William FORREST (c1690-c1760): Difference between revisions

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The earliest that the FORREST line can currently be traced back to is the late 17th Century with WILLIAM FORREST of Grange, or Overgrange, in West Calder, Midlothian, who was likely to be born circa 1690.  
The earliest that the '''FORREST''' line can currently be traced back to is the late 17th Century with '''William FORREST''' of Grange, or Overgrange, in West Calder, Midlothian, who was likely to be born circa 1690.  


West Calder was described in the early 19th Century as ''“a Parish of Scotland, in Midlothian, 10 miles long, and 5½ broad; bounded on the south by the Cairn hills, and on the north by the Briech, a river which runs into the Almond, at the north east point of the parish. The south part, adjacent to the parishes of Carnwath and Dunsyre, consists of high moorish grounds, interspersed with large marines, and divided into 15 sheep farms which feed about 6000 sheep annually, besides horses. The soil of the arable parts is a black molly earth, or a wet clay on a till bottom. The height is from 450 to 700 feet above the sea level. From this and its vicinity to the Cairn hills, the climate is cold and moist. Agriculture is but little improved. Oats, potatoes, barley, flax, rye-grass, peas, and turnips are the usual crops. The population, in 1798, was 1289 a decrease of 5 since 1755. In the south part of the parish, there are relics of an ancient castle fortified by Oliver Cromwell. Coals and limestone abound, but the former are not wrought, though the proprietor is intending to work them. The inhabitants are very decent, sober, and industrious, quite free from the vices of the metropolis, though so near it.”'' <ref>Encyclopaedia Perthensis; Or Universal Dictionary of the Arts, Sciences, Literature &c (Volume XXIII 1816) – John Brown pp192</ref>
== Origins ==


The West Calder Old Parochial Records<ref>Before the introduction of compulsory civil registration in 1855, the Parish Ministers or Session clerks of the Church of Scotland in some 900 parishes kept these registers, which record births and baptisms; proclamations of banns and marriages; and deaths and burials. The surviving registers, approximately 3,500 in number, are not complete. Though the oldest date back to 1553, for some parishes the earliest are from the early 19th century. For other parishes there are no registers at all, these having been damaged or lost to fire, flood and decay over the centuries before coming into the care of the Registrar General in 1855. In addition, registration was not compulsory and a charge was sometimes made, so not everyone would have registered an event. The content and format of record-keeping also varied considerably from parish to parish and from year to year.</ref> do not give the mother’s name for any of William’s children, and no wills can be found for him that would have provided further information. The records do however show that he had two sons and two daughters as follows,
[[Image:West_Calder_Hills.jpg|thumb|300px|West Calder Hills]]


i. Elizabeth, born at Grange, West Calder, Midlothian and baptised on the 24th May 1713<ref>Old Parochial Register, Births, West Calder, OPR Ref. 701/0010 0090</ref>.
West Calder was described in the early 19th Century as ''“a Parish of Scotland, in Midlothian, 10 miles long, and 5½ broad; bounded on the south by the Cairn hills, and on the north by the Briech, a river which runs into the Almond, at the north east point of the parish. The south part, adjacent to the parishes of Carnwath and Dunsyre, consists of high moorish grounds, interspersed with large marines, and divided into 15 sheep farms which feed about 6000 sheep annually, besides horses. The soil of the arable parts is a black molly earth, or a wet clay on a till bottom. The height is from 450 to 700 feet above the sea level. From this and its vicinity to the Cairn hills, the climate is cold and moist. Agriculture is but little improved. Oats, potatoes, barley, flax, rye-grass, peas, and turnips are the usual crops. The population, in 1798, was 1289 a decrease of 5 since 1755. In the south part of the parish, there are relics of an ancient castle fortified by Oliver Cromwell. Coals and limestone abound, but the former are not wrought, though the proprietor is intending to work them. The inhabitants are very decent, sober, and industrious, quite free from the vices of the metropolis, though so near it.”'' <ref>[[Encyclopaedia Perthensis; Or Universal Dictionary of the Arts, Sciences, Literature &c (Volume XXIII 1816) – John Brown#p192|Encyclopaedia Perthensis; Or Universal Dictionary of the Arts, Sciences, Literature &c (Volume XXIII 1816) – John Brown p192]]</ref>


ii. James, born at Grange, West Calder, Midlothian and baptised on the 8th May 1715<ref>Old Parochial Register, Births, West Calder, OPR Ref. 701/0010 0093</ref>.
== Family ==


