Beattie & Fitchett

[sanz1]

This is interesting stuff......

My connection is through Henry Beattie, he is my GG granddad, who died young here in NZ.  I will definitely keep researching.  It is so exciting getting new information to glue all the pieces together and to get a glimpse of what they were like and how they lived.

Thank you so much.
Sandra

[Piglet01]

Hello

Not related -  I note that there appears to be a will for 'your' James Beattie on the wills section of www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk.  Will cost £5.00 (five pounds),  to view and download.  Do not buy 'credits', you purchase them through a cart system.

BEATTIE JAMES 30/09/1865 AGENT AT MONTROSE FOR BRITISH LINEN COMPANY   FORFAR SHERIFF COURT SC47/40/32

Regards,   Steve 

[Angus9999]

Glad to be of help Sandra and thanks Steve, I'll look into ordering that will.

[Angus9999]

Hi Sandra and Steve,

Ordered the will that you suggested Steve and it is the “Inventory of the Personal Estate of James Beattie” and is the correct one of mine and Sandra’s ancestor, so thanks again.  From checking through the censuses, from information in the document have managed to find out some updated info. so here it is:-

It seems that James Beattie died on 30th August 1865 at Montrose, it mentions his employment by the British Linen Company and outlines the worth of his assets with the balance “…due to the deceased as in right of his wife by Mr David Fitchet, Farmer at Mains of Bridgeton and other trustees under the settlement of her father…”

Had a look at the Censuses, and it seems that David Fitchet is the brother of James Beattie’s wife Margaret Fitchet.   Their parents are James Fitchet and Mary Ann Wyllie (according to the IGI – International Genealogical Index – which can be accessed via http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp  ) and they were married on 20 February 1809 at Fordoun, Kincardine, Scotland.

On the 1841 Census, James is living at “Mains of Bordgston” (which should read Mains of Bridgeton) in Kincardineshire, Scotland.  His wife, Mary Ann is not present on Census night, but his children Jane (aged 30), Ann (aged 20), David (aged 20) (they aren’t twins), and James aged 15 are there with him as are two other people whose relationship is unknown (a 3 year old girl Mary Ann Brattie – could this be a Mary Ann Beattie perhaps and a 25 year old woman called Elizabeth Watson).

On the 1851 Scotland Census, James Fitchet is living on his farm at Bridgeton Manes in Kincardineshire,  Scotland where he is a farmer, employing 5 labourers and has 170 acres.  He lives there with his wife Mary Ann and 3 of his grown up children - Jane, Ann and David.  They also have 2 labourers and 1 house servant living with them.

On the 1861 Scotland Census, Mary (Ann) Fitchet is listed as being head of the household and is recorded as being a Farmer’s widow.  She is living with 4 of her children – David, James, Jane and Anne and also a dairymaid called Anne Leslie.

The 1871 Scotland Census is the one that proves the link between the Beattie and Fitchet families.  It is a bit difficult to find as the census has been improperly transcribed the Fitchet surname has been transcribed as Fitcher and Ada Beattie who was also present has been transcribed as Ada Beathe.  According to this census, David Fitchet is now head of the household (aged 51) and is living with his brother James (aged 49), and sisters Jane (aged 61) and Ann (aged 52) –the girls still have their maiden names so I don’t suppose they ever married.  Also present on census night was their niece, Ada Beattie (aged 15) and a servant, Isabella Naron (aged 18).  They are still living on the farm at Mains of Bridgeton in Kincardinshire.

On the 1881 Census, David Fitchet is still listed as the head of the family and his occupation is Farmer of 170 acres – 160 Arable employing 3 men 2 girls and 1 boy.  He still lives with brother James and sisters Jane and Ann.  Also there on census night was Eliza Beattie (aged 20 – who is listed as a general servant – not sure whether she is related or whether Beattie was just a common surname in those parts) and Isabella Florence also listed as a general servant).

Cannot easily find them on census after this.

Hope this keeps you occupied for a while Sandra.

[Angus9999]

Hi All,

Just got some more info thanks to Steves bit of helpful advice re: the wills/testaments - found that Margaret Beattie (nee Fitchet) has one at

www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
BEATTIE MARGARET 18/07/1883 OR FITCHET, WELLINGTON PLACE, MONTROSE, WIDOW OF JAMES BEATTIE, BANK AGENT THERE, D. 11/01/1882 AT MONTROSE, TESTATE FORFAR SHERIFF COURT SC47/40/49

James Beattie's parents are John Beattie and Agnes Hill - there is a marriage announcement for them on
page 318 of the "Edinburgh Magazine or literary miscellany" on Google Books
it states "Marriage... At Montrose, Mr John Beattie, to Miss Agnes Hill, daughter of the late Mr Thomas Hill, of Montrose..."

