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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Fife => Topic started by: denmylne on Saturday 27 March 10 04:59 GMT (UK)
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Hi
, Im new to this forum, however, i have searched every other datad base on the planet in the last 2 years regarding the Balfours and probably have the largest data base of family trees concerning the balfours in fife. if anyone is interested then just ask.
Im trying to find out about a certain Michael Balfour of Northbank st andrews. He inherited the estate from his father, Sir Andrew Balfour circa 1694, when his father died. I have read a lot of conflicting info about Sir Andrew Balfour dying without issue but I have good reason to believe this is false and would like to find out more about northbank and Michael, if anyone has any info, i would be very greatful.
ps anyone who wishes acces to the Balfour family trees i have done, is more than welcome, however most dont go beyond 1750-1800. they do start at in the 11th century
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hi welcome to RC.
SP at:
www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
has a will:
BALFOUR ANDREW 28/03/1694 SIR, M.D. TESTAMENT DATIVE AND INVENTORY;
INCLUDES EIK DATED 16/12/1695 EDINBURGH COMMISSARY COURT
this can be viewed by paying £5 (2 pages)
Diddy
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Hello
The link below, pages 409 to 416 is dedicated to the 'Memoirs of Sir Andrew Balfour', mentions a son, but does not name him.
Regards, Steve :)
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wBQbAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA409&dq=Sir+Andrew+Balfour&lr=&cd=39#v=onepage&q=Sir%20Andrew%20Balfour&f=false
"
Also if you search in Google books for 'Michael Balfour Northbank', you find a reference
Sir Andrew Balfour died 10 January 1694. The testament of 28 March, executed by
his son Michael Balfour of Northbank, refers generally to his ..."
- and then if I'm not mistaken, 'your' Michael Balfour dies in 1759 and leaves a 2 page will -also sourced for £5.00 from www.scotlandspeopel.gov.uk
BALFOUR MICHAEL 10/04/1759 SIR, OF DENMILN, BART., PARISH KIRKCALDY, TESTAMENT DATIVE AND INVENTORY ST ANDREWS COMMISSARY COURT CC20/4/22
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Thanks very much for your input guys. much apprieciated
i have come across the book which refers to his son and I have found the names of sir andrews balfours sons being baptised in edinburgh(oddly enough he had 3 sons all called andrew, could this be due to infant death?) but as i said, most biographies say he died without issue. Im offshore at the moment and i think the fire wall is stopping me from completing payment on scotlands people, i may need to wait until i get back onshore.
the comment about andrew balfour of north bank is very interesting as well, Ill see if i can find the source which mentions him.
the sir micheal balfour of denmylne 1759, is the GGson of alexander balfour 3rd Bart of denmilne, not the son of sir andrew balfour(alex and andrew were brothers)
I have already done a great deal of work on this family and am in the process of uploading the familly trees i have done to my website, denmylne.co.uk see the history tab. Im doing this as part of a grant application to historic scotland for work to be done on denmylne castle, which i recently purchased. the other balfour trees will be uploaded to the site as soon as i get back onshore, i have competed 8 balfour trees so far. It is strange that it is relativly easy to trace back as far as 1200 ad but making a link between 1700 and 1800 is so difficult, it must have been a time of great movement and upheaval. I really would like to find the ancestors of sir andrew balfour as i am pretty sure that all of the other major houses of balfour are extinct in the male line. It would be nice to add some personalised touch to this work. I also believe that any descendant of andrew balfour would be the true heir to the title of balfour of balfour and not the present claiments, ie trenabie and fernie
once again, thanks for your input
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Hi there,
I have Balfours in Fife in the family too - I haven't managed to get far at all on that line at the moment though so I don't know if our Balfours are connected or not.
I have George Balfour married to Ann Cummings who had a son Robert Balfour in 1864 who was born I think in Lower Largo - is there a connection there?
