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Welcome to my page on the Gillespie Family of Puslinch. This page is part of my personal family history website and represents one of my own ancestral lines. It is also a cousin page to the Stewart Pioneers of Puslinch, a website for Puslinch researchers in cooperation with the Puslinch Historical Society. If you are specifically looking for information on the Gillespie family of Puslinch then this is where to start. Otherwise you may wish to begin at the start page of my family history, or at the introduction page for the Stewart Pioneers of Puslinch.
Please Note: This page is intended only as a narrative historical overview of this family. There is additional detailed information available for almost ever person presented on this page. To avoid the unnecessary work of double-entering some data, the additional information can be found in the accompanying GEDCOM database. Please make sure you click on the INDEX button at the bottom of the page so you don't miss out on potentially valuable additional information.
Acknowledgments
The research presented on this page is not mine alone. It contains information submitted by all the Fellow Researchers listed below. I am indebted to them for their generous contributions. This page is intended as a place for researchers to freely and cooperatively share our research with each other. It would be too cumbersome a task to reference each piece of data as to which researcher it has come from. The information shown on this page should be understood as a product of ALL of the Fellow Researchers. I am merely the editor and not the sole author. - Ryk
The name Gillespie is an occupational surname of Gaelic origin. It comes from the Gaelic words gille, meaning "servant", and easbuig (pronounced "esspick", meaning "bishop". Gillespie means "servant of the bishop" and earlier forms of the name can be found as Gillespic, still retaining the sound of the original Gaelic. As there were many bishops who had many servants in both Scotland and Ireland then it is certain that this surname has multiple origins. That is, not all Gillespies are related to one another. The name is very old and versions of it have been found in Ireland as early as 1100. This has led some researchers to suggest that the Gillespie surname has its origin in Ireland. However, such an argument presumes there is one common origin to the name Gillespie, when in fact every bishop in Scotland and Ireland would have had his own gillean-easbuig (bishop's servants) any number of which would have evolved into occupational surnames. Thus, the surname likely has multiple geographic origins in every cathedral town in Scotland and Ireland. Our particular Gillespie family comes from the southern fringes of the Highlands of Perthshire, Scotland, probably originating in the cathedral town of Dunblane.
Our Gillespies have been traced back to James Gillespie, born bet. 1736-1741 in Dunblane, which was a cathedral town. Thus it seems reasonable to suggest that our Gillespies descend from a servant to the bishop of Dunblane. The famous Scottish architect, James Gillespie Graham 1776-1855 who designed most of Edinburgh also came from Dunblane. He is shown below as very likely being a first-cousin of James Gillespie in Lecropt, our ancestor below.
Click here to learn more about surnames.
Map of Dunblane, Deanston, and Brig o'Turk.
Click to enlarge.
www.multimap.com
Our Gillespie family comes from the area of Kilmadock parish in southern Perthshire, Scotland. The earliest traceable ancestors are the family of James Gillespie and Catherine Reid. James Gillespie was born between 1736 - 1741 in Dunblane, Perthshire, Scotland as the son of another James Gillespie whose origins are uncertain. However, as the name Gillespie means "servant of the bishop" and as Dunblane was a cathedral town, it seems reasonable to suggest that our Gillespies originated in Dunblane with a family who were servants of the bishop of Dunblane. Catherine Reid was born Jan 22, 1745/46 also in Dunblane. She was the daughter of Walter and Margaret Reid of Dunblane. James and Catherine were married May 06, 1765 in nearby Lecropt, Perthshire. They had the following children:
Hugh Gillespie was born 19 NOV 1774 in Lecropt, Perthshire, Scotland as the youngest son of James Gillespie and Catherine Reid. Lecropt is located just east of Kilmadock parish, between Doune and Dunblane in Perthshire, Scotland. Hugh Gillespie married Mary Reid sometime around 1800, but no record of that marriage has yet been found. Hugh worked as a cotton millwright, first in the village of Brig o' Turk (Brig an Tuiric in Gaelic, meaning "bridge of the wild boar") at the west end of Loch Vennacher in Callander parish, where he and Mary began their family. Hugh and his young family later moved east to the village of Deanston near Doune in Kilmadock parish, Perthshire, Scotland where Hugh worked as a senior foreman for The Deanston Works Company.
The Village of Deanston
The village of Deanston was founded in the 15th century by Walter Drummond, Dean of Dunblane and named "Dean's Town" after him. Deanston is a manufacturing village in Kilmadock parish, Perthshire, on the swift Teith's right bank, 1 mile west of Doune. It presents an appearance greatly superior to that of most seats of manufacture, consisting chiefly of extensive cotton-mills founded in 1785, and of dwelling-houses for the workpeople, including Deanston House; and has a post office under Stirling, a large school, a circulating library, and a savings' bank. James Smith (1789-1850), as manager of its mills from 1807, made great displays of genius, and stands on the roll of fame, among the Wattses and the Arkwrights as a mechanician, among the Youngs and the Sinclairs as the inventor of thorough drainage, and among the Howards and the Clarksons as a philanthropist. Pop. (1841) 982, (1861) 727, (1871) 627, (1881) 700. -- �1995-2004 The Gazetteer for Scotland.
