James Davidson and Agnes Tait - Tom Paterson Genealogy

	JAMES DAVIDSON Farmer	m. 1 Jun 1826 Smailholm, Roxburghshire	AGNES TAIT
	b 7 May 1806, Cornhill on Tweed, Northumberland, England d. Jan 26 1884, age 76, Bellsdyke, Airth. His will from Scottish Wills is available below		b. 1806?, Yetholm d. Jul 6 1889, Bellsdyke, Airth, Age 84?
Parents	JAMES DAVIDSON JANE WIGHTMAN (more likely) MARGARET WIGHTMAN (as per son James' death cert)	Father Mother	JOSEPH TAIT MARGARET FIDDES (Fiddies - as per Agnes' death cert)	Parents
			JACOB TAIT not so sure if these are her parents now JANET BAILLIE

In 1835 James is recorded as a head of fanily in Smailholm. In 1861 the family are at Grassmyres, Channelkirk, a Farmer of 103 Acres Employing 2 Men, 1 Woman , 1 Boy. 1881 at Bellsdyke Farm near Airth.

Their son Joseph Davidson, who was married four times, is the ancestor of Ann Hamilton, from Auckland, NZ - see his descendant chart

	Child	Marriage	Spouse	Spouse's Parents

1	Joseph	married 4 times	1. Janet Mein (6 children) 2. Margaret Turnbull (7 children) 3. Mary Scott Telford(4 children) 4. Catherine Goldie
	bap. 11 Mar 1827, Cornhill, Northumberland, Eng d. 16 Jun 1910, Newstead, Melrose

2	James, Millwright	m. 1st. 19 Jan 1851 Edinburgh	Elizabeth (Betty) Mein, 5 children	Robert Mein Margaret Thomson
	b. 1828, Smailholm, Roxburghshire d. 28 Oct 1898, 51 Meigle Street, Galashiels, Selkirkshire
		m. 2nd. 5 Oct 1877, Ramsay Lodges, Edinburgh	Jane Forest Brown, 9 children	James Brown Janet Thomson

3	George	m.	unknown
	b. 29 Jul 1830, Bettyfield, Smailholm, Roxburghshire 19 Apr 1851. Started one month prison sentence in Jedburgh Jail for "Trespass in pursuit of game" but only served 3 days after fines were paid. Admission details say he was red haired, blue eyed, age 19 and married. There is no sign of him in the records after his prison sentence.

4	Robert	m.	Agnes Laidlaw
	b. 13 Jul 1832, Smailholm, Roxburghshire 22 Oct 1855. Six weeks in Greenlaw Prison and fines for Night Poaching. Occupation: Mason. Age: 22, Sex: M[ale], Height: 5 [feet] 9 [inches], Married/Single: S[ingle], Where Born: Sma[i]lholm, Late Residence: Burnfoot, Weight: 180 Pounds. Ther is no sign of him in the records after his prison sentence.

5	John	liason 1.	Margaret Marshall
	b. 7 Jan 1836, Smailholm, Roxburghshire 1891. Unmarried head of family at Bellsdyke Farm with his brother Ralph, sister Alison and her husband James Wilson and family. 1901, at North Broomage with the same family and recorded as a retired farmer d. 1917, Larbert, age 78		b. abt. 1829 Denny, d. 17 Apr 1901, Larbert
			Had an illegitimate daughter, Barbara Marshall, b.27 May 1866, Skinflatts, whose ancestor, njgirl, grandaughter of Barbara Paton, is a DNA match
		liason 2	Magdalene Graham
			b. 26 Aug 1849, Larbert. d, 10 Nov 1910, Longdyke, Carronshore
			Had two illegitimate children with John before marrying Thomas Cowan. Magdalene Graham Davidson, b. 15 Dec 1869, is an ancestor of DNA match Sam Allison

6	Ralph	unm. in 1901
	b. 1 Mar 1838, Smailholm, Roxburghshire 1891, at Bellsdyke Farm with his brother John and sister Alison and her family, 1901, at North Broomage with the same family group and recorded as a Plate Layer. d.1917, Larbert age 79

