WILSON OF CANONBIE AND TANFIELD

Edith (Dixon) Timmins (1912-2002) stated that her mother Jessie (Wilson) Dixon was born in the Burnopfield area of County Durham but was later brought up at Canonbie and Lockerbie in Dumfriesshire. This is supported by the 1891 census returns for Canonbie, where Jessie Wilson, aged ten, born in England, is shown as a granddaughter of Thomas Wilson.[1] A copy in my possession of William Smith’s First Latin Course[2] is inscribed on the flyleaf with the name Jessie Wilson and the location Canonbie and on the title page with the name Jessie Wilson, “Langholm P. School” and the date September 1892.

Confirmation that the Wilsons of Tanfield and those of Canonbie were the same family is provided by the records mentioned below in relation to the marriage of Jessie Wilson (daughter of Thomas) to George Harrison.

A John Wilson was baptised at Canonbie on 15 June 1766 as a son of Thomas Wilson and Margaret Henderson. There was also a John, son of John Wilson and Marion Glasgow, baptised at Canonbie in 1769. However, the earlier of these is a better fit for the age of seventy-nine given in the monumental inscription for the John who died in 1845, the husband of Margaret Thomson. Furthermore, Thomas Wilson and Margaret Henderson had a son called Walter Wilson. Walter Wilson of Grayridge was buried at Canonbie in 1796 and Grayridge is also the residence given in the marriage record of John Wilson and Margaret Thomson the same year.

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WILSON

1 THOMAS WILSON of Milnsteads, Canonbie, Dumfriesshire, married MARGARET HENDERSON.

Children of Thomas Wilson and Margaret Henderson:

2 i JOHN WILSON (1766-1845); m MARGARET THOMSON.

ii WILSON, bap 20 Mar 1768, Canonbie.[3]

iii WILLIAM WILSON, b 30 Apr 1770, bap 6 May 1770, Canonbie.[4]

iv WALTER WILSON, b 7 Dec 1772, bap 20 Dec 1772, Canonbie,[5] bur 24 Jun 1796, Canonbie.[6]

v THOMAS WILSON, b 2 Oct 1775, bap 8 Oct 1775, Canonbie.[7]

vi JAMES WILSON, b 19 Apr 1781, bap 29 Apr 1781, Canonbie.[8]

vii ELIZABETH WILSON, b 4 Sep 1784, bap 19 Sep 1784, Canonbie.[9]

viii THOMAS WILSON, b 23 Jun 1787, bap 15 Jul 1787, Canonbie.[10]

2 JOHN WILSON of Forgebraehead, Canonbie, labourer, was baptised on 15 June 1766 at Canonbie[11] and died on 16 December 1845 at Canonbie.[12] He married on 28 September 1796 at Canonbie, MARGARET THOMSON,[13] daughter of William Thomson and Helen Hogg (see here). Margaret was baptised on 19 April 1771 at Gretna and died on 30 September 1853.

Children of John Wilson and Margaret Thomson:

i ILIAN WILSON, b 28 July 1797.[14]

ii MARGARET WILSON, b 17 Jul 1799, bap 28 Jul 1799, Canonbie.[15]

iii HELEN WILSON, b 22 Aug 1804, bap 9 Dec 1804, Canonbie.[16]

3 iv THOMAS WILSON (ca 1812-1891);[17] m(1) DOROTHY GOODFELLOW alias ELLIOT; m(2) ELLEN SCOTT.

v WILHELMINA WILSON, b ca 1816, Canonbie,[18] d 25 Dec 1893, Dumfries.[19]

3 THOMAS WILSON of Canonbie, husbandry labourer and drainer, was born ca 1812 at Canonbie[20] and died on 17 November 1891 at Canonbie.[21] He married first, on 22 September 1839 at Gretna, DOROTHY GOODFELLOW, alias ELLIOT,[22] daughter of Susan Goodfellow (see here). Dorothy was baptised on 22 December 1811 at Brampton and buried on 19 October 1842 at Canonbie. Thomas Wilson married second, ELLEN SCOTT,[23] daughter of James Scott and Ellen Irving.[24] Ellen Scott was born ca 1820 at Canonbie[25] and died on 17 December 1893 at Canonbie.[26]

Child of Thomas Wilson and Dorothy Goodfellow alias Elliot:

4 i JOHN WILSON (1840-1888); m HANNAH McNEIL.