Deanston Works
The Deanston Works company paid weekly, and generally on a Thursday, the wages due to their workers. These vary for spinners, from l0s. to 13s. per week; and for piecers from 2s. to 4s. according to the work done. These wages are apparently low, and are certainly much lower than are paid for the same quantity of work done-in Glasgow, where a spinner is paid from 23s. to 30s. per week. Perhaps the difference is not easily accounted for. Provisions of all sorts are much the same here as in town; dress much the same. The hours for working are just as long. The only thing which certainly is lower, is house rent; but we are far from being sure that this will make up for the difference in wages. Originally, there were employed at this mill, 400 persons, young and old. -- �1995-2004 The Gazetteer for Scotland.
"The Divisions" at Deanston Works -- workers row-housing pre-1897
The following information was sent to me by Sarah Cowie, Community Heritage Officer for Kilmadock (www.DouneAndDeanston.net)
I am deeply grateful to Sarah for helping paint a picture of what Deanston would have been like for our ancestors. - Ryk[It would be appropriate that the Gillespie family would have moved to Deanston in the early 19th century] as it was only with James Finlay and Company taking over the mill in 1806 that the cotton mill became profitable and hence, employed more staff.
Deanston mill had been founded by the Buchanan brothers, who were apprentices of Richard Arkwright, inventor of the Spinning Frame, in 1785. Due to a lack of housing for staff and various other factors, the Buchanans had to declare bankruptcy. After other failed ownerships, James Finlay* and Company purchased the mill. In 1811, when the Gillespies seem to have moved to the area, the Divisions were built. These were rows of affordable housing for the mill workers. The First Division was reserved for the mill managers (including Hugh Gillespie) and were spacious for the time. The other Divisions, 2nd to 5th, were divided up into apartment style sections and named by letter, hence in the Census it will name people as living in, for example, 'S' 2nd Division. Many people moved to Deanston due to the housing provided. See the picture above for an idea of what the houses would have looked like at the turn of the century. These houses still exist today.
Deanston workers were paid in Deanston tokens, which they could only spend in the Deanston shop. These tokens are extremely rare now and go for thousands at auction. [And] Deanston was lit by gas as early as 1813, before many of the major UK cities were.
At first, Poor Law Children had been employed in the mill. In 1816 the Finlay Company admitted they were still employing children aged 8 or 9. By the 1830s the government introduced laws which banned children under the age of nine from working in factories. In Deanston this led to children being schooled full time until they were nine, at which point their schooling was reduced to 4 hours a day as they began work in the mill. The mill held separate day and night schools and educated around 140 children between them. Living in Deanston would have been seen as 'landing on your feet' as the mill employed around 1500 adult workers, so competition for the housing was fierce. Families living in Deanston got affordable housing, schooling for their children, mill-arranged activities and once children finished school they were guaranteed a job in the mill. Many of your ancestors would probably have begun their working life early in the mill.
In the 1860s the American Civil War led to a shortage of raw cotton for the British Cotton industry. Workers at Deanston were kept on at half pay and education was increased. Deanston mill never really recovered and the twentieth century marked the end of the glory days for the mill. By 1953 only 300 workers remained at the mill. In 1965 the mill was closed and shortly after, the building re-opened as a whisky distillery, which it still is today. See Burn Stewart's website for a picture of the distillery, which is basically still the old mill building. www.burnstewartdistillers.com
The village of Deanston still looks very much today like the village of 150 years ago. There have been new housing developments, but the original Divisions still make up the main street and the village is still dominated by the huge distillery building.
It should be noted that the names Finlay and McKinlay are synonymous in Gaelic (MacKinlay = mac Fhionlaidh = son of Finlay). Some MacKinlays of this era were known to Anglicize their names to the simpler Finlay. Thus it seems reasonable to suggest that James Finlay may have also been known as James McKinlay. Please note the marriages between Gillespies and McKinlays below. |
As noted above, Hugh Gillespie worked as millwright, first in Bridge of Turk and later at the Deanston Works Company (a.k.a. James Finlay and Co.) in Deanston, Kilmadock, Perthshire, Scotland. He worked under the management of the illustrious James Smith (mentioned above) whose innovations in farming and milling revolutionized both industries and made James Smith famous around the world. Hugh Gillespie rose to the level of senior foreman under James Smith and the following note is recorded about him:
"Some of the credit for the great work done at Deanston in [James] Smith's time must go to the fine team of men he gathered round him, [including]...Hugh Gillespie, foreman and highly skilled mechanic...." (Doune Historical Notes, Moray Mackay (c) 2003).
Hugh Gillespie and Mary Reid had the following children. Baptismal records have been identified only for the latter 6 children in the parish of Kilmadock.
The descendants of these children are detailed below. Three of the older children, James, Margaret and John, were married and began families while living in Scotland. Sometime around 1834 Hugh Gillespie, along with his wife and several (but not all) of his children emigrated from Scotland and came to Puslinch, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada. Two of their children, James and John remained in Scotland.
Why would a man in such secure and successful employment leave everything behind for the unknown and uncleared wilderness of Upper Canada? We don't know why the Gillespies left Deanston, but it must be noted that Hugh would have been 60 years old at the time, so he may have been retired and the impetus may have come from his adult children. We can only speculate.
The Gillespie family along with daughter Mary Gillespie's in-laws, the Stewarts, left Scotland in 1834 and are first identified in Puslinch Township, Wellington County, Ontario, in the spring of 1835. They can be found sharing the front half of the same lot as their in-laws, the Stewarts. The story of their trip from Scotland to Canada is described in more detail on the "Comrie" Stewarts of Puslinch page. In brief, they spent three weeks (another account says 8 weeks) crossing the Atlantic and landed in Montreal where they chartered an oxen-pulled barge to cart their belongings down the St. Lawrence River to Lake Ontario and finally to York (present-day Toronto) where each family was given a 100 acre land grant. From York they travelled to Hamilton where they were quarantined for an extended period of time. After being released from quarantine they travelled by ox-cart north from Hamilton towards Guelph through the uncleared wilderness of Flamborough approximately along what is today Highway 6. When they arrived at their new property in Puslinch Township, Wellington County, Ontario it would have still been uncleared forest. Land grant regulations required that within one year of claiming the land each family must build some form of shelter and clear at least 10 acres of land and begin to farm or forfeit the land. These regulations were intended to ensure only real settlers occupied the lands and not absentee speculators.
The Gillespies settled first on Concession 3, Lot 19-front with the Stewarts occupying (and later owning) the rear of the same lot. The Gillespie property was later held by Hugh's daughter, Helen Gillespie, and her husband, William Reid. The Gillespies spent their first winter in southern Ontario in little more than a lean-to and cleared their land and began to settle into their new farming life. The area they settled was being populated by many other Scottish immigrants. It wasn't long before talk began about starting a church. However there were deep divisions within the Scottish Presbyterian church back home and these divisions were felt here in the New World. Hugh Gillespie was significantly involved with the establishment of the first Presbyterian church in Puslinch Township.
Duff's Presbyterian Church, Puslinch
The Gillespie and Stewart families were among the founding families of what is now known as Duff's Presbyterian Church in Puslinch.
Hugh Gillespie must have been a very religious man. He is recorded as having been one of the two founding elders of the Secession Presbyterian Church in the village Aberfoyle in Puslinch Township. This was the first Presbyterian Church established in Puslinch, yet the Secessionists were very much in the minority among their fellow Scots Presbyterians. The majority of the other Scottish immigrants were Presbyterians from the Church of Scotland .
Here was Hugh, only in the New World two years and he was already leading the charge to found the first Presbyterian Church in his community. What makes this even more significant is that one of the founding ministers in the Secession movement in Scotland in the early 1700s was a Reverend Thomas Gillespie. No evidence exists to connect our Hugh Gillespie to the earlier Rev. Thomas Gillespie, but the prospect is certainly worth raising.
Early census records indicate that Hugh's daughter Mary Gillespie and her husband Robert Stewart were among the founding members of the Secession congregation. However the congregation was short-lived and eventually amalgamated with it's nearby neighbouring congregation from the Presbyterian Church of Scotland -- the present-day Duff's Presbyterian Church. The congregational roll from 1844 survives and records the following people belonging to our family:
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Stewart (Robert Stewart & Mary Gillespie) | |
Catharine Stewart (Robert Stewart's spinster sister, Catharine) | |
Widow Stewart (Robert Stewart's mother, Catharine Stewart nee McNaughtan) | |
Mr. & Mrs. William Reid (William Reid & Helen Gillespie) |
Conspicuously absent from this list are Hugh Gillespie and Mary Reid, as well as the other Gillespie children. It is believed that, after the amalgamation of the two congregations, Hugh Gillespie and the remainder of his family along with many other local staunch Secessionists transferred to one of the nearby Secession Congregations in Guelph or Galt.
The Gillespie family later moved from 3rd Concession farm to a property further north in Puslinch and then disappear from the records after 1842. As Hugh would have been in his late 60s by this date it is suspected that Hugh and Mary may have died. Otherwise they may have moved to the nearby towns of Guelph or Galt. No death records or graves have yet been identified for Hugh and Mary. It is also possible, when the Gillespie farm came into the possession of William Reid, that Hugh and Mary continued to reside on the farm as William's in-laws.
Of the Gillespie descendants, the following is known:
James GILLESPIE b: ABT 1801 in Kilmadock, Perthshire, or Denny, Stirlingshire, Scotland, remained in Scotland and married about 1825 in Perthshire, Scotland to Margaret MCDONALD. She was baptized 12 APR 1801 in Kincardine-by-Doune, Perthshire, Scotland. They had the following children:
It is believed that this family is also found in the 1851 census, however there is some discrepancy. The 1851 census shows full names only for household heads in Deanston, and initials only for all others (very frustrating). The family is shown living in Deanston village, near Doune, Perthshire, thus:
James Gillespie, age 47, born in Denny, Stirlingshire | |
M (female), age 48, born in Kincardine, Perthshire | |
J (male), age 14, born in Kilmadock, Perthshire (matching young James, above) | |
J (male), age 5, born in Kilmadock, Perthshire (not shown above, his identity is unknown) | |
(note: Alexander is missing. He would have been 18.) |
And living close nearby, also in Deanston village, is:
Hugh Gillespie, age 22, born Kilmadock, Perthshire | |
M (f), age 25, born Kilmadock, Perthshire |
In 1861 this family is shown at #2 First Division, Deanston (his brother John
was at #2 Second Division)
James GILLESPIE, 56, b 1805 in Denny, Stirlingshire, occ Iron Moulder
Margaret, wife, 58, b 1803 in Kincardine, Perthshire
Also residing at #2 Second Division in 1861 is Hugh Gillespie b 1829 in Kilmadock, iron founder with wife Mary, b 1819 in Kilmadock, and children Hugh, Alexander, Margaret.
