BROWN / WATSON of Crail

[jac2]

hi

death index entries
Agnes BROWN   MORR:   Kingsbarns   7 Dec 1843   9 Dec 1843   nk      widow   James Brown(labourer)      OPR   OPR441-3   Old Parochial Registers   

Agnes MORRIS   BROW:   Kingsbarns   7 Dec 1843   9 Dec 1843   nk      widow   James Brown(labourer)      OPR   OPR441-3   Old Parochial Registers   

James BROWN      Kingsbarns   29 Aug 1832   31 Aug 1832   nk   labourer            OPR   OPR441-3   Old Parochial Registers   

Andrew BROWN      Kingsbarns   1 Sep 1819   2 Sep 1819   nk      son   James Brown(labourer)      OPR   OPR441-2   Old Parochial Registers   

John BROWN      Kingsbarns   25 Jun 1824   27 Jun 1824   nk      son   James Brown(labourer)      OPR   OPR441-3   Old Parochial Registers   

Robert BROWN      Kingsbarns   17 Aug 1830   19 Aug 1830   nk      son   James Brown(labourer)      OPR   OPR441-3   Old Parochial Registers   

jac2

[hdw]

Hello, has anyone researched Brown and Watson family
connections in Crail please?

I would like to discover who the parents of James Brown were.
James Brown (no birth place or date) married Anne Innes (b1806 Anstruther)
in the parish of Kingsbarns 1832.

They had three children all born in Kingsbarns
James (b 1833)  Ann (1835) and John Watson Brown (1839)

John Watson Brown married Joahan Walker Watson
1862 at the Manse of Crail Parish Church.
I’m wondering why the groom has his bride’s surname
Watson as his middle name…?

Hello Winnie. I've enjoyed reading your query and all the helpful answers from other people on this forum. Having done a lot of research on my home town of Cellardyke, I knew that a James Brown, born in Kingsbarns, showed up in some of the 19th century censuses of Cellardyke, but I didn't know about the Innes connection. That's what interests me most. I knew that several females called Innes, born in Kingsbarns, lived in Cellardyke in the 19th century, and I know about the Innes family of Anstruther, from whom I'm descended myself, but until now I thought they were unrelated. Now, I'm not so sure.

The Ann Innes who married James Brown in 1832 at Kingsbarns was born in Anstruther in 1806 to Alexander Innes, shoemaker, and Ann Dougal. This couple were married at South Leith, Edinburgh, in 1802. Alexander Innes was then a cooper, and Ann Dougal was the daughter of James Dougal, cooper in Anstruther. The IGI shows that James "Dowgal" married Anna Duncan at Anstruther in 1781.

Although Alexander Innes is a cooper in Leith, I think he may well have been from Anstruther originally. A lot of men from the East Neuk of Fife sailed out of Leith on merchant navy vessels and whalers, and tradesmen may also have moved there for work.

At some point, Alexander Innes and Ann Dougal must have moved from Anstruther to Kingsbarns. Their daughters Mary and Catherine Innes, both born in Kingsbarns, married James and William Wood respectively, fishermen in Cellardyke and sons of Alexander Wood and Christian Moncrieff. In 1861 James Wood was a widower and his sister-in-law Janet Innes, also born in Kingsbarns, was his housekeeper. The Woods were a very large and well-known fishing family in Cellardyke and Pittenweem, and there are still lots of them around in the East Neuk.

Coming back to the Browns, your John Watson Brown married Johan Walker Watson in Crail in 1862, and they share a page in the Crail marriages register with Charles Black and Margaret Peebles, both of Sorbie, Kingsmuir, Crail. Margaret Peebles was a 1st cousin of my great-great-grandfather James Peebles (1827-1869).

Johan Watson was the daughter of Alexander Watson and Margaret Patrick of Crail. I haven't come across this couple before.

I hope some of this is of interest.

Harry

[jac2]

hi
painting of mid shore pittenweem. back of the picture contains a pencil sketch by the artist naming the people in the pic. mostly woods and innes. pic painted 1930

jac2

[winnie7]

Thanks everyone for an amazing response in this forum!

I need to draw a tree on a large piece of paper onto which I can make notes, and refer to. 
Looking at old maps too. There certainly were a lot of Watsons and Browns spread acround Crail.

Does anyone know who was living at Balkaithly farm, Dunino in the 1861 census please? 

John Watson Brown born 1839 was in Kingsbarns in 1851, and at Airdrie, Crail  1862
when he married Jotana Walker Watson.
At least one of their daughters seems to have been born  at Balkaithly
in the 1860’s. So I am wondering if John and Jotana ever lived there?
For in 1881 they are back at Kingsbarns.

