The Birrell family

The Birrell family is descended from George Birrell, a ploughman and Margaret Duff.  I have been unable to determine George Birrell's parents definitively, finding no trace of his birth on the Scotlandspeople website or in the IGI.  However, the family seem to have followed the Scottish custom of naming their sons after firstly the paternal grandfather and then the maternal grandfather, and the daughters firstly after the maternal grandmother and then the paternal grandmother.  Indeed, George gave his first daughter the name of Margaret Duff's mother, and his second son the name of her father, so it seems reasonable to assume that his parents' names were John and Helen, the first son and second daughter's names.  There was just one marriage in Fife in the relevant time frame between a John Birrell and Helen:

John Birrell m: Helen Paterson   3 December 1763 Auchterderran.

According to the IGI, they had a son James born 2 December 1767.  Using the IGI again, John's parent's could have been James Birrell and Clara Besselie since their marriage appears to be the only one in the right time and place and the name James matches that of their grandson.  This is conjecture only though.  My thanks are due to Madi Maclean for information on the descendants of Christian Birrell.

Click on any underlined name to find out more about that person.

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Descendants of George Birrell and Margaret Duff

1 George Birrell
    +Margaret Duff b: 1777 Markinch, Fife m: 22 April 1803 Markinch, Fife

2 Christian Birrell b: 19 Jan 1804 Markinch, Fife
   +David Thomson b: 19 August 1806 Dysart, Fife m: 23 December 1826 Scoonie, Fife

3 Andrew Thomson b: 1 April 1827 Scoonie, Fife 
3 Margaret Thomson b: 6 December 1828 Scoonie, Fife  d: 1904 North Sydney, NSW,
                     Australia
   +James Thomson b: 3 February 1823 Scoonie, Fife m: 13 November 1848 Scoonie,
                     Fife  d: 1864 North Sydney, NSW, Australia

4 Christina Thomson b: 24 November 1849 Sydney, NSW, Australia 
                      d: 9 June 1922 North Sydney, NSW, Australia
   +Alexander Johnston b: 1847 Regentville, NSW, Australia
                      m: 28 February 1875 Neutral Bay, NSW, Australia d: 1924
                      North Sydney, NSW, Australia

5 Margaret Mary Johnston b: 1870 North Sydney, NSW, Australia  d: 1920
                     Australia
   +Percival Tucker b: 1881  Cullen Bullen, NSW, Australia

6 Jean Christina Tucker b: 1913 Sydney, NSW, Australia 
    +John Maclean b: 1915 Christchurch, New Zealand  d: 1982

7 Living Issue

5  James Johnston b 1871 Neutral Bay, NSW, Australia
5 George Johnston b 1878 North Sydney, Australia
5 Catherine Johnston b Abt. 1888 North Sydney, Australia

4 Alexander Thomson b: Abt. 1851 NSW, Australia
4 Elizabeth Thomson  b: 1853 NSW, Australia
4 Agnes Graham Thomson b: 25 September 1855 Pyrmont, NSW, Australia
                      d: 2 June 1931 Redfern, NSW, Australia
     +George Henry Bourne b: Abt. 1854 m: 1877 d: 1878 Parramatta, NSW,
                      Australia
4 Margaret Thomson  b: 14 July 1859 Sydney, Australia d: 4 September 1948
                      Bulli, NSW, Australia
    +Alexander Oswald Watt b: Abt. 1866 Aberdeen, Scotland m: 24 April 1896
                      North Sydney, Australia d: 1952 Thirroul, NSW, Australia
4 James Thomson b: 1862 NSW, Australia  d:  1930 St. Leonards, Australia
4 Isabella Thomson b: 12 January 1864 Neutral Bay, Sydney, Australia
                       d: 1925
   +William Symington b: 12 April 1866 Kingskettle, Fife, Scotland
                       m: 27 January 1888 Neutral Bay, Sydney, Australia d: 1948
                      Manly, NSW, Australia

5 Robert Thomson Symington b: 1887 St. Leonards, NSW, Australia
                    d: 1997 Castle Hill, NSW, Australia
   +Nellie Victoria Higson b: 1901 St. Leonards, NSW, Australia
                     m: 1922 Hornsby, NSW, Australia d: 1993 Castle Hill, NSW
                     Australia

6 Living issue

5 William John Symington b: 1889 St. Leonards, NSW, Australia
                   d: 1969 St Leonards, NSW, Australia
    +Ruby Myee Davis b: 1890 Balmain, Sydney, Australia m: 1913
                     Kogarah, Australia d: 1966 NSW, Australia

