Borders Ancestry Monthly Blog

Broaden Research Parameters to Uncover an Ancestor's Elusive Family

30/5/2020

When faced with an information ‘void’ it is understandable how and why researchers sometimes jump on ‘facts’ pertaining to familial connections freely available on the internet or published elsewhere. There are many reasons why these ‘blackholes’ may arise; nonconformity, a lack of heritable property or Wills, lost or damaged records to name but a few. Whichever way, if our ancestors were ‘ordinary’ law abiding folks they can often become tricky, if not impossible, to trace with any degree of certainty in the period before the Census and Statutory Registration.

There are, however, other measures that can be tried before resorting solely to the research of others! Broadening the net to catch as many potential relatives as possible and investigating their connections is just one way to ‘ring fence’ your own ancestors. I think of this as gaining access to the required information through the ‘side door’. Then, as now, family connections and the principle of ‘who’ rather than ‘what you know’ often played a pivotal role. Taking a closer look at fellow passengers, communicants of a specific church, or trades, occupations and residents in particular community may just pay dividends.

Sprouston Kirk with Rev Ninian Trotter's Obelisk in the Foreground. © Copyright JThomas and licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0

Johnston Case Study

The case in question is the search for the parentage of Andrew Johnston allegedly born at Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1766 for whom no baptism information has been identified, most probably due to the family’s nonconformity and gaps in the records. Returning to the other families who emigrated to Australia alongside the Johnstons aboard the Coromandel in 1802, the researcher is quickly bombarded by a surfeit of conflicting information from a variety of sources. For example:

Jane Johnston, wife of emigrant James Davison of Alnwick was Andrew Johnston’s sister
John Johnston was a brother to both Andrew Johnston and James Davison’s wife Jane
Andrew Johnston was an only child :-/

Sadly, very little evidence appears to exist in the public domain or come to light elsewhere to prove or disprove any of the above hypotheses and therefore these conflicts remain unresolved. The other enduring contention, that Andrew Johnston was descended from George Johnston the 3rd Marquess of Annandale, has persisted for so long it perhaps bears testimony that to date no-one has been able to unearth the true facts about his parentage? It also seems rather significant that whilst this ‘illustrious’ pedigree was attached to Andrew himself, it was never attributed to his ‘sister’ Jane nor ‘brother’ John or claimed by their descendants.

Using DNA for early ancestor searches

For this latter dilemma, science can play a determining role if lucky enough to have a direct male Johnston descendant to test and a bank of well documented Y-DNA to compare it to. Broadening the search can help identify possible family groups with suitable male descendants to potentially approach regarding Y-DNA testing. It will likely involve a bit of detective work tracing family lines but might just pay dividends if the trail leads back to a known parish, community, or geographical area.

When searching for suitable descendants it is important to watch for breaks in the male line of inheritance. There are many reasons male lines can be broken but one that is often overlooked relates to inheritance. If a title or inheritance for some reason passes through a daughter or female line and surnames are changed to accommodate it, the historic line of Y-DNA has been broken and will no longer reflect the original blood line. If looking for a potential connection to a ‘landed’ family this is worth investigating to ensure the Y-DNA carried is in fact that of the surname expected!

It is a big ask for autosomal DNA (atDNA) to provide definitive answers at extremes of generational distance. Remember, due to the way autosomal DNA is transmitted, (and lost) with each generation that passes there is no guarantee we will have inherited any from our ancestors beyond 3rd great grandparent level. Any matches that do exist are going to be small, if indeed they exist at all.

Furthermore, if a search focus is narrowed to only one ancestor it is easy to lose sight of the fact that, if our line is free of cousin marriages, we have 64, 4th great grandparents and 128, 5th great grandparents. That is a lot of individuals from whom we might, or might not, have inherited autosomal DNA! Extreme care should be exercised when attributing DNA matches at this historic distance, particularly if a large amount of DNA is shared between testers or if several different ancestor families lived in the same geographical area. For example, Sprouston in Roxburghshire is synonymous with a branch of my paternal line ancestors, yet the first 5 atDNA matches that come up under the place name search are on my maternal, rather than paternal line.

Broaden the ancestral search

It is all too easy to fixate on a single ‘troublesome’ individual when perhaps the net should be cast wider to encompass siblings, cousins and other more distant family members. This unfurling of the family tree is essential if looking for clues amongst DNA matches.

Picture Letter from George Graham to Rev Alexander Waugh in 1773

The Mrs Johnston referred to in this extract from Rev Alexander Waugh's Memoirs cannot be his Grandmother, is not his only sister, and yet appears to be well acquainted with Alexander’s plans for study etc. Therefore, it is concluded that the lady to whom Mr Graham refers is a ‘relation’ of the Rev Alexander and quite possibly the mother of Andrew Johnston born at Berwick in 1766.

Whilst the ‘devil’ is often in the detail, more general patterns, particularly those of movement and relocation, can often hold vital clues and can be found in traditional paper-trail sources. When combined with DNA results, the armoury in a genealogist’s toolbox is significantly strengthened.

Possible Connections between Johnston, Mein & Turnbull Families

With a broader search in mind, looking at the pedigrees of fellow travellers aboard the Coromandel may yet yield some further clues. It is known that many of the individuals hailed from the same geographical area of the Scottish Border and North Northumberland and were united by their strong Presbyterian beliefs. It is therefore not unreasonable to speculate that some familial connection may also have existed. A generally held belief amongst researchers of the Hawksbury Settlers is that John Turnbull was not only related to fellow Coromandel passengers, James and Andrew Mein but also the Johnston family.

The theoretical relationships between the Turnbull, Mein and Johnston families is discussed by Albert Turnbull in his 2018 book ‘The Turnbull Pedigree’. This potential connection is certainly plausible and has been evidenced to a degree by an old family Bible bearing what is believed to be John Turnbull’s signature as a child, alongside that of his mother Margaret Mein. There is, however, a lack of clarity to the evidence as presented in the book that makes the theoretical paper-trail somewhat challenging to follow or replicate. It appears the Bible may be the only source of baptismal information for several of the children of William Turnbull and Mary/Margaret Mein. which again raises the possibility of nonconformity. A possibility that has not been explored by the book’s author.

It would be interesting to test Turnbull’s relationship theory against the information pertaining to the inheritance of James Mein’s estate. A nephew, John Stuart Mein, travelled from Scotland in 1834 to claim his inheritance on the death of his aunt in 1833. Clearly if Margaret Mein was a relative of James, her Turnbull offspring in Australia (John) appear to have been passed over in favour of those who had remained in Scotland. Once again there appears to be a degree of conflicting information to wade through from various sources, not least the year of James Mein’s birth recorded as both 1741 (which would have made him of an age with John Turnbull himself, and aged 61 when he left for Australia) and 1761 some 20 years later!

Notice from the Sydney Herald in 1834 regarding the Estate of James Mein deceased

Turnbull’s same hypothesis refers to Janet Johnstone the wife of Nicholl Turnbull having been born at Earlston in 1677. As the Earlston records have not survived from this date knowing the source of this information would also be most helpful. It may eventually prove to be the case that she was the Janet Johnston baptised at Gordon in August the same year to a William Johnston farmer at Hexpath. Although William Johnston of Hexpath has yet to be firmly placed within the Johnston family tree, it is thought likely that a familial relationship existed between him and Margaret Johnston, mother of the Rev Alexander Waugh and her known connections at East Gordon.

The Cauld (Weir) on the River Tweed near Banff Mill cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Walter Baxter - geograph.org.uk/p/2140219

As the Turnbull Pedigree also claims that the young John Turnbull spent time at Banff Mill, Sprouston, it put me in mind of my own, again sadly neglected, Turnbull connections. A paternal 5th great grandmother, Christian Turnbull, was born in 1717 at Easter Softlaw Farm, Sprouston, where her father John Turnbull was tenant. It did not take me long to remind myself why I give this early branch of the family a wide berth! There were simply so many of them in Sprouston parish; John and George Turnbull tenants at Easter Softlaw, James Turnbull tenant in Nottylees, Robert Turnbull tenant in Lurdenlaw and another James Turnbull tenant in Lempitlaw Eastfield. Some 85 years later from the Militia Lists of 1801 some of these Turnbull families were still resident at Lurdenlaw, Lempitlaw and Lempitlaw Eastfield. In my brief revisiting of this branch of Turnbulls and indeed the other entries in the Sprouston register, no connection between a Turnbull and Banff Mill was apparent. Indeed, a re-reading of this chapter of the Turnbull Pedigree left me somewhat cold.

‘Banff Mill is a tiny village on the river Teviot, opposite Kelso/Sprouston, but in the parish of Berwickshire which is renowned for its poor or missing records’[1]

The efficacy of the Berwickshire records and record keepers aside, the number of errors packed into this single sentence must be a record!

There is nothing left of Banff Mill per se. It certainly is NOT, nor likely ever was, a village.
It most definitely lies on the River Tweed not the Teviot.
Far from being opposite Sprouston it is on the same bank.
It was most definitely in Roxburghshire not Berwickshire.
Berwickshire is most definitely a County not a parish.

Sadly, this has rather left me questioning the credibility of other conclusions that have been drawn within the relevant chapters of this book. By the time of a potential sibling’s baptism in 1752 the putative parents were living at Overmains, close to Kennetsideheads in Eccles Parish, not as the author would suggest close to Banff Mill. This surely makes any ‘memory’ or link John may have had to Banff Mill from birth to the age of 4 rather tenuous? With time at a premium the Turnbull connection has been left in abeyance for now.

Johnston Baptisms at Wells St Church 1775-1826

It is also my experience that delving deeper into available records in areas to which a family has relocated often provides evidence of siblings or other connections. With this in mind the records of Wells St Church in London between 1775 – 1826 were trawled for further clues pertaining to the Johnston family. (It should be noted that as a nonconformist church it was unable to host weddings under the Marriage Act of 1753. Nonconformist couples wishing to marry in England had to do so in an Anglican Church until the introduction of Civil Registration in 1837.)

John Broadwood and Son taken from https://interlude.hk/the-keys-to-success-burkat-shudi-and-john-broadwood/

In 1782 Wells Street Church passed into the pastoral care of Rev Alexander Waugh, a known and established relative of Andrew Johnston. This was also the first year the number of baptisms at Wells Street achieved double figures at a total of 12. By the year 1784 the number of baptisms had more than doubled to 27. From this point forward the numbers steadied in the mid- 30s with a few years rising above 40; the highest number of baptisms recorded was 48 in 1815, and the lowest just 19 in 1808. Thus, it can be concluded there were, very approximately, 50/60 couples of child-bearing age amongst the congregation during this period.

The occupational and other information provided by the entries also makes interesting reading.

There was a large proportion of skilled tradesmen baptising children at this time and a lack of father’s designated as ‘labourers’. Amongst the occupations recorded, there were a high number of carpenters and stone masons possibly reflecting the Georgian building boom of the pre-Napoleonic era. Several tailors were also noted.
Only one illegitimate birth, to a couple from Inverness, was noted during the period.
Although it was a Scotch Church there are very few surnames prefixed with Mc or Mac, suggesting the Scots that made up the congregation were predominantly from the lowland regions.
A couple of baptisms to the Broadwood family of piano manufacturers were noted in the Wells St records. The Company founder John Broadwood was born in Oldhamstocks, close to the Berwickshire border in 1832. He had moved to London in 1761. It is though that Andrew Johnston worked for the Broadwood firm on moving to London himself. Is there perhaps an earlier family connection between the two families? Although his parentage has not been confirmed, they may have been James Broadwood and Margaret Purvis who married there in 1727. More information can be found on the history of the Company at http://www.broadwood.co.uk/history.html
There were a further six Johnston couples baptising children at Wells St during this period and shortly afterwards, of which two are of particular interest.

NB. Only baptisms which took place at Wells St are listed.

1. Andrew Johnston and Hamilton Bruce

Name Baptism Date     Parents Names Parish of Abode               Occupation
John                      6th Oct 1811        Andrew & Hamilton Johnston     St Marys Hornsey             Carpenter
Hamilton              17th Mar 1814 Andrew & Hamilton Johnston     Hornsey Implement Maker
Janet                     26th Sep 1816 Andrew & Hamilton Johnston     Hornsey Ag Implem. Maker
Andrew                9th Aug 1818 Andrew & Hamilton Johnston     Hornsey Ag Implem. Maker

This Andrew and his wife Hamilton Bruce have been traced back to Berwickshire. Their two eldest children Mary 1806 and Margaret 1809 were baptised at Chirnside. From the 1851 census Andrew’s date of birth was circa 1780/81 and the place is recorded as ‘Berwick, Scotland’. Berwick is often mistakenly referred to as Scotland in the southern census records, but equally, Berwick may also mean Berwickshire. Andrew died in 1852 and left a Will.

2. Andrew Johnston and Elizabeth Fairbairn

Name                    Baptism Date Parents Names Parish of Abode               Occupation
Andrew 25th Feb 1812 Andrew & Elizabeth Johnston     Marylebone                       Carpenter
Elizabeth 1st Feb 1814 Andrew & Elizabeth Johnston     St John Westminster Carpenter
Janet 29th Feb 1816 Andrew & Elizabeth Johnston     St Johns Westminster Builder
James 20th Nov 1818 Andrew & Elizabeth Johnston     All Saints, Isleworth Architect
Margaret 20th Nov 1818 Andrew & Elizabeth Johnston     All Saints, Isleworth Architect

This Andrew rose quickly from Carpenter to Builder then Architect. He and Elizabeth were not the easiest to trace but his line has been validated back to Roxburghshire and parents Patrick/Peter Johnston and Janet Dods who were married at Stichill 25th May 1771.

Compeared Patrick Johnston
And Janet Dods both in this
Parish & craved proclamation in
Order to Marriage They produced
Patrick Jeffrey Cautioner for the man
& Nicol Dods for the woman [2]

The family became dispersed when Andrew died circa 1833 and is of particular interest due to the name ‘Waugh’ being adopted by daughter Margaret in later life. It is also believed there are living male descendants on this line with whom we would be particularly keen to make contact.

Whilst it is very early days, it is hoped this second line of enquiry into Johnston births at Wells St. may tighten the ring fence around Andrew Johnston’s potential parentage still further. If you believe you are connected, to either of the Andrew Johnstons mentioned above or indeed the Andrew Johnston who emigrated to Australia aboard the Coromandel in 1802 we would love to hear from you.

[1] Albert Turnbull, The Turnbull Pedigree,
https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Turnbull_Pedigree.html?id=orpUDwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y p.32
[2] Scotlands People, Marriage Patrick Johnston & Janet Dodds 1771 ScotlandsPeople_OPR808_000_0020_0235Z

0 Comments

The Johnston Family of Berwickshire & the 'Coromandel' Settlers of 1802

24/4/2020

4 Comments

When a case crosses my desk that also contains a significant element of local history it really piques my interest. When it concerns a family that skirts the perimeters of my own this interest is somewhat exacerbated. So, when approached to look into the Johnston family that formed part of a small group, mainly made up of folks from the Scottish Border Country and Northumberland, who after a period living in London, sailed to Australia in 1802 aboard the ship the ‘Coromandel’ I knew I was in for both an interesting and challenging journey. Particularly as this little party were followers of the Presbyterian Secession Church, so therefore ‘Dissenters’ or ‘Nonconformists’ in both Scotland and England making them more difficult to trace. Furthermore, the surname Johnston just happens to have ranked 6th in occurrence per 100,000 of the population in Berwickshire in 1841, so there was a lot of them about!

Trove, Windsor and Richmond Gazette (NSW: 1888 - 1961) Fri 29 Jul 1927 Page 1 EBENEZER PIONEERS OF THE HAWKESBURY. (Extract)

There are several branches of Johnstons who touch the perimeter of my own family tree. In this particular case it is the Johnstons linked to the Waugh family that farmed at East Gordon for many generations. If you know or even suspect your family of Johnstons hailed from Gordon in the 18th century we would love to hear from you. Chances are that you, like my clients are faced with a black hole of information necessary to join the dots! It like a polo mint of family information but nothing to join them in the middle!

