SCOTT- HOWAT(SON) - Johnstonebridge & Surrounding Areas

[A.]

I am searching for my SCOTT - HOWAT(SON) genealogy.  A.

[Maggie1895]

Hello A.   You mentioned both Johnstonebridge and the Kirkpatrick Juxta parish earlier.    Can you be a bit more specific about the family you are searching?    What is the last information you have?   People here will happily help but there's little point in our heading off looking at 19th century censi if you have all that, or conversely have nothing before 1920.  Similarly, no point in our going back into the 18th C with horse tax rolls etc.   Tell us what the oldest definite piece of information you have is, plus some general detail, and we will try and help you go back from there

[A.]

Hello!  I've just added this information.  I'm new to RootsChat.

Here is what I know:

Samuel Scott [Jr], born in 1833 in Johnstone, Dumfriesshire.  His parents were Samuel Scott [Sr] and Agnes Porteous.  Samuel Scott [Sr] was born in abt. 1799 and his parents, Andrew Scott and Margaret Howat[son] 'acknowledged an irregular marriage before the Session' on January 2, 1803, at Caerlaverock.


Margaret Howatson (Scott) died at Redhall, 79 yrs, on November 7, 1857.  She was buried with her spouse, Andrew Scott, at Johnstone Kirkyard.  Andrew Scott died at Corncockle, 73 yrs, on April 23, 1851.  They are buried with their daughter, Sophia Scott, who died at Chapelhill, 3 yrs, on February 19, 1827.

The 1841 census of Corncockle shows:  Andrew Scott, age 60, Margaret, age 60, with Mary Scott, age 30, Marion, age 25, Jane, age 22, Lilian, age 19, Thomas Porteous, age 40 (Farm Servant), Francis Lockerbie, age 14, Farm Servant, Elizabeth Imrie, age 16, Female Servant, Helen Walker, Lodger. 

Next to the gravestone of Andrew Scott is another Scott family:  William Scott, Farmer in Mollin, died Feb 8, 1879, age 75, and his wife, Grace Charteris, died at Mollin October 24 1895, age 89.  There are other family members with them:  William who died in Feb 1870, 32 yrs; James, who died at Redhall on Sept 8, 1847, age 3yrs;  Rev. John Scott, Minister of the parish of Glenbucket, Aberdeenshire, died in Edinburgh on May 25, 1886, age 52; David Scott, Farmer, Mollin, died July 29, 1924, age 81.

My notes show that Andrew Scott and Margaret Howat(son) had at least William, Samuel [Sr], and Andrew Scott as their sons, along with the children in the 1841 census.

This is as far as I am with the research.  Thank you!

Allison
 

[Maggie1895]

Allison, belated welcome to Rootschat.    You have a huge amount of information there, all interesting.    I was in the Johnstonebridge Churchyard only last week, it's such a lovely peaceful place down by the river.    Next time I go I must keep an eye out for your Scott family.

My question is going to sound rather stupid, but with so much of the family known already are you trying to go backward or come forward?   Is there a specific aspect you wanted the people on the board to help with?

[A.]

I would like to go backward.   Ian McClumpha did research for me in 2008 and the results are what I have detailed in my previous message.  All I knew before contacting him was the information on Samuel Scott's son, Samuel Scott (who was the spouse of Agnes Porteous), born in 1833 in Johnstone.  I had the 1841 census, Samuel's 1833 birth record, and also Agnes Porteous' mother's Halliday family line from Aileen Taylor who did research and wrote to me through the family history newsletter connecton from Dumfriesshire (before the days of computers and internet) and nothing else except family history research that I did going from my grandparents back to Samuel Scott (born in 1833). 

I thought that this RootsChat may put me in touch with anyone who knows anything relating to Andrew Scott's genealogy.  I am creating a Family Tree Maker that I will also give to other descendants in Canada and the U.S.  (I'm in the Washington D.C. area.) Samuel Scott (born 1833) (and some siblings) emigrated to Hamilton, Ontario, with his parents, Samuel Scott and Agnes Porteous, not too long after Andrew Scott's death it seems.

Best wishes,

Allison

[Maggie1895]

Allison, don't know if this will give you a starter or is a dead end, but then that's half the fun of family history.

I just searched Scotlands People (scotlandspeople.gov.uk) and found there were 2 baptisms for a possible Margaret Howatson in Dumfriesshire.

The first is for a Margaret Hewetson on 02 May 1773 at Penpoint in Dumfries.  The parents are William Hewetson and Janet Minzies.   As the Minzies may possibly be the more normally spelt Menzies of today, similarly Hewetson could become Howitson.  The reference to look at it is 845/00 0010 0007.

Another that is nearer the date of her birth, according to her death record, is Margaret Hotson on 12 June 1779    That was in Canonbie, Dumfries and the parents were Andrew Hotson and Sarah Armstrong.  Reference to view is 814/00 0020 0072.

There is also a Margaret Hutcheson baptism in Morton, Dumfries in 1774 but I think that is less likely to be a misspelling of Howetson.   Not sure if you agree?

I also had a quick look to see how it was spelt in the marriage / irregular marriage you mentioned in 1803.   Searching Howatson it didn't come up at all, but it did searching Andrew Scott - there it is definitely shown as Margret Howat.   I take it you already have that from what you said, but if you need it the reference for that is 815/00 0010 0129

At what point do her records change from Margaret Howat to Howatson?

Based on that record being Howat, not Howatson, I tried a baptism for Margaret with a really wide sweep between 1766 and 1783.   Nine records come up, from Glasgow, Kirkcudbright and Ayr, none impossible.    That said, none of the parents mentioned shown immediately ring bells with the name pattern of Andrew and Margaret's children - I suppose it was too much to hope for a Sophia!

I also had a quick look at the Farm Horse Tax Records   ( http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/digital_volumes/image.php?book_id=545&image=E326%2F10%2F2%2F142 )   but can't see them on there either (the years covered are 1797-8 and the parishes I looked through quickly were Johnstonebridge and Kirkpatrick Juxta.    You might want to go in there and look at the surrounding areas, and perhaps search farms rather than surnames which was all I had time to do in a quick sweep.

Sorry I'm out of time at present, but hopefully you might like to explore both sites yourself, and even better someone else may have more information for you on either the Scott or Howat side.     

[A.]

Thank you for your time, effort and kindness!  I'll read your message very closely again and will work through your suggestions.  Allison