Archibald Fairbairn1,2

ID#14249, (say March 1783 - between 1841 and 1851)
Archibald Fairbairn|b. say Mar 1783\nd. bet 1841 - 1851|p14249.htm|Archibald Fairbairn|b. say 1760\nd. bet 1800 - 1841|p11318.htm|Alison Crosser|b. say 1765\nd. bet 1800 - 1841|p11319.htm|Archibald? Fairbairn|b. say 1735|||||Male ?. Croser|b. say 1740|||||
FatherArchibald Fairbairn b. say 1760, d. bet 1800 - 1841; no records exist (that I've yet found) to conclusively link this Archibald father/son. Another candidate for his parents would be Archibald Fairbairn and Mary Grierson, but they married a bit later, and were firmly based around Bowden, St Boswells, Southdean and would be hard pushed to fit a son of his 1841 census age in between the other known children. DNA results also support that he is related to Archibald and Mary, but not as closely as others, being a 36/37 match with a known descendant of Archibald and Mary, so I've taken that as further circumstantial evidence that I've placed him in the right family, which the naming pattern of his children supports3
MotherAlison Crosser3 b. say 1765, d. bet 1800 - 1841
ChartsFAIRBAIRN
The top part of the Fairbairn tree
Ancestors & siblings of Les Henderson
Relationship4th great-uncle of Lorna Henderson.
     Archibald Fairbairn was estimated to have been born say Mar 1783 in the Par. of Whitsome & Hilton, BEW, SCT, this date being taken from the Whitsome baptism, which may or may not be him.4 It is possible that Archibald Fairbairn was baptized on 16 Mar 1783 in the Par. of Whitsome & Hilton, BEW, SCT, father Archibald was a hynd, resident on the now extinct farm of Whitsome Vaults, no mother mentioned so it may not be this Archibald he belongs too, and although he is a tad earlier than I would expect for someone saying he was 50 in the 1841 census, Archibald and Alison (CROSSER) did have a son (my Walter) who said he was born in Swinton, which is very close. In addition, the 1841 shows that he wasn't born in Roxburghshire, which does add some weight to this theory So on balance, I believe it is highly likely to be this Archibald's baptism.5,1,2 Some sources show Archibald as born bet 1787 - 1791 in BEW?, SCT, this being the likely age from the 1841 census, albeit not always accurate.4
     Archibald Fairbairn married Janet Scott on 1 Apr 1810 St Boswells, ROX, SCT, OPR and igi only give A., but subsequent children's christenings give Archibald as father, so I assume it was Archibald who married Janet.6
     Archibald Fairbairn died bet 1841 - 1851 ?St Boswells, ROX, SCT; (Janet shows up in 1851 as a widow living with son Walter).7,8
     
     Another person (descendant Martin F) has (or once had) this Archibald as the son of Archibald Fairbairn and Mary Grierson. I believe he belongs with Archibald and Alison because of the naming pattern of the children of Archibald and Janet. Archibald and Mary would also have had rather a hard time fitting him in between their other children. This conjecture has had weight added from the dna testing which shows a close match, but not identical, with a descendant of Archibald and Mary. The families are therefore highly likely to be related.9,10
     In Feb 1819 Archibald Fairbairn was a steward (place possibly Haspark?) at Howpark, Coldingham, BEW, SCT, when dtr Alison born.11
     Archibald Fairbairn and Janet Fairbairn appeared on the census of 7 Jun 1841 at Greenwells Glenburney, Par. of Melrose, ROX, SCT, and are assumed to be husband and wife. They were enumerated as Archibald, ag. lab. 50, not b. cty, Janet 40, b cty. Assumed children: John 20, joiner; Helen 25, Walter 15, ag lab; Catharine 12, all but John b cty.4 He was shown as a land steward on dth cert of dtr Alison in 1876 ?Melrose, ROX, SCT,7 in Oct 1894 he was shown as a farm manager on son Walter's dth cert.12

Family

Janet Scott (excluded)
Children
  • Helen Fairbairn13 (excluded)
  • Archibald Fairbairn (excluded)
  • John Fairbairn14 (excluded)
  • Alison Fairbairn11 (excluded)
  • Walter Fairbairn (excluded)
  • Margaret Fairbairn (excluded)
  • Jan Fairbairn ?Jeany? (excluded)
  • Jeany Fairbairn ?Jan? (excluded)
  • Catharine Fairbairn (excluded)
Last Edited14 Oct 2008

Citations

  1. Sanna Gaffney (22855), "EM FAIRBAIRN: Borders ex Sanna G," e-mail to L McIntosh & GenForum FAIRBAIRN, Bap. 1783 Archibald to Archibald, rcvd Oct 2000 (but Sanna thought he belonged to Archibald and Mary (GRIERSON) FAIRBAIRN).
  2. FAIRBAIRN, International Genealogical Index (IGI).
  3. "Lorna's Family History Musings", Feb 2003, Dec 2007 & Mar 2008, (assumed to be son of Archibald and Alison (CROSSER) FAIRBAIRN purely from naming pattern of children and places. Another researcher has Archibald's parents as Archibald F and Mary GIESSEN. As he appears to have died between 1841 and 1851, we are unlikley to uncover the truth now, but with children called Archibald, Alison, Walter I think there's a fair possibility he "belongs" to my lot, especially his age in the 1841 census makes his birth year somewhat later than that of the son of Archibald and Mary, even allowing for the rounding in that census).
  4. 1841 Census, Borders, SCT, LDS Film, Melrose Dist 6 p14.
  5. BEW: Whitsome 1-place study: Lesley R, online at http://homepages.ipact.nl/~robertson/, Bap. 1783 Archibald s/o Archibald (hynd, resident Whitsome Vaults), extract rcvd Dec 2007.
  6. Births marriages OPR index: ROX, SCT.
  7. Alison CHISHOLM (nee FAIRBAIRN), Dth 1876 Alison CHISHOLM (nee FAIRBAIRN), Darnick, Melrose, ROX 799 #36.
  8. Susan A McLEOD (30189), "EM FAIRBAIRN/COCKBURN ex Susan McL," e-mail to L McIntosh (1), 1851 ROX census, rcvd May 2002.
  9. Sanna Gaffney (22855), "EM FAIRBAIRN: Borders ex Sanna G," e-mail to L McIntosh & GenForum FAIRBAIRN, Rcvd Feb 2003.
  10. "Lorna's Family History Musings", Dec 2007.
  11. Baptisms: Coldingham, BEW, Birth 1819 Alison FAIRBAIRN, transc. L McIntosh Sep/Oct 1994.
  12. GRO, SCT, BDM searches at GRO SCT: Dth 1894 Walter FAIRBAIRN. Mertoun, BEW Dist 751 #7, trans. Robert McC, rcvd Dec 2001.
  13. BDM/CEN: Scots Origins, online at http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/index.php, Birth 12 Feb 1811 Helen d/o Archbald FAIRBAIRN, Houden, Par. of Ancrum, ROX Dist 780/0010 0195, copy d/loaded Jun 2008.
  14. GRO, SCT, BDM searches at GRO SCT: Death cert John F 1890 trans. S Hepburn July 2001.

E. & O. E. Some/most parish records are rather hard to read and names, places hard to interpret, particularly if you are unfamiliar with an area.
 
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