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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Stirlingshire => Topic started by: Censuswizard on Thursday 17 March 05 17:07 GMT (UK)
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I am trying to trace the family of James Mackison born near Stirling abt 1853.
I know that his father was also called James Mackison. I need perhaps to find him in the 1861 census when he would still have been at home with his family. I think his mother was either Helen or Jean.
Any information on the family much appreciated.
Thanks
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Hi Cencuswizard,
There are two James Mackisons on the 1881 Cencus. One in Stirling, the other in Lecropt, Perthshire. I know there's a Lecropt Church just outside Bridge of Allan, Stirling, not sure where the Lecropt is in Perthshire.
(I entered 1853 as his date of birth +/- 5 years)
Entry No 1:Dwelling: Old Hall
Census Place: Gargunnock, Stirling, Scotland
Source: FHL Film 0203541 GRO Ref Volume 481-A EnumDist 4 Page 3
Marr Age Sex Birthplace
James MACKISON M 75 M Gargunnock, Stirling, Scotland
Rel: Head
Occ: Farmer Of 80 Acres Arable
Agnes MACKISON M 60 F Gargunnock, Stirling, Scotland
Rel: Wife
Occ: Farmers Wife
Mary MACKISON U 32 F Kippen, Stirling, Scotland
Rel: Daur
Occ: Farmers Daur
Eliza MACKISON U 27 F Kippen, Stirling, Scotland
Rel: Daur
Occ: Farmers Daur
Charles MACKISON U 25 M Kippen, Stirling, Scotland
Rel: Son
Occ: Farmers Son
James MACKISON U 23 M Kippen, Stirling, Scotland
Rel: Son
Occ: Farmers Son
Agnes MACKISON U 20 F Kippen, Stirling, Scotland
Rel: Daur
Occ: Farmers Daur
Entry No. 2:
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Entry No. 2 just vanished!!
Here it is again.
Dwelling: Hillhead
Census Place: Kilmadock, Perth, Scotland
Source: FHL Film 0203506 GRO Ref Volume 362 EnumDist 8 Page 2
Marr Age Sex Birthplace
Margaret MACKISON W 62 F Port Of Montieth, Perth, Scotland
Rel: Head
Occ: Farming 96 Acres All Arable Employing 2 Men 1 Boy 2 Girls
John MACKISON U 40 M Lecropt, Perth, Scotland
Rel: Son
Occ: Farmers Son
James W. MACKISON U 27 M Lecropt, Perth, Scotland
Rel: Son
Occ: Farmers Son
Mary E. MACKISON U 25 F Lecropt, Perth, Scotland
Rel: Daur
Occ: Farmers Daur
Michael MONAGHAN U 16 M Lecropt, Stirling, Scotland
Rel: Serv
Occ: Farm Servant
Annie STEWART U 17 F Port Of Montieth, Perth, Scotland
Rel: Serv
Occ: Serv.Domestic
Hopefully one of these will be your James. Good Luck!
Anne
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Thanks for looking those up for me. It is much appreciated.
I am not sure if either are him. I know he had a daughter Annie born about 1877. I dont knoe when he married though.
Thanks again.
June
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Hi June. Did you make any progress with this? I have a fairly comprehensive list of Mackisons if I can be of help. I saw your query re Gartness when I was surfing the Net and so I registered with Rootschat today so that I could respond. Havent quite got the hang of the protocols yet though. Jim
The Killearn Mackisons were from Bannockburn, near Stirling. This is my family. Before that they probably came from Doune or Dunblane in South Perthshire. The northern part of the Forth Valley is Mackison country. There are records of hundreds of them there dating back to the late 1400s. Unfortunately I cant find the absolutely conclusive evidence to link the Bannockburn Mackisons to the Doune/Dunblane Mackisons.
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Up until the about 1950-60 Lecropt church and graveyard were in Perthshire, the border was the river allan, north of it was Perthshire. The graveyard is only 500 yards from my back door. If you need any help I could go and look at the gravestones for you.
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Both entries you have are for the same place (Lecropt)
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Dear Friends,
My name is Steven Mackison. I'm an Anglican priest living in Canada (I know...with a name like Mackison, I should be Church of Scotland...so it goes.)
In any event I am trying to research descendants of James Mackison of Kilmadock (born approx 1816). I have a fairly complete picture to date in that I've found a lot of material on ancestry.com and scotsorigins, and have latterly found much of what I need on scotlandspeople.gov.uk. The problem is, the records end in the 1930's. More particularly, I am looking for descendants of James Mackison (b. 15 Oct 1881) son of William Mackison (b. 25 Dec 1839) and Janet McGowan (b. 7 Jun 1843) - all of Ballingrew, Kilmadock.