7	MARGARET	m.	WILLIAM COWAN, shoemaker	Parents
	b. 9 Apr 1840, Smailholm, Roxburghshire d. 4 Mar 1860, age 19, Oxton	Children	b. 1834, Channelkirk

8	Agnes	m.5 Feb 1863 Grassmyres, Channelkirk	Andrew Lindsay	William Lindsay Betty Reid
	b. abt. 1845, Melrose, Roxburghshire d. 9 Jan 1895, age 49, Bellsdyke Cottage, Carronshore		b. abt 1844, Channelkirk, Berwickshire Children: William, b. 4 Sep 1863, Channelkirk James, b. 3 Sep 1864, Channelkirk John, b. 22 Jun 1867, Muiravonside Elizabeth (Lizzie) b. 3 Jan 1868, Muiravonside George b. 26 Sep 1869, Airth Agnes b.1876

9	Alison	m.11 Sep 1888 Airth	James Wilson, ploughman at marriage	James Wilson Agnes McLay Walker
	b. circa 1850, Melrose, Roxburghshire 1891 at Bellsdyke farm with her family and brothers John and Ralph 1901 at North Broomage, Larbert with her family and brothers John and Ralph d.1929, Larbert		b. 4 Oct 1867, Airth

1 Extract of an Entry in the Register of Deaths, 1860, Parish of Channelkirk , Berwick, Entry 3 Margaret Cowan (ms. Davidson)

2 Extract of an Entry in the Register of Deaths, 1884, Parish of Airth , Stirlingshire, - James Davidson

James's estate was valued at �266 with debts of �463 - see his schedule of debts here. From this we can see that he had a one third share in the running of both North and South Bellsdyke farms. The other two partners were probably his sons Ralph and John who were executors to his estate. The terms of his Will bound them to look after their mother and sister Alison.

4 Extract of an Entry in the Register of Deaths, 1889, Parish of Airth , Stirlingshire, - Agnes Tait

NAME and Surname Rank or Profession and whether Single, Married or Widowed	When and Where Died	Sex	Age	Name, Surname and Rank or Profession of Father Name and Maiden Surname of Mother	Cause of Death, Duration of Disease, and Medical Attendant by whom certified	Signature and Qualification of Informant, and residence, if out of the house when the death occurred
Margaret	1860	M	19	James Davidson	Consumption	(Signed)
Cowan	March		yrs	Farmer	for 2 years	William Cowan
	Fourth				no qualified medical attendant	Spouse
	1h 5m a.m.					Shoemaker
Wife of				Agnes Davidson	Buried at the Parish
William Cowan	Oxton			M.S. Tait	Churchyard of Channelkirk	Alex Davidson
Shoemaker	Parish of				certified David Tait	Registrar
	Channelkirk				Gravedigger

NAME and Surname Rank or Profession and whether Single, Married or Widowed	When and Where Died	Sex	Age	Name, Surname and Rank or Profession of Father Name and Maiden Surname of Mother	Cause of Death, Duration of Disease, and Medical Attendant by whom certified	Signature and Qualification of Informant, and residence, if out of the house when the death occurred
James	1884	M	76	James Davidson	Cardiac degeneration	(Signed)
Davidson	January		yrs	Contractor		John Davidson
Farmer	Twenty-sixth			(deceased)		Son
	6h a.m.					Present
Married to				Margaret Davidson
Agnes Tait	Bellsdyke			M.S. Whightman		-
	Airth			(deceased)		Registrar

NAME and Surname Rank or Profession and whether Single, Married or Widowed	When and Where Died	Sex	Age	Name, Surname and Rank or Profession of Father Name and Maiden Surname of Mother	Cause of Death, Duration of Disease, and Medical Attendant by whom certified	Signature and Qualification of Informant, and residence, if out of the house when the death occurred
Agnes	1889	F	84	Joseph Tait	Senile Decay	(Signed)
Davidson	July		yrs	Farmer		John Davidson
	Sixth			(deceased)	certified	Son
	9h a.m.					Present
Widow of				Margaret Tait
James Davidson	Bellsdyke			M.S. Fiddies		-
Farmer	Airth			(deceased)		Registrar

DAVIDSON

Family Group (main line)