DAVIDSON

Family Group (main line)

JAMES DAVIDSON	m. Smailholm Jun 1826	AGNES TAIT
b 1805, England d. Jan 26 1884, age 76, Bellsdyke, Airth. His will from Scottish Wills is available below		b. 1806?, Yetholm d. Jul 6 1889, Bellsdyke, Airth, Age 84?
JAMES DAVIDSON JANE WIGHTMAN (more likely) MARGARET WIGHTMAN (as per son James' death cert)		JOSEPH TAIT MARGARET FIDDES (Fiddies - as per Agnes' death cert)
		JACOB TAIT not so sure if these are her parents now JANET BAILLIE

In 1861 the family are at Grassmyres, Channelkirk and 1881 at Bellsdyke Farm near Airth.
Joseph Davidson, who was married four times, is the ancestor of Ann Hamilton, from Auckland, NZ - see his descendant chart

1	Joseph	married 4 times	1. Janet Mein (6 children) 2. Margaret Turnbull (7 children) 3. Mary Scott Telford (4 children) 4. Catherine Goldie
	bap. 11 Mar 1827, Cornhill, Northumberland, Eng d. 16 Jun 1910, Newstead, Melrose
2	James
	b. 1828, Smailholm, Roxb
3	George	m.
	b. 29 Jul 1830, Smailholm, Roxb
4	Robert	m.	Agnes Laidlaw
	b. 13 Jul 1832, Smailholm, Roxb
5	John	unm. in 1891
	b. 7 Jan 1836, Smailholm, Roxb head of family at Bellsdyke Farm in 1891
6	Ralph	unm. in 1891
	b. 1 Mar 1838, Smailholm, Roxb at Bellsdyke in 1891
7	MARGARET	m.	WILLIAM COWAN
	b. 9 Apr 1840, Smailholm, Roxb d. 4 Mar 1860, age 19, Oxton		b. 1834, Channelkirk
8	Agnes	m.	Andrew Lindsay
	b. circa 1845, Melrose, Roxb d. after May 1881
9	Alison	m. pre 1891	James Wilson
	b. circa 1850, Melrose Roxb Living at Bellsdyke, Airth in 1891		b. Airth

References:

1 Extract of an Entry in the Register of Deaths, 1860, Parish of Channelkirk , Berwick, Entry 3 - Margaret Cowan (ms. Davidson)

NAME and Surname Rank or Profession and whether Single, Married or Widowed	When and Where Died	Sex	Age	Name, Surname and Rank or Profession of Father Name and Maiden Surname of Mother	Cause of Death, Duration of Disease, and Medical Attendant by whom certified	Signature and Qualification of Informant, and residence, if out of the house when the death occurred
Margaret	1860	M	19	James Davidson	Consumption	(Signed)
Cowan	March		yrs	Farmer	for 2 years	William Cowan
	Fourth				no qualified medical attendant	Spouse
	1h 5m a.m.					Shoemaker
Wife of				Agnes Davidson	Buried at the Parish
William Cowan	Oxton			M.S. Tait	Churchyard of Channelkirk	Alex Davidson
Shoemaker	Parish of				certified David Tait	Registrar
	Channelkirk				Gravedigger

2 Extract of an Entry in the Register of Deaths, 1884, Parish of Airth , Stirlingshire, - James Davidson

NAME and Surname Rank or Profession and whether Single, Married or Widowed	When and Where Died	Sex	Age	Name, Surname and Rank or Profession of Father Name and Maiden Surname of Mother	Cause of Death, Duration of Disease, and Medical Attendant by whom certified	Signature and Qualification of Informant, and residence, if out of the house when the death occurred
James	1884	M	76	James Davidson	Cardiac degeneration	(Signed)
Davidson	January		yrs	Contractor		John Davidson
Farmer	Twenty-sixth			(deceased)		Son
	6h a.m.					Present
Married to				Margaret Davidson
Agnes Tait	Bellsdyke			M.S. Whightman		-
	Airth			(deceased)		Registrar

3 Will and Estate of James Davidson - 19 April 1884

James' estate was valued at �266 with debts of �463 - see his schedule of debts here. From this we can see that he had a one third share in the running of both North and South Bellsdyke farms. The other two partners were probably his sons Ralph and John who were executors to his estate. The terms of his Will bound them to look after their mother and sister Alison.

4 Extract of an Entry in the Register of Deaths, 1889, Parish of Airth , Stirlingshire, - Agnes Tait

NAME and Surname Rank or Profession and whether Single, Married or Widowed	When and Where Died	Sex	Age	Name, Surname and Rank or Profession of Father Name and Maiden Surname of Mother	Cause of Death, Duration of Disease, and Medical Attendant by whom certified	Signature and Qualification of Informant, and residence, if out of the house when the death occurred
Agnes	1889	F	84	Joseph Tait	Senile Decay	(Signed)
Davidson	July		yrs	Farmer		John Davidson
	Sixth			(deceased)	certified	Son
	9h a.m.					Present
Widow of				Margaret Tait
James Davidson	Bellsdyke			M.S. Fiddies		-
Farmer	Airth			(deceased)		Registrar

To Do:

Is Alex Davidson, the registrar, a relative?
Is David Tait, the gravedigger, a relative?

Tom Paterson (last updated 20th March 2004)