James Mackison married Annie Murray Brown (b. 1891) on 25 Dec 1929 but I cannot discover if they had any children - James' death certificate of 18 March 1942 does not indicate so, but one never knows. Lastly I am trying to discover if James' other son Robert McGowan Mackison (b. 28 May 1883) at Norrieston, Kincardine Perth was married or had children.
My apologies for the long message, but I wanted to provide as much detail as possible. The real shame is, I only discovered this material yesterday, 1 week after returning from my honeymoon in Scotland...I could have done some research while I was in the area. However, my new wife, although now a Mackison herself, may not have been obliging...who would blame her.
Any help that you may be in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Steven
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Hello Steven,
Welcome to Rootchat and many congratulations on your marriage!
I hope you get some helpful information.
I had a wander round Kippen Graveyard the other day and just happened to come across a Mackison/Mackieson stone. The following is the inscription:
Erected by James Mackison in memory of his wife
Agnes Norris who died 27th May 1881 aged 61 years
Also his son Peter died 6th August 1873 aged 21 years
And his son Robert Norris died 18th May 1886? aged 35 years
Also the above James Mackieson died 27th May 1890 aged 89 years
And his daughter Eliza died 16th March 1913 aged 61 years
Also his son James died 12th May 1915? aged 56 years
(My apologies if I've got some of the dates wrong - it's ofter hard to read the numbers)
Anne
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Sorry about the size of the first photo, I tried to amend it but I'm not managing to get rid of it! Photo 2 is the same stone, cropped and reduced.
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Dear Ann,
Thank-you for your prompt response and kind wishes. I shall see if this particular James Mackison fits the bill (Through the process of this family history research, I have come to the conclusion that there are more James mackisons than John Smiths.)
Sincerely,
Steven
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For Mackison
I Have researched quite a good part of your family, if you send me your e-mail address i will send it to you, there is to much to post here.
ironmax
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Ironmax,
Thank-you very much for your kind offer. My email is (*)
I look forward to receiving the materials!
Sincerely,
Steven
For Mackison
I Have researched quite a good part of your family, if you send me your e-mail address i will send it to you, there is to much to post here.
ironmax
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For Ironmax,
Would you mind sending the geneology info you offered once again. I bleieve my "junk email" folder accidently devoured it? I shall be sure to monitor my folders closely so that this won't happen again.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Sincerely,
Steven
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I have just registered with RootsChat and noticed the message from Steven. I think the James Mackison he refers to is my great great grandfather and the William Mackison is the elder brother of my great grandfather Thomas Finlayson Mackison. The latter left Scotland for Lancashire and after being in banking moved into cotton weaving. He married twice and had a daughter Caroline, who was my grandmother. Thomas died in 1898 at 56.
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Dear Sheila?
They are one and the same! How good to hear (of) from a distant relative. Would you happen to know of other descendants of Thomas Finlayson Mackison from either of his marriages. I am trying to build a family tree, which at this point is about the size of a Douglas Fir. I have managed to trace 4 generations back form Thomas Finlayson Mackison. If you would like, I would be happy to send you the Gedcom or paf file. If you would like to reach me directly, my email address is (*)
Sincerely,
Steven
P.S. As you may know Mackison family history tracing is difficult since most of the Mackisons changed there name to Maxwell in the 1750's and then back to Mackison again in the 1840's (although not all returned to their former Mackison patronymic)
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This is part of my family and my father can provide detailed information that you need, if you don't already have it.
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good morning katie, big warm welcome to rootschat, glad you have made contact with your family, hope to see many many more posts.
hi june, is this your james on the 1861 census?
1861 census; new road, st.ninian's
james...head...age 44...woolen tweed weaver...born st.ninian's
helen...wife...age 32...born alloa
james...son...age 8...born killearn
jane...dau...age 2...born st.ninian's
janet...dau...age 4 month's...born st.ninian's
Joe
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Hi Sheila and Steven,
Thoomas Finlayson Mackison is my greatgrandmother Jessie Finlayson's cousin. I'd be very interested in more information on his descendants as I am researching descendants of his grandparents Thomas Finlayson and Annie Henderson. I have a copy of his obituary from the Stirling newspaper that may interest you.
