William Almack's Illustrious In-Laws

 

William Almack 1715 -1781

Elizabeth Cullen 1716 - ?

William Almack married Elizabeth Cullen on the 16^th of May 1752 at St George’s Church, Mayfair, London, a fashionable venue for weddings.

According to the Dictionary of National Biography (not known for its accuracy!), Elizabeth was a waiting-maid to the Duchess of Hamilton. Elizabeth’s father, William, was a lawyer and factor to the Duke of Hamilton, which meant that he ran the duke’s estates. Elizabeth’s brother, another William, was a physician.

William Cullen 1710 – 1790 Elizabeth Cullen’s brother.

William was born in Hamilton, Scotland. He was primarily a physician and also had an interest in the sciences. He was based in Scotland and was president of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and first physician to the king in Scotland.

 

The Pitcairns

William and Elizabeth Almack’s daughter Elizabeth was born in London on the 23^rd of September 1759. She married Dr. David Pitcairn on the 28^th of February 1781 at St James Church, Westminster.

David Pitcairn 1749 – 1809 Elizabeth Almack’s husband.

David was the son of Major John Pitcairn and his wife Elizabeth (maiden name Dalrymple). He was born in Dysart, Fife, Scotland. He was initially educated in Scotland until 1773, when he attended Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and achieved his medical qualifications. David’s career was overseen by his uncle, whose name was William Pitcairn (1712-1791) and who was president of the College of Physicians. In 1785 he was appointed physician to St Bartholomew’s Hospital (Barts), succeeding his uncle in the position. David also had a large private practice and was known for often treating patients for free.

In 1783, on the death of William Hunter (famous anatomist), David was appointed to be one of three trustees of Hunter’s collection of anatomical specimens. These items later formed the basis of the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow. William Hunter had been a pupil of Elizabeth Almack’s uncle, William Cullen, between 1737 & 1740.

David suffered from ill health towards the end of his life and died in 1809. He is buried in the family vault in the church of St Bartholomew the Less together with his wife Elizabeth. Also buried there are David’s uncle William Pitcairn and the supposed remains of David’s father, John Pitcairn.

Robert Pitcairn 1752 – 1770 Son of John Pitcairn, brother of David Pitcairn.

Robert was David Pitcairn’s younger brother. He joined the Royal Navy and in 1767 he was a midshipman aboard the HMS Swallow. He was the first person to spot an island in the South Pacific. It was named after him and the group of four islands became known as the Pitcairn Islands.

Robert joined the crew of HMS Aurora in 1769. The ship and its crew disappeared without trace after calling at the Cape of Good Hope. It is assumed that the Aurora was wrecked in early 1770.

Years later, in 1780 there was a mutiny on the HMS Bounty. Acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian and the crew took control of the ship from Captain William Bligh. Bligh and eighteen loyal members of the crew were set adrift on an open boat. They eventually managed to navigate their way to land.

The mutineers sailed on to Tahiti. Some remained there but Fletcher Christian and eight mutineers carried on to Pitcairn, where their descendants still live today.

John Pitcairn 1722 – 1775 Father of David and Robert Pitcairn

John was the father of David and Robert Pitcairn. He was an army major and was stationed in America at the outbreak of the American War of Independence, fighting on the British side.

Major Pitcairn was in command of the advance party that marched on Lexington and Concord on 19 April 1775. This skirmish was the start of the American War of Independence. Pitcairn’s troops arrived in Lexington at dawn and ordered the American militia forces to disband. Both sides had ordered their men to hold fire but at least one shot was fired. It is unclear who fired the shot, but it resulted in the British attacking. One British soldier was injured and the party eventually retreated back to Boston.

Two months later, on the 17^th of June 1775, Major Pitcairn commanded a reserve force of about 300 marines at the Battle of Bunker Hill. He was accompanied by his son Thomas, who was also an officer. John had already sustained two bullet wounds as he led the attack up to the hill and was then shot four times as he entered the trenches. He fell into his son’s arms and was carried back to Boston. Major Pitcairn died of his wounds some hours later. He was buried at the Old North Church in Boston. Some remains purporting to be those of Major Pitcairn were later returned to England.

In recent years John Pitcairn has been resurrected as a character in the video game Assassin’s Creed lll.

 

William Almack, founder of Almack's Assembly Rooms

 

William Almack 1715 -1781

William Almack was probably born in Sandhutton, North Yorkshire in about 1715, the son of John and Elizabeth Almack. He was Mary Alice Willis’s  5X great-uncle. His sister, Ann Almack, was Mary Alice Willis’s 4X great grandmother. Ann Almack’s daughter, Elizabeth Tebb, married James Willis in 1768.

 William’s origins are a bit of a mystery. Commentators at the time believed that he was Scottish and that his original surname was McCall. That was not the case, but his wife was born in Scotland and that may have caused confusion.  He is rumoured to have been a valet to the 5th Duke of Hamilton. I haven’t seen any evidence to support this but his wife’s father, William Cullen, did work for the Duke. In later years Elizabeth Cullen’s brother, another William, was physician to the 5^th Duke of Hamilton.

 William married Elizabeth Cullen in London in 1752. They had three children, William 1754 - 1806 who became a barrister, Elizabeth 1759 -1844 who married Dr. David Pitcairn and Euphemia 1760 - 1776. The Pitcairns were only very distantly related to us by marriage but they were an interesting family and I shall write about them separately.

By 1754 William Almack was running a coffee house in Curzon Street, London and then progressed to running private members' clubs. These evolved into Brooks's and Boodle's and were in competition with White’s. The clubs were notorious for the heavy gambling that took place there. 

'the gaming at Almack's which has taken the pas of White's, is worthy the decline of our Empire, or Commonwealth. . . . The young men of the age lose five, ten, fifteen thousand pounds in an evening there.' - Horace Walpole.

Building commenced on Almack's Assembly Rooms in King Street, Westminster in May 1764 and they opened on 12 February 1765. Twelve weekly balls were held during the season, access to tickets was controlled by a committee known as the lady patronesses. 

"All on that magic list depends;

Fame, fortune, fashion, lovers, friends;
'Tis that which gratifies or vexes
All ranks, all ages, all sexes.
If once to Almack's you belong,
Like monarchs, you can do no wrong;
But banished thence on Wednesday night,
By Jove you can do nothing right." Henry Luttrell.

William Almack handed over the running of the busines to James Willis in 1771 due to ill health. James had married Almack's niece Elizabeth Tebb in 1768 (Mary Alice Willis’s 3X great grandparents). The business remained in the Willis family for over a hundred years.

William died on the 3rd January 1781.