Kind regards
Noaky
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Hi Noaky1
I dare say that they will be connected, the further one goes back in time, all fife balfours are decendant from the same person, Siward the Dane, Thing is, up until 1700-1800, all the families held lands and estates, but beyond that time, the great upheaval changed everything
If you have a look at this web site
http://www.denmylne.co.uk/history/history.html
you will see some of the trees I have done, more will be added over the coming weeks, but as i said in my previous posts, information beyond 1700-1800 is very difficult to find. mainly due to the movement of most people from there ancestral home lands
As the others posted, scotlands people is a good starting place to trace back your family and you should eventually be able to tie into the trees I have done
best of luck
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Hi There
I also Have BALFOUR in my tree and at the moment cant get any further back .. this is what I have:-
David BALFOUR b about 1618 maybe Ferryport on Craig
Married Elizabeth KIRKCALDIE when ????
Had 5 children one of which ..
David BALFOUR c 2 Jul 1657 Ferry Port on Craig married
Janet HENDERSON c 27 Apr 1656 on 2 Dec 1679 at Ferry Port on Craig
Had 10 Children one of which ..
Christian BALFOUR c 15 Jun 1701 Ferry Port on Craig married my Alexander SMITH b Abt 1701 from Kilrenny on 14 Mar 1731 at Ferry Port on Craig
David BALFOUR b Abt 1618 is my 8th Great Grandfather
regards
sid
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Denmylne, welcome to rootschat. :)
The Balfour name in your title caught my eye as I have this surname in my tree (but living and having children on the other side of the country in Dumfriesshire). I only have one person by that name so far and sadly have no indication about his origins with probably no chance of ever finding out. :-\
Im doing this as part of a grant application to historic scotland for work to be done on denmylne castle, which i recently purchased.
I know this is slightly off topic, but I am very interested in what your plans are for Denmylne Castle. Are you able to tell us a bit more?
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Hi Sid, where is Ferry port, craig????I have not come across this name anywhere and had thought I had covered pretty much all of Balfours in Fife,, I might be able to help you
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I intend to restore it. Im am upgrading the house next to it, where I live, at the moment, but eventually I plan to start on the tower. It is actually in a lot better state than it looks, I have removed the tree from inside and the the rest of the vegitation has been knocked down with round up, This isnt a commercial enterprise, just a labour of love
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I cant find anything in the sherrif deeds for fife concerning balfours and ferry port, the name kirkcaldie seems more attached to the otherside of fife, pilmuir or dunfermline etc, I think you will need to have a look at the old parish records in fife, which unfortunatly are not online. Ill bear this name in mind when I next do a search and will post something here if I find something. sorry I cant be of more help
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Hi Denmylne
Ferry Port on Craig is now known as Tayport and is about 3 1/2 miles across the Tay from Dundee in Fife
regards
sid
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I intend to restore it. Im am upgrading the house next to it, where I live, at the moment, but eventually I plan to start on the tower. It is actually in a lot better state than it looks, I have removed the tree from inside and the the rest of the vegitation has been knocked down with round up, This isnt a commercial enterprise, just a labour of love
I wish you the best of luck! I'm glad the tower has survived the removal of the tree and other vegetation. Please keep us up to date with your progress. Well done! You are to be commended and I am just a teensy bit jealous!!!!!! ;D
And to get back on topic - regarding my lone Balfour -:
James Balfour, shoemaker, living Meinside, Middlebie, had 2 daughters there in 1803 and 1806 - no other known children. Married Helen/Nellie/Ellenor Brown date and place unknown. Nothing found on SP. Nothing further known about James. If any Balfour researchers come across this family or can link their Balfours with James, I would be very happy to hear from you. :)
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Thanks for that Ruskie, feel free to bring along a trowel, the tower will need several tons of lime mortar just to consolidate it
anyways, I managed to get a hold of Sir Andrew Balfours will and testament........NIGHTMARE???... It looks like its been written in hiroglyphics
this will take a while just to work out what is written.
In 1694, people would spell their own names in a variety of ways, In the same sentence???
I may be some time......
