The Patersons in Scotland

John Paterson and Janet Armour - Our Direct Ancestors - my generation’s great great great great great great great great grandparents

John Paterson (the first that I have been able to discover!) married Janet Armour. John and Janet are our direct ancestors. They had three children that I know of to date, John - our direct ancestor, Katrine Patersone and Charles. I have no knowledge of dates or locations, however, they would have been living during the mid seventh century and it is extremely likely that these folk were all based in Scotland.

John Paterson and Susanna Brough - Our Direct Ancestors - my generation’s great great great great great great great grandparents

John Paterson (the second!), sometimes spelt Patersone was born on the 25th of January, 1686 in Errol, Perthshire, Scotland. His wife was Susanna Brough, born on the 4th of March, 1688. She was christened three days later on the 7th of March in Auchtearder, a small town located north of the Ochil Hills in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.

Susanna’s parents were John Brough and Janet Paterson. Her twelve siblings included John, Andrew, Robert, Janet, Margaret, Harry, David, Christian, Helen Alice, Jane, James and Archibald. Her poor mother with thirteen kids to look after! I haven’t been able to find anything else about Janet Paterson and John Brough to date, but interesting to note Susanna’s mother was another Paterson!

John and Susanna were married in Logie, Perthshire, to the east of Auchtearder and south of Errol, on the 31st December, 1709, and it seems again in Auchtearder, Perth, on the 18th of January in 1710. She was 21 and he was 23. This was perhaps because their families came from these areas and while within an hours drive nowadays, in the past the distance of 50 plus kilometres would have been a long way to travel.

John and Susanna’s children included

1. Margaret - christened on the 24th of July, 1711 in Logie, Perthshire

2. James - christened on the 8th of November, 1713 in Logie, Perthshire

3. John - christened on the 21st of May, 1716 in Logie, Perthshire

4. William - christened on the 7th of September, 1718 in Stirling, Stirlingshire

5. John - christened on the 25th of June, 1721, in Stirling, Stirlingshire

6. Janet - born on the 20th of September, 1724 in Stirling, Stirlingshire

7. Janet - born circa 1720 - 1724 at Mosshouses, Melrose - our direct ancestor

8. Robert - christened on the 14th of January, 1728 in Logie, Perthshire

Of course the obvious potential error is that most of the children are born in Stirlingshire and neighbouring Perthshire, with one child born in Melrose, 53 kilometres southeast of Edinburgh, in the Scottish Borders and the fact that there are two Janets! Could the family have moved south to the Scottish Borders, or is it possible that there were two John Patersons and Susanna Broughs that married a similar time. Perhaps the two marriages suggest this?

Anyway, whatever the truth, we do know a daughter, Janet, was born somewhere between 1720 and 1724 at Mosshouses, Melrose. And that Janet is important to us as she is our direct ancestor.

James and Margaret Paterson - Our Direct Ancestors - my generation’s great great great great great great great grandparents

Thomas Paterson was born in approximately 1720, also at Melrose. Thomas’s parents were James and Margaret Paterson.

The generation of James and Margaret are the earliest Patersons on Thomas’s side I have been able to discover to date. I have not found any link between Thomas Paterson and Janet Paterson, although they may have been distant or not so distant relations.

Janet Paterson and Thomas Paterson - Our Direct Ancestors - my generation’s great great great great great great great grandparents

Janet Paterson married Thomas Paterson on the 2nd of November, 1745 at Melrose, in the Scottish Borders. The following year, in 1746, our direct ancestor, James, was was born at ‘Mosshouses’ where his mother had also been born.

Janet and Thomas’s children included

1. James - christened on the 23rd of October,1746, born at ‘Mosshouses’ - our direct ancestor

2. Janet - christened on the 2nd of May, 1748 or 1749, born at ‘Mosshouses’

3. Thomas - christened on the 21st of August, 1750 or 1751, born at ‘Mosshouses’

4. Margaret - christened on the 8th of December, 1755, born at ‘Mosshouses’

5. Agnes - christened on the 7th or 17th of November, 1758, born at ‘Mosshouses’

Mosshouses Farm House, where Janet Paterson and her son James were both born. From aerial views this ‘house' is clearly two separate cottages, with two separate gardens.

