Hi Lesley,
Oh my goodness, that's amazing! The baby Elizabeth referred to is my great-great-grandmother, born 17 September 1856. It's possible her mother Margaret gave birth to her at Sunlaws. The earliest record I have of the Lillicos actually living on the estate is the 1871 census and it appears they stayed there until William and Margaret's deaths in the 1890s.
It must have been very difficult making a living as a gardener during the winter months. I imagine William would have done general labouring work wherever he could find it. I feel sad thinking of them trying to eke out a life in a miserable little cottage with their four girls. The birth record of their seventh child, William, states he was born at Sunlaws Lodge, so it looks like they were settled there by then.
Colin Cumming of North Berwick in East Lothian, a fellow descendant of William and Margaret Lillico, has told me that his grandmother (Isabella Mather, born 1873, daughter of Jane Mather, nee Lillico) spoke of going on holidays to Sunlaws Estate, where her grandfather (ie William) was head gardener.
I can tell you what became of Elizabeth... she did indeed thrive. In September 1872, at just 16, she married Andrew Dryden, a domestic coachman, in Kelso. In 1883, they migrated to Queensland, Australia, with four of their five children (2-year-old son James died of measles while the ship was quarantined off the coast at Townsville and he was buried on Magnetic Island), arriving in Townsville on 24 October. They settled in Brisbane and had seven more children (poor Elizabeth!) She died on 18 December 1904, aged 48.
Thank you very much for this information, Lesley.
Regards,
Rachel