Other Johnston Families of Berwickshire

Back in July 2014 I recounted the sad affair of Johnston descendants in Ballarat during the gold rush, where 4 members of one family lost their lives. The last of which, it could be argued rather insensitively, met his end courtesy of a hangman’s knot. These were descendants of Peter Johnston and his wife Margaret Thomson through their son Lt Col James Johnston and his wife Matthew Jane Trotter. Amongst Peter and Margaret’s numerous other children was Dr George Johnston MD of Berwick upon Tweed. For anyone familiar with the history of the town, Dr Johnston will be a well-known name, not least for being a founder member and the first president of the Berwickshire Naturalists Club and Mayor of the town no less than three times.

Picture Dr George Johnston by William Bonar. National Galleries, Public Domain

Dr George Johnston of Berwick upon Tweed, (1797–1855), physician and naturalist. National Galleries, Public Domain

There is a blue plaque mounted on the side of his old home in Wool Market, Berwick, now the Anchorage Guest House.

Dr George’s parents Peter and Margaret had farmed at Simprim, Berwickshire. George was the 10th child born to the couple and was the last of their children to be baptised at Swinton. Shortly afterwards, the family moved across the border to Ilderton near Wooler where his younger brother Adam was baptised in 1798.

The Johnston family of Swinton and Simprim was closely linked to the Johnston family of Whitsome, which is the ‘branch line’ above the Youngs of New Ladykirk. Their joint family pedigree is outlined in just one table stone in Eccles Kirkyard, albeit with a misleading transcription of the inscription in Cargill’s book for the Border Parishes of Berwickshire:

William Johnston, tenant in Ednam Mains 3.11.1699 50 yrs, spouse Betty Morton 26.1.1721 77 yrs also Janet Dickson 28.10.1737 43 yrs spouse to Patrick Johnston, tenant in Little Swinton who d. 29.1. 1732 69 yrs. Peter 30.6.1751 1 yr. Helen 1.5.1752 3 yrs. Thomas 1.3.1760 2 yrs. George 6.1.71 16 yrs children of William Johnston tenant in Simprim 12.5.1796 82 yrs. Margaret Fairbairn his spouse 14.3.1800 82 yrs. James 12.1.1788 son of Peter Johnston tenant in Simprim his son Matthew 14.3.1802 4 months above mentioned father late tenant in Ilderton 11.12.1803 51 yrs his 2 inf. Children James 12.4.1788 11 months. Matthew Trotter 5.11.1802 4 months. Margaret 13.9.1811 26 yrs. Margaret Thomson relict of Peter Johnston 18.1810 [sic] 78 yrs. James who d. 12.?.1788 1 yr.

Peter Johnston of Ilderton’s 1st cousin, Patrick Johnston and his wife Margaret Johnston, farmed at Kimmerghame Mains with its links to the families of Hogarth and Clay. Their son George took the tenancy of West Newton before moving to Stichill where their own son also named George married into the Johnston family of Rumbleton Law, Gordon.

Headstones in Gordon Kirkyard for the Johnston family of Rumbleton Law, Gordon. Taken Oct 2019.

Putting the Rumbleton Law family line to one side for the present it is another Johnston family of Gordon that is of particular interest to this current line of research, especially those with historic connections to the farm of East Gordon and its numerous inter-marriages with the Waugh family, historically of the same place.

Johnston Family & the Coromandel

Much has been written about the intrepid voyagers aboard the Coromandel in 1802, not least what has been written by R M Arndell in his book ‘Pioneers of Portland Head: Builders of Ebenezer Church and School, Early Settlers of the Hawkesbury and Hunter Rivers, and Squatters of the North-West New South Wales and Southern Queensland, including Family Genealogies.’ The general consensus would appear to be that there were between eight and ten original emigrant families. These included:

1. Zachariah Clarke, his daughter Ann. Zachariah Clarke died 5 December 1804. Ann Selby and Isabella Suddis [Perhaps not on this voyage]
2. Andrew Johnston and his wife Mary Beard Johnston and children, Thomas aged 10 years, William aged 8 years, John aged 5 years, Alexander aged 3 years and Abraham aged 8 months.
3. George Hall and his wife Mary and children, Elizabeth aged 9 years, George aged 7 years, William aged 5 years, John aged 6 months
4. John Johnston and wife Elizabeth Lewins Johnstone. Find out more about the John Johnston - Windsor and Richmond Gazette 2 April 1926 [This obituary is not the correct John Johnston! The gentleman referred to in this instance is in fact the son of Andrew Johnston and Mary Beard. It is thought the John Johnston aboard the Coromandel travelled as a single man.]
5. John Howe and his wife Frances and child Mary aged 3 years
6. James Davison and his wife Jane Johnston Davison and children John 3 and a half years, James20 months. Select here to find out more about the family of James Davison who settled at Portland Head. [He called his holding Alnwick!]
7. James Mein and his wife Susannah Skein Mein [From Melrose, Scottish Borders, source Australian National Biography].
8. Andrew Mein, brother of James Mein
9. William Stubbs and his wife Sarah and children William aged 5 years, Sarah aged 3 years, Elizabeth aged 1 year.
10. John Turnbull and his wife Ann Warr [Waugh?] Turnbull and children, Ralph aged 10 years Mary aged 5 years, James aged 4 years and Jessica aged 19 months. [Allegedly from Annandale][1]

The Coromandel was a convict transportation ship captained by William Stirling, who is alleged to have been the uncle of George Hall, one of the free settler passengers named above.

It would seem, however, the reality is that very little is really known about the genealogy of the Johnston family before they landed on Australian soil and ‘definitive works’ such as that referred to above contain inaccuracies, which when combined with family legends begin to bear little resemblance to actual ancestral fact. The head of the Johnston family which is the subject of the latest research was Andrew Johnston whose birth date and place was recorded in a letter from his wife Mary Beard to their daughter Jane Suttor dated 1 December 1856:

My dear Jane you wish to know birthday.. your dear father was born at Berwick-on-Tweed on 17 March 1766. Myself was born at Highgate, Middlesex 17 October 1768, we were married on the 18 September 1789 in the same church, and by the same minister, that married my mother and father 34 years before us. We have had eight sons and two daughters, was married 60 years wanting 17 days and your dear father has been dead seven years this day[2]

A longstanding and widespread family legend persists that Andrew was the illegitimate son of George Johnston 3rd Marquis of Annandale, a ‘fact’ strongly refuted by the Annandale family in an article which appeared in the Windsor and Richmond Gazette Friday (Aus) on July 23rd 1926. It would appear they were right to do so as Y-DNA testing on Johnston male lines to date would suggest two entirely different, unrelated haplogroups. Therefore any possible link to the Johnston family of Annandale, legitimate or otherwise, can be ruled out – or can it?

Picture Pedigree of 'Johnston of Hilton in the Merse'. Taken from A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 2

Taken from A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 2

Whilst digging about into the Johnston family groups at Whitsome, an old pedigree of ‘Johnston of Hilton in the Merse’ came to light. Just what was the fate of the ‘other’ children of Patrick Johnston Merchant Burgess in Edinburgh? Is it conceivable there was an historic connection between this family and the Johnstons who returned as tenants to Kimmerghame & Whitsome or this a random twist of fate? And, is the marriage of Merchant Patrick’s cousin Sophia, just another tempting red herring? In truth I have not a clue, and all I can do is deal with the facts of the case as they stand, but the pedigree does make an interesting aside if nothing else. A connection through a female line would, however, potentially explain a difference in male Haplogroups.

No record of Andrew Johntson’s baptism has survived, if it ever existed, within the Berwick and surrounding area’s Presbyterian record collection. Nor are there any ‘obvious’ marriage or burial records observed to date that may pertain to this family. Berwick also had its own branches of Johnston/Johnson families, which from Guild Records, show that some date back to the early 17th century. A lengthy trawl of the Berwick records at this stage was unlikely to bear fruit.

It is believed that a record of stamp duty paid on an apprenticeship in 1785 does relates to Andrew. At 19 years of age he was quite old to have commenced an apprenticeship. He was apprenticed to John Home, Carpenter of Norham in 1784. The entry is dated 13th September 1785 and his apprenticeship ran for four years from 1 Dec 1784 giving a completion date of Dec 1788. The duty paid was £4 and 2 shillings. Sadly, no actual copy of the indenture agreement, which would undoubtedly held crucial information, appears to have survived.

Baptism of Andrew Johnston and Mary Beard's eldest son Thomas at Wells St Scotch Church Marylebone in 1791.

By 1789 Andrew had moved to London where he married Mary Beard at St Johns Hampstead on 18th September. Witness to his marriage was a John Johnston, again about whom little is yet known. He may have been a relative of Andrew, his fellow passenger in 1802 or even perhaps both. Andrew and Mary’s first 6 children, all sons, were born in London and baptised at Wells St, Scotch Church, Marylebone. The officiating Minister was one Rev Alexander Waugh DD, born at East Gordon to Thomas Waugh and his wife Margaret Johnston in 1754.

National Galleries of Scotland. Rev. Alexander Waugh, 1754 – 1827, Minister of the Secession Church, 1894, James Tassie, Creative Commons.

An extract from a Waugh Association newsletter, provided at the outset, holds some vital clues. It contains a transcribed copy of a letter written by Thomas Waugh, a son of the Rev Alexander, living at 8 Park Buildings, Camberwell Grove Surrey, dated Sunday Night 22nd Nov 1840, and addressed to Andrew Johnston snr in Australia. It concerned a work placement in Australia and introductions there for his own son Thomas Scott Waugh b. circa 1821. The letter firstly refers to a niece of Andrew’s:

‘It is now 3 years since at my mother's request I and your niece Ellen wrote to you …’ It is believed that Ellen may be the letter writer’s daughter thus inferring more than just a friendship existed between the two families. Such a relationship is further suggested in his closing paragraph:

Now my dear friend farewell. The shades of evening are closing in on us both don't let the night set in without at least one communication from you, as my Father's eldest relative and friend in a distant country…full of intelligence on subjects (your own and your family comforts) and dear to his kind and affectionate heart.

Ebenezer Church 1809

Picture By Peter Gaylard from Australia - Ebenezer Uniting Church Uploaded by berichard, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12786198

By Peter Gaylard from Australia - Ebenezer Uniting Church Uploaded by berichard, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12786198

Andrew Johnston was also instrumental in the design and construction of Ebenezer Church, which is the oldest church in Australia. A Waugh newsletter also contained the following information:

Ebenezer Church is not of Northumberland design, as stated. The church was designed by Andrew Johnston, whose family descended from generations of Johnston/ Waugh connections in the Gordon area of Berwickshire. The renown Rev. Alexander Waugh of Wells St. Scotch Church in London was Andrew Johnston’s cousin. [Whoever penned this response was not exaggerating the potential family connections.]

[Whoever penned this response was not exaggerating the potential family connections!]

For this first cousin relationship to have existed Andrews parents must have been siblings of the Rev Alexander’s parents. The Rev Alexander Waugh’s parentage of Thomas Waugh and Margaret Johnston of East Gordon is left for posterity by his own hand in his memoirs. It can therefore be deemed to be reliable.

A Waugh Society member proposed to two relationship trails to Andrew, unfortunately only one, the most obvious stemming from an unknown sibling of his mother Margaret Johnston was published. It would be interesting to have sight of the second theory, as ‘cousin’ in Scotland may refer to a more distant relationship than first thought.

Notes written by Alexander Waugh’s great great Grandson Evelyn Waugh also pointed to the family’s occupation of land at East Gordon as being of some longevity:

Extract from 'A Little Learning' by Evelyn Waugh

Alexander's father, Thomas, joined the Secession. He held the rather bleak upland farm of East Gordon, near Greenlaw in Berwickshire, as had his forebears for four generations certainly, probably longer. But he was the last to do so. His elder son, also Thomas, on his succession sold up and bought a larger farm in the far more clement district on the banks of the Tweed, and his son emigrated to Australia...

[Thomas Waugh junior’s son Alexander married Margaret Middleton in 1830, and from this point forward the Waugh’s become my own distant, but nevertheless blood relatives as 2c 3r cousins]

It was at this ‘known’ point of familial relationships for Margaret Johnston that the research into Andrew’s Johnston’s line commenced. Evelyn Waugh was certainly not wrong about the duration of his ancestor’s occupation and bears out the earlier reference to numerous Waugh/Johnston connections.

The Gordon Parish records are tricky to interpret as there were several fathers with the same Christian name, no mother’s name is given in any of the baptisms and burial records are non-existent. It has been possible, however, to sketch Margaret’s immediate family as follows:

Picture Draft outline of immediate relatives of Margaret Johnston wife of Thomas Waugh. Is it possible that Andrew Johnston b. 1766 descends from Alexander's 1st Marriage to Marian Young?

Draft outline of immediate relatives of Margaret Johnston, wife of Thomas Waugh. Is it possible that Andrew Johnston b. 1766 descends from Alexander's 1st Marriage to Marian Young?

Then all goes blank – not because the families moved, but rather, as indicated in Evelyn Waugh’s extract, the family left the Established Church in favour of the emerging dissenting Secession Church. These records are not available online and with the current Covid19 restrictions on movement and work, the records that may hold some clues to fill the current void of vital information have yet to be consulted.

CH3/828 Earlston, (East) (Antiburgher) Church, later United Presbyterian, 1751-1887
CH3/1311 Stichill, Associate session (Burgher), Kirk Sessions 1755-1979

Paul Brough and his team at Hawick Archives have the request in their ‘to do pile’, but given the current environment, it is somewhat larger than usual and with only a skeleton staff on hand there may be an understandable delay. Whilst we are waiting to hear back from them, we would love to hear from you, if you know or even suspect your family of Johnstons hailed from Gordon in the 18th century. Chances are that you, like my clients, are faced with a black hole of information necessary to join the dots!

If you would prefer to contact me privately rather than leaving a public message you can email me here

References

[1] Free Settler or Felon, Convict Ship Coromandel 1802
https://www.jenwilletts.com/convict_ship_coromandel_1802.htm

[2] Extract from R M Arndell, ‘Pioneers of Portland Head: Builders of Ebenezer Church and School, Early Settlers of the Hawkesbury and Hunter Rivers, and Squatters of the North-West New South Wales and Southern Queensland, including Family Genealogies’ Sydney, 1984.

What are Manorial Records? How can they help my family history research?

28/3/2020

1 Comment

All of the images of Manorial documents are the copyright of Berwick Record Office and by their kind permission were incorporated in examples to be used at Family Tree Live. They are not to be copied or reproduced in any way without express permission from Berwick Record Office .
The transcriptions are my own and likewise may not to be copied or reproduced without my express permission.

Many of my regular readers will have seen me refer to Manorial Records, but before now I haven’t taken the time to explain exactly what they are and the types of useful information they may contain. I had prepared some information sheets with examples on this subject for the Family Tree Live event in April, which sadly like all other events has been forced to cancel for this year. Now is perhaps an opportune moment to share a small part of that information .

Extract from a map of the Manor of Longhoughton

First, consider all the different types of records we use for family and local history research. With only a few exceptions, these resources served an administrative function and were created as a result of ever evolving administrative systems. Simply put; at the top there is central Government or prior to this the Crown; then devolved government, so within the United Kingdom the governments of Scotland, Ireland and Wales; then county or local government such as County Councils right down to a specific village Parish Council.

The various systems, and who was responsible for their administration changed over time. A prime example is modern day ‘unemployment benefit’ which is controlled by central government, but its origins lie at Parish level with ‘Poor Relief’. Understanding how administrative systems have evolved throughout history will help enormously when searching for records in archive repositories.

In addition to the above, another tier in the various systems of administration included the Manor. It is unclear exactly when the Manorial system came into existence, but it is thought to have been well established by the time of William I in 1066. At this time and throughout the Medieval period ALL land was owned by the Monarch, who made grants of land, which became Manors, to his followers making them Lords of the Manor. The land farmed ‘in hand’ by the Lord of the Manor was known as the ‘Demesne’ with other lands within the Manor rented out to tenants of which there were two types: free and unfree.

Freehold. The freeholders or 'free tenants' of a manor held their land in perpetuity, frequently just paying a rent instead of providing a service to the Lord. Freeholders were largely unencumbered by the Manor but were still obliged to attend the Manor Court.

