Fifeshire Cavalry

[LizzieW]

Welcome to Rootschat.  I haven't found out more about Saughton and New Saughton, as I'm not 100% certain that my 4 x g.grandfather was born in the area.  However, if he was and he and his father were gardeners, it would make sense that they worked at a large house.   From what you say, there were actually 2 houses in the area, the original manor house called Old Saughton owned by the Watsons and Cammo House, which the Watson's bought and re named New Saughton.  As the birth I've found shows a person with the same name as my 4 x g.grandfather was born in New Saughton, I imagine that would be what was originally Cammo House.  I guess, as was common with English stately homes, that the gardeners lived either on the estate or very close to the estate.

Thank you once again for your interest.
Lizzie

[jf99]

The clarification regarding New  Saughton and Old Saughton is very helpful. There seems to be some confusion however over the name "Saughton Hall. " Just to clarify further- or muddy the water more-  the name of Saughtonhall- owned by the Bairds in the C18th, is a tidying up of 'Saughton haugh" HAUGH being  an area of meadow land by the river and SAUGHTON originally being a settlement identified by the willows or SAUGHS along the watermargin.   It has nothing to do with the word HALL

However, when an estate house was built at Saughtonhaugh (St Cuthberts) in 1623 it began the gentrification process  by which HAUGH was transformed  into HALL. To add to the confusion, by the C19th it was also being referred to as "the old mansion of Saughton."

It may be that houses  at either New Saughton and Old Saughton are referred to as "Saughton Hall" in the records but the word HALL tends not to be used to identify an estate house in Scotland much before the C19th with influence from the south. Often abbreviated to HA', it refers more commonly to the principal tenant's dwelling on an agricultural holding- 'HALL of such-and-such'. These on occasion could be occupied and expanded by landed proprietors so that 'HALL of Auchencairn" , for example,  might become the name of an estate house by default.

From all this much confusion arises!
 

[Redroger]

Lizzie, My 2Xgreat grandfather, John Luffman did much the same thing in the reverse direction. He joined the Somerset Fencible Militia at Bath in February 1794, and followed with the unit to Alford Lincs. The purpose of the movement of the Militia was to resist a Napoleonic Invasion, the Authorities were concerned at the possibility of risings in favour of Napoleon and believed that Militia units from another part of the country were more likely to obey their officers and shoot the locals if ordered than troops from the vicinity. Hence the troop movements, in my ancestor's case to Alford Lincs. The detailed movements of these units is recorded in the Muster rolls held at Kew, and it is quite likely that your ancestor joined when the unit passed through his home town. A visit to Kew Archives would determine this. The records for the Somerset Militia, the monthly pay lists include the names of all the troops and not just the officers so if they have survived you will be able to follow his career from start to finish. By the way, at that time Boston was a centre notorious for revolutionary intrigue, and there were several incidents, so the authorities' concern had some foundation, but in view of the number of weddings between militiamen and local women (9 in Alford including my ancestor in 1798 alone) I do wonder if the would have obeyed orders if ordered to shoot?

[LizzieW]

Roger - I've never been to Kew, although I ought to make the effort.  All I know is that Payroll records of the Fifeshire Cavalry at the National Archives, show that my 4 x g.grandfather, Charles Gilchrist, joined the Cavalry in 1795 and on the records for the second half of 1795, he is listed as "attested Sept 9".  Also that in the summer of 1798 the troop had moved to King's Lynn, before returning to Boston, where Charles and Catherine Robinson were married - she was Boston born and bred.   After his marriage to Catherine, he was stationed at various places on the east and south-east coasts of England but she appears to have accompanied him to some of the places as the payroll records show that he received a billeting allowance.  The troop was disbanded in March 1800. 

I've not actually seen the records myself but want to, although I don't think they actually give his date or place of birth.

Lizzie

[Redroger]

Lizzie, If his attestation form has survived it will give date and place of birth, problem is as in my case not many have.S trip to Kew will confirm.
Rogerj.

[LizzieW]

Thanks Roger - I can see a trip when the weather improves, is on the cards - although I'm not sure that his attestation form has survived, just the comment on the payroll records that he attested on 9 September.

[Redroger]

Worth a look though, in that era it is rather unusual for full detail of the troopers to survive, but it seems as though these special militia units fared better than most regular units despite what it says on the Kew catalogue.I go to Kew fairly regularly, but not when its cold.

[dkwilliams]

jf99, that's really interesting about the derivation of the name.  I am adding it to my notes.

To make matters even more confusing, there were THREE houses with similar names, but they were related through the Watson family.  The Watsons had sold off or dowered (still trying to sort out the lines of transfer) the east part of their lands called Saughton to the Moodie family in the 1600s.  In 1660, a Moodie daughter sold that land to Robert Baird who built a large manor called Saughton Hall and gardens on it.  The building later became a private asylum, then was bought by the Edinburgh corporation to be developed, but it also burned down in the mid 1950s.  There was evidently (and may still be) a Rose Garden, and the Scottish National Exhibition opened 1st May 1908 on the grounds there.

[Mark GG]

Hi Lizzie.
I know this is an old chat but I'm also descended from Charles Gilchrist. I have an electronic version of the family tree book if you're still interested I can arrange to send you a copy.
Mark