Author Topic: Andrew Black, Comptroller of Customs, Anstruther Easter, died 1807  (Read 3380 times)

Offline hurworth

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Andrew Black, Comptroller of Customs, Anstruther Easter, died 1807
« on: Tuesday 03 May 16 23:46 BST (UK) »
I'm hoping someone with local knowledge may have information about this family.

Andrew died on 29 Nov 1807.

His will CC20/4/29 only mentions a niece, Janet Black of Anstruther Easter. 

I'm wondering whether she is the Janet Black who died in 1834 who was the sister of Captain James Black of the Royal Navy (curiosity will no doubt get the better of me sometime and I will buy some more ScotlandsPeople credits and get her will).

What I am wondering is whether this Black family is related to the Johnstons of Fallside/Rennyhill or the connection is that they were trusted friends. Andrew Black was a witness at the baptism of Henry Johnston in 1770 at Rennyhill and the other witness was Andrew Johnston, merchant of Anstruther Easter.

I received a lot of help on Rootschat with Alexander Black of Gidea Hall last year (see link below) and I haven't worked out whether Alexander Black is related to these Anstruther Easter Blacks or not.
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=716633.msg5604307#msg5604307

Henry Johnston who was born in 1770 named a son Alexander Black Johnston.

Another association between Johnstons and Blacks (but are they the same Blacks?) is via Henry's sister Ann Jean Johnston who married Neil MacVicar, an Edinburgh merchant (explained in the other thread).


Offline Rosinish

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Re: Andrew Black, Comptroller of Customs, Anstruther Easter, died 1807
« Reply #1 on: Wednesday 04 May 16 00:41 BST (UK) »
Henry Johnston who was born in 1770 named a son Alexander Black Johnston.

Hi Hurworth,

The norm usually would be...a middle name which is actually a surname....a good possibility of being the mother's maiden name or grandmother's maiden name on the maternal line if that helps?

Annie
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Offline hurworth

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Re: Andrew Black, Comptroller of Customs, Anstruther Easter, died 1807
« Reply #2 on: Wednesday 04 May 16 08:36 BST (UK) »

Hi Hurworth,

The norm usually would be...a middle name which is actually a surname....a good possibility of being the mother's maiden name or grandmother's maiden name on the maternal line if that helps?

Annie

Quite a few of the children were given various family surnames (luckily for me, from a genealogy perspective as they were excellent clues), but I haven't found a Black in any of the maternal lines.  I don't think think that Black is a name from Henry's wife's family.   Henry's wife was born across the Atlantic, probably in South Carolina, and her father was from Dundee.

They gave another child the middle name Forrester and I'm certain that is after Henry's brother-in-law in Kilrenny rather than the name of an ancestor.

Offline hdw

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Re: Andrew Black, Comptroller of Customs, Anstruther Easter, died 1807
« Reply #3 on: Wednesday 04 May 16 12:08 BST (UK) »
Hello. James Black, tobacconist in Anstruther, married Helen Hodge in 1764, and they were the parents of Andrew Black (b.1768), merchant and Comptroller of Customs; James Black, b.1775, later a captain in the Royal Navy who served on the HMS Mars at Trafalgar; William Black, who became a rear-admiral in the Navy; and Janet Black, who married master mariner John Watterston. James and William Black never married and have no descendants, but the Watterston line has continued up to the present day, and indeed my wife and I are friendly with a descendant who used to be my wife's boss, and who is my 5th cousin.

I'm not aware of any relationship to the Johnstons of Rennyhill, but I wouldn't rule it out.

Harry


Offline hurworth

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Re: Andrew Black, Comptroller of Customs, Anstruther Easter, died 1807
« Reply #4 on: Wednesday 04 May 16 13:02 BST (UK) »
Thanks Harry.

I was hoping this might catch your eye as you are a living encyclopaedia of the area.

So, I think therefore that there were two Andrew Blacks who were Comptrollers of Customs - firstly Andrew who witnessed Henry Johnston's baptism at Kilrenny in 1770 and then later on his nephew, son of James Black and Helen Hodge.

There's a couple called James Black and Janet Bennet who baptised an Andrew on 3 June 1735 and a James on 26 Sept 1742 and I just spotted Johnston Black who was baptised 10 Oct 1740 at Anstruther Easter. 

