John and Margaret Merrie Mitchell,
my 6X great grandparents
John Mitchell
bapt. 15 February 1747 Sorn
d. ? Sorn
Margaret Merrie
bapt. 12 June 1757 Cumnock
d. ? Sorn
John Mitchell was born at South Blairkip, in Sorn, Ayrshire, Scotland. South Blairkip still exists.
Margaret's baptismal certificate reads: Margaret, Lawfull Daughter of James Merrie, Shoemaker in Cumnock and Ann Walker, his spouse, was baptized at Cumnock the 12th of June 1758 year. (Scotland's People site)
We know very little of their life, but we do know that the children were born on Oxenshaw, a farmstead that still exists as a successful dairy farm outside of Sorn. If we look at the picture of the farm today, we can imagine it as it was when John's family lived there. It's doubtful he owned the property, but lived in a crofter's cottage and worked as an aglab or "agricultural laborer"- otherwise known as a hired hand. It was hard work, poor living conditions but they had food and a roof over their heads. There were a lot of mouths to feed, