RootsChat.Com
Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Aberdeenshire => Topic started by: fruitcake on Thursday 07 October 10 01:41 BST (UK)
-
My 2 x Great Grandparents were William Watson (c1852 New Pitsligo) and Margaret Shewan (b1853 Peterhead). William and Margaret were married on 27 Dec 1879 in Peterhead. Margaret Shewan’s parents were David Shewan and Janet/Jessie Thompson.
I have 7 children for William and Margaret – William (1875 Peterhead), Elizabeth (c1879 Peterhead), David (1880 Lonmay), Alexander (c1883 Peterhead), Margaret Jane (c1885 Peterhead), Susan (c1888 Peterhead) and Lizzie (c1894 Peterhead).
Does anyone have any connections to this family?
I am particularly interested in their eldest son William Watson, and their son Alexander Watson. Alexander Watson married Barbara Ann Pennant on 16 Mar 1906 in Peterhead, and had a son William Watson born 19 Apr 1907.
-
Hi, I'm also interested in your William Watson! Please click on this link to my query. Could you please tell me the whereabouts of William (born c1852) in the 1861 & 71 censuses? I'm wondering what his occupation was,as in 1927,"my" William said his father was a general labourer.
Regards,
flst
www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,373903.msg2477904.html#msg2477904
-
Hi flst, I think we've talked about this before, I'll send a reply to your email address.
fruitcake
-
Thanks for your pm. Yes, I was aware we'd been in touch before! Regarding your gggrandfather, William,what was his occupation on his marriage certificate? Also, can you please tell me when he died? I will be able to eliminate him as a possible father to "my" William Watson if he died after 1927! I omitted to say in my first post that William's father was noted as deceased on a marriage certificate. I will continue to search the 1871 censuses!
Regards,
flst
-
Hi flst,
Here is the info on William Watson's marriage certificate...
27 December 1879, at Invernettie, Peterhead. After Banns according to the Forms of the Church of Scotland.
William WATSON, Coachman Domestic Servant (Bachelor), Age 27, u/r 21 James Street, Peterhead
Father - Unrecorded
Mother - Susan WATSON, Domestic Servant
Margaret SHEWAN, Domestic Servant (Spinster), Age 24, u/r Invernettie Brickworks, Peterhead
Father - David SHEWAN, Brickmaker (Journeyman)
Mother - Jessie SHEWAN ms THOMPSON
Officiating - James STEWART, Minister of Peterhead
Witnesses - James SHEWAN, James WEBSTER
Still at a fairly early stage of research with this line, so haven't got William's death certificate yet. Will let you know once I've found it.
Regards,
fruitcake
-
Hi flst,
Just found William Watson's death certificate on ScotlandsPeople, he died 26 April 1926 in Peterhead.
fruitcake
-
fruitcake
I have David Shewan and Jessie Thomson in my tree and have a note that their daughter Margaret married William Watson. I don't have any further information moving forward from this couple, but have plenty about David Shewan's ancestry if you need it.
-
Hi Glendaveny,
Many thanks for your reply, Glendaveny. I've been concentrating my research on the Watson/Shewan lines from my 3x Great Grandparents, David Shewan and Janet/Jessie Thompson, during the last year, as my Watson family were very elusive! I haven't researched back from David Shewan as yet. I have his parents as John Shewan and Elizabeth Smith, but haven't verified that yet, so I would be very interested in any information on David Shewan's ancestry. I can PM you with my email address if you like. Are you a descendant of my GGG Grandfather, David Shewan, also?
fruitcake
-
If you PM me with your email address, I'll send you what I can. I am not descended from David, but from his grandparents Andrew Shewan and Jane Johnstone.
-
Thank you, Glendaveny, much appreciated. I have sent you a PM with my email address.
fruitcake
-
Hi,
I realize this thread is old, and I'm just starting my research, but would be appreciative of any information on David Shewan who married a Jessie Thompson.
I have David Shewan (unconfirmed) as the father of John Keir Shewan (1847-1903 from Aberdeenshire), married a Mary Jane Bent (England). They came to Canada (about 1864) and settled in Minto/Wellington.
There is also a possible Alexander Shewan (and Elizabeth/Eliza Chalmers) who could be the parents of David but this lead seems less likely.
David would be my great, great great grandfather on my father's side.
Any information would be appreciated. Thx in advance,
b.
-
Sorry, but I think you may be on the wrong track. David Shewan and his wife Jessie Thomson had a son John Kerr Shewan in 1847. But my records show he married Rebecca Walker, and died in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1907. You might want to check this by looking at his death certificate on Scotland's People as I have not totally verified the info ( not my direct line). If you look for John in a census like 1851 it might shown you where his father was born.
I have found that there are 'pockets' of Shewan's in Shetland, NE Scotland and NE England. But I've never really managed to link them up
-
Thanks for the reference and information. Too bad that it does not seem a match but I'll keep going.
-
Hi belliot, you are definitely on the wrong track, David Shewan and Jessie Thomson are my 3x Great Grandparents and their daughter Margaret (Maggie) Shewan is my 2x Great Grandmother. Glendavenny is correct in that John Keir Shewan (Keir not Kerr) married Rebekah Walker in Peterhead in 1872.
-
John appears in the 1861 census of Canada, age 13, working as a labourer in Minto. Apparently on his own as no sign of any other Shewan's there. It says he was born in Scotland.
