Where There’s a Will

This week’s prompt for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is ‘Where There’s a Will’.

With the help of a will I was able to breakdown a brick wall. That brick wall belonged to Anne Grierson, the wife of William Bell, whose brick wall I wrote about in a previous blog, published January 24^th, 2018.

Anne Grierson and William Bell are my husband’s 2x great-grandparents. They were born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland and immigrated to Canada in 1851. They settled in the Pickering area of Ontario. Anne died on 15 February 1874 in Green River, Pickering and is buried at the St. John’s Presbyterian Cemetery in Pickering. William died on 13 December 1887 in Blaris, Manitoba, Canada and is buried in the Arrow River Cemetery in Arrow River, Manitoba.

I started my search for Scottish records for Anne Grierson and William Bell using the National Records of Scotland website https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. I was able to find their banns of marriage which are the public announcements of an intended marriage between two specified persons. The banns are read in the parish church of the individuals and allow others to raise concerns as to why the marriage should not occur. The banns are to be read aloud on three Sundays before the wedding ceremony. The first banns I was able to find were posted in William’s parish on 11 May 1851 and 18 May 1851 in Dryfesdale, Dumfriesshire and it states “William Bell in this parish and Ann Grierson in the parish of Applegarth”. The second record I found was the posting in Anne’s parish, Applegarth, Dumfriesshire, on 18 May 1851. It states “William Bell in Dryfesdale, and Ann Grierson in this Parish, Proclaimed two days – married elsewhere”.

I then searched for their birth and census records. I could not find any records that I was confident belonged to the William Bell I was searching for. However, I was able to find records in the 1851 Scotland Census and 1841 Scotland Census that I was confident belonged to Anne Grierson. The national census record for Scotland started in 1841. Prior to this date there are some census records that are held at their respective county archives or the ScotlandsPeople Centre. The records held at these places are only available for people who are able to travel to these centres to perform the search and this is not an option for me at this time.

The 1851 census record indicates Anne is an 18-year-old female General Servant at Netherhall in the parish of Applegarth and that she was born in Johnstone, Dumfriesshire. The 1841 census record indicates she is a 10-year-old female living with her family in the Templand Village located in the Parish of Lochmaben, Dumfriesshire and that she was born in this County. The family consists of her parents, William and Janet Grierson, and her siblings; Agnes, William, Mary and Jean. I could not find any further Scottish records for Annie so I turned to her family members to continue my search. They all have their place of birth recorded as the County of Dumfriesshire in the 1841 Scotland Census. In this same census William, Anne’s father, is noted to be 45 years old and his occupation is recorded as a Mason. The ages of the rest of the family are recorded as Janet (Anne’s mother) – 45 years old, Agnes – 25, Anne – 10, William – 7, Mary – 4 and Jean – 2.

I was able to find the marriage record for Anne’s parents, William Grierson and Janet Ewart. They were married in Broomhills in the Parish of Applegarth and Sibbaldbie on December 13, 1811. I also found the will for William Grierson. William died 12 May 1850 in Templand, Dumfriesshire and is buried in the Applegarth Church Cemetery.

In William Grierson’s will I found his occupation recorded as Mason in Templand Village and the date and place of his death. The inventory of his cash, bank savings and household furniture and other effects total £32 16s 3d.

I also found a record of his children. The will was written the 25^th day of February 1850 and read on the 27^th day of May 1850. It records his children as:

• John Grierson, eldest son;
• Frances Grierson, Joiner, residing in Templand;
• Agnes Grierson or Sharp, wife of Joseph Sharp, Tailor at Hopefield, Parish of Keir;
• Margaret Greirson or Graham, wife of William Graham, Collier at High Harrington in Cumberland in England;
• Elizabeth Grierson or Bryden, residing at Templand Village;
• Janet Greirson, residing at Newfield, Parish of Hoddam;
• Ann Grierson, residing at Hall, Parish of Applegarth;
• William Grierson, residing at Stobahill, Parish of Hutton;
• Mary Grierson, residing at Kirkbank, Parish of Johnstone; and
• Jean Grierson, residing at Templand Village.

