Barrs of Beith and Others

[jdbPA]

Is anyone familiar with Barr or other families from Beith? My ancestor Allan Barr, (1837-1902), and his wife Christina (Christian) Lamont, (1827-1905), came to the US via Canada in the early 1860’s. His parents were:

John Barr
Birth - c. 1790 Beith
Death – 1875 Summerlea, Kilmacolm, Renfrew

Son of

John Barr
and
Janet Sproul (Spreuill)
Probably married September 14, 1788
in Beith.

and

Jean Gilmour
Birth - 1807 Beith
Death – 1873 Staghead, Beith

Daughter of

Matthew Gilmour
and
Margaret Shedden
Probably married June 29, 1794
in Beith.



The information is derived from census records at ancestry.com and statutory records at scotlandspeople.gov. I have transcribed the statutory records, am willing to share, and would love to hear from anyone who is related or who knows about these families.

There is also a book about Ayr that mentions Barr and Shedden families:

http://books.google.com/books?id=BvEHAA ... yr&f=false

I don’t know if there are any links to these families, but it is interesting.

John Barr married Mary Peebles before Jean Gilmour, and I have names of various children. There also appears to have been a Barr family that went from Beith to Bute and had a farm. Not sure if any are from my line, but I hope to find some information or relatives in Scotland.

Thank you,

J.(ohn) David Barr

[StewL]

Hello John
And welcome to talking scot
One of the administrators will come along and welcome you too shortly.

[SarahND]

One of the administrators will come along and welcome you too shortly.

Stewie, your welcome is just as good, if not better, than anyone else's!! But since I'm here...

John! I have no connection (that I currently know of) to your Barrs, but perhaps someone will come along who does. In the meantime, if you have any questions or brick walls, ask away and we will try to help.

All the best,
Sarah

[Russell]

Hi John

Like Sarah I have no Barr links but there were two Barr families here in Kilbarchan on the 1841 census both of whom still have a presence currently. Beith is only a few miles away - half a days walk back then ! so I wonder if some of the family migrated to Kilbarchan. One line were grocers and provision merchants, the other line provided a carting business here and in Bridge of Weir which was part of Kilbarchan parish back then.
The Shedden line has folk currently in Johnston which is only a further two miles away.
I know that it is the emigrant line you are part of but often following collateral lines can be informative.

Russell

[jdbPA]

The John Barr married to Mary Peebles and Jane Gilmour started out in Beith, but according to the census, he moved around a bit. Sorry, but my knowledge of Scottish geography is wanting.

c 1790 Birth in Beith
1814 marriage to Mary Peebles in Beith
1827 marriage to Jean Gilmour in Beith

Census
1841 in Beith
1851 in Kilbirnie, Ayr
1861 in Lochwinnoch, Renfrew
1871 back in Beith

His death record states Summerlea, Kilmacolm, Renfrew, perhaps living with his son John.

I'm interested in all lines, not just Barr. Shedden and Gilmour seem to have strong ties to Beith, but I haven't been able to make a link into the Shedden trees I have seen. I don't want to be too Beith-centric though, it's just a vantage point since the area is new to me, but the Barrs who were farmers in Beith seem to fit a bit.

I get as far back as 1788 with John Barr's and Janet Sproul's marriage in Beith, but haven't found much with the Sproul name. Maybe 1788 is pretty good eh? I don't know what other kids Janet and John had other than John though.

Jean Gilmour and John Barr had four sons:
Matthew 1824-1879
Francis 1832 – 1886
David 1835 –
Allan 1837 – 1902

Francis went to Austrlia, and Matthew probably did as well. I don't have a clue about David. Allan settled outside Philadelphia.

Previously, John Barr had been married to Mary Peebles, and their children were:
Janet
John
William

I know nothing about them, but there was a William Barr from Beith who owned a farm in Bute. I don't know if it was the same William, but I think it was round the same period. But I'm not sure where I got the kid's names from the first marriage.

So Russell, maybe there is a Kibarchan link, and I'm curious about the possible Shedden link in Johnston. I'm looking for Gilmour too.

Jean Gilmour's siblings were:

Margaret 1795
Matthew 1796
John 1800
Allan1810

I think the Gilmour dates and names were derived form family-search christening records.

DB

[SarahND]

Sorry, but my knowledge of Scottish geography is wanting.

http://maps.google.com/ is great for quickly finding out where places are and how far they are from other places. Try getting directions from, for example, Beith to Kilbirnie to Lochwinnoch and back to Beith to get an idea.

