Angus (Forfarshire): Chalmers of Auchterhouse Parish: Weavers or Farmers?

[madaviswoman]

     The 1841 Scotland Census lists William Chalmers living at Dronley, occupation manufacturer.  His daughter, Christine, age 20 is a Hand Loom Weaver and 2 Robertson girls, Elizabeth and Jean, age 15 as apprentice Hand Loom Weavers (possible granddaughters).
     Family stories always led me to believe that William lived on a farm that had been in his family for generations.  I assumed he was a farmer.  The 1861 census lists him living at Farm Dronley and South Tronley, address South Dring Pir Ho, which supports the farming idea.
      However the biography of William's son, Thomas Stuart Chalmers of Chicago, Illinois states that Thomas was "born at Dronley, near Dundee, Scotland; is a son of William and Janet Chalmers...parents and grandparents were among the first to start the spinning and weaving industry...the family in Scotland have resided in the one house generation after generation for more that 150 years, a brother of Mr, Chalmers being the present occupant."
       So my first question is did the family own the farm and one of the sons worked the land while the father and daughters were weavers?  Is the farm still there?  My next question is: was there a spinning and weaving mill in or near Dronley?  Or did they travel back and forth  everyday to work in the mills in Dondee? 
     Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.

[madaviswoman]

I have found 3 generations of Chalmers in the Auchterhouse Parish records:
     Generation 1:  Thomas Chalmers (c 1725) and Margaret Hunter (c 1725) marry 5 Jun 1742 at Glenisla, Angus, Scotland.  9 children were christened at Auchterhouse:  Agnes (1743), David (1745), Katherine (1748), Alexander (1750), Janet (1753), Barbara (1756), Margaret (1757), Isobell (1761), and William (1765).  It doesn't appear that any of them are buried at Auchterhouse except Alexander.  Where did they come from?  Where did they go?
     Generation 2: Alexander Chalmers (1750) marries Christian Essie (Eassie)(c 1750) in 1781 at Auchterhouse.  They have 12 children christened there: David (1782), James (1783), Elizabeth (1785), Catharine (1787), William and Jean (1790), Alexander (1791), Agnes and Margaret (1793), Helen (1795), Janet (1797), and Christian (1802). Alexander is buried there with his son,William.  But where is his wife and the other children?
     Generation 3:  William Chalmers (1790) marries Janet Anderson, registered at Auchterhouse in 1809.  They have 8 children: Alexander (1809), Patrick Arnot (1811), James (1812), Catharine (1814), Peter (1815), Thomas Stuart (1816), Christine (1821), and Helen (1822).  Janet dies and William marries Ann Clark and has 5 more children: James Barna Newland (1833), Ann (1834), Jean (1836), Margaret Irvine (1837) and Isobell (1840).
     Family stories said that 3 son came to the United States.  James was a farmer in Wisconsin, Thomas Stuart was a businessman in Chicago, Illinois. Who or where the third one settled, I have no idea.  One daughter, Helen married and moved to Sydney, Australia.
      I would like suggestions about how to track down the children of these families and advice on how to prove they are the right person.  Also, if possible, I would like to connect with others researching these families. Any and all advice would greatly be appreciated.
     
   

[Forfarian]

First, are you looking at the original census, or at a transcription? Because if you are using transcriptions (especially those on Ancestry) you need to be aware that they are full of errors, and you need to look at the originals at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk to check what they actually say.

I am willing to bet that "South Dring Pir Ho" is a botched attempt at South Dronley Fm Ho, short for South Dronley Farm House.

The family did not own the farm at that time. The Valuation Rolls at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk lists various Chalmers as tenants and occupiers between 1865 and 1915, but there are no Chalmers listed in Auchterhouse after 1915. The proprietor in the 19th century was Templeton Estate, owned by the Earl of Camperdown.

There is no reason why a farmer could not also have run a spinning and weaving business. In fact the 1861 lists William Chalmers as a linen manufacturer.

I note with interest that in 1861 and 1871 William Chalmers' wife and family are listed as born in Clunie, Perthshire, though he himself was born in Auchterhouse.

The deaths index at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk shows that William Chalmers died in Auchterhouse aged 85, and his mother's maiden surname was Eassie.

The Church of Scotland baptism records at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk list 85 Ch*m*r* baptisms in Auchterhouse between 1685 and 1854.

[GR2]

Re your 1st generation, you have Thomas and Margaret married in 1742 and have them born about 1725. That is probably rather late as it would mean they married aged 17. It is not impossible, but unlikely that a couple would marry quite as young. If Margaret's last known child was baptised in 1765. she may have been born about 1720, and Thomas might have been older.

Re not finding where/when they were buried, there was no requirement to record deaths and burials. Because there is no record in a parish, it does not mean someone isn't buried there.

Some parishes, however, did keep burial registers and you will find them indexed on ScotlandsPeople. If there is no burial register, the thing to do is look at the records of the kirk session of the parish (available free to read on ScotlandsPeople). The minutes and especially the accounts often record payment for use of the mortcloth (a cloth used to cover the coffin - hired from the parish, the money going to the poor). Some parishes name the person who had died, so you have a rough date of death. Unfortunately others just mention receipt of the money without naming the deceased.

[madaviswoman]

Wow! Thanks for all the information. I will have to check out Scotlands People.  I appreciate all your insight and information.  Thank you so very much.

[madaviswoman]

Yes, I was reading a transcription from Ancestry.  Thanks so very much for all the information.  I have not ever used many of the sources you listed. This is so exciting.  Thank you again.

[ecosse23]

Hello,

I’ve just discovered this thread so I thought I’d join up to let you know that I live in the Dundee area and I’m also researching this branch of the Chalmers family.  I’d be interested to share notes as I’ve visited some places connected to Thomas Chalmers and collected background info on the family and intend to do more.  I’d be very interested to learn more about the American side of our history.

To answer your question in the thread title, this branch of the family around Auchterhouse were farmers and handloom weavers, but also quarrymen in the Auchterhouse quarries.  Another branch were farmers and market gardeners (known as truck farmers in the US?) and soutars (cobblers) in other parishes north of Dundee such as Eassie, Inverarity, Tealing and Murroes. 

The house at South Dronley is still there, meanwhile my great great grandfather was the miller at Dronley Mill which is a quarter mile from South Dronley, so there are lots of connections.  I believe that Thomas Stuart Chalmers’s own grandfather was also Alexander, and that he was also miller at Dronley, which would have been a century or so before that. 

I also know that one of my grandfather’s uncles emigrated to Chicago - that would have been around half a century after Thomas Stuart Chalmers emigrated to Chicago via New Orleans.  The family must have lost touch though, as I don’t have any contact details for him or his descendants.

Thanks.