Watts

As the son of parents born in Canada I was nevertheless aware at an early age that an important part of my family heritage lay in Scotland. My father’s parents were both Scots emigrants to Canada , my grandfather John Turner Watt (1886-1965) from Glasgow where he worked for S.C.W.S. Ltd. Drapery. My grandmother, Isobel Brown Cuthill (1885-1981) was born in Glasgow, the daughter of a brassfinisher, James Cuthill and his wife Isabella Brown.

At Christmas when the extended family would gather for the evening meal, my grandfather would sit at the piano playing his favourite Scottish folk tunes. Heading the list was “Scotland the Brave” and to this day, I find the song as stirring as I did then. His copy of the collected works of Burns was always close at hand in. But he was not a Glaswegian. He was born in a country schoolhouse in Muiravonside, just a little west and south of Linlithgow in what was then Stirlingshire, the fourth son of David Brand Watt (1848-1936), a native of Dunfermline, headmaster of Muiravonside School from 1875 to 1914 and his wife Janet Watson Turner (1853-1898) originally from Cambusnethan in Lanarkshire. I remember as a boy my grandfather showing me some small Roman coins that had been plowed up in a field near to Muiravonside Schoolhouse, and the romance of a location I had not yet seen struck me forcibly.

In the late 1960’s, shortly after I had graduated from university as a historian, I decided to write a history of my father’s family, with the emphasis on those descended from his schoolmaster grandfather. The scope of the project changed when I discovered, to my delight, that there existed a family bible which was started in 1814 by my paternal three greats grandfather, John Watt (1777-1832), a baker in Dunfermline.

Although I did a bit of research in 1969-70, I didn’t undertake systematic searching until 2000, when my children were well on their way to adulthood and my career was in a settled pattern. Inevitably, I missed opportunities to speak or at least correspond with some of the older members of the family but I have been fortunate to meet others in my generation and a few in my parents’ as well as younger members of the family. As well, I have been able to visit Muiravonside and Linlithgow and travel twice to Dunfermline, the central focus of the family story I have discovered. I am hoping the full family history will be published by September 9, 2005, the 255^th anniversary of the birth of George Watt (1750-1814), farmer in the Village of Crossford, just west of Dunfermline, the father of John Watt. In the meantime, I thought that readers of the Journal might be interested in some of what I have discovered about my Fife ancestors. This short essay is footnoted but I have tried to limit them to make room for the narrative. Where dates are not to be found in the Old Parish Registers or in the post 1855 statutory registers, I do indicate sources within the body of the text or as footnotes.

As readers well know, the advent of the internet and web-based genealogical sites has transformed genealogical research. For me, the official site of the General Register Office for

Scotland

has been a godsend, although it cannot fully replace a visit to General Register House itself. It is also extremely helpful and timesaving to be able to send email enquiries to major institutions such as the National Library of Scotland, the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, not to mention to maintain regular contact with relations spread around the world.

But for me, the beginning of my search was the family bible, which was in Winnipeg when I first saw it in 1969 and since 1993 has been in the care of a second cousin who lives in British Columbia as I do. The bible is physically impressive, 17^1/2” high, 10^5/8” wide and 3^3/4” thick. Undoubtedly it occupied an honoured place in John Watt’s home. He purchased it in the year it was published, 1814. The version was one prepared by The Reverend Joseph Knight, Rector of Kettering, Northamptonshire, and is titled “The Evangelical Family Bible, The Sacred Texts of the Old and New Testaments with The Apocrypha at Large … The Word of God displayed in its genuine Purity and Lustre …” While this is speculation, I think it is fair to assume that the bible was not simply used to hold a family record but was read regularly and was a foundation for the literacy possessed by various family members.

The earliest entries reach back to the last quarter of the 18^th century and the latest to the 1960s. Altogether they are an excellent foundation for extended research in the official records, notably the Old Parish records, the Statutory registers from 1855 and the censuses from 1841.

It was not surprising to me to discover that these Watts and the families in Dunfermline with whom they intermarried were from the “working” or “labouring” classes but it has been a very enjoyable exercise to use the bible entries to not only confirm basic facts but to begin to paint a picture of their lives.

John Watt, purchaser of the bible, was born 8 November 1777. His bible birth entry is confirmed with reference to the Dunfermline OPR for births and baptisms for November 1777. It reads “George Watt Servant to Ja^s.Donald Tenant in Westergellet and his wife Helen Morgan had a Son born 8^th Nov^r 1777 baptized 9^th named John. Witnesses John Thomson Wright & John Wilson Gardener both in Gateside”.[1] According to the bible, John Watt married Isabel October 2, 1802. The OPRs also confirm this as follows: “Marriages Sept 1802. 17^th John Watt Baker in Dunf^r. And Isabel Cant in Edinburgh gave in their Names for proclamation in Order to marriage and being regularly proclaimed and N^o Objections made they were married Octr 2d 1802.” Here we have the first mention of John Watt’s occupation, one that would have required him to belong to one of what the Reverend Peter Chalmers, historian of the city in 1844, referred to as the “incorporated trades”.[2] Chalmers noted that these trades “… are eight in number and stand in order of precedency, to which they attach some importance, thus: - Smiths or hammermen, weavers, wrights, tailors, shoemakers, baxters (bakers), masons and fleshers. They each have a separate charter, named a Gift, or Seal of Cause, granted by the Magistrates and Town-Council, by authority it is understood, of the Crown.” (ibid).

As we shall see more fully shortly, John Watt’s father George was a farmer in Crossford, a small village several miles west of Dunfermline surrounded by the fertile lands of southwest Fife. We can only speculate how John made the jump from the life of a farm boy in the country to a tradesman in the town but he must have had some extra ambition and resources since he would have had to pay for his apprenticeship as a baker.[3]

We can also only speculate on how John Watt met Isabel Cant, a resident of Edinburgh. Perhaps he had gone to the capital for a visit or in connection with his apprenticeship for his chosen trade. Isabel was herself not a native of Edinburgh but of the Parish of Carriden in Linlithgow. The bible states she was born November 11, 1781. In fact she was a year older as her birth record in the OPR notes, “ George Caunt [sic] and Mary Philp had a lawful daughter born Nov. eleventh and baptized the nineteenth jaybyt [1700] and eighty years Named Isabel. Witnesses Alexander and Thomas Caunts.”.[4] For me this was a particularly interesting discovery as my great grandfather David Brand Watt (1849-1936), one of Isabel’s grandsons, writing to his son Brand circa 1925 stated, “Isabel Cant’s father was a Captain Richard Cant of Grangepans …”.[5] but he was wrong. It turned out that Isabel had a brother Richard but her birth record clarified matters perfectly and among other things was a reminder that even family bible entries appearing to be of a period and made by persons who should have known cannot be taken as absolute. In this case, the fact that John and Isabel’s first children, George, born November 11, 1803 and Mary, born 24 April 1805 which certainly reflects the traditional Scots naming pattern, brought the various sources into line and permitted a solid conclusion.

The bible did provide two things in particular. First of all, it became possible to move back further into the 18^th century and locate John’s and Isabel’s parents. Secondly, it gives the death dates for many of their children, and these dates occur before statutory registration and in most cases must stand in the absence of parish death and/or burial records.

John’s father, George Watt, appears in official records in a number of places and his life can be described in some detail. He was probably born in the Parish of Carnock 9 September, 1750, the son of a wright, John Watt and his wife Agnes Blackader although the record found in the Dunfermline register record reads, “John Watt, wright in Carnock and Agnes Blackader his Spouse had a Son born Sep^r 9^th and baptized Oct^r 11^th named George Witness Andrew Dickie merchant in Dunfermline and Andrew Burt Shoemaker there.”[6]

John may have come to Fife from Tillicoultry Parish, about 19 kilometers northwest of Dunfermline Burgh. The Old Parish Registers for Tillicoultry contain the following entry in the baptisms for 19 July 1723, “John and James Watts [sic] twins to James Watt and Isbell Drysdale in Westrtoun. W^itt[^nesses] J^o [John] Hamilton & J^a [James] Burn. But this must remain speculative and unproven as no record of John and Agnes’ marriage, nor of her birth have yet surfaced. So this couple emerges from the shadows onto the stage of the family story only briefly.

When George was 26 he married Helen Morgan, of the Parish of Saline, on 29 November 1776. The Dunfermline record reads “Register of Marriages Oct^r … 1776 24^th George Watt in this Parish and Helen Morgan in the Parish of Saline gave in their Names for Proclamation in Order to Marriage and being regularly proclaimed and N^o Objections being made were married ___”. [7] It is a deduction based on probable age at the time of her marriage and the Christian names given her children but Helen Morgan was probably the daughter of James Morgan and his second wife Margaret Dow[8]. Her birth record reads, “Day [January 1755] 26^th James Morgan of Milltown and Margaret Dow had theirs Baptized called Helen.[9]

Fortunately for our family, the Parish ministers in Dunfermline between c. 1770 and 1820 generally provided an extended description for a baptism and/or birth with the listing of the father’s occupation and, frequently, place or residence. It should be added that it would seem most members of the families belonged to the established Church of

Scotland

and were conscientious about being recorded in the registers. Consequently, we can follow George’s progress from being a servant to a tenant farmer, James Donald of Westergellet, [South of Dunfermline] which he was at the time of the birth of his first son John on 8 November 1777. In fact a review of this entry and succeeding entries up to 1794 provides an interesting picture. When his second son James was born on 15^th October 1779, George was listed as “Carter at Gateside”.[10] This son must have died young as the next birth appearing in the registers is another James, born 4 January, 1781.[11] At this time, George was listed as a “Labourer in Crossford”. He was a “Feuar in the Broom of Pitferrand” when his son George was born 3 August 1784[12], and a “Feuar at Crossford” when his son Robert was born 2 December, 1787.[13] Finally on 16 May, 1794 when his daughter Margaret was born he was listed as “Labourer at Crossford”.[14]

