Belston, Methven and Auchtergaven

[OzKat]

Thanks for these, Buckhind. Are they all death dates because if so, some other info I have for the women is incorrect. So it's good to know.
Kath

(Actually I have now sorted this - the dates fit nicely. Thanks.)

[letznz]

Hi Holly, My husband David Pay's Paton ancestors also trace back to Andrew & Ann Paton. He is a descendant of their son Andrew, farmer of Balwhern or Balquarn who married 1836 Elspeth RobertsonAndrew & Elspet's children prededceased them & are buried in Auchtergaven Bankfoot cemetery. The youndest dghtr Ann married John Scott in 1868. Ann died age 36  & the children were raised by Andrew & Elspeth. One grandson John Scott married 1902 Margaret Merrilees & emigrated to New Zealand which is where we enter the picture. Did you know Andrew & Ann Patons wills are available on Scotlands people? Andrews is dated 1829 & Ann's 1835 which gves info on death dates. Very good to make this mutual connection. Cheers Lesley in NZ

[rupiezucki]

Hello, cousin Lesley!

I can't help but wonder what life was like back then - can't have been very good for them...you will have noticed from this thread that Patons were bailing out of Auchtergaven at a tremendous rate. 

Have you any information on the line further back than Andrew and Ann?  I am about to take another run at it.  Save me some work, please!   

My daughter was in Scotland a couple of years back, and as her trip north was through the right area, I asked if she would pop into Bankfoot Cemetery and see if she could find any Paton gravestones.  She later told me that it was an absolutely surreal experience.  We live a 'modern' life, far away from most of our relations and this is all she knows.  She found the experience of going into a cemetery where it seemed like every other person was a relation of hers, quite overwhelming.  She did not have enough time or daylight to film all of the Paton markers.  And there would also have been family buried in other cemeteries nearby.  I hope to get up there, maybe next year.

I didn't know that Andrew and Ann's wills were on Scotland's People.  I am an ancestry member and have been deluding myself for several years now that they are 'just about' to reach an agreement.  Amazing.  I'm  only married to a Scot and have become cheap by association.

If you have any info on Andrew's ancestors, I would appreciate it, and if I have anything you need, you are welcome to it.  I can't remember if it's covered in this thread, but I have 5 children that look like sibs to your Andrew:

Andrew & Ann PATON

James 29 Jul 1794
twins (?) Janet and William 11 Dec 1796
Andrew 12 Jan 1800
Peter 3 Jun 1803
John 9 Jul 1809


There is a record of a 'female' PATTON named Janet William , father Andrew PATTON in Auchtergaven.  The timing is right, and I haven't been able to see the fiches for myself to confirm that it is a daughter or twins.  I include it because the pronunciation of the surname is right as is the time and place.  Who knows.  At some point I  will get over there and get into the records and bankrupt myself. 

If I find anything else, I'll post it.

Cheers,
Holly

[letznz]

Hello Holly, great to get your reply. It is swings & roundabouts with Ancestry & Scotlandspeople. Each has specialist areas. Ann Paton died 18th January 1835. Peter Paton her brother , tenant at Gibbieston was appointed sole executor but seems he had died by he date of the inventory in 1844.
Legacies went to sons James, William, Andrew, & Peter with the residue to son john. Perhaps Janet pre- deceased her mother . I do not have a birth record for Janet.I have not researched further back than Ann & Andrew Paton but will check for earlier docs or wills. Although the children of Andrew b 1800 & his wife Elspeth all predeceased their parents one granddaughter Anne Paton Scott lived at Balquarn until her marriage in 1902 to Peter Ewan, blacksmith of Auchtergarven. Leases on the farms were for 19 years & if the landlord had other plans for the land & the lease was not renewed the Patons became landless peasants. Andrew & Elspeth managed to make a reasonable living on their 40 acres & Elspeth left an estate valued at  just under 4000 pounds sterling at the time of her death 12th Aug 1897.
I would be pleased to learn more about the Canadian Patons & how/when they emigrated.
Best Wishes, Lesley.

[LizzyFaire]

I'm just catching up with this thread now. Delighted to find this information. I am descended from a Thomas Donaldson, born in Belston in about 1787. I've bookmarked and will be back when I have more info! Thanks~!