SURNAMES of interest in the WALKER family tree;
Below are the SURNAMES that are of interest to me in the WALKER branch of my family tree, listed alphabetically (for ease of searching). Where I can, I include a brief summery about each family name, or about individuals in that family; where they lived, their occupations, etc.
Clicking on the highlighted SURNAME will link you to any posts on this website that have been “tagged” as relating to that name. If a SURNAME tag appears to be “broken”, it could be that I haven’t (yet) posted anything onto aFamilyHistoryBlog about that family surname. You are welcome to contact me to check. I would appreciate being alerted if any tags/links aren’t working correctly. Thanks.
For a complete list of all SURNAMES of interest to me in all branches of my family, please see the Surnames of Interest page.
Alternative spelling variations will be shown in italics.
SURNAMES;
AITKEN ; from Falkirk, Stirling (STI); 1700 – 1850. Jean AITKEN [v], b.cir. 1726, d. 1819, m. 1763, to Patrick MAIR, printer and publisher in Falkirk. See; https://afamilyhistoryblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/22/mair-and-johnston-part1/ [FP][PP]
BARRON (or BARON); from Corstorphine, Mid Lothian (MLN); 1650 – 1800. Elizabeth BARRON [v], b. ???, d. ???, m. 1728, in Corstorphine (MLN)/Kirkliston (WLN) – to William WALKER. The BARRONs lived at “Clay-Walls” (or Kershall) near Gogar in Corstorphine parish, Mid Lothian, during the 1700s. They may be related to the BARONs of Preston (near Linlithgow), who’s details you can find HERE. [FP][PCR]
DAVIE ; from West Lothian (WLN) / Lanarkshire (LKS); 1650 – 1750. Marion DAVIE married Thomas JOHNSTON (a farmer at East Mains of Ballencrieff, near Bathgate, West Lothian), and had 3 children, born in 1723, 1724, and 1728. It has been suggested in documents about the JOHNSTON family, that Marion DAVIE was related to the Covenanter, James DAVIE, who was killed while attending a conventicle at Blackdub, in about 1673, by a party of dragoons, and was buried in the secluded old churchyard of Bathgate, where there is a stone to his memory. I have no documentation as yet to verify this claim. See; https://afamilyhistoryblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/22/mair-and-johnston-part1/ [PP] [TR] [TBC]
DOUNS (or DOWNS); from Uphall, West Lothian (WLN); 1750 – 1850. Barbara DOUNS [iv], b.?, d.?, m. George NEIL. Their daughter, Isobel NEIL [iii], b. 1788, Uphall, WLN, d. 1860, m. 1816 – to John WALKER. [FP][PCR]
FISHER ; from Stirlingshire (STI); 1700 – 1800. Mary FISHER [v], b. ?, d. ?, m. Alexander SMITH. Their daughter, Mary SMITH [iv], b. 1753, d. 1820, m. 1772 at Muiravonside – to Thomas YOUNG. See; https://afamilyhistoryblog.wordpress.com/2016/09/26/old-walker-papers-johnston-samplers/ [FP][PCR]
FLINT ; from West Lothian (WLN); 1700 – 1800. John FLINT [vi], b.?, d.?, m. Marian MURKEL. Their daughter, Janet FLINT [v], b. 1739, d. 1817, m. 1766, at Kirkliston / Mid Calder (WLN) – to James WALKER. [FP][PCR][MI]
JOHNSTON ; from Bathgate, West Lothian (WLN); 1650 – 1900. The earliest generations (traced back to 1692) were farmers at East Mains of Ballencrieff, Dykeside, and Nethermuir, near Bathgate. Subsequent generations of the JOHNSTON family were involved in banking in Bathgate, and in printing & publishing in Falkirk. I have a printed family tree “of the JOHNSTON family, Bathgate” – compiled by Alexander A. CUTHBERT. I believe this tree dates from about 1906 (the last date on the tree). See this tree on the blog page, HERE. [FP] [TR] [PCR] [PP] [MI]
