GELLATLY, Moneydie and Inchture and ..?

[hdw]

I know there have been previous postings on this thread about GELLATLY (various spellings) in Perthshire, but maybe not about this lot.

My father's family all came from Fife, where I was brought up myself, with one exception - my 3 x great-grandfather David Gellatly, who married Catherine Tarvit ("Tervate") of Cellardyke, Kilrenny parish, Fife, in 1799 at Inchture, Perthshire. David and Catherine were to settle in Catherine's home village in Fife where he went to the fishing.

I happen to know that Catherine was a younger sister of Elspeth Tarvit of Cellardyke who in 1794 married George Gellatly at Inchture. Their marriage and the birth of their first child is recorded in the Kilrenny OPR. And when Catherine fell pregnant in 1789 and was cross-examined by the kirk-session of Kilrenny about the father of her child, she told them a cock and bull story about being ravished by a man in sailor's costume while she was walking along the road from Dundee to visit her sister at Abernyte (neighbouring village to Inchture). At least the bit about visiting her sister in Perthshire has the ring of truth (she eventually confessed that the father of her child was a local farmer in Kilrenny).

Anyway, it looks as if two Tarvit sisters from Fife married two Gellatly brothers from Inchture, but the trouble with that theory is that I cannot find a birth or death for this George Gellatly. Haven't got a clue who he was! But David Gellatly, my ancestor, died in Cellardyke, Kilrenny parish, just weeks before the 1851 Kilrenny census (couldn't you have held on for just a few more weeks, grandad!!), and his age at death is given in the OPR as 73. That suggests a birth around 1777-78. The 1841 census of Kilrenny (with Cellardyke)
 confirms that he was not born in Fife. I think he is the David "Gallitly" born in 1777 at Moneydie, Perthshire, to Patrick Gallitly and Jean McCrobie. Unfortunately this couple don't seem to have had a son called George. I have traced these Gallitlys/Gellatlys back to Auchtergaven.

Patrick Gallitly and Jean McCrobie or Crobie have a headstone in Moneydie churchyard. I've never been there, and if anyone living locally can be bothered to visit the churchyard, I'd be interested to know if the stone is still legible and worth taking a photo of.

The mysterious George Gellatly and his wife Elspeth Tarvit had at least 8 children I know of so they must have descendants at the present day. I wonder if any of them are reading this?

Harry

[Lana Thornton]

Hello, I came across your search by pure luck as I was searching for any info on an ancestor of mine called ELSPETH TERVATE (spelling could be a bit different)  She was the Wife of George Gellatly from Inchture in Scotland.

They had a daughter called Ann Gellatly born in 1764.  Ann Gellatly was the Mother of Elizabeth McIntosh, who married John McLeish in 1826. John and Elizabeth had a son also called John McLeish
married Mary Smith in 1866 and they had a son called Norman Fraser McLeish who is my Grandfather.

I am doing some research and know that George Gellatly's father was John Gellatly and he married Janet Gearie (could be Geary) around 1764. 

Don't know anything about the other children of George but can certainly try to find some now that you've given me more info.

Hope any of this helps.
Anna Holt/Thornton.
born in Dundee Scotland.

[hdw]

Hello. Thanks for replying to my post. I'm interested in what you say, but I'm a bit puzzled by your dates. You have George Gellatly and Elspeth Tervate with a daughter called Ann in 1764, but the George Gellatly and Elspith Tarvitt (various spellings) I'm talking about were only married at Inchture on 21st October 1794. Their daughter Anna was born the following year in Elspith's home village of Cellardyke in the parish of Kilrenny, Fife. Here's the entry from the Kilrenny OPR -

"George Gellatly, Land-labourer in Hill-head in parish of Inchture, in Carse of Gowrie, and Elspith Tarvett his wife (lately married persons) had a Daughter born at Cellardike on April 19th 1795 ... named Anna".

Their later children were George(1797), Janet(1798), Catherine(1800), Thomas(1802), Elspeth(1804), William(1806) and another George (1808). Some of the children were born in Ballindean, which is 1 1/2 miles from Inchture, and Tinkletop, in the same area. I once cut out an ad. from the Scotsman for "Tinkletap farm", a desirable villa for sale, formerly a farm steading.