Steven, I have been researching the Canadian census and there seem to be three older children with James and Mary Jane Mackison that weren't on the list you sent me. I'm wondering if they are stepchildren or just ones that you didn't know about?
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Hello Catherine
It was great to get your message and to find that we are distant cousins. My grandmother (Caroline Louisa Mackison) was the daughter of Thomas Finlayson Mackison by his second wife Emily Anne Mackison (nee Atkinson). She was born in 1887 and died in Feb 1969. Granny married my grandfather, Arthur Frederick Walter Cullingworth, in 1913 (I think) and they had three children, Frederick Arthur, Louie (my mother) and Thomas Mackison. My mother married Robert Cameron MacIntosh from Glasgow and I was born in 1946. My uncle Fred didn't have any children but my uncle Tom had two children Sally and Simon Cullingworth. I have two daughters, Caroline and Rowan. Caroline has two sons, Oscar and Lucas and Rowan has one son, Elliot.
I don't know if you have any info about my granny's half sisters (Thomas' daughters from his first marriage) but I know little more than their names - Connie and Kate. I think Connie married a Mr Collen and Kate married a Mr Ashworth. I think Kate had two children and until about ten years ago we believed Connie had no children. We were then informed by the official solicitor that she had a daughter (Patricia) who had been in an institution since the age of 10. They were trying to trace her relations. This came totally out of the blue to my mother!!
I would be delighted to have a copy of my great grandfather's obituary as I had been thinking of trying to get a copy from the Stirling newspaper. Would you be able to e-mail it (*) or if not, I will let you have my address?
Great to hear from you.
Sheila
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Hi jimmax,
I've been researching the Mackisons for my wife, who's surname is Mackison.
I've traced the surname back to James Mackison and Janet Forfar (her 4xgreat grandparents) they lived in Bannockburn I think and he was a Tartan Weaver.
Do these names look familiar to you if so have you got any further back?
I have quite alot of info on James and Janet's decendants if that interests you aswell.
Regards
Kevin
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Hi Kevin. James Mackison and Janet Forfar were my 3xgreat grandparents. They married in 1813 in Bannockburn (although the register gives his name as Thomas). Unfortunately I have not been able to absolutely trace James' ancestry further back even though I have been trying for over 30 years! There are two or three possibilities but I have never managed to find a definite link. The best clue I have is that James had a brother John, who also lived in Bannockburn. John left a small plot of land and a house to James' eldest son James Mackison. I don't think that they were from Bannockburn originally. The most likely candidates are a James and John Mackison who were born in Kilbryde near Dunblane. If the Bannockburn brothers are the Dunblane brothers then we could add another three generations to the family tree. Going further back the Mackisons (or MacKessans) were predominantly from the parishes of Kilmadock (Doune) and the Port of Menteith but by the 19th century a lot had emigrated to America (where the older version of the name is more common) or were to be found in the surrounding parishes in Stirlingshire and South Perthshire. Kilbryde in Dunblane is geographically very close to Mid Lundie in Kilmadock where there was an older Mackison family for many generations. Probably the two were related. There is a link between Mid Lundie in Kilmadock and Rednach in Port of Menteith. There is a Gilchrist Mackison recorded there in 1490. All tenuous connections and a bit fanciful, but as I say I have had over three decades of concocting. I will collect some information and send it with my next message. Jim Mackison
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Hi Jim,
Thanks for that insight into the family origins. Think my wife may be a bit disappointed the Mackisons weren't originally from St Ninians Parish as we live there. I had read somewhere however that they were from South Perthshire and your info confirms that. Is it true the name relates to followers of a St Kessog?
Also I think I came across that record of a Thomas marrying in 1813 it totally threw me off the scent! I'll look forward to your next message.
Thanks
Kevin
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Hi Kevin, I have attached a 'family history' of the Mackisons that I wrote back in 2003 for my father, which will give you an overview of my research. Later on I can send you notes of the records that I did uncover so that you can build up the picture yourself, spot the gaps and maybe work out some new lines of enquiry.
I had more luck with Janet Forfar's family history as the Forfars left a trail in the Sasine records. I will send you that story later on. They were from St. Ninians.
There is another Mackison connection with St.Ninians - an 18th century testament. I couldnt see how it linked with the Bannockburn Mackisons so I have never followed it up. Maybe I should have done and I shouldnt have got so fixated on the Kilmadock/Dunblane Mackisons. I will dig out the reference.
I hope you are able to read the attachment which I have put in Rich Text format
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Hi Jim,
Thanks for sending your Mackison Family History we found it very interesting.
