Aug 13 - St. John's kirk in the rain (medieval, rebuilt 1440-1500), Perth

With at least 3 marriages in my grandmother's family tree (apparently) in as many generations conducted within /b/ 1805 and 1853, this most historic bldg. in this historic city features more often than any other I know of as a setting for such events in my mother's family history. (See below.)

- "St John's Kirk is the oldest standing building in Perth, and is one of the most important parish kirks in Scotland. It was first mentioned in 1126, and has played a central part in the life of the burgh. The original building was completed by 1241, when the Kirk was dedicated by the Bishop of St Andrews, but it has undergone many alterations since then. In 1440 a new choir was built, now the oldest remaining part of the building. The nave was rebuilt later in the century.

- "The best known incident to take place [here] was John Knox's sermon against idolatry, preached on May 11, 1559. Some of the congregation (Knox referred to them as "the rascal multitude") took him at his word, stoned the priest, stripped the church of all its fittings and ornaments, then ran to the Greyfriars, Blackfriars, and Charterhouse monasteries and stripped them down to their bare walls. [Wtf?] After the reformation, partitions were erected to divide the church into 3, the East, Middle and West Kirks, each with its own congregation and minister." www.perthcity.co.uk/attractions-and-leisure/buildings-mon... www.scottish-places.info/parishes/parhistory555.html My great x 3 grandparents (Mom's Mom's Mom's Dad's parents) and the bride's parents, my great 4 grandparents, were married in this church, specifically the 'East Church Parish'. (See below.)

- St. John's has the finest collection of post-Reformation church plate in Scotland. And the collection of medieval bells is the largest to have survived in Great Britain.

- Perth's old name 'St. John's town' was a reference to this kirk.

www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/perth/stjohnskirk/

- Here's a virtual 3D tour.: youtu.be/SXPN0PN4MSc?si=IBGZ4Ils7mS_-Kch

 

- maps.app.goo.gl/V2KJL8wKGXzs9Pv99

- maps.app.goo.gl/55vFf9AcKjUZcFtY7

- maps.app.goo.gl/N6vrcmNNfvFLKX516

- maps.app.goo.gl/vdTNXBTKWksW8sNv9

- maps.app.goo.gl/grdzSzqYgo67PmFR6

- maps.app.goo.gl/v9WpxLHrrCycu1BD9

- maps.app.goo.gl/YHsjm5tkAoR1S47g6

 

 

The following's only of interest to close family or to those on my Mom's Mom's side. (It's a dry repository of info. re my Mom's Mom's tree.):

 

- My great great grandparents (Mom's Mom's Dad's folks), George McLaren and Helen/Ellen Marshall, were married in Perth in 1853, and I had written "but not in this" in this space, as they were members of the 'Free Church', a popular denomination at the time, and although it was only 10 years old in 1853, there were a number of Free church bldg.s in and @ town back then. But George and Helen/Ellen were married by a Rev. Murdoch, and Google A.I. advises that: "In the 1850s, a Rev. John Murdoch was the minister of the Middle Church in Perth [within this kirk, divided into East, Middle and West churches], which adhered to the Church of Scotland." So it seems that George and Helen/Ellen were married in this church, the most recent marriage of 3 or 4 conducted within in my grandmother's family tree. (The earlier three are those of my great grandmother's father's parents David Greig and Elizabeth Whittet in 1826, of Elizabeth's parents Alexander Whittet and Helen/Nelly Mackie in 1805, and possibly of my great grandmother's great great grandparents, her Mom's Dad's Dad John Menzies' folks, in 1767.)

- "The Free Church of Scotland was formed in 1843 when most of the evangelical ministers in the Church of Scotland resigned because of state interference in its internal affairs. ... Under a system known as Patronage, landowners could nominate and present ministers to congregations, irrespective of whether those ministers were evangelical or even whether the congregation wanted them. This was regarded by many as totally unacceptable. ... The result was that in 1843, in what became known as 'The Disruption', [the] new denomination was formed. ... Immediately following the Disruption, Perth - 'where the Scottish Reformation first sprang from thought into action' - had 5 Free Church congregations." www.knoxchurchperth.com/history.html

 

GREIG - WHITTET - MACKIE

- A pair of great x 3 grandparents (Mom's Mom's Mom's Dad's folks), David Greig and Elizabeth "Whytock" (sic, Whittet), were married in Perth in THIS church a generation earlier in 1826, specifically in the 'East Church Parish' portion or division of it, as witnessed by church 'elder Robert Duncan'. I don't know of any ancestors in my tree who married younger. The groom was 16 or 17 and already a shoemaker, and the bride was 13 or 14 (more likely 14), but only if they both reported their ages accurately to census-takers in 1851, and if Elizabeth did so in 1861. Census records are contradictory as to whether their son Robert, my great great grandfather, was born in Perth or in Edinburgh, but most likely Edinburgh; 3 records indicate Perth and 2 Edinburgh, but those 2 are the earliest (neither is a baptismal record). If he misrepresented his place of birth as Perth, that could be a red flag that he wasn't proud of his childhood or of his roots in Edinburgh. But his father, David, the young groom, was born in Edinburgh. David and Elizabeth were both living in Perth in 1826, where he was "in the East Church Parish of Perth" and she was "in said Parish" per their marriage record. Elizabeth was born and/or raised in Inchture, Perthshire in the 'Carse of Gowry', much closer to Dundee than to this city. Her family was living in Perth (per this church's register) when her elder and younger sisters were baptized in this church, so the family seems to have moved back and forth some. It's also possible that they commuted from Inchture for those baptisms and that the minister or registrar was careless or assumed the family was Perthian when he wrote those entries in the register (despite his impressive handwriting). AND Elizabeth's parents, Alexander Whittet and Helen/Nellie Mackie, were married in this church as well another generation earlier by the august Rev. James Scott. artuk.org/discover/artworks/reverend-james-scott-of-perth... They spent some time in Perth. Did one of them have roots here? (More re Elizabeth's parents below.)

- @ 15 yr.s later, the young couple David and Elizabeth Greig and their 6 kids, of whom great great granddad was the eldest, were living in 'the Northback of Canongate' in Edinburgh, a crowded slum then, while David worked as a 'Bootcloser'. www.watercolourworld.org/collections/8ee47a53-02c0-3ba8-9... 10 yr.s later, he'd become a 'Master' shoemaker employing 2 people (incl. his son, great great granddad, I think, an apprentice 10 yr.s earlier) and the family had moved to an apt. in the "3rd House Right hand" in Skinner's close on the High st. at its west end in the "Parish of Tron church" (another slum then but the ultimate in prime real estate today), a low entrance to which is now covered by a convex mirror.: www.tiktok.com/@andy_highlander/video/7208633282970340614 www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/8193/skinners-c... www.google.com/maps/@55.9489106,-3.195509,3a,90y,353.68h,... (The impressive courtyard behind the entrance isn't on google maps.) My great x 3 grandmother Elizabeth's death record indicates both Skinner's Close and 64 High st. further east as her address (?). She was living as a widow in a small apt. at 64 High st. 2 yr.s earlier at age 48.