There is no record of exactly where George was living, whether in the Parish of Carnock or in the Parish of Dunfermline as he grew to maturity. If he was his father’s eldest son, it is noteworthy that he did not continue John Watt’s occupation as a wright, an important trade that was regulated by guilds, at least in the burghs. But George must have felt that farming offered good prospects. For whatever reason he acquired lands, in the estate of Pitferane, owned by one of the largest landowners in the parish, Sir John Halkett. The saisine register for the period contains the following record “1796. Feb. 12. George Watt. Day labourer, Crossford, and Helen Morgan his spouse, seised in fee and life rent respectively 19 Dec. 1795 in 2 Roods and 38 falls of the lands of Pitferrane, parish of Dunfermline, on Feu Contract, between him and Sir John Halkett of Pitferrane, 6 June, 1787. [15]

His date of death 20 May 1814 at age 64, is recorded in the inventory of his estate taken in Dunfermline 4 February 1822 which was administered by the firm of Bisset and Morris, manufacturers in Dunfermline, as entered in the records of the Comissary Court at St. Andrews, 6 February 1822.[16]

As many readers know, the majority of Scots in the 19^th century did not leave a will so this record, which shows his estate valued at £115.11.1 is not only valuable for confirming exactly when George Watt died but for providing a detailed glimpse of the way a farmer with a small holding lived. The inventory is worth quoting in full:

“Inventory and Appraisement of the Household furniture and effects within the dwelling house and cattle within the Byre which belonged to the late George Watt Labourer on Crossford and are now possessed by Helen Morgan his widow which furniture and effects and cattle were shewn to the valuators after mentioned by the said Helen Morgan as having belonged to the said George Watt at the time of his death:

In another part of the document, it is stated that Helen Morgan between her husband’s death and the date of the valuation nearly eight years later, sold a cow valued at £10 and “disposed of” four pairs of blankets valued at 13 shillings 4 pence.

What can be concluded from this? First of all in terms of monetary values, the wages at the time of the publishing of the old Statistical Account for Dunfermline Parish in 1793-9 of course varied. Maclean and Fernie report “The miners in the horsepits, without bearers, make about from 1s. 6d. to 2s.6d. a day; with bearers, from 2s.6d. to 3s.6d. and the people above ground from 1s.4d. to 1s.6d. a day. The ages of men servants employed in husbandry, are from £6 to £9 and women from £3 to £4 Sterling a year. Gentlemen’s domestick men-servants, get from £12 to £20, and women from £4 to £6 sterling a year. A day-labourer in husbandry, and other work, gets 1s.2d.; a carpenter, 1s.6d; a mason, 1s.8d,; and a tailor 10d. with his meat a day.

As the price of labour is double what it was 30 years ago, so the price of provisions is also double. Beef, veal, mutton, lamb and pork are from 3d. to 5d. the lb., a pig is 6d.; a duck 1s.; a hen from 1s. to 1s.6d.; a chicken from 3d. to 5d.; eggs from 4d. to 6d. the dozen; butter 11d., and cheese 3d. to 5d. the lb. [18]

Therefore, George and Helen Watt seem to have been comfortably settled but were living modestly. There is at least one surprise from this document. The possession of an eight day clock presumably a long case clock, which was valued at £4 (equivalent to as much as half the annual cost of Feuing land southwest of Dunfermline in the 1790s) suggests a level of comfort above mere subsistence.

George Watt’s small farm, measured 2 Roods and 38 falls (Scots measure, approximately 3/4 of an imperial acre. It must be presumed that this is where his children grew up; John, James, George, Robert and Margaret. As we will see later, the family lived simply, probably in a one storey two room stone cottage with the byre separate but it is interesting to speculate how they carried out farming. The writers of the First Statistical Account for the Parish of Dunfermline (Reverend Mr. Allan MacLean and Rev. Mr. John Fernie), make it clear that George Watt’s superior or heritor, Sir John Halkett was a progressive landlord. MacLean and Fernie noted (p. 463)[19]

“Much about the above mentioned period [1760] , or soon after it, the late Sir John Halket of Pitferran began his judicious improvements. Unlike many thoughtless landholders, who repair to populous cities to spend their time, health and fortunes in fashionable amusements, extravagance and folly, this Honourable Baronet resided on his estate, inspected his operations, and influenced his neighbours to cultivate the ground. Accordingly, it soon assumed a new appearance. Agriculture became an object of importance. Every landholder began to study what kind of culture might ultimately become most beneficial. A great deal of waste land was drained, leveled and enclosed. In some places, the fences consist of stone and lime, and in other places, of single or double ditches, hedges and plantations.[20]

The saisine agreements of this period often include phrases like “… but with liberty and privilege to the said George Watt and his said spouse and his foresaids of quarrying stones for building houses and dikes on the said piece of ground alenarly in any of the open quarries of Pitferrane …. So under the influence of the major landowners, the heritors, the appearance of the fields west of Dunfermline and elsewhere in Fife changed; with holdings more enclosed and boundaries more clearly evident. George Watt may perhaps have met Sir John or his successor his son Sir Charles or their baillies to discuss land use and techniques.

How was farming carried out and what crops were grown? Again, MacLean and Fernie give some impressions. They state that:

“The climate and soil in the southern parts of the parish, being extremely different from the northern, the mode of cultivating and cropping is also different. The arable land on the s. is ploughed with Small’s chain plough, drawn by two horses. In some places on the N. the Scotch plough, drawn by four horses is used, and the ancient distinction between croft and outfield is preserved … On the S. of the town [Burgh of Dunfermline] the land is highly cultivated, and produces as luxuriant crops as any in the Kingdom Farms are usually divided into different portions, and the crops are in the following order: After summer fallow, wheat is sown, the next year, barley, the following year, grass, and last of all, oats: some, after summer fallow or potatoes, sow wheat, pease and beans, barley, grass, and oats, in their order. Wheat is generally sown in September and October; pease, beans and oats, from the middle of February to the end of May. Potatoes are planed after the plough about the beginning or middle of April. Hay is made from the middle of June to the end of July. The other crops are usually reaped from the middle of August to the middle of October; sometimes the harvest is earlier, and sometimes it is later. Flour, oats, oatmeal, and barley, are important; wheat is explored”[21]

What happened to George Watt’s small feu in Crossford? Although he died in May 1814 as noted earlier, his wife Helen Morgan was invested with a liferent in the property, that is a life occupation, at the same time as George made the feu contract recorded in 1796. This meant she stayed on the farm as is evident from the inventory taken of the estate by her husband’s creditors in 1822, and by the subsequent record of the confirmation of her grandson John (1806 - ?) in 1833/4. As she was 58 or 59 when George died, how did she support herself in the days before any widespread social safety net? First, between 1814 and 1822 she sold some assets; a cow worth £10 and some pairs of blankets. She may well have woven, at home; the 1822 inventory lists a “wheel and Reel”.[22] In addition, she received a small annual rent from William Davie a weaver in Dunfermline, who pledged his lands in the Mason Lands, in the northeast quadrant of the Burgh as security for a loan of £50. This rent was £2 10 shillings a year. At the same time, Helen Morgan had to pay an annual amount of £2 4 shillings 3 pence to her heritor for the liferent on the Crossford lands. Finally, it is possible one of her children or grandchildren, perhaps George (1803-1831) the eldest son of her eldest son John (1777-1832), either lived with her on the farm or helped with all the heaviest work.

To clarify what happened to the land, it is necessary to recall briefly the unfolding family story. There are records to prove that George Watt and Helen Morgan had at least five sons: John, James (died young), James, George Robert and a daughter Margaret. Their eldest son John, born 8 November 1777 who married Isabel(la) Cant 2 October 1802, had nine children: George, Mary, John, James, Margaret, Richard, Robert (died young), Robert, and Isabel. Although George Watt, the Patriarch of many descendants, died in 1814, his spouse remained on the lands until her death based on her liferent right established as early as 1787. It appears she died sometime between the death of her eldest son John on 9 October 1832 from cholera in the great epidemic in Dunfermline in September and October and 22 July 1833 when annual rent due Helen Morgan on property used as a security by William Davie based on an agreement of 25 May 1810 are transferred to her grandson John Watt.[23] John had become the eldest lawful heir to his grandfather because of the sudden death of his father the previous autumn and the death of his older brother George 12 April 1831[24] according to the precepts of the inheritance of land and buildings in Scotland at the time.

As was required by law, John had to have his status as legal heir formally recognized by his feudal superior, in this case, Sir Charles Pitfiranne, Bart. By a precept called Clare constat. Sire Charles gave this recognition on 3 December 1833 when the 2 roods and 38 falls of the ground in the Barony of Pitfiranne, recorded to his grandfather in 1796 were infefted to John on provision of the continued payment of annual feurent of £2 4 shillings 3 pence.[25] At Dunfermline on 24 October 1832, just weeks after his father’s death, John Watt then living at Woodhead and Grieve Streets assigned a liferent interest in the Crossford property and a second property on the east side of Woodhead Street measuring 7 falls 6^1/2ells to his mother Isabella Cant.[26] The Woodhead Street property seems likely to have been inherited by John from his father which was part of a large feu of 40 falls, 20 ells granted by William Hunt to Robert Hutton Senior on 3 January 1809. Since the disposition of 24 October 1832 makes it clear that John is infefting his mother in the lands his father must have had a feu right to it but no document has yet surfaced to prove when his father acquired this. So while Isabella Cant remained in the Burgh the Crossford lands were unoccupied or perhaps John leased the property to someone for a few years. In any case, he must have persuaded his mother to release her liferent interest in the small farm because on 5 December 1838, John sold the property to George Robertson Barclay of Keavil for an undisclosed sum. It is significant that he was described as a “weaver in Belfast then residing in Dunfermline”.[27] The saisine recording this transaction was registered in Cupar on 20 August, 1839, following an appearance before the lawyer there by Richard Watt, Isabella’s son on 26 June 1839.