The above people all match the family of James Gillespie and Margaret McDonald. However it is interesting to note that James is shown as having been born in Stirling. This would explain why we have not been able to locate a birth for him in Kilmadock. However there is also no corresponding birth for him in the Stirling records (however the IGI is deficient in Stirling). There is, however, a matching birth record for James Gillespie, born in Denny, Stirling, son of William Gillespie and Janet Wilson.
Margaret GILLESPIE b: ABT 1805 in Kilmadock, Perthshire, Scotland, married on 9 MAR 1827 in Kilmadock Perthshire, Scotland and Kincardine, Perthshire Scotland to Duncan STEWART. Duncan was born in Kincardine, Perthshire Scotland. Their marriage was double-registered in both Kilmadock and Kincardin parishes. This occurs when the bride came from one parish and the groom came from the other. Duncan is not related to Robert Stewart who married Margaret's sister, Mary Gillespie, below. Duncan's birth family and ancestors are presented on the Duncan Stewart in Puslinch Page. It seems likely that Duncan was probably working at the Deanston Works as that would provide a plausible explanation as to how he came to marry the head foreman's daughter.
Margaret and Duncan had their first three children in Kilmadock. In 1834 they immigrated to Canada along with many others from the Gillespie family. There they continued their family.
Margaret and Duncan initially settled next door to Hugh Gillespie and the rest of the Gillespie family. Tragically, in 1848 Margaret Gillespie and her husband Duncan Stewart both died. The explanation of their death is discussed on their page. Margaret's sister Mary and her husband, Robert Stewart also died at the same time -- both couples leaving their children orphaned (see Mary Gillespie below for more on this). Duncan and Margaret's children were raised by their grandparents, Hugh Gillespie and Mary Reid. Duncan and Margaret had the following children:
For more information on this family and their descendants, please refer to the Duncan Stewart in Puslinch Page.
John GILLESPIE b: 18 JUL 1807 in Brig O' Turk, Kilmadock, Perthshire, Scotland, remained in Scotland and married on 4 FEB 1830 in Kilmadock, Perthshire, Scotland to Katharine MCLAREN. She was born about FEB 1807 in Kincardine-by-Doune, Perthshire, Scotland as the daughter of John McLeran and Janet Stewart (of an unknown Stewart family). John and his family remained in Scotland at least as late as 1881 when they can be located in the 1881 census for Kilmadock. They had the following children.
JOHN GILLESPIE, b. 28 Dec 1860, Portsea.
MARY GILLESPIE, b. 1865, London
John GILLESPIE b: 22 JAN 1838 in Kilmadock, Perthshire, Scotland. John Gillespie married on 24 MAR 1863 in St. John's, Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland to Isabella FAUSET b: ABT 1844 in Cheshire, England. They had the following children. This line is being researched by Chris Barrett. There are additional non-Gillespie known descendants not shown here. Their information can be found by contacting Christ Barrett.
It is presumed that Katharine McLeran died in childbirth on 28 OCT 1841, or perhaps from some other cause shortly after that date as John Gillespie married secondly on 15 JAN 1845 in Kilmadock, Perthshire, Scotland to Margaret MCKINLAY. She was born 17 AUG 1813 in Doune, Kilmadock, Perth, Scotland as the daughter of DAVID MCKINLAY and ELIZABETH FORBES. They had the following children:
Jean GILLESPIE b: 18 JUL 1809 in Brig O' Turk, Kilmadock, Perthshire, Scotland, is believed to have immigrated to Canada with her parents. Her whereabouts after immigration is unknown. Early census records indicate that she was probably living with her parents in Puslinch until at least 1837, however this is uncertain.
Mary GILLESPIE b: 12 JUL 1811 in Deanston, Kilmadock, Perthshire, Scotland, immigrated to Canada where she married her next-door neighbour, Robert Stewart. Robert Stewart and Mary Gillespie were married in 1836, mere months after arriving in Puslinch, suggesting that they might have known each other before coming to Canada. As there was no church yet in Puslinch, they were married in nearby Galt, Wellington County, Ontario. Mary and Robert had four children and then, like Margaret Gillespie and Duncan Stewart (above), they too died in 1848 and 49, perhaps also from smallpox, and also leaving their children orphaned. The orphaned children of this family were raised by Robert's younger brother and sister, Peter and Catharine Stewart.
This is the author's family. Their story is continued on the "Comrie" Stewarts of Puslinch page.
Thomas GILLESPIE b: 6 JUN 1813 in Deanston, Kilmadock, Perthshire, Scotland. His whereabouts after immigration is unknown. Early census records indicate that he was probably living with his parents in Puslinch until at least 1837, however this is uncertain. He has not been identified in any later census records. It is possible that he died, or may have returned to Scotland.
Helen GILLESPIE b: 3 NOV 1816 in Deanston, Kilmadock, Perthshire, Scotland, immigrated with her family and married on 4 SEP 1837 in Puslinch, Wellington County, Ontario to William REID b: 2 MAR 1813 in Bonny Bridge, Deney, Stirlingshire, Scotland. As they married so soon after immigration and as William Reid's family came from Stirlingshire, not far from Kilmadock, it is possible that the Gillespies and Reids were acquainted in Scotland and may have immigrated together along with the Stewarts above. They initially settled in Puslinch on the Gillespie property of Con. 3, Lot 19-Rear, where they began their family of thirteen children. They later moved to Egremont Township in Grey County, Ontario. This family is currently being researched by Joanne Patterson and George Reid.