 

GREIG (and possibly REID, RUSSELL, FORBES, YOUNG, SHORT, REEKIE and PATERSONE)

- Genealogy can be a vice. The following lengthy series of paragraphs re the Greig branch of my tree, from a few paragraphs down to that with the heading MENZIES, is a bit like a difficult Sudoku where you make a 50/50 guess here and there, but more than one or two leads you astray. I can and will compare the names of siblings of 'candidates' for ancestors with the names of their parents and grandparents in light of Scottish naming traditions (time-consuming), but otherwise the upper reaches of this tree are too speculative and I should edit it way down. I revisited the Whittet-Mackie side of my tree (see below) and was reminded by those ancestors who lived in the early days of the Scottish census that as often as not baptism and marriage records are NOT extant. If not for those early censuses and the great statutory death records, I might've run with the "best candidates" and climbed way up the wrong trees. There are clues to look for, and I think I found some good ones in the McLaren branch (see below), but researching the "best candidate" w/o more to go on is wishful thinking. I'll delete most of this paragraph as well when I'm done, but I'll take a break too. (Why so much speculation you ask? I'm interested in the Greig branch of my tree what with the history of the clan MacGregor, which I write about here: ttps://www.flickr.com/photos/97924400@N00/9971315903/in/photostream/ , and wondered if I could find results that reach back towards the early 17th cent. I'm also encouraged by the quality of the records in Edinburgh, and David Greig is the only one of my grandmother's great grandparents, or the one most likely, to have roots in the city.)

 

- Census-takers reported twice that my great x 3 grandfather David Greig was born in Edinburgh. One recorded that he was 41 in 1851 (going on 42 later that year?) and that his wife Elizabeth was 38. They were both 30 in 1841, but adults' ages were rounded up or down to the nearest 5 that year. So it appears that David was born in 1809 or 1810 IF David knew how old he was. (I don't assume such things.) 3 David Greigs were baptized in the city /b/ 1808 and 1811, 5 /b/ 1800 and 1820. I found 3 of the 5 in official death records and a 4th with 'Find a Grave', and they don't match. The only possible exception in extant records was sired by Robert Greig "Weaver Mint" (Mint?) and Janet REID in the parish of 'St. Cuthbert's' in Jan., 1807, again 2 years too old if David knew his DoB. It doesn't seem unlikely that my great x 3 grandfather's baptism record isn't extant. None of the 23 David Greigs born /b/ 1800 and 1820 in Scotland who died after 1855 are a match, and the 3 Davids who appear in Church death records (typically very spotty) /b/ 1850 and 1855 don't match either.

- Re the Mint: the former premises of "the Royal Mint of Scotland ... in Edinburgh housed various trades in the early 19th cent. ... The Mint was located in South Gray's Close (aka Mint Close) off the Cowgate/South Bridge area." (Google A.I.) St. Cuthbert's is a famous church below the castle at the west end of Prince's st. gardens, and the parish was a large one that stretched to the north and south of the church. But South Gray's close is central, just @ the block from 59 Blackfriar's where my great grandmother and her family lived when she was a girl in the 1870s.

- No marriage record is extant for Robert Greig and Janet Reid in Scotland /b/ 1760 and 1808, nor a baptism record for any sibling of their son David.

 

- At least 55 Robert Greigs were baptized /b/ 1750 and 1792 in Scotland (many in Fife), 3 in Midlothian, 1 in Inveresk and 2 in St. Cuthbert's, Edinburgh in 1756 and 1782 (age 25 in 1807). The latter was sired by David Greig, "Weaver at Bell's Mill Steps" and Isobella RUSSELL, who have an interesting marriage record (1775) "in the Session of St. Cuthbert's".: They "voluntarily compeared [compear = "to appear in court personally or by attorney" in Scots law] before the session - being interrogate acknowledged their clandestine marriage - produced lines to that effect dated Edin. 11th November 1775. Signed [signature] one Charles Johnson as Min.r gave proof of their being single persons prior to the date of said clandestine marriage - were declared married persons rebuked exhorted and dismissed." (Strange but boilerplate, 4 of 5 entries on the page are in the same wording. "Clandestine marriages" were to be "rebuked", etc.) David and Isobella sired at least 6 kids /b/ 1777 and 1787. IF Robert Greig was also born in Midlothian, and if the records pertaining to this branch of my tree are extant to 1750, then it appears that this David Greig and Isobella Russell were my great x 5 grandparents (Mom's Mom's Mom's Dad's Dad's Dad's folks).

- "Bell's Mills was a historic milling site located on the 'Water of Leith' near Belford rd. in the Dean Village area of Edinburgh [one of the loveliest, most popular spots in the city]. The area featured a water mill - the last to operate on the river - which was destroyed in an explosion in 1971. The site, featuring steep steps leading down to the water and the nearby Bell's Brae, is now a residential area near the Dean Village." (Google A.I.) youtube.com/shorts/Ek-g5TlF5dA?si=b4LySjelC8KFzxBH

 

- At least 351 Janet/Jannet/Jane Reids (!) were baptized /b/ 1760 and 1792 in Scotland, 38 in Midlothian, 27 in Edinburgh, 5 in St. Cuthbert's, 12 in Edinburgh /b/ 1776 and 1792 (a better match with the candidate for Robert above [for what it's worth], but 12 is a lot) incl. 1 in St. Cuthbert's, sired in 1785 (22 in 1807) by Peter Reid, "Clerk of the Customs in the Grass Market," and Margaret Scede. "Peter Reid, Clerk of the Customs, and Sheep Flakes [clearly written - "racks or open wicker cages used to hold fodder for sheep during winter" - Google A.I.] in Grass Market, Edin.r, Residenter in Fountain Briggs [{sic, Fountainbridge} married] Margaret Seede Law.ll Daur. of the Deceased Robert Seede, Gardener in Abbeyhill, pres.t Residenter in Canongate ..." in 1781. (I worked as a duty counsel for years on a per diem basis and would occasionally note a connection /b/ a surname on the docket and the crime alleged. Eg.s - Upper, Purchase, Hardware, Felato -> Drug charges, shoplifting, weapons charges, and Soliciting for prostitution [pre-2013], respectively. When everyone you meet makes the same jokes all your life when they learn your name, it can play with your head. The same dynamic applies to professional choices, etc.) Margaret's parents were "Rob.t Seed Gardiner in Abbeyhill & Giles McIntyre" in Leith South (per her brothers' baptism records). At least 3 Peter Reids were baptized in Edinburgh /b/ 1745 and 1766, 2 in St. Cuthbert's. But Janet Reid was too common a name in Edinburgh in the late 18th cent. (again 12 in that 16 yr. window), and I think it's too speculative to research her tree further (and Peter and Margaret might've been too established to have a weaver for a son-in-law, what with the vicious classism of the time [which persists over there]), so I won't unless I find more evidence to go on.

 

- At least 41 David Greigs were baptized in Scotland /b/ 1731 and 1761, 4 in Midlothian/Edinburgh, 3 in St. Cuthbert's in 1736 (39 in 1775), 1745 and 1751 (24 in '75), and 1 in "Edinburgh" (the High st.?) in 1734 (41 in '75). The latter 2 in St. Cuthbert's were both sired by Robert Greig, a "Shoemaker in [the] Pleasants" in 1751 (a "Cordiner" in 1743 [a name for cobblers in Edinburgh who worked with leather imported from Cordoba]), and Grissell/Grizell FORBES, who married in 1742 at St. Cuthbert's and sired 8 kids /b/ 1743 and 1761. (I assume their elder son David passed away.) IF David Greig of 'Bell's Mills Steps' was born in Midlothian and if the record for his baptism is extant, the son of Robert Greig and Grizell Forbes appears to be a match.

