Melrose one-place study

[vivdunstan]

I am running a Melrose one-place study, with a particular interest in the pre-1820 period. For a full description of the study, and the resources available so far, see

http://www.vivdunstan.co.uk/melrose-ops.html

This one-place study research comes out of my genealogy research. I have strong family connections with Melrose from the late 20th century researched solidly back to the early 1600s.

I've done extensive research on the 17th century population of Melrose, before the parish registers are much use at all. I recently put online my notes from the 1694 Melrose parish hearth tax records. To read more about these see

https://melroseoneplacesstudy.wordpress.com/2012/09/16/studying-melrose-hearth-tax-records-for-1694/

and to see the full notes from the hearth tax look at

http://www.vivdunstan.co.uk/melrose/hearthtax.html

[hdw]

Hello Viv. What Melrose surnames are you interested in, if I may ask? I've done a lot of research in the Melrose records myself, including the Melrose Regality Records, where there are many entries for the surname Moffat. As far as I can see, the Moffats were one large extended family, with concentrations in the fermtouns of Threepwood, Ouplaw and Blainslie. They go back to ancestors who were "kindly tenants" of the monks of Melrose Abbey before the Reformation, i.e. farmers who were regarded as having farmed the same place time out of mind, although they had no written entitlement to their lands.

My most recent Moffat ancestor was my great-great-great-grandmother Alison Moffat (b. 1779, Ouplaw). She never married, but had an illegitimate son called Robert Stephenson, my great-great-grandfather. Robert and his wife Isabella Wight (from Maxton) are buried in Melrose Abbey churchyard, where they have a (broken) headstone. You may know already that the monumental inscriptions of that churchyard are available on CD.

Alison Moffat's brother William, farmer at Newstead, has descendants at the present day.

Harry Watson
(Edinburgh)

[vivdunstan]

Hi Harry,

Thanks for the reply. For the one-place study I'm interested in the entire population, so all surnames.

But my own genealogy research is strongest for certain families in my ancestral line. So particularly Usher (of Toftfield, near Darnick), Blaikie (of Langhaugh, near Galashiels), Grieve (at Blainslie) and Mercer.

But as I said I'm interested in all surnames. A task I'm planning to tackle quite soon is to look at what surnames were concentrated in which communities, using the regality records and the early parish registers.

Yes I have the Melrose gravestone inscriptions book, and the Weirhill cemetery CD list.

Viv

[vivdunstan]

Forgot to add my recent Melrose ancestry. I have Dodds ancestors living in Melrose from the 1840s through to the 1980s. Generally living in the Abbey Gate / Abbey Street area. And Hall ancestors living at Gattonside Mains from the 1890s through to the 1930s and later. Members of the recent family are buried at Weirhill and Wairds cemeteries.

But as I said I'm doing a one-place study for the parish, pre 1820, so am interested in all families there. So not just my own known genealogical connections.

[hdw]

Well, my Melrose connection starts far back in time with the Moffats of Threepwood and thereabouts, and ends with the death from smallpox of my great-great-grandfather Robert Stephenson at Darnick on New Year's Eve, 1862, aged 57. His son Thomas Wight Stephenson, my great-grandfather, moved to Dalkeith and then into Edinburgh. Another son, William Stephenson, married Agnes Ramage and they had two daughters. William died in Melrose in 1873, aged 30. A sister, Elizabeth Stephenson, married a saw-miller called George Scott and they moved to Dalkeith. So the Stephenson connection with Melrose was short-lived. Their female line, the Moffats, always seem to have lived outside Melrose town itself, on fermtouns in the north of the parish nearer to Lauder than to Melrose itself.

Harry

[alan14578]

Viv  We have spoken before. I transcribed the Weirhill cemetery and for your info I am nearly finished Wairds which is big. I managed to get to look at the old Melrose Grammer School admissions records still held at the Melrose Primary Schhol and managed to get a copy of the first two pages and included John Dodds son of John Dodds Abbey street joining the school Oct 1870 and his birth is shown as July 1864.
Thought you might be interested . No Moffats shown!
alan

[vivdunstan]

Thanks Alan. But I don't think that's my John Dodds. There was another Dodds family in Abbey Street, a family of blacksmiths if I remember correctly.

My lot at that time were Alexander Burnett Dodds, wife Catherine Irvine, and 9 children, born 1860s-1880s. My great-grandfather was their son John b. 1877.

I went to that school as a primary pupil for a few years before moving back to Hawick. Was a trainbearer in the Melrose festival when I was in primary one.

[luckydog]

I am currently researching my family in the Melrose area. One of several families I am looking is Hart. So far I have the following from your period of interest

George Hart ( no dob ) married Anne Chisholm ( dob 21/10/1733 Melrose ) 05 /09/ 1757 in Melrose. They are my 6 x great grandparents.
My 5 x gg is Robert Hart born 26th June 1763 Newsteads , died 27th Nov. 1820.
My 4 x gg is William Hart born 3rd May 1795 , married Jane Vair 23rd November 1821.

Anything you know about this family is of interest to me particularly date of birth and ancestors of George Hart.

I am also looking at the Wallace family in Melrose ( they ran a bakery business in Melrose up until the 1960's )
My brick wall is with James Wallace ( no dob ) married to Alison Phaup 6th January 1750 in Melrose . Any help there would be greatly appreciated.
Mike

[alan14578]

luckydog I suggest you buy the Melrose Abbey CD from Border Family History Soc. There are numerous HARTs buried there mainly in the early 1800s all from Melrose Gattonside and Newstead. and mostly Bro Masons watchmaker etc.

Wattie Hart the 1950s scottish /Melrose rugby player still lives in Melrose.
Hope this helps
alan