MAIR ; from West Lothian (WLN) / Falkirk, Stirling (STI); 1700 – 1850. Patrick MAIR [v] was a printer and publisher in Falkirk; b. 1738, Shotts (LKS), (christened at Whitburn, WLN), d. 1805, Falkirk, m. 1763, to Jean AITKEN. See; https://afamilyhistoryblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/22/mair-and-johnston-part1/ [FP][PP]
MURKEL ; from West Lothian (WLN); 1700 – 1800. Marian MURKEL [v], b.?, d.?, m. John FLINT. Their daughter, Janet FLINT [iv], b. 1739, d. 1817, m. 1766, at Kirkliston / Mid Calder (WLN) – to James WALKER. [FP][PCR][MI]
NEIL (or NEILL); from Uphall, West Lothian (WLN); 1750 – 1850. George NEIL [iv], b.?, d.?, m. Barbara DOUNS. Their daughter, Isobel NEIL [iii], b. 1788, Uphall, WLN, d. 1860, m. 1816 – to John WALKER. [FP][PCR]
SMITH i ; from West Lothian (WLN); 1650 – 1750. Elizabeth SMITH, b.?, d.?, m. James JOHNSTON, farmer at East Mains of Ballencrieff, Dykeside, and Nethermuir, near Bathgate. (1 of 2 SMITH families in the WALKER branch – probably not related to each other!). See; https://afamilyhistoryblog.wordpress.com/2014/02/21/johnston-family-of-bathgate-west-lothian/ [FP][TR]
SMITH ii ; from Muiravonside, Stirlingshire (STI); 1700 – 1800. Alexander SMITH [v], b. ?, d. ?, m. Mary FISHER. Their daughter, Mary SMITH [iv], b. 1753, d. 1820, m. 1772 at Muiravonside – to Thomas YOUNG. (1 of 2 SMITH families in the WALKER branch – probably not related to each other!). See; https://afamilyhistoryblog.wordpress.com/2016/09/26/old-walker-papers-johnston-samplers/ [FP][PCR]
TELFER (or TELFURE); from Shotts (LKS) / Whitburn (WLN); 1700 – 1800. Margaret TELFER (or TELFURE) [vi] was the mother of Patrick MAIR [v], a printer and publisher in Falkirk. Patrick MAIR was born in 1738, Shotts (LKS), (christened at Whitburn, WLN). See; https://afamilyhistoryblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/22/mair-and-johnston-part1/ [PP][TBC]
WALKER ; from Kirkliston, West Lothian (WLN); 1650 – 1900. The WALKER family lived and farmed in Kirkliston parish, West Lothian. The first records place them at “Puncheonlaw“, N.E. of Kirkliston village, towards Carlowrie, from 1728. In 1745 they moved S.W. to Hiddlefaulds (or Hiddlefolds). They also had connections at this time to Overtoun farm (or Overton), in Kirknewton, Mid Lothian. During the 1800s they combined the farm at Hiddlefaulds with its neighbour, Kilpunt (or Kilpont), which the family moved to in the 1840s. From here the family moved down to Hertfordshire in 1898. William WALKER [v], b.cir. 1694, d. 1768, m. 1728, in Corstorphine (MLN)/Kirkliston (WLN) – to Elizabeth BARRON.
I am working on a series of blog posts about various old WALKER family papers.
Download a WALKER ancestor “pedigree” file (.pdf) HERE. [FP][PCR][MI]
WEIR ; from West Lothian (WLN); 1700 – 1800. Margaret WEIR [v], b. ???, d. ???, m. John JOHNSTON, farmer at Ballencrieff, Bathgate. Children born around 1750 – 1770. See; https://afamilyhistoryblog.wordpress.com/2014/02/21/johnston-family-of-bathgate-west-lothian/ [FP][TR]
YOUNG ; from Ecclesmachan, West Lothian (WLN); 1700 – 1800. Thomas YOUNG [iv], b.cir. 1747, Ecclesmachan, WLN, d. 1824, m. 1772 at Muiravonside – to Mary FISHER, daughter of Alexander SMITH [v] and Mary FISHER of Muiravonside. See; https://afamilyhistoryblog.wordpress.com/2016/09/26/old-walker-papers-johnston-samplers/ [FP][PCR][MI]
Notes;
Counties are abbreviated using the Chapman codes. All locations should be read as being located within the British Isles, unless another country is clearly stated. I have set the “dates of interest” quite broad, to try and cover one or more generations on either side of those that I already know of.
