on a ridge of hills extending from Guethary in the direction of Espelette, the enemy having retreated to the neighbourhood of Bidart. On the following day tents and camp equipage arrived, but the rain of the 11th was, only the commencement of bad weather, which continued without intermission till the 18th of November, rendering the cross roads so muddy and bad, besides swelling all the rivulets into broad and deep streams, that any attempts to advance farther at that period must have faded. The Marquess of Wellington, in consequence, moved the army on the 18th of November into cantonments; the first division occupying St. Jean de Luz and Ciboure, with the village of Guethary in advance.”200

At the time of her husband’s death on August 24, 1825, Catherine’s son rather than herself is listed as immediate next of kin suggesting she had died prior to that.
Last Modified 17 Sep 2007Created 18 Feb 2019 using Reunion for Macintosh