"Lieut. Col. Robert McNair, husband of Catherine More McNair, was born on 25th December, 1803, in Glasgow, Scotland. He was one of the nine children born to Robert McNair Senior, of Janefield and Belvidere, and Helen McCall McNair. Robert McNair Senior was for sometime a sugar refiner in Glasgow after which he became a collector of customs at Leith. He was already a cadet in the army by 1820 and joined the army on 31st May 1821. He was raised to the rank of Lieutenant on 11 May 1823, thereafter to to Captain on 2 Aug 1839. He became a Major on 7th April 1851 and reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on 18th July 1856. His first marriage was with Catherine More on 12 June 1834, at Calcutta. Prior to this however, he had an illegitimate son named William Nathaniel(born on 9 January 1826 in Futtehghur, Inida) with a native woman. After Catherine's death, he married Harriet Caroline Garstin, the second daughter of Jonathan Hayer Garstin (of Her Majesty's 88th Regiment) on 2nd August 1837, in the St. Andrew's church of Calcutta. He had seven children with her before his death in Coonoor, on 20th July, 1857, of fatigue. After his death his possessions went to his second wife, Harriet Caroline and she kept on receiving a pension of 225 pounds per annum untill her death on 12th April, 1886.
On his arrival in india, Robert was posted as an Ensign to the 21st regiment of the Native Infantry(N.I.). He was then transferred as Lieutenant to 11th N.I. in July 1824 after serving in the 15th N.I. (late 1/11th) since May 1824. Robert fought in the attack on and capture of Maharaj Balwant Singh at Patan, near Kotah, on 7th November 1824. Thereafter he joined as the Lieutenant in the 15th N.I. under Captain Charles Kiernander, and was soon transfered to 5th Extra Regiment. He joined the 73rd N.I. on 8th February, 1836 and served till 2nd September 1839. He left for 6 months in China on 14 September 1836. He went there and acted as Major to Brigadier J H Littler's force on Eastern Frontier between 5 Jan 1838 and 27 May 1839. Then he became the Acting AAG of the Meerut Division 21 May 1842. He then became the temporary commander of the 1st Infantry Levy on 11 Oct 1842 following which he took up the post of the Assistant Executive Engineer of 12th (Ambala) Division PWD on 17 April 1844 and held it till April 1847. He was then involved in the Second Anglo-Sikh War, in garrison at Lahore. Bt Major 73rd NI (Medal). He went on a Furlough from January 1850 till November 1851 but with the annexation of Oudh in 1856 he came back to serve as the Lieutenant Colonel in the 73rd N.I. He was then transferred to 17th N.I. in 1857." (V C P Hodson, List of Officers in the Bengal Army, Phillimore and Co. Ltd., 1946, London).
Sudipto Mitra
