Robertson of Riemore

[preacherjim]

Am seeking any information on the Robertson family who held the lands of Riemore, Caputh parish, from 1737 to 1826. The basic line is like this:

1. Alexander Robertson of Riemore, receiving the feu of Riemore from the Duke of Atholl in 1737. Served in the Atholl Brigade in 1745-6. Living 1752, but apparently died by 1760 (at the latest). His eldest son and heir,
2. John Robertson of Wester Riemore, probably the John b. in 1725 to Alexander Roberston and Janet Taus in Balnabiganach, Dowally parish. Died 1801. Married 1752 Beatrice Robertson, second daughter of Robert Robertson at the Mill of Invervack (ancestor of the present Robertson of Struan) and his third wife, Janet Robertson of Kindrochet. Their fourth, but eldest surviving son was,
3. Neil Robertson of Wester Riemore, b. 1760, d. 1831. Sold Wester Riemore in 1826. Married Jean Robertson (b. 1790, d. 1858), and had two daughters and a son, John.

I have a lot more details regarding descendants. I am seeking any details regarding this family, and am presently seeking confirmation that Alexander of Riemore was a younger son of John Robertson of Guay (d. 1749).

I am willing to share information with any other descendants of this family (I am descended from Neil Robertson, second son of Charles Robertson, Neil of Wester Riemore's next younger brother).

[Cambron]

Gordon McGregor in his Red Book of Perthshire gives the genealogy of the Robertsons of Guay but does not mention an Alexander.
The two existing wills of the Guays do not mention an Alexander either.
At the sale of the goods of John Robertson 2nd of Guay there was present a Helen Robertson of Riemore and also an Alexander Robertson of Guay as well as the grandson of Guay ie  John Robertson of Achnabeach.
I notice if you Google your family there is a person called Seumas MacThomais who calls himself your family Seanachaidh ie historian.
Might be a spoof or it might be genuine-worth a try posting on his website?

Would be interested to know how you get on

Regards

Cambron

[preacherjim]

Cambron,

Thanks for the information. As a matter of fact, I am Seumas MacThomais (the Gaelic form of my name) and under that name wrote an account of the ancestry of Robert "Rob Ban" Robertson at the Miln of Invervack back in the 1980s. My family has preserved records of our ancestry, with the earliest documents dating back almost 200 years, along with a manuscript history of these Robertsons, prepared by my great-grandmother some 80 years ago.

I am familiar with the Guay wills, but note that John, younger of Guay, then deceased, was described as his father's "eldest" son, certainly indicating their were others.

The trio of Alexander Robertson in Guay, John Robertson in Auchnabeach and Helen Robertson in Easter Riemore (in John of Guay's 1750 will) correspond nicely to Alexander Robertson in Balnabiganach (located south of Guay, and north of Dowally), who had a son John in 1725 and a daugher Elen in 1728 with his wife, Janet Taus, in Dowally OPR. Alexander in Balnabiganach also had a daughter Elizabeth, b. 1734, by Isobel Robertson, his wife. This links him to the deceased Alexander Robertson "sometime inlaitt of Guay" whose second wife (so described in the will), Isobel Robertson, and their daughter Elizabeth, are the subjects of a 1770 will. The will also mentions a son of Alexander and Isobel, named Thomas.

Janet Taus, I suspect, was closely related to Donald Taus (elsewhere referred to as "Taus or Campbell"), who was granted Easter Riemore by the Duke of Atholl in 1744 (Perthshire sasines).

A final note that "A List of Persons Concerned in the Rebellion" (available online at Google books, pgs. 232-233) shows Charles Robertson, farmer, residing at "Raimore, Capoth" parish, followed immediately by "Alexr Robertson of Raimore," who resided at "Gaey, Douly" parish. Charles and Alexander are stated tp have joined Prince Charles as volunteers before the battle of Falkirk. Alexander is stated to have "continued to their dispersion," and both men were said to be "lurking." I am presently trying to identify Charles, who I suspect was Alexander's brother -- they both named children "John" and "Helen", an fairly uncommon combination, and also the names of John of Guay and his first wife, Helen Inglis of Byres.

No one has been able to offer me a definite view of what "inlaitt of Guay" means. The index to testmants shows it as "in Laitt of Guay," but this is clearly an error, as the "in" and "laitt" are joined (and all lowercase) in the original. I think, but cannot prove, that it might be a variant of the word "inlawed, which might suggest Alexander, having been pardoned by the general act in 1747, may have had some right to the wadset of Guay.

Thanks for your interest. Any thoughts on "inlaitt" and other things would be welcome. I have a great deal of material on Robertson landed families in Scotland, and would be glad to share information.

[Lianmait]

Hi Seumas,

I realize realize that this post was written 8 years ago but I just found it tonight.  I'm researching the ancestors and descendants of Robert "Rob Ban" Robertson at the Miln of Invervack and I'm very interested in your account of that ancestry.  Would I find it on line?

Linda Maitland
Vancouver, Canada

[preacherjim]

Linda,
Very good to hear from you. I started researching the ancestors of Robert Robertson of Invervack (aka at Miln of Invervack) way back in 1980, after following information left by my great-grandmother and grandmother to connect to him. My research in both his ancestors and descendants still continues.

If you are a member at Ancestry.com, I do have a tree posted there that includes most of the ancestors back to the 14th century, as well as all descendants I have found (the living ones, of course, are private as required by the site). My three volumes on his ancestry (The Genealogy Book of the Clan Donnachaidh, published 1985-7) is still out there on CD (on amazon.com), but I would be glad to share a copy if you are seriously interested. I do that with the caveat that it is 30 years old, and in much need of revision -- it was definitive in its day, but a lot has transpired in research since then!

Have you seen "Rob Ban's" will, BTW? I am assuming you are descended from him; what is your line? Mine is from his eldest daughter, Beatrice, who married John Robertson of Wester Riemore, and then through their fifth (but heir in his issue) son, Charles. You can contact me off site, if you wish, at jwt_us@yahoo.com.