Page 7 Janet Haggart and her Family


Haggarts and Galloways

Charles Douglas, born in 1792, married Janet Haggart of Monzie. The wedding was not recorded, or the record of it has not survived. He was an only a labourer where his ancestors had been farmers. He joined the army albeit briefly and was apparently found work at a school.

When I first visited Monzie several years ago the church was emptying after a service and I fell into conversation with one elderly woman. When I explained why I was taking photos there she said there were plenty of Haggarts around.

The irony for me, however, is that I can find little evidence on this branch of the family. A search on ScotlandsPeople for Haggarts shows there are 226 born betweeen 1687 and 1796. None were in Fowlis Wester or Monzie. The greatest concentrations are in Kenmore and Caputh, with 13-20 in Clunie, Erroll, Kenmore, Lethendy, Killin and Kinloch. Thus there is little to help me take Janet Haggart’s family back any further, and I had two possible Janets  identified early on and no way of knowing for sure which one belonged on the tree. I had parents and siblings, but which ones? In 2009 the digitisation of resources proved it’s worth as I found her death in a different parish (SR 342/00 0068). This confirmed when she was born and who her parents were. Janet was born in 1797 (OPR 382/0010 0104). Her surname was mis-spelled as Hagart on census entries and this had also hindered me.

It is possible that the papers of the Campbells of Monzie hold information of interest or use regarding the Haggarts, Roys and Christons. These papers are quite extensive, I believe, but are haphazard and, crucially, in the hands of the University of Guelph. I have made contact with the archive staff and hope they will be able to do some searching for me but given that I cannot find Haggarts on the OPR in the 18th century it seems possible that Janet’s father had moved to the area from another parish.

Jane Anderson at Blair Castle has checked for me (Feb 2016) in the Atholl archives and confirmed that Milnrodgie was in the Glenalmond estate but there is no reference to Haggarts. She tells me that the tenant in 1745-1765 was Mungo Campbell. He was replaced by John Murray from 1774 to 1786. She does not say who the later tenant was. The key point she makes is that only the official ratepayer is recorded. She suggests that Peter Haggart was a subtenant.

Janet’s father, Peter, was a farmer at Milnrodgie. He had married Margaret McKerchar at Monzie Church in February 1796 (OPR 382/0010 0228). Peter  had featured on the Monzie Kirk Sessions for a more embarrassing reason only a few years earlier. In September 1792  a Janet Menzies and he were rebuked before the congregation. His address is given as Milnrodgie. In September Peter acknowledged that he was the father of her child. It is not clear whether this child had yet been born. Janet Menzies was described as his servant.

The rental of the Estate of Glenalmond in March 1805 shows that Peter Haggart and Alexander McLean farmed 650 Scots acres paying £38 in rent. Peter  is also recorded on the Cash Book of Monzie as being paid 10 shillings for repairing the school house at Kinachraggan in 1811.

Janet was the oldest of eight children born over a period of 18 years. I have not enjoyed sucess in tracing her siblings, though I know that Grisals (Grace) married a man named William Bonella and died in Glasgow in 1881. They certainly had one son named John Bonella. I have not had any success in tracing them further despite further searches in July 2015. Grace and William both worked in a restaurant.

It seems that Janet’s parents moved to Clathy Park, in Findo-Gask not long after her son was born. Perhaps the family saw an opportunity for betterment. I have had no success in finding out what the connection was with Clathy Park or why it’s population would grow at this time. There were 84 people in the village of Clathy in 1837 (Statistical Account of Perthshire, 1834-45, vol 12, p284). Fowlis Wester was undergoing a decline in fortunes and consequent depopulation around this time. This is not immediately apparent by looking at the population statistics, as the population supposedly grew by 1/3 by 1831, with the settlement of Gilmerton a major part of this, but changes to boundaries account for a lot of the increase. Could Charles have worked at Gilmerton as a labourer? It is certainly possible.

There were no Haggarts born in Findo-Gask in the 18th century so it is unlikely that the move represented a return home. As Peter’s death is not recorded I have no information on his parents or place of birth.

Whilst Janet Haggart and Peter Douglas were rearing baby son Charles, her parents Peter and Margaret were busy enough without needing to worry about Janet, as they were due to have another baby of their own: Janet acquired both a son and a sister (OPR 352/0010 0251) named Margaret within months of each other.

Now, mother Margaret must have been around 45 when this child was conceived. This is possible, the next youngest child having been born only four years previously, but it is possible that the child was actually born to her daughter Grisal (born in 1803) or Mary (born 1807) and that the move was an attempt to avoid gossip. This is only speculation, of course.

Clathy Church; Janet Haggart, her parents and some siblings are probably buried here

Hourglass Tree of Janet Haggart:


We know a lot about the social condition of Scotland in the 1790’s through the Statistical Account gathered systematically in each parish (usually by the minister).

Dr Webster estimated the population of Fowlis Wester at 1706 souls in 1755. By 1770 the population had dropped substantially to 1100. A temporary increase followed, 1224 estimated in 1794. The heads of families are grouped by occupation, with 106 of 273 stated to be farmers. There were 50 weavers. A large number (63) have no listed occupation, but these most likely include people working at the slate quarries.

Monzie saw a less dramatic change in population. Dr Webster estimated 1192 souls in 1755 and there were 1136 in 1792. Of 471 ocupations there 167 were cottagers or farmers. 116 people were employed as servants. 54 were weavers.  The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars disrupted their livelihoods: a dramatic decline one year was reversed two years later by British success in the West Indies.

As for Findo-Gask, it grew by 90 people between 1811 and 1821 so the Haggart move appears part of a trend. However 10 years later the population was similar to 1811. Sixty six of the 89 families in the parish were involved in agriculture in 1837. Many women worked as agricultural labourers because the weaving trade was not paying by the 1840s. They would expect to earn 1shilling 6 pence a day in the summer, 1 shilling 3d in winter (Statistical Account of Gask, 1834-45, vol 10, p283).

Hourglass Tree of Elizabeth Taylor:

When Janet’s father in law, James Douglas was unable to support himself, then, in the 1820s and 1830s his son’s wife’s family were no longer in the parish and it may well be that his son Charles was himself dead already. The census of 1841 tells us Janet was an agricultural labourer, living with her own widowed mother who was also an agricultural labourer. Mother Margaret was 65, Janet 41 (Census 352/00 001/00 009). Ages in censuses must be taken with a pinch of salt, especially those from the 1841 census where enumerators had instructions to round ages off.

So, according to this Margaret was a widow and Peter was dead. This explains why Fowlis Wester parish was not asking for support from James Douglas’s family in Findo-Gask. Margaret lived on till the age of 98 (SR 352/00 0007). Janet used her maiden name on the 1841 and 1851 census (Census 352/00 001/00 013). The Statistical Account tells us that there were 6 parishioners receiving support in 1837. They received around 1 shilling 3d a week, as well as coal and supplies in winter.

From my research at the AK Bell Library in Perth I found  that Janet’s mother Margaret Haggart nee McKerchar was paid poor relief regularly in the 1860’s in Findo-Gask. With most payments you read of a letter from someone who will be named, it tells you they were from this parish, and why they need money. The board appoints someone to look into it, they report back at the next meeting and a decision is taken. Often you read of another Poor Board writing to say that they have been supporting someone originally from your parish so please will you start to pay now.

I have not yet been able to trace the Haggart family back in time, but there were certainly Haggarts in the Glenalmond area around 1700. For instance Gilbert Mcanstagart  is on the Duke of Atholl’s militia list in 1706 in Middle Lethendy.

Janet’s mother Margaret McKerchar  seems to have been born at Bravail in Aberfoyle Parish in 1771 to a weaver named John McKerchar (spelled McKerchard) and Grisel Menzies who married at Crieff in 1769.

Thus, the names Menzies and McKerchar have recurred in the family story.