 

- Isobella Russell was the "Daughter of James Russell weaver there" (at 'Bell's Mill steps'). 19 baptism records are extant for an Isabel/Isobel/etc. Russel/Russell sired by a James, 3 in Midlothian, 2 in Edinburgh, incl. one from 1753 for an Isobell who appears to be a match, the daughter of "James Russell weaver in Waters of Leiths and spouse Elisabeth YOUNG ... witness John & George Young weavers @ Dean haugh". James and Elisabeth's unusually informative marriage record of 1751 reveals that James married the boss's niece or cousin. He was a "Weaver Servant [apprentice?] to George Young, Water of Leith ..." Isobell was one of 9 siblings baptized at "Bells Milns", the "Waters of Leith", "@ Dean", St. Cuthbert's, Edinburgh /b/ 1751 and 1770.

 

- At least 4 infants named Robert Greg, no Greigs (although two had siblings named Greig) were baptized in Midlothian /b/ 1697 and 1727, all in Edinburgh, 1 in 1711 in Leith South (near the docks; sired by Thomas Greg/Greig and Rachel Reekie), 2 in 1719 and 1723 in Liberton (a few miles south of 'the Pleasance'; their fathers married as "Gregg"), and 1 in "Edinburgh" in 1726. At least 11 Robert Greigs and 1 Greige were baptized in Scotland /b/ 1697 and 1727, 6 in Fife, 5 in neighbouring co.s and 1 near the village of 'Unthank' in Aberdeenshire. Per their marriage record of 1742, "Robert ... [was] in Pleasants" and "Grissell ... daughter to Alex.r Forbes in Berwick, now in this parish." Again, after a move Grissell/Grizell was "now in [the] parish", while Robert was "in Pleasants", which seems to imply by omission that he was born and raised in Edinburgh (but maybe not). "Thomas Greig Weaver" was a frequent witness at the baptisms of Robert and Grissell's kids, and Thomas Greg/Gregg and Rachel REEKIE (nope, not the most glamourous of surnames) also sired a Thomas Greig in 1720. His brother Robert is the sole candidate of the 16 (4 + 12) in extant baptism records to have a brother named Thomas. Per the baptism record of his youngest brother in 1722, his father Thomas was a "Weaver in Pleasants". In light of these points and as 2 of his siblings were baptized as Greigs, it appears that this Robert, the son of Thomas Greg/Greig and Rachel Reeky/Reekie, baptized in 1711, married Grissell Forbes in 1742 and sired David Greig, cordiner in the "Pleasants", in 1743.

 

- Only 1 record is extant for the baptism of a Grissell/Grizell/Grissil sired by an Alexander Forbes in Scotland /b/ 1690 and 1730, in Wemyss, Fife, but none in Berwick (the city of 'North Berwick' of Berwick witch-trials [1590] infamy? youtu.be/ZtNu6Xfv6fo?si=ezccBHX6gC3WFos7 ) or Berwickshire, and no record is extant for the marriage of an Alexander Forbes in Berwickshire /b/ 1650 and 1760. "Archbald [sic] son to Alexander Forbes in Wadderlie" (aka Wedderlie, "a prominent estate and house located in the parish of Westruther in the co. of Berwickshire" 40-50 km.s SE of Edinburgh) was baptized in 1717 and might have been a brother or a cousin. Early 18th cent. "records mention an Alexander Forbes who was a doctor of medicine and may have had legal or financial ties to that estate." [Google A.I.]) The reference to Grissell's father in her marriage record might indicate that he was notable, but a medical doctor was highly unlikely to have a cordiner for a son-in-law then, again what with the odious British classism. In any case, either Grissell/Grizell's baptism record is missing or she was sired in 1718 (24 in 1742) by "Alexander Forbes weaver in Mothil hill" (Methilhill, on the banks of the Leven and "suggested to mean "middle church," referring to its position /b/ Markinch and Wemyss" - Google A.I.) and Helen GOODALE in the parish of Wemyss, Fife, a 25-20 km. boat-ride from North Berwick across the mouth of the Forth. That Alexander was a "weaver in Wester Wooms" (Wester Wemyss) and Helen was in Methilhill when they married in Wemyss in 1717. Alexander, Helen and their family could only have sailed for Berwickshire from Fife after the birth of their daughter Janet in 1727 in Kirkcaldy. Grissil had 2 siblings, Janet and Margaret (1721), but no record is extant for the marriage of a Janet or a Margaret Forbes in Berwickshire, nor in Wemyss nor Kirkcaldy, Fife /b/ 1735 and 1777.

- The only record of the baptism of an Alexander Forbes in Wemyss (or anywhere w/in 25 km.s of Wemyss) /b/ 1670 and 1703 was that of the son of Alexander Forbes Sr. and Ewhpem (sic) GARDNER in 1688 (29 in 1717). No marriage record is extant for Alexander Sr. and Ewphem, but baptism records are extant for Alexander Jr.'s sisters Cathren (1683), Katharin (1685 [Cathren must have died in infancy]) and Margaret in 1691.

- 7 baptism records are extant for a Helen/Helene Goodale/Goodaill in Scotland /b/ 1660 and 1703, but only 1 in Fife, in Auchtermuchty, > 20 km.s north of Wemyss, sired in 1665 by an Alexander Goodaill and, coincidentally (?) a Geils RIKIE (see Rachel Reekie/Rikie below), and 6 in Haddingtonshire (East Lothian today). Alexander and Geils/Geilles also sired James in 1661, and Jaine (sic) in Pitmarry, Auchtermuchty parish, in 1664. "Andrew Rikie", a witness at the latter baptism, is noted as Alexander's "brother in law". ("Geilles" is a "Reikie" and Andrew is a "Rikie" in the same entry.) Alexander Goodeall (sic) married Geillis Rikie, "both in [the] parish" of Auchtermuchty, in 1659.

- 30 records are extant for the baptism of an Alexander Forbes in Scotland (many in Aberdeen) /b/ 1630 and 1669, 3 in Fife, but none within 25 clicks of Wemyss. A Euffon Garden was baptized in Longforgan in 1652, Euphin Gardiner sired by a Thomas in 1669 and Ewpham Gardiner sired by a William, both in Errol, Euphem Gardner in Dalkeith in 1660, and a Eupham Gardner in Dundee in 1661, but none w/in 30 km.s of Wemyss. Oh well.

- At least 4 Alexander Goodaills were baptized in Scotland /b/ 1615 and 1645, 1 in Angus, 3 south of the Forth, but none in Fyfe. No baptism record is extant for anyone with a name resembling Geils Rikie/Reikie/etc. /b/ 1600 and 1650, but 11 baptisms were held for infants named Rikie in Scotland /b/ 1628 and 1669, 10 in Fife, incl. 5 in Auchtermuchty /b/ 1650 and '54 sired by Robert Rikie, Andrew Rikie and Christian Smyth, and 3 by Henrie Rikie and Margaret Mair (for what that's worth). youtu.be/5DQHmFx3sHY?si=U6704F4cpuViW3Va

 

- James Russell was the son of "William Russell weaver there" at 'Water of Leith' per James' marriage record. At least 24 infants named James Russell were sired by William Russells in Scotland /b/ 1710 and 1737, 4 in Midlothian, 2 in Edinburgh, 1. the son of "William Russell poultryman & Marg.t Lennox" of Leith North in 1721, and 2. the son of "William Russell weaver in Lochend and Isabell SHORT" in Leith South in 1730. The latter for the son of a weaver is clearly the best candidate for a match. "In the early 18th cent., Lochend was located in the rural, eastern portion of the parish of South Leith, characterized by the large estate and loch of the same name ... near the village of Restalrig and east of the developing town of Leith." James had two younger brothers, William Jr. (1732) and George (1736).