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Thanks for that Ruskie, feel free to bring along a trowel, the tower will need several tons of lime mortar just to consolidate it
I would love to! ;) Next time I'm in your neck of the woods I will. No need to give me your address - I'm sure I'll be able to find it. ;D But as I live in Australia it's not going to be any time soon, so don't bother putting the kettle on just yet. Your story brings this to mind: http://www.rootschat.com/links/08bt/ Though it's not what I would have done with the place - it's over restored to my mind. ;)
Why don't you post Sir Andrew's will here on rootschat? There are some experts in reading old handwriting who I'm sure will be pleased to help.
If you go to the bar towards the top of the rootschat page and select [Forum], the fourth topic/subject heading is "Deciphering & Recognition Help". You can post the will here. I believe you are not allowed to post the whole document in one go, due to copyright issues, so you'll have to post it in sections of two or three or whatever you feel appropriate depending on the length of the will.
Good luck!
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Yeah, I was that grand designs, but that was a much bigger property than denmylne, and much newer, I didnt like what he had done either, it was filled inside with breeze blocks if i remember correctly and had an open room with a lounge on the top floor with one side of the roof missing. Denmylne fully restored would have only 4 bedrooms, as per its original state.
Thanks for the pointer with the translation of andrew balfours will, Ill post it online when i get a min tonight
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Hi SID
after a bit of research, I think if you dig you will find that the ferry port balfours nearest estate was Grange, this was one of the last aquisitions by the balfours of mountwhanney, there is a grange near denmlyne which may cause confusion, but if you look at Blaeu map of 1654 you will see that the estate of grange borders where the ferry port is now, i would look here
The translation of Sir andrews will is ongoing but ill post here any info i find, thanks for all the pointers guys
denmylne
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Hi denmylne
Thanks for map details, it points to where my Balfours are from and its a pity that I can't find any more BMD records at the moment, but will keep trying.
I hope you have better luck with your will translation.
sid
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update
denmylne,was sold,in 1749, by, micheal, the son of lady denmylne, the widow of the missing Baronet,also called micheal, and in the son's will, circa 1751, he left 15000 silver scots merks, (about 2/3 of a pound sterilng) of which a part share in the interest accrude would go to his children and their children,
sir patrick balfour, the last baronet of denmylne, was commander of the 4th regiment of sapoy, east india company, and killed in 1793,
Patrick Balfour, the last baronet, had a document confirmed by the lord lyon in 1772, showing his linage, he does mention his brother John, who died the same year,but doesnt mention his other eldest brother, micheal, who was a merchant in Kircaldy,(where all of the balfours of denmylne were now living) as he is styled himself, who was married to Anne Davidson of Woodmilne, (about a mile from denmylne), and certainly had at least one child, amelia.Whereas all three sons died apparently without ,issue,the daughters lived to old age and had children. this may have caused friction with their uncle, dr david balfour of Kirkaldy, who had at least one son, micheal, (also styled as a merchant in kirkaldy,who had at least one son archibald, a writer in falkland, who, had at least 2 sons, ? ?..
Sir andew balfour, son, Andrew balfour of northbank,, mentioned in letter to the king 1700, Micheal, his other son, also styled of north bank, married elizabeth barclay, sister to the baronet of collernie, (about 1.5 miles from denmilne), had a son,John, cristened in dunbog, 1743, .....
lots of leads
sid, the balfours in ferry port could also be from north bank or kirkady, ill keep an eye onpen for anything i find
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Hi All,
I was interested in reference to James Balfour of Middlebie. I am trying to break down a brick wall in our Cumbrian Balfours (my husband's family): my interest is in an entry in the Parish records of Arthuret in Carlisle Records Office which reads:
May 19 1803 James bastard son of James Balfour of the parish of Middleby and Mary Gunnion of Springfield, North Britain.
This may be James Hewit Balfour who married (record not found) Janet Haughan of Annan and had 7 children in Springfield/Todhills died Brampton 1886.
if you have any knowledge of this it would be much appreciated
Kind Regards
Carolyn
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Welcome to rootschat Carolyn.