Monzie Church

Generation VI: Family of Charles Douglas and Janet Haggart

1. Charles Douglas, born 1816- died by 1851

Jean Douglas nee Galloway and her family

Staff and other local researchers at Stirling County Archives explained that Stirlingshire burial records were very poor during this period and archivist Pam  McNicoll confirmed this to me in 2010. The Alva Parochial Board records from 1845 onwards are located in Alloa Library.

I paid a visit to Stirling Library and spent quite some time wheeling through reels of microfilms. At this stage I did not know for sure that the family had “always” lived in Perthshire: it was an early period of research and I reasoned that it was just as likely that they had travelled from Stirlingshire in the first place.

The 1851 census confirmed my worst fear, that I would not find Charles again. Jean Douglas nee Galloway was a widow, a pauper, working as a woolwinder. She lived at Norton Place, Alva with children William (9), Elizabeth (7) and Peter (3). Elizabeth was a scholar, probably in Alva. Presumably Norton Place is now part of Norton Street. There  were several mills so it is hard to know which one she was employed at. It must have been a struggle to bring up a young family by herself and part of the solution was to send young Charles to live with her own mother – back at Fowlis Wester. As Jean was described as a pauper she was in receipt of poor relief even though she had a job.

Extensive research by myself and by professional archivists have not found out when this poor relief started. If we knew that we would have a good idea of when Jean’s husband Charles had died. He cannot have been more than 34. Given that Jean was a pauper I presume that he was buried in the pauper’s section of the graveyard at St Ninian’s church although the family attended the breakaway church (which had no graveyard).

The Poor Board books of various Perthshire counties are retained at AK Bell Library in Perth. In 2010 I spent a happy if tiring afternoon looking through the books for Fowlis Wester and Monzie. This is because either of these parishes- or Clackmannan or Stirling- might have been approached by her with a request for support. I could not find a starting point for Jean anywhere. With most payments you read of a letter from someone who will be named, it tells you they were from this parish, and why they need money. The board appoints someone to look into it, they report back at the next meeting and a decision is taken. Often you read of another Poor Board writing to say that they have been supporting someone originally from your parish so please will you start to pay now.

I was able to find that Jean was given poor relief in 1853 and 1856 by the Stirling board. This was interesting but did not give any further help on how or when Charles Douglas had died. We already knew that he was dead in 1851 from the census. There may be a gap in the record somewhere (maybe even in the Fowlis Wester records) because I didn’t find a reference to support for her in 1851 when she was described as a pauper.

So Charles, then, died sometime between October 1846 (given the birth month of youngest son) and April 1851 when the census was taken. We know that cholera struck in Scotland in late 1848 but whether this or typhus or an accident at work was responsible we cannot know. Pam McNicoll (archivist at Alloa) very kindly searched through newspaper records for me without success.

Jean Galloway returned to the parish of Fowlis Wester between 1856 and 1861 and may have spent the remainder of her life living at New Fowlis, a small collection of houses where the junction lies from Fowlis Wester to the Perth-Crieff Road. The 1861 census places Jean with her three eldest children in Fowlis Wester parish, probably at New Fowlis. This was a hous or two along from her brothers who were smiths. In 1878 she found herself responsible for grandson Peter. In 1886 she paid rent of £2-0-0 for her dwelling there. She was a grocer, presumably making her income from travellers between these two towns. The smithy there was at a right angle to the road and has been demolished completely I learned from a friendly resident. I have not been able to find evidence of the value of this or how much rent she paid on the 1875 or 1885 Valuation Rolls (but see below regarding her son Robert).

Hill Wynd in Crieff  from http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAYQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fperthshirecrieffstrathearnlocalhistor.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F11%2Fthe-last-thatched-house-in-crieff.html&ei=MisNVfaZEqHa7gb2yIGYBQ&bvm=bv.88528373,d.d2s&psig=AFQjCNGlegsZev6WpccFIEOs_J9xowobyg&ust=1427012783042363

Who was Peter Douglas?