William's year of birth is confirmed by his death registration, which shows his birth as 1813 in Scotland. However, such data is only as reliable ad the informant and was frequently off by a couple of years. William Reid's birth, as given here, is problematic. It was given to me by a descendant, but conflicts with information found in the IGI. According to the IGI, William's parents, William Reid and Jean Paterson, had the following children:
The fact that they had a second son named William in 1822 would suggest that their earlier son William (b 1813) died in childhood prior to the birth of the second William in 1822. If so, then the William who married Helen Gillespie could not be born 1813 as the son of William Reid and Jean Paterson. However, it's worth noting that their third daughter was Jane Patterson Reid, and their eldest son was named William. This lends onomastic weight to the connection with William Reid and Jean Paterson.
William Reid and Helen Gillespie had the following children:
Janet GILLESPIE b: 20 APR 1819 in Deanston, Kilmadock, Perthshire, Scotland. As stated above, it is suspected she died before 1834 as she has not been found in later records. Early census records do not indicate a person matching her age and gender living with her parents in Puslinch. It's not known if she even came to Canada at all. By her young age, if she did not emigrate, then it is speculated she may have died young in Scotland or may have stayed with one of her older brothers and later married. If so then her later married name and whereabouts would be unknown.
Mitchell's Monumental Inscriptions
Callander - notes - Pre-1800 testaments in the DCR includes John Gillespie in Kilmahog, 1681.
Dunblane Cathedral
193 FS (under turf) 1755. JG KG. James GILLESPIE (Ed: possibly connected to Jas Gillespie Graham?1777-1855; see DNB)
228 FS (under turf) Robt STRADEE, waker at Kippiros, d 1729, w Janet GILLESPY, only s John, waker there, d 22 OCT 1746, 63, batchelor, a man ineed of worth... RS IG IS (Ed: waker = waulker; see Dunblane Testaments, Robt Stradee, younger in Kippenross, Feb 1728.)
Dunblane Episcopal
4 cross, Mary GRAY, 17 JUN 1805 - 12 JUL 1859, widow of Co. Clement Gillespie MACAN.
Dunblane, Kilbryde
25 (in same enclosure as 24) 1849, by Wm MAXWELL(farmer at Lerrocks, d Doune) and Agnes MCNIE imo fa Wm MAXWELL 15 APR 1838, 85, and mo Eliz GILLESPIE, 7 OCT 1829, 64, s John 1 JUL 1840, 16 mos.
Kilmadock, Doune
71 (next to 72) TG JG, Here lies the remains of __gow [GILLES]PIE ____W ____ June aged ____
72 1837. Thos GILESPIE, late farmer Row, d 12 JUL 1854, 70, by wid Isobella DUNCANSON
Kincardine, Norrieston
3 1801. Here lyes Wm GILLESPIE & w Mary MILLAR, also s John d Norrieston 26 JUL 1827, 69.
144 1798. John GILLESPIE in Norriestown imo s Wm, MAY 1796, 1yr (Williams: lists this next to inscription 3 above)
Old Lecropt, Keir
13 1801. Jas GILLESPIE 23 DEC 1794, 50, by w Anne ANDERSON
C113621 - Kilmadock 1855-1875
C113622 - Kilmadock 1623-1680
C113624 - Kilmadock 1681-1854
C113481 - Dunblane 1855-1875
C113482 - Dunblane 1658-1711
C113484 - Dunblane 1711-1787
C113485 - Dunblane 1783-1820
C113486 - Dunblane 1820-1854
Mathew GILLESPIE and Marion CRAWFURD m 14 NOV 1649 in Kilmadock (earliest Gillespie in Kilmadock. OPR starts 1620)
William GILLESPIE and Jonet MCLAUREN
John GILLESPIE
William GILLESPIE
James GILLESPIE
Thomas GILLESPIE (and Margaret BLACK)
Jon. GILLESPIE
James GILLESPIE
Patrick GILLESPIE
John GILLESPIE and Janet BLACKWOOD
John GILLESPIE and Katharine MCGREGOR/GREY
James GILLESPIE and Elspeth MCNAIR
John GILESPIE and Katharin (MCHUTCHIN)
William GILESPIE and M
James GILESPIE and Janet (MCFEAL)
Robert GILLESPY and NN MCGIBBON
Thomas GILESPIE and Margaret DUNCANSON
William GILLESPIE and Janet MCILHASE
William GILESPIE and ?
