Boyd and Kilgour Connections

[trish251]

Fellow travellers in Fife

If I am to believe an extracted IGI record from Kinghorn, Fife, my gg grandmother Janet Boyd was baptised there on 5 May 1822, having been born on the prior 20th April. Her parents were Peter Boyd and Barbara Kilgour. Family folklore says her father Peter was a bleacher, located where the St Andrews Golf Links now are found - would this be anywhere near the parish of Kinghorn? In 1841 the family is in Abernethy, Perth, address given as Clunie Mill,  but they seemed to have moved around, with her parents located in Markinch in later years.

Janet died in the small village of Myrtleford, Victoria on October 17 1901, living long enough to see a new century and a new Monarch. Her age was given as 79 years, probably the first time since her birth that her age was correctly stated on any official/unofficial document. Despite being noted by her son-in-law,  as a "good christian women, happy in the love and service of the good God", Janet did not like to reveal her correct age to her contemporaries in Australia.

In my next post, we will start to look at the many siblings of Janet Boyd and the direction of their lives. This may help to establish a pattern of emigration that remained with this family for many years. Researchers with a detailed knowledge of the parishes within Fife, will no doubt be able to help me map the movements of those family members who remained nearer to their roots.

Trish

[trish251]

Hello again Fife researchers

Continuing on my research of the Boyd family from Kinghorn, they seem to be a prime example as to why one should listen to family folklore but at the same time - ensure that it is checked against church and civil records.

First son Peter born 2 Jan 1824 Kinghorn and died 2 Oct 1861 in Kircaldy shows our family folklore appears to have been well wrong about Peter - he supposedly went to the USA

Peter started as a bleacher like his father, but then took advantage in an increase in the volume of the travelling public and became the toll collector and labourer on the Turnpike road in Kinghorn, where he can be found in 1851 with wife Jane and 4 children - Peter Barbara William and Jane. Where did the turnpike road go - what was the toll that had to be paid? Any information on these things would greatly increase my knowledge of this family. Perhaps someone lives in the area and could visit and take pictures - if the tollgate does still exist.

The next child in the family was Betty Boyd born 16 December 1825. Betty also came to Australia, but I have been unable to discover when. She married in Victoria in 1855, and like her sister, died in Myrtleford. Yet again, family folklore was incorrect. Betty, I was told by one of my dearest Great Aunts, died in Scotland in 1897. Someone (perhaps my g g grandmother) was passing down incorrect family information.

There were more of this family who ventured out to Australia, looking for gold. I wonder if any of the RootsChat researchers may be related to my Boyd family from Fife.

I should mention, if you have any useful information to share, it is  better do so on the boards. PMs do limit family discussions.

In my next message, I will continue with the Boyd siblings, finding the brothers who accompanied my gg grandmother to the goldfields of Victoria

Trish

[kirstyfairfull]

Trish,
 Google  national library of scotland click maps.
They have ordnance survey maps  click sheet 37 that,s Kinghorn. Kirsty         

[trish251]

Trish,
 Google  national library of scotland click maps.
They have ordnance survey maps  click sheet 37 that,s Kinghorn. Kirsty         

Hi Kirsty

They are great maps, I'm not sure if I have found the right one - too many sheet 37s (think I am a bit thick) but there are so many Flax Mills around Kirkcaldy - no wonder the census shows so many Flax workers around.  I will keep looking

Trish

[teadealer]

Hi Trish

Just a thought having read your post,the Barbara Kilgours father wouldn't be a Robert Kilgour ?
My GGGmother was a Kilgour and she had a brother named Robert.
Peter

[trish251]

Hi Trish

Just a thought having read your post,the Barbara Kilgours father wouldn't be a Robert Kilgour ?
My GGGmother was a Kilgour and she had a brother named Robert.
Peter

Hi Peter

I haven't yet finished in the goldfields of Victoria    and am whisked back to the Kilgours, who to the best of my current knowledge were probably in Abbotshall, Fife at the time you are discussing.  As I think I mentioned elsewhere, some of my Boyd/Kilgour information came from a very dear Great Aunt who believed everything her mother told her & documented same. Not all of it was true. I have a wonderful obituary, found by a very kind RootsChatter, which also contains some proven incorrect information, showing it is not difficult to convince others of the truth of our fictional stories   

Meanwhile, I think I mentioned my Kilgours on one of your early threads on Rootschat
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,310958.0.html

As well as I can currently verify
Barbara Kilgour b. 23 May 1799, was the daughter of Robert Kilgour and  Janet Ross (and as a sideline, I would love to find the ancestors of this Janet Ross). Siblings, Robert, Elizabeth, katherine, John and Helen, all born Abbotshall with extracted IGI entries.

I believe Robert Kilgour was b. 28 Jul 1769 the son of Robert Kilgour and Elizabeth Maxton. Siblings Margaret, Euphane and John. John the oldest was baptised in Kirkcaldy, the others in Abbotshall.