Balkaithly on an old map seems to be about 4 miles from Kingsbarns,
about 14 large fields in between the two, they could have walked it.
Maybe they had a family connection with the following…?

In 1851 Balkaithly seems to have been occupied by another Brown family:
John Brown age 60, his wife Margaret Robertson,
son James, daughters Bettsey and Christina.
I think this John Brown then died because in 1861 his wife and farmer son et al
are at Clephanton Cottage.   So who was living at Balkaithly…?

To add to the confusion, the 1841 census at Balkaithly shows
(in addition to the farmer’s son James Brown born abt 1826 Carnbee)
another James Brown born abt 1826 working as an ag lab!

I am new to this, hope I have the names and dates right…

[winnie7]

Hello Harry,
Thanks for your interesting reply yesterday.

You mention Mary Innes and Catherine Innes married James and William Wood respectively
and that James Wood was a widower and his sister-in-law Janet Innes, also born in Kingsbarns,
was his housekeeper.

How fascinating - I have a James Woods as witness to the marriage
of John Watson Brown and Jotana Walker Watson 1862 both of Airdrie, parish of Crail.

John Watson Brown (born 5 April 1839) in Kingsbarns (whose line I am following)
was I believe the third child of James Brown and Ann Innes. I’m still wondering how
he had Watson for his middle name, his bride’s surname also being Watson
which may connect with the following mystery…

I have an old newspaper article passed down in my family papers
through the John Watson Brown line.

It’s about the Crail lifeboat and rough Fife seas of October 1898.
It mentions, 
“John Watson, age 57, coxswain, married, three daughters and five sons...” 

Searching, it seems that this John Watson was born 28 Oct 1841 in Crail
and lived at Nethergate, parents Alexander Watson and Catherine Stobie.
He married a Janet / Jessie Laird I believe, and there were maybe nine little Watsons.
A public tree on ancestry.com provides plenty of names and dates on that.

I suspect there is a connection,
otherwise why would John Watson Brown’s married daughter
and her husband in Kincardine keep the article?

[hdw]

Hello again. Although my Watsons were in Cellardyke, I have also researched the Crail Watsons to some extent, and there are at least two separate families, one which originated in Crail, and one which came from the north-east of England via a short stay in Cellardyke. My Crail relatives were called Peebles, and lived in the Shoregate, West Lane, and later the Nethergate.

Re John Watson in the lifeboat, my grandfather James Peebles was also in the Crail lifeboat at a later date. And as for Browns, it was probably the commonest surname of all in Crail, although your Browns appear to be from Kingsbarns.

Come to think about it, in 1875 my great-grandfather James Peebles was joint owner with a John Watson of a Crail fishing-boat called the "Unity" (I once made lots of notes from the Anstruther Fishery Office boat registers in the National Archives of Scotland).

Harry

[mussenden18]

Hi,

i am not sure if we are some far of relation but I have been able to trace my line back from myself(Born 1947) to James Brown's parents and also those of Ann Innes. Like yourself I have come to a halt apart from what appears to be some additional information on the parents which I have picked up from the threads on this posting.  I am descended from John Watson Brown/Joanna Watson's daughter Joan Birrel Brown (B1864 D 1903). Joan married James Thompson Stephen in 1888 and their daughter Mary Jane Thompson Stephen (B 1898 D 1984) was my Grandmother.  As far as I can ascertain James and Joan had 7 children but apart from Mary Jane and her sister Beryl Brown Stephen I have been unable to find any post birth information on the others. 

Can your research provide me with any additional information along that line and i would be happy to share any information that I may have.

[hdw]

I don't know any more than I put in my last post. However, I thought I would check out Alexander Watson and Margaret Patrick on Scotlandspeople. This I have not been able to do, as I keep being told I am being denied access to the page I want, although I still have 16 credits. I don't know what is going on with that site, but they have changed their page layout and I'm not finding it as user-friendly as it used to be. Also, the Contact Us link isn't working for me.

Harry

[mussenden18]

Harry,
 I used the new SP site yesterday and found no difficulty other than my credits had expired.   Alexander Watson and Margaret Watson Patrick married 04.08.1827 at Anstruther Easter and he was listed as a Miller. Alexander died 04.08.1877(his wedding anniversary) and Margaret died 20.10.1878.  They were both living at Craighead Crail at the time of their death.    I have not been able yet to trace their birth records but I know that he was born in Anstruther Easter and Margaret was born in Leith Mid Lothian.
Hope this helps.
David