William GILLESPIE and Alison MITCHELL, m 14 FEB 1719 in Kilmadock
John GILLESPIE and Janet ?, m 6 FEB 1723 in Kilmadock
John GILLESPIE and Agnes MCCULLOCH
Thomas GILLESPIE in Ludie witnessed baptisms in Kilmadock in 1744, 1750, 1752
Robert GILLESPIE (and Janet MCDONALD)
James GILLESPIE and Isabell MCULLOCH
Robert GILLESPIE and Mary STEWART in Argaty, m 2 JUN 1748 in Kincardine by Doune
William GILLESPIE and Elisabeth CLARKE
Thomas GILLESPIE and Agnes/Ann/Janet SMITH (no marriage found)
William GILLESPIE and Lilias TURNER, m 12 DEC 1761 in Kincardine by Doune & 8 JAN 1762 in Associate Congregation, Bridge of Teith
William GILLESPIE and Margaret REID
William GILLESPIE and Jean LUCAS
Thomas GILLESPIE and Mary SMITH (no marriage found)
Thomas GILLESPIE and Janet FERGUSON, m 5 DEC 1789 in Kilmadock
William GILLESPIE and Kathrine MCGREGOR, m 6 SEP 1799 in Kilmadock
William GILLESPIE and Janet MACNEE. William GILLESPIE m Agnes MCNEE on 10 DEC 1802 in Kilmadock. Widow GILLESPIE, 70, b 1771 in Perthshire, res in 1841 in Bridge of Teith Village 17 houses and 163 persons Ch.
Thomas GILLESPIE and Isabella DUNCANSON, m 7 JUN 1827 in Kilmadock
John GILLESPIE and Catharine MCLAREN, m 4 FEB 1830 in Kilmadock
John GILLESPIE and Janet BAXTER
Alexander GILLESPIE, 19, b 1842 in Stirling, res School Lane, Kilmadock, journeyman mason, nephew of Janet McFarlane, 62, b 1799 in Bannockburn, Stirling, retired housekeeper
Jane GILLESPIE, 14, b 1847 in St. Ninian's, Stirling, res 1861 at Glenhead Cottage, domestic servant to Cathrine Henderson.
Res: Deanston, 2nd Div.
John GILLISPIE W 73 M Kilmadock, Perth, Scotland
Rel: Head
Occ: Foreman Iron Fitter
Hugh GILLISPIE M 48 M Kilmadock, Perth, Scotland
Rel: Son
Occ: Iron Fitter
Elizabeth GILLISPIE U 31 F Kilmadock, Perth, Scotland
Res: Deanston, 4th Div.
Hugh GILLISPIE M 52 M Kilmadock, Perth, Scotland
Rel: Head
Occ: Iron Moulder Foreman
Mary GILLISPIE M 51 F Kilmadock, Perth, Scotland
Rel: Wife
John GILLISPIE U 17 M Kilmadock, Perth, Scotland
Res: Deanston, 4th Div.
Jane MC ALPINE W 42 F Deanston, Perth, Scotland
Rel: Head
Occ: Cotton Weaver
James GILLISPIE 10 M Deanston, Perth, Scotland (nephew)
Res: Deanston, 2nd Div.
Janet MC LAREN W 69 F Dunipace, Stirling, Scotland
Rel: Head
Occ: Millworker
Cathrine W. GILLISPIE 7 F Deanston, Perth, Scotland (Visitor)
Lecropt parish (approximate boundaries) with the parish church
highlighted -- showing it's proximity to Dunblane, Doune and Bridge of Allan.
www.multimap.com
James GILLESPIE b 1744, d 23 DEC 1794 in Lecropt, age 50. m 21 JUN 1773 in Lecropt to Ann ANDERSON. Found in Mitchell's Monumental Inscriptions for Old Lecropt: 1801. James Gillespie , age 50, by wife Anne Anderson.
John ANDERSON, b 1771 in Blackford, res 1841 in Arnhall, Lecropt, ag lab, res 1851 in Arnhall, Lecropt. d 1851-1861. d 1851-1861. m Agnes/Ann PATERSON, b abt 1781, res 1841 in Arnhall, d bef 1851. Possibly married 2ndly bef 1851 to Janet b 1812 in Dunblane or Lecropt.
Janet GILLESPIE, b 1812/1813 in Lecropt (Dunblane acc to 1851), res 1851 in Arnhall, Lecropt shown as wife of John Anderson, res 1861 in Arnhall, Lecropt, dom serv
James GILLESPIE and Janet MACKIE
Unknown GILLESPIE
C113481 1855-1875
C113482 1658-1711
C113484 1711-1787
C113485 1783-1820
C113486 1820-1854
Thomas GILLESPIE
John(e) GILLESPIE
Cristopher GILLESPIE
Jon(e) GILLESPIE
Mathew GILLESPIE
William GILLESPIE
James GILLESPIE
Thomas GILESPY
Malcolme GILESPIE
Robert. GILESPY
David GILESPIE
William GILLESPIE
James GILLESPIE
Jon. GILLESPIE
William GILLESPIE
John GILLESPIE
Jo. GILLESPIE
White Jo. GILLESPIE (probably "John Ban")
James GILLESPIE
William GILLESPIE
Thomas GILLESPIE
Patrick GILLESPIE
Malcolm GILLESPIE (this is the last Gillespie family in Dunblane post-1755!)
***There are NO Gillespies in Dunblane 1783-1820, 1820-1854 or 1855-1875. (Probably because they left the established church at this time.)
Dec. 27, 1720, is the first of the minutes of the admissions of fellows of craft that contain the peculiar reference to the square and compass which for a number of years was regularly used by the Secretary of Dunblane Lodge. It is worth quoting in full:
Compared John Gillespie, writer in Dunblane, who was entered on the 24 instant, and after examination was duely passt from the Square to the Compass, and from ane Entered Prentiee to a Fellow of Craft of the Lodge.
http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/the_builder_1929_june.htm
Resided lastly at Crombie Cottage, Skene parish, Aberdeenshire.