-
Thanks, I do have that information from Canadian records (and from very limited family oral history). Another possibility is that his father's name is "Conrad". Family do indicate that he was from Aberdeen but again, a very limited oral history. I'm still piecing things together and am at least happy to eliminate David from the list.
Thanks again!
-
In a publication called Biographical Sketches of Early Settlers of Wellington County John is listed. It says he was induced to come to Canada by his uncle James Chalmers. He is said to come from Aberdeenshire. In the 1851 Scottish census, there is a John Shewan aged 4 living with his grandmother Helen Chalmers at Old Deer. The census says this is in Banffshire but it is actually in Aberdeenshire. I think this is probably your man. It's a starting point anyway.
-
Not sure if this will be any help to you, but there is another David Shewan in this line of my family, he's David Walker Shewan who is the grandson of David Shewan and Janet/Jessie Thomson. This David Walker Shewan is the son of David and Janet's son William Shewan (who married Helen Walker) and David Walker Shewan emigrated to Canada.
-
There doesn't seem to be a marriage of John Shewan to Mary Jane Bent in the England and Wales marriage index. Pity, because if there had been it would have told you the names and occupations of their fathers.
The 1901 census lists John Shewan, born April 18, 1847 in Scotland, immigrated to Canada 1860, with wife Mary J and four children aged 8 to 23, all born in Ontario.
The IGI lists one John Shewan, born in Scotland on 18 April 1848. I have found it not unusual that birth dates in the Canadian census are a year out. This John Shewan was the son of Alexander Shewan and Eliza Chalmers, and he was baptised in New Deer on 26 April 1848. I think this is the one you should be looking at.
There's a family in Old Deer in the 1851 Census consisting of Helen Chalmers, widow, 67; Christian Chalmers, sister, 60; Eliza Chalmers, daughter, 31; granddaughter Ann Keith, 9; grandson John Shewan, 4; and granddaughter Elspet Shewan, 2. You can view a transcription at https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl.
In 1861 Helen, Christian, Eliza and Ann were all still in Old Deer, Christian now described as sister-in-law rather than sister.
I have not found Elspet's baptism or the marriage of Alexander Shewan to Eliza Chalmers.
You can view John's baptism record at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. This may tell you that he was illegitimate. If so, it would be worth taking a look at the New Deer and Old Deer Kirk Session records, which, if they survive, will probably contain a report on the matter. They may also shed light on the birth of Elspet Shewan and Ann Keith. The Kirk Session records are only available in certain archives in Scotland at the moment, but rumour says that they will become available on Scotland's People.
If John immigrated to Canada in 1860, he must have gone with members of his family as he would only have been 12 or 13 in 1860.
Note that in both 1881 and 1901, the census says that Mary Jane was born in Ontario, of English origin. This probably explains the absence of a marriage in England ;)
-
Old Deer. The census says this is in Banffshire but it is actually in Aberdeenshire.
Actually, there was a piece of Old Deer that was a detached piece of Banffshire.
From Fullarton's Gazetteer (1842): "Old Deer, a parish partly in Aberdeenshire, partly in Banff, situated almost in the centre of Buchan .... "
-
Agreed Forfarian. I was referring to today. But I think the OPRs etc are catalogued under Aberdeenshire despite the historical anomaly.
-
My earlier post confirms that an uncle was involved in his emigration.
-
Agreed Forfarian. I was referring to today. But I think the OPRs etc are catalogued under Aberdeenshire despite the historical anomaly.
Yes, that's right.
-
There a baptism of a James Chalmers, parents James Chalmers and Helen Murison, in Old Deer on 8 July 1820. Helen Chalmers, widow of James Chalmers, daughter of Arthur Murison, died in Old Deer in 1861, death registered by Eliza Chalmers, daughter.
Christian Chalmers, aged 74, died in Old Deer in 1862. Her death certificate should tell you the names of her parents and therefore of James Chalmers, husband of Helen Murison.
James Chalmers, aged 50, is in Minto, Wellington North, Ontario, in the 1871 census.
In 1861 James Chalmers, 37, born Scotland with wife Agnes, 25, born Ireland, a baby, William, and John Shewan, labourer, aged 13 are in Minto, Wellington North.
I think this all ties together quite neatly.
-
Thank you so much for all of the information and help. Definitely some more to go on as I work further backwards and find out more. I'm surprised I missed the info on the Wellington Cty site as I've used that for other people in my ancestry.
The Shewan information does match with some of the items I have found here and will continue to verify the links taking me back that far and further.
Thanks again!
-
I have found that there are 'pockets' of Shewan's in Shetland, NE Scotland and NE England. But I've never really managed to link them up
By NE England do you mean around Durham....ships carpenters? I've been looking at them and they seem to have Shetland connections.
-
I am a descendant of the John Shewan who emigrated to Canada. You have t found his marriage certificate, etc. As you are looking wrong spot. John Shewan and Mart Jane Bent of Pilkington Township, Ontario, Canada and wed in Minto Twp, Now Palmerston, Ontario, Canada. He had several children one of which was another John Shewan which wed Sarah Goodwin, daughter of Eli Goodwin and Elizabeth Bramhill. They had several children Including my grandfather, Gerald Wyman Shewan who wed Colleen Cecilia Kennedy of Hamilton Ontario. They had two sons, my father Charles Christopher Shewan and Ricky John Shewan.(*)
(*) Moderator Comment: e-mail removed in accordance with RootsChat policy,
to avoid spamming and other abuses.
Please use the Personal Message (PM) system for exchanging personal data.