When Charles Douglas married in 1837 another Douglas married on the same day. He was a Peter Douglas who married a Margaret Maxtone. The parish record does not record the parents for either bride or either groom and there is no indication of whether the men were brothers, cousins or unrelated, unfortunately. Peter and Margaret were living at Hill Wynd, Crieff in the 1841 census. He was a vintner. By 1851 he was dead, it seems, as Margaret is described as a widow. Living with her is her daughter, Margaret Buchan. Whether this was a daughter by Peter Douglas now using another name or from a later relationship is not known. This Margaret Buchan is aged 7, though as we know the 1841 census encouraged a degree of inaccuracy in ages. There was a servant living with them. If a descendant could be found from Peter and Margaret genetic testing might be able to establish whether there was a relationship between him and Charles.

More about Jean Galloway

Jean had a long life, dying finally in 1895 of congestion of the lungs. She never remarried. Jean is buried in the same grave as her eldest son at Fowlis Wester church but there is no gravestone. A nice detail of the burial certificates at this time is that we know who actually buried some people, in this case the sexton was a David Cameron. From Perth Crematorium’s records I learned that the grave is General Section Plot 12 Lair 62a.

Her two elder sons, Charles and William, were both blacksmiths. I had always known Charles was, but not the reason why. The reason for this is linked to the early death of his father. Charles was sent to live with Jean’s mother, and she was described as a smith on the 1851 census. Her husband presumably had been, too. In 1861 young Peter was living with Jean’s brothers, both of whom were smiths (Census 357/00 002/00 003).

Whether it was their intention to apprentice him also seems likely but this was not to be. Peter moved to Dumbarton where he or his wife lived until at least 1881. We will read more about Peter and his family later. At some stage they emigrated to America.  According to Charley Carpenter, whom I contacted through RootsWeb, Peter emigrated through Quebec but ended in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was a successful shopkeeper. The story of the American side of the family is to follow.

Neither Robert or John Galloway married but according to Clare Oliphant, researching her tree in Glasgow, Scotland, John had a child through Janet Tainsh, a housekeeper who was born in Muthill, Perthshire. Janet Tainsh had earlier had another illegitimate child to another man. The child of John Galloway was called John and born in 1847. On the 1851 census he lived at Mill of Drummond in Muthill with his mother (described as an agricultural labourer now) and grandparents Alexander and Janet Tainsh (Census 386/00 ED 007/00). Alexander was a house carpenter. John did not marry and died in 1909. I have made contact with Clare Oliphant in Scotland who was researching Janet Tainsh. Young John was a mason. John Galloway himself also had another child, Isabella, born in 1843. She was a domestic servant. Isabella died at only 23 of vascular disease and pulmonary apoplexy in 1866 (SR 393/00) at Boghall, St Martins, Perthshire. Her father also died of heart disease, combined with bronchitis (SR 357/00) in May 1871 at New Fowlis.

Janet Tainsh’s name recurs in the family history as she is connected with the Menzies family.
John is listed in Slater’s Directory for 1850 as a blacksmith in Fowlis Wester (p1073). The just released 1865 Valuation Rolls show that John was tenant occupier of a house at Fowlis, paying £8-14 (VR113/11/258).

From 1873 to 1884 Robert was a tenant occupying a house and acres at Fowlis Wester, paying £8-14-0. As no “New Fowlis” properties are listed it is possible that the house was actually at New Fowlis. This is certainly the case from 1885 to1895. From 1886 to 1889 the house at New Fowlis owed rent of only £2-0-0 for some reason whilst in 1890 it was £14-10  for house and land. This cannot be explained by a change of location from the old village to the location on the new Crieff-Perth road but perhaps Robert had another property in the late 1880s as well as the £2 holding. When Robert died at New Fowlis in 1896 (SR 386/A0) his niece’s husband George Gloag was present and registered his death.