Also Agnes Beattie (nee Hill) appears on the 1841 Scotland Census and 1851 Scotland Census - she has been widowed by this time as there is a will/testament for John Beattie, he was a wine merchant and Banker in Montrose and it lists all his debt(s/ors) at

www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
BEATTIE JOHN 10/11/1830 MERCHANT AND BANKER IN MONTROSE FORFAR SHERIFF COURT SC47/40/7

In 1841, Agnes Beattie (nee Hill) (aged 60) was the head of the household and living at Gayfield Cottage in Montrose she's there with her daughter Catherine and son John (both aged 30), John is a wine merchant like his father and also there on census day was her grandson Thomas who was 8 months old - they had 2 servants.

In 1851, Agnes is living at 123 High Street, Montrose, with daughter Catherine and grandson Thomas C Beattie.  Her occupation is that of a fund holder- they have only the one house servant now.

There is an advertisement on Google Books - It is in "The Scottish Commercial List" of 1869 by "Seyd & Co" "...- Beattie John and Co. — Montrose, wine and spirit merchant*- James Birnie, Catherine Beattie. 15th July 1870..."  (Maybe this could be Agnes's son John and daughter Catherine).

Agnes's grand-daughter, Mary Ann Beattie (b. 1837), daughter of James Beattie and Margaret Fitchett is married to a James Birnie - (maybe this could be the same one or a relative?). 

On the 1871 Scotland Census, James Birnie does not appear, but his wife Mary Ann Birnie (nee Beattie) and their children Charles I Birnie and Herbert A Birnie (probably should be read as Robert Birnie) are living with Mary Ann's mother, Margaret Beattie (nee Fitchett) who is the head of the household and also has some of her other children still living with her, they are Catherine, Margaret and Henry (the spelling and the mistakes on this transcription are shocking, particularly in all the ages).  They also have a cook.  At this time, they were living at 5 Panmure Tow in Montrose.

On the 1881 Scotland Census, James Birnie still does not appear, but his wife Mary Ann Birnie (nee Beattie) and their children Charles J and Robert (listed as Herbert A on the 1871 Scotland Census) are still living with Mary Ann's mother Margaret Beattie, who is the head of the household and whose occupation is still listed as an Annuitant (believe this just means she receives an annuity as income).  They are living at 3 Wellington Street in Montrose.  It is at this address that Margaret died on 11th January 1882.

Lastly, I found a website that Gayfield Cottage, Montrose and also a James and John Beatty was mentioned on (although names and address were not together - Gayfield Cottage was listed with a Charles Irvine's name) - it was compiled by Michael Dun at
www.1812privateers.org/ADM26/ADM26.pdf    it seems to be a list of privateers with details of the ships names - don't know if its relevant in this case as Agnes is living in Gayfield Cottage in 1841, but have no idea how long she would have been there.

For anyone whose got an interest in the Scottish Merchants, Bankers and Shipowners of this time, a couple of good sites are http://www.danbyrnes.com.au/merchants/index.html this is a website book of Merchants and Bankers Listings and he also has another project which is at http://www.merchantnetworks.com.au which is a project in economic and maritime history.

For those of you interested in the Merchant Ships and the East India Company, Anne Bulley does a good book which you can view on google books - it is called "The Bombay Country Ships, 1790-1833"

Anyway hope this is useful.

[sanz1]

I got a PDF of the will and read it, interesting.......and I see more information is posted.....I love this intriguing maze. 

Still researching other family members.....

[Angus9999]

For anyone still interested in Beattie Fitchett Family Tree - here are all the wills and/or testaments on www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk that I've found so far - (also note that initially thought they were only a couple of pages long with not much relevant info. but theres usually a few pages after the inventories - this is the stuff that contains the families names/connections).

1)   James Beattie – born about 1802, Montrose, Forfarshire – Husband of Margaret Fitchett
www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
BEATTIE JAMES 30/09/1865 AGENT AT MONTROSE FOR BRITISH LINEN COMPANY FORFAR SHERIFF COURT SC47/40/32

2)   Margaret Beattie (nee Fitchett) born 1815, Benholm, Kincardineshire – Wife of James Beattie    (Number 1. above)
www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
BEATTIE MARGARET 18/07/1883 OR FITCHET, WELLINGTON PLACE, MONTROSE, WIDOW OF JAMES BEATTIE, BANK AGENT THERE, D. 11/01/1882 AT MONTROSE, TESTATE FORFAR SHERIFF COURT SC47/40/49

3)   John Beattie – father of James Beattie (Number 1. Above)

www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
BEATTIE JOHN 10/11/1830 MERCHANT AND BANKER IN MONTROSE FORFAR SHERIFF COURT SC47/40/7

4)   Agnes Beattie (nee Hill) – wife of John Beattie (Number 3. above) and mother of James Beattie (number 1. above)
www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
BEATTIE, AGNES, MRS. (Reference SC47/40/27 FORFAR SHERIFF COURT)

5)   James Beattie – born 1777 in Benholm, Kincardine, Scotland – brother of John Beattie (Number 3. Above).

www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
BEATTIE, JAMES (Reference SC47/40/29 FORFAR SHERIFF COURT)

[sanz1]

Thank you, any information is great

[Forfarian]

Question for Angus. Do you know who Mary Ann Wyllie's parents were? I am collecting Wyllies from that general area.