- When William married Isabell in 1729, she was a "Servant to the Laird of Dirletown", a village and castle in East Lothian, @ 31 km.s east of Edinburgh. The said Laird was then 'William Nisbet, younger of Dirleton', who "resided at Archerfield House, as Dirleton castle [a medieval fortress] had been ruined [by Cromwell] in the 1650 siege". Palatial, Downton-Abbey-esque Archerfield house is pimped out today (like every one of the U.K.'s umpteen estates, etc.) as a wedding venue, luxury resort, etc. youtu.be/qE2JApHwe8s?si=EzOS2UGT-f3juXix

 

- Elizabeth Young was the "young daughter [of] Andrew Young shoemaker in Edinburgh" per her marriage record. At least 8 infants named Elizabeth/Elisabeth Young were sired by an Andrew Young /b/ 1710 and 1737, 2 in Midlothian, 1 in Edinburgh sired by Andrew Young and Jean Nuckle in Cramond (a suburb) in 1727, the 2nd of at least 5 siblings. Andrew's profession is omitted on all 5 records as well as on the record of his marriage in 1719 to Jean Nuccoll "in the parish of Alloa". Cramond's at the outskirts of greater Edinburgh and I'd expect Elizabeth's marriage record to specify that Andrew was from there if he was. (It's lovely, I visited my great Ena there in '85 and toured the low ruins of Roman walls.) I think it's more likely her baptism record isn't extant or that her family moved to the city when she was young.

 

- At least 118 infants named William Russell/Russall/etc. were baptized in Scotland /b/ 1685 and 1715, 12 in Midlothian, 10 in Edinburgh incl. 1 in St. Cuthbert's and 4 in Leith South. 2 good candidates for the husband of Isabell Short and the father of James Russell are 1. a William sired in 1702 by "Ninian Russell woivor [sic, weaver] at Loghend [sic] & Bessie Hall his spouse" and 2. another William sired in 1712 by another "Ninian Russell woivor [sic] in Lochend now abroad & Joan BORTHWICK his spouse.'' Either 2 cousins in Lochend named Ninian, both weavers, have sired 2 more cousins, or Ninian sired a William with his first wife, that child passed away, and he remarried and sired a 2nd William in 1712.

 

- At least 10 infants named Isabel/Isobell Short were baptized in Scotland /b/ 1690 and 1715, none in Haddingtonshire/East Lothian, and only 1 in Midlothian/Edinburgh, sired by David Short, Tanner, and Barbara HOME/Hoam in 1695. No marriage record is extant for this couple. Isobell was the eldest of 5 siblings.

- At least 3 David Shorts (and one Shortus) were baptized in Scotland /b/ 1651 and 1681, 2 in Midlothian, 1 in Edinburgh sired by a David Short Sr., "marikin dresser" (?) and Issobell (sic) WATT in 1672. (One of the witnesses was a "marikin dresser" too. "Marikin" might derive from maroquin, a type of leather.) David Sr. and Issobell married in Edinburgh in 1667, and David Jr. had 6 siblings (1668 - 1681; David's marikin dressing supported a family of 8).

- Barbara Home was sired by a William Home, merchant, and Catharine DEANS in Edinburgh in 1667. William and Catherine married earlier that year and sired at least 4 kids by 1672. (Witnesses incl. Alexander and David Home in 1672, and George and William Home, merchants, in 1669.)

- At least 1 infant named Katherine/Catharine/etc. Dean/Deans/etc. was baptized in Scotland /b/ 1627 and 1653, Catherine sired by George Deanes, advocat (lawyer) and Barbara CORSER/Corsar/Cossar in Edinburgh in 1641 (25-26 in 1667) and 1 of 12 siblings sired /b/ 1631 and '49. When George married Barbara in 1628, he was a "wreater", Scots for writer, a legal professional, specifically a "writer to the signet".

 

- At least 7 infants named William Home were baptized in Scotland /b/ 1635 and 1653 (William was a "young merchant" per the baptism of his son Alexander in 1672, so it's a safe bet he was younger than 33 when he married, likely no more than a few years older than his wife), ALL in Duns (!), Berwickshire. "The Home (or Hume) family, specifically the Home of Wedderburn branch, are a ... cadet branch of the Earls of Home, holding the historic seat of Wedderburn Castle near Duns, a 18th-cent. country house, after acquiring the land in the early 15th cent." (Google A.I.) The best candidates, in light of age alone, are a Williame (sic) sired by a William Home and Margaret Drysdell in 1636, William and Jenet Home in 1637, Sir William Home and Jennet Baillyie (sic) in 1641, Robert and Margrat (sic) Home in 1644 and David and Hellin Sinclar (sic) in 1644. The William sired by Sir William and Jennet Baillyie would be the same age as his wife Catherine, for what that's worth.

 

- At least 1 infant named Barbara Corser/Corsar/etc. was baptized in Scotland /b/ 1580 and 1617, sired in Edinburgh in 1610 by David Corser and Bessie LASOUN. No marriage record is extant for this couple, but they sired at least 7 kids in Edinburgh /b/ 1606 and 1620.

- At least 1 George Dean/Deanes/etc. was baptized in Scotland /b/ 1590 and 1617, sired by Williame (sic) Deanis and Jonet (sic) Reid in 1612, but way up in Aberdeen, and as at least 6 Deanes were baptized in that period in Midlothian (none extant elsewhere), 2 in Pencaitland in East Lothian, and 4 sired by 3 couples in Edinburgh, I'd wager that George the advocat was born south of the Forth.

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- The ONLY extant bapt. record that might be a match for Rachel Reekie/Reeky /b/ 1560 and 1782 is for a Rachel Rikie sired by a Thomas Rikie in "cottowns [cottages] of Forret [hill]", Fife in 1686. She had 4 siblings incl. James Rikie, baptized in 1682. A James Reekie was a witness at a baptism of Thomas and Rachel's son Thomas Jr. in 1720 (the only Reekie who attended as a witness; no Gregs/Greigs).

- A Thomas Reikie (the only candidate for Rachel's father Thomas Rikie in marriage records) married Beatrix PATERSONE in Logie in 1660. A Thomas Reikie (the only candidate in Scotland), son of Thomas Reikie Sr., was baptized in Dysart in southern Fife in 1645. (The writing in these records resembles Arabic or the contents of some forbidding grimoire. Paper must have been very precious then.)

- My grandmother mentioned more than once that Edinburgh had been known as "Auld Reekie" (common knowledge today) for something of a stench in the unhygienic closes along the High st., and that residents would shout "Gardy loo!" (from the French "Gardez l'eau") as they'd pour their buckets of excrement, etc. out the windows in their closes. What would she say if I told her that her great x 5 grandmother (my great x 7 [!]; her Mom's Dad's Dad's Dad's Dad's Mom) might have been named Reekie (or Reikie/Reeky/etc.) herself? Per Google A.I., the surname "is of Scottish origin, primarily originating in Fife and Aberdeenshire as a habitational name or a diminutive of "Rickard" (a form of Richard). It likely derives from the Older Scots name Ricky or Reky, or references geographical locations like Reekie Linn. Historically, it is associated with smoky, foggy areas, possibly linked to the nickname for Edinburgh, "Auld Reekie"."