Allan settled outside Philadelphia.

And he would be your ancestor? So the moving around stopped then!

Regards,
Sarah, who was born in the Delaware Valley and left at the age of one

[jdbPA]

Sarah, who was born in the Delaware Valley and left at the age of one

...now retired in France?

Yeah, Allan is my great-great grand. I haven't started a thread on his wife yet but will. Somehow Allan wound up in Rothesay for some time, and I wonder if the McNabb family he was supposedly working for was there. Evidently they went to Canada before the US, but I don't have any family stories. An obit says he was "one of the leading gardeners of the country", whatever that means. There is an Australian that might have more information, but they have not come back to this thread:

http://boards.ancestry.com/thread.aspx? ... names.barr

The directions idea helped. Thank you.

[SarahND]

Hello John,

There is an Australian that might have more information, but they have not come back to this thread:

It looks as if that person signed on just to comment on your thread and has not been back. If you are a member of Ancestry you could try clicking on the username and then on the contact button to send a message and see if that gets a response. Hope all is well.

...now retired in France?

Oddly enough, I was just over your way two weeks ago, staring at the microfilm in the Friends Historical Library at Swarthmore College and finally finding out why my great great grandfather was dismissed from the Meeting

I don't have a clue about David

Do you have any record of him past the 1841 census? Just wondering whether he might have died in childhood.

Regards,
Sarah

[jdbPA]

It looks as if that person signed on just to comment on your thread and has not been back. If you are a member of Ancestry you could try clicking on the username and then on the contact button to send a message and see if that gets a response.

My membership is non-paying right now, but I may get the two week freebie and/or a subscription for a month or so. Sheila also said, "The Allan on my tree was a coachman and gardener to the McNabs of Midton Bleaching Field", but I don't know who the McNabs were.

Oddly enough, I was just over your way two weeks ago, staring at the microfilm in the Friends Historical Library at Swarthmore College and finally finding out why my great great grandfather was dismissed from the Meeting

Speaking of Swarthmore, I was able to get a bit of information from Swarthmore on Allan because he had been a gardener for T Wistar Brown who mentioned Allan briefly in his diary. An archivist was kind enough to send the excerpts but visiting would probably be a good idea.

Although living in NJ now, I'll probably make more trips to PA and might be able to do a look-up for you if I visit a repository relavent to your searches.

Do you have any record of him past the 1841 census? Just wondering whether he might have died in childhood.

Nope, no Davids that seem to fit. I haven't found a birth or death record for him either. Someone on roots chat found some info on what may be his step-brothers though:

"This could be half-siblings John and William in 1841

Margt Walker 30 Occupation: Inn Keeper
John Walker 4
James Walker 9
William Walker 7
John Walker 5
Jane Walker 1
Alexr Walker 5 MO
Marion Lochead 15
Hugh Craig 30
John Barr 20 Occupation: Lab
William Barr 20 Occupation: Lab

Address: New Villa Kilwinning Ayrshire"

There was a servant named Mary Walker living with the Barrs according to the 1851 census. Might be a fit?

[Currie]

Hello John,

From what’s in the newspapers etc, the Bleachworks was owned by John M’Nab & Co. It was located at Midton Field, near Howwood, also known as Midtonfield and Midtownfield. That’s about five miles north-east of Beith.

In 1865 Alexander M’Nab was the manager. John M’Nab married Jane Samson Howatson in 1869.

See ScotlandsPlaces for a map of the location. http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/searc ... S&id=79696


You’ll find an index entry for a Francis and Agnes Barr, both age 19, with a 1 year old infant, arriving in the Colony of Victoria, Australia, on the Victory in July 1849. http://210.8.122.120/indexes/index_sear ... earchid=24

Bendigo Cemeteries Trust has Francis Barr buried 28 September, 1886, White Hills, and Agnes G Barr buried 7 January, 1903, in the same grave. You’ll possibly find other family members there as well. http://www.bencemtrust.com.au/search.asp

There’s a notice in The Argus (Melbourne), Wednesday 17 November, 1886, concerning the administration of the estate of Francis Barr, licensed victualler, late of Mundy Street, Sandhurst. His widow was Agnes Barr. http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article ... decade=188

Victoria BMDs are here. The index results can be useful without purchasing certificates as they usually have parent’s names. Just try to get as much useful info as possible onto as few results pages as possible. https://online.justice.vic.gov.au/bdm/i ... chCriteria

Where is Sheila on the other forum located? Did she actually say that her ancestor Matthew b.1824 also went to Australia?

All the best,
Alan