Full account: HERE
IGI records show this Malcolm b. 27 APR 1775 or 1778 as the son of Malcolm Gillespie. This would make Malcolm the Excise Officer the older brother of James Gillespie Graham the famous architect.
SMUGGLING � FOREIGN CONTRABAND � LOWLAND AND HIGHLAND SMUGGLING � PHILIP KENNEDY THE SMUGGLER�MALCOLM GILLESPIE THE GAUGER.
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/rural_life23.htm
At the Aberdeen Circuit Court of Justiciary, in September, 1827, my Lords Pitmilly and Alloway tried a somewhat notorious culprit, in the person of Malcolm Gillespie, officer of excise, whom the jury found guilty of forgery, and who was sentenced to be hanged; a sentence which was duly carried out, on the ensuing 16th of November. During the period of his incarceration, Gillespie had employed part of his time in writing an account of his experiences as an excise officer, during nearly twenty-eight years. His story is marked perhaps by a little of the braggadocia spirit, but enough is known independently, to enable us to shape the story to about its proper dimensions, and obtain a reliable glimpse or two of the actual state of matters. Malcolm Gillespie, who was a native of Dunblane, and apparently of respectable parentage, had entertained the wish to serve in the army, but was disappointed in getting into active service throug~i the deeinature of his relatives to buy him a commission�a matter probably to be regretted, as the man most clearly had in him qualities that would have been of value where hard fighting was going on. After a short experience as a recruiting agent, he turned his energies in another direction by joining the Excise. Gillespie�s service was at first on the coast, and latterly inland. When stationed at the fishing village of Collieston, on the Buchan coast, in 1801, he states that upwards of 1000 ankers of foreign spirits were landed in that regitn every month. He continued at Collieston till 1807, when, at his own request, he was appointed to Stonehaven, the inspiring motive being zeal against the contrabandists. He had broken up their trade at Collieston, and they yet flourished at Stonehaven. A five years� residence there sufficed to make him "a complete terror to these depredators," and to reduce their nefarious traffic to limited dimensions; and accordingly, in 1812, again on his own application, he was removed inland to the Skene Ride, where he might intercept the Highlanders on their way to the Aberdeen market The experiences of Gillespie, while in this situation, where he remained up to the date of his trial, seem to have been much according to his taste. The "first engagement worthy of notice" occurred, he tells us, on a certain night, when, in the attempt to intercept a cart of whisky, single-handed, the four "notorious delinquents" in charge of it fell upon him with bludgeons, mauling him unmercifully. To prevent the possibility of his prize�which turned out to be eighty gallons of whisky�escaping him, he pulled out a loaded pistol, and wounded the horse. And he takes credit to himself for so commanding his temper as to resist the temptation to subject one or more of his assailants to similar treatment. With the assistance of people who had been alarmed by the report of the pistol, a full victory was gained, and the two principals in the assault in due course stood their trial, and received sentences of several months� imprisonment. A few similar encounters convinced Gillespie of the utility of a properly-trained dog to accompany him in his nightly excursions; and he accordingly procured one " of the bull kind;" from a famed breed. Under proper training, the dog by and by learnt to seize the Highlanders� horses "one by one," till, by tumbling them, or making them "dance about," the kegs they carried were spilt off their backs: the dog�s owner and the smugglers, meanwhile, carrying on the struggle for the mastery, with bludgeons, or still more dangerous weapons. And we speedily find the dog so employed during an engagement, in which "a deal of bloodshed occurred on both sides." But indeed the dog got so perfect at his work, that when any of the horses were running past him, that had no load on their backs, he paid no attention to them; and when he seized any of them it was always by the nose, which he would never quit, " until the goods were either thrown off," or in possession of his master. The ultimate fate of this valuable animal�to the great grief of the zealous gauger�was to be killed by a shot "promiscuously" fired in a preliminary skirmish that occurred on a certain night while he stood by, muzzled, waiting his part in the play.
