New Monkland

[Forfarian]

George Waddell of Gain was the son of John Waddell and Agnes Russell. I have his death certificate and there is a corresponding baptism in Bathgate in 1801. He has nothing whatsoever to do with Rebecca Stevenson.

I am now confident that the George Waddell who was the father of Rebecca Stevenson's son was the one born on 10 May 1813 at Roughcraig, New Monkland, son of John Main Waddell and Bethea Baillie. This George W is reputed to have eloped to Ireland with a Mary Stewart whose family disapproved of him. They are said to have settled in County Monaghan, where George died in 1871.

My reason for deducing this is that the New Monkland Kirk Session describes the George Waddell found to be the father of Rebecca Stevenson's child as 'George Waddell in Dalmacoulter'. The 1841 census lists at Dalmacoulter Robert Waddell, 40, and Bethea Baillie, 73. Robert Waddell, son of John Main Waddell and Bethea Baillie, was born at Roughcraig in 1793, and his brother George was born at Roughcraig in 1813.

mummyhornsby, are you a descendant of John W and Janet Blair?

[mummyhornsby]

That's right! Someone else had posted he was the son of John Waddell and Janet Blair.
Have you been researching the Waddells and Shanks of Gain?

[Forfarian]

That's right! Someone else had posted he was the son of John Waddell and Janet Blair.
Have you been researching the Waddells and Shanks of Gain?

I am researching all Waddells in that general area. The Shanks of Gain are a bit complicated so I have not researched them fully. I suspect that the Waddells of Gain and Inch are a branch of the Waddells of Holehouseburn, but I don't know exactly how they fit in and I need that elusive snippet of evidence to make the connection.

The picture is muddied, however, because the Waddells of Bridgend, who owned part of Gain in the late 18th century, are a branch of the Magiscroft family and as far as is known not related to George Waddell of Gain, who acquired the property at a later date. John Waddell of Bridgend died in 1823 and left instructions in his will that his property was to be sold and the proceeds divided among his brothers and their children and his sisters' children.

As far as I know John Waddell and Janet Blair were married in Cumbernauld in 1787. I know of two children, George b 1805 and Margaret, born 1798/9, married John Finlayson around 1820. No idea what happened to George b 1805, however.

[mummyhornsby]

so where do the John Waddell and Janet Blair fit in this picture? I have researched the Waddells and Sanks as my husband is a direct ancestor. Only got back to John Waddell and Agnes Russell though.
And who are the Magiscroft family?!

[Forfarian]

where do the John Waddell and Janet Blair fit in this picture?

I do not know.

who are the Magiscroft family?!

There are several big families of Waddells in New Monkland, and of course they intermarried so it isn't easy to sort them all out!

The Waddells of Stanrigg are descended from the Waddells of Balquhatstone in Slamannan, who can be traced back to James Waddell, who was granted the lands of Balquhatstone in 1513. Balquhatstone still stands. Stanrigg was on the hills east of Airdrie, and has been obliterated by later industrial activity.

The Waddells of Ryden are a bit trickier. They can be reliably traced to John Waddell and Mary Waddell whose family were born at Ryden in the early 18th century. However they are generally accepted to have descended from John Waddell 'The Martyr' who was executed at Magus Muir after the Battle of Bothwell Brig in 1679. Ryden is just north of Glenmavis in New Monkland.

The Waddells of Magiscroft can be traced back to John Waddell, who died in 1665. Magiscroft is now just a pile of stones quite close to the boundary between Cumbernauld and New Monkland.

The Waddells of Gain, and the Waddells of Inch who are descended from them, are not a long-standing New Monkland family. They are from West Lothian, and as I said before, may be a branch of the Waddells of Holehouseburn in the part of the parish of Whitburn which later became the district of Fauldhouse.

[jimmain]

George Waddell (Elizabeth Shanks 1826/ Margaret Gillespie 1852) was born 1801, son of John Waddell/ Agnes Russell.  This is confirmed from his death certificate. I found a John Waddell/ Agnes Russell married 1826, New Monkland. So there had to be another John Waddell/ Agnes Russell.  Does anyone have information on George Waddell’s grandparents (ie John Waddell’s parents)?

[Forfarian]

George Waddell (Elizabeth Shanks 1826/ Margaret Gillespie 1852) was born 1801, son of John Waddell/ Agnes Russell.  This is confirmed from his death certificate. I found a John Waddell/ Agnes Russell married 1826, New Monkland. So there had to be another John Waddell/ Agnes Russell.

Yes, there were at least two couples with the same names, but they are easy enough to sort out. The John W who married the later Agnes Russell in 1826 was the son of John W and Janet Shanks. He died in 1869. I do not know who his grandfather was.

Does anyone have information on George Waddell’s grandparents (ie John Waddell’s parents)?

I think that John W, husband of the earlier Agnes Russell and father of George Waddell of Gain, is the one who died in 1847 and is buried in Whitburn kirkyard. Unfortunately I don't have the Whitbun MI handy, but
(1) his age at death is an exact match for the son of Archibald W and Janet Nisbet, who was born at Leadloch on 29 December 1762 and
(2) his eldest son was Archibald and his second daughter Janet. Also Agnes Russell's parents were Robert Russell and Elizabeth Walker, and John W and Agnes R named their eldest daughter Elizabeth and their second son Robert and
(3) John W was buried in Whitburn, rather than in Bathgate, where several of their family were baptised, or Muiravonside, where they later lived, so presumably had a family connection to that area.

So I think that the parents of John W, husband of the earlier Agnes R, were probably Archibald W and Janet Nisbet. Unfortunately, I can't find any evidence to prove this, and I can't find any information to fit this Archibald W into the main Holehouseburn/Leadloch family.

[jimmain]

Forfarian, Many thanks for your prompt reply - much appreciated. I've spent a fair bit of time recently trying to find that answer.

[mummyhornsby]

I will add my thanks too!