Illegitimate child of Thomas Wilson and Janet Sinton:

ii SARAH BELL WILSON, b 12 Aug 1844, bap 14 Sep 1845, Canonbie,[27] bur 29 Dec 1845, Canonbie.[28]

Children of Thomas Wilson and Ellen Scott:

iii HELEN WILSON, b 1850, Canonbie,[29] d 6 Nov 1916, Edinburgh;[30] m(1) 17 Jan 1868, Canonbie, GEORGE STORIE;[31] m(2) 19 Mar 1883, Edinburgh, JAMES WRIGHT.[32]

iv MARGARET WILSON, b ca 1851, Canonbie,[33] d 12 Oct 1873, Canonbie.[34]

v JAMES WILSON, carpenter, b 28 Apr 1855, Canonbie,[35] d 12 Nov 1945, York Mills, Ontario; m CLARA ELIZABETH PARR.[36]

vi JESSIE WILSON, b 5 May 1857, Canonbie;[37] m ca 1888, GEORGE HARRISON.[38]

vii WILLIAM WILSON of Carlisle, joiner, b 5 Jul 1859, Canonbie;[39] m 29 Dec 1882, Canonbie, JANET LITTLE.[40]

viii ELIZABETH WILSON, b 7 Jun 1862, Canonbie,[41] d 23 May 1863, Canonbie.[42]

4 JOHN WILSON of Tanfield, County Durham, cartman, was born on 12 November 1840 at Canonbie[43] and died on 28 December 1888 at Burnopfield.[44] He married on 26 August 1866 at Carlisle register office, HANNAH McNEIL,[45] daughter of John and Hannah (Sewell) McNeil (see here). Hannah McNeil was born in July 1841 at Liverpool and died on 24 October 1881 at Burnopfield.

Children of John and Hannah (McNeil) Wilson:

i THOMAS WILSON, colliery putter, b 6 Jun 1867, Blaydon,[46] d 12 Dec 1887.[47]

ii JAMES WILSON, b 12 Jan 1869, Blaydon,[48] d 2 May 1871, Tanfield.[49]

iii JOHN WILSON of Whickham, colliery labourer, b ca 1871, Tanfield,[50] d 9 Mar 1909;[51] m 6 Apr 1896, Sugley, MARY SMITH BEATTIE.[52]

iv EDWARD WILSON, b 16 Jul 1873, Tanfield,[53] d 4 Aug 1873, Tanfield.[54]

v MARGARET WILSON, silver goods buyer, b 3 Nov 1874, Tanfield,[55] d 31 May 1959, Leeds.[56]

vi WILLIAM WILSON of Darlington, labourer, b 25 Dec 1876, Burnopfield,[57] d 22 Nov 1942, Darlington.[58]

vii EDWIN WILSON, b 9 May 1879, Burnopfield,[59] bur 11 Feb 1880, Burnopfield.[60]

viii JESSIE WILSON, b 30 Dec 1880, Tanfield,[61] d 18 Nov 1918, Wallsend-on-Tyne;[62] m 26 Jul 1911, Tynemouth register office, JOHN DIXON[63] (see here).

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[1] 1891 census returns, Canonbie (National Records of Scotland, 814/00 009/00 004).

[2] William Smith, A First Latin Course, 34th ed. (London, 1892).

[3] Canonbie parish registers (National Records of Scotland). The child is stated to be a son but his name is not given.

[4] Canonbie parish registers (National Records of Scotland).

[5] Scotland, Parish Births & Baptisms 1564-1929 (online at www.findmypast.co.uk).

[6] Canonbie parish registers (National Records of Scotland).

[7] Scotland, Parish Births & Baptisms 1564-1929 (online at www.findmypast.co.uk).

[8] Scotland, Parish Births & Baptisms 1564-1929 (online at www.findmypast.co.uk).

[9] Scotland, Parish Births & Baptisms 1564-1929 (online at www.findmypast.co.uk).

[10] Scotland, Parish Births & Baptisms 1564-1929 (online at www.findmypast.co.uk).

[11] Canonbie parish registers (National Records of Scotland).

[12] Transcription of monumental inscription at Canonbie (online at www.findmypast.co.uk).

[13] Canonbie parish registers (National Records of Scotland, 814/0020 0361).

[14] Canonbie parish registers (National Records of Scotland, 814/0020 0190). Ilian seems to be used in the Canonbie parish registers in this period as a variant of Helen. See, for example, the marriage of Thomas Little and Helen Taylor in 1789 and the baptism of Margaret, daughter of Thomas Little and Ilian Taylor in 1797.

[15] Canonbie parish registers (National Records of Scotland, 814/0020 0190).

[16] Canonbie parish registers (National Records of Scotland, 814/0020 0213).

[17] Thomas Wilson’s death certificate confirms that he was a son of John Wilson and Margaret Thomson.

[18] 1851 census returns, Canonbie (National Records of Scotland, 814/00 011/00 008), where her name appears to be given as Minea. She was evidently the Wilhelmina Wilson who had an illegitimate daughter by James Smith baptised at Canonbie in 1838, named Catherine Hannah (Canonbie parish registers, National Records of Scotland, 814/0030 0243), who would seem to be the Catherin Smith, granddaughter of Margaret (Thomson) Wilson, who was living with Margaret and Minea in 1851. Catherine married Robert Byers in 1874 (statutory marriages, Half Morton, 828/00 0002).