Charles Douglas and Janet Haggart’s Son

Charles Douglas the labourer left little record behind. His only son (as far as we can see) Charles was born in December 1816 and baptised in January 1817. This Charles became a woodworker, variously described as a carpenter, wright or joiner. He is not to be found in Pigot’s Trade Directory for 1837 anywhere in Perthshire or in Clackmannanshire. This may mean that he was working for someone else. There were 10 carpenters, wrights or joiners in Crieff and 5 in Gilmerton.

I wonder how he came into this line of work? Did his father turn from general labourer to more skilled carpenter and his son learn from him? Or was it just something he was quite good at and perhaps he worked for a local man? I did look for apprenticeships unsuccessfully.

He married at Fowlis Wester church in 1838 to Jane or Jean Galloway who was a year older than him. Jean was one of seven children to William Galloway and Elizabeth Taylor. On the same day at the same church a Peter Douglas of Crieff married a Margaret Maxtone. We do not know if this was a brother of Charles as no siblings are to be found in the OPR or a cousin. It may be a coincidence of name. Usually but not always weddings were at the bride’s church. Given that Fowlis Wester and Monzie are not terribly far apart the bride’s church option would be expected here. Now, Maxtone is a common name in Fowlis Wester and there is a large vault with coat of arms at the cemetery. Elizabeth may well be part of this family. The minister was named Maxtone at this time, I believe, too.

Charles and Jane moved soon after the wedding (indeed, perhaps Charles was already working in Menstrie, though Fowlis Wester was his parish) as their first son Charles was born at Menstrie, in Logie, next year. They did not remain long, as by 1841 they had moved to Bole Loan, Alva, Clackmannanshire. We know this through the 1841 census. I have not had success at locating this street or road, even with help from an archivist, but there is a farm called Boll close to Alva. I am grateful to Angus Dow who contacted me some time back with this information and even sent a photo of the farmhouse. Charles and Jean were communicants at St Ninian’s Free Church, Bannockburn, where their remaining children (William (1841), Elizabeth (1843) and Peter (1847) were baptised). At some stage they had moved to Quakerfield in Bannockburn. There are houses there now which they would surely recognise.

1851 1 inch to the mile (I think) Map of Stirlingshire, from National Library of Scotland, showing Boll or Bole to the south of Alva:

Another map:

Boll Farm1.JPG

The original Free Church record book is kept at Stirling County Archives, within walking distance of the church. I visited there and consulted the book. Their names are recorded in November 1843 as communicants, Charles is described as a wright; his name appears to have a light line through it and the word “dead” written in pencil (Communicant Roll Book, Free Church Alva). There is no date for when this happened.

Menstrie and Alva were small villages but they were growing at this time due to industrialisation. In 1800 a carding and spinning mill was set up on the east side of the Menstrie Burn and a road was built to improve transportation in the area. The Elmbank andForthvale mills stood either side of the Menstrie Burn. The population of Menstrie rose from 500 in 1841 to 900 by 1891. Apparently there was a furniture factory called The Charrier in Menstrie but I do not know when this started to operate.

Charles may have been working at one of the mills or may have found enough employment in the building trade if the village was growing quickly. A carpenter would earn 18 shillings in summer and 15 shillings in winter in nearby Dollar (Statistical Account 1834-45, vol VIII, p113).

Charles’s death was a tragedy for the family, suddenly without a significant source of income. It has also a major impact for us as genealogists- no death certificate, no burial recorded, no subsequent census entries to nail down for sure where he was born and who his parents where or even when his father died.

The Stirling Observer of 17th June 1847 included a feature on a church debate. As the extract below shows a Charles Douglas of St Ninian’s spoke at length. The crucial points for us are the coincidence of name and church with. Of course, it might just be a coincidence- but it might be a tantalising insight into the life and thinking of Charles Douglas the carpenter:

Elmbank Mill https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=elmbank+mill+menstrie&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=sknFVMKEKcKO7QaAv4GADg&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAw&biw=1366&bih=634#imgdii=_&imgrc=_4a8RQctzs-LIM%253A%3BC9m3MHm-M3X3IM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fupload.wikimedia.org%252Fwikipedia%252Fcommons%252Fa%252Fa4%252FElmbank_Mill%252C_Menstrie.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fcommons.wikimedia.org%252Fwiki%252FFile%253AElmbank_Mill%252C_Menstrie.jpg%3B1929%3B1152