Unfree Tenants. The unfree tenants of the Manor were known as Bondsmen or Villeins, and often provided a service such as a certain number of days labour to the Manor Lord in addition to a monetary payment. By the 16th century, payment by service had largely died out. This class of tenant became known as a ‘customary tenant’ and leases based on the ‘customs of the Manor’ were introduced. These comprised:

Copyhold. These tenancies were legally held by a copy of the ‘Court Roll’ from whence it derives its name, and which provided proof of title. Tenure could be ‘by inheritance’; whereby the tenancy passed to an heir determined by the Manor Court; by life, when the tenancy would expire on the death of the tenant; or by lives, usually three which often included the wife and one of their children. At the demise of the 'life' or third ‘life’ the tenancy reverted to the Manor and was re-let.
Cottars/Cottagers. These were the poorest of the Manor tenants who often held little more than a Cottage and a meagre patch of ground. They were usually in the employ of the Lord of the Manor or one of the Freehold tenants.

Unfree or Customary tenants were subject to the rules of Manor governing the maintenance of their properties. Failure to comply could result in a fine or even eviction.

All tenants whether free, unfree or customary were obliged to appear in Court and absence without leave to be so resulted in a fine known as an ‘amercement’. Those with a valid reason for non-attendance were charged a nominal fee known as an ‘essoin’. The tenants' names appeared in the Court ‘Call Books’ which were often annotated with either ‘amerc’ or ‘ess’, or in later documents 'app' or 'ab' to indicate whether they were present or absent at the meeting of the Court.

It is worth remembering that ‘The Manor’ differed from an ‘Estate’ as it had the right to hold a Court, and that an ‘Estate’ may have contained several different Manors. Whilst the Manor was predominantly a rural entity it was not exclusively so, nor was one village or town included in a single Manor. For example, Norham had two Manors: Norham Town and Norham Castle. Below is an extract from the Call Book for Norham Town in 1835

In this later example from 1835 (where the names are easy to read) the abbreviations used are:
app = appeared ab = absent

All matters relating to the transfer of property within the Manor were heard at the Manor Court and entered in the Court Rolls. There were two types of Court which dealt with matters concerning land; The Court Baron dealt with freeholders and the Court Customary which dealt with land matters for other tenants. In practice these two courts were regularly merged, and business was conducted collectively by the Court Baron and often include admittance to land and its surrender. These courts met frequently, in some cases every fortnight, although their regularity started to dwindle in the late 18th early nineteenth centuries. Admittances and surrenders were usually accompanied by a ‘fine’ or fee payment. Where they have survived these documents contain valuable sources of information for the family historian.

To this Court came John Nealson (present Bayliffe of this
Mannor) who nowe occupyeth a Horse Milne Situate near the
Bridge end in Tweedmouth within this Mannor Late in the
tenure of John Nealson his Father deceased (who held the same
by Copy of Court Roll of the Lord of this Mannor), Containing in
Length and in Breadth
And in the same Court the said John Nealson
surrendered into the hand[es] of the Lord[es] by their Steward All his
estate & title in the premises with that intention that it would
please the Lord[es] A graunt thereof into him the said
John Nealson to make. And in the same Court the said
John Nealson came & tooke out of the hand[es] of the Lord[es]
by their Steward the said Horse-Milne or Tenement with
the app[ur]tan[en]ces To have and to hold the said Tenement
and appurtenances to the said John Nealson his heirs and assigns
for ever according to the Customs of the Mannor aforesaid
By the rents Customs & services therefrom heretofore due
and of right accustomed And for such estate and
entrance so thereof to be had the aforesaid John Nealson
Gives the Lord[es] for fine two shillings And so is admitted
tennant.

Other payments that may be unfamiliar were; the ‘Heriot’, a fee that was payable on the death of a tenant, and the ‘Merchet‘ a fee payable for the permission for a tenant’s daughter to marry.

In addition to land matters some manors could hear minor criminal cases such as affray, nuisance, failure to maintain property, trespass and debt at a ‘Court Leet’. The Court Leet was often combined with the View of Frankpledge, whereby tenants swore to uphold the Kings Peace. One particularly bloody affray was heard at the Tweedmouth Manor Court in May 1661

Presentments of the Jury upon their Oathes
George Scott a blood & affray upon Bartho[lomew] Potts his wife 00:08:00
Henry Morise for being Drunke 00:02:06
Henry Morise for a blood & affray upon Patrick Forriste wife 00:02:06
Henry Morise a blood & affray upon his own wife 00:02:06
William Shirnside an affray upon George Moore 00:01:08
William Shernside an affray upon Rich[ard] Given 00:01:08
George Moore an affray upon William Shernside 00:01:08
George Moore an affray upon W[ilia]m Dunken 00:01:08
George Moore an affray upon Isabell Dunken 00:01:08

An example of the typical matters heard at the Manor Court of Norham Town in 1706

W[illia]m Marshall is presented by Rees Strother for delving in a part of the
Grounds he Farms of Alexander Stuart Gent[leman] at a place Called Easter Countriggs 1s viij d
John Stewart Pinder presents Roger Abernethy for his beasts Trespassing
frequently on the Corn belonging to the Town of Norham 1s viij d
Alice Abernethy is presented by the Pinder for Cutting of Grasse belonging
To Thomas Tynlin and throwing to her Sons beasts 1s viij d
George Purvis is presented by John Pawlin Constable for Sowing a piece of
Ground w[i]th lyes at a place Called the Wax Law and reaping Corn of it
tho’ it belongs to W[ilia]m Marshall 1s viij d
David Hume Ba[il[i]e of the Mannor presents Isabel Henderson
for Entertaining an Inmate in her house that Bore a Bastard Child
and amerced xxxix s xj d
Thomas Tynlin is presented by James Fullerton and Rob[er]t Marshall Constables
for his Fences being out of repair adjoining the Towns Loaning 1s
Ordained that the Sev[era]ll Inhabitants within this Town doe
repair the Causeys on their Sev[era]ll Forefronts of the Houses at or before
Christmas next or be Amerced each xx s
The Ba[i]ll[ie]s to See it done

NB. Pinder = kept the manorial pound/pinfold, Inmate= a lodger or subtenant which was severely fined at 39 shillings and 11 old pence, just under £2, approximately £214 as at 2017.

From the Tudor period onwards much of the Manor’s administration was absorbed in the new systems of local administration and powers transferred to the Justices of the Peace, parish and town officials. Common and statutory law began to replace customary law rendering the judicial role of the Court Baron obsolete. Therefore, by the 17th century, the main responsibility of the court was to deal with the transfer of land and minor cases of debt under 40 shillings. This function and the holding of the Court Baron continued right up to the 1920s when copyhold tenure was abolished. (It was this transfer of Copyhold to Freehold that George Aynsley Smith undertook in his capacity as Clerk to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in Durham at the Halmote Court.)

In addition to their value to family historians, Manorial Records are a mine of information for local historians too. Just a small example is some of the field names I remember as a child, such as The Riggs, [High] Mill Lands and Eels Pools appear on an old map for the Manor of Longhoughton at the top of this blog. The records for Longhoughton Manor date back to 1474.
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F282364
The surname Elder that appeared on the Alnwick Muster Roll of 1514 is still associated within living memory of the Village today.
https://www.flodden1513ecomuseum.org/project/the-campaign/31-the-alnwick-muster-roll (If you would like a transcription of any part just let me know!)

How to find a Manor in the Manorial Documents Register

To find the archive repository that holds the Manorial records which may be of use to you, they can be found in the Manorial Documents Register online at The National Archives. Here is the link to the page containing the surviving records for Manors in Northumberland.
ttps://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/c?sf=textstman&_ocn=Northumberland&_naet=M&_st=mdrc
Clicking on the records of the individual Manor will give the name of the repository that holds the records. Many of Northumberland’s records are held at Alnwick Castle, which as it is a privately funded archive is neither straightforward (but not impossible) nor at £55 per day, cheap to visit.
https://www.alnwickcastle.com/_assets/media/editor/Archives_doc/2017-03-09-guide-to-searchers.pdf
The records for Durham have not yet made it to the online register, but as a work in progress will be coming soon.

Why Can’t I find my Ancestors?

29/2/2020

4 Comments

Sadly, this is a question that is not asked enough! All too often circumstantial evidence is added to family trees and suddenly square pegs are sitting uncomfortably in round holes. Most of these errors are largely avoidable and have crept in unwittingly. There are many reasons why ancestors can’t be located, or the wrong ones appropriated, very briefly here are just a few:

The records have not survived, were not created in the first place, or ancestors did not follow the Established Church. This is looked at in more depth below, with the focus on researching in the English Border Counties.
The event was not registered in the area thought. People moved far more than history gives them credit for, particularly when laws governing places of settlement were relaxed for those seeking or moving for work. Nonconformists such as Presbyterians chose their preferred Minister and often travelled many miles to be part of a particular congregation.
The name differs from that given at birth for which there are also many reasons; the most obvious being a woman changing her name at marriage. This is to be expected but sometimes a second marriage can muddy the water. In the England the woman’s name on the record of a second marriage, will be her surname from the first, not her maiden name. In Scotland the reverse is often true with the woman’s name often appearing as ‘x’ or ‘y’, e.g. Jane Smith or Jones, Smith being her maiden name and Jones the surname of her first husband.
Other reasons include taking the name of a stepfamily, inheritance, or avoiding the long arm of the law. A quick look in the historic newspapers reveals a startling number of criminals using one or more aliases. It is a little-known fact that a legal process is not required to use a new name under English Common Law, and it still isn't today. See Deed Poll Office information sheet.

Of course, there are other reasons too, but it would be impossible to cover such a huge topic in one short blog! In many cases, however, basic errors stem from a lack of understanding of the records that were kept and the laws that governed them. Often, the errors start to appear in the period prior to Civil Registration; 1837 in England, 1855 in Scotland, when evidence of familial relationships is sought in Church records. After all, birth marriage and death form the backbone of genealogy. Even after the introduction of Civil Registration in England, problems can still occur.

Quick Note re Civil Registration

When Civil Registration was introduced in England in July 1837 the onus for collecting records was initially placed on the Registrar of the Registration District in which the birth took place. This resulted in omissions, sometimes due to parental objection to the registration of births, which distorted both regional and national data. To rectify this, the Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1874 was passed which placed the onus on the parents, rather than the Registrar, and the parents could now be fined for non-compliance or late registration. This may be just one reason why a birth certificate is proving elusive during the early years of Civil Registration, particularly if the issue of illegitimacy has been ruled out.

In Scotland when Civil Registration was introduced in January 1855, it was a statutory requirement to be performed by the parents or person in charge of the child from the outset. There is also the ‘Register of Neglected Entries’ which holds records of vital events dating from between 1800 and the enactment of the new law in 1855, but not registered elsewhere else i.e. a church register. Although they are very few in number those that do exist can be accessed through the Scotland’s People Website. This NRS Guide contains some helpful information.

Tracing Ancestors in the Border Region

Tracing ancestors in the Border regions can be particularly tricky. This is due to the different laws of each country and movement of people across the border. Although England and Scotland are part of the Kingdom of Great Britain, and have been since 1707, many of the laws in the two countries were different and continue to be so today. It might seem crazy after blogging for so many years to be writing about something quite so basic, but as it is something I regularly need to explain I thought it might be of use to a wider audience.

Another important fact that needs a bit of clarification is what Old Parish Registers actually are and what they cover. Simply put they are the records of the Established Church of each Country.

In England since registers were required to be kept (1538) barring brief interludes, the state religion has been the protestant Church of England, otherwise referred to as the Anglican Church.

Extract from the 1538 Mandate

In Scotland the state religion has also been the protestant Church of Scotland, or Presbyterian Church from 1560. An Act of Privy Council in 1616 ordered that a record of all baptisms, marriages and burials be kept in every parish.

‘On 17 August 1560, the Parliament agreed to a Reformed Confession of Faith, a fundamental step away from the Roman Church, and on 24 August it passed a series of Acts that entirely destroyed the Roman Church in Scotland. The celebration of mass was made punishable by a series of penalties up to and including death, and all Papal jurisdiction in Scotland was repudiated.’

All religions other than the Established Church in both countries were known as non-conformists or dissenters, with Roman Catholics referred to as ‘recusants’. Because the Parish Records are the records of the established churches in each country, they do not as a rule of thumb, include the baptism records for other religions. Where they do, particularly in the late 18th and early 19th century they may be marked ‘Diss’ or noted as Dissenters. The registers will, however, contain some marriages and nearly all burials until the introduction of Civic Cemeteries. Some notable exceptions to this rule were Jews and Quakers.

Presbyterian Records in England
Presbyterian Registers - Baptisms

Although there were several other nonconformist churches, the focus in this article is Presbyterianism. Given the proximity to Scotland, Presbyterianism had a firm hold in Northumberland particularly amongst ordinary working folk. In some towns and villages, the number of Presbyterian Churches outstrips those of Anglican denomination.

It began as a move towards Puritanism during the 17th century and even became the state religion during the Commonwealth period from 1647 to 1660 when it was reversed at the restoration of the monarchy. In 1689 the Act of Toleration was passed in England which allowed freedom of worship to all Protestant denominations allowing them to form their own congregations and establish their own places of worship from that date. Their registers, however, were not bound by the same laws governing the recording of information as the established church, and very few predate 1730. The Presbyterian Church in England at various times had three main factions, English, Sottish and Burgher.

Whilst some births of dissenters’ children are entered in the parish registers around the turn of the 19th century, in the main, if recorded at all, they would have been entered in the baptismal records of their own church.

With Presbyterians both side of the Border, the problem is compounded as there was no obligation upon a person or persons to have such details entered in their registers. Furthermore, many of the registers were themselves rather carelessly kept.

‘Names would be left out and added in chunks at the end of the year or some years after the date concerned. Sometimes a family would have three or four children baptised at the same time, the children’s ages ranging from infancy to perhaps six or seven.’

Which Presbyterian Church a family attended was a matter of personal choice and was largely down to their preference of Minister. They often travelled many miles to attend their congregation of choice. For this reason, baptisms of children may not appear in the immediate area in which the family were resident. As the Presbyterian Church in England followed the Scottish tradition, however, many baptism records will include a mother’s maiden name.

Also, it is worth checking the registers either side of the Border. The McDougall family of whom I wrote recently, lived in Donaldson’s Lodge in England. Rather than baptising their children in England, they crossed the Border to Coldstream. A quick look at the register for Cornhill also illustrates it was not all one-way traffic, with some crossing the Border into England.

Extract from Cornhill Parish Register (transcript) 1813

With the introduction of Civil Registration in 1837 non-conformist churches were asked to send their registers to the General Register Office in London. Many did and these can be found at The National Archives. Others did not and were retained by the respective church, however, many have since been deposited in local record offices. The best place to start looking is The National Archives Discovery Catalogue which lists the collections held at all local repositories. (Particularly relevant at present whilst the online Catalogues of Berwick and Woodhorn are being updated and are offline.)

Marriages

Hardwicke’s Marriage Act of 1753 stated that couples of ALL denominations must marry in an Anglican Church. The only exception to this rule was Jews and Quakers. The accepted method was by the reading of banns on 3 successive Sundays or by obtaining a licence from the Bishop of the Diocese. This rule stayed in force until 1837 and the introduction of Civil Registration. Marriages could now be preformed in a Presbyterian Church in the presence of a Registrar. The resulting records, however, will be found in civil registration records rather than in the church register.

The reality in the English Border Counties was that in order to avoid the Act and paying the associated taxes, many folks hopped across the border into Scotland to avail themselves of the differing laws governing marriage. I have covered the topic of ‘Irregular Marriage’ in a previous blog ‘Tying the Knot in the Borders’ which may be helpful if looking for clarification in this particular area.

Other Presbyterian Records
Kirk Session Records

Where they survive the Kirk Session records can provide a wealth of information about our ancestors over and above birth, marriage and death. The Kirk Session was the governing body of each church, made up of the Minister the Session Clerk and the ‘Elders’ of the congregation. It was essentially a court which dealt with minor misdemeanours such as drunkenness, failure to observe fast days, lewd dancing, penny weddings but also held enquiries into promiscuous behaviour and illegitimacy. Sadly, not many early Session Minute Books have survived, but where they do, they can make quite entertaining reading.

By kind permission of Berwick upon Tweed Record Office. BUR/P/10/14 Norham Kirk Sessions 1796.

