Did Bonnie Prince Charlie travel thru Canonbie in the 1745?

[mgscott]

we have a family story of an ancestor arriving in Canonbie  (from Speyside) while travelling south with Prince Charlie on his march into England.   is that a possibility? did he and his Jacobite army travel thru or near Canonbie?

[Thrall]

A minute of Googling produced this:
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/charles/35.htm

so I think you can assume there is a good chance your ancestor jumped ship in Canonbie, about five miles to the southwest of the point where the Jacobites crossed the border en route for Carlisle, and only a mile from Liddel Water which they seem to have followed; whether that would be considered an admirable thing to do is perhaps doubtful, but probably very sensible!

Note " On arriving in the neighbourhood of Carlisle, desertion had diminished the prince's army by some hundreds." from above article!

Guid hunting,

Thrall

[mgscott]

Thanks for pointing me there Thrall.  Yes, the Liddel Water comes  so very near to Canonbie that the story seems possible.  The ancestor I refer to is Peggy Grant, who was 5 at the time that her father left her behind in Canonbie as he continued on to England with the Prince....or so our story goes.  He never picked her up on thier return into Scotland and she grew up to marry the local Canonbie Blacksmith, our family's Robert Little. 

I haven't found any history of the Rebel army entering Canonbie? I found stories about them entering Carlisle, Dumfries, etc but not Canonbie.  Perhaps they stayed along side the Liddel Water and bypassed Canonbie?

If anyone can direct me to some sources of history about Canonbie I would really appreciate it.  Thanks again Thrall.

[Reiver]

May I suggest a book entitled Langholm As It Was by John Hyslop first published in June 1912.  Changes and amendments noted by him have been incorporated in a later version published a few years ago by his great granddaughter and gg grandson (Hyslop & Booth).

The Chapter on Battles and Raids includes on pages  223 - 225 information on the Prince's journey through the area.   Various people are named included a Little.
Elsewhere in the book there is a Chapter on Eskdale Clans which refers to both the Elliotts and Littles and others.

Regards
Reiver

[mgscott]

Thank you Reiver.  That sounds like a very interesting read and i definately will try to locate a copy.

[walterc]

D J Beattie wrote"Prince Charlie and the Borderland." Originally published in 1928, it was reprinted in 1995.  Discounted new reprints were obtainable in Carlisle for £1 a couple of years ago. 

Canonbie is mentioned three times in the index.

WalterC