Was intrigued by the whole Maxwell alias thing, very bizarre?
Will definately take a wee walk down to Bannockburn to check out the ancestral home.
Thought I should show you my wife's Mackison line:
Dad- Thomas
Grandad- Thomas 1932-2003 m Elizabeth Watson
Great Grandad- Thomas 1897-1973 m Marjory Lamond
2xGreat Grandad- Thomas 1867 - 1934 m Helen Spence
3xGreat Grandad- James 1818-1892 m Helen Snadan
4xGreat Grandad - James 17XX - 18XX m Janet Forfar
Regards Kevin
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Hi Kevin. Thank you for your wife's Mackison line, although you dont give her first name.
Did you know that James Mackison (b1816) married twice and that Thomas (b1867) was married three times?
I have some rough family trees that I hand-drew (back in 1985! -pre Internet) which I will scan and send to you to give your wife some idea of the various branches, in case you arent already aware of them.
In the meantime the testament that I referred to was for John Mackison, tenant at Newhouse, parish of St.Ninians, 1st July 1743, Stirling Commissary Court. Now of course it is available on the Scotlands People website for £5 so I think I will have a look at it.
I have attached a similar 'family history' written for my father about the Forfar family in Bannockburn. It has my Mackison ancestry appended. If you would like the back up details then please let me know. Jim
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Hi Jim
Sorry my wife's names Dionne.
Yes I was aware of the marriages of James (1816) and Thomas (1867).
Didn't find a marriage cert though for James first wife.
Thomas lost 2 wives but did see out his days with a young bride.
Thanks for Forfar info
Kevin
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Hi Kevin, I used to think that James/Thomas Mackison (m.1813 Bannockburn) and his brother John (also lived in Bannockburn) werent originally from St.Ninians. When I first did some research many years ago I couldnt find a record of their baptisms in the St.Ninian parish register. Nor could I find any other references to Mackisons so I assumed that they came from another parish, possibly from Doune or Dunblane.
I might be wrong. With the wonders of the ScotlandsPeople database I discover that there were quite a few Mackisons born and married in St.Ninians in the 18th century. Some of them might be James and John's ancestors. Unfortunately there arent any obvious links as yet but it is possible that the Mackison/St.Ninians connection goes much further back than I first thought. I have attached a list of baptisms & marriages recorded in St.Ninians (& Airth) along with some notes. I have also attached an incomplete transcript of the 1743 testament for John Mackison, tenant at Newhouse, St.Ninians.
Jim
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Hi Jim,
Thanks alot for that info. My missus will be happy the St Ninians Line is back alive. Pity there is no definate link however. May check out the old cemetary in St Ninians may be a Mackison somewhere.
Thanks again,
Kevin
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Hi Kevin, it is a while since my last post but I think I have stumbled upon a connection to the next generation in this branch of the Mackison family tree. It strengthens the link with St.Ninians.
I now believe that we have persuasive evidence, albeit indirect and not conclusive, that James Mackison (who married Janet Forfar in Bannockburn, St.Ninians in 1813) was the son of James Mackison who married Margaret Sharp in St.Ninians in 1781. Also that as well as his brother John he had two sisters –Catherine and Ann.
In May I was contacted by Amanda from Ontario, Canada who is tracing her Eadie family history. This is the information that she provided about an Eadie-Mackison connection and our line of enquiry thereafter in respect of the Mackison family in Bannockburn.
1. John Eadie (Grieve at Whitestoun Farm) married Ann Mackison (at Kippenross) in 1807 in Dunblane.
2. Helen Thomson Cairns nee Eadie, the daughter of John Eadie (farmer, deceased) and Ann Eadie (ms Mackeison, deceased) died in 1869.
3. Helen’s death certificate was witnessed by Hugh Forsyth, 'uncle', of Bannockburn.
4. The 1861 Census describes Hugh Forsyth of Bannockburn as a Woollen Manufacturer (employing 20 females), age 47. His wife is named as Catherine Forsyth, aged 62, born in Bannockburn (ergo born circa 1799). The couple also appear in the 1841, 1871 and 1881 Censuses. No children are recorded.
5. In the 1851 Census Hugh Forsyth's wife is listed as Catherine McKison (age 51, born in St.Ninians, Stirlingshire). This seems to be Catherine Forsyth recorded under her maiden name.