[i] [ii] [iii] [iv] [v] [vi] [vii] [viii] – represents the generation of my family tree that the person named belongs to, counting backwards. [i] = my Great Grandparents. [v] = my 5x Gt Grandparents.
At the end of each entry is a note about the kinds of sources that I have for that branch family;
- [FP] = Family Papers, original documents, etc. I generally have high confidence in the accuracy of information from such original sources!
- [MI] = Monumental inscriptions, (gravestones, etc.)
- [PCR] = Parish and/or Census Records.
- [PP] = Publications (books, newspapers, non-family websites, etc)
- [TR] = Family Trees from other people (distant relations), on paper, or online.
- [TBC] = To be confirmed – information that I’m cautious about! Records need checking & original sources finding!
* My sources;
A history of the WALKER family – written by T.G.A. WALKER in about 1957, based on older family papers and his own research. [See details here]
Old WALKER family papers – which I have been posting images and transcriptions of, onto aFamilyHistoryBlog. These papers include Wills, a marriage contract, tenancy agreements, etc.
Old Parish Registers (OPR) on microfilm. Particularly no.667 – Kirkliston, and no.678 – Corstorphine. I’ve viewed these (for the most part) at Edinburgh Central Library. I have also used the Scottish Genealogy Society Library in Edinburgh.
WALKER family tombstones in Kirkliston parish churchyard. I have seen these myself. But there are also now several websites where you can obtain transcriptions and photos of these tombstones. Take care with the transcriptions on these websites though! I have a difference of opinion with at least one of them about the reading of an age of death on a very weathered tombstone!
1851 Census – My own search of the 1851 census, in Kirkliston parish. Viewed on microfilm at Edinburgh Central Library.
Letters from Janet WALKER – to me, in 2008, including transcriptions of some very old family papers. I hope to see the original papers for myself very shortly! These old papers are almost certainly a source of some of the information in T.G.A.WALKER’s “A history of the WALKER family”.
Monumental Inscriptions [M.I.] records, at the Scottish Genealogy Society library, Edinburgh.
JOHNSTON family of Bathgate – A printed family tree compiled by Alexander A. CUTHBERT, circa 1906 – a copy of which is among WALKER family papers. [See details here]
“Sampler” by Mary YOUNG – Elder sister of Margaret YOUNG (m. JOHNSTON). Sampler dated 1789. This sampler, and a later one by Margaret JOHNSTON (b. abt 1794) are framed and in the possession of the WALKER family. Initials contained on these samplers, of siblings, parents, grandparents, etc, helped me to identify records of those generations in the IGI.
International Genealogical Index (IGI) – My own searches of the index, used mainly to double-check other sources. Not to be fully relied on by itself. Given the chance I like to look at the OPR microfilms (from which the IGI is transcribed), which tend to contain many more details than the IGI.
Falkirk Archives hold a collection of legal papers about Patrick MAIR, his brother Thomas MAIR, and some of Patrick’s descendants – mainly the RANKINEs, through one of Patrick’s daughters; Isabel(la). The Falkirk Archives’ description of the “Mair and Rankine family papers” says quite a lot about Patrick MAIR and his family, and the archives’ “finding aid (no.33)” (PDF file) also give a brief description of each document that the archive holds about the family. Both of these pieces are interesting to read through. (I found this in Dec. 2016).
Old newspaper articles from the “Falkirk Herald”, available through the British Newspaper Archive. The Falkirk Herald was the first newspaper to be owned by the Johnston Press; the printing business established by Patrick MAIR and Thomas JOHNSTON, and continued by some of Thomas’ descendants. In Dec. 2016, I found articles of interest, about Patrick MAIR, and Thomas JOHNSTON, printed on 3 different occasions in the Falkirk Herald. See Blog Posts; Part 1, and Part 2.
My apologies if I’ve missed any particular sources or credits that I should have given. I believe that these are my major sources.
Page contents last updated; 09/02/2017
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