I was the one with Balfours from Middlebie. :)
I'm afraid I don't have anything more about 'my' James Balfour than what I posted earlier in this thread. I haven't worked on the family for some years but James was my dead end. I have no place of birth for him, no marriage to Ellenor (Nelly) Brown, but I have two illegitimate daughters (surname Brown) b 1803 and 1806 in Meinside, Middlebie.
It is so long ago that I worked on this family that I can't recall the processes involved in putting together this family. I do have the documentation somewhere.
Unfortunately none of the names you mention ring a bell.
Let me know if there is anything I can help you with. :)
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Thanks for taking the time to reply :)
If you find anything relating to James it would be of interest to me, and see if we can knit these lone Balfours into a family.
Should I find anything I will post the results for you
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My husband's grandmother was Jane Balfour born1866 ?where she marred David Trail Young 4 September 1891 Church of Scotland Edinburgh he was born June 27 1870 in Scoonie and died October 7 1951 in Iverleven Methel.
Jane died December 10 1923 in Iverleven Methel.
I have never been able to find anything on Jane's side of the family.
My husband was born in Australia and knows very little about his Scottish relations.
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Hi folks
I'm trying to track down some Balfours in Fife as well. I'm looking for the family of John Balfour, a shipmaster in Kirkcaldy who I think was running a ship between Kirkcaldy and Leith in the mid 1700s.
We have this:
"19/04/1772 William Kier land surveyor in the parish of Aberdalgie and Janet Balfour daughter of the deceased John Balfour shipmaster in Kirkcaldie now in the Grayfriars parish."
I've found an advert in the Caledonian Mercury 15 November 1743 :
"That the good ship The Happy Janet of Kirkcaldy, John Balfour Master and proprietor lying in the harbour of Dysart, about 75 tuns burden; is to be exposed to sale by Publick voluntary Roup, on Wednesday the 30th November current, in the house of James Balfour jun. Maltman in Kirkcaldy. The articles of Roup to be seen in the hands of Mr James Mansfield Merchant in Edinburgh, and in the hands of the said James Balfour, where the inventory and Rights will be shown to any who incline to offer."
(great name for a ship!)
I think John married a Kirkcaldy lass, Bethia McIntosh, but they may not have always lived in Kirkcaldy and I'm struggling to find likely BDM records there.
Any info on these Kirkcaldy Balfours and their ships would be much appreciated!
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Just for the record, a David Balfour, labourer, was married in 1847 at Anstruther Wester to Christina Leslie Peebles, a cousin of my 2 x great-grandfather James Peebles. David Balfour later became the town officer of Anstruther Wester. He died in 1886 aged 78, and his parents were James Balfour, labourer, and Annie Fyall.
The very next entry in the AW deaths register is for Robert Balfour, who died there in the same year aged 88. He was the son of William Balfour, ploughman, and Christina Balfour.
Harry
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Ail, both Balfour & Traill are Orkney names!
Skoosh.
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Ail, both Balfour & Traill are Orkney names!
Skoosh.
Yes, but two of the Orkney names that originated in Fife. There were Trails as well as Balfours in the East Neuk of Fife, and I have Trail ancestors there in the 1600s.
Harry
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Ah ken that Harry, they were Orkney lairds & oppressors of the peeps! A Traill laird cleared my gg grandfaither!
Skoosh.
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My g/g/g/granddad, Willie Lawrie, married his second wife, Ann Balfour in 1848, Largo, Fife.
Ann was born circa 1806, Largo and her parents were Robert Balfour & Mary Wallace who married in 1803, Largo.
I also have a marriage of Isabella Anderson Lawrie to Henry T Balfour.
They were married in 1861, Kirklandhill Farm, Methil, Fife.
Henry T Balfour was born circa 1828, Leven, Fife and was an iron founder & engineer.
At the time of his marriage his address was London, England.
His parents were Henry T Balfour, iron founder & Agnes Bisset.
In the 1881 census Henry & Isabella are visiting an Alexander Balfour in Scoonie.