I've never found death notices for George Gellatly or Elspeth Tarvit. I have no doubt that she was the sister of my Catherine Tarvit, but George Gellatly's relationship to my David Gellatly is a mystery.

Harry

[Lana Thornton]

Sorry I typed it wrong...George and Elspeth Tervate/Tarvit were married Oct 21 1794
They were both born in 1764 and had a daughter Ann that was born in Kilspindie Parish, Perthshire

Scots used to be married called Hand Fasting, which was they were allowed to live together for a Year and a Day to see if they liked one another before making it permanent. Many times couples only got married after a child was born.  So you might have the child born in 1794 and the couple married in 1795 etc.   Lots of times people married into families they knew in the area, so its entirely possible that Elspeth had a sister that married George's brother.  I can't get onto Scotland's People website as its updating but I will try to see what's in my files once its up and let you know.  Now that I know the name Tervate was also Tarvit it might give me more info.

[hdw]

I'm still puzzled by your dates. You say Anna was born in 1794 at Kilspindie but if so she must have died because the Kilrenny OPR states that George and Elspith had a daughter called Anna born at Cellardyke on April 19th 1795.

Also, you say that Anna had a daughter called Elizabeth McIntosh who married John McLeish in 1826. But Anna Gellatly herself would only be 31 in 1826 and any daughter she had would just be a child.

Harry

[Lana Thornton]

A lot of times the names are not exact as are the dates of birth, so it is entirely possible that my Ann born in Inchture to George Gellatly and Elspeth Tervate is in fact Anna born in 1795.
Scotland's People network is down so I can't verify anything until 26th when it comes back up.

George Gellatly was born in 1764 to John Gellatly and Janet Gearie who was born Feb 18, 1764.
Now what I have found is that there are many spellings of these names.
Gellatly is also Gallatly, Gallately, Gelllately, and Gearie is also Geary which makes things very difficult to research and find the right ancestors.

George married Elspeth on Oct 21 1794...now it would seem that would make her 7 months pregnant if she bore Anna in April 1795...which leads me to believe they were hand fasted as was the Gaelic custom of that time....many didn't marry in the Church as they didn't really care much for the Church and its systems at that time.

[Lana Thornton]

here is George's marriage to Elspeth

http://search.findmypast.com/record?id=r_696054974
here is his birth record

http://search.findmypast.com/record?id=r_696054974

here is Elizabeth McIntosh who's mother was Ann/Anna Gellatly
birth record
http://search.findmypast.com/record?id=r_688224578

[hdw]

I once wrote an article about my Gellatly researches which was published in The Scottish Genealogist. I can scan it and email it to you if you are interested. As you say, there are many spellings of Gellatly, depending on who is writing the name down. Likewise for Tarvit/Tervit/Tervate.

I'm still baffled as to how your George and my David were related, but the fact that they married two sisters suggests that they were. As I said before, I see David as the son of Patrick Gellatly and Jean McRobie, but they never registered a son called George. Did John Gellatly and Janet Gearie have a son called David?

The children of George Gellatly and Elspeth Tarvit were Anna, George, Janet, Catherine, Thomas, Elspeth, William and another George. Four sons, but no John.

It was commonplace for working-class girls in Scotland to be pregnant when they got married, although the Kirk never accepted this and punished them for their "antenuptial fornication". I know that handfasting took place in certain parts of the country, but not in the Lowlands to my knowledge, and these Gellatlys are in Lowland Perthshire. Gaelic customs don't apply there or in Fife. Human nature, is all!

Yes, it will be good when Scotlandspeople is up and running again, but I've just paid my latest credit card bill, it's all for credits for that website, and I'm shocked at how much I spend!

Harry

[Lana Thornton]

Been looking for census for George and John Gellatly on findmypast.uk but so far nothing showing up.  John was George's Father and Im sure he had more than one son, possibly David. Yes your right that no 2 families could marry so close if they weren't related somehow.  Because they lived and worked in the same area they would be in very close quarters with both family siblings, so not so far fetched that they would end up marrying one!  Might not have been a lot of choices back in those days.

Yes please email me the article I would love to read it.  I just got the book Ancestral Voices the History of the McLeish name and there's a Gellatly in the line of one of the McLeish in this book although not sure its one of my ancestors....but coincedence of the name means there were a lot of them living in the same areas.

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