The striking family photograph (below) of the Scott Family of Cairneymount, near Earlston was gifted to Auld Earlston by Margaret, a Scott descendant.
Margaret’s grandfather Adam Scott was the man on the back row, far right and although Margaret knew the names of his brothers and sisters, she did not know the older seated couple.
A combination of
searches on Ancestry and ScotlandsPeople easily identified the family in
the 1901 census. For living at Cairneymount, were John Scott, a
shepherd, aged 51 and his wife
Jane aged 48, surrounded by their seven
children: Mary aged 21, Adam, 19, William 16, Charles 14, Margaret 13, John 12 and Thomas 7.
The photograph was taken probably 2-3 years later, with the individuals Identified as:
- Back Row: William Charles, Margaret, Mary, Adam
- Middle Row - Father John and mother Jane, with youngest son Thomas between them.
- Seated on the cushion, young John
Research revealed that the family followed the Scottish traditional naming pattern for their children, who were named after grandparents, great grandparents, and uncles & aunts.
WHO WAS JOHN SCOTT, (SENIOR)?
The 1901 census indicated
that John was born around 1850 in
Cranshaws, Berwickshire,
The 1851 census showed one year old John with his parents Adam, (a shepherd) and Margaret Scott and two older sisters Agnes and Margaret, living at Rawburn Farm, Cranshaws, a hamlet (population 127) in the Lammermuir Hills, nine miles from Duns, Berwickshire.
By 1861, the Scott family was still at Rawburn Farm, with a growing family of three more children - eldest daughter Agnes was a domestic servant, unmarried; 16 year old Margaret was an agricultural labourer (Ag. Lab.), and John 11 years old with three more siblings - Charles 8, Mary 6 and Isabella 3.
THE MOVE TO CAIRNEYMOUNT
In the 1871 census, John had followed his father into being a shepherd. The household of seven comprised his parents, sister Agnes, a dressmaker, brother Charles an Agricultural Labourer (Ag. Lab.) , with 15 year old Mary a domestic servant. Completing the household was a 5 year old granddaughter Helen Scott.
On the
25th April 1879, 29 year old
John married at Craigsford Mains, 27 year old Jane Scott, daughter of William,
a farm steward (deceased) and Mary Fleming,
“after banns according to the forms
of the United Presbyterian Church”. Jane
was described as a housekeeper, daughter of William Scott, a farm steward and Mary
Fleming. The Scott surname is so popular
in the Scottish Borders that it is impossible to state if the couple were
already related. Again the marriage certificate
on the ScotlandsPeople website
confirmed the name of both sets of parents.
A year later saw John at the helm of Cairneymount following the death of his father Adam in 1880.
The 1891 census listed a household of ten living at Cairneymount: John aged 41, with his wife Jane 39, and their six children under nine years old – Mary, Adam. William, Charles. Margaret and young John - soon to be joined by another son Thomas - plus lodger William Craig, assistant shepherd.
The
household in the 1911 census was a depleted one
with John and Jane living with unmarried daughter Mary aged 31, sons
young John , a shepherd, and Thomas a bank clerk – plus one year old grandson
another John F. Scott . The entry noted that John and Jane had been
married 31 years and had seven living children;
and that Cairneymount had four rooms with one or more windows.
But who was the grandson, baby John? A search on scotlandspeople came up with the answer – he was the illegitimate son named John Fleming Scott of eldest daughter Mary (right) – Fleming being his grandmother Jane’s maiden name.
John Scott, (senior) died in 1923, aged 72, at Redpath with his eldest son Adam Scott of Courthill, Kelso named as the informant on his death certificate. No further details are given on the address in the village of Redpath – perhaps John was visiting a relative there at the time?]
John’s wife, Jane, died nine years later aged 81, with the announcement in “The Southern Reporter”: 25th August 1932:
“At Rhymer’s Tower Cottage, Earlston on 19th August 1932. Jane Scott, widow of John Scott, late Shepherd of Cairneymount.
John and Jane were both
buried in Earlston Churchyard, with the monumental inscription:
“In loving memory of John Scott , late Shepherd of Cairneymount who died at Redpath 25th of ~April 1923 in his 73rd year. Also Jane Scott, his wife who died at Rhymer’s Tower Cottage, Earlston 19th August 1932 aged 81 years.”
Valuation
Rolls indicated Cairneymount continued to be the home of the Scott family after
John’s death, with John’s namesake son
listed as occupier/tenant until
1926. Young
John was the fourth generation of the Scott family to become a shepherd
after his great grandfather Charles, grandfather Adam and father John.
Today’s Scott family recollects that father John’s other sons, William, Charles and Adam lived at farms around Earlston - Yarlside, Grizzlefield, Rachelfield and Lauder Barns.
THE FIRST SCOTT TO LIVE AT CAIRNEYMOUNT - ADAM SCOTT (1808-1880)
The father of John (1850-1923) was Adam Scott, with census returns consistently naming his birthplace as Southdean, Roxburghshire. An entry was found in the Old Parish Records for Adam, born December 1808, at Southdean Roxburghshire, son of Charles Scott and Mary Buckham whose Christian names continued down two generations of the Scott family.
By 1839, Adam was in Cranshaws, Berwickshire where the banns were read for his marriage to Margaret Moffat. The brief entry in the Old Parish Records on scotlandspeople gave no mention of parents’ names.
By the 1861 census, the couple were living at Rawburn Farm, Cranshaws with their growing family of five children – Agnes, John, Charles, Mary and Isabella.
Yet ten years later saw that 50 year old Adam and family had made the move to Cairneymount, near Earlston, What could have prompted this move of 27 miles west? Was it the prospect of a substantial house? Had he attended Hiring Fairs held regularly in Duns and Earlston? These were important events in the farming community, where men and women farm workers would gather to bargain with prospective farmers for work, and hopefully secure a new position. The move must have been no light task by horse and cart with a large family, and furnishings etc.
The move can be pinpointed to the end of the decade, for valuation rolls showed that that a James Wilson was listed as occupier/tenant of Cairneymount in 1868.
The 1871 census listed at Cairneymount , 60 year old Adam, born at Southdean, Roxburghshire, his wife Margaret aged 55, born at Spott, East Lothian , four children, including son John, and a granddaughter, 5 year old Helen Scott.
Nine years later Adam died, with his eldest son John taking over the tenancy.
Adam’s death was registered at Melrose in 1880 and confirmed the names of Adam’s parents – Charles Scott, also a shepherd, and Mary Buckham.
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Cairneymount today - photograph courtesy of the current owners.
The house was at one stage home to two families
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SOURCES
- Old Parish Records, Census Returns, Statutory Records and Valuation Rolls on ScotlandsPeople, and Ancestry.
- Newspaper items on British Newspaper Archive
- Earlston Monumental Inscriptions, published by Borders Family History Society
- Vintage village photographs from the Auld Earlston Collection.