Communicants Rolls

Where they have survived these records can hold a wealth of information including; place of residence, occupation, when admitted to the congregation and crucially from where, if it was by certificate or new admittance, when they left , where they went to, and any remarks made by the Minister concerning the individual or family.

Reproduced by kind permission of Berwick Record Office. Communicants Register, Crookham Presbyterian Church

Nonconformist Churches in Scotland

Scotland too has its foibles. In the 18th and 19th centuries the Church of Scotland splintered into many different Presbyterian factions; Associate Presbytery, the Relief Church, Burghers, Anti-Burghers, Auld Lichts, New Lichts, the United Secession, Original Secession, United Presbyterian and the Free Church are a few.

Like their non-conformist counterparts in England the records were outside the Established Church, and do not constitute ‘Old Parish Records’. The records that have been indexed are available at Scotland’s People Centres or online through the Scotland’s People website. Those that have not may be held at the National Records of Scotland. Additionally other miscellaneous records are held at the Scotland’s People Centre in Edinburgh, a list of which can be found at Appendix 3 of the Coverage of the Old Parish Registers

Old Parish Records in England

Although in theory parish registers should exist from 1538, the reality is that very few actually do. Before dashing off to look for the vital event for your ancestor it is always best to check the register you need actually exists for the period required. A simple way to do this for English records is to take a quick look at the Family Search wiki page for the relevant church or town. Below is an example for Wooler, the Parish Church (Anglican) being St Mary’s. As can clearly be seen there are several nonconformist churches. The page also contains information where their records can be found. NB. I suspect this page is not totally up to date as some of the other well-known commercial databases hold some of these records too, if I remember correctly!

The information covering Darlington is far more comprehensive for the Parish Registers of St Cuthbert, but not so comprehensive for nonconformist churches. Not only are they unsure where they were, they have no information as to where their records can be found.

Points to remember regarding the registers of Presbyterian and other nonconformist protestant churches going forward. Where they exist the registers:

Will contain Baptisms, but very possibly not all.
Will not contain marriages. Very occasionally a marriage that took place elsewhere is noted, but this is unusual. Most often if it has it will be noted next to the baptism of a child.
Will not contain deaths or burials. Until the introduction of Civic Cemeteries burials would mostly likely have taken place in Anglican Churchyard and should appear in its respective register. There are a few exceptions which can be viewed online at The Genealogist and The National Archives (RG) or local archive repositories.

All in all, tracking down ancestors in England’s Border Counties can be trickier than most. In some cases, their birth and marriage information may not have been recorded at all.

Further Information

How and why the registers in both countries came about makes interesting reading.

Bissett Smith, Vital Registration, A Manual of the Law and Practice concerning The Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages [Scotland], Edinburgh, 1902

Chris Paton, Discover Scottish Civil Registration Records
http://www.gen-ebooks.com/discover-scottish-civil-registration-records.html

Chris Paton, Discover Scottish Church Records, 2nd Edition,
https://www.my-history.co.uk/acatalog/Discover-Scottish-Church-Records-UTP0281A.html

J Charles Cox, ‘The Parish Registers of England'
https://archive.org/details/parishregisterso00coxjuoft/page/n3/mode/2up

4 Comments

Diplomatics – There is much more to old documents than their contents!

25/1/2020

2 Comments

Having acquired the basic skills required to decipher the handwriting in old documents from last month’s post, now is perhaps an opportune moment to introduce the subject of Diplomatics. After all there is an awful lot more to a document than just its contents! To be deemed trustworthy an historic document must be deemed both authentic and reliable.

‘Reliability means that the record is capable of standing for the facts to which it
attests, while authenticity means that the record is what it claims to be.’[1]

Diplomatics is defined by the OED as: The science of diplomas, or of ancient writings, literary and public documents, letters, decrees, charters, codicils, etc., which has for its object to decipher old writings, to ascertain their authenticity, their date, signatures, etc.

As such, it sits side by side with palaeography, a sister science so to speak.

Picture 'Fake News' By Frederick Burr Opper - https://www.loc.gov/resource/ppmsca.29087/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57725977

By Frederick Burr Opper - https://www.loc.gov/resource/ppmsca.29087/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57725977

How authentic is your document?

Documents have been forged since history began and is by no means a recent phenomenon. One of most famous forgeries of the 20th century were the Hitler Diaries;

On May 6, 1983, West Germany’s Federal Archives released the results of a forensic investigation into what turned out to be one of the greatest hoaxes of the 20th century–the Hitler diaries. Just weeks earlier, the newspaper Stern had announced the discovery of 60 small notebooks, purported to be the personal diary of Adolf Hitler, covering his rise to power in the 1930s and later years as Nazi leader and architect of the Holocaust. The newspaper and its parent company paid journalist Gerd Heidemann a small fortune for the items, which Heidemann said had been recovered from an airplane crash shortly after the end of World War II and then smuggled to the west from Communist East Germany. The announcement made headlines around the world—and unleashed a firestorm of criticism. The newspaper restricted access to the diaries, allowing several World War II experts only a quick look at the documents. Once excerpts from the diaries were released, however, the story began to fall apart. In early May, the Archives, who looked into the matter at the request of the West German government, announced its findings: The Hitler “Diaries” were fakes, and bad fakes at that—the handwriting didn’t match, they had been created using modern materials and much of the content had been plagiarized. Nobody knows what happened to the millions of Deutsche Marks paid for the documents, but both Heidemann and his accomplice, forger Konrad Kujau went to jail.[2]

Of course, most of us are not concerned with the intricacies of such ancient documents and are unlikely to conducting forensic experiments into the contents of ink and glue to prove a documents authenticity. I think whilst we all have the basic common sense to realise that a Last Will and Testament written in biro on ‘Basildon Bond’ paper purporting to date from the 1750s is a fake, the history of paper is, nonetheless, a fascinating subject. When the Accounts of the Newcastle Chamberlains 1508-1511 came to light in 1978, it was the composition of the paper and indeed the watermark (which proved to be French) that provided part of the proof of their authenticity.[3] If the history of paper and watermarks is of interest to you, The University of Warwick as some very useful links.

A fleur-de-lis watermark, 1787 Edinburgh Edition of Burns Poems. Chain and line handmade paper. Wiki Commons

It is, however, as well to be aware that forgeries, particularly concerning the ownership of property are far more common than may be imagined. Only this week whilst looking something up in NRS catalogue concerning the family of Borthwick of Borthwick, the catalogue entry contained the stark warning:

Section 2 of the catalogue covers peerage case papers. It includes some forged title deeds, while some genuine titles in section 1 are endorsed with forged writings as part of the peerage cases. An introduction to section 2 explains in more detail the reasoning behind the forgeries[4]

That is a very brief overview of authenticity, but what about the aspect of reliability?

How reliable is your document?

Stepping back a few hundred years to John Hardying chronicler to both Henry V and Edward IV in the fifteenth century. Hardying is described by Scottish Historian Dr Alastair Macdonald as ‘… a slippery individual. By his own account he was a spy; he was also a forger; and he appears to have been a thief as well.’ Much of Hardyngs fraudulent activity surrounded the justification for English suzerainty over Scotland and the two versions of his Chronicle ‘offer radically varying accounts of English political history in Hardyings own lifetime’. Each version had been manipulated to reflect the interests of his ‘employer’, the King. In such a way he supported the Lancastrian claim of Henry V in the first version and that of the Yorkist Edward IV in the second. It is therefore easy to see how historical fact can be easily distorted by taking the point of view of an author at face value.

PictureMap of Scotland by John Harding Creative Commons British Library, Lansdowne MS. 204, f.226v and Harley MS. 661 ff.187-188

Map of Scotland by John Harding, Creative Commons British Library, Lansdowne MS. 204, f.226v and Harley MS. 661 ff.187-188 (Note West is to the top.)

(More about John Hardying can be found on the British Library Medieaval Manuscripts Blog
https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2019/09/mapping-medieval-scotland-between-politics-and-imagination.html )

When considering a source, any source, ask yourself how reliable is it likely to be, and just how credible is the author – would they really have been privy to the intimate details of the subject? For example: Is the diary of Mrs Miggens the baker’s wife likely to contain accurate information concerning the family affairs of Mr Johnson, the Landlord of White Horse Inn? If Mrs Miggens turns out to have been Mr Johnson's married sister, then it is far more likely she will be a credible source of information about the Johnson family than if she was merely the town’s gossiping busybody. However, this still requires an element of caution.

We saw in an earlier post how Mr William Brewis of Throphill felt most aggrieved at not being a beneficiary of a Will. Perhaps he had either forgotten, or did not know that the deceased had much closer family than himself when he wrote:

Died at Whittingham on Wednesday 7th February John Carnaby Esq our cousin …it is said he has left his property which is said 15 or 20,000 to Dr Trotter of Morpeth, should it be so, it is said he was not capable of making his will but the Dr had haunted him to settle his affairs upon the Hargreave family of Shawdon, how that may be time will determine, he has no relative but our family and more strange, never sent word that he was dead, or invited to his funeral!!!

For both amateur and professional historians there is a simple methodology which can be applied to research using documentary sources. Its a series of memorable questions to ask ourselves, and these are; Who?, What?, How?, Who else?, Why?, Where? and When?

Who? Ask yourself who is writing the document and what is their relationship (if any) to whom the document was intended.
What? What caused the document to be written, was it a formal record of an event such as the purchase or sale of property, or an informal personal letter notifying of a birth or death in the family. The contents of the document will most likely hold the answer.
How? How was the document drawn up, what is it written with and what is it written on? What hand is it? i.e. Secretary, Italic, Court, what are its distinguishing features? What type of language is used formal, formulaic or informal? etc
Why? Why was the document written, what is the document’s purpose? The answer is usually contained in the document’s contents.
Who else? Who physically wrote the document, was it a clerk, a secretary or someone the person knew? This is particularly relevant in an age when very few people could write themselves. Early Wills for example are rarely written by the testator!
Where? Where was the document written and where was it intended to go? The place a document originated, and its intended destination is an important factor in determining both its authenticity and credibility.
When? When was the document written? The date a document was written can often provide context to its contents. Equally, if it transpires a document was penned after someone is known to have died then clearly something is wrong.

Following these simple steps can also help identify what type of document it is. The language of many official documents is highly formulaic and often specific to a documents purpose. It crops up in more places than you perhaps realise. Although there are many more, here are just a few of the types of documents that follow a set format:

Criminal and Administrative Legal Process
Documents relating to Sale and Transfer of Property or Possessions:
Financial Transactions and Settlements
Indentures such as Apprenticeships and Military Enlistment
Ecclesiastical such as Session Minutes

If you are just itching to practice both the skills of palaeography and diplomatic by following the methodology outlined above, below is a document dating from 1780. It is an account for the burial expenses of an unknown individual. At first glance it might appear to be just a list of the costs incurred, but on closer inspection it is packed with historical information and contains subtle clues as to who the ‘writer’ may have been.

Picture An Account for Burial Expenses dating from 1780. NRO 1955A 140

NRO 1955A 140 Burial Expenses from 1780 page 1

NRO 1955A 140 Burial Expenses from 1780 page 2

(If you would like a large image to work with please email me & I shall send you a copy)

For those of you of a mind to have a go and would like some feedback on the conclusions you have drawn you can post them in the comment sections below. Alternatively, if you would rather do this privately you can email them to me by following this link.

If you are at all interested in how to go about describing the hand and other features of an old document, I am happy to supply a copy of my analysis of Jane Austen’s Will as an example. Please just ask. It scored reasonably highly in my university studies at A3, the main criticism being I hadn’t compared to other documents written in her hand at earlier dates. The original will (along with a transcription) is available online at The National Archives. Although it is only 12 lines long, it contains a mixture of formulaic and personal language and some interesting points worthy of note to any family history researcher.

[1] Heather MacNeil, ‘Trusting Records: Legal, Historical and Diplomatic Perspectives’, London: Kluwer, Academic, 2000.
[2] Inside History, https://www.history.com/news/historys-most-famous-literary-hoaxes
[3] Joan Philipson, ‘A Note on the Paper’, C M Fraser ‘The Accounts of the Chamberlains of Newcastle upon Tyne Chamberlains 1508 -1511’ Newcastle, 1987.
[4] National Records of Scotland, GD350, Borthwick of Borthwick.

Crack the Code & Get to Grips with Transcribing Old Documents

28/12/2019

5 Comments

With not only a new year but a new decade on the doorstep many folks will be turning their thoughts to outlining goals and aims for their research in the coming months. Some will be considering taking a course to learn a new skill. For the researcher who is serious about digging into the past the one vital weapon to have in the armoury is the ability to read, transcribe and interpret old documents.

The ‘art’ of palaeography can open many doors to the past in all fields of historical enquiry not least that of family and local history research. Too often the interpretations and findings of reputable authors and scholars who have gone before are relied upon, but dig a little deeper and it often becomes apparent that evidence is based on the same old documents regurgitated time and again. Even worse are the opinions based on evidence extracted from a summary or abstract of a document’s contents rather than the document itself. This became glaringly apparent to me during the research phase of my Master’s dissertation – so much vital evidence had been overlooked as the document that formed the basis of my thesis had clearly not been read or analysed before.

It may seem daunting when first presented with a page of seemingly illegible scrawl, but do not be put off by it. You do not need any specialist skills, equipment or an intellect the size of a planet to be able to decipher old handwriting, just practice, a pencil, a magnifying glass and more often than not, a good deal of patience. There are or course a few simple rules:

Firstly, get to know your document – Familiarising yourself with the type of document you are transcribing will enable you to:

Recognise the different hands and letters forms
Recognise the different clauses and the language and phrases they are likely to contain. These can act as a key and enable you to focus on the sections most relevant to your research. Many formal documents were highly formulaic and contained set phrases – recognising these can be of huge benefit.

Different Hands and Letter Forms

Although English and Scots were the spoken word, the language of written documents before the advent of the early modern period at the beginning of 16th century was Latin. From this point forward English and Scots gradually crept into common usage in written records. Different hands (styles of writing) were used for specific purposes and those most likely to be encountered and prove the most problematic, date from the 16th, 17th & 18th centuries. They are:

The above is taken from ‘English Handwriting 1500 – 1700’ an online course provided by Cambridge University. https://www.english.cam.ac.uk/ceres/ehoc/index.html. It is an image after Martin Billingsley, circa 1618.

The easiest to read and easiest to teach
Most commonly used in personal correspondence and by women
Evolved into the hand we know today
In early periods not usually found elsewhere but creeps into all manner of documents over time
Beware the minims – i u v m n and sometimes w can be hard to determine

Used for acts of law and often where a document was drafted by a Lawyer
Deeds for the sale, purchase, and leases of land
Apprentice indentures and marriage settlements
Charters (Town or Burgh etc) and Commissions issued by Government
Continued to be used in Acts of Parliament until 1836
At first glance it looks horrendous, but actually letter forms varied very little and once it is familiar to you, it is relatively straightforward.
Capital letters can be particularly tricky and again beware the minims!

The above is taken from ‘English Handwriting 1500 – 1700’ an online course provided by Cambridge University. https://www.english.cam.ac.uk. /ceres/ehoc/index.html An image after Jean de Beauchesne

As the name implies it was used by clerks and scribes
In its more cursive forms it was much faster to write (and often more difficult to read!)
It appears in a wide variety of documents from government documents and accounts to personal correspondence
The hand varied enormously in quality, style and letter forms
It is the hand most commonly encountered by genealogists and local historians

A few basic transcription Hints & Tips

1. The document, whatever and whenever it may be, is ALWAYS your key!!!

It is important to remember that, then as now, people’s hands had their own personal style – but these were still based on standard letter forms and conventions which evolved over time. Start by writing out the words you DO recognise and build a ‘lexicon’ of different letter forms that appear in the document as you go. (You may also find it useful to number the lines on a COPY of the document so as not lose your place or inadvertently miss a line entirely – its easily done!)

Inventory of John Smith of West Rainton 1660 DPRI 1 1660 S4

The scribe here has an unusual flourish above the letter 'c' (highlighted). His lowercase 'g's are also unusual and a particular characteristic of his hand. You will inevitably encounter words that are no longer in common usage, such as 'prized' for appraised, 'kie' for cows and 'stagard' meaning either stackyard or a temporary roof capable of elevation, and designed to protect a stack or rick of hay or grain (here I think meaning the former). Compiling a glossary of unfamiliar words and phrases as you go can prove invaluable.

