Wamphray, Walter Kerr and Agnes Gibson

[sallytay]

I am looking for any information on Walter Kerr and Agnes Gibson. They had children born in Wamphray, according to the children's census information. John Kerr was born in c1791, James Kerr in c1797, Jean Kerr c1797, also William, birthdate unknown and possibly a Janet and Mary. Walter is described as a deceased miller on John Kerr's death certificate and mother was detailed as Agnes Gibson, also deceased. I believe the Gibson family worked at the Wamphray Mill in the 1700s. I cannot find any other info on Walter and Agnes. Though the census details that their children were born at Wamphray. (John Kerr married Janet Proudfoot and lived at Kirkpatrick Juxta in the 1820s). John, James, Janet and Jean all ended up in Moffat but no Walter or Agnes, so they had probably died before the 1841 census. Any help or advice to lead me to more information would be great. I have hunted Scotland's People and am now at a brick wall.

[FBOWKETT44]

Hi, "sallytay". Perusing your posts on RootsChat it appears you have not had any responses to your post made over two years ago. My mother's maiden name was Gibson and the family lore has it that there was "always" a Gibson at the Wamphray mill. Based on my research of the mill and the Gibson family, I don't think this was literally true but many of the Wamphray millers, over time, were Gibsons (mostly William and James). I do not have a "William Kerr" or an "Agnes Gibson" in my family tree but that is not to say they do not belong there. My family and I visited Wamphray mill and Wamphray Parish church in 2014 and took numerous pictures of headstones in the cemetery. I just took a look through all of the headstone pictures we took and did not see any of the names mentioned in your 2014 post. However, both my daughter and I have recollections of seeing on headstones all the surnames mentioned in your post.  This may not be directly helpful to you but if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

[sallytay]

Thank you for your reply....very frustrating pair!
Walter Kerr was definitely the Miller at Wamphray mill.
I went to the Ewart Street library in Dumfries, and found an advertisement from the 1798 newspaper.
It details farms to rent on Whitsuntide next and amongst those listed..
"The mill and mill lands of Wamphray as possessed by Walter Kerr"

I think he had possibly died as he and Agnes had no further issue after this point. On the death certs of their offspring Walter is described as a miller. All the Kerr children of Walter Kerr and Agnes Gibson were born at Wamphray.

I too visited the church, though the graves do not appear to be older that 1830s ( When the church was built).

I have seen that the Gibson family have been a constant tenant of the mill prior and after my Walter years...so I was hoping to ascertain that Agnes was the daughter of a Gibson miller and that is how she and her husband Walter were there.

But I have nothing concrete to go on as yet.

Any further info you think may help would be great,
Many Thanks,
Sally

[FBOWKETT44]

Hi, Sally. Thanks for your quick response. I recently refocussed my efforts on the Gibson portion of my family and am dealing with similar frustrations with respect to tracking certain individuals. The following won't help you directly but may provide some broader context for your efforts (or it will just be interesting information!). The headstone of a William Gibson, miller in Wamphray, is in the Old Kirkyard cemetery in Moffat. He died in 1750 and his wife Mary Cochrain died in 1747. I have not been able to definitively identify other millers at Wamphray who lived/worked there between this William Gibson and the James Gibson (a cousin of my mother) who was the miller when the mill "closed" in 1948. If my efforts to identify the individual millers over the years achieves any success I will let you know what I find out.

In his 1906 book "Wamphray", James Paterson, in a footnote on page 120, indicates that: "Gibson and Roddick have been the chief names in the mill since 1750." This clearly indicates that there were other names associated with the mill.

Hoping to get back to you soon.

Francis

[argyllshiregirl]

Maybe completely unconnected, but I have a James Gibson (b. abt. 1820) married to a great great aunt of mine, Janet Mathieson. They married in 1857. Janet was the daughter of James Mathieson and Mary Forsyth. They were from about Glencairn, Dumfriesshire.

In 1881, James Gibson and his wife Janet, along with children James and Janet, were living at Carlaverock, Dumfriesshire. I am not certain, but I think James Gibson may have been a merchant of some sort, perhaps in grain. It has been a while since I looked at this branch.