Airlie MIs

Montrose Budie · Post by **Montrose Budie** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 2:55 am

Has anyone got easy acess to the MIs for Airlie?

Looking for details of a probable 1848 or a wee bit later MI for a Charles DEWAR, bookseller/stationer in Glasgow, but originally from Airth and died there; spouse, d. 1873, Ann HUTTON or GOURLAY.

Near certain that there would have been an MI, as Charles' estate was £108,000 in present day terms !

mb

smiddykilry · Post by **smiddykilry** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 10:31 pm

Hi mb
I see that TVFHS has a cd for sale North Angus Glens inc Airlie (no cheap)
other than that can't be of much help but if you need a photo of a stone at Airlie give me a shout

smid

gourdongirl · Post by **gourdongirl** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 10:53 pm

Hi mb
I have a copy of the MI's for Airlie (pre 1855) and there is no mention of a Charles Dewar or a Ann Hutton or Gourlay. Sorry.

Are you sure he was buried at Airlie?

gg

apanderson · Post by **apanderson** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 11:17 am

Hi mb,

You're looking in the wrong place!

In Airth Castle Burial Ground (in the grounds of the very posh Airth Castle Hotel) are 2 Dewar stones.

The first one:

1849
Charles Dewar died 19th November 1848 aged 56
His wife Ann Hutton died in Edinburgh 31st May 1873 aged 63

And next to that stone:

(Flat Stone)
1786
John Dewar & Christian Drummond (Charles' parents?)

I'm not sure what the rules are regarding visiting this Burial Ground as it's now considered to be within 'Private Property'

The following link is to Airth Castle Hotel: http://www.airthcastlehotel.com/

You might have to check with them what (if any) access arrangements can be made.

Anne

P.S. If you find out any details, could you post them? I'm dying to go and have a rake about in there but can't be bothered with 'protocol'!

WilmaM · Post by **WilmaM** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 11:36 am

A look at the Falkirk Local History magazine Calatria could help:

Calatria No. 13 Spring 1999
Geoff Bailey Graveyards of Falkirk District: part 5 Airth
Or is that where you found the above info Anne?

I don't have that issue but every Library in the Falkirk area should have a copy or 2.

If I remember rightly though, the church is in a poor state of repair and is out of bounds, I think it's just to the left of the main castle as you go up the drive way in amongst the trees.

Montrose Budie · Post by **Montrose Budie** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 2:46 pm

Hi Anne

You're looking in the wrong place!

Why I wrote Airlie I've no idea.

Apologies to all those whom I misled.

In Airth Castle Burial Ground (in the grounds of the very posh Airth Castle Hotel) are 2 Dewar stones.

The first one:

1849
Charles Dewar died 19th November 1848 aged 56
His wife Ann Hutton died in Edinburgh 31st May 1873 aged 63

And next to that stone:

(Flat Stone)
1786
John Dewar & Christian Drummond (Charles' parents?)

Brilliant!

That's them. There's been a problem with his age, - family info saying that he died at 87 - even 'tho that would have meant marrying at 82 and then fathering two kids, not impossible I know, but.....; and testamentary info (just an inventory) that he was 58 at his death on 19Nov1848. This now confirms his age.

The only match for a Charles DEWAR in the OPR in Airth was bap. 21Apr1791 to John DEWAR and Christian DRUMMOND, so I think that we can safely assume that the flat stone is his parents, except that 1786 is a tad too early!?, so even more reason to have a close look at the stone. Apart from Charles in 1791 there was a John bap. 1788.

According to the OPR John DEWAR and Christian DRUMMOND married 14Jun1770 in Airth.

I'm not sure what the rules are regarding visiting this Burial Ground as it's now considered to be within 'Private Property'

The following link is to Airth Castle Hotel: http://www.airthcastlehotel.com/

You might have to check with them what (if any) access arrangements can be made.

P.S. If you find out any details, could you post them? I'm dying to go and have a rake about in there but can't be bothered with 'protocol'!

Someone's phoning me back from the hotel to let me know if and how in terms of access.

This was a classic situation where info that had come down the family was contradictory but it's been possible to tease out the correct details. The age of 87 I'd be near certain is a misread of a '5' as an '8'.

Now all I have to do is prove that Charles DEWAR was a Serjeant in The Black Watch at Waterloo! There's nothing in the WO indexes at TNA, and no matching DEWAR, Charles or his three brothers, in the Waterloo medal roll, so next step will be to contact regimental HQ at Balhousie Castle.

Thanks again.

mb

Montrose Budie · Post by **Montrose Budie** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 6:11 pm

Stirling Council have closed off the site and will not allow any access; so that the hotel cannot go against this council ruling.

In case anyone's up for a 'midnight expedition' it needs to pointed out that other groups such as druggies will be found in the close vicinity !!..........

mb

apanderson · Post by **apanderson** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 7:29 pm

1786 Could mean the date the Lair was purchased, not necessarily a date of death for anyone. This appears to have been quite common as in a lot of the old graveyards, there's a date on stones which doesn't match up with anything else. Maybe stones were erected to mark the Lair with just the date then names added when deaths occured?

Of course, if the inscription was worn or eroded, it could be any date!

Anne

Montrose Budie · Post by **Montrose Budie** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 6:27 am

apanderson wrote:1786 Could mean the date the Lair was purchased, not necessarily a date of death for anyone. This appears to have been quite common as in a lot of the old graveyards, there's a date on stones which doesn't match up with anything else. Maybe stones were erected to mark the Lair with just the date then names added when deaths occured?

Of course, if the inscription was worn or eroded, it could be any date!

Anne

What tends to support the lair date idea is that it would be more frequent for the two persons named to have died in different years; never mind here the fact that two kids are known to have been born later than the date shown, - always, assuming, of course, that the interpretation of the date is correct.

mb

apanderson · Post by **apanderson** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 10:05 am

Wilma,

I believe you're right about an issue of Calatria having the info, but from memory, the details were taken straight from the Mitchell's pre-1855 East Stirlingshire MI Book which is where I got the info. The problem with using this info however, although a wonderful resource, can't be taken as being correct - the usual mistranscriptions can lead you up the garden path . . . .

Obviously back in the sixties, they didn't have the use of digital cameras and they could later transcribe photos - they tried to read the stones there and then I think and we all know the problems that can lead to!

This is what actually started me on my 'quest' for photographing gravestones. I read an MI in the book for a stone in Dunipace Old Churchyard for a Hellen Kekkijoo. Knowing that Kekkijoo wasn't exactly a guid old Scottish name, I was intrigued as to what it could have been so off I went (camera in hand), found the stone and the inscription reads Hellen Kerkwood - clear as day, 30 odd years after it had initially been transcribed.

MB,

Here we go again! St. Ninians's Churchyard in Stirling is locked up too, but between you and me . . . . . . what's a wee dyke between friends

Anne