Reading between the lines, it may have become apparent to Isabella that her son John was not returning from Belfast and it would be prudent to record her liferent rights in the Woodhead Street property. Since the census of 1851 makes it clear that Isabella Cant was raising her granddaughter Isabella, born c. 1836 in Dunfermline,[28] who was the daughter of John Watt, weaver and Eleanor Walker married in Dunfermline in January 1825[29] it may be that Eleanor died young and John Watt went to Belfast to make a new start.

To complete this discussion of property, it is important to consider the fate of George Watt and Helen Morgan’s moveable estate as inventoried in 1822. Since John, their grandson could not inherit it, where may it have gone? The Testament Dative, that is a record established in the absence of a will, makes it clear that much of the estate was encumbered[30] to Thomas Bissett and his partner Mr. Morris, Manufacturers, creditors who assumed the executorship of the estate in the absence of a will, who were owed at least £51 13shillings 10pence which appears to have been loaned at some point to George and Helen’s son, Robert. Bissett and Morris filed a claim against him before the Sherriff Substitute of Renfrewshire 16 November 1821 when he was living in the Sugar House Lane, Greenock.[31] As well, George had loaned Colin Lenox a slater in Dunfermline £70 on 15 May 1806 and a further £50 on 15 May 1809. At the time of the inventory Mr. Lenox still owed the estate £73 10 shillings 2 pence. Since no record has yet surfaced to show whether Bissett and Morris were paid, it may be that at Helen Morgan’s death creditors sold the household effects and any remaining stock and continued their pursuit of Robert Watt and Colin Lenox.

None of George’s children stayed with farming. As noted earlier, John, the eldest, became a baker. The next three sons became weavers in or near the burgh of Dunfermline. This we know with virtual certainty from the Dunfermline Parish marriage registers. James (b. 1781) was married to Janet Anderson September 14, 1805. The entry reads “James Watt, Weaver in Crossford and Janet Anderson both in this parish gave in their Names for proclamation in Order to marriage and being three times proclaimed and N^o Objections made they were married 14^th 1805” George (b. 1784 – check) was married 15 July 1807. The entry reads “George Watt Weaver in Dunf. and Agnes Brugh both of this parish gave their Names for proclamation in Order to marriage and being three times proclaimed and no Objections made they were married 15^th July”.[32] George died sometime between the taking of the census on 31 March, 1851 and the beginning of civic registration 1 January 1855.[33] Robert (b. 1787) was married 12 September 1806. The record reads “Robert Watt Weaver back of the Dam and Christian Page both in this parish gave in their Names for proclamation in Order to Marriage and being three times proclaimed and no Objections made they were married 12 Sept^r”. Of Margaret their young sister, no trace beyond the record of her birth has yet been found.

That the three sons should be attracted to the weaving trade is not surprising because the industry was already becoming more and more important to Dunfermline. Later 18^th century statistical reports of the parish set out the following occupational divisions’ Heritors and feuars liable in stipend 78, Clergy connected with the Establishment 3, Clergy seceders 5, Physicians 2, Surgeons 4, Merchants 15, writers [lawyers] 7, manufacturers 21, shopkeepers 43, brewers 10, distillers 1, officers of Excise 7, messengers 2, smiths, 40, wrights 96, weavers 862, tailors 93, shoemakers 54, masons 37, bakers 29, fleshers, 13, gardeners 11, sailors 109, colliers 184, ale sellers 101.[34] At this time most of the weaving was done on hand looms, most of them set up in the homes of the workers. But technological improvements were having an impact, notably the use of the flying shuttle and the frame which became more and more common in the fourth quarter of the eighteenth century.

The old parish registers also provide information on several of the families these Watt sons were marrying into. George’s wife Agnes was the daughter of John Bruch, Brewer Servant and Catherine Struth. Agnes was born 22 September and baptized 4 October 1789.[35] Her parents were married in Dunfermline 1 December 1786. It appears that George and Agnes had no children; George kept his trade of hand loom weaver, probably until his death which occurred sometime between 31 March 1851 (the date of the taking of the decennial census, when he and Agnes lived at No. 4 Monastery Street[36] and Agnes’ death 20 February 1856 at Monastery Street.[37] The informant at Agnes’ death was a nephew George Watt who was probably the son of George’s older brother James, the weaver in Crossford who had married Janet Anderson, 14 September 1805 in Dunfermline. This George Watt was born 4 December 1806.[38] He married Helen Meikle in Dunfermline 30 May 1834,[39] just four days before his cousin James Watt, third son of his uncle John married Jane or Jean Brand on 3 June 1834;[40] after banns read 17 May.[41]

Research to date, shows that of George and Helen’s children, there are records for descendants of the marriages of John, James, George and Robert. However for the rest of this introduction, I will deal with those descended from John Watt (1777-1832), the eldest son, and his wife Isabella Cant (1780 – 1866), dealing with their children in turn up to the time of their marriage and the birth of any known descendants, in other words to build up a picture using the family bible record which begins with John and Isabel.

As noted earlier, for an occupation John decided neither on farming, which he may not have enjoyed nor weaving, but baking, perhaps with the idea that whatever else happened, people always needed bread and this trade would provide a foundation for a decent life. Unfortunately the records of the Bakers Incorporation for Dunfermline have not survived but by the time of his marriage on 2 October 1802 John was described as a Baker in Dunfermline. This was a regular marriage, the banns being read beginning on September 17^th with the marriage following several weeks later. As noted earlier it is interesting that John’s bride was from Edinburgh; most spouses in this period were from Dunfermline Parish or from parishes immediately adjacent, such as Carnock, Saline and Torryburn. My guess is that Isabella left her large family in Carriden Parish and went to Edinburgh to find work, perhaps as a domestic. John, in turn, spent some time in Edinburgh as he was training to be a baker, and they met in the capital but returned to his home for their wedding. The wedding itself likely occurred in the old Abbey church in the centre of the burgh, part of which dated from medieval times. A new Abbey church was begun in 1818 and opened in 1821. The relationship between the floor plan of the old Church and the new is found in a beautiful engraving in Chalmers famous account of the History of Dunfermline.[42]

Let us assume that John and Isabel had a happy marriage. It was certainly fertile; their first child and first son, George, was born on his mother’s birthday, 11 November 1803. Eight others followed, virtually at two-year intervals until 1821. Of course at this time in

Scotland

and elsewhere, children were not simply guarantors of the continuation of the community, but were economically vital, to bring income into the family when they were old enough to work and to help care for aged parents no longer able to work. Set against this was the ever-present danger of disease and swift death, both for adults and children. As we shall see the man with the scythe cut a swath through John and Isabel’s family which would have been hard to bear.

Where did the family live? It seems very unlikely that they would have stayed with George and Helen at Crossford both because of limited space and from a desire to set up their own home. We do not know where their home was for certain until the birth of Richard in 1814 when John is listed as a “baker in Pittencrief”[43]. Pittencrieff was an estate held by one of the Parish’s major landholders. It was also a street in the northwest section of the Burgh running west of Chalmers Street, which ran north and south from Bridge Street to Pittencrieff Street. It is easy to locate on J. Wood’s Plan of Dunfermline published in Edinburgh in 1823.[44]

Two years later, in 1816, when his son Robert is born, the family had moved to Chalmer [sic] Street.[45] Sometime between 1816 and 1831 they moved to Woodhead Street probably to the property which John’s son, John gave a liferent interest to in his disposition of 24 October, 1832 referred to earlier, which were part of the lands of Pittencrieff feued from William Hunt Esquire to Robert Hutton Senior 4 January 1809.[46] In the earliest surviving directory of Dunfermline with the delightful title “Directory for The Town of Dunfermline containing an alphabetical List of the Principal Inhabitants; and Also, Gentlemen’s Seats and Farm Steadings, in the neighbourhood, with their Proprietors or Tenants.. Martinmas 1831”, published by John Miller in Dunfermline in 1832 we find on page 25 “Watt, John baker, Woodhead Street.” Woodhead Street ran north from Pittencrieff Street to Golfdrum and later was renamed as a continuation of Chalmers Street. At this time, this area was being built up, so the Watts did not live in the heart of the burgh.

Before trying to assess the family’s overall circumstances, it is instructive to compare the family bible entries with what is recorded in the Old Parish Registers. In this case there is an exact match for dates of birth but the bonus is father’s occupation, several addresses and names of witnesses, many times turning out to be family members.