6. Hugh Forsyth married Catherine Mackieson in St.Ninians in 1837.
(Note that this entry did not appear in a general search of the ScotlandsPeople database for Mackison marriages in St.Ninians because ‘Mackison’ had been incorrectly transcribed as ‘Mackiesow’).
7. It follows that Hugh Forsyth was the uncle of Helen Thomson Cairns nee Eadie through marriage i.e. his wife Catherine Forsyth nee Mackison was a sister of Ann Eadie nee Mackison.
8. Catherine Forsyth nee Mackison died in 1888 age 91 (ergo born circa 1797). Her death certificate gives her parent's names as James Mackison (Distillery Labourer, deceased) and Margaret Mackison (ms Sharp, deceased).
9. The marriage of James Mackison and Margaret Sharp in 1781 is recorded in the parish register for St.Ninians.
10. Hugh Forsyth died in 1891. He left a will (dated 1892). One of his bequests was to the widow of John Eadie in Gartness (Killearn, Stirlingshire), who we know was the son of John and Ann Eadie, and therefore the nephew of Hugh Forsyth.
11. Hugh Forsyth also left a bequest to Robert Mackison in Gartness. We know from the Census records (1861, 1871 and 1881 when Robert was in Gartness) that he was born in Bannockburn circa 1835. From the 1841 and 1851 Census, when Robert was in Bannockburn, we know that his mother was Janet Mackison and his elder siblings were James, Thomas, Margaret, Janet, Ann, John and Walter Mackison. This is the family of James Mackison married in Bannockburn in 1813.
12. Hugh Forsyth also left a bequest to Ann Mackison in Bannockburn, St.Ninians. Presumably this was the same Ann Mackison noted above, sister of Robert.
13. It seems a reasonable inference that Robert Mackison and Ann Mackison were related to James Forsyth through his wife Catherine Forsyth nee Mackison. Unfortunately the relationship is not explicitly stated in the will but given their ages Catherine would appear to be their aunt.
14. Therefore it follows that Robert and Ann’s father -James Mackison (husband of Janet Forfar) was related to Ann Eadie nee Mackison and Catherine Forsyth nee Mackison. Presumably they were siblings. In other words James’ parents were James Mackison and Margaret Sharp married in St.Ninians in 1781.
This is of course not conclusive evidence of the relationships between James Mackison senior & Margaret Sharp and Catherine, Ann, John and James Mackison junior. It is a somewhat tortuous connection but I am convinced of its veracity. Like most family history breakthroughs it raises more questions than it answers.
a) We might assume that James Mackison senior was in his 20-30s when he married in 1781 but no baptism for a James Mackison is recorded in the St.Ninians parish register in the period 1740-60s.
b) James Mackison senior was described as a ‘Distillery Labourer’ in his daughter Catherine’s death certificate. The writing is faint so I can’t be absolutely sure that I have made this out correctly but if it is it would be interesting to speculate which distillery he worked at. There was one I believe in Cowie, near Bannockburn that closed in the 1860s. On the other hand it might have been one of the Alloa distilleries.
c) Presumably Ann Eadie nee Mackison was born in Bannockburn like her sister Catherine but when she married John Eadie in 1807 she was working at Kippenross in Dunblane (as a dairymaid according to one account). Several generations of a Mackison family lived in Kilbryde in Dunblane, which made me wonder if there was a connection.
d) Before cousins John Eadie and Robert Mackison arrived in Gartness, Killearn two of Robert’s older brothers, James Mackison (later of Alloa) and John (later of Galashiels), also lived there briefly. I wonder what drew them all to Killearn.
Jim
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Hi Jim,
I apologise for extremely slow response I have a 7 month old baby now and it's very hard to get any free time these days!!
Thank you very much for taking the time to send me this information which all seems to make perfect sense. Great to confirm James Mackison and Margaret Sharp (had them penciled in on my notes) they will be my son's 6x Great Grandparents.
Confirms the strong local links of the family which is even more special to me now as it's my baby sons heritage. Also knew they must of had links to the Mackisons in Killlearn as it is such a rare name, so thanks for confirming this. Killearn is near Balfron which was known for it's cotton production? could have been a draw.
Thanks again for info it means alot
Regards Kevin
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Hello Jim,
Hope you are doing fine. Have recently been getting back into my research and was putting together all the Mackison information the other day.Ps Must thank you again for all the info you gave me! I came across the Cowie Distillery on a website called "Scotlands Lost Distilleries" think that would have been the most likely place of work for James as it was walking distance from Bannockburn. However (forgive me if you have already noticed this) the marriage records for James Mackison and Margaret Sharp have been recorded twice? Once in St Ninians in Feb 1781 and again in Alloa in Jan 1781. Any ideas what the reason for this could be?
