Windrigg Kirk, Dalton, Dumfriesshire

[balmoral2003]

Hi Jean

I am married to a descendant of Richard, via Mary's brother William. Strangely enough, only the two sons William and Richard have a birth entry through the parish registers. The girls only appear either via marriages and two of them died young and I found out about them through the Memorial Inscriptions of Annan old burial ground.

We go to the area quite often, but I agree that spring time is a much better time to visit! And Dalton has got a fantastic Thai restaurant that's very worthwhile visiting.

Ingrid

[csc]

was marys brother william a grocer       there was also a robert vivers in torthorwald farmer whose family ended up in dornock the other side of annan     i remember in the fifties while camping with the guides the farmers name at dornock town was vivers  csc

[balmoral2003]

Hello csc

Yes, this Robert is a son of William (who was farming at Murthat, which no longer exists but we found it be in  (brother of Mary) and ancestor of my hubby, and the Dornock Vivers are again descending from this Robert. The grocer William comes down the other son's line. Anything you know about the family is very welcome...I've got a lot on this family but there remain certain mysteries...

My patriarch for this family is Richard, who had two sons William b 1745 (as above) and Richard b 1757. Richard jr married an Agnes Irving and had sons John b 1780 and Richard b 1781. These are the ones I have birth entries for. However, there are also a Robert b 1783 and William (grocer) b 1787. From the info I have they could not be William's children and have to be Richard's. However, no conclusive proof! Mother Agnes died in 1788 (presumably after childbirth?).

The farmer where you camped was either my husband's great grandfather or grandfather! Do you remember if he was very old? The great grandfather died in 1957. So exciting you stayed there! Christielands?

[csc]

yes we were near stapleton tower i remember digging a hole in which we filled with straw and put the porridge in and it was cooked in the morning our guide leader was a relative of the farmer we  only knew her as miss knox her family were solicitors in annan we also had a miss vivers who taught us cooking at annan academy  i will see what i can find csc

[purplekat]

Hi Ingrid and csc

Wow what great info, I love family stories and I sincerely hope 'my' Mary is part of this family, Do you know if Vivers is/was a relatively uncommon name in the area?

Strangely enough, only the two sons William and Richard have a birth entry through the parish registers.

I have also tried to  find Mary through the LDS and OPR's on the SP website without any luck.

Mary's daughter, Ann Henderson, (my ggg grandmother), married Robert Blyth and lived in Moffat.  In the Blyth family she is credited with introducing toffee to Moffat which she sold near the Old Town Well, apparently official histories of Moffat give credit for the toffee to a lady called Granny Blacklock but older members of the Blyth family have always disputed this. 

Jean

P.S.  Thanks for the tip about the restaurant Ingrid, we live about two and a half hours away and our thoughts always turn to food by the time we arrive in the area!

[csc]

annan is the place for most of the vivers family also a couple in canonbie am quite interested in the brydekirk connection this is where i started school and my dad was born in limekilns cottages in 1920  the farmer at park farm in the 1950s was named douglas he had lovely horses that i liked  csc

[purplekat]

I can't wait to go there now, considering the cost of petrol it might be easier to stay for a few day in order to fit everything in. 

Jean

[csc]

how interesting that francis/mary had a son richard do you know where murthat was i thought when i first saw it it might be murraythwaite as i have seen it spelt odly in a few of these local monumental inscription moriwat murthwat all sorts csc

[balmoral2003]

Hello Jean and CSC

This is all great stuff! Annan Academy teacher could be my mother in law? She taught there for a short while in the Eighties. Or was it earlier? Miss Knox's mother was a Vivers who married the solicitor Knox. She is now called Creighton and a cousin of my father-in-law.

Vivers was at the time an unusual name in the area and so far I've been able to trace all the dumfriesshire Vivers back to this Richard b 1705 d 1790. I wish I could find his birth entry anywhere....I only have his info from his memorial inscription, and also the fact that he was from Yorkshire. Then the name Vivers appeared in the 16th and 17th century in the Banbury area, they were woollen merchants and early founders of the Quaker movement. If you google the name you'll come across old stories. What I have been hoping to do, but so far have not been able to is finding the missing link between the Banbury Vivers and the Annan Vivers.

Murthat, I found it on an old map, was in the garden of now Limekilns, which is appparently now farmed by a son of this Miss Knox. And Murraythwaite was farmed by the first Richard. I found in the Edinburgh a fantastic old letter about him. Is there a way of passing on e-mail addresses and I could send both of you a transcription of this letter?

The Jenny Mills farm (Brydekirk, isn't it?) was also farmed by a William Vivers. The amount of William's in this family is astonishing and confusing! His son John was a captain in the army during WW1 and unfortunately got killed. He had been to Annan Academy as well (my hubby too by the way).