1. “George Watt there [sic] Son was born November 11^th 1803	“John Watt, Baker in Dunfermline and Isabel Cant his Wife had a son born 11^th of Nov^r. Baptized 12 [?] of Nov^r. named George; Witnesses George Watt Feuar and Ja^s Watt Weaver there”
2. “Mary Watt there Daughter was born April 20^th 1805”	“John Watt Baker in Dunfermline and Isabel Cant his Wife had a Daughter 20^th of April baptized 28^th. Named Mary; Witnesses George Watt Father and Robert Watt brother to the said John Watt.
3. “John Watt there Son was born April 7^th 1807”	“John Watt Baker in Dunf^r and Isabel Cant his Wife had a Son born 7^th April baptized and named John; Witnesses James Donald and Michael Hunter there.
4. “James Watt there Son was born October 24^th 1809”	“John Watt Baker in Dunfermline and Isabel Cant his Wife had a Son born 24^th October baptized 5^th Nov^r. named James. Witnesses Michael Hunter and Will^m. Forsyth.
5. “Margaret Watt their Daughter was born December 8^th 1811” [year entry is obscured in original but confirmed c. 1925 by grandson David Brand Watt (1848-1936) from original then in his possession	“John Watt Baker in Dunfer and Isabel Cant his Wife had a Daughter born 8^th of Dec^r. baptized 15^th and named Margaret; Witnesses James Watt and George Watt”
6. “Richard Watt there Son was born October 29^th 1814”	“John Watt Baker in Pittencrief and Isabel Cant his Wife had a Son born 29^th of Oct^r. baptized 6^th of Nov^r. named Richard; Witnesses George Watt and William Mackie.”
7. “Robert Watt there Son was born December 23^rd 1816”	“John Watt Baker in Chalmer [sic] Street and Isabel Cant his Wife had a Son born 23^rd Dec^r. 1816 baptized 12 Janry 1817 named Robert; Witnesses George Watt and William Mackie.”
8. “Robert Watt there Son was born November 12^th 1819”	“John Watt Baker Dunfermline and Isabella Cant his Wife had a Son born 12^th [on page titled Baptisms 1819 November] baptized and named Robert Witnesses John Mackie and Alexander Lawson.”
9. “Isabel Watt there Daughter was born Dec^r 10^th 1821”	[On page titled December 1821] “John Watt baker in Dunfermline and Isabella Cant his Wife had a Daughter born the 10^th baptized and named Isabella Witnesses George Watt and Alexander Lawson.”

So our family is in the fortunate position of having two contemporary records which attest to the birth of one part of a complete generation. Before leaving this listing there is one striking anomaly; none of the daughters is named for John’s mother Helen Morgan. In the normal course of events, the fifth child would have been named Helen. Two explanations have occurred to me; one is that a child born, for example between James and Margaret who only lived a day or two, not even long enough to be baptized and so was not recorded. In the Dunfermline burial register beginning in the 1820s, there are frequent entries for the interment of stillborn, unnamed infants. The difficulty with this theory is that if such a child was not baptized it was unlikely to have been named. The other possibility is that there was some tension or conflict between John and his mother or perhaps both parents which propelled him to leave the farm, take up baking and overlook part of the traditional naming pattern for his family.

When considering how the family lived and to what extent it prospered it is important to look at how its membership altered in the early decades of the 19^th century. As noted earlier, the Bible records provide some death dates, for periods when records are missing, or even when burial registers exist, most cannot be confirmed by a contemporary record. John and Isabel lost three children in childhood, their daughter Mary on 22 July, 1812[47], the first son called Robert on 10 April 1818 and their youngest daughter Isabella on 8^th May, 1823.

Nevertheless, the household was full from 1803 to the first marriage, of son John, in 1825. Did the children go to school? We don’t know for sure but a few later records suggest they could read and write. MacLean and Fernie reported at the end of the 18^th century[48] that there was no parochial school in the parish but there were a number of private schools and there was a grammar school in the Burgh where music, English and arithmetic were taught. By the time the Reverend Chalmers published his history of Dunfermline in 1844[49] there was a new Burgh or Grammar School, an Infant School in Queen Anne Place (opened 1832) which could accommodate 200-300 children, a Commercial Academy founded in 1816 and the MacLean school, opened in November 1842, the latter including a Juvenile school, and an “Industrial Female” or Infant School. The situation Chalmers’ describes was a patchwork of institutions many if not all requiring payment of fees weekly or quarterly. For children from poorer families, fees were waived. Notably also, the established and dissenting churches, their ministers, the fraternity of guildry which owned the commercial school and the town council were all involved in the operation and funding of various schools.

Since John Watt wrote the entries in the Bible we can assume that he attached some important at least to reading and writing and also arithmetic which he would have needed to be successful in his trade. One further comment from Chalmers, which he felt summarized formal education in the early 1840s may aptly apply to earlier decades. He said[50]:

“Although the people in general, maybe said to be alive to the benefits of education, yet there are very many who are indifferent to it; and others who could not afford it.”

On the assumption that John Watt wanted to have his business in Dunfermline itself, it would seem he rented and ultimately purchased dwellings. These were probably one or two storey houses fronting directly on the street or sharing an entry with an adjacent dwelling. So he pursued his trade for at least thirty years from 1802-1832 and during much of this period had growing sons to assist him; George, John, James, Richard and Robert.

He must have enjoyed a degree of prosperity both from his listing as a “principal inhabitant” in 1831 but on the evidence of the other earliest family heirloom which is perhaps even older than the bible itself. It is a beautiful damask linen table cloth, with a monogram of the initials of John Watt and Isabel Cant [51] in each corner and a bouquet of flowers flanked by two birds in the centre.

It may have been made for their wedding but clearly is a custom piece of the sort described by MacLean and Fernie in these terms:

“Astonishing improvements have been made within less than half a century in the manufacture of table linen. By the introduction of machinery, labour has been greatly abridged … now, by means of the fly shuttle, and what is called a frame for raising the figure, a single weaver can work a web 2^1/2yards broad without the least assistance... Table cloths can be furnished of any desired breadth, length and fineness, and noblemen and gentlemen may have their coats of arms and mottos wrought into any table-linen they chose to commission.”[52]

As an aside, the benefits of family history were well illustrated when the author was shown this beautiful cloth by the present guardian, to whom it had been passed down across the generations; the person knew it was a “family piece” but did not know who the original owner was. The bible, which this individual had never seen, held the answer.

If this cloth could speak, what stories it could tell; of happy family gatherings, of special celebrations, the table on which is was laid, the chest or cupboard where it was kept, the china or crockery and utensils laid on it. Perhaps John Watt asked Isabel to use it when he was hosting his fellow members of the Incorporation of Bakers.

These pleasant conjectures we know were brought to a sudden and tragic end on 9 October 1832 when John was the victim of the terrible cholera epidemic which struck Dunfermline with virulence in September and October that year. Hundreds died and everyone lived in fear that they would be next. The experience was so awful it left an indelible impression on the survivors, one of whom, Alexander Stewart, described the impact years later:

“A covered-in cart was got to accommodate the numerous patients who were brought from all parts of the town. Those who listened to the peculiar hollow rumble of that cholera cart going along the streets, night and day, conveying the dying to the hospital and the dead to their narrow homes, would never forget its ominous sounds. … So deadly and so terribly rapid was the disease in its course, that few people ventured to follow the cart with the remains of their relatives to the graveyard, for fear of infection. The bodies were buried in trenches in the new burying ground opposite the Frater’s Hall, and in some cases, there were five or six, and even more put into one grave. … Every morning there was the cry of lamentation heard in several houses over the town, and no-one knew whose turn was to come next. … The authorities did all in their power to lessen and abolish every nuisance. The streets were well cleansed, tar barrels were burnt, and they sent up their smoky, lurid glare by day, and also in the darkness of night.”[53]

Page after page in the Dunfermline parish burial register lists scores of names, each with a large “C” for cholera beside those lost to the disease. He was buried a day after his death, probably with little ceremony and in a special grave to avoid risk of infection. We have no record of his resting place although it is probably, noting Stewart’s account above, in the Abbey grounds.

Apart from the terrible emotional loss Isabella must have suffered, the lost of John’s earning power as a well-established baker would have been a big blow. As we have seen earlier, her son John who was heir to his father and grandfather’s properties confirmed to her a liferent occupancy at the Woodhead Street home. But how was she to make a living? She had to go to work. She went into the weaving industry and became a pirn winder[54], a person filling a bobbin which fed the weaving machines. In 1844, Chalmers reported that there were 1100 women and girls doing this work and their average weekly wage, 4 shillings, was the lowest of all those in the industry, as you will note from the table below:

Description	Number	Average Weekly
		Wage
Weavers (men and boys)	3517	10/
Warpers, warehousemen and lappers (men)	150	15/
Winders and pirn fillers, women and girls	1100	4/
Yarn boilers (chiefly women)	29	7/
Bleachers of yarn	35	7/
Bleachers of cloth (men and women)	150	7/6
Lappers in the public lapping houses	29	9/6
(chiefly men)
Designers or pattern drawers (men with	5
a few assistants), say	7
Pattern cutters (men and women)	12	10/
Dyers (men)	10	18/
	5044

It cannot have been an easy life. Chalmers notes elsewhere that in the period of distress, the winter of 1837-38, when trade had stagnated, “… it was chiefly widows and children, some of whom had been at the spinning-mills, which were not then in operation, or single women who had been bobbiners or winders, that applied for provisions.”[55]

Her family rallied round, as circumstances would permit but her oldest sons were striking out on their own and her eldest son George had predeceased his father by over a year on April 12, 1831.[56] As he was 28 at the time, and old enough to be married and have a trade he remains a mystery figure, appearing on the historical stage at birth and death. He may not even have died in Dunfermline as he does not appear in the burial register there.