Extract from E 36_254, p 112 Horses given out after the Battle of Flodden in 1513

2. Secretary Hand – Common letter forms, variants and conventions

3. Common Contractions, Abbreviations and Suspensions

4. Numbers, Dates and Spellings

Although these do not usually cause too much difficulty there are a few points that are worth remembering.

Numbers

Numbers are almost always written in roman numerals in earlier documents and almost always in financial accounts. As these are easy to look up if not already familiar they are not covered in detail here.

One point that does sometimes catch folks out are the numbers 1 - 4. Whilst it is perfectly normal to expect them to appear as ‘ii’ iii’ ‘iv’ etc - in written documents the terminal digit ‘j’ is used - so ‘j’ = 1, ‘ij’ =2, iij =3 and instead of ‘iv’ for 4, it appears as ‘iiij’. In the same way 14 is ‘xiiij’, 23 ‘xxiij’ & 29 ‘xxviiij’ etc. Another point of note is the use of superscript xx to mean ‘score’ or twenty, so that iij xx is common for sixty i.e 3 x 20 = 60

Dates

Calendar years

In England until 1752 the new year began on Lady Day or 25th March, thus the 24th March 1750 was followed by 25th March 1751. In 1752 England and America finally caught up with the rest of the world and the new year was set where it is now as 1st January. (Eleven days were also wiped from the calendar in the same year - Wednesday 2nd September 1752 was followed by Thursday 14th September 1752).

In Scotland, however, the new calendar year was adopted by an act of Privy Council in 1599, so that in Scotland 31 December 1599 was followed by 1 January 1600 which conforms to modern convention.

Regnal Years

In the course of your forays into old documents it is likely that at some point you will encounter ‘Regnal Years’. These are measured in years from the date the Monarch ascended the throne. For Henry VIII his reign began on 22 April 1509, therefore the 5th year of his reign began on April 22 April 1513 and ended 21 April 1514.

'from the xij day Julye Ao Vto Re nunc' Henr viij (not shown) - Note the superscript ‘o’ from Latin ‘Anno’ and the ‘to’ above the V from the Latin ‘Quinto’ meaning fifth. This is also expressed as ‘th’. Reges nunc is Latin for ‘now King’. Extended it reads xij Julij A[nn]o Vto R[eg][es] nunc Henr[ey] Viii/ and translates as ‘12 July in the 5th year of the reign of Henry VIII now king’. This document was written in English but it is not uncommon to find many such documents ‘topped and tailed’ in Latin.

C R Cheney (ed.), Handbook of Dates for Students of British History is extremely handy for the regnal years of Kings of England but no use for the Scottish Kings whatsoever. They can be found in Archibald H Dunbar, Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. The book is rare but a copy can be accessed online through archive.org at
https://archive.org/stream/scottishkingsrev00dunbuoft/scottishkingsrev00dunbuoft_djvu.txt

Dates in Latin

It was also quite common for the dates in documents written in both English and Scots to appear in Latin e.g. 24 May 1567 would be ‘vicesimo quarto die Maij mvclxvij’

Also be aware of abbreviations for months ending ‘ber’ - so September to December. ‘9ber’ is taken from the Latin for nine or ‘novem’ and relates to November not September as the 9th month! Fortunately this little quirk is rare and more common in Scots than English

Scottish ‘jaj’ Dates

If transcribing Scottish documents this is one form of dating you will encounter a lot! It is much easier to think of it as what it actually is – a corrupt form of 1m or 1,000 with year numbers added with a ‘C’ at end so the year 1600 would be written jajvj C. (the jaj = 1,000 the vj C 600) or 1652 as ‘jajvj C & lij’ – note the ‘&’ after the C.

Spellings

It is helpful to remember there was no such thing as a dictionary of ‘all words’ much before the definitive work of Dr Johnson in 1755. Spelling was largely phonetic, and words were written as they were spoken which means a great deal of regional variation occurred. You may find it helpful to say the word out loud in your best attempt at a regional accent. Nonetheless, it is particularly important to check words in your transcription which make no sense at all - as this probably means that your solution will be wrong and you should think again! It may be that just one or two letters have been mis-transcribed even though the word is misspelled according to modern convention! As rule of thumb if it does not appear in dictionaries of old words it was not a word at all. Although the Oxford English Dictionary Online requires a subscription it is an invaluable aid to transcribers.

Scots had its own peculiarities – most commonly ‘sch’ for sh and ‘quh’ for wh. In addition ‘and’ was the usual Scots termination for verb forms now ending in –ing – e.g. ‘teland’ for tilling (as in land). Words ending ‘ed’ were often replaced by –it, –yt or –at – e.g. ‘clothit’ for clothed. An ‘is’ at the end of a word indicates a plural e.g. ‘debtis’ for debts. Often if preceded by an adjective this too will be in the plural e.g. ‘the saidis debtis’ meaning ‘the said debts’ etc.

Punctuation

Punctuation was virtually non-existent in the form we know it today, which can make the interpretation of documents tricky too. Again reading out load may well help you make sense of what has been written and help you spot any inadvertent omissions!

Conclusion

Clearly it is impossible to cover every aspect of palaeography in one short blog, but I hope the brief overview and hints and tips above have inspired you to have go at tackling some older documents. If you are still feeling unsure of how and where to get started, keep an eye open for opportunities to learn through practical projects run by local archives or history societies. Alternatively, I shall again be running two workshops at Family Tree Live the 17th and 18th April 2020 at Alexandra Palace. The workshops are included in the price of admission to the show but must be reserved in advance. Workshop places and admission tickets can be booked online at the same time you purchase a ticket at
https://www.family-tree.co.uk/information/family-tree-live-workshops

If you would prefer some ‘one to one’ personal tuition, perhaps using documents that relate to your own personal research project then please do get in touch. Then again, if you would like to me transcribe the documents for you I would be delighted to do so too!

Useful Resources for Transcription

Online Dictionaries
Dictionary of Scots Language http://www.dsl.ac.uk/
Oxford English Dictionary http://www.oed.com/ (requires a Subscription or is available for free through many public libraries)
Latin Dictionary https://www.latinitium.com/latin-dictionaries This brilliant new site also has the benefit of English to Latin

Books
Hilary Marshall ‘Palaeography for Family and Local Historians’ Philmore, 2010.
Bruce Durie ‘Understanding Documents for Genealogy & Local History’, Stroud, 2013
For Scots
Grant G Simpson ‘Scottish Handwriting 1150 – 1650’ Edinburgh, 1998.

Websites
Pit your palaeography skills against the ducking stool with The National Archives
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/palaeography/
Some further guidance and practice available at
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/researchguidance/medievaldocuments/introduction.aspx
An online course in conjunction with Cambridge University https://www.english.cam.ac.uk/ceres/ehoc/

5 Comments

Pills, Potions, Poisons & other Paraphernalia

30/11/2019

0 Comments

The Strickland Family of Yarm - Records of Chemists, Druggists & Pharmacists for the Family Historian

From the Sketch Book of Mary Ogilvy Davison. No doubt all manner of ailments and 'beasties' found their way into the Chemist & Druggist's shop!

It can be the smallest thing that sparks a thought (or indeed evokes a memory) and so it was that whilst chatting to my brother the idea came to mind for the topic of this month’s blog. Middleton St George near Darlington cropped up in our conversation to which I mentioned we had relatives who had lived there in times past. ‘Who was that’ he asked. ‘The Middletons’ I said. ‘Never heard of them’ came the reply, as sure and certain as any direct admission could be that he has never read any of my blogs! If he had then perhaps he would have remembered the post of December 2014 and the four Middleton brothers of Strathmiglo who were all lost to war, and other connections that have cropped up in many others.

Not that I blame him - family history is not for everyone and very often the preoccupation with pedigrees rather than the lives of the people within them can be pretty dull, two dimensional and boring. Nevertheless, 'Every generation should produce at least one person who is prepared to preserve and enhance the [family] records' wrote Anthony Christopher Middleton of his inability to ‘identify or isolate’ one suitable candidate in the UK in a letter to Philip Aynsley-Smith dated 1992. Philip had been assisting Anthony with his history of the Middleton family, or as he referred to it his ‘Magnus Opus’, by drawing and building on research first assembled by his father George. In the current generation of Smith family and its broader connections I guess that ‘one person’ would be me.

As it is some time since I have ventured into ‘Middleton’ territory it is perhaps the time to revisit them and look at some other members of the family who, rather than be farmers, were ‘Chemists & Druggists’. It is also a good opportunity to share some of the interesting and freely accessible record sources that are available for folks with ancestors who followed a similar occupational path.

By the mid-1800s, the English chemist and druggist were well-established professionals, defined by their work in a wholesale and retail capacity, and catering to a population before, instead of, or in addition to, the intervention of a GP. Their services were wide ranging and competitive; they sold a variety of items, from toiletries and food to ointments and pills, and were appealing to a paying customer who (at least in the cities) had a choice of establishments to patronise. Despite this, many succeeded in making an excellent living, and had a high standing within their communities. Broadly, they functioned as a medical “first-port-of-call” for many different social classes.[1]

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_patient_suffering_from_the_adverse_effects_of_strychnine_tr_Wellcome_L0034507.jpg

Background to the Middletons

Whilst the Middleton family pedigree stretches back well into the sixteenth century it was during the mid eighteenth century that they first ventured north from the area around Darlington to Norhamshire. The couple making the move circa 1756 was Jonathan Middleton baptised at Haughton-le-Skerne Dec 1726 and his wife Mary Hodgson the daughter of William and Jane Hodgson of Sellaby, Gainsford. For a time they farmed at Norham Mains but connections with home must have been maintained as not only were their children baptised at Haughton-le Skerne but the couple were buried there in 1799 and 1803 respectively. In her letters to GAS, Sarah Nicholson of Horncliffe (1842 – 1932), great granddaughter of Jonathan and Mary states that the Middleton family owned Denton but whether this is actually true has not been determined. It does make an interesting point of discussion, however, as the Culley brothers, the famous agriculturalists who likewise moved to Northumberland, also hailed from Denton. Matthew and George Culley born 1730 ad 1734 would have been contemporaries of Jonathan Middleton and undoubtedly known the family before taking the tenancy of Fenton near Wooler in 1767.[2]

The Middleton pedigree is a complicated network of interwoven relationships which is difficult to follow at times. The number of cousin marriages that occurred throughout the generations rivals and possibly even outstrips, that of the Nicholsons with whom along with other families they intermarried several times. For the purposes of this post these complex twists and turns will be kept to an absolute minimum, but I do have the information here should anyone be interested in learning more.

Jonathan Middleton and Mary Hodgson had 10 known children, of which their third son Hodgson married ‘the beautiful Phyllis’ daughter of George Smith of Horncliffe and Norham East Mains. Hodgson and Phyllis themselves had seven children, the youngest of which their daughter Phyllis married Robert Strickland, a schoolmaster at Middleton St George, at Darlington in 1841.

Robert and Phyllis had four sons, Robert b.1841, Oliver b.1844, Henry b.1846 and George Hodgson Strikland b. 1949. Robert the eldest died aged 11 in 1853. The three remaining brothers joined an emerging group of people, including a few of their cousins who became ‘Chemists and Druggists’. In 1871 the brothers are living together above the retail premises on the east side of the High Street in Yarm.

Copyright The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1871 England Census; Class: RG10; Piece: 4898; Folio: 56; Page: 4; GSU roll: 848008

Oliver and Henry are listed as Grocers and Chemists but youngest brother George is listed as a Pharmaceutical Chemist – a notable difference. Also living with them are two apprentices, two servants and another visiting chemist by the name of Sanderson. The ‘Chemist and Druggist’ was an occupation which truly emerged at the beginning of the 19th century in distinction to more the traditional Apothecary. Chemists and Druggists ‘dispensed compounded medicines made to published recipes and pre-packaged ‘patent’ medicines whose contents were secret… Chemist and druggists’ shops sprang up in cities and country towns. Some were scientifically competent, many were not’.[3] In addition to medicines they also sold a variety of other ‘useful’ items including poisons. The following evocative extract, written by Chris Chapman is taken from the Chemist and Druggist website by Chris Chapman who looks at the life of an apprentice in 1859.[4] (More on the website!)

t’s a typical store: large shelves are occupied by gleaming jars containing the ingredients of the druggist’s trade. Whale oil is nestled against containers filled with calomel and camphor, while jars hiding lavender, coriander seeds and balsam of Peru occupy the shelf above. The colour of each glass container hints at the contents: a ruddy cobalt hue suggests a syrup, while a mysterious green indicates a poison.

In a secluded counter, out of reach of patrons, is an ornate, sealed jar containing medicinal leeches, in case a patient needs bleeding.

The polished mahogany of the main shop is scrupulously clean from hours of attentive burnishing and all available surfaces are occupied by items for sale. Lemonade, marking ink, tobacco and bullets – sold as ‘sporting ammunition’ – are displayed, while some items are tucked behind the counter for security. The air is thick with the rich smell of ingredients drifting from the dispensary; although patent medicines are sold, these are mostly for lower class customers who cannot afford the druggist to prepare their treatment himself. There is no National Health Service, and no such thing as a free prescription.

The first customers arrive and are greeted by a smartly dressed young man, hair slicked with pomade. It’s a typical day, so the druggist’s apprentice has been at work since 7am. He won’t finish until at least 10pm, when he’ll get his week’s wages – 20 shillings, about £75 in today’s money.

Retreating to the dispensary, the apprentice presents the first prescription to his master, who studies it intently. There is no formal way of writing a prescription, and patients are often defined as “Mr Smith’s wife” or “Italian baby” rather than by name.

The first request is written, as usual, in the spidery hand of the local physician: “Tincturae jalaep, 3ss.; Magnesiae sulpatis, 3ij.; Infusi sennae, 2/3 iss.; misce fiat haustus cras manae sumendus.” The prescription is for a laxative, and relatively simple to decipher – ingredients and instructions are always written in Latin. Laxatives, or ‘purgatives’, are some of the most popular remedies sold in the shop as everyone knows they must be taken regularly to regulate the bowels. That said, everyone also ‘knows’ that diseases are caused by the foul-smelling miasma, or ‘bad air’ (Louis Pasteur will not publish his germ theory for another two years).

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_patient_suffering_adverse_effects_of_arsenic_treatment._Wellcome_L0034505.jpg

The apothecaries on the other hand had moved their focus away from retailing such medicines towards the treating of patients in the role of a general medical practitioner. During the mid 19th century a certain rivalry began to develop between apothecaries, the high street ‘chemist and druggists’ and the newly emerging pharmaceutical chemist which would lead to the establishment and regulation of distinct, yet complementary professions.

Between the 1815 Apothecaries Act and the 1858 Medical Act, the practice of medicine became regulated in Britain. Apothecaries became subject to rules regarding training, licensing, and practice. Chemists and druggists were excluded from this licensing, but defined as a distinct profession with their own jurisdiction. Towards the middle of the century, they began pushing for their own regulatory body in order to prevent charges of quackery, and reinforce their medical status. This culminated in the founding of the Pharmaceutical Society in 1841. Schools were then set up to teach pharmacy, and the Pharmacy Acts of 1852 and 1868 helped to regulate the sale of pharmaceuticals, and create uniform standards of training and examination. However, not all chemists and druggists educated themselves in this way, and many continued to learn the ropes via apprenticeship until late in the nineteenth century.[5]

The new legislation for Chemist Druggists and Pharmaceutical Chemists introduced both examinations and registration. These new regulations created a paper trail which may be extremely useful to the family historian and many of the records are freely available online.

1. ‘The Chemist and Druggist’ magazine has digitised its collection from the first edition in 1859 through to the discontinuation of the print edition in 2016 and is available through Archive.org.[6] It is a veritable cornucopia of advertisements, business listings as well as the latest ‘medical’ innovations. Only delve in here when you have a few hours to spare!