More credits purchased - Johnston and John were twins - witnesses were Andrew Johnston and John Drummond (a merchant).  It says their father James is a land labourer.



      



Offline hdw

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Re: Andrew Black, Comptroller of Customs, Anstruther Easter, died 1807
« Reply #5 on: Wednesday 04 May 16 14:46 BST (UK) »
Wow, a "living encyclopaedia". I suppose that's better than "a national treasure", which would make me feel really old. All I know I have learned from books, especially good old George Gourlay the Anstruther newsagent and bookseller, whose "Anstruther: or Illustrations of Scottish Burgh Life" (1888) mentions the Black headstones in Anstruther Easter (St. Adrian's) churchyard. The oldest one is the headstone of William Black, who was "prćses" or chief magistrate of the town. According to the Scottish Genealogy Society pre-1855 MI of East Fife volume, re Anstruther Easter churchyard, he died in 1637, but Gourlay quotes the Latin inscription in full, which makes his death 20 years later. He was supposedly 56 in 1657. Gourlay would have seen the stone when it was less weathered and illegible than it is today. And Gourlay mentions a John Black on the Anstruther Easter town council in 1662. I assume these Blacks were ancestors of the 18th/19th c. ones. Towns like Anstruther were run for generations by the same little self-perpetuating cliques.

Stephanie Stevenson's "Anstruther. A History" (John Donald, 1989) was specifically written as an updating of Gourlay's book and she also mentions the Black family. On pages 130-131 she tells us about the records of the Sound Tolls paid at Elsinore in Denmark by vessels sailing to Danzig and Königsberg in the eastern Baltic and "Among the shipmasters were Alexander Black and William Black [of Anstruther] (he was a commissioner to the Convention (of Royal Burghs) in 1597, 1601 and 1603 and just over sixty years later other Alexander and William Blacks were commissioners for the burgh)."

Stephanie also mentions the Johnstons, builders of Johnston Lodge in Anstruther, a historic house near the harbour in part of which she lived when writing the book. I'm not actually sure whether the Johnstons of Pittowie were identical with the Johnstons of Rennyhill in Kilrenny. Further research required.

Harry


Offline hurworth

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Re: Andrew Black, Comptroller of Customs, Anstruther Easter, died 1807
« Reply #6 on: Thursday 05 May 16 08:13 BST (UK) »
The other witness at Henry Johnston's baptism was Andrew Johnston, merchant of Anstruther Easter.  Perhaps he's from the Pittowie family.

Henry didn't have witnesses from out of town at his baptism, whereas some of his older siblngs did.  I recently posted details of the baptism of his older sister Isabella and the witnesses were a Bethune from Fingask and George Clephane from Carslogie.  A baptism in Anstruther Easter would have been the perfect excuse for a boys' weekend. 

The coexistence of two Andrew Johnstons in the same area has been confusing.  I have a hunch that the Rennyhill Andrews were more colourful for a generation or two.

The John Drummond who was a witness for the Black twins in 1741 was also the witness at the baptism of Jean Johnston, daughter of James Johnston, maltster, and Elspeth Balfour.  Is it possible that James was related to Andrew Johnston?

Offline hurworth

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Re: Andrew Black, Comptroller of Customs, Anstruther Easter, died 1807
« Reply #7 on: Sunday 30 October 16 20:19 GMT (UK) »
I just noticed this on the Friends of Dundee City archives.

http://www.fdca.org.uk/Admiraly_Records6.html

AC9/1659  Johnstone v Davidson - 1749

Andrew Johntston merchant of Anstruther, pursues John Davidson merchant of Eyemouth, et al, for freights owing from a voyage of the 'Rachel' of Dundee, master Peter Douglas shipmaster of St Andrews, from Hamburg to Leith
4 Items

 Precept
Defences
Ladings
Assignation

People

Cha Johnston druggist Edr
Wm Reid mcht Edr
Ja Begbie mcht N Berwick

I wonder whether twenty years of age would be too young for the Andrew Johnstone born 1729 to be involved in business at this level.



Offline hdw

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Re: Andrew Black, Comptroller of Customs, Anstruther Easter, died 1807
« Reply #8 on: Sunday 30 October 16 20:47 GMT (UK) »
I don't think so, you had to grow up more quickly in those days and start earning your living.

Harry