 

- "Thomas Greg" had been a "Serv.t [apprentice] to John Ochiltree weaver Burges of Eye" and "Rachel Reekie [was a] serv.t to Widow Stewart in Pleasants" when they married in June, 1708. They sired 6 kids /b/ 1711-1722, 1 in 'Caltoun', 2 at or near St. Ninian's chapel (both in Leith South), etc. and the youngest in 'Pleasants' south of the High st. Again the best (and only) candidate for his wife Rachel was born in 1686 (22 in 1708). I doubt that Thomas could have been > 3 yr.s younger than his wife, nor more than 10 years older. At least 10 infants named Thomas Greg/Grege/Gregg/Greig were baptized in Scotland /b/ 1676 and 1689, 5 in Midlothian, 4 in Edinburgh and 1 in Fife. The most interesting could be the son sired in 1688 by David Greig and Agnes Ballingall in "Carslogie ground", Monimail parish, Fife (the only one from Fife), "just west of Cupar", only @ 6 km.s SW of Forret hill, the home of Rachel Rikie, who was only 2 yr.s his senior and, again, the only candidate in extant records for Robert Greg's mother. A country road named "Main st." leads @ 4 km.s straight up across farmland from just north of Cupar to Forret hill. Is that too coincidental to be coincidental? But note that Robert Greg's parents married in St. Cuthbert's. At least 1 Thomas Greig was sired in St. Cuthbert's by a Thomas Greig Sr. and Margaret Watt, both "in [that] parish" when they married and who sired 2 kids in "Birsto [sic]", "the area known as the Bristo Port (gate), ... /b/ ... Grassmarket/Lauriston to the west and Nicolson St./Potterrow to the east". Nicolson st. is < 200 m.s west of Pleasance.

 

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Again, I don't assume David knew his year of birth, but the 2-3 year gap and the fact that this candidate Robert was a weaver, not a cobbler (David was already a "Shoemaker" by the age of 16 or 17) weighs against him. Then again, I note that my great x 3 grandfather named his eldest son Robert, and that this candidate, Robert, was the son of a David.

- One of the 5 David Greigs I mentioned, the son of William Greig and Jane Adamson, was born in 1810 in "Jack's Land" in the 'Northback of Canongate', which again is where my great x 3 grandfather David and his family were living in 1841. So I wondered if William might be a relative, but I've researched his tree and haven't found any connection. It's a shame. I find the history of the Greig sept of the MacGregor clan interesting.

 

MENZIES (More below)

- Great great granddad's father-in-law (Mom's Mom's Mom's Mom's Dad), Archibald Menzies, was baptized in the city of Perth @ 20 yr.s earlier, but in 'the Gaelic chapel' built in 1787, which served Highlander immigrants to the city until the mid-19th-cent. Services were conducted in Gaelic there. (Archibald's mother hailed from a coastal town on the Firth of Moray not far east of Inverness [see below], and his father hailed from a gaelophone region in Perthshire, quite possibly in or @ Weem or Dull in north Perthshire.) The bldg.'s been the venue for a succession of night-clubs much more recently ('Electric Whispers' and 'ZOO Nightclub'), but was demolished in 2016. www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/perths-zoo-nightclub-to...

 

MARSHALL/MARSHAL - CHALMERS (and RORY/ROREY) - CAMERON

- My grandmother and both of her parents were born and raised in Edinburgh, but again 2 of her grandparents, her Dad's folks George McLaren Jr. and Helen/Ellen Marshall, were born in Perthshire. Her Dad's Mom's folks, Joseph Marshall/Marshal and Margaret Chalmers, were married in Auchtergaven aka Bankfoot, a town north of Perth (Margaret's hometown) and lived as newlyweds in Methven, a town only 6-8 clicks west of Perth (Joseph's hometown evidently) in the mid-1820s, but were back living in Bankfoot 15 yr.s later. youtu.be/1S30LCwC6GY?si=WlB0G9vi1xpvINCC While Margaret was raised in that town, she was born in Ireland to a James Chalmers and an Agnes Cameron, and was 3 or 4 years of age when her young family moved to Bankfoot in 1802 or 1803. But an extant baptismal record for a James sired by a David Chalmers (from Bankfoot) and a Margaret Rorey/Rory (from 'Little Dunkeld' youtube.com/shorts/lF9_mipSUVg?si=rvvPQt2hb234gBIE where Niel Gow is buried www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GEcRirHlqE&list=RD3GEcRirHlq... ) in 1771 in Bankfoot (specifically 'Coltrannie', the site of a farm on the outskirts of town and of a tower named Coldrayny or Koldrayny in the 16th cent. www.stravaiging.com/history/castle/coltrannie/ ) seems to be a match for her father. (It's an exact match for his age per his tombstone; he named his first son David; and Chalmers were in abundance in Bankfoot in the 1770s, incl. another James born in 1775. I haven't found any Chalmers in the Irish records, but which are as patchy as they are following the fire in the archives in Dublin in 1922. [Baptisms and marriages of Presbyterians were only recognized in Ireland if performed by a minister of the 'Church of Ireland' until as late as the mid-19th cent. - !] "There were 81 with [that] surname in Ireland in 1911" according to barrygriffin.com.) If the baptismal record's a match (and I think it is), James had travelled to Ireland (to find work? or a wife? see below) where he likely met and married great x 4 grandma Agnes Cameron, sired Margaret and 2 of her sisters there, and then moved his family back to his home in Bankfoot where he and Agnes sired 9 more kids. Cameron is a Scots surname ("There were 860 with [that] surname in Ireland in 1911" per barrygriffin.com), Margaret's parents were Presbyterian and skilled workers in the linen-weaving industry, which in Ireland in @ 1800 was based in 3 co.s in Ulster, Scots-Irish 'plantation country', and 2 contiguous co.s to the south and west, and so it's likely the young Chalmers family were living in Co. Antrim or Down before they moved to Bankfoot. It follows that if Agnes Cameron was Irish, and again it's likely she was, she was almost certainly 'Scots-Irish'.