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Where a marriage is recorded twice is to signify the couple were each of different parishes..nothing more.
Annie
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Thanks Annie,
Thought it may be as simple as that. Could be a good clue in tracing back the brides family.
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Hi Kevin. Good to hear from you. I go along with Annie’s view. I have seen this double recording of a marriage in the bride and bridegroom’s home parishes quite a few times in my English research but this is the first Scottish instance I have come across.
It is a good clue and some background on the Sharp family might shed some light on the Mackisons but I haven’t followed up on my initial searches for Margaret Sharp’s family in ALLOA, which didn’t get me anywhere. It does seem a strong possibility that James & Margaret’s grandson James Mackison located to Alloa because of family connections.
The DISTILLERY clue is intriguing. I suspect the Cowie distillery was little more than a still on a farm but did James Mackison senior learn his craft there and then later work in a distillery in Clackmannanshire where he met Margaret Sharp? Or was it the Cowie distillery that brought him to Bannockburn in the first place (assuming he wasn’t related to the Mackisons already living here)? The absence of baptismal records for James & Margaret’s children (and grandchildren) allows for a variety of scenarios.
Jim
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Hi Kevin,
my Canadian genealogy friend Amanda is keen on the DUNBLANE connection, presumably because her ancestor, Ann Mackison, was working in and then married in Dunblane. Amanda prompted me to have another look at this possibility.
Were James Mackison of Bannockburn & his spouse Margaret Sharp of Alloa (who married in 1781) the James Mackison and unnamed spouse of Kilbryde, Dunblane, whose children were baptised in Dunblane in the period 1781-1794?
In the list below I have interposed the births of the Bannockburn siblings with the baptisms recorded in Dunblane of the children of James Mackison and unnamed spouse in Kilbryde, Dunblane.
• Bapt. 1781 Dunblane Beatrice Mackison
• Bapt. 1783 Dunblane William Mackison
• Born 1784-90 Ann Mackison (also referred to once as Elizabeth)
working in Kippenross, Dunblane before
marriage to John Eadie of Dunblane, in Dunblane in 1807
• Bapt. 1787 Dunblane Helen Mackison
• Bapt. 1789 Dunblane James Mackison
possibly the James Mackison (Ann’s brother) (unknown YOB)
who married Janet Forfar in Bannockburn in 1812
• Bapt. 1792 Dunblane Colin Mackison
• Bapt. 1794 Dunblane George Mackison
married Mary Jack in Dunblane in 1814
• Born 1790s John Mackison (Ann’s brother) (unknown YOB)
who lived in Bannockburn
• Born circa 1797/8 Catherine Mackison (Ann’s sister)
who married Hugh Forsyth in Bannockburn in 1837
and died in Bannockburn in 1888, aged 91
The Dunblane scenario has some strengths: -
1. The date of the 1781 marriage of James Mackison & Margaret Sharp fits (just) with the baptism of James Mackison of Dunblane’s first child Beatrice in 1781.
(Pity that Beatrice’s mother is not recorded in the baptismal record. Pity that the records of marriages in Dunblane during this period have not survived so we can’t discount the possibility that James Mackison in Dunblane married someone other than Margaret Sharp).
2. The baptism of James Mackison in 1789 in Dunblane is the only (known, extant) record that would fit with the approximate birth of James Mackison married in Bannockburn in 1812.
3. Ann Mackison was working in Dunblane before she married a Dunblane man.
The Dunblane scenario has some weaknesses: -
1. Of the four Bannockburn siblings (Ann, James, John and Catherine) only a baptism for James is possibly recorded in Dunblane. One has to wonder why Ann, John and Catherine are not recorded in the register there, if indeed they are the children of James Mackison in Dunblane.
2. It would be a little strange if James Mackison & Margaret Sharp married in Bannockburn and then moved immediately to Dunblane to have their family there. Some of the children then moving back to Bannockburn when they were adults -James, Catherine and John while George and Ann stayed in Dunblane. Another interpretation was that James left Kilbryde in search of work and ended up in Bannockburn, but moved back home to Dunblane when he married.
3. The postulated link between the Bannockburn family and the Dunblane family is all based on circumstantial evidence so far. There isn’t a firm connection.
Other notes about the Dunblane scenario
• The surviving records for Dunblane are not good quality -for example the non-recording of mother’s names. They are also patchy with gaps in the marriage records. Both of which make our research more difficult -either to confirm hypotheses or to discount them.