All his children, except John, are appointed as his Executors and are recorded as present for the deposing of the Will on the 27^th day of May 1850. This leads me to speculate that John’s whereabouts are unknown or he lives abroad and unable to return to Scotland for the reading of the will. It is also noted that William’s wife, Janet, is not mentioned in the will. This leads me to believe she died prior to the date the will was written.

With the help of a professional genealogist in Scotland I was able to find the following information regarding Anne’s mother, Janet Ewart. She was born to William Ewart and Margaret Linton about 1788. Her parents were married in Dryfesdale Parish on 10 November 1783. Their marriage record shows that William was from Applegarth Parish and Margaret was from Dryfesdale Parish. William was born about 1744 in Applegarth and died 28 July 1821 at Broomhills, Applegarth. Margaret died 14 January 1822, also at Broomhills. They are both buried in the Applegarth Cemetery. The children of William and Margaret Ewart are:

• John Ewart was born about 1786. John was a schoolmaster. He married Jane (Jean) Crichton on 18 July 1809 at Broomhills, Applegarth. John died on 08 June 1811 at Sandyholm, Applegarth and is buried in the Applegarth Cemetery. John and Jean had a daughter named, Margaret Ewart. Margaret was born on 13 May 1810 at Applegarth and died at Corswaymoor on 28 January 1830 and is buried in the Applegarth Cemetery.
• Francis Ewart was born about 1787. Francis married Jane (Jean) Carruthers in Hutton Parish on 21 February 1823. Jean died at Outer Mains, Jardinehall, Applegarth on 17 June 1826 and Francis died at Templand, Lochmaben Parish on 21 April 1840. They are both buried in the Applegarth Church Cemetery. Francis and Jean had a daughter, Mary Ann Ewart. Mary Ann was born on 18 October 1825 at Applegarth. According to the 1851 census, Mary Ann is living in the home of her maternal aunt, Janet Henry.
• Janet Ewart, referred to above, was born about 1788. Jane married William Grierson on 13 December 1811 in Broomhills, Applegarth. Janet died 03 April 1845 in Lochmaben and William died 12 May 1850 in Templand. They are both buried in the Applegarth Church Cemetery. They had 13 children: John, Agnes, Margaret, Elizabeth, Janet, Jean, Francis, James, Anne, William, Mary and Jane.
• William Ewart was born about 1795. William died on 22 December 1817 and is buried in the Applegarth Church Cemetery.

Upon further online research and record finding in ScotlandsPeople I was able to expand William and Janet Grierson’s family and follow a few of their children forward a couple of generations. William and Janet Greirson had 13 children and they are:

• Agnes Grierson was born 17 September 1812 in Comcockle Quarry, Lochmaben. She married Joseph Sharpe on 19 November 1841 in Lochmaben. Agnes and Joseph lived in the Parish of Keir. Agnes is listed as a widow in the 1871 census suggesting Joseph died between 1861 and 1871. I cannot find a census record for Agnes after 1871 which suggests she died between 1871 and 1881. Agnes and Joseph Sharpe had five children: Mary, Jean, Thomas, William and James.
• John Grierson is recorded as the eldest son which would suggest he was born between 1811 and 1817. I have not been able to find records to describe John’s life.
• Margaret Grierson was born between 1813 and 1817. She married William Graham and they lived in Cumberland England. They had seven children: William, John, Mary Ann, Eliza, James, Robert and Joseph.
• William Grierson was born about 1817 in Lochmaben. He died 19 January 1831 in Lochmaben and is buried in the Applegarth Church Cemetery.
• Elizabeth Grierson was born about 1819 in Lochmaben. She married John Bryden on 16 January 1846 in Lochmaben. Elizabeth and John lived in the Parish of Lochmaben and had two children: William and Janet Ewart.
• Janet Grierson was born about 1823 in Lochmaben. According to her father’s Will and the 1851 census she lived in the Parish of Hoddom. I have not been able to find any further records for her.
• Jean Grierson was born about 1826 in Lochmaben and died 16 February 1829 in Lochmaben. She is buried in the Applegarth Church Cemetery.
• Francis Grierson was born 16 August 1828 in Lochmaben. He married Nicholas Brown on 17 January 1855 in Dundrennan, Kirkcudbrightshire. Francis and Nicholas lived in the Dundrennan Village until, at least, 1891 which is the last census record I have found. Francis died 01 February 1907 in Toxteth, Liverpool, England. Nicholas died 24 September 1895, also, at Toxteth. They are both buried in the Toxteth Park Cemetery. Francis and Nicholas had 11 children: William, Agnes, John Brown, Francis, Janet, James, William, David, Robert, Elizabeth and Robert.
• James Grierson was born about January 1830 in Lochmaben and died 12 May 1830 in Lochmaben. He is buried in the Applegarth Church Cemetery.
• Anne Grierson, referred to above, was born 23 April 1830 in Johnstone. She married William Bell in Dumfriesshire, Scotland in May 1851. She died 15 February 1874 in Green River, Pickering, Ontario from complications during childbirth and was buried in the St. John’s Presbyterian Cemetery in Pickering. Anne and William had eight children: Janet, William, Margaret Grierson, Annie, Francis, Jeannie Agnes, Robert and John.
• William Grierson was born about 1833 in Lochmaben. He married Elizabeth Laing on 24 August 1855 in Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland. They continued to live in Falkirk. William died 12 June 1874 in Falkirk and Elizabeth died 23 July 1918 in Falkirk. They had six children: Helen Wade, Janet, William, Alexander, Amelia and John.
• Mary Grierson was born on 18 October 1835 in Lochmaben. She married William Anderson 08 June 1855 in Templing, Lochmaben. This is the last record I have found for this couple.
• Jane Grierson was born on 29 September 1839 and lived in the Templand Village until she immigrated to Canada about 1855 settling in Cobourg, Northumberland, Ontario. Here she met Andrew McCreight and they were married on 28 December 1865 in Cobourg. The family lived in Scarborough, York, Ontario until Andrew died on 12 September 1903. He is buried at the Elmwood Cemetery in Markham. Jane and Andrew had five children: Minnie Mary, Francis Grierson, Jessie Elizabeth, James Andrew and Margaret Jane. In 1904 Jane moved to Grandview, Manitoba to live with her daughter, Minnie, and to be near her other two daughters who lived in Dauphin, Manitoba; Jessie and Margaret. The boys, Francis and James, continued to live in Ontario. Minnie married Duncan Pearson on 28 September 1892 in Brandon, Manitoba and they moved to Grandview. Jessie married Dr. William James Harrington on 14 October 1903 in Scarborough, Ontario and they moved to Dauphin. Dr. Harrington was one of the first doctors in Dauphin and became the head of surgery there. Jane McCreight travelled from Grandview to Dauphin in the spring of 1906 for an extended visit with her daughters. She had been staying with her daughter and husband, Dr. and Mrs. William Harrington, for a few weeks when she became ill and passed away at their home. She was buried in the Riverside Cemetery at Dauphin on 18 April 1906. In the fall of 1906 the weather turned cool enough for her body to be exhumed on October 18^th and transported to Markham, Ontario to be buried beside her husband at the Elmwood Cemetery.

  

The information gleaned from the will of William Grierson helped me expand this family. If, not for the will, I may not have found the other siblings of Anne, nor might I have found the married surnames of her sisters. As I mentioned earlier, there are no census records available for me to search prior to 1841 and in the 1841 Scotland Census this family only has five of their 13 children recorded. This added information allowed me to research the family further. While I tried to search for records for every sibling of Anne’s, I was not successful for all of them. I did have an ‘eureka’ moment when I found the record of marriage for Jane Grierson and Andrew McCreight — I have not found another public tree that records this Jane Grierson, wife of Andrew McCreight, to be the same Jane Greirson, daughter of William Grierson and Janet Ewart. Another moment of excitement was to find the record of death for Jane Grierson McCreight and the fact that she died and was buried in Dauphin — Dauphin is my home town.

In my opinion, wills can contain far more information than who died and who did they bequeath their belongings to. As a genealogist I like to capture all the information from any document or record I find. You never know what may be hiding in them.