- My grandmother said that her paternal grandmother Helen/Ellen Marshall was Irish in response to questions and in a tone of admission in a discussion at the table with my Mom in our home in the late 80s. She said her mother "didn't like her mother-in-law because she was Irish", to paraphrase. (She didn't say much about the Irish in Edinburgh, just enough to give the impression that they had a poor reputation as impoverished people who would beg for $. "Irish immigrants were frequently blamed [in early 20th cent. Scotland] for social problems like overcrowding, disease, crime, and drunkenness, even though these issues stemmed from the poverty and poor housing conditions they were forced to endure." [Google A.I.] I'm very proud of my Irish roots on my Dad's side, myself.) My grandmother was honest (e.g., she was candid about her grandmother's death from a tapeworm infection), and had told this to my Mom years earlier evidently. (Mom said that the Scots and Irish are "really the same people, you know".) But she was wrong on two counts. 1. Again, the records reveal that her grandmother was born and raised in Perthshire; rather, it was HER mother Margaret who was born, but not raised, in Ireland, and it seems it was Margaret's mother Agnes who was Irish or 'Scots-Irish' while, again, Margaret's father James was Scots. If so, my grandmother's tree was 1/16th Irish or 'Scots-Irish'. (It's also possible, but much less likely, that Agnes was Scots and married James somewhere in Scotland [she didn't hail from Bankfoot] before moving with him to Ireland to start their young family. James would've done well to travel to Ulster to look for a wife where he would've been a catch in the 1790s for any young Scots-Irish woman with an interest in emigrating. The Scots-Irish experienced economic hardship then, and Presbyterians were subject to religious discrimination in Ulster [c/o the 'Popery Act' of 1704], but not in Scotland [of course].) And 2. Her mother wouldn't have known her mother-in-law in any event as all my grandmother's grandparents had died before her parents were married. The kernel of truth in this might be that my grandmother heard her mother tease her father or gossip about his mother's Irish roots without knowing much about them, or my grandmother might have misapprehended her mother's information. My Uncle Mac believed that the McLaren clan was Gaelic in origin (i.e. from Dal Riata, SW Scotland and considered [then] to have 6th cent. roots in Ireland), while the MacGregors had (the more indigenous) Pictish roots, which might've been a point of pride for my great grandmother, whether or not it's true. And it's common for a parent to promote a sense of pride in their own heritage relative to that of their spouse in the ongoing competition for filial love, which we might consider to be a mild form of 'parental alienation' today (if that's not being unkind to my great grandmother). It's likely my great grandmother would've heard of her husband's great grandmother Agnes Cameron, for his mother Ellen, Agnes' granddaughter, had been taken in by her by the age of 12 and was living with her and 3 of her own daughters in Bankfoot while Agnes was a widow of 60 and continued to work as a 'Linen yard wind', and while Ellen's 2 elder and 4 younger siblings continued to live with her parents (which raises questions). I wonder if Agnes and her daughters (25, 20 and 20) might've been better able to support Ellen than Ellen's parents, whose hands were full with their 6 other kids. But Ellen was working as a 'Linen yard wind' then too (at 12!). Hmmm. I strongly suspect that my great aunt Agnes, my grandmother's eldest sister, was named after her father's hospitable Scots-Irish great grandmother. All the puzzle-pieces fit if so. (Btw, I think it was in that same discussion at the table that my grandmother recalled seeing Chinese women with their tiny bound feet down at the docks in Leith when she was a girl.)

 

- Great x 3 grandma Margaret's (much) younger sister Helen's middle name was Wyllie, for James Wylie I think who inherited the Airleywright Estate in Auchtergaven in 1806, "created feus in the villages of Bankfoot and Waterloo and offered them to [those farmers or crofters] dispossessed" by his clearances. He was probably the family's landlord. roysofauchtergaven.blogspot.com/ His son Thomas Wylie developed the 'Airleywright Linen Works' in @ 1840 at 'Graham court' in Bankfoot, a town known for its textiles heritage and its once-thriving artisan sector in which this family seems to have prospered. They lived in the 'Airleywright' neighbourhood for a time where, again, Margaret and her mother Agnes worked in the mill as 'Linen yard winds'. The Chalmers erected a large family tombstone in the kirkyard at Bankfoot (covered in 19 names over 3 or 4 generations), the only one I know of that remains standing in Scotland for any of my ancestors outside Edinburgh.

- Again it's evident that my great x 3 granddad Joseph Marshall/Marshal (Mom's Mom's Dad's Mom's Dad), a stone-mason, hailed from Perthshire too. The only candidate extant for his baptism in Perthshire's records took place for the son of a James Marshal "at Ardetie" (Ardittie per Google A.I.) in 1792 in the Parish of Methven (the site of 'the Battle of Methven' in 1306 at which Robert the Bruce was ambushed youtu.be/bhwlPToqQ_4?si=nKVNwCs4IoogVkMC youtu.be/xeM_yn7JzJc?si=38MdXIyYKEWdIhPt ), @ 3 clicks NW of Methven as the crow flies, just south of the River Almond maps.nls.uk/view/216587020 , and where he and Margaret sired 2 kids as newlyweds in the 1820s. When their eldest child, Robert, was baptized, Joseph was at or of the "Lint Mill Ardittie" (so it's an excellent bet that the baptismal record for Joseph "at Ardetie" is a match for my great x 3 grandfather). The only candidate for a James Marshall baptized in Methven parish /b/ 1735 and 1777 per extant records was sired by a James Sr. in 1770 in Cloag. ("Cloag Farm Cottages [tourist accommodations] lie just north of the village of Methven" today. www.insiderscotland.com/cloag-farm-cottages-perth/ ) The only marriage record extant for a James Marshal/Marshall in Methven before 1792 is to a Janet Alison in 1778 (although no baptism records are extant in that parish for candidates for other children sired by that couple before 1804 - ?).

 

 

McLAREN and PEDDIE (and possibly NICOL / NICOLSONE)

Update - Jan. '26: I've made quite a discovery (I think) and have a tale to tell. I'll rewrite and delete much of the lengthy write-up that follows as a result /b/ this sentence and the paragraph under the heading 'Whittet - Mackie" in caps.:

- The name Clunie or Cluny, that of a town in Perthshire (sp. Clunie), and which appears at points along both the Tay (sp. Cluny) and Tummel rivers, features in my family history as my great uncle Mac maintained that his grandfather George McLaren, a tanner, 'machine beltmaker', and allegedly the manager of a tannery in Edinburgh, was the son of "the miller of Clunie", who moved to the nation's capital as a young man in the 1840s or '50s to find work. I spent (only) a day in the archives in Edinburgh this trip (a few days after I took this photo) to research my grandmother's Scots roots, but focused on my great grandmother's side of my tree (since proven to be more opaque than my great grandfather's). I succumbed to the temptation to dive down the online genealogy-research rabbit-hole some years ago and quickly found my great grandfather's official death record dating from Feb., 1889, and a census record and official birth records for some of his kids which indicate that he was born in 1827 or '28 in the parish of Logierait, rather than Clunie. His death record indicates that he passed away at age 61 at his home at '18 the Pleasance', Edinburgh, that he was a "Machine Beltmaker", the son of 'George McLaren [Sr.]', "Farm servant" and 'Jane Graham', and, incorrectly, the spouse of 'Helen Robertson'. (Again, my great great grandmother's name was 'Helen Marshall'.) She passed away at the same address > 3 1/2 years later at the age of 63. Their son-in-law David Currie signed both death records as "Informant" (with the same signature), ample proof that the former record pertains to my great great grandfather notwithstanding the error. But the error brings the accuracy of the names listed for George's parents into some question. I now consider it to be a red flag.