[19] Statutory deaths, Dumfries (National Records of Scotland, 821/00 0486); statutory deaths, Middlebie (National Records of Scotland, 841/00, 0029). In the latter, which is marked as cancelled in the register, presumably because the death had already been registered at Dumfries, Wilhelmina’s usual residence is given as Kirtlebridge, which is where she had been living with her daughter Catherine and son-in-law Robert Byers at the time of the 1891 census (National Records of Scotland, 841/00 001/00 003). Wilhelmina died at the Crichton Royal Institution.

[20] 1851 census returns, Canonbie (National Records of Scotland, 814/00 011/00 008).

[21] Death certificate.

[22] Gretna Green marriage registers (Achievements of Canterbury). The Canonbie parish registers (National Records of Scotland, 814/0030 0370) state that Thomas and Dorothy were married at Gretna on 20 Sep 1839.

[23] When the birth of their daughter Elizabeth was registered, Thomas and Ellen were stated to have been married on 13 Dec 1850 at Half Morton (statutory births, Canonbie, National Records of Scotland, 814/00 0058), although the age of their daughter Helen in the 1851 census returns, taken in March, appears to be given as 11 months (1851 census returns, Canonbie, National Records of Scotland, 814/00 011/00 008), and in the birth record of their son James, the marriage is stated to have taken place in 1849 at Half Morton (statutory births, Canonbie).

[24] Ellen Scott’s parents were so identified when her death was registered, the informant being her son William Wilson (statutory deaths, Canonbie).

[25] 1851 census returns, Canonbie (National Records of Scotland, 814/00 011/00 008).

[26] Statutory deaths, Canonbie.

[27] Canonbie parish registers (National Records of Scotland, 814/30 288); Canonbie kirk session minutes (National Records of Scotland, CH2/1582/1/4).

[28] Burial register images in the England & Scotland, Select Cemetery Registers, 1800-2016 collection (online at www.ancestry.com).

[29] 1851 census returns, Canonbie (National Records of Scotland, 814/00 011/00 008).

[30] Statutory deaths, Canongate (National Records of Scotland, 685/03 0396).

[31] Statutory marriages, Canonbie (National Records of Scotland, 814/00 0001).

[32] Statutory marriages, Canongate (National Records of Scotland, 685/03 0091).

[33] 1861 census returns, Canonbie.

[34] Statutory deaths, Canonbie.

[35] Statutory births, Canonbie.

[36] Ontario deaths, RG 80-08-0-2438.

[37] Statutory births, Canonbie (National Records of Scotland, 814/00 0037).

[38] The Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force attestation paper for William Wilson, dated 3 Dec 1915, states that he was born on 25 Dec 1876 at “Barnopfield, Durham, Eng.” and gives his next-of-kin as his aunt, Mrs. G. Harrison of Swalwell, Co. Durham (Library and Archives Canada, RG 150, accession 1992-93/166, box 4930-35). The 1911 census returns for Swalwell (National Archives, RG 14/30503) show a George Harrison, married for 23 years to his wife Jessie, the latter aged 53 and born at “Canobie” (sic), Dumfriesshire. The birth certificate of their daughter Georgina Storey Harrison (b 2 Dec 1899, Swalwell) shows that Jessie’s maiden surname was Wilson. This matches with the birth of Jessie, daughter of Thomas Wilson and Ellen Scott. William Wilson is found to have been living with George and Jessie Harrison at the time of the 1891 census (National Archives, RG 12/4187, fol. 66).

[39] Statutory births, Canonbie (National Records of Scotland, 814/00 0050).

[40] Statutory marriages, Canonbie (National Records of Scotland, 814/00 0016).

[41] Statutory births, Canonbie (National Records of Scotland, 814/00 0058).

[42] Statutory deaths, Canonbie.

[43] Canonbie parish registers (National Records of Scotland, 814/0030 0257); 1851 census returns, Canonbie (National Records of Scotland, 814/00 011/00 008).

[44] Death certificate; monumental inscription at Burnopfield.

[45] Marriage certificate.

[46] England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 (www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JSLZ-Y4V); 1871 census returns, Tanfield (National Archives, RG 10/4955, fol. 93).

[47] Monumental inscription at Burnopfield.

[48] The date is in England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 (www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NK61-3RG). James appears to have been born at Blaydon from the 1871 census returns for Tanfield (National Archives, RG 10/4955, fol. 93). The place is indicated by ditto marks under the place of birth of his older brother Thomas, which was originally written as Winlaton but then crossed out and changed to Blaydon.

[49] Death certificate.

[50] 1871 census returns, Tanfield (National Archives, RG 10/4955, fol. 93).

[51] Monumental inscription at Burnopfield.

[52] England Marriages, 1538–1973 (www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NVNZ-8K1); 1901 census returns, Whickham (National Archives, RG 13/4762, fol. 5).

[53] Birth certificate.

[54] Death certificate.

[55] Birth certificate.

[56] Yorkshire Evening Post, 1 Jun 1959.

[57] Birth certificate.

[58] Death certificate.

[59] Birth certificate.

[60] Monumental inscription at Burnopfield; National Burial Index (online at www.findmypast.co.uk).

[61] Birth certificate.

[62] Death certificate.

[63] Marriage certificate.