2. Several editions of ‘The Registers of Pharmaceutical Chemist and Chemists and Druggists’ are also available online through Archive.org. They list details as to the type and date of any examinations passed along with the number of their certificate.[7] The extract below shows George Hodgson Strickland in the 1885 edition

Extract from 'The Registers of Pharmaceutical Chemist and Chemists and Druggists' 1885

and John Holt from the 1919 edition of the Register

Extract from 'The Registers of Pharmaceutical Chemist and Chemists and Druggists' 1919.

The Strickland Family & the ‘Strickland & Holt’ Legacy

In June 1872 Oliver Strickland married his cousin Eliza Jane Waugh, the daughter of Margaret Middleton and Alexander Waugh, at York. The couple went on to have three children Phyllis, Robert and Isabella Waugh Strickland in 1874, 1875, and 1878 respectively. Oliver’s brother Henry Strickland married Hannah Margaret Hauxwell at Worsal Village in 1874. Henry died just a few months later and the couple’s only child, Henrietta Margaret was born posthumously on 8th January 1875. George Hodgson Middleton has not been located in either the 1891 or 1901 census, but in 1911 he was living at 29 Percy Street Middlesbrough where he died on 12th June 1913. He is listed as unmarried and a ‘smallware salesman’. To date nothing is known about his life after 1881.

At some point in time as yet undetermined, Oliver Strickland went into partnership with John Holt and the business became known as ‘Strickland & Holt’. Oliver died on 19th April 1884, it is ‘said’ from a bout of pneumonia he developed as result of rescuing livestock from the River Tees which had burst its banks. (Rather topical given the devastating floods experienced in parts of Yorkshire recently.) His wife Eliza and their daughters Phyllis and Isabella stayed on in Yarm and can be found living in the High Street in the 1891 census together with her widowed father-in-law Robert. Eliza was listed as a Grocer and Chemist so it would seem that she continued to be involved in the business for sometime after her husband's death. The official notification of the dissolution of the partnership appeared in the press in July 1896.

Photograph of the original shopfront by kind permission of 'Strickland & Holt', Yarm.

However, 'Strickland & Holt' is still operating today from the original premises in Yarm where it is now run by John Holt’s descendants. Their website notes that ‘Today, his [Oliver’s] descendants live in Canada, but the connections and friendship between the two families is kept alive through correspondence and occasional visits.’ They, along with many other families descended from Hodgson Middleton and Phyllis Smith live on today with a goodly dose of Smith and Middleton genes between them! Many are overseas, but there are the others who did not emigrate still living much closer to home.

[1] Centre for the History of Medicine, Boston. Apothecaries from the Eighteenth Century Onward: England.
https://collections.countway.harvard.edu/onview/exhibits/show/apothecary-jars/eighteenth-century-england
[2] Rowe, D. J. 'The Culleys, Northumberland Farmers, 1767-1813.' The Agricultural History Review, vol. 19, no. 2, 1971, pp. 156–174.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/40273786?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.
[3] Science Museum
http://broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/people/chemists
[4] Chemist and Druggist Website https://www.chemistanddruggist.co.uk/content/day-life-victorian-pharmacist
[5] Centre for the History of Medicine, Boston. Apothecaries from the Eighteenth Century Onward: England. https://collections.countway.harvard.edu/onview/exhibits/show/apothecary-jars/eighteenth-century-england
[6] Chemist and Druggist Magazine online
https://archive.org/details/chemistanddruggist
[7] The Registers of Pharmaceutical Chemist and Chemists and Druggists
https://archive.org/details/registersofpharm00pharuoft/page/n4

0 Comments

McDougall Families of Berwickshire, Roxburghshire & North Northumberland

26/10/2019

0 Comments

Are you are a McDougall (and all variant spellings!) with ancestors from the Border counties of Berwickshire, Roxburghshire or North Northumberland? If so, the chances are your research will have ground to halt in the mid-eighteenth century. If not, rightly or wrongly it is likely you have tapped into the pedigree of the McDougall families of Stodrig and Makerstoun and at some point along the way. But are you correct? Both myself and the McDougall Surname DNA Project are now on hand to help you discover more about your McDougall ancestors from the Borders than ever before.

Picture Lieutenant ‘Jack’ McDougall 1911-1981 in the uniform of the Canadian Black Watch. A documentary film maker in civilian life for Associated Screen News, Lieutenant Jack McDougall led the Canadian Film and Photo Unit (CFPU) in WW2. It is reported ‘they filmed 1.5-million feet of footage and over sixty thousand still photos.’

2nd Lieutenant ‘Jack’ McDougall 1911-1981 at enlistment in the uniform of the Canadian Black Watch. A documentary film maker in civilian life for Associated Screen News, Lieutenant Jack McDougall led the Canadian Film and Photo Unit (CFPU) in WW2. It is reported ‘they filmed 1.5-million feet of footage and over sixty thousand still photos’ which included the D-Day Landings on Juno Beach. He retired with the rank of Major.

As some of my readers will know, in the summer I became the voluntary co-administrator of the ‘McDougall Surname DNA Project’ and whilst the project aims to help descendants of McDougall families from throughout Scotland, there are a few testers within the project who are particularly interested in their heritage in the Scottish Borders – and rightly so say I – as the Borders occupies a unique space in Scottish history!

There are over 10,000 group projects such as this hosted by Family Tree DNA and led by volunteers who are there to help and advise their members explore their ancestral heritage both within a traceable genealogical timeframe and beyond. Whilst most surname or clan projects focus on Y-DNA (fatherline) or mtDNA (motherline), many also accept members who have test their atDNA only, so it is always worth asking the question! All Group DNA projects are completely free, but to be eligible to join a project a tester must have a bone-fide interest in the project’s subject and aims which can be found on their homepage. In addition the tester must have either tested their DNA with Family Tree DNA or transferred in their results from another DNA testing company. Transferring results is easy to do and is also free of charge – if unsure how to go about this, drop me a line and I shall talk you through it.

Even if you are not interested in joining a project, transferring your DNA results to FTDNA can often provide a whole new set of matches and is undoubtedly a worthwhile exercise!

There are other benefits to joining FTDNA or a surname project too – a small fee of $19 unlocks the many additional tools such as a chromosome browser – an essential piece of kit for those serious about cousin matching. Membership of a project also usually attracts significant discounts against all types of future testing.

My interest in the project was sparked in March this year when I was contacted by Mike McDougall in California and his paternal aunt Marty. Mike was busy planning a trip to his ancestral homeland and wanted to ‘pick my brains’ for places to visit and information that would add context and colour to the extensive family tree that had been researched by his late Grandfather, John (Jack) Errol Malcolm McDougall back in the 1960’s. From the point of emigration in 1833, Jack’s research into his family history is some of the best I have ever seen, and Mike and Marty have very generously made it available for members of the McDougall surname project to consult.

Mike and Marty’s ancestor was John McDougall, who together with his wife Margaret Purves and four young children emigrated from the Scottish Borders to Quebec, Canada in 1833. John was born on 25th July 1805 to parents John McDougall senior and Janet Wilson at Donaldson’s Lodge in the Parish of Cornhill on the English side of the border. Sadly, Mike and Marty’s earliest known ancestor John McDougall senior had been aligned to a baptism in 1782 at Coldstream to parents Alexander McDougall and Isabel Foster. This was an easy mistake to make - right geographical area and right time frame - nor were they alone in arriving at this conclusion. This circumstantial evidence has been incorrectly replicated in many other family trees not just those associated with the family!

Three key pieces of information came to light very quickly during the research process that would prove beyond doubt that this connection was misplaced:

Picture !841 Census for John McDougall his wife Janet Wilson and their two youngest children Elizabeth at George

Image courtesy of Scotland's People, 1841 Census for Foulden Berwickshire, 741/1/5.

The 1841 Census, the death record for John McDougall senior and his monumental headstone in Foulden Churchyard all point to a birth year of 1771, some seven years before Alexander McDougall and Isabel Foster were married on 22 November 1778. So just who were John’s parents if not Alexander and Isabel?

Whilst living at Donaldson’s Lodge John and Janet baptised a total of 9 children at Coldstream:

John McDougal: was born on 25th July and baptised at Coldstream 25th August 1805.[1]
Isobel McDougal: was born on the 6th May and baptised at Coldstream on 7th June 1807.[2]
William McDougal: was born on 13th February and baptised at Coldstream on 19th February 1809.[3]
Robert McDougal: was born on 15th May and baptised at Coldstream 18th July 1811.[4]
David & Isobel McDougal, Twins: were born on 9th February and baptised at Coldstream 8th March 1813.[5]
James McDougal: was born 19th November and baptised 25th November 1816.[6]
Elizabeth McDougal: was born 21st March and baptised at Coldstream on 5th April 1819.[7]

George McDougal: was born 25th March and baptised at Coldstream on 21st April 1822.[8]

Typically for this region no marriage has yet been found for the couple, however, John’s occupation of labourer was a red alert to the possibility that there may have been other children and to date two have been found. The earliest baptism to be identified was for a son named James McDougall baptised at Yetholm on 14th June 1800 where John was recorded as ‘Hind at Mindrum’ the second was for a William McDougall baptised at Sprouston on 1st May 1803 where father John was recorded as a ‘Hind at Pots Close’. Clearly these two boys and a sister Isobel had died young, as children born to the couple at later dates were given the same names. Although no death records survive for Sprouston beyond a couple of pages for 1633-37 and the headstone itself is long gone, a record of the memorial inscription remains which provides some vital information.

In memory of John McDougels son William who died 21.7.1804 aged 1 year 4 months, also his daughter Isabel who died 21.4.1808 aged 11 months, also his son James who died 27.3.1814 aged 14 years. Reverse: In memory of William M__ who died ?4.1805 aged 80 years.

Whilst further research produced several options for potential parents of John McDougall born in 1771, the registers and other available sources of information were unable to provide conclusive evidence. What has become clear in the course of the research is that whilst John McDougall’s occupation acted as a ‘red alert’, it may also have been a bit of a ‘red herring’.

By the mid 1820s John senior had sufficient capital to take the tenancy of the Mill at Foulden and establish himself as the Miller. Before he emigrated his son John was a clerk at the Gunsgreen Distillery and had sufficient capital not only to fund his family’s move to Canada, but to set himself up in business. Firstly as the keeper of a general store and ‘steamboat agent’, then becoming President of the ‘Three Rivers Gas Company’, acquiring several plots of land and being elected Mayor of Three Rivers in 1855 before purchasing the St Maurice and L’Islet Ironworks in 1862. His brothers also enjoyed a high degree of success, mostly as Millers or Merchant Millers in both Quebec and Ontario. They may have been workers and labourers in Scotland but in Canada they were very much the business owners and employers of men.

Picture Advertisement for the McDougall family's General Store in Three Rivers, Quebec

Advertisement in the Three Rivers Press. The 'General Store' remained in the family for at least two generations.

Families were large, with often upwards of 8 children. A record for Gordon parish suggests at least two families in the eighteenth century had families that were even larger still. One farmer had 15 children by one wife and another, a meal maker, had 20 children by two. It is worth remembering that under the Scottish Law of primogeniture, the eldest son inherited his father’s interests in freehold property or land (immoveable estate), therefore younger sons would need to find, and quite often fund, their own path. Whilst some remained in the immediate area, others often moved away to areas that afforded better opportunities.

To help track down his correct ancestral line Mike has tested both his autosomal and Y DNA. He also joined the McDougall surname project which has provided some interesting results. There is most definitely more than one McDougall line who have been resident in the Scottish Borders for some considerable time!

McDougall’s Flour and other connections with Coldstream

There is a distinct family line which is descended from James McDougall, believed to be eldest son of Alexander and Isobel of Coldstream. After a varied career as a Shoemaker, School Master then Pharmacist he invented self-raising agent and founded McDougall’s Flour. As their pedigree was drafted by the ‘College of Arms’ it is almost certainly the line of the McDougalls of Stodrig and thus is believed to be linked to the family who had owned the Makerstoun Estate from the mid-fourteenth century. Although this line is not a DNA match with Mike, theirs is also a fascinating story and like ‘sheep dip’ which was invented by George Wilson, a druggist in Coldstream in 1830 (a relative of Janet perhaps???) is another innovation linked with the Town albeit rather loosely.

Another McDougall family not yet connected to the project but also associated with Coldstream are the McDougalls who were saddlers and leather merchants. John S McDougall saddler appears on the Town Map of Coldstream in 1862 with premises on the High Street which was, until very recently Coldstream Post Office. Later the business moved from the High Street to the Market Square.

Image courtesy of Coldstream History Society, https://www.coldstreamhistorysociety.co.uk/gallery/buildings/

Other Border McDougall families.

A family descended from a William McDougall b. 1782 at Ednam left Roxburghshire for Dalkeith and subsequently emigrated to Ohio. Initial test results would indicate that this is potentially a close match to Mike but to date a connection on paper has not been found.

Aside from those known to have tested their DNA, another John McDougall born at Kelso, Roxburghshire in 1802 emigrated to Ontario in the 1850s - their family home is now open to the public. But perhaps most intriguing of all is yet another John McDougall born in Berwickshire circa 1826 who also emigrated to Quebec and who was the owner of the Caledonia Ironworks. To date researchers have been unable to determine if the two families of Iron Foundry fame, who were clearly in close contact, were in fact related.

Of course there are also the families who did not stray at all such as the McDougal farmers of Gordon, who are still faming the same land as their ancestors some 300 years ago. The numerous memorials in the Churchyard at Gordon stand as testimony to the many generations of McDougals that went before.

Headstone of James McDougall of West Gordon and his wife Margaret McDougall. Just one of the many family memorial stones in Gordon Churchyard.

McDougalls in North Northumberland

Hopping over the Border to Cornhill in Northumberland, there is evidence of McDougall families living in close proximity to John and Janet McDougall whilst at Donaldson’s Lodge. A Robert McDougall recorded as a Husbandman at Melkington may well prove to be a relative of Mike – was John McDougall senior possibly working for a relative? – for an agricultural labourer to stay in one place for approximately 17 years is somewhat unusual. There was also a William McDougall a tailor and a James McDougal and his wife Jane Sutherland baptising children there at the same time as John and Janet.

Perhaps 21st century technology and the ability to trace family heritage through our genes will finally reveal if and how these families were connected, possibly many centuries ago. If you are related or descend from any of the families outlined above, or more importantly the many others that have NOT been mentioned, do please get in touch. There is a free Y-DNA test awaiting one potential tester who can prove their McDougall ancestry from either Berwickshire, Roxburghshire or indeed North Northumberland. Even if you would rather not test your DNA the information you hold may very well prove to be the key to unlocking these complex relationships, so please do contact us

My personal interest in where the McDougalls sit the region’s history has kicked in and I have been busy mapping the McDougalls of Berwickshire and Roxburghshire into family groups. A not inconsiderable task but hopefully not impossible! So just how many of them were there?

McDougall Families in Berwickshire

Note re Scottish Parish Registers

It is important to remember that for various reasons Scottish Parish Registers were also often incomplete - there may be valid reasons why you can't find your ancestor in the parish you expect.

“The parish minister or the session clerk usually assumed responsibility for maintaining the registers, but since there was no standard format employed, record keeping varied enormously from parish to parish and also from year to year. As a result, the information may be sparse, unreliable and difficult to read. The oldest register dates from 1553 (baptisms and banns from Errol, Perthshire), but although there was a requirement from 1552 that parishes record baptisms and marriages, many did not commence until much later, and some more remote areas only have registers from the early 19th century. Some registers have been lost or destroyed and the condition of the surviving 3500 is variable.”[1]

A detailed list of the Parish Registers and notes regarding their coverage can be downloaded as a PDF from the National Records of Scotland - do you use it! Also bear in mind that Baptisms and marriages outside of the Established Church of Scotland will not appear in the Parish Registers - double check records for non-conformists too.

McDougalls in the 1841 Census for Berwickshire

In the 1841 census for Berwickshire there were 138 Individuals living in 45 Households across 15 Parishes. 14 were living on their own or with other families as servants or otherwise.

Parish	Number of Inhabitants & Households
Ayton	2 Individuals in 2 separate households, both aged women.
Coldingham	10 Individuals in 2 Households – 1 ‘Male Servant’ living apart from their family.
Coldstream	16 Individuals in 7 Households, 3 ‘Females Servants’ living apart.
Duns	4 Individuals in 1 Household.
Eccles	26 Individuals in 7 Households, 1 (Blacksmith) living apart.
Foulden	4 Individuals in 1 Household = The McDougalls of Trois Rivieres
Gordon	51 Individuals in 13 Households, 2 living separately.
Hutton	2 Individuals in 1 household, David McDougall a Miller and his wife.
Lauder	6 Individuals in 2 Households, 1 living apart
Nenthorn	10 Individuals in 2 Households
Polwarth	3 Individuals – A widow and 2 small children.