The next son, John, had become a weaver and married Eleanor Walker in January 1825. The record reads “John Watt Weaver Dunfermline and Eleanor Walker residing there gave in their names for proclamation in order to Marriage Being regularly proclaimed and no objections made they were married.” [57]As yet it has not been possible to discover who Eleanor’s parents were nor where they were from. Nor do we know whether this young couple immediately set up their own household. But eight years later they were definitely living on property John had acquired at Woodhead and Grieve Streets which he may have been renting from Henry Birrel, a mason, before he bought the feu right.[58] The previous autumn he and Eleanor lost two young children to scarlet fever, a 4 year old son George, who died 15 October, 1833 and George’s younger sister Elizabeth, aged 1 year 3 months who died 26 October, 1833.[59]

Since I do not know how many children John and Eleanor had it is impossible to state conclusively what happened to their descendants, with one exception. Sometime in 1838 John Watt moved to Belfast. Was Eleanor with him? We don’t know although there is no record of her death in the Dunfermline registers of the period. For whatever reason a daughter, Isabella, born circa 1836 was left behind in Dunfermline. Proof of her parentage is found in the record of her marriage to George Thomson, a confectioner, which took place in Dunfermline 10 December 1853 when Isabella was 23. George was born 6 November 1837 in Markinch, Fife, the son of William Thomson and Agnes Ireland. [60]^,^[61]Between her birth and marriage Isabella was raised by and lived with her grandmother Isabella (Cant) Watt on Woodhead Street. In the 1851 Census[62] Isabella was listed as a granddaughter, 15 and a linen hand loom weaver. Isabella was fated to die young, aged 27 on 11 July 1863 at Pathead, Dysart, after suffering dropsy for 7 months.[63] For what it’s worth, on neither her marriage or death records are her parents shown as deceased although many genealogists know this is not proof positive they were living. I can state that John and Eleanor do not appear in the Dunfermline censuses of 1841, 51, 61, or 71 and more research will have to be done some day to see if they can be located in Belfast.

Nevertheless, there is a record of one child born of the union of George and Isabella. This was Eleanor Thomson, who came into the world 17 October, 1859 in Dunfermline on Newrow Street.[64] Eleanor wouldn’t have had many memories of her mother and she grew up in Pathead, Dysart after her father had remarried, in 1864, to Janet Graham. In 1871 Eleanor can be found with her father, stepmother and step brothers and sisters at a house on Mid Street in Pathead.[65] Eleanor is listed as age 11 and a scholar. At some point she moved to Kirkcaldy where she married John Melville a 19 year old carter, son of James Melville and Mary Rankin.[66] Before her marriage she had an illegitimate son George, on 14 August 1880 in Abbotshall[67], who was raised with the rest of the family. John Melville and Eleanor Thomson had six children between 1883 and 1900. These children married into other Fife families, notably the Wisharts and Lows, but that takes us into the 20^th century. It is time to return to the story of Isabella (Watt) Thomson’s uncles and aunts.

John Watt and Isabel Cant’s third son, James, born 24 October 1809 had a long life, dying aged 72 on Woodhead Street in Dunfermline 19 May 1882. We know quite a bit about him partly because he inherited the bible, his older brother George having died and his next oldest brother John apparently not returning from Belfast. He and his wife are also the first of whom we have a photograph taken by Norval in Dunfermline circa 1879-80.[68]

James married just under two years after his father’s death in the same month as his cousin George, son of his uncle James. His wife was Jean Brand, born 24 November 1804 in the Parish of Tulliallan, County Perth, the daughter of David Brand and Jean Fotheringham.[69] David and Jean were married in the Parish of Torryburn, Fife, 18 May 1792[70] and their first three children, Robert, Janet and Andrew were all born in Carnock while David was a workman in Newbigging and Carnock. Their other eight children were all born in Tulliallan between 1799-1816[71]. David was the son of Robert Brand and Margaret Gentleman in the Parish of Saline. His birth record reads:

“Robert Brand Taylor [sic] in Colly-foord and Margaret Gentleman B[aptized] David Law^fl [Lawful Son] 20^th, in presence of the Congregation”.[72]

As yet, no record of Jean Fotheringham’s birth has been found although it is a fair guess her father’s name was Andrew and mother’s, Janet, because David Brand and Jean Fotheringham appear to have followed the traditional naming convention.

James Watt and Jean Brand who married in Dunfermline on 3 June 1834[73] might have met in Tulliallan because it is not that far from Dunfermline but she may have come to the Burgh with her family. In the death registers for Dunfermline there is a record of a David Brand, aged 67, who died 14 January 1827.[74] As his age does not tally exactly with his birthday this is only a guess.

The family bible records that James Watt and Jean Brand had six children; four have been found in the old Parish Registers. The comparison is as follows: [note that the bible records Jean Brand’s birth incorrectly. Both the day of the month and the year are wrong.]

“Jane Watt Born July 28^th 1835”	“James Watt Weaver Dunfermline and Jean Brand his Wife had a daughter born the 28^th 1835 baptized and named Jean. Witnesses Alexander Birrel and George MacLea [75]
“Isabella Watt Born July 31 1837”	“James Watt Baker Dunfermline and Jean Brand his wife had a daughter born the 31 July 1837 Baptized and named Isabella Cant. Witnesses Alexander Birrel and James Horn.”
“Janet Watt Born April 24^th 1840”	James Watt Weaver Dunfermline and Jane Brand his wife had a daughter born the 24^th April 1840 Baptized and named Janet. Witnesses David Sutherland and James Syme.”
“Margaret Watt Born September 10^th 1841”	No record found.
“John Watt Born January 14^th 1846 Died Dec^r 19^th 1848”	No record found.
“David Watt Born August 11^th 1849.”	“James Watt, Baker Golfdrum and Jane Brand his Wife had a son born the 11^th August 1849 named David Brand Witnesses Robert Watt and James Anderson [probably James’ brother and brother-in-law, husband of his sister Margaret].[76]

How can we explain the gaps in the official records? Reverend Chalmers may have the answer. He notes that,

“It is impossible to state accurately the yearly average of births, for the last seven years, since very few of the dissenters during that period, have recorded the births of their children in the Parish Register, and some of the parents belonging to the Establishment [the established Church of Scotland – which the Watts seemed to have belonged to since at least the 1770s] have also neglected to do so. ….Of the births which occurred in 1841, when the population was 19,778, only 105 were recorded in the Parish Register; in 1842, only 89, and in 1843 up to the 15 December, only 43. These results point out the imperative necessity of some new legislation enactment, for forcing the registration of births for general purposes.”[77]

Statutory and compulsory registration of births, marriage and deaths was to follow in eleven years. But as one family member has pointed out, the family bible record is a godsend as it is the only record yet found for Margaret Watt’s birth.

Census records prove that James moved his family around quite a bit over the 50 years between his marriage and his death. There is no record of him leaving Dunfermline although he may have made short visits, especially once his son was settled in Stirlingshire after 1875. The census also reveals a bit about his occupation – James seems to have shifted between weaver and baker in the early years of his marriage. The 1841 census reads [Schedule 126 on Woodhead Street]

In 1851 we learn more, beginning with residence now on Bridge Street, Scotlands Land. [Bridge Street was north of the High Street from Chalmers street to Kirkgate, south of High Street]. Schedule 2

Jane, the eldest daughter was already working outside the home to add to the family income. At age 15 she was a house servant in the home of 30 year old James Stewart, a cork manufacturer, and his 25 year old wife Christina, who lived at N^o. 10 Douglas Street with a five month old daughter Janet. [78]

So James and family moved from Golfdrum at the north end of town to a house more west central. Everyone except baby David was working or was at school. The next decade saw major changes as three of the girls, Jane, Isabella and Margaret moved out, the first two to marry and Margaret to prepare to emigrate to

New Zealand

In the 1861 census, James Watt moved again, this time to Campbell Street.[79] 1861 Dunfermline Census Enn. Dist 4. St. Andrew’s Parish. Schedule 159

Here we have for the first time a glimpse of their housing, with the notation that this dwelling has two rooms with one or more windows. In addition, three years before this, son David who was destined to become a schoolmaster attended a Sunday school in Tulliallan Parish and received a small book for perfect attendance. It was titled The Barring Out (by Maria Edgeworth, London, G. Routledge & Co. 1857) and was a morality tale of a type popular in Victorian Britain. The inscription reads “Presented to David Watt by the R^vd J. Smeaton As a reward for his diligence in Tulliallan Sabbath School. For 32 Sabbaths 22 Feb^y 1858”.[80]

By the time of the 1871 census all the children had left home; Janet to marry, David to take his teacher training at the Established Church College in Edinburgh for two years from 1869 to 1870.

Intruigingly, James appears to have left the baker’s trade and returned to weaving, as below”

1871 Census of Dunfermline Enn. District 4. p 26. North side of Campbell Street, Old Royal Burgh of Dunfermline. Schedule 151

This record is also valuable because it seems to pinpoint with the most precision yet Jane Brand’s birthplace. The majority of their neighbours on the same side of Campbell Street [24 households checked] were involved in the weaving industry which maintained its dominant position in the Dunfermline economy at that point. Beginning with schedule 32 and continuing to 155 the occupational list reads: Cotton Weaver, Joiner and Cabinet maker, Telegraph worker, Joiner, Powerloom weaver (two in same house), Coal miner, factory worker, labourer, Millworker, Retired manufacturer, Damask weaver, Pattern maker, Brass founder, Yarn weaver (3 in same house), Blacksmith, Damask weaver, Van driver, Yarn winder, Grocer, Damask weaver, Currier, Agricultural Labourer, Yarn weaver, Yarn warper, Iron Turner, Machine fitter, Power loom Tenter, Linen weaver, Railway Clerk (twice), Tanner, Factory worker, Foundry Labourer, Cotton weaver, Factory worker, Factory labourer, Linen weaver, Factory winder, Factory worker (2 at same house), Damask weaver, Master Blacksmith, Blacksmith, cotton weaver, Wright and Coach business.

Also noteworthy is that 24 households occupy 7 houses. With one exception the flats have 2 or 1 room(s) with one or more windows. James Watt and Jean Brand, for example occupy 1 house with another couple, James Smith, 43, a factory labourer from Gallowayshire and his wife Susan, 44, from South Queensferry. The Smiths’ apartment has one room with one or more windows.

By the census of 1881, James and Jane made their final move, to 92 Woodhead Street, farther up from his mother’s former residence.