Gillespie had in his pay no fewer than five assistants, men who doubtless possessed - qualities fitting them. for his purposes, but of whose moral character even he does not seem disposed to give us any strong warranty. And in his various encounters he ordinarily had the support of more or fewer of his men. Meeting a couple of smuggling carts in the woods of Drum, with a "strong hardened desperado, named Hay," employed to go along as a protecting bully, a severe engagement ensued, during which one of the excise force got three balls lodged in his groin, by the accidental discharge of his own pistol; Hay�s cheek was nearly severed from his face, by a stroke from a sabre wielded by Gillespie himself, and another smuggler got an arm broken, which terminated the fight. On another occasion, in an encounter with ten or twelve Highlanders, near Kintore, Gillespie got thrown down, with three or four fellows above him, "beating him in a most unmerciful manner." The sabre was twisted out of his hand, and, while he was still kept down, a stroke from the weapon laid open his chin to a great extent. He then discharged his pistol at the smuggler, the ball lodging in his thigh; a second shot in the shoulder was necessary to drive him off finally, and in the meantime Gillespie had saved himself from strangulation by getting another assailant�s thumb diverted from his windpipe into his mouth, where he bit it so savagely and tenaciously that the smuggler, in his wild struggles to get free, greatly aided him in once more regaining his feet. One of the greatest fights recorded occurred on a January night in 1824, near Inverurie, as he lay in wait for a formidable gang of Highlanders who were coming down with a large quantity of aqua, which they had publicly declared their determination to accompany to Aberdeen, despite the officers of excise, of whom they were prepared to make short work. He came suddenly on the cavalcade of ten carts, with twenty-five to thirty men, while his party were scattered, and only one assistant with him. "This formidable group were very indifferent to his threats, and looked upon him with his assistant in a scornful way, and were proceeding onwards, when he immediately fired and killed a horse. The next shot he had occasion to discharge went through the shoulder of a robust delinquent, while in the very act of bringing down upon Mr. G.�s head a large bludgeon, which would undoubtedly have felled him to the ground, if the ball had not taken proper effect. The whole gang were now upon Mr. G., but by this time the rest of his party had assembled through the firing, when a terrible conflict ensued. Bloody heads, hats rolling on the road, the reports of alternate firing and other noise, resembled more the battle of Waterloo than the interception of a band of lawless desperadoes ;�.-but in the end they were obliged to lay down their arms, and submit to the laws of their country. Mr. G. and his party were all and each of them much debilitated by severe wounds and bruises, and loss of blood; but the greater part of the smugglers were in a much worse situation. It was fortunate," adds the narrator, "that no lives were lost on this memorable occasion;" but he does not doubt that he himself would carry some of the wounds be then received to his grave.
In summing up his story, which, he says, gives but a faint outline of a few of the many severe encounters in which he had been engaged, Gillespie informs us that he had received "no less than forty-two wounds on different parts of his body, and all inflicted by these extraordinary characters." The drift of his narrative is to make out that he was triumphantly successful in his object on all occasions. But without going quite so far as to accept that view without qualification, he was, beyond doubt, a fellow governed by a determined will and a sort of coarse reckless courage; and animated by an unflagging zeal in a line of duty that accorded with his tastes. Into his character and connections otherwise we need not enquire too curiously; only there is evidence to show that the rough and dangerous, if unscrupulous, service he rendered was not unappreciated by the legitimate traders of the district. And the facts that are beyond dispute concerning the transactions in which he was engaged, and the seizures he made [For Abstract of Gillespie�s Seizures, see Appendix (5).] illustrate, in a somewhat vivid fashion, both the extent and character of the smuggling that prevailed up to fifty years ago.
graham11 Stirnet
Born James Gillespie in Dunblane in 1776, he made his early reputation designing castles and mansions in the Highlands and may have been the first to use the term 'baronial'. His later work included the Roman Catholic cathedrals in Glasgow and Edinburgh and additions and alterations to many historic buildings. His most famous work is the Glenfinnan monument at the head of Loch Shiel.
In 1815 he married Margaret, daughter of William Graham of Orchill, in Perthshire, and adopted her surname of Graham. Margaret Gillespie Graham died in 1826 and in 1830 Graham married again and lived latterly in Edinburgh, where he was for a time a member of the Town Council and a governor of George Heriot's School.
b/b 11/19 JUN 1776, Dunblane, Perthshire, Scotland, son of Malcolm Gillespie (this would make James the brother of Malcolm the Smuggler, above!)
d 21 MAR 1855
Malcolm Gillespie, father of James the Architect and Malcolm the Smuggler was probably b/b 5/14 JUN 1741 as the son of James Gillespie, making him likely to be the older brother of James Gillespie in Lecropt, patriarch of our family above.
C113741 1855-1875
C113742 1688-1726
C113744 1733-1783
C113745 1783-1820
C113744 1819-1854
John GILLESPIE and Jonet BAUERAG/BAVERAG/BAVARAGE
Robert GILLASPIE and Jean ANDERSONE
John GILLASPIE and Barbara MACKIE
John GILLESPIE and Agnes FORMAN
Andrew GILLESPIE and Janet STEWART
Andrew GILLESPIE and Helen NEIVEN
William GILLESPIE and Euphan DICK
William GILLESPIE and Margaret BOID
Robert GILLESPIE and Isobell ROLLAND
James GILLESPIE and Mary SMITH
Rott. GILLESPIE and Rachel HUTTON
Robert GILLESPIE and Christian WRIGHT
Robert GILLESPIE and Jean FIFE/FYFE
William GILLESPIE ca 1710
David married secondly to Mary MCMILLAN
Description | Location |
Gillespie Research Foundation | http://gillespiefoundation.hypermart.net/index.html |
Kilmadock Kirk | http://www.doig.net/Kilmadock_Kirkyard.html |
Rev. George Gillespie | http://www.newble.co.uk/hall/gillespie/gillespiebiog.html |
Rev. Thomas Gillespie | http://www.electricscotland.com/history/other/gillespie_thomas.htm |
People researching this family include the following. If you wish your name added to the fellow researchers' list, please contact me.
From | Researching | |
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | all branches of this family | |
Joanne Patterson. | Ontario, Canada | ancestors and descendants of Helen Gillespie |
Brenda Dale | Manitoba, Canada | all branches of this family |
Sharon Schaub | Alberta, Canada | all branches of this family |
George Reid | London, Ontario, Canada | ancestors and descendants of Helen Gillespie |
Anne Napier | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | ancestors and descendants of John Gillespie |
Chris Barrett | Buckingham, England | ancestors and descendants of John Gillespie |
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