There were four parishes with a single McDougall occupant; Channelkirk, Cranshaws, Hume and Ledgerwood.

Of the 76 females - 9 were born in Scotland but not in Berwickshire and 2 were born in England.
Of the 62 males – 4 were born in Scotland but not in Berwickshire and 4 were born in England.

McDougall Occupations in Berwickshire where stated

16 Agricultural Labourers
3 Farmers: 2 at Gordon, 1 at Lauder
3 Shoemakers
2 Millers: 1 at Hutton, 1 at Foulden (Trois Rivieres family)
1 Wright/Joiner
1 Saddler
1 Tailor
1 Hand Loom Weaver

McDougall Families in Roxburghshire

McDougalls families in the 1841 Census for Roxburghshire

In the 1841 census for Roxburghshire there were 94 Individuals living in 32 Households across 12 parishes. 13 were living on their own or with other families as servants or otherwise.

Parish	Number of Inhabitants and Households
Ancrum	Value
Eckford	19 individuals in 5 households, 1 ‘Female Servant’ living apart from her family.
Ednam	4 individuals living in 1 Household.
Kelso	36 individuals living in 11 Households 3 living apart.
Makerstoun	4 individuals living in 1 Household. (The McDougall Brisbane family of Makerstoun House have not been included.)
Melrose	8 individuals living in 3 Households 2 living apart.
Smailholme	6 individuals living in 2 Households, 1 not born in County living separately
Sprouston	3 individuals living in 3 different households.

There were four parishes in Roxburghshire with a single McDougall occupant: Jedburgh, Oxnam, St Boswells and Wilton.

Of the 50 Females 11 were born in Scotland but not in Roxburghshire and 1 was born in England
Of the 44 Males 4 were born in Scotland but not in Roxburghshire and the birth place of 1 was ‘Not Known’.

McDougall Occupations where stated

9 Agricultural Labourers
3 Farmers, 2 at Eckford, 1 at Ancrum
2 Shoemakers
5 Cabinet Makers inc 1 Turner & 1 Joiner
2 Saddlers
1 Surgeon (Melrose)
1 Tailor
1 Hand Loom Weaver
1 Pauper (Eckford)

The above are just a few of the facts and figures I have gleaned to date. There is a whole lot more including the outline trees illustrating the various family groups which have been researched to date. This research into the McDougall families of the Borders will also be made available to members of the McDougall DNA Surname Project, alongside that generously provided by Mike and Marty. If interested in the project or the free Y DNA test that is up for grabs, or have any information you think might be useful do please get in touch. We are here to help.

[1] Scotland’s People, Baptisms, Coldstream OPR 733/ 30 90.
[2] Scotland’s People, Baptisms, Coldstream OPR 733/ 30 103.
[3] Scotland’s People, Baptisms, Coldstream OPR 73/ 30 111.
[4] Scotland’s People, Baptisms, Coldstream OPR 73/ 30 129.
[5] Scotland’s People, Baptisms, Coldstream OPR 73/ 30 132.
[6] Scotland’s People, Baptisms, Coldstream OPR 73/ 30 149.
[7] Scotland’s People, Baptisms, Coldstream, OPR 733/ 30 160.
[8] Scotland’s People, Baptisms, Coldstream, OPR 733/ 40 13.
[10] Scotlands People https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/guides/church-registers

0 Comments

Gilbert Cargey’s Lunchtime Platter

28/9/2019

0 Comments

How land and associated property tax records can aid family & local history research.

Picture Kiplin Hall taken by George Hatton. Image shows Kiplin Hall west front Seen across a corner of the lake, the west front of the hall shows the original, almost square building of circa 1625 with a tower at the mid point of each façade. To the right is the extension of the 1820's which was added by Lord Tyrconnel to make the building into more of a comfortable country house.

Kiplin Hall west front seen across a corner of the lake, the west front of the hall shows the original, almost square building of circa 1625 with a tower at the mid point of each façade. To the right is the extension of the 1820's which was added by Lord Tyrconnel to make the building into more of a comfortable country house. Kiplin Hall west front Kiplin Hall, Scorton, North Yorkshire cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Gordon Hatton - geograph.org.uk/p/5867091

In seeking inspiration for this month’s blog I was thumbing through some old pedigrees and came across an extensive tree for a Hedley family with familial connections to both Turner and Turnbull families. Whilst I know how the family links to my own through the Trotters of Sprouston and beyond, I am totally ignorant of its wider connections. Being far too extensive to get to grips with in the short time I have had to prepare for this month’s instalment, plus the fact it raises issues over what is possibly the most inaccurately represented pedigree in online trees I have EVER seen, it went back into the heap. Instead I picked up the Cargey pedigree, about whom although I know precious little more, contact between the families was still alive and well in my younger years. I remember being told of the high excitement enjoyed by Cargey descendants who travelled by ‘horse and cart’ from Edinburgh to visit their Smith second cousins at Longhoughton. Indeed during the early part of the 20th century the Cargey’s lived in the same roads of Harewood Grove and Stanhope Road in Darlington as their Aynsley-Smith cousins. In my experience it is often the families that are known to us that get overlooked during the research process in favour of dim and distant cousins. Anyway, I set off to see what else I could ‘dig up’.

Cargey Connections with Kiplin Hall Estate

A quick Google for the name Gilbert Cargey, (as it is prevalent in every generation of the Cargey family), brought up a reference to a dish ‘a duo of local cheeses, onion marmalade, fruit, white baguette slices and oatcakes’ served in the tea room at Kiplin Hall near Scorton, North Yorkshire. It transpires that Gilbert Cargey b. 1810 - d.1882 had been Land Steward on the Kiplin estate for 21 years to the 4th Earl and Lady Tyrconnell (Sarah Crowe). The Friends of Kiplin Hall have done a fantastic job of piecing together the pedigrees of the four interconnected families that owned Kiplin throughout its 400 year history. [1] The Crowe family (the third owners) are described as ‘minor Northumbrian gentry and venturers until Christopher made his fortune in Italy and married a King’s granddaughter (albeit from the wrong side of the blanket)’ and their family tree contains many familiar Northumbrian names such as Burrell, Reveley, Delaval, Grey and Collingwood.

Other than one or two interesting snippets, very little information is available online that can shed much light into the Kiplin Estate during Gilbert’s time of office or, the issues he dealt with in his roll as land agent there. However, the estate archives containing documents relating to the families’ various interests are held by North Yorkshire County Record Office in collection ZBL. Matters pertaining to the Estate and its management are held in ZBL IV and its sub folders which contain Correspondence, Leases and Agreements, Accounts, Rentals, Surveys and Valuations, Agents’ Notes and Papers as well as information relating to land holdings further afield in Surrey, Sussex, Buckinghamshire, Worcestershire and London. For anyone with ancestors who were tenants or worked on the estate these records may hold a wealth of information!

Reaching further back in time the archives also contain the Manorial Records for:

ZBL III/1. Manor of Scorton (includes Greenbury, Great Langton, North Cowton and Scorton) 1692-1854
ZBL III/2. Manor of Ellerton-on-Swale (includes Bolton-on-Swale, Ellerton-on-Swale, Whitwell and Uckerby) 1693-1854
ZBL III/3. Manors of Scorton and Ellerton, jointly 1778-1834
ZBL III/4. Manor of Eton, Bucks 1786,1792

A brief overview of Manorial Records

Manorial records, can be rich pickings for those with the patience to scour their contents. As well as details of its land holdings, which in turn would have been held from a feudal ‘superior’, the Manor performed important administrative functions through its own courts – The Court Baron and the Court Leet.

The Court Baron dealt primarily with landholdings and the surrender, succession and inheritance of tenancies. Manorial tenants could be classified as ‘free’ or ‘unfree’. In very simple terms free tenants paid a monetary rent for their farms and enjoyed a large degree of independence but were still expected to attend the Manorial courts as jurors. ‘Unfree’ or customary tenants as they became known held land from the Manor according to its customs and by ‘copyhold’ which was a copy of the terms and conditions of their lease as entered in the Court Roll. However, as the two basic types of tenure were held either by inheritance or for life or a specified number of lives, the court rolls for customary or copyhold tenants are often rich sources of genealogical information through the procedure of identifying rightful heirs.

The Court Leet heard petty offences such as affray, nuisance, debt and failure to observe the customs of the manor. Its primary function was keeping the ‘King’s Peace’ and as such it appointed officers to do so. This court became obsolete with the introduction of more centralised administration systems and the establishment of parish and town officials and justices of the peace. However, the records may still hold some juicy tales of misdemeanours perpetrated by our ancestors that would otherwise be missed!

Picture Extract from Tweedmouth Court Leet in 1658 regarding an assault on Margery Allom by Hector Hewitson for which he was fined 5 Shillings. Image courtesy of Berwick Record Office

Extract from the Tweedmouth Court Leet in 1658. Image courtesy of Berwick Record Office. The Text Reads 'They p[re]sent Hector Howitson for a Blood & Affray Made by him upon Margery the wife of William Allom, for w[hi]ch he the said Hector is fined five shillings & the same to be Leveyed on his Goods & Chattell[es] for the Use of the Lord[es] of this Manor'

Following the death of Lady Tyrconnell in 1868 Gilbert Cargey branched out on his own as a Land Agent and Valuer based in Darlington. Clearly he is still remembered at Kiplin, hence the eponymous title of this post, but for good or ill I do not know!

Durham Chronicle - Friday 17 July 1868. Image courtesy of the British Newspaper Archive

The Cargey Family of Ponteland

Although the Cargeys were living in Edinburgh at the time of their visit long ago, their pedigree as sketched out by GAS in the 1930s stretches back in time to a burial at Ponteland in 1678. This area seems to have been ‘their stomping ground’ for a least a century or so before various descendants spread their wings and dispersed to other areas. Their ancestral line isn’t all that challenging to trace – Cargey is an unusual name, it is helped by the fact that the Ponteland registers have survived from 1602 and by a detailed memorial inscription on a family headstone in Ponteland churchyard.

Picture Photograph of Cargey Memorial Stone in Ponteland Churchyard. It reads: In Memory of Gilbert Cargey Senior late of Ponteland who died Sept. 21st 1763, Aged 53 Years. Elizabeth his Widow died November 12th 1786, Aged 90 Years. Catherine Wife of Gilbert Cargey Junior late Farmer at Stickley died December 17th 1766 Aged 24 Years. Margaret his Daughter died Oct 29th 1772 Aged 4 Years. Catherine his Second Wife died, March 6th 1777 Aged 38 years. Elizabeth his Daughter died June 23rd 1801 Aged 35 Years. The above Gilbert Cargey, January 5th 1823 [sic] Aged 81 Years. Photograph courtesy of 'Find A Grave' UNCEM_2430157_336ac765-3e7e-423c-ae84-2d3b5b842207

In Memory of Gilbert Cargey Senior late of Ponteland who died Sept. 21st 1763, Aged 53 Years. Elizabeth his Widow died November 12th 1786, Aged 90 Years. Catherine Wife of Gilbert Cargey Junior late Farmer at Stickley died December 17th 1766 Aged 24 Years. Margaret his Daughter died Oct 29th 1772 Aged 4 Years. Catherine his Second Wife died, March 6th 1777 Aged 38 years. Elizabeth his Daughter died June 23rd 1801 Aged 35 Years. The above Gilbert Cargey, January 5th 1823 [sic] Aged 81 Years. Photograph courtesy of 'Find A Grave' UNCEM_2430157_336ac765-3e7e-423c-ae84-2d3b5b842207

As it transpires the Gilbert Cargey who died in 1822 was the second of the name and had been married three times, his third wife Sarah Anderson, survived him. Needless to say he had a fairly extensive family comprising 9 known daughters but only one son (from his second marriage to Catherine Sanderson) who lived to adulthood. It would seem from his Will that the outnumbering by female members of his family was keenly felt, as in addition to an annual allowance of £20 and the bed she brought to the marriage, Gilbert recommends that Sarah go to live with one of her daughters!

Extract from the Will dated 31 March 1818 of Gilbert Cargey of Stickley who died in 1822. (DPR/I/1/1822/C1/3-4)

At the time of his death in 1822 Gilbert was farming at Stickley, at Horton near Blyth but was already branching out elsewhere. His surviving son Gilbert 3rd was by then farming his father’s interest at Scremerston Farm near Berwick. The Ponteland Registers suggest that the family had been butchers as well as farmers which was not uncommon. As such more information may be found in the Newcastle upon Tyne Guild Records Ref:GU.BU (part MF), 298. [2]

Image courtesy of British Newspaper Archive. Newcastle Chronicle - Saturday 03 April 1779,

William Cargey great grandfather of the above who died in 1713, was likely of some standing as he was buried within the Church on 12th January 1714, as was his granddaughter Margaret in 1717, and son John in 1760. The early records are trickier to piece together with any degree of absolute certainty beyond this established familial relationship. However, an extremely useful record that has survived which sheds some light on the situation is the registers of the estates of Roman Catholics in Northumberland, taken for the purpose of calculating land tax.

Roman Catholic Register & Land Tax

Land Tax was first introduced in 1692 levied against real estate and personal property. During the 1690s the rate was established at 4 shillings in the pound and accounted for circa 35% of the national revenue to the Exchequer. From the 1780s to the mid 1830s proof of payment of Land Tax was a qualification requirement in order to vote in elections. As such, many land tax returns for this period can be found within the records of the Quarter Session Court. However, Roman Catholics paid double the rate of tax at 8 shillings in the pound. If landowning ancestors are found paying the higher rate of land tax it is a strong indication that they too were Roman Catholic. One reason for this higher payment rate was their support of the Jacobite cause and the exiled Stuart family.

Preamble to Act passed in George 1 (1715) which introduced the Register of Catholic Estates.

However, it was felt that the law was not being sufficiently adhered to and following the rising in 1715, a new law was passed that introduced a Register of Catholic Landholdings. The register was to include their;

names, lands, tenements, the names of the tenants, or those in possession of the said lands, the yearly rents thereof, particulars of leases, fines (admittance fees) paid on renewal of such leases. The certificates were to be brought to the Clerk of the Peace either by the landowner in person, or by others to who he had given Power of Attorney, and enrolled in Court in parchment books to be subscribed by him or them, and laid up with the records of the county or shire.

Therefore detailed records often exist in the Quarter Session records from a much earlier date. Copies of the certificates that made up the register for Northumberland were copied and published by the Surtees Society in 1918. ‘Northumbrian Documents of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries comprising The Register of the Estates of Roman Catholics in Northumberland and the Correspondence of Miles Stapylton’ is freely available online at Archive.org. (The very first entry in the book contains clues which I believe link to the Bolam family of whom I wrote in March this year – clues that are too good to ignore given the Christian names of Isaac and Christopher!)

Pages 25 and 26 of the register contain the return of the estates of Nicholas Stapelton alias Errington of Carlton, Yorkshire and relate to the former Manor of Ponteland in 1717.[3] Page 25 contains the names of Matthew and Edward Crow, at West Houses. Whilst these two do not currently feature in the list of descendants of George Crow of Kiplin Hall, with a bit more digging they may well be found to tie-in somewhere with other Crow family members known to be resident in Ponteland during the same period.

Extract from Register of Catholic Estates. The Estate of Nicholas Stapleton alias Errington of Carlton, Yorks.

Page 26 records a William and John Cargey along with another known Cargey family connection Cuthbert Charlton, the husband of John Cargey’s sister Ann. A question mark remains over the identity of this William, as the father of John and Ann was buried in Ponteland Church in 1713, some 4 years before the certificate had been drafted. However, as the tenancy appears to have been in joint names and there is no evidence of another William Cargey having been baptised, died, married or having had children of his own, it is possible his name had remained on the lease. Sadly no other records survive for the Manor of Ponteland to verify this or indeed provide further information on the family in the late 17th century.

