William Wight1

(29 November 1767 - 12 September 1847)
FatherJames Wight2 (say 1743 - Oct 1791)
MotherIssobel Thomson2 (say 1745 - )
Relationship3rd great-grandfather of Lorna Henderson

BMDB data

     William Wight was born on 29 Nov 1767 Maxton, ROX, SCT, entry reads: "William Wight son to James Wight indweller in Maxton and his wife Isobel Thomson was born and baptised 29th of November 1767."3
     William Wight married Elizabeth Richardson, daughter of Robert Richardson and Margaret Runchaman, on 25 Jul 1795 Maxton, Roxburghshire, entry in Register of Proclamations & Marriages in the Parish of Maxton reads: Maxton July 25th 1795: "William Wight in this parish of Maxton and Elisabeth Richardson in the parish of Morebattle gave up their names for proclamation in order to marriage, they were thrice proclaimed and no objections offered. They were soon married after."4
     William Wight died on 12 Sep 1847 of Maxton, ROX, SCT, at age 79; (h/stone says 80) The Parish records show an entry for Sep 19th 1847 which reads: "Mortcloth for Wm Wight 2/6."5,6 He was buried with Elizabeth Richardson Churchyard, Maxton, ROX, SCT, beside son Walter, in front of son John at the left hand end of the Kirk. H/stone shows that Elizabeth d. 15 Jun 1831, aged 58.6,7,8

Census/Where lived/Occupations

     Fr 1793 - 1816 William Wight was a carrier Maxton, ROX, SCT, this occupation being consistently provided during and after his life, including on son Robert's death cert in 1865.9,10
     In May 1798 William Wight was described as an indweller of Maxton, ROX, SCT, (as was his father before him.)11
     William Wight appeared on the census of 7 Jun 1841 Maxton, Roxburghshire, as William Wight, 75, farmer; Walter Wight, 24; Helen Sinton, 22, fem. serv. All b Cty (within 2 wks of this census Helen had become the wife of Walter, s/o William) (NB enumerators were instructed to round ages down to the nearest multiple of 5.)12

Wills/bequests

     An Inventory of the estate of William Wight was filed Jedburgh, ROX, SCT, on 25 Oct 1847 having been taken by his son Walter, Wm having died at Maxton, intestate, on 12 Sep 1847. It is a very detailed document, the detail being rather out of proportion to the total of £84 16/6d for the "Stock, crop household furnture and other effects".
     The kitchen held an eight day clock, 2 wooden beds, 6 wooden chairs, a stool and a resting chair, a press, shelf & dresser, 12 plates, bowls, spoons (very old), knives & forks; 2 tin pitchers, 2 kitchen tables, a kettle, 3 pots, a pan of candlesticks, 2 tin jugs and a looking glass;
     in "the room" were: a round table, a looking glass, 2 pictures, a clothes press, a tray, a pair of candlestick snuffers & tray, 4½ pairs of coarse sheets, 5 pr of blankets, 2 chaff beds, a feather bolster, 2 feather pillows, 2 bed covers, 2 suits of clothes, a plaid & great coat, 2 pr of shoes, an old set of china, 1½ doz of bottles, a lot of lumber;
     "in a chest": an old press, a barrell churn & stand, a girdle & frying pan, a washing tub and small kit, a seive, an old chest, an old barrel for meal
     the crop consisted of: ¾ of an acre of turnips, an acre of beans, 3 smallsacks of oats, 2 small sacks of wheat and a small sack of barley, a lot of straw, a small lot of Hay, a quantity of threased(?) barley
     the implements" were: 2 carts with wheels and ?? axle tree, an old cart wheel & axle tree, an iron plough, 2 old wooden ploughs, a cart frame, a scythe, an axe, old fanners, 2 set of cart harness, 2 sets of plough harness, 2 grapes (?), 3 shoes, 2 rakes and 2 forks, a shove (sic) and a spade, pair of wooden harness, 11 sacks, 6 sickles
     "stock" consisted of a brown cart horse, a black cart horse, a red and white farm cow
     and in the barn were: a seive and 2 flails, a thrashing board, a hand turnip machine, a quantity of coals and a quantity of fire wood
     the whole being signed off by Angus Sutherland, Licensed appraiser.5

All the other info

     William Wight was Maxton, ROX, SCT, on 2 Nov 1797 paying 2/- tax on 1 work horse, at 2/-
Farm Horse Tax 1797-1798 shows
Nearby entry was for a John THOMSON of Muirhouselaw with 8 horses, 6 dutiable.13
     On 2 Apr 1807 Maxton, ROX, SCT, William Wight was one of the parishioners who sent a petition to the Presbytery of Selkirk requesting an investigation into the education of young people within the parish.
"..the complaint and Petition of the Parish of Maxton humbly sheweth. That for these five and twenty years the Parish have been at a great loss for the Education of their children, that during all that time their Schoolmaster has not made a good scholar, that when they send to him their children they make no progress but often become worse, that he keeps up no proper discipline and seems perfectly careless, so that he has generally few or almost no scholars; that all these charges the Parish are ready to prove against him whenever thay (sic) are called on. May it therefore please the Rev'd Presbytery to visit their school and also to Examine the Master as he was never legally inducted, and grant them relief from their sore grievances as they shall see cause and your Parishioners will ever pray." Signatories: Thomas Clark, William Purves, Andrew Mather, James Walker, James Amos, William Hewat, Thomas Blaikie, William Murray, Robert Young, George Fiddes, William Wight."
     The schoolmaster concerned was Robert Handyside, who died in 1837 aged 76. He had apparently been the schoolmaster since the age of 21. The new school was authorised a few years later, 1813.14
     William Wight outlived his wife Elizabeth Richardson who died on 15 Jun 1831 when he was 58.6,7
     William Wight and Agnes Wight of Maxton, ROX, SCT, in 1840 were possibly related although it is more likely that Agnes is the wife of William's son William, as the latter married Agnes Wood in 1833.15