James was a farmer in Wester Hairburnhead (or Harburnhead), West Calder, Midlothian. The Kirk Session minutes <ref>The Kirk Session was the governing body of the Presbyterian Church and consisted of the Minister of the Parish and the ordained Elders of the congregation. The powers of the Kirk Session were wide and the discipline exercised by them was strict. While much time was occupied in dealing with breakers of the moral laws, complaints were not confined to breaches of the seventh Commandment. The sanctity of the Sabbath Day was a matter of the greatest concern to the Kirk Session and the views which it held were as extreme as those of the Pharisees in the time of Our Lord. Any acts of agricultural labour were deemed worthy of punishment and perhaps the most trivial act regarded as Sabbath breaking was that of leaving out clothes on the Sabbath.</ref> record a petition from the Elders and several others in the Parish of West Calder to the Presbytery ''“That your petitioners were greatly concerned to hear the issue of a late process referred by the Session of this Parish in your Presbytery about James Forrest in Westerhairburnhead, who had given great offence to this Congregation and to several others in the neighbourhood thereof by bleeding six or seven horses on the Lords day without any evident necessity which example was followed by another the very next Sabbath giving them phiseck [medicine] ”''<ref>Petition to the presbytery of Linlithgow from the elders and other inhabitants of West Calder (1742 May 25), National Archives Scotland Ref. GD215/1223</ref>.
The West Calder ''Old Parochial Records''<ref group="nb">Before the introduction of compulsory civil registration in 1855, the Parish Ministers or Session clerks of the Church of Scotland in some 900 parishes kept these registers, which record births and baptisms; proclamations of banns and marriages; and deaths and burials. The surviving registers, approximately 3,500 in number, are not complete. Though the oldest date back to 1553, for some parishes the earliest are from the early 19th century. For other parishes there are no registers at all, these having been damaged or lost to fire, flood and decay over the centuries before coming into the care of the Registrar General in 1855. In addition, registration was not compulsory and a charge was sometimes made, so not everyone would have registered an event. The content and format of record-keeping also varied considerably from parish to parish and from year to year.</ref> do not give the mother’s name for any of William’s children, and no wills can be found for him that would have provided further information. The records do however show that he had two sons and two daughters as follows,  


Official records for James’ wife and children cannot be found, however family stories tell that James had a son who was brought up by his uncle Rev David Forrest. James had a bad temper and used to beat his son with a Malacca cane but his wife, on her deathbed, told him to strike him no more; however he threw the stick at his son instead<ref>Letter from Jane or Margaret Forrest to Nola Forrest (1918)</ref>.
:i. '''Elizabeth FORREST''', born at Grange, West Calder, Midlothian and baptised on the 24th May 1713<ref>[[Old Parochial Register, Births, West Calder, OPR Ref. 701/0010 0090]]</ref>.
The son,
:ii. '''[[James FORREST (1715-Unknown)|James FORREST]]''', born at Grange, West Calder, Midlothian and baptised on the 8th May 1715<ref>[[Old Parochial Register, Births, West Calder, OPR Ref. 701/0010 0093]]</ref>.
:iii. '''Jean FORREST''', born at Overgrange, West Calder, Midlothian and baptised on the 12th October 1722<ref>[[Old Parochial Register, Births, West Calder, OPR Ref. 701/0010 0109]]</ref>.
:iv. '''[[David FORREST (1723-1776)|David FORREST]]''', born at Overgrange, West Calder, Midlothian and baptised on the 17th November 1723<ref>[[Old Parochial Register, Births, West Calder, OPR Ref. 701/0010 0116]]</ref>.