• The parish church in Dunblane is a (small) cathedral. Kilbryde, where the Mackison family lived, is on the edge of the parish. I believe Kilbryde had its own chapel at one time. It might be that because of the distance between their home and the kirk in the town, the Mackison family prayed at the local chapel and had less of a connection with the main kirk.
• This might explain why several of the Mackison baptisms were recorded in the register retrospectively. This leaves open the possibility that not all baptisms were recorded -explaining the absence of Ann, John and Catherine in the records.
Jim
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Hi Kevin,
here are some possible leads to follow up. Any other suggestions are very welcome.
1. If I could find out what happened to Beatrice, William, Helen, Colin and George Mackison from Dunblane I might find something linking them with Ann, Catherine, James & John (if there is a connection to be found).
2. James Mackison senior was a Distillery Worker (according to the death certificate of his daughter Catherine Mackison). There hasn’t been a distillery in Dunblane, as far as I can find out. Did he move away from Dunblane to work in a distillery in later life? Were Ann, Catherine and John younger siblings born outside Dunblane?
3. James Mackison baptised in 1789: could he be anyone other than the James Mackison who married in Bannockburn in 1812? I haven’t found anyone else who fits the bill but this isn’t conclusive and I should review the information available as I first tried this process of elimination in pre Internet days.
4. I might look again at Hugh Forsyth’s will & testament. If he left money to Robert Mackison, Ann Mackison and Mrs John Eadie he may have left money to other relatives of his wife Catherine Mackison.
5. George Mackison bapt.1794 in Dunblane adopted the Maxwell alias (common to a lot of Mackisons) so he was George Maxwell when he married Mary Jack in 1814. He was a ploughman and lived in Muthill, I think. Some of his descendants settled in New Zealand. He might be worth investigating with the hope of finding a connection.
6. The fact that the baptismal records of the children of James Mackison (Ann Mackison’s brother) haven’t been found in Bannockburn suggests James might have been a member of a seceding church. Likewise, his parents might have been members of the same church, which would explain why the baptismal records of Ann, James, Catherine and John haven’t been found in the Church of Scotland records.
7. A look at the Kirk Session records might throw something up but since they are not indexed this could be a forlorn task. A very long shot.
Presently I am inclined to think that James Mackison, who married Margaret Sharp in 1781, was probably born in Bannockburn. He was married there and since there had been several generations of Mackisons living there the most likely scenario is that he was born there. However, since there is no known record of his baptism in Bannockburn/St. Ninian’s then other possibilities remain valid.
At the moment I am working on my English family history, with lots of easier lines of enquiry. Feel free to follow up any of the above leads.
best of luck, Jim
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Hi Jim,
Your theory on James perhaps working in a Distillery in Clackmannanshire did cross my mind too. And the fact some of the family did end up in Alloa could suggest connections there, possibly with the Sharp family. Will look into that I think.
I also feel the theory about the Maxwell alias being a reaction to fact the name looks Gaelic is a good one.The dates of these name changes all seem to be post 1745 until early 1800's which would fit in with the ill feeling at time of all things "Highland".
Will follow up these leads best I can.
Thanks
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James Mackison senior was a Distillery Worker (according to the death certificate of his daughter Catherine Mackison). There hasn’t been a distillery in Dunblane, as far as I can find out.
http://deanstonmalt.com/ is not a million miles from Dunblane. I would be very surprised if there has never, at any time, been a distillery in or close to Dunblane.
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I am Peter Maxwell from New Zealand. I happened to stumble on the discussion re MacKisons in Scotland especially those from Kevin Malley. Accoring to information I have my Maxwell family goes back to the MacKison name. My fthaer was George Edward Maxwell, born in NZ about 1918. His father was Herbert Maxwell born in NZ in 1891. His father was George Maxwell born in Scotland in 1849 (came to NZ with his family 1858). His father was James Maxwell born 1818 and married Helen Taylor. According to the information I have is his father was George Maxwell/MacKison and married Mary Jack. These are all names I have read in posts on RootsChat that are common to me so I presume maybe in interest to others and I look forward to reading more theories re these family connections.
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Hi Peter. Are you related to James Maxwell of Lake Tekapo? I met him back in the 1980s when he came across to the UK research his family history. I also corresponded with Ruth Brockbank of Dunedin re the Mackison/Maxwell family of Kilbryde, Dunblane.