James Watt Head M 71 Retired Baker Fifeshire Dunfermline 2 Jane Brand Watt Wife do 75 do do wife Clackmannonshire,

So here, a year before his death, James wanted to be listed as a retired baker, which, the records suggest was his main occupation for most of his working life. It is easy to imagine that his father’s success in the trade would have inspired him to follow in his footsteps, especially if he had tried weaving and found it wanting either economically or in terms of lessened independence of action.

By this time we have reached the period when photography had become widespread and affordable. The photograph of James and Jane Watt by Norval, a studio founded in 1879 by Sir James Norval (1862-1936) who was later Provost of Dunfermline has been mentioned earlier. The earliest family photograph which has been positively identified is a small “carte de visite” style full length portrait of David Brand Watt from the studio of John Drummond which operated in Dunfermline on Bonnar Street and James Street from 184 to 1875. It is inscribed on the reverse, “David B. Watt at 25 years August 11, 1847 – Mar 5 1936”.[81]

James Watt died at 92 Woodhead Street at 2 in the morning, 19 May, 1882,[82] having outlived all his brothers and sisters with the possible exception of his older brother John, whose eventual fate is as yet undiscovered. Recently, one of James’ great great grandchildren found a beautiful memorial card which his family must have sent out to relatives and friends in Dunfermline and as far away as

New Zealand

(illus. 11)[83]. His death record listed him as a journeyman baker and the informant was his son David Watt, by then a schoolmaster at Muiravonside Parish School near Linlithgow.

It would seem that after James’ death, his widow Jane left the house on Woodhead and went just a little way up the hill toward the North Church and east on Buffie’s Brae to N^o. 6, the home of her daughter Janet and son-in-law James Inches. She lived four more years and died, aged 80, of stomach cancer at 9 am on 27 May in the Inches house.[84] The record of Jane’s death is the only evidence we have of her father’s trade. He is listed as a “Maltsman”.

Again, with the exception of John, James and Jane were destined to found a dynasty of five great families; Moirs, Pages, Inches, Nicols and Watts. Four of these had roots in Fife back at least as far as the mid 18^th century, many centred in the Parish of Dunfermline.

Their children married between 1855 and 1876 and their forty-nine grandchildren were born between 1855 and 1893. Many of these survived to adulthood and had large families of their own.

To set the stage for the succeeding chapters, I will briefly note the marriages of the founders of the five lines. James and Jane Watt’s eldest daughter, Jane married Thomas Moir, a weaver, who was born in Dunfermline 17 March 1832.[85] Their marriage took place 1 January 1855, the very first day of statutory registration in

Scotland

, in Dunfermline, according to the forms of the Established Church of Scotland.[86] At the time James was a power loom tenter, that is a machinist watching over the operation of one of the large weaving machines – machinery was already making its presence felt in the weaving industry – and he was living temporarily in Maryhill in Glasgow. He returned to his native city for his wedding and remained there the rest of his life. He was the son of another weaver, William Moir or More (who at the time of Thomas’ birth was living on Reform Street) and Janet Law.[87] William later became a Sheriff officer and then a house factor or landlord. William was the son of yet another weaver David More, who wove damask cloth, and Janet Reid.[88] Janet was the daughter of William Reid a Farm Grieve, and Margaret Hoggan, and was born in Cairneyhill, Fife, circa 1770. She died at home in Schoolend Street, Dunfermline at 3:30 am 12 May 1858.[89] Thomas’ mother was the daughter of Thomas Law and Janet Duncan. Thomas was also a weaver, living on the lands of Pittencrieff, Dunfermline, at the time of his marriage to Janet, who was from the nearby parish of Fossoway.

In contrast to the overwhelming preponderance of weavers among her sister Jane’s relations, Isabella Cant Watt, James and Jane’s second daughter married George Page on 16 January 1860; the Pages were a well-known family of wrights two of whom became soldiers. [90] They were a colourful and interesting couple. Isabella, who was a power loom weaver when she married James on 25 August 1859, had had an illegitimate son, James Watt some months previously. George may well have been the father because in later life, this son, called James Watt Page always listed him as such. It seems likely that George was a part of a militia regiment, not the regular forces. Born to another soldier, James Stewart Page and Christian Anderson in Dunfermline on 8 May 1838,[91] George actually grew up in the home of Andrew Hay, a weaver whom his mother married in 1840. They lived first on Pittencrieff Street, and later on Golfdrum Street.[92]

Although James Stewart Page and Christian Anderson had three children, George, Robert and Isabella, no record of a marriage has yet been found. In fact George probably saw his father briefly, if at all during his youth. James Steuart Page was a wright at the time of his son’s birth, but he enlisted as a sapper in the Royal Engineers at Woolwich,

Kent

, on 29 October 1841 and was discharged at Aldershot 16 May 1865.[93] During his more than two decades of service there is no record of James returning to Scotland. He was, however, stationed with his company at Halifax, Nova Scotia, from April 1844 to August 1850.[94]

For a brief period he worked on the Crystal Palace at the Great Exhibition of 1851, but most of his service was at Chatham, Woolwich, Shorncliffe and Aldershott.[95] He was admitted to a pension 16 May 1865 at 1s 10d a day. This was paid at Portsmouth until 1 October 1866, then from the depot at Stirling until his death at midnight 12 July 1870 at a boarding house in Bruce Street, Dunfermline. At that time, the record listed him as a wright, single and a Chelsea pensioner. No relative was recorded as informant.[96] Something or someone must have drawn him back to his birthplace, but what or who can only be speculated upon. By the time of his death his son George was finally established as a metal worker in Glasgow. His son Robert has disappeared from the record. His daughter Isabella, who seems to have considered herself, or been told she was, the daughter of Andrew Hay and Christian Anderson, married a coal miner, James Carnegie, son of Andrew Carnegie and Margaret Baxter at James Place, Dunfermline on 10 October, 1872.[97]

James Stueart Page, born in Dunfermline 6 June 1814[98], was the son of a well-known wright in Dunfermline, George Page and his wife Christian Stewart who were married in Dunfermline 9 December 1803.[99] George Page’s father was also a wright in Dunfermline, married to Jean Ogilvie. Their son George was born 18 April, 1773.[100] Christian Stewart was from the parish of Tulliallan at the time of her marriage but was actually born in Stirling, 1 December 1780,[101] the daughter of John Stewart an innkeeper and Christian Dewar.

James Stueart Page’s partner, Christian Anderson was born 6 October 1812 in Dunfermline.[102] She was the daughter of John Anderson, a weaver in the “ground of Pittencrieff” in Dunfermline and Ann Robertson who were married irregularly at the Chapel in Canongate, Edinburgh on 13 April 1809 by the Minister there, Joseph Robertson.[103] Perhaps Robertson was a brother or cousin of the bride.

The third great line descended from James Watt and Jane Brand sprang from the union of their third daughter Janet, with James Inches in Dunfermline at Campbell Street, 11 July 1862.[104] James was a power loom tenter in the weaving industry and son of a successful[105] cloth manufacturer, James Inches. James, the third of the name, was born 16 July 1839. His mother was Jean Small who had married James Inches II, then a weaver on Pittencrieff Street, on 12 January 1824 in Dunfermline.[106] It would appear that Jean Small died circa 1840, as she does not appear in the 1841 census and it may be she died giving birth to James, who was the second child so named, the first having died in 1831. Since her death record has not survived it is not possible to be conclusive, but it seems probable that Jean was born in Dunfermline 8 May 1802[107], the daughter of William Small, a weaver and feuar in Pittencrieff and Janet Hutton, who were married in Dunfermline in March 1800 following the reading of their Banns on the 12^th.[108]

James Inches II was born in Dunfermline 5 June 1802[109], the son of James Inches, a weaver at Back of the Dam, Dunfermline and Christian Chalmers, daughter of Andrew Chalmers, a prominent member of the Incorporation of Weavers, who were married in Dunfermline 5 February 1796.[110] There is what is almost certainly a death record for James Inches, resident in Gardners Land, died aged 71 18 May 1840[111], suggesting a birth date of c. 1769 and an age at marriage of 25. No trace has been found yet of James Inches parentage or birthplace.

Their third son James II had quite a large family by his first wife, listed in the 1841 census as follows: James 39, L[inen] Weaver, William 13, Andrew 10, John 7, Janet 14, Jean 15, James 2[112], to which he added another children, Isabella when he married again, 10 January 1859 to Margaret Black, daughter of John Black, a weaver and Isabella Fraser.[113] Ultimately there were to be five James Inches in a row, the fifth only passing away in 1977 in Edinburgh.

The lure of a better life away from

Scotland

was bound to impact sooner or later on the children of James and Jane Watt. Their fourth daughter proved to have the earliest wanderlust and it took her very far from home, to the other side of the world. Margaret “Maggie” Watt, left

Scotland

in 1864 and spent months on board ship to join her fiancé Alexander Nicol on the North Island of New Zealand, in the rich farmlands being opened up in the Waikato River valley. “Sandy” and Maggie were married 17October, 1864 in the residence of Mr. Hodge of Onehunga, Auckland. Alexander was born in the Parish of Tulliallan on the north shore of the Firth of Forth southwest of Dunfermline 3 October 1837.[114] He was the son of Alexander Nicol a shoemaker in the Parish of St. Cuthbert’s, Edinburgh and Janet Campbell, daughter of Robert Campbell, a seaman in Kincardine, Tulliallan and Janet Steedman. Alexander and Janet were married 8 June 1832 by the Reverend Dr. John Gilchrist, Minister of the Parish of Canongate.[115] Janet Campbell was born in Tulliallan 5 September 1805.[116] Her parents had been married irregularly and produced evidence of this to the Minister at Tulliallan 7 February 1802.[117]

The young couple who left

Scotland

never saw any of their parents or siblings again, a common occurrence for the time but undoubtedly a realization which added to the emotional strain of leaving combined with apprehension of the unknown. The poignancy of departure remained in the collective family memory when it was recalled more than a century later that Maggie sang the Scottish Emigrants Farewell as the ship slipped away from the dockside.