The marriage of Robert and Elizabeth was an "irregular" marriage, the details found for me by a very helpful family enthusiast in Edinburgh. If we are indeed, distant cousins, I am very happy to share this information

Trish

[trish251]

Hello again Fife researchers

While waiting for Peter to confirm whether or not my Robert Kilgour is also his Robert Kilgour, perhaps making us very distant cousins, I will continue with the next child of Peter Boyd and Barbara Kilgour, Barbara Boyd born 23rd April, 1828 and baptised the following month in the parish of Kinghorn.

Barbara appears to be somewhat of a traveller and a mystery. That same very dear Great Aunt (mentioned previously), included in her family notes, that Barbara Boyd married Kirsop and died in the UK in 1902. While I was researching my Victorian Boyd roots, I came across an index record being the death of Barbara Smith aged 65 years, at Beechworth, 1892, parents listed as Peter Boyd and Barbara Kilgour. This looked seriously like my Barbara Boyd, age very close, parents correct, but surname SMITH!  Browsing the Victorian indexes further, I came across a marriage in 1881 between John Smith and Barbara Kirsop. I further found two children born in the 1850s parents being William Kirsop and Barbara Boyd. One of these children, sadly died as an infant, the other survived to raise his own family. So there definitely was some truth in Great Aunt's family story about Barbara, but no-one seems to have recorded any information about Mr Smith, and the death in England looks extremely doubtful.

Forgive my sidetrack here, but a grandchild of Barbara Boyd, being Bessie Kirsop illustrates how careful we must be in verifying our family members, as Bessie provides an example of an incorrect civil record in the state of Victoria. Bessie was born in Benalla Victoria in 1889, her parents were Joseph Kirsop and his wife Mary Barklamb. Sadly Bessie only lived to be four months old, and when she died, in the year of her birth, her grandmother, to help the grieving family, attended the registrar's office to report the death. When the registrar asked "Maiden name?" she replied Barbara Boyd. So the death of Bessie Kirsop is registered with her grandmother listed as her mother. How common is it, to find a civil registration record, easily proved to be incorrect?

The trail of Barbara Boyd from Kinghorn to Beechworth, I will complete in my next posting.

Trish

[trish251]

Hello Fife Folks

I promised I would follow through with my post on the Barbara Boyd mystery, and so it came to pass:

When searching for Barbara Boyd, whom I was told married Kirsop, I was lucky to find the following information

In 1851 living in Backway, Kelso, Roxburg was 30 year old William Kirsop. William was the head of his family and had become a Railway Platelayer - which may provide a reason as to why he was far from home - having specified that he was born in England. With William I found a 29 year old wife - Barbara Kirsop who was born in Kinghorn, Fife. I would have expected my Barbara to be somewhat younger, but age seems to have been a very variable commodity to my Boyd family from Kinghorn, so I accept she provided incorrect information, or it has been incorrectly transcribed.

Looking for a marriage for this couple is difficult, but perhaps this event in England may be the link - would others agree?

On the same register page, in the East London District, June Quarter, 1852 are mentioned Boyd Barbara and Kirsop William. If this is the marriage, it would seem "living in sin" was not restricted to the lower/middle classes of the mid 20th century, nor no doubt were the "trial marriages" of later times a new idea. Wonder why everyone thought it didn't happen back then?

There are some possible immigration records on the Frances Henry in 1852, but I have to admit, I have not yet looked at the State Library microfiche to find further detail. There are two reasons - one being that the index gives Barbara and Joseph Kirsop, but no William and the other - I become quite useless when searching the Victorian immigration fiche & always hope another kind soul will check them for me, as I can rarely find the right ship, let alone the passengers. Suffice to say, Barbara and William were in Australia by the time their unnamed child was registered in 1857.

I find a Death for William Kirsop, aged 57 in Victoria, 1876. His birthplace on this index is given as Durham and parents George Kirsop and Jane Brown. If another researcher could find verification for this birth/baptism, I would be much obliged. I have no knowledge of the availablity of records for Durham, being outside of my usual sphere of interest.

A few years later in 1881, Barbara has married Mr John Smith, and I fear there is little chance of finding his ancestry, but time may tell. Barbara passed away in the Victorian town of Beechworth in 1892, not as originally thought, in London, 1902 - but perhaps I should check for a double on the 1901 Census of England and Wales.

Trish

[MonicaL]

Hi Trish 

I saw this 1841 census entry in Jarrow, Durham - not sure if it connects to William Kirsop's family. Children born in the county, parents outside of county:

Geo Kirsop 55, agr. lab.
Jane Kirsop 45
Isabella Kirsop 25
Geo Kirsop 20
Thos Kirsop 10
John Kirsop 5

William, as you can see, is not showing in the household so hard to confirm at this stage...but it's a start!

Monica