As I recall James' family in NZ had called their farm 'Parkhead' after the farm 'Parkhead' at Sherrifmuir, Dunblane.
My Mackison family lived in Bannockburn (to the south of Stirling). I thought they might be descended from the Mackison/Maxwell family in Dunblane (to the north of Stirling), hence my interest, but as yet I have not found a definite connection
Happy New Year, Jim/James Mackison (Lancaster, England)
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Hi Jim;
Yes I am. My father George was Jame's and Ruth's first cousin. I also lived in Lake Tekapo for 40 years, shifted out 4 years ago. James and Ruth put together, with your help, a Maxwell/Valentine family tree for a reunion we had in 1988. The Mackison name was always a puzzle so last year I decided to do a DNA test through MyHeritage. It didn't turn up much new stuff on the Maxwell side but I found more cousins on my mothers side. It was then suggested that I did Y-DNA test through FTDNA and the Maxwell Project managed by a Don Maxwell in the USA. A John Maxwell, (Jame's nephew) also did one. the only strong match we both found was a Kenneth Maxwell in the USA showing his oldest relative to be a John Maxwell 1790-1846 which is close to our Maxwells but not exactly. Maybe another MacKison connection if we have the same Y-DNA grouping. He had his DNA done in 2016 and has had no matches until we came along hence my desire to find more out about the MacKison connection. We did the y37 test, then John Maxwell expanded that to the Y111 test and nothing more was showing so Don is getting him to do the BIG Y700 test hoping some answers may pop up. So in a nut shell, that is where I am at, trying to carry on with the work you were involved in 30 odd years ago. If you wish do you want to private message me with your email address and we can then carry on this discussion by email but with the objective of keeping this group informed as I dare say there will be renewed interest out there. By the way there is even questions around the Parkhead name. Jame's property in Lake Tekapo was also named Parkhead along with the farm in Wanganui. I also visited Parkhead in Scotland in 2008 but didn't go in.
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Hi again Jim;
I was just reading through the threads of this Mackison converstion and I see in August 2016 you had a list of different MacKisons. I see you wrote that George MacKison had changed his name to Maxwell before marrying Mary Jack in 1814. I have come across the 'bands of marriage" for this couple and they read that George Mackieson (notice name spelling) and Mary Jack marriage 12/11/1814. Just some more confusion. Perhaps there is a male MacKison out there who would be prepared or has done the Y-DNA test through FTDNA just to see if there is a link back to us Maxwells. It could be very interesting and maybe answer a lot of questions.
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I'd recommend an ancestry DNA test as your raw data can be uploaded to FTDNA & other sites but it can't be done the other way round i.e. ancestry do not allow raw data from other sites to be uploaded to theirs.
Ancestry also have the largest amount of testers & the largest facility for family trees which many other sites don't have.
Annie
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Thanks Annie;
I did a raw DNA through My Heritage and downloaded that to FTDNA. I appreciate that Ancestry doesn't allow this. The idea of the Y-DNA is that this tracks the Y chromosome through the male line only so that one can track their family name back as far as possible. I and a second cousin have been working with a Don Maxwell from the USA who runs the Maxwell Project at FTDNA tracking the Maxwell families. We started off doing a 37 marker test which showed that we are pretty unique to Maxwell's as far as our DNA group is concerned, hence my renewed interest in the MacKison connection. My cousin is now doing the Big Y which will have 700 markers. We can then see what common markers we have to other Maxwell's around the world if any.
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Hi Peter. Have you come across the letter that James Mackison (at Miln of Killbryde, in the parish of Dunblane, Perthshire) wrote to George Washington, President of the United States, in 1795 regarding the whereabouts of his brother in law, John Abercrombie (born in Throsk, parish of St Ninians, Stirlingshire)? See attached.
It is an interesting document for all sorts of reasons but from a family history point of view it tells us that this is probably the James Mackieson ‘in Dunblane’ who married Catherine Abercrombie in St. Ninians in 1777.
The baptisms of seven children are recorded in the Dunblane parish register that name James Mackison at Miln of Kilbryde as the father.
1778 John, 1781 Beatrice, 1783 William, 1787 Helen, 1789 James, 1792 Colin, 1794 George
(Unfortunately, the mother’s name is not given in the baptismal records during this period). It would be a reasonable assumption that Catherine Abercrombie is James’ wife and the mother of these children.
This George Mackison baptised in Dunblane in 1794 is probably the George who married Mary Jack of Muthill in Dunblane in 1814.