Her young brother David, who was almost certainly among those waving goodbye, had a different fate in store. While he never left

Scotland

he left behind generations of ancestors who had worked with their hands. Neither weaving nor baking was for him. He decided to become a teacher, possibly influenced by one of the ministers in Dunfermline, possibly by the example of his grandfather John’s great nephew, John, who became a teacher in Dunfermline in the 1850s.

At the time David Brand Watt made his career choice, Scottish education was on the threshold of major change. For centuries schooling had been largely controlled by the established (Presbyterian) Church and the heritors, the landowners who funded school buildings and staff. This produced a patchwork of institutions of varying quality and sometimes no schools at all. The necessity for parents to pay fees inevitably kept some students from school and only slowly, through the middle of the 19^th century did the government in London begin to provide grants.

Where did David himself go to school? In the 1854 Ordnance Survey Map of Dunfermline only four schools are specifically marked, the Burgh High School, the Commercial School, the MacLean School at the north end of Woodhead Street and a small school on the south side of Pittencrieff Street near Chalmers Street. Yet ten years previously, Rev. Peter Chalmers notes that in the parish in 1842 the total number of schools was 33 in addition to the burgh school. This latter was endowed in part with the proceeds of an ancient bequest by Queen Anne, wife of King James VI and an annual contribution by the guildry.[118] Students paid annual fees of 8s 6d for reading, grammar, writing, arithmetic and English composition and 10s 6d for Greek, Latin, French, mathematics and geography or 12s 6d if all subjects were taken. Of the other schools, 15 were partly endowed and 17 unendowed, the latter being “entirely on the teachers own adventure”.[119] The total number of children at all these schools was about 2,200; 1,200 boys and 1,000 girls. Chalmers observed further that,

“In almost all schools, all the elementary branches, english reading and grammar, writing and arithmetic, and in some also the higher branches are taught. There were in 1842 no pupils studying Greek, and only 22 learning Latin, 11 French, 22 algebra and mathematics, 140 geography and 14 navigation. The general rate for wages is, for English reading, from 2s 6 pence to 2 shillings; with writing and english grammar, from 3 shillings to 4 shillings, and with arithmetic, from 3s 6d to 5s per quarter.[120]

Chalmers speaks of the infant school in Queen Anne Place, Dunfermline as having “ample accommodation, excellent furnishings and good playground.”[121]

With reference to the MacLean School, Golfdrum [Street], opened in 1842, Chalmers reports that “the fees are on a low and graduated scale, to suit the working and poorer classes. They are as follows:

Apparently, some 30 to 40 children were taught at the MacLean school at no charge using a legacy from the former minister of the parish reverend MacLean who founded the school using a combination of his own resources and a government grant.[123] Chalmers concludes his survey of schools and education in Dunfermline in 1842-4 by commenting that:

“It is not very easy to entertain how many there may be, between six and fifteen years of age, unable to read and write; but there is reason to believe, that there are many above fifteen who cannot read - at least to advantage, and more than cannot write. Evening classes have been opened for adults in this situation, which have sometimes been well attended.

Twelve of the teachers and three assistants, in 1842, belonged to the Establishment [the Established church of Scotland], and twenty-one more Dissenters, some of whom are highly qualified and very successful, others have a respectable measure of attainment and fitness; but there are some whose acquirements, and acquaintance with the approved methods of instruction, are very limited. Greater and more permanent encouragement would be of much service, both to them and their schools – and they are certainly a class of men whose useful labours have not generally been yet sufficiently remunerated.

Although the people, in general, may be said to be alive to the benefits of education, yet there are many who are indifferent to it, and others unable to afford it.”[emphasis added][124]

Of the schools where David Brand Watt may have attended,[125] I think he may have started at the MacLean School on Golfdrum which his parents would have been familiar with during their residence on the street in 1849, and which was close to his grandmother’s home in Woodhead Street, and then continued his studies [he appears as a “scholar” aged 11, in the 1861 Census] at the Burgh School which was not far from his home on Campbell Street. It may not have been easy for his parents to afford the fees but they probably recognized both his ambition and his academic prowess.

In all likelihood he began fulfilling his ambition to become a teacher by becoming a pupil teacher, in effect an understudy to an existing schoolmaster, a system very widespread in

Scotland

at the time. In early 1869 he began a two-year course of formal training in the Established Church College in Edinburgh. The syllabus was comprehensive, including Religious Knowledge, Teaching Theory, English, Arithmetic, History, Geography, Latin, Geometry, Composition and Singing. He was a good student; graduating in December 1870 with a First Class certificate and a comment that his “diligence and progress” were highly satisfactory.[126]

David Watt left college and soon after was appointed to a teaching post in the small community of Newmains in Lanarkshire, just at the time that major changes were occurring in Scottish education. Following the passage of the Education Act of 1872, the old system of appointments and governance by local landowners and the church was replaced by elected school boards for each parish. It was under this new system that David Watt applied for and received the appointment he was to hold for thirty-nine years from September 1875 to June 1914, Schoolmaster at Muiravonside Parish School in the country a little southwest of Linlithgow, just a few miles south of where his grandmother Isabella Cant was born nearly a century before.

Before he left Newmains, he met his future wife, Janet Watson Turner, later a sewing mistress at Muiravonside School. They were married at the Chapel Colliery in the Parish of Cambusnethan, where Janet’s father was Manager on 30 March, 176 according to the forms of the Evangelical Union Church. [127] Janet’s father, William Jackson Turner, was baptized or born 24 February 1829[128] in Carluke, Lanarkshire, the son of John Turner, meal miller and Margaret Jackson, who were married in Culter, Lanark, 1 April 1825.[129] Janet Turner’s mother, Margaret Kilpatrick was born in Newmains c. 1834[130]

She was the daughter of Alexander Kilpatrick, a limestone burner (c. 1810-1887), native of Collinton, Edinburgh,[131] and Janet Watson.

The marriage of David Brandt Watt and Janet Watson Turner was the last of the children of James Watt and Jane Brand. James and Jane survived several more years to see some more grandchildren come into the world. But their lives were nearly at an end whereas most of their children were building careers and nurturing families of their own. The stories of James and Jane’s children unfolded partly in

Scotland

, partly in

New Zealand

. They outlived one daughter, Isabella Cant (Watt) Page, who died aged only 44, in the tenements of Glasgow, quite possibly a victim of poverty, too many pregnancies and overcrowded housing.

When we come to explore the lives of James and Jane’s grandchildren the geographic focus widens to include more of

New Zealand

, parts of

Canada

and

Wales

. These are the stories of pioneers, of the Scots who were part of the enormous expansion of the British Empire and who played a part in defending it in the coming carnage of World War I. But these stories are for other chapters.

[1] (OPR 424/7 FR 1990)

[2] (Chalmers, Historical and Statistical Account of Dunfermline, Edinburgh, William Blackwood and Sons, 1844, p.389).

[3] Their [the incorporated trades] principal design was to prevent insufficient work being executed; by allowing no one to set up any trade, till he had undergone an essay of his capacity, to the satisfaction of a committee appointed for trying him, and had paid the stipulated entry-money. Besides the admission-money, the entrant had to give a banquet to the Incorporation; or, at his own option, a fixed sum of money, which is still [in 1844] to a certain extent continued. In the Bakers’ Incorporation, the essay is dispensed with, the banquet very appropriately serving the purpose.” Chalmers, op.cit., p.389-390.

[4] Ref. OPR Parish of Carriden.

[5] Letter from David Brant Watt to his son Brand in Vancouver, c. 1925. Original in private coll.

[6] OPR Dunfermline Births and Baptisms 424/5 FR 1452

[7] OPR Marriages and Banns Dunfermline October 1776. The register in Saline notes “October 25^th George Watt in the parish of Dunfermline and Helen Murgan [sic] in this parish inlisted their Names and after the usual proclamations were married Nov^r 29th

[8] I am indebted to the editor of the Fife Journal for referring me to the Appendix “Scottish Antecedents” in David Morgan’s The Morgans of Montreal, David Morgan, 1992. The Milltown refers to Helen’s father’s farm Milton in the Parish of Saline. (ref. p. 11)

[9] OPR Births and Baptisms Parish of Saline, 1755 January 455/00 0001.

[10] OPR Dunfermline Births and Baptisms 424/7 FR 2032

[11] OPR 424/7 FR 2058

[12] OPR 424/7 FR 2099

[13] OPR 424/7 FR 2188

[14] OPR 424/8 FR 2371

[15] PR 46.225 (4413)

[16] CC/20/7/13 National Archives of Scotland

[17] Chalf bed is defined in the Concise Scots Dictionary Mairie Robinson ed. University of Aberdeen Press 1985 as “a bed tick filled with chalf”. It would seem to refer to what we might today think of as a duvet used as a mattress without a frame, perhaps filled with goose down or some other feathers or even hay.

[18] Rev. Mr. Allan Maclean and Rev. Mr. John Fernie: Statistical Account of the Parish of Dunfermline, No XXIX [1791-99] pp 428-480.

[19]

[20] Contract of Feu and Precept of seism [sic] between sir John Halkett, Bart. And George Watt, daylabourer in Crossford, 6 June 1787, recorded 12 February 1796 at Capar. NAS RS 32/46 folios 225v-228v.

[21] ibid. p. 464-465

[22] Inventory, op. Cit. Folio 454.

[23] NAS RS 32/198 pages 167v-172v.

[24] as recorded in the family Bible

[25] NAS RS 32.200 p 37v-40

[26] NAS RS 32/235 p 18v-22r. Interesting the person who appeared on Isabella’s behalf before the notary in Cupar was her fourth son Richard, listed as a weaver on Woodhead Street so he may have been living with his mother.