1881 census: Leven Bank, Scoonie, Fife, Scotland
Alexander Balfour Head M 56 1825 City Councillor & Merchant West Coast At America & Ship Owner, Leven, Fife, Scotland
Janet Balfour Wife M 36 1845 Wife Of Above Dundee, Forfarshire (Angus)
Henry T Balfour Visitor M 52 1829 Engineer (Gas) Iron Founder Leven, Fife
Isabella Balfour Visitor M 48 1833 Engineer's Wife Cupar, Fife, Scotland
William A Bisset Visitor Un/m 71 1810 Retired Brick & Tile Manufactr Leslie, Fife
Isabella had a sister Magdalene Lawrie who died in 1907, Scoonie.
In her death certificate the doctor in attendance as well as the informant was an R. Balfour Graham, physician.
The next death on the certificate was of a Robert Balfour Graham Wallace, age 2.
Again the doctor in attendance was R Balfour Graham.
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Alexander Balfour was one of the founding partners of the shipping firm of Balfour Williamson & Co. which traded between Liverpool and Valparaiso in Chile. Stephen Williamson was a native of Cellardyke in east Fife who later became a Liberal MP. You can read about Balfour in the latest edition of the FFHS journal. I've done a select all and paste from the online version of the relevant section:
Alexander Balfour was the son of Henry Balfour (1796
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1854), who had
founded the Durie Foundry in Leven in 1810, and Agnes Bisset (1804
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1881),
and was the grandson of Al
exander Balfour (1765
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1855), a native of Kilmany
and one
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time Provost of Dundee, after whom he was named. He could count
as one of his distant relatives, James W ilson of Carsekerdo, Ceres, one of the
signatories to the American Declaration of Independence,
4
th
July 1776.
Harry
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Alexander Balfour was one of the founding partners of the shipping firm of Balfour Williamson & Co. which traded between Liverpool and Valparaiso in Chile. Stephen Williamson was a native of Cellardyke in east Fife who later became a Liberal MP. You can read about Balfour in the latest edition of the FFHS journal. I've done a select all and paste from the online version of the relevant section:
Alexander Balfour was the son of Henry Balfour (1796-1854), who had
founded the Durie Foundry in Leven in 1810, and Agnes Bisset (1804-1881),
and was the grandson of Alexander Balfour (1765-1855), a native of Kilmany
and one-time Provost of Dundee, after whom he was named. He could count
as one of his distant relatives, James Wilson of Carsekerdo, Ceres, one of the
signatories to the American Declaration of Independence,4th July 1776.
Harry
Thanks for that Harry.
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Denmylne, well done on trying to restore the castle.
I hope you succeed.
I worked on Steam trains and Diesel Trains as a fireman & guard for 30 years and each time I passed by Newburgh on the branch line from Perth to Ladybank (on the route to and from Edinburgh) I had a wonderful view of your castle.
From roughly 1998 to 2006 I had my own website written by me in HTML.
It was called Scottish Railways Route Guides and covered the routes Edinburgh to Inverness via Ladybank, Edinburgh to Inverness via Stirling and Edinburgh to Aberdeen.
I tried to interest Scotrail with a view to publishing them as Route Guides but to no avail.
Having said that I had over 500,000 hits on the website and was linked to several Scottish Tourism sites.
Anyway here is what I wrote regarding Denmylne.
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In auld Abdie Kirk is the Denmylne Aisle.
Again this is what I wrote regarding the Kirk.
I managed to photograph quite a few images of the surrounding area but I don’t know why I didn’t photograph Denmylne.
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Hello, I came across your posts in my research on the ancestry of the Balfoort family.
They seem to descend from a Scottisch solider, fighting for The Heer van Bleskensgraaf, Veere, Holland. His name was John Balfoort, born around 1590 and son of Henry Balfoort (1567)
Hé was to be son of Henry Balfour (1546) who can be tracés back to Inchyra on the Tay.
He was to be son of David Balfour(1503), Lord of Powis and Inchyre.
Can you tie them into the family lines you know ?