External links

     Click here to see William's page on WikiTree, a (free) collaborative on-line tree.16

Family

Elizabeth Richardson (May 1773 - Jun 1831)
Children
ChartsWilliam RICHARDSON of Pringlestead, Eckford
RUNCIMAN of Earlston/Wanton Walls
WIGHT
My pedigree chart
Paternal ancestors of Lorna
Paternal timeline
FAMILTON

Helen Sinton WIGHT's ancestors

Last Edited11 Mar 2017

Citations

  1. Walter WIGHT (44), DC WIGHT, Walter 1886 Maxton, Trans. L McIntosh Sep 1994, p/copy held.
  2. Births baptisms burials: Maxton, ROX (Dist 798), Bap. 1767 William WIGHT, (p/copy held, taken Sep/Oct 1994/5).
  3. Births baptisms burials: Maxton, ROX (Dist 798), Bap. 1767 William s/o James WIGHT & Isobel THOMSON, Maxton, ROX (p/copy held, taken Sep/Oct 1994/5).
  4. Births baptisms burials: Maxton, ROX (Dist 798), Marr. 25 Jul 1795 William WIGHT Elisabeth RICHARDSON, (p/copy held, taken Sep/Oct 1994/5).
  5. WIGHT, William, Inventory 1847 (1847) SC62/44/13 p 979: p/copy taken Sep/Oct 1995, and also rcvd from Harry W, Feb 1996.
  6. Births baptisms burials: Maxton, ROX (Dist 798), Mortcloth entry 1847 Wm WIGHT, extracted by L McIntosh Sep/Oct 1994/5.
  7. ROX WIGHT family Maxton H/stones, Filed in sources folder & notebooks, L Henderson, Waikanae, Kapiti, WTN, NZ, sighted by L McIntosh Sep 1994.
  8. H D W (15319), "Borders Corres. ex H D W," e-mail to L Henderson (1), Photo WIGHT headstones at Maxton, taken 1990s, rcvd Sep 2011.
  9. Births baptisms burials: Maxton, ROX (Dist 798), Bap. 1811 Elisabeth WIGHT, p/copy held, taken Sep/Oct 1994/5.
  10. Letter, Bob WILCOX to Lorna Henderson, Dth 1865 Robert WIGHT, transcr. rcvd Dec 1995.
  11. Births baptisms burials: Maxton, ROX (Dist 798), Bap 1798 Margaret WIGHT, p/copy held, taken Sep/Oct 1994/5.
  12. Census image, SCT, Maxton, ROX, Pg 4, hsehold of William WIGHT Page 4, p/copy held, taken Sep 1994.
  13. 1797 Farm Horse Tax Rolls - Scotland online at http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/, William WIGHT, Maxton, Par. of Maxton, ROX, extracted Dec 2009.
  14. Charles DENOON, Maxton 2000, Section 8. Copy of the original document held in the Kirk Session Records at the SRO: CH2 260 7.
  15. Births baptisms burials: Maxton, ROX (Dist 798), Mortcloth entry 1840 Agnes WIGHT, extracted by L McIntosh Sep/Oct 1994/5.
  16. WikiTree online at http://WikiTree.com/, Oct 2011.
  17. Births baptisms burials: Maxton, ROX (Dist 798), Bap 1796 James WIGHT, p/copy taken Sep/Oct 1994/5 held.
  18. Births baptisms burials: Maxton, ROX (Dist 798), Bap 1800 Robert WIGHT, p/copy taken Sep/Oct 1994/5.
  19. Births baptisms burials: Maxton, ROX (Dist 798), Baptism 1803 William WIGHT, p/copy held, taken Sep/Oct 1994/5.
  20. Julie GARVIE (35496), "Borders names ex Julie G," e-mail to L McIntosh (1), Dth 1871 Isabella STPEHENSON nee WIGHT, copy rcvd Oct 2003.
  21. Births baptisms burials: Maxton, ROX (Dist 798), Baptism 1805 Isabel WIGHT, p/copy held, taken Sep/Oct 1994/5.
  22. Births baptisms burials: Maxton, ROX (Dist 798), Baptism 1808 John WIGHT, p/copy held, taken Sep/Oct 1994/5.
  23. Julie GARVIE (35496), "Borders names ex Julie G," e-mail to L McIntosh (1), Dth 1861 Eliz WALDIE nee WIGHT, copy rcvd Oct 2003.
  24. Walter WIGHT (44), DC WIGHT, Walter 1886 Maxton, Transcr. (Lorna) Sep 1994, p/copy held.

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.