st. ninians churchyard help

[omap]

Thanks Anne......yes, excercise is good!!

Is there any kind of date associated with Anne C. Stephenson wife of Alex Boyd by an chance?

[apanderson]

Fergie

The info came from 'East Stirlingshire Monumental Inscriptions, pre 1855', by John Fowler Mitchell & Shiela Mitchell. (ISBN 0 901061 82 4)

Falkirk Library & Falkirk Archives have copies so I would think the FHS would definately have one.

There's a whole series of these books which are available for about £10/£11 from the Scottish Genealogy Society in Edinburgh ( http://www.scotsgenealogy.com/welcome.htm ).

omap

Just by sheer co-incidence, I had a look at this stone a few weeks ago and there's very little left of the inscription. All I could make out was exactly the same as the Mitchells could in May 1970 when the survey of Holy Rude was carried out.

It sits backing on to the North Side of the church and sits in an enclosure in a lower part of the Churchyard.

If you contact Tony Murray, at: genealogy AT stirling.co.uk , he may be able to help you as he has mountains of info on Stirling Families.

Anne

[omap]

Thanks Ann.....will give him a try.

[mazb57]

I found this photo of a headstone in St Ninians churchyard in Stirling, it has 3 generations of my Meiklejohn Family including my grt grandfather grt grt grandfather and grt grt grt grandfather,  I am hoping that perhaps there is someone who lives locally who could tell me if there are any other Meiklejohn headstones in the churchyard, names I am looking for are John and Lily Meiklejohn (nee Armstrong), Robert and Janet Meiklejohn (nee Aikman), John and Elizabeth Meiklejohn (nee Hall).

I have found other Meiklejohn's living in St Ninians as far back as the 1650's but I know St Ninians Church wasn't built until 1730 does anyone know what church would have been used for burials prior to then?

[apanderson]

The above photo came from The Scottish War Graves Project: http://scottishwargraves.phpbbweb.com/viewtopic.php?t=691&mforum=scottishwargraves (note the small 'SWGP' watermark at the base).

Although not a 'War Grave', because of the fact there was a military connection, in this instance the Royal Navy, this stone has been included. The War Graves Project site includes not only WW1/WW2, but all other conflicts and any stone which lists a connection to any service.

Anne

[apanderson]

The following MI's are from 'East Stirlingshire pre-1855 Monumental Inscriptions'

1.   1811   Alexander Rattray & Isobel Meiklejohn

2.   1849   No. 611    John Glen & Mary Meiklejohn (No. 611 is possibly the Lair Number)

3.   1849   J  G    M  M  (Thought to be the same as above as it sits next to that stone)

4.    Robert Meiklejohn died 19.12.1903 age 81
       Wife Margaret Neil died 23.02.1903 age 74
       Children
       Janet Muirhead died 30.12.1879
       Maggie died 30.03.1884
       Bella died 24.09.1895
       Grand-daughter Maggie Low Thomson died 19.02.1892 age 2y 5m
       Step-son William died 26.10.1903
       Thomas Neil died 16.03.1909
       Robert died 18.11.1937
       John died 07.01.1938
       Father John doed 20.04.1842 age 54
       Mother Janet Muirhead died 04.10.1854 age 41
       Elizabeth Meiklejohn, wife of John Thomson died 19.02.1932

None of the names you're looking for unfortunately, but hopefully they'll fit in somewhere.

According to the same publication, the Register of Births for St. Ninian's goes back to 1653 (O.P.R's).

I think that the ruin right in the centre of the Churchyard was the original Church. (Have a look at Fergie's photo on page 1 of this thread - the ruin can be seen right behind the archway entrance).

Anne

[mazb57]

Hi Anne,

Thanks for your reply, I see what you mean by it not being an actual war grave and the connection is through James Meiklejohn being in the Royal Navy, I checked his death record on Ancestry and although there isn't much info on the death indexes I took it from the location given that he died at home, he was based in Stoke Damerel, Devon. There seems to be something else on the bottom of the headstone which is mostly covered by grass I can only make out the word 'dead' so I'm hoping to get to Stirling during the summer to see what it says. This photo has got me curious to find out who in the family continued to add the other names to the headstones up to 1955.

Thanks again

Marilyn

[apanderson]

I noticed 'dead' in the grass as well!!

It's possibly one of those wee 'plaque' type stones which tend to end up either lying flat or propped up against other stones. It might not be associated with your stone at all but fingers crossed that it is. The stone in the photo should be easy enough to find, as from memory, it's in the lower section (or 'New' Section), which is the bit you end up in if you decide to do some orienteering!

I hope you've read the 'How-to's' to get access to St. Ninian's   

I'll keep an eye out for someone climbing the wall armed with some 'tools of the trade'

Anne

[k2bhm]

Very interested in your post and the picture of the Meiklejohn gravestone in St Ninians.
The William at the top of the stone is my great grandfather, being the father of Edward, my Grandfather who appears last on the main stone.
I am from Stirling although now in Ayr but I have taken pictures of the stone years ago and have them sonewhere.
William and margaret Caldwell actually had 12 children.  Which of them is your greatgrandfather?
Cheers,
Boyd Meiklejohn