Andrew Watt = Isobel Wilson (Written by Thomas Summers West 1927-2010 & Thomas Lawson West B1958 -)
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1 John Watt = Isobel Wilson Andrew Watt = Isobel Wilson (Written by Thomas Summers West 1927-2010 & Thomas Lawson West b1958 -) Name Andrew Watt Isobel Wilson Born 5th April 1740 9th Sept 1739. Place Parish of Gamrie Parish of Gamrie Married. Gardenstown, ca. 1765 Died Unknown Unknown Place Gardenstown/Crovie? Gardenstown/Crovie? Buried Occupation Fisherman? Parents: - Father James Wat James Wilson Mother Elizabeth? Margaret? _____________________________________________________________________ Children: - James Watt 18th Nov 1766 Andrew Watt 8th May 1769 John Watt 13 January 1772 Margaret Watt 12th Feb 1776 George Watt 6th June 1777 Elizabeth Watt 24th Sept 1780 _____________________________________________________________________ Andrew Watt = Isobel Wilson Andrew and Isobel are identified in the Birth Record of their third son John in 1772 in the Gamrie OPR. The record of his birth reads [1] John Lawful son to Andrew Watt and Isobel Wilson in Gardenstown was born Jan 13th bap- -tised the 17th. Witnesses at the Baptism Alexdr Paterson & Gilbert Watt both in Gardenstown Unfortunately, there are no marriage records for the Parish of Gamrie at this time. It is again very frustrating so we can only surmise a wedding year based on the birth of the first child. This is of course not reliable as it seems not uncommon in the fishing communities and occurs in our family history more than once, for the marriage to be soon after the first birth as though women had to prove their fertility before a marriage. ANDREW WATT The potential births for Andrew in the Gamrie OPR are the three detailed below. Given there are two good candidates in Gamrie the Boyndie Parish candidate can reasonably be excluded. 2 John Watt = Isobel Wilson The 1749 candidate is attractive from the point of view that the fathers name is Gilbert, and we have a Gilbert as witness at their marriage. However, the 1749 Andrew would only have been around 16 or 17 at marriage which is very young, so I suspect this Gilbert as witness at the wedding is ether a cousin or an uncle. He is also unlikely based on the potential ages of Isobel his wife as described below) Surname Forename Parents/ Other Details Gen Date Parish Ref Parish der Number 10 Gamrie and WAT ANDREW JAS. WAT/ M 05/04/1740 155/ 135 Macduff JOHN 10 WATT ANDREW WATT/MARGARET M 23/04/1742 149/ Boyndie 157 BREMNER FR164 (FR164) GILBERT 10 Gamrie and WAT ANDREW M 01/04/1749 155/ WAT/ELIZABETH WAT 189 Macduff This leaves the 1740 Andrew who would have been around 25 or 26 when married which seems much more reasonable in light of a fisherman being established with a crew before being married. It also ties in with an observation made by T.S.West about the naming conventions for children at the time [2]. Not conclusive but adds some weight along with one of the Witnesses at his eldest son James’s birth in 1776 being a James Watt (The other witness was a Will Nicol).[3] The record of Andrews Birth in the Gamrie OPR reads [4] 1740 Andrew LS [Lawful Son] to Jas Wat in Gardenston was baptised April. 5th Witnesses Andrew Nicol elder and younger both in Gardenston It is interesting to note that the entry immediately above and also on the same day is for a James Nicol born to William Nicol younger with a William Nicol elder as witness.? Possibly the younger Will Nicol at James birth as witness? The two Andrews as Witnesses looks like the convention of name fathers/godfathers and leads to a speculation that Andrews mother might be an Elizabeth Nicol. Sadly, a search of the OPR records for both Gamrie and Banffshire from 1780 onwards offered up no likely candidates for the death of Andrew. Search of indices for gravestones has equally not provided any likely candidates. He may of course died at sea as many fishermen did. ISOBEL WILSON The potential Isobel Wilsons from the Gamrie OPR are detailed below. (The next Isobel Wilson after 1739 is not born until 1757) 3 John Watt = Isobel Wilson Surname Forename Parents/ Other Details Gender Date Parish Ref Parish Number 10 Gamrie and WILSON ISOBELL WILLIAM WILSON/ F 31/07/1733 155/ 108 Macduff 10 Gamrie and WILSON ISOBELL ANDREW WILSON/ F 27/01/1735 155/ 115 Macduff 10 Gamrie and WILSON ISSABEL JAMES WILSON/ F 19/09/1738 155/ 130 Macduff 10 Gamrie and WILSON ISSOBEL JAMES WILSON/ F 09/09/1739 155/ 133 Macduff Looking at other Births from this date range there are certainly two if not three James Wilson’s as Fathers, most likely two Andrew Wilson’s and probably three William Wilsons. I am inclined to exclude the 1733 Isobell on grounds of her age as a 7 year older gap to John seems unlikely given 3 others closer in age and in addition there is no corelation with any of the 3 boys names with William. The OPR for the 1735 Isobell records her birth in Down, Macduff. Her name mothers are both Isobell Wilson, Senior and Junior. Whilst the fathers name of Andrew would fit the naming convention [2] it is not a hard and fast rule and given that the two other potential fathers below are both named James, and James was already given to the first child then Andrew as the second child’s name may simply have come from his father. Because of her age of over 5 years older and because of the Down location I think this Isobell is unlikely. The Isobel Wilson born in 1738 is described in the OPR record of her birth as being the lawful daughter of James Wilson, Minister of the Gospel at Gamrie. There is a record of a Rev James Wilson (1694-1791) Minister at Gamrie of Mohr Parish church who builds a school for the benefit of his 14 and other children. He was married to an Elizabeth Mercer. The connection with the Ministers daughter seems a little unlikely. In addition, because this is the daughter of a more identifiable historic figure there are many personal family history records available for research. Whilst these are not always reliable there are several that all link this Isobel Wilson with a John Sangster as her husband. The 1739 Isobel’s birth in the record of Gamrie OPR reads [5] Issobel L D to James Wilson in Crivie was baptised Sept 9th. Witnesses George Wilson & John Wat both in Crivie The Wat (Watt) family name connection in the witnesses is encouraging and the third male child in the family is called George which may come from a relationship to the other witness. Equally this Isobel is closest in age to John Watt being only around 5 months older. The final factor that persuades me this is the right Isobel is that she is born in Crivie or Crovie, the fishing community next to Gardenstown as one might expect. 4 John Watt = Isobel Wilson She like John is also well recorded in records with the birth of her other Children. But once again when it comes to the Parish records of death there are no obvious candidates under either her married or maiden name. T. S.West, T.L.West, Aberdeen, Hawick, 31 December 2001 March 2021 Sources: - 1. Birth Entry, Parish of Gamrie, John Watt 13th January 1772. OPR ref 155 20/81. 2. The possible names of the Parents of Andrew are based on an Observation made by father about a general pattern of children names. Being 1st male = Fathers Father 1st female = Mothers Mother 2nd male = Mothers Father 2nd female = Fathers Mother 3rd male = Father 3rd female = Mother 3. Birth Entry, Parish of Gamrie, James Watt 19th Nov 1766. OPR ref 155 20/50. 4. Birth Entry, Parish of Gamrie, Andrew Wat 5th April 1740. OPR ref 155 10/135. 5. Birth Entry, Parish of Gamrie, Issobel Wilson 9th Sept 1739. OPR ref 155 10/133. .