[27] NAS RS 3/1967 p 161v-165v.

[28] Dunfermline Census 1851, 424 Ennumeration District 20, page 18, Woodhead Street, Schedule 73

[29] OPRs Dunfermline 424/16 FR 4590 Banns read 3 January 1825

[30] Testament Dative, 26 January 1822 NAS CC20/4/31 plus Inventory of 6 February 1822 NAS CC/20/7/13/451-454

[31] Testament Dative, ibid.

[32] 424/10 FR 3265.

[33] The 1851 Census for Dunfermline shows George and Agnes aged 67 and 61 at N^o 4 Monastery Street (Enn. Dist. 30 page 7. George is still listed as a hand loom weaver.

[34] Maclean and Fernie op. cit., p 438.

[35] Dunfermline OPR 424/7 FR 2245

[36] 1851 Census, Dunfermline, Enn. District 30, p. 7, schedule 13)

[37] 1851 Deaths in the Burgh of Dunfermline, p. 9 entry 25

[38] OPR Dunfermline 424/9 January 1807, p 26

[39] GRO 424/16FR 4503

[40] Family Bible

[41] GRO – 424/16 FR 4503

[42] Chalmers op.cit plate VI opposite p. 116.

[43] OPR Dunfermline Baptisms and Births October 1814

[44] From a copy in the local history section, Dunfermline Public Library

[45] OPR Dunferline Births and Baptisms December 1816.

[46] Precept of saisine recorded 20 August 1839 at Cupar. NAS RS 32/235 pages 18v-22r

[47] Record in John Watt’s Bible

[48] MacLean and Fernie, op.cit. p. 442-4

[49] Chalmers, op.cit. p 320-1, 438-447

[50] ibid., p. 447

[51] Held in a private collection

[52] MacLean and Fernie, op.cit., p. 433.

[53] Alexander Stewart, Reminiscences of Dunfermline Second Edition, Edinburgh 1889, p. 165-167.

[54] 1851 Census of Dunfermline Enn Dist. 20 page 18 21 Woodhead Street Schedule 73

[55] Chalmers, op.cit., p. 338

[56] Family Bible record

[57] Banns read 3 Janaury 1824. OPR Dunfermline 424/16 FR 4590.

[58] Precept of Saisine recorded Cupar, 20 January 1834. NAS RS 32.200 pages 32-36

[59] Dunfermline Burials and Deans 1833, OPR 424/8

[60] OPR Dunfermline marriages for 1852, page 58, entry 134.

[61] OPR Markinch Baptisms and Births, 447/00 34 FR 1295

[62] (ED 20 p. 18)

[63] 1863 Deaths for the District of Dysart, Fife, page 25, Entry 74 61 1859 Births in Burgh of Dunfermline, page 120 ?, entry 359

[64] Entry 74 61 1859 Births in Burgh of Dunfermline, page 120 ?, entry 359

[65] 1871 Census, Parish of Pathead, Dysart, Fife. Ennum. District 6

[66] 1882 Marriages in the District of Kirkcaldy and Abbotshall, Fife, page 39, entry 78

[67] 1880 Births in the District of Kirkcaldy and Abbotshall, page 113, entry 339

[68] Private collection

[69] OPR Births and Baptisms Tulliallan October November 1804 397/1 FR 309

[70] OPR Marriages in Torryburn

[71] OPR Births and Baptisms 1799-1816

[72] OPR Salin Baptisms and Births 2/55/1 FR 0040

[73] Family bible record. This is an instance where the bible supplements the official record which only gives the date of the banns 17 May 1834. “James Watt Weaver Dunfermline and Jean Brand residing there gave in their names for proclamation in Order to Marriage being regularly proclaimed and no objections made their certificate to that effect was granted” OPR Dunfermline Banns and Marriages 1834 424/6 FR 4503

[74] Dunfermline Burial Register January 1827. Unofficial record deposited in General Register House in 1885.

[75] OPR Dunfermline Baptisms and Births 424/00 0014 FR 4014

[76] OPR Dunfermline 1849 Baptisms and Births 424/00 0014 FR 4248

[77] Chalmers, op.cit., p. 331-332.

[78] 1851 Dunfermline Census ED9 p 2. schedule 10.

[79] 1861 Dunfermline Census Enn. Dist 4. St. Andrew’s Parish. Schedule 159

[80] Private collection

[81] Private collection

[82] 1882 Deaths in the District of Dunfermline, page 71. Entry 211.

[83] Private collection

[84] 1886 Deaths in the District of Dunfermline, page 71, Entry 212.

[85] OPR Dunfermline Baptisms and Births March 1832

[86] 1855 Marriages in the Burgh of Dunfermline. Page 2, entry 4.

[87] Married in Dunfermline 27 March 1826 by Reverend Andrew Bullock, Minister of Kincardine. (Ref. OPR Dunfermline Marriages 424/16 FR 4605

[88] Married in Dunfermline 11 July 1800 (Ref. OPR Dunfermline marriages May – July 1800)

[89] 1858 Deaths in the Burgh of Dunfermline, p. 43, entry 127.

[90] 1860 Marriages in the Burgh of Dunfermline, p. 8, entry 15. 85. From original extract of birth 13 Sept. 1858. Private collection.

[91] OPR Dunfermline Births and Baptisms, May 1838.

[92] Dunfermline Censuses 1841, 1851 Enn. Dist. 23, Schedule 35 and 24, schedule 59.

[93] Proceedings of a Regimental Board, Aldershott, 6 May 1965, Service of Sapper N^o 511, J.S. Page. War Office 97/1363

[94] W.O. 11/91-93.

[95] Ibid.

[96] 1870 Deaths in Dunfermline, p. 46, entry 137.

[97] 1872 Marriages in the Burgh of Dunfermline, page 60, entry 120 (424/01 0120)

[98] OPR Dunfermline Baptisms and Births,June 1814

[99] OPR Dunfermline Marriages November 1803

[100] OPR Dunfermline Baptisms and Births April 1773 (424/6 FR 1891)

[101] OPR Births and Baptisms in Stirling 1789 (490/00 0003)

[102] OPR Dunfermline Baptisms and Births October 1812

[103] OPR Dunfermline marriages April 1809 (Note that this marriage was recorded in the Dunfermline Register because the bride and groom were parishioners there.

[104] 1862 Marriages in the Burgh of Dunfermline p. 41, entry 82

[105] In the 1851 Census, James Inches (1802-1876) was listed as a manufacturer of table linens and covers employing 10 workmen (Enn. District 22, schedule 94 on Pittencrieff Street “Inches Land”

[106] OPR Dunfermline Marriages January 1824 (424/16) Banns were read on the 4^th and the marriage performed on the 12^th by Rev. George Barlow.

[107] OPR Dunfermline Baptisms and Births May 1802

[108] OPR Dunfermline Marriages March 1800.

[109] OPR Dunfermline Baptisms and Births June 1802.

[110] OPR Dunfermline Marriages January 1796

[111] OPR Dunfermline Death Registers 1840 (424/18 FR 5246)

[112] 1841 Dunfermline Census. Enn. District 21 Pittencrieff Street

[113] 1859 Marriages in the Burgh of Dunfermline, p. 6, entry 12. Marriage solemnized by rev. Peter Chalmers, Minister at Dunfermline Abbey according to the forms of the church of Scotland.

[114] OPR Tulliallan Baptisms and Births (397/3 FR 643)

[115] OPR St. Cuthbert’s, Edinburgh Marriages 685/02 0042

[116] OPR Tulliallan Births and Baptisms 397/1 FR 0310

[117] OPR Tulliallan Marriages 1800-1802

[118] Chalmers op.cit. pages 437-439.

[119] Ibid., p 437.

[120] ibid. p. 438.

[121] Ibid. p. 442.

[122] Ibid. p. 444

[123] ibid. p. 444

[124] ibid. p. 447.

[125] First 12 schools and numbers of pupils from Chalmers list of March 1844 p. 547

1. Burgh School Queen Anne St. Mr. Archd. Haxton, 97 students

2. Commercial School, Viewfield Place “ Andw. McDonald,

“ James Browning 168 students

3. McLean “ Golfdrum, “ Joseph Dobbie,

“ Alex Stuart, ass^t 190 students

4. Rolland “ Rolland Street, “ Robert Martyn, 185 students

5. Nethertown “ “ William Meldrum, 65 students

6. Martyr’s Place “ “ Thomas Roxburgh,

Mrs. Roxburgh 120 students

7. James’ Street “ Mr. James Templeman, 150 students

8. Poor’s Street “ Town Green, “ Alex. Carmichael, 25 students

9. Pittencrieff “ “ Thos. Johnstone 80 students

10. Golfdrum “ “ Alex. McKinlay, 68 students

11. Baldridgeburn “ “ John Reekie, 45 students

12. Whitemire Place “ “ James Burt, 55 students

[126] Final reports and House certificates for Established Church College, 1969-70. Originals in the Scottish Educational Archives, University of Edinburgh.

[127] 1876 Marriages in the Parish of Cambusnethan, County Lanark, page 25, entry 50.

[128] OPR Register of Baptisms and Births for Carluke, 1829. (629/00 0003)

[129] OPR Register of Marriages for Culter 1825 (637/00 0003 FR 506)

[130] Based on information from the 1881 Census, the Turner household at the Old Schoolhouse Cambusnethan Vo 628 Enn Dist. 2 p. 34 check

[131] Dates are a combination of the 1881 census, ibid. and his death record, 23 April 1887 at chapel House, Cambusnethan; 1887 Deaths in the Parish of Cambusnethan p. 40, entry 120.

Notes on Some Watts and related families

in Dunfermline Parish 1750-1865