1. Captain James, was a sailor who, according to the family stories, was taken prisoner by the French on the Gold Coast. He married on the 6th Jan 1787 at The Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas, Liverpool, Lancashire, Margaret Peggy HUTTON, born 1761.
== Notes ==
<references group="nb" />


iii. Jean, born at Overgrange, West Calder, Midlothian and baptised on the 12th October 1722<ref>Old Parochial Register, Births, West Calder, OPR Ref. 701/0010 0109</ref>.


iv. DAVID, whom we follow
== References ==
 
<references/>
[size=80%]<references/>[/size]

Revision as of 22:46, 28 May 2009

The earliest that the FORREST line can currently be traced back to is the late 17th Century with William FORREST of Grange, or Overgrange, in West Calder, Midlothian, who was likely to be born circa 1690.

Origins

West Calder Hills

West Calder was described in the early 19th Century as “a Parish of Scotland, in Midlothian, 10 miles long, and 5½ broad; bounded on the south by the Cairn hills, and on the north by the Briech, a river which runs into the Almond, at the north east point of the parish. The south part, adjacent to the parishes of Carnwath and Dunsyre, consists of high moorish grounds, interspersed with large marines, and divided into 15 sheep farms which feed about 6000 sheep annually, besides horses. The soil of the arable parts is a black molly earth, or a wet clay on a till bottom. The height is from 450 to 700 feet above the sea level. From this and its vicinity to the Cairn hills, the climate is cold and moist. Agriculture is but little improved. Oats, potatoes, barley, flax, rye-grass, peas, and turnips are the usual crops. The population, in 1798, was 1289 a decrease of 5 since 1755. In the south part of the parish, there are relics of an ancient castle fortified by Oliver Cromwell. Coals and limestone abound, but the former are not wrought, though the proprietor is intending to work them. The inhabitants are very decent, sober, and industrious, quite free from the vices of the metropolis, though so near it.” [1]

Family

The West Calder Old Parochial Records[nb 1] do not give the mother’s name for any of William’s children, and no wills can be found for him that would have provided further information. The records do however show that he had two sons and two daughters as follows,

i. Elizabeth FORREST, born at Grange, West Calder, Midlothian and baptised on the 24th May 1713[2].
ii. James FORREST, born at Grange, West Calder, Midlothian and baptised on the 8th May 1715[3].
iii. Jean FORREST, born at Overgrange, West Calder, Midlothian and baptised on the 12th October 1722[4].
iv. David FORREST, born at Overgrange, West Calder, Midlothian and baptised on the 17th November 1723[5].

Notes

  1. ↑ Before the introduction of compulsory civil registration in 1855, the Parish Ministers or Session clerks of the Church of Scotland in some 900 parishes kept these registers, which record births and baptisms; proclamations of banns and marriages; and deaths and burials. The surviving registers, approximately 3,500 in number, are not complete. Though the oldest date back to 1553, for some parishes the earliest are from the early 19th century. For other parishes there are no registers at all, these having been damaged or lost to fire, flood and decay over the centuries before coming into the care of the Registrar General in 1855. In addition, registration was not compulsory and a charge was sometimes made, so not everyone would have registered an event. The content and format of record-keeping also varied considerably from parish to parish and from year to year.


References

  1. ↑ Encyclopaedia Perthensis; Or Universal Dictionary of the Arts, Sciences, Literature &c (Volume XXIII 1816) – John Brown p192
  2. ↑ Old Parochial Register, Births, West Calder, OPR Ref. 701/0010 0090
  3. ↑ Old Parochial Register, Births, West Calder, OPR Ref. 701/0010 0093
  4. ↑ Old Parochial Register, Births, West Calder, OPR Ref. 701/0010 0109
  5. ↑ Old Parochial Register, Births, West Calder, OPR Ref. 701/0010 0116
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