6 William Alexander Symington b: 21 January 1914 Forest Lodge,
                       Sydney, Australia d: 15 July 1989 Ryde, NSW, Australia
    +Kathleen Jean Easterbrook b: 18 June 1913 Neranderah, NSW,
                        Australia m: 2 October 1937 Chatswood South, NSW,
                  Australia  d: 28 October 2003 Normanhurst, NSW, Australia

7 Living issue

6 Roderick Alfred Symington b: 1918 Glebe, NSW, Australia 
    +Elsie Jean McCoy b: 1907 Tamworth, NSW, Australia  d: 1993
                          Forster, NSW, Australia

7 Living issue

3 Catherine Thomson b: Abt. 1830 Scoonie, Fife 
3 George Thomson b: Abt. 1832 Scoonie, Fife 
3  Janet Thomson b: Abt. 1834 Scoonie, Fife 
3 Christian Thomson b: Abt. 1837 Scoonie, Fife 
3  John Thomson b: Abt. 1840 Scoonie, Fife 

2 Helen Birrell b: 2 November 1805 Kinghorn, Fife
2 John Birrell b: 15 October 1807 Auchterderran, Fife d: 2 December 1867 Dysart, Fife
  +Elizabeth Mackie b: 29 October 1815 Dysart, Fife m: April 1840 Dysart, Fife 
                     d: 25 February 1858 Dysart, Fife

3 George Birrell b: 17 May 1841 Kirkcaldy, Fife
   +Margaret Ann Sykes b: 1845 Liverpool m: 1867 Liverpool d: 1886 Tynemouth,
                     Northumberland

4 Margaret Burnie D. Birrell b: 1868 Liverpool  
4 James Mackie Birrell b: 1877 Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland d: 1935
                       Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland
  +Ethel Nancy Tipling  b: 1884 Tadcaster, Yorks. m: 1903 Tadcaster, Yorks.
                        d: 1934 Tynemouth, Northumberland

5 James Mackie Birrell b: 1904 Tadcaster, Yorks
5 Margery Ella J. Birrell b: 1907 Tynemouth, Northumberland
5 Dorothy M. N. H. Birrell b: 1909 Tynemouth, Northumberland
5 George M. Birrell b: 1914 Tynemouth, Northumberland
5 Maurice J. M. Birrell b: 1918 Tynemouth, Northumberland

4 Elizabeth Mackie Birrell b: 1880 Gateshead, Durham

    +Mary Dowse b: 1856 Northumberland m: 1890 Newcastle-upon-Tyne

4 George Dowse Birrell b: 1891 South Shields, Durham  
4 Gertrude Mary Birrell b: 1894 York, Yorks.  
4 Eveline May Birrell b: 1898 York, Yorks.  

3 Elizabeth 'Lebe' Sharp Birrell b: 22 December 1842 Kirkcaldy, Fife
   +Alexander Wright b: 1841 Dysart, Fife m: 18 November 1867 Dysart,
                    Fife

4 John Birrell Wright b: 22 January 1870 Dysart, Fife
4 Alexander Wright b: 26 March 1872 Dysart, Fife
4 George Birrell Wright b: 1874 Dysart, Fife
4 James Mackie Wright b: 1877 Dysart, Fife
4 Elizabeth Mackie Wright b: 1880 Dysart, Fife

3 Margaret Duff Birrell b: 17 May 1845 Kirkcaldy, Fife d: Abt. 1877 Lanarkshire
  +John Wright b: Abt. 1844 Denny, Stirling m: 15 July 1869 Dysart, Fife 
                    d: 14 August 1919 Leven

Tree continued in Wright family tree

3 Barbara Mackie Birrell b: 28 October 1847 Kirkcaldy, Fife d: 15 March 1876
                      Kirkcaldy, Fife
    +Peter Ramsay b: Abt. 1749 m: 7 July 1875 Kirkcaldy, Fife 
3  Joan Birrell b: 26 October 1851 Kirkcaldy, Fife
3  James Mackie Birrell b: 10 Mar 1856 Dysart, Fife

   +Barbara Reid m: 13 September 1858 Leslie, Fife

2  James Birrell b: 14 Aug 1809 Kinglassie, Fife
2 Andrew Birrell b: 12 Feb 1812 Auchterderran, Fife
2 Thomas Birrell b: 31 Dec 1816 Auchterderran, Fife

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page updated January 2019