Pitcarithley Perthshire

[stuartone]

  Hi all ,

In the 1871 census there is an address as given ( Backfield of Pitcarithley.)  Perthshire . What does this mean, is it the name of house or street or owner of the house.
Are there any clues ?
Thank you Stuart

[bleckie]

Hi Stuart

What parish are we in

Yours Aye
BruceL

[Rodeo]

Hi Stuart

Could it be a mistranscription of Pitlochry, Perthshire?

If you give us the details of the 1871 census extract you mention, we can have a look for you.

Cheers,

Rodeo

[Rodeo]

Actually, there's a Pitcaithly in the parish of Dunbarny, Perthshire.

Cheers,

Rodeo

[Rodeo]

Hi Stuart

Have a look at this re Pitcaithly, Perthshire:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitkeathly_Wells

Cheers,

Rodeo

[Rodeo]

Here's an early map of the area:

http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/maps/index.jsp?layer=europe&xMin=3198832.70866&yMin=3339728.44644&xMax=3201632.70866&yMax=3342528.44644

Cheers,

Rodeo

[sancti]

Stuart are there other addresses mentioned on the census image you have?

[Rodeo]

There's a wealth of information about Pitcaithly (Pitkeathly) here, including historical maps:

http://www.pkht.org.uk/HERSearchResults.asp?selClass=13&selParish=DUNBARNEY&selPeriod=-1

I had a good look at several historical maps but couldn't find a farm or cottage called Backfield.

Cheers,

Rodeo

[Forfarian]

As a general rule, it is essential[/b] to note which parish any of your people lived when you are trying to find out where a place is or was. Names of farms, like Backfield, can occur in many different parishes, and if you don't know which parish to look in, you can't be sure of finding the right place. You must know the parish, because the 1871 census, like all other available censuses, is arranged by parish.

There are two Backfields in the 1881 census, one in the parish of Glenbervie in the county of Kincardine, and the other in the parish of Dunbarney, so I would go along with the suggestion that it is Pitcaithly, more usually spelled Pitkeathly these days. The surnames listed at Backfield are Scott, Nairn, Robertson and Jackson.

Using the map catalogue at www.nls.gov.uk I have found Backfield in the parish of Dunbarney. It looks as if it no longer exists, but it was south of the B935 road between Pitkeathly Wells and Mount Stewart. This is the URL of the map I found: http://maps.nls.uk/os/6inch/view/?sid=74428189

So assuming that your 1871 census listing was in the parish of Dunbarney, this is the place.