James Paterson and Ann Hall - Our Direct Ancestors - my generation’s great great great great great great grandparents

Ann Hall, James Paterson’s wife, was the youngest daughter of Anthony Hall and Isobel Michelson. Ann’s parents were married on the 15th of June, 1733 in Bywell, Northumberland, a northeastern English county, just south of the Scottish borders. Anthony Hall and Isobel Michelson’s children were all christened in at the Anglican St Peter church, Bywell Northumberland and included:

• John Hall - christened on the 27 March, 1734

• William Hall - christened on the 23rd of April, 1738

• Mary Hall - christened on the 4th of April, 1739

• Margaret - christened on the 5th of August, 1744

• Ann - baptised on the 10th of May, 1747

James Paterson and Ann Hall were married on the 25th of August 1793 at Alloa, Clackmannan, Scotland. James and Ann lived in, or near Oxnam in the Scottish Borders. Oxnam is 18.5 kilometres south east of Melrose, where James had been born.

Their children included:

1. Thomas - born on the 11th of June, 1771, in Oxnam and died on the 5th of March, 1862 at Reay, Caithness, Scotland

2. Janet - christened on the 25th of February, 1772 at Old Kilpatrick, Dunbarton

3. James - born on the 13th of June and christened on the 14th of June, 1774 at Old Kilpatrick, Dunbarton; married Janet Henderson in 1807; their children included

• George - born in 1810, married Ann McLeod on the 18th of February,1835, in Tongue, Sutherland; they came out to New Zealand on the sailing ship, Jura in 1862, with another James Paterson; George and Ann’s children included

• Thomas - born in 1836

• Charles - born in 1839

• Alexander McGilvary - born in 1846; also immigrated to NZ and married Eleanor Georgina Douglas Paterson in 1887; they were based in Hamiltons, Maniototo; Alexander and Eleanor are discussed further in the New Zealand section; Alexander came out to New Zealand in 1862 on the ‘Jura’ and is a cousin to our descendent, John - more information on them in the ‘Patersons in New Zealand' section

4. Anthony - born on the 22nd of March, 1775 at Oxnam and died on the 7th of February, 1856 at Inverness. More about Anthony and his wife Jane Grecian and family in the following section - our direct ancestor

5. Margaret - born on the 20th of May, 1777 at Old Kilpatrick, Dunbarton

6. John - born on the 19th of June, 1779 at Oxnam-Nook (or Oxnam Nuek as it is now known); married Janet Jeanette Henderson on the 13th of February, 1806 in Reay, Caithness; their children included:

• Henry - born on the 5th of April, 1809 in Reay

• George - born on the 19th December, 1810 in Helshetter, Reay

• Anthony - born on the 2nd of March, 1815 in Helshetter, Reay; died at Skinnet, Reay, Caithness, in 1853

James died on the 8th of September, 1815, at 68 and was buried, according to Wilson (1988) at ‘Sandiestanes’, Ancrum, approximately 19 kilometres away from Melrose. Sandiestanes is noted as a place or farm name in the 1841 census, but I can find no other reference to this particular place or farm. However, there currently is a farm called Sandystones Ltd near Ancrum, south east of Melrose, and it is likely that this is the location and its name has changed over time.

The village of Reay on the northern coast of Scotland.

Anthony Paterson and Jane Grecian - Our Direct Ancestors - my generation’s great great great great great grandparents

Anthony, the second son of James and Ann, and our forefather, was born on the 22nd of March, 1775 at Oxnam, in the Scottish Borders. He was a shepherd, and likely saw more of the countryside than village dwellers. This or perhaps the fact that his mother Ann Hall was from Northumberland, may explain his meeting of English woman, Jane Grecian. Jane was born in Whittingham, Norhumberland, England on the 8th April in 1776. Anthony and Jane were married on the 11th May 1796.

Jane’s parents were James Robert Grecian, born on the 4th of June, 1738 at Ingram, Northumberland, and Eleanor Steele born in 1742, also somewhere in Northumberland. Eleanor died on the 23rd of June, 1810, at the age of 67 or 68 at Powburn, three miles to the east of James’s home of Ingram. I can find no more information about Eleanor’s family at this stage. James may have moved after Eleanor’s passing, as he died on the 3rd of June, 1821 at the age of 82 at Alnham, to the south west of Ingram and Powburn.

James Robert Grecian’s parents were George Grecian and Ann Henderson. George was born before the 24th of July, 1692 in Lesbury, Northumberland. Ann was born in 1692 in Abberwick. They both died in Ingram. George died on the 17th of February, 1764 and Ann died on the 22nd of October, 1773 at 80 or 81 years old. I have no further information on George and Ann at this stage.

Anthony and Jane Paterson (nee Grecian) must have made a significant move north at some stage during their married lives as some of their children were born up north and they both died in Reay, on the northern coast of Scotland.