Jean Galloway’s family

Jean Galloway’s mother and father married at Fowlis Wester in 1803. They were both living at New Fowlis in 1841 (Census 357/00 ED003/000). Her father was a master blacksmith. As well as brothers Robert and John she had other siblings. Ann was described as a domestic servant on her death certificate (SR 357/00), though in 1841 she was called a farm servant, living at Murrayfield in Muthill (Census 386/A0 ED003/000). From 1851-61 she was living at New Fowlis. Living with her in 1841 was Margaret who was also a farm servant. She died of consumption after a ten year struggle (SR 357/00 0002) in January 1858 at New Fowlis. I have not tracked down Jean’s other siblings James and Isabel Galloway. Jean’s mother died in March 1858 at New Fowlis (SR 357/00).

A newspaper item about three “marksmen” (Dundee Evening Telegraph) refers to three young men from Crieff hunting animals unsuccessfully. “They first proceeded to Fowlis Wester, where Galloway, the smith, held a raffle shooting. There they had no luck whatever, but a great deal more drink than was quite good for them.”

On 22nd December 1853 the Perthshire Advertiser carried a snippet on well-wishers presenting something to John Galloway in thanks for his services in time of need. Unfortunately we do not know what this refers to, whether it was service on a particular occasion or acknowledgement of his reliable nature over time.

John must have been of high-standing in the community, as he is referred to again in 1856:

On 3rd January 1856 there was a reference to John Galloway in the Perthshire Advertiser, where he presided over a meeting of 100 or more people at a lecture on temperance. He also chaired a Scottish Temperance Society in July according to the same newspaper. 

Jean’s parents had married in 1803. Her father, William, was from Fowlis Wester. Her mother’s maiden name was Elizabeth Taylor. She had been born in Crieff parish.  Jean’s sister Ann died in 1864 of a “complete obstruction of bowel, 15 days.” Jean’s mother had been born in 1778 to Robert Taylor and Isabella Kempie. I have found a lot of Kempies in Fowlis Wester on the OPR. Isabella and Robert Taylor seem to have married in 1764, the banns read on 18th and 30th March. They had a son named Peter, baptised on 18th December 1774 at Fowlis Wester. Robert and Isabella lived at Ardoch.

Jean’s father William Galloway was baptised on 20th October 1774 at Fowlis Wester. He had one brother James baptised in April 1773. There may be other relatives. William’s parents were James Galloway of Balnollo and Jean Maltman. Identifying the birth of James Galloway may be difficult- there are none in Fowlis Wester or Monzie of a suitable date but there are 17 in Perthshire, including several in Tibbermore, Logie and Monzievaird and Strowan. They married on 12th December 1771, the banns read in Fowlis Wester, his home parish, and Dunning which was Jean’s.

Jean Maltman may have been born to James Maltman of Dunning. The OPR gives a location, it looks like “Muir of Masterfield, commonly called Wester Balgoner” (OPR 350/00 0010 0093).

Generation VI: Children of William Galloway and Elizabeth Taylor

1. James Galloway, born 1804

2. Ann Galloway, 1807-1864

3. John Galloway, 1808-1871

4. Isabel Galloway, born 1810

5. Margaret Galloway, 1812-1858

6. Jane Galloway, 1815-1895

7. Robert Galloway, 1818-1896

Part of William Roy’s map of Perthshire, 1753, showing the area around Crieff, Abercairney and Monzie. Balnollo, where Jean Galloway’s grandfather came from is shown just above Abercairney (From NLS, copyright British Library).

Generation VII: Family of Charles Douglas and Jean Galloway

1. Charles Douglas, 1839-1928

2. William Douglas, 1841-1924

3. Elizabeth Douglas, 1843-1905

4. Peter Douglas, 1847-1937

Sources and further reading:

Slater’s Directory, 1850

Poor Board books