- It's possible (if unlikely) that David Currie forgot his mother-in-law's maiden surname and made it up at the time the record was prepared (esp. if he would've been required to return home to make embarrassing inquiries, and then return to the office to make a second report), and, if so, it's unlikely he knew the names of George's folks. (In that case, he took pains to be informed when he reattended for his mother-in-law in 1892, whose record is accurate.) Did the clerk or official get his records mixed up when entering info., or was he due down at the pub and took liberties seeing as no-one checks these things anyway (apart from a descendant 136 yr.s later)? Noting that the name 'Helen' is correct, I thought it's more likely that the clerk or official made only one error with the one surname, but I've spent much time and treasure in a fruitless search for any other record that links any candidate for a George Sr. to a Jane or Janet Graham, and for any re my great great grandfather that predates 1853 (his marriage record). I've found no baptism record for George or any siblings, NO census records (which isn't unusual, many records didn't survive) ... UNLESS my great great grandfather was sired in 1827 in Logierait parish (again per the 1881 census and his childrens' bapt. records) by parents with different names than those indicated on his death record, who lived in Edradynate, which I've just learned (in Jan. '26) was the location of a place once named the "Miltown of Cluny" (! Bingo? - see below). I thought I'd research this mysterious George McLaren of Edradynate, who would've generated immediate interest if not for the death record, and the results, impressively coincidental details or much consistent evidence, have led to a course correction. (I'll preserve an edited [abbreviated] review of the relatively slight evidence and the leads I found and followed at length re any George Sr. and Jane/Janet Graham further below.):

- George McLaren was a relatively rare name in Scotland in the 1820s, with only 2 Georges baptized /b/ 1825 and 1831 in extant records (although 7 born in that period appear in the census of 1851, see below [I expect Scots to prefer almost any name for a boy over George, see my write-up for the photo of the Dicks in Clunie]), and only 1 in Perthshire (or 2, incl. a MAC-Laren in Dull [see the next paragraph below) which, again, dates to 1827 in Logierait parish - a "Farmer" and the son of a Charles McLaren in "Balinald of Edradyanate" and "his own [former] servant maid Christian Peddie [per their marriage record of 1822], daughter to a Donald Peddie in Smithy Haugh near the Bridge of Almond", likely the ancient, single-arch bridge at Millhaugh, still standing today in or next to Ardittie (coincidentally the home of Joseph Marshall, see above). An old map on "The McKercher Index" online reveals that Edradynate ('Eadar Dhà Dhoimhnid', "Between two deep places") once included the "Miltown of Cluny" by a stream or creek (SE and across a field from the Derculich burn, parallel) which descends to the Tay from a site just a few 100 m.s NW of it, that of the 'Beinn Eagagach Hydro Scheme' today (per Google maps). www.mckercher.org/Places?locale=Weem#:~:text=Farms%20nort... The "'Miltown of Cluny' ... is a small place name or settlement located within the Edradynate Estate area, near the village of Strathtay [see below] ... likely historically associated with a mill." (Google A.I.) The map in the link also reveals a site named 'Balnald' 200-300 m.s, a hop, skip and a jump, NW of the "Miltown". The 'Cluny House Gardens' nearby is a tourist attraction today. Charles and his family moved @ 10 clicks east to a croft in Killechangie sometime /b/ 1827 and 1832.

 

- Again, 7 George McLarens born /b/ 1825 and 1831 (no MACLarens) are accounted for across Scotland in the 1851 census, 4 in Perthshire, but the only potential match for my great great grandfather (per the census) is a 23 yr. old 'Ag Lab Ploughman' who hailed from Logierait, living in a bothy and working on a farm in East Dowald, Crieff for an Alexander McLaren, 47 going on 48, a farmer of 133 acres "emp [employing] 5 lab", living with his wife (35), sister-in-law, his 4 children and 2 servants, all (except the eldest servant) born in Logierait parish, incl. the 3 yr. old. I assume that Alexander was this George's relatively wealthy cousin although I haven't found a connection in the records. For what it might be worth Alexander and his wife lived in the 'Brae of Pitcastle', Strathtay (Logierait parish) when their children were born, @ 2 km.s downriver and NE of Edradynate. (Logierait parish is @ 61 square miles in area.) Alexander was born in 1803 in "Dalnesudaren" (?) to John McLaren and Elizabeth Scott, who were close in age per a census and married in Logierait in 1802. Elizabeth passed away a widow at 76 in 1857 in the "Milton of Pitcastle".

- My grandmother once mentioned that surnames with the prefix 'Mc' were of ancient Irish (i.e. Gaelic) descent, while Macs were Scots (i.e. Pictish?). I've read this is untrue, but I wonder if it might apply to some degree to McLarens and MacLarens. I note an almost surprising consistency in the spelling of the surname in the records and wonder if this coincides with some debate re the origins of the clan, either with the 13th cent. abbot of Actow in Balquhidder (the clan seat), or with Lorn, son of Erc, in Argyll in 503. My great uncle and his son Jim, who named his home in Charsfield, Suffolk 'Dalriada', were firmly in the latter camp. www.flickr.com/photos/97924400@N00/9601774507 Another rabbit-hole for later.

- At least 8 Charles McLarens were baptized in Perthshire /b/ 1766 and 1812, 3 in Logierait in the 1790s. (McLarens were in abundance in the parish then.) Generations of farmers tend to stay put, but none of the 3 were in Edradynate. 1 was sired by Duncan McLaren and Margaret Ramsay (from 'Little Dunkeld') "in [a] Croft of Pitcastle" (the closest of the 3 in proximity) in 1791; the 2nd by Donald McLaren (of Dowally) and Elspeth Butter (from 'Balnamuire' or 'Little Dunkeld' [?]) in "the Tom [hillock or knoll] of Kilmorich" (1 1/2 clicks SE of the Tummel-Tay confluence) in 1794, whose brother was born in the "Milntown of Pitnacree" (@ 2 km.s east of Pitcastle); and the 3rd by Charles McLaren Sr. and 'Emly' Campbell (sic, Emilia, a former "servant to Cap. Grant of Kinnaird" per her marriage record, 1794) in the "Milntown of Pitnacree" in 1796. (Pitnacree is best known today for an eponymous fiddle tune, 'The Pitnacree Ferryman'.: youtu.be/aiFWk4OYzNA?si=UgYcf9GPKOxryAgq ) Charles Sr. was "AT the Miln of Pitnacree" (emphasis added) per his marriage record and another baptismal record. A Miln? I asked Google A.I. "Is miln an old word for mill?" Answer: Why "Yes, miln (often spelled milne or myln) is an old term for a mill. It derives from Old English (mylen) and is frequently found in Middle English, particularly in Scottish contexts, to describe a [mill]." (Here's a site re a derelict, 19th cent. mill in Pitnacree.: www.buildingsatrisk.org.uk/details/905537 )

- More re the roots of the 3 Charles: 1. the best candidate for Duncan McLaren of Pitcastle (the only Duncan baptized in Logierait /b/ 1735 and 1764) is the son of Robert McLaren and Janet McLaren in "Wester Aberfeldie", born in 1755. 2. Donald (of Dowally) was sired by Patrick McLaren and Isoball/Isball Fleeming in 1760 in the "Mains [Scots for domain] of Killmorich". 3. At least 5 Charles McLarens were baptized in Perthshire /b/ 1750 and 1780, but only 1 in Logierait in 1765, the son of Alexander McLaren (in Logierait) and Kathrine McDonald (in Weem parish [Menzies territory], where newlywed couples are recorded in the registry as "booked & c.". Lol). The family lived for a spell @ 1770 at "the Miln of Balyoukan" (Ballyoukan today, on the A9, 5 km.s NW of Logierait). While I believe that one of the 3 Charles born in Logierait in the 1790s settled at Edradynate where he sired a George McLaren in 1827 (if the relevant record is extant), I can't (yet) say which.