Picture Page 26 from the Register of Catholic Estates for the tenants of Nicholas Stapelton alias Errington at Ponteland showing William and John Cargey.

Page 26 from the Register of Catholic Estates for the tenants of Nicholas Stapelton alias Errington at Ponteland showing William and John Cargey.

In 1750, John Cargey and his son Gilbert again appear in the declaration of the same estate returned by Winifred Stapleton alias Errington, the third wife and widow of Nicholas Stapleton alias Errington above. (See page 102 of the Register).

The last event for the Cargey family to have been recorded in the Ponteland register was the burial of Gilbert Cargey of Stickley on 8th February 1822. The Gilbert Cargey who gives his name to the title of this blog was the 4th of the name. He was the son of farmer Gilbert Cargey 3rd of Scremerston and later of Lindean near Galashiels. Although he married Margaretta Richardson Blythe in 1844 the couple had no children. Whilst there are many branches of descendants through the female lines, to my knowledge there remains only one family bearing the name Cargey still living in the UK that stem from the Ponteland line. They descend from the nephew of Gilbert Cargey 4th, Gilbert Cargey 5th of Edinburgh who visited their Smith cousins at Longhoughton all those years ago.

[1] Kiplin Hall Website https://kiplinhall.co.uk/
[2] A list of Guild Records for Newcastle upon Tyne available from Tyne and Wear Archives is available online as a pdf. A William Cargey a butcher & likely uncle of Gilbert Cargey 2nd was admitted as a Freeman of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1747. The Freemen records for Newcastle upon Tyne can be accessed online through The Genealogist.
[3] The Manor of Ponteland was sold circa 1774 to George Silvertop of Minsteracres. High Sheriff of Northumberland d. 1831. The advertisement for the sale appeared in the Newcastle Chronicle on the 8th October.

0 Comments

So Who Was Ann Ross?

27/8/2019

0 Comments

or 'The ancestor who refuses to be found'

Picture Watercolour sketch by Mary Ogilvie Davison 'Right and Wrong' dated 1898

Watercolour sketch by Mary Ogilvie Davison 1898. (I just love the donkey's expresion)

Brick walls – we all have them, even experienced genealogists who have been researching their families for decades are likely to have come up against an immoveable obstacle that resolutely refuses to budge. Although research will naturally reach a point where the records run out, those that hover around the statutory registration and census periods are particularly annoying, as one way or another a solution, or at least a theory, should be possible to find.

Not so with a 2 times great grandmother of my own, Ann Ross, who adamantly refuses to give up her ancestral history, and is frankly making the family tree look somewhat lopsided! Every now and then I go back to her and do a bit more digging in the hope that inspiration will strike but invariably come away disappointed. It may seem odd to be writing about what is essentially a failure, but I thought others in the same position may be interested in a few of the methods and thought processes I use to successfully resolve cases like these, even though in this instance it has yet to produce a result. On many occasions the devil is most definitely in the detail!

Reliability of Sources

One of the first things to consider when dealing with a ‘problematic’ ancestor is to assess the facts known about the person and the reliability of the sources. It is also worth remembering that whilst records of life events and the census remain the foundation stones on which to build an ancestor’s story, there are many other potential places where reliable information can be found. Some of these may even be among your family’s personal possessions, or in the possession of others researching the same ancestral lines. They often say far more about a person and their character than an official record can too.

Oral tradition

In the case of Ann Ross most of what I knew before I started digging came from my grandmother’s personal knowledge. Although Ann and her husband John Davison a printer in Alnwick, had both died before she was born, granny would often talk about her paternal spinster aunts, Sarah Ann and Mary Ogilvie Davison, whom she knew extremely well. Following the death of their father John in 1895, the aunts together with their widowed mother moved from the printing works at St Michael’s Pant to a little house at No 2 Croft Place, Alnwick. Of Ann herself, if my memory serves me correctly, granny spoke very little, other than imparting the fact she was Scottish, not a total surprise given her surname and the middle Christian name of one of her known daughters!

In terms of reliability of the source, everything Gran told me about her family history has to date proved to be ‘spot on’ – but did she know everything, and even so was some information perhaps held back?

One piece of information that came to light relatively recently was evidence that there had been another child, a son, who had died as a youngster. He was distinctively named William Tulloch Davison and had been born in second quarter of 1852 and died aged 3 on 27th January 1856. Further evidence perhaps of Ann’s Scottish heritage? It is always worth double checking for other children born to a couple, even if they died young, as their names may hold some vital clues, or indicate naming patterns. In this case William may well have been named for John’s father, but what about Tulloch? Every marriage combination of Ross, Davison, Ogilvie and Tulloch has thus far drawn a blank in terms of a viable potential connection for Ann. However, it is important to think beyond the immediately preceding generation – surnames used as Christian names often refer to grandparents or even further back still.

Material Evidence

Pencil Sketch by J.G.R 'His First Love' from Mary Ogilvie Davison's sketch book dated 1888

The Marriage Certificate

John Davison and Ann Ross had married at the Register Office in Alnwick on the 1st July 1851. She was described as 24 years old, a spinster, of no occupation, the daughter of John Ross a Shoemaker and a resident of Alnwick at the time of her marriage. Witnesses to the marriage were Mary Gilroy, John Davison’s married sister, and a David Geggie, possibly a cabinet maker in the town, whose wife’s maiden name was Amory. There does not appear to have been a representative of Ann’s immediate family present. Neither father is noted as deceased, although William, John’s father is thought to have had died before 1841.[1]

Eking out every last drop of information and potential clues in official documentation is essential in difficult cases or where there is a conflict of evidence. Sometimes taking a close look at the witnesses to the marriage can provide hints too, as can they place they were married. In this case the Register Office may point to one or more of the parties following a non-conformist faith. If Ann Ross was of Scottish descent she may well have been Presbyterian and would not have wanted to marry in an Anglican Church.

In terms of reliability, the marriage certificate is often the least reliable of the three. Folk tell ‘fibs’ about their ages, and be prepared for invented names and occupations of fathers! There are many reasons why this may be the case not just illegitimacy; it can indicate the child had little or no knowledge of the father, perhaps he had died young and the child had grown up in a second family, was a smoke screen for a clandestine affair or used to invent a more suitable background – I have encountered them all and more! Is Ann’s marriage certificate truthful? When taken collectively with other information, her age would certainly seem to be correct, but there is a lingering question mark about her father’s name and occupation, despite her second son being called John.

Post Marriage Census Records

In the census records following her marriage Ann states her age and place of birth as:

1861 Middlesex, London Age 33
1871 London, Age 43
1881 Scotland Age 53
1891 Not Known, London, Age 62
1901 Middlesex, London, Age 73

Although her place of birth varies, her age is relatively consistent and suggests a birth year of 1827/28. In terms of the reliability of census information it is worth bearing in mind that the person completing the return may not have had the specific knowledge of the birthplace of a spouse, visitor or even children if the family often moved. Therefore at times the information in a census may be a ‘best guess’.

As to the reliability of post marriage census records for Ann Ross: – her place of birth is mostly given as London and her age remains consistent so on balance it would seem reasonably reliable.

Pen and Ink drawing by G Wilson dated 1881, from the sketch book of Mary Ogilvie Davison

Pre-marriage Census

Ann has not been identified living in Alnwick or the surrounding countryside in either the 1841 or 1851 census nor is there any sign of a John Ross, shoemaker! For sure there are several Ross families resident in the area but none fit any known criteria beyond a common surname. The only John Ross that has been identified living in Middlesex during this time was a dentist born circa 1816 in Scotland. Ironically he is living at 9 Kings Terrace, Clerkenwell with what appears to be his brother James, in the same building as a William Ross, a bookbinder, and his family also born in Scotland circa 1811. They appear to be the only Ross family living in Middlesex in the 1841 census. William and family are still living in Clerkenwell in 1851 at 11 North Avenue and William’s place of birth is given as Kelso, Roxburghshire. From this information his parentage was traced to a George Ross, a Printer in Kelso and his wife Isabel Scott. Whilst this couple are most certainly not Ann’s parents and the location and occupation may be purely circumstantial, there may yet prove to be a connection, and then again it may just prove to be another wild goose chase!

As it stands Ann has yet to be found in either census predating her marriage. There are too may variant factors to consider; she may have working in a household away from her family, one or both her parents were deceased, or she was visiting friends or relatives, which when combined with a not uncommon name make it impossible to draw an adequate conclusion. To date it is thought that she came to Alnwick from London shortly before her marriage. It is known that her husband John prior to opening his own print works in Fenkle Street in 1855 had worked for a Mr Pike in printing houses both ‘North and the South’ – is this when he had met Ann?

Picture John Davison, Printer in Alnwick opens shop in Fenkle Street in 1855

Image courtesy of the British Newspaper Archive. Alnwick Mercury 1st June 1855

George Pike, Printer and Bookbinder operated at that time from 37 Market Street, the premises to which John Davison and his family would relocate in the 1860s and where they would remain until circa 1937.

Picture John Davison Printer in Alnwick, family grave in Alnwick South Cemetery

The Davison Family plot in Alnwick South Road Cemetery marked only by a large open space. It is thought there was never a headstone.

Death & Burial

Ann Ross died on 21st April 1902 and her age recorded at death was 75. She is buried with her husband John and their two daughters in the family plot No. A353, in a block for non-conformists in Alnwick South Road Cemetery. (Many thanks to Ian Hopper at the Cemetery Lodge for pointing out on the location on a map and where it lies as there is no headstone marking the grave.) This confirms that the family were indeed non-conformist and whilst I do not have the baptisms of John and Ann’s children to confirm their religion, it is interesting to note those of John’s sister Mary Gilroy took place at the Alnwick Unitarian Chapel (or Ebenezer Unitarian Meeting House) in the Parish of Alnwick.

Much of the information contained in Alnwick’s various non-conformist Church records is not yet digitised or available online – certainly not post 1838, but many of the records are available to consult at the Northumberland Record Office at Woodhorn.

Birth or Baptism Record

As Ann was born circa 1827/28 some ten years before the introduction of statutory registration introduced in 1837, (and even then registering a birth did not become law until 1874), the best record of her birth that could possibly be found is her baptism. On the basis of her age at marriage, given in census returns, and at death, the best estimate for her birth would be the second quarter of 1828. Needless to say no baptism record has yet been identified. As she is thought to have been non-conformist, her baptism is also unlikely to be found in Parish records. I say unlikely, as some parishes did record the vital events of ‘dissenters’ in their registers, but in the main the only place where non-conformist registers can be found is in the National Archives Series Code RG. Many of these records have been digitised and are available through The Genealogist.[2]

Undated pen and ink sketch by Mary Ogilvie Davison 'The Transmigration of a Soul'

DNA

I can hear you asking ‘surely DNA has provided some answers’? Well, actually as yet it hasn’t! The biggest issue faced with trying to find clues within the DNA matches of myself and my brother is that we are the only living descendants of Ann Ross. Furthermore, we do not know if Ann had any siblings – if she had then we are looking at mutual common ancestors in her parents, who would be our 3rd great grandparents. This would mean that realistically the closest living relatives we could have in Ann’s line would be 4th cousins. If Ann was an only child, or the only child of her parents to have children then we are looking a generation further back again and to 5th cousin matches and a generation about which we have virtually no knowledge. As a result any matches that are lurking out there are potentially going to be quite small. Whilst we both have a few known Davison matches they are no use in this particular quest as they all descend from John’s sister Mary Gilroy and therefore will not carry any Ross DNA. In summary there is just not enough information out there at present from which to draw any sort of conclusion!

Wills

Ann Ross left no will herself and the wills of her two daughters Sarah Ann and Mary Ogilvie Davison which were both proved in London hold no clues whatsoever. The only will that I do not have as yet is that of Ann’s son John. Primarily this was because until a few days ago I had no idea when and where he had actually died, only that he passed away before my father was born. As his wife died in Northumberland ten years later I was unaware they had left the area. Once it had been found courtesy of the British Newspaper Archive it certainly came as a bit of surprise!

Picture Obituary of John Davison, Printer in Alnwick who died in August 1939 at Great Missenden, Bucks

Image courtesy of The British Newspaper Archives: Morpeth Herald 11th August 1939.

The motto here is always to expect the unexpected!

Mary Ogilvie Davison

Is it possible that Mary hold the key to this mystery? Just where was she on the night of 3rd April 1881 when the census was recorded? – she certainly wasn’t at home! My efforts to trace her have not borne fruit as yet – but then there are quite a few Mary Davisons listed in the 1881 census! The images used in this blog have been taken from Mary’s personal sketch book which is now in my care and features many paintings and illustrations not just by herself but also other people. It appears the album was begun in 1880/81 and the last entry is dated 1899. Whilst many of the pictures are just initialled, including one by her brother John, an H.R, a P.R. and a J.G.R also feature – could the ‘R’ possibly be for Ross? Other contributors have signed their names such as G Wilson, R Dodds, but there is one that stands out, Tom Paish in 1886 – just who was he?

Pen and Ink drawing by John Davison. Unlike the 'Knit Shirt' the mystery of Ann Ross is far from unravelled.

[1] William Davison was a witness at the baptism of his grandsons William Gilroy in 1829, and James Gilroy in 1830 but was not present in 1841 census. The Gilroy family were Unitarians.

[2] The Genealogist.co.uk Non Parochial BMD Database RG4: Non-parochial Registers 1567-1858,RG5: Protestant Dissenters' Registry,RG6: Quaker Registers 1578-1841,RG7: Fleet Marriages 1667-1777,RG8: Non-Parochial & Miscellaneous Registers,RG32: Registers Abroad and on British & Foreign Ships 1831-1969,RG33: Foreign Registers & Returns 1627-1960,RG34: Worldwide Foreign Marriage Returns 1826-1921,RG35: General Register Office: Miscellaneous Foreign Death Returns - 1791-1921,RG36: Registers & Returns in the Protectorates etc of Africa & Asia,BT158: Registers compiled from Ships' Official logs of passengers at sea 1854-1908,BT159: Registers of Deaths at sea of British and other nationalities 1875-1888,BT160: Registers of Births at sea of British Nationals 1875-1891

Border Ramblings

Johnston Case Study

Using DNA for early ancestor searches

Broaden the ancestral search

Possible Connections between Johnston, Mein & Turnbull Families

Johnston Baptisms at Wells St Church 1775-1826

1. Andrew Johnston and Hamilton Bruce

2. Andrew Johnston and Elizabeth Fairbairn

Other Johnston Families of Berwickshire

Johnston Family & the Coromandel

Ebenezer Church 1809

Extract from 'A Little Learning' by Evelyn Waugh

References

Other Useful Links

An example of the typical matters heard at the Manor Court of Norham Town in 1706

How to find a Manor in the Manorial Documents Register

Other Useful Links

Quick Note re Civil Registration

Tracing Ancestors in the Border Region

Presbyterian Records in England​Presbyterian Registers - Baptisms

Marriages

Other Presbyterian RecordsKirk Session Records

Communicants Rolls

Nonconformist Churches in Scotland

Old Parish Records in England

Further Information

How authentic is your document?

How reliable is your document?

Further Reading and Useful Links

Different Hands and Letter Forms

A few basic transcription Hints & Tips

Background to the Middletons

The Strickland Family & the ‘Strickland & Holt’ Legacy

McDougall’s Flour and other connections with Coldstream

Other Border McDougall families.

McDougalls in North Northumberland

McDougall Families in Berwickshire

Note re Scottish Parish Registers

McDougalls in the 1841 Census for Berwickshire

McDougall Occupations in Berwickshire where stated

McDougall Families in Roxburghshire

McDougalls families in the 1841 Census for Roxburghshire

McDougall Occupations where stated

How land and associated property tax records can aid family & local history research.

Cargey Connections with Kiplin Hall Estate

A brief overview of Manorial Records

The Cargey Family of Ponteland

Roman Catholic Register & Land Tax

or 'The ancestor who refuses to be found'

Reliability of Sources

Oral tradition

Material Evidence

The Marriage Certificate

Post Marriage Census Records

Pre-marriage Census

Death & Burial

Birth or Baptism Record

DNA

Wills

Mary Ogilvie Davison

Other useful Links for Alnwick

Author

Archives

Categories

Presbyterian Records in England
Presbyterian Registers - Baptisms

Other Presbyterian Records
Kirk Session Records