According to Wikipedia, the population of the parish of Reay had been 2406 in 1801, and by 1831 when the census was taken, it had increased to 2881. I wonder if Anthony’s job as a shepherd may have been critical to the family’s move north. Bell and Bell (2011) state that sheep rearing was only introduced in the Highlands of Scotland on any significant scale in the late 18th or more likely the early 19th century, by the estate owners. This is often regarded as a dark chapter in Scotland’s history, as the highland social structure was destroyed in the process. Known as the “Highland Clearances”, small farmers raising black cattle were unable to produce enough rent to keep the estate owners satisfied. They were evicted from their homes, often with little regard for their well-being, and their goods were thrown out of their small cottages which were then demolished. The people had to go to the cities, to emigrate or to live along the coasts while the whole of the interior of the Highlands was more or less depopulated and sheep flocks, managed by shepherds from the lowlands were brought in to provide a more profitable enterprise for the estates. I wonder if Anthony may have been one of the lowland shepherds who was brought into the highlands? Whatever the reason for Anthony and Jane’s move to the Highlands of Scotland, there must have been movement between there and Northumberland as evidenced by their children’s birth places and dates.

Anthony and Jane had eight children, several of whom were born in Northumberland. In birth order they include:

1. James - born on the 25th of August, 1796 in Beanley, Eglingham and died on the 10th of December, 1899 at age 103 in Bridgeport, Mono County, California, United States

2. Andrew - born on the 30th of June, 1798 in Beanley, Eglingham and, according to some sources died during 1877 in New South Wales, Australia, however, I have been unable to find any evidence of his death date or whereabouts

3. John - born on the 13th of December, 1800 in Beanley, Eglingham and died 23 May 1877 in Otepopo, New Zealand - our direct ancestor - much more about him and his family in the New Zealand section

4. Eleanor Hellen Douglas (also known as Ellen and Nelly) - born on the 19th of September, 1803 in Shipley, Eglingham and died in London, Middlesex, Ontario, Canada during 1862 at the age of 58 or 59

5. Michael - born on the 18th of December, 1805 in Tongue, Scottish Highlands and died on the 15th of March, 1867 at 61 in Gunning, Upper Lachlan Shire Council, New South Wales, Australia

6. Mary Jane Douglas - born on the 29th of April or the 24th of September, 1809 in Beanley, Eglingham and possibly died in May, 1910 at Willow Ranch, Modoc County, California, United States at the age of 101

7. Jane Tweddle - born on the 2nd of November, 1810 at Beanly, Eglingham and died during 1899 in Northumberland

8. Thomas - born on the 15th of October, 1815 in Reay, Scottish Highlands and died on the 19th of September, 1902 in Yass, Yass Valley Council, New South Wales, Australia

It seems from the birth dates and places of Anthony and Jane’s children, that the family moved between Eglingham in Northumberland and the Scottish Highlands. It is likely that their first move north was after Eleanor’s birth at the end of 1803, as according to most sources, Michael was born up north in 1805. The family must have been moved back to Northumberland for Mary and Jane’s births in 1809 and 1810. By 1815, they were back in the Scottish Highlands.

An aerial shot of Kennachy Farm, Reay on the northern coast of Scotland, where Anthony and Jane lived and died. http://ncap.org.uk/NCAP-000-000-191-029">Kennachy; Reay; Caithness; Scotland</a>

Perhaps this mobility inspired most of Anthony and Jane’s children to become travellers themselves. It is interesting to note that seven of them died overseas in North America or Australasia. Also noteworthy is the name Douglas, that Eleanor and Mary married into, and John, too, married a Douglas, Elizabeth Douglas.

Anthony died on the 18th of January, 1856 at the age of 80, and Jane died on the 5th of August, 1842 at the age of 66. They both passed away at Kennachy Farm, Reay on the northern coast of Scotland.

Elizabeth Douglas - our direct ancestor - my generation’s great great great great grandmother

Elizabeth Douglas was born in 1806 in Northumberland, England. She was the second child of George Douglas (born c.1777, in Thurso, Caithness) and Elizabeth MckIntosh (born or christened on the 15th of August 1779, in Thurso, Caithness), who had been married on the 16th of July in 1803. Elizabeth’s siblings included Mary Mcintosh, Janet, Williamina, John, Christian, Helen, Margaret, George Mcintosh, and Daniel. It is possible that one of two of these siblings married our ancestor’s John’s sisters Mary Jane or Eleanor Hellen, but I haven’t looked into this yet.

Elizabeth Mckintosh’s parents were Daniel Mckintosh (born c.1747, Thurso, Caithness) and Janet Bain / Bantree (born c.1754, Halkirk, Caithness). Daniel and Janet married in 1777 in Halkirk, Caithness. This is as far back that I have found realistic information on Elizabeth Douglas’s family to date.

There is also a John Douglas’s name on the Otepopo Crown Grant Index Record Map of July 1861 and perhaps he was related to Elizabeth somehow. I have not explored this connection to date.