- The 'miltown of Cluny' at Edradynate and the 'milntown of Pitnacree' are tiny places. It's likely that any adult male inhabitant of the mil/miln-towns worked at the mill, and men who work at mills are often referred to as millers. Charles of the 'Balinald of Edradynate' was a "farmer" who lived @ 200 m.s from an active mill, but a miller can farm and a farmer can mill (e.g. a man named Robertson was a "Meal miller and farmer" in 'Milton of Pitcastle' in 1858 per the death record of his wife Catherine McLaren), the moreso if he was raised "at [a] miln" or in a small "milntown".

- In any event, the coincidence that my great Uncle Mac claimed that his grandfather was the son of the 'Miller of Cluny', and that the ONLY candidate in extant baptism and census records for someone born in Logierait parish of his age and with his name is the son of a man who lived @ 200-300 m.s from a mill in a "Miltown of Cluny" (and again that I've found no trace of a George McLaren sired by a George Sr. and a Jane/Janet Graham per his death record), leads me to believe that I've just found my great great grandfather George McLaren in the records, the son of Charles McLaren and Christian Peddie of Edradynate, Logierait parish. This is encouraging and could be something of a vindication of my great uncle Mac and his father and grandfather, as I've assumed for some years now that one of them had conflated the fact that George was raised near the site of a mill (at the confluence of the Tay and Tummel in Logierait) with his father's trade or profession (although the reference to Logierait in the records is to the parish, not the village), or that someone improved on the facts, elevating George's father from a "Farm servant" (per George's death record) to a less-lowly miller. (I shouldn't speculate that the profession of miller is any more prestigious than that of "farm servant" or "ag. lab.", but that might help to explain the disconnect if so. But again Charles is a "Farmer" per his marriage record.) Accuracy and honesty seem to have prevailed over the generations after all. That said, I wonder if Mac might have made a mistake on another point. He recounted that his grandfather George was the manager of a tannery in Edinburgh in which there was a fire, that George became wet while dousing the flames, suffered exposure and soon died of pneumonia. His death record however specifies that he died at 61 of "pulmonalis". Coincidentally (or not?) George's son's father-in-law, Robert Greig (Mac's other grandfather), a "boot-closer" (who worked in a factory or workshop I assume), died at @ age 58 of "acute pneumonia" in 1887. (All four of my grandmother's parents died fairly young, before her parents married.)

 

- Again, Christian Peddie was Charles McLaren's "own servant maid, being Daughter to Donald Peddie in Smithy Haugh [Millhaugh I think] near the Bridge of Almond" when Charles proposed in 1822 according to their unusually informative marriage record. Of 12 records extant for the baptism of a Christian Peddie/Peddy/Pedy in Scotland /b/ 1775 and 1808 none were for the daughter of a Donald. One sired in 1805 by a "Joseph Pedy" of 'Bridge-end' in the parish of Methven (which includes Millhaugh) and Isobel Allen of Moneydie (per their marriage record of 1802) is likely a cousin. (Sadly, she died in 1883 in a "poorhouse" in Forfar.) But the official death record for "Christina McLaren, widow of Charles McLaren, Farmer" who died at "52" (nope, 57 per the more reliable census of 1861 [Christian would've married at 12 otherwise]) of "apoplexy" (stroke) at 25 Newhall st., Bridgeton, Glasgow in 1862, lists her parents as James Peddie, "Brewery Labourer" and Janet, M.S. "unknown". The informant, her daughter Helen, was working as a "dress maker" the year before at age 24 while living with "Christina", 56, a widow, "formerly [a] Dairymaid" and Helen's sister Jane, 32 and Jane's husband James Cameron, "Block cutter", at 8 Scott st., Calton parish, Glasgow. Helen's and Jane's place of birth is listed as Logierait and Christina's is "Tippermuir", Perthshire (Tibbermore today, @ 3 clicks SE of Methven, site of the Battle of Tippermuir in 1644). Both the death record and the census seem to be a match for George McLaren of Edradynate's mother and sister Helen as Charles and Christian sired a Helen in May, 1835 (in a "Croft of Killechangie"). (No bapt. record is extant for a sister Jane born in 1828-'29 [although records are extant for 6 siblings], but Jane's marriage record confirms that her parents were Charles McLaren and Christina Peddie.)

- A James Peddie and a Janet Peddie (her M.S.), "both in [the] parish" of Moneydie, married in 1785 and sired at least 6 kids /b/ 1787 and 1801 in Tullymoran (in the parish of Logiealmond today), only a km. or 2 west of Millhaugh according to mapcarta.com. (!): mapcarta.com/W371751390?__cf_chl_tk=CiHStq3onl___I0ncn2de... They're the best candidates in extant records for Christian's parents, although Tullymoran (and Millhaugh) are @ 7-8 km.s NW of Tibbermore, and 6 baptism records are extant for James and Janet's children (up to 1801) but none for Christian (born in @ 1805), and James is referred to as a "Farmer" in several of those baptism records and in 4 of his childrens' death records, never as a "Brewery labourer" as in Christian's death record. That said, the family might have moved to "Tippermuir" after 1801 (which might explain why Christian's bapt. record is missing) and James or Donald Peddie (whatever name he went by) might have moved back to Millhaugh or Tullymoran before 1822. And if Christian's mother Janet was also a Peddie, that might explain why her M.S. is "unknown" on her death record. ("I dunno, I only ever knew her as 'Grandma Peddie'.") But the proximity of Tullymoran on the Almond river to "the bridge of Almond" is an impressive coincidence, if that's what it is. (It's almost strange that all 4 of the siblings with official death records died single, but had greater longevity than most of my Mom's ancestors, passing away /b/ age 70 and 87.)

- At least 36 baptisms of a James Peddie, Pedie or Peddy were performed /b/ 1740 and 1770 in Scotland, 11 w/in 5 km.s of Tullymoran and Millhaugh. 4 of 6 in Moneydie are the best candidates in light of their proximity to Tullymoran/Millhaugh and their age.: 1. the son of James Peddie Sr. and Margaret Nicol in "Chappel Hill", @ 1.5 km.s NE of the bridge in 1763; 2. the son of William Peddie and Aemilia Wild in Shannoch "near Tullimoran" in 1761 (24 in 1785) (No marriage record is extant for this couple, nor bapt. records for other offspring); and 1 or 2 IN Tullymoran: 3. the son of William Peddie and Jean France, "both in [Moneydie] parish", in 1766 (19 in 1785) in "Tombrandy", in Harrietfield (in or next to Tullymoran) today (this James had 7 siblings, the youngest born in 1786 in "Tombrandy"); and 4. the son of James Peddie Sr. and Janet Robertson "in Tullymorran" in 1760 (25 in 1785). James and Janet were "both in" Moneydie when they married in 1756 and had a 2nd son in Tullymoran in 1762. The James of "Chappel Hill" is an unlikely candidate (see below) which leaves 3 in or near Tullymoran.

- There's no trace of an Aemilia/Emilia/Amilia Wild in the records apart from her son's bapt. record. At least 29 infants named William Peddie/Peddy/Pedie/Pedy were baptized in Scotland /b/ 1715 and 1750, 23 in Perthshire, 11 in Moneydie alone (!). At least 3 infants named Jean France were baptized in Scotland /b/ 1725 and 1750, none in Perthshire, 2 in Clackmannan, 10-15 km.s west of Stirling, both sired by a William France and Janet Angus in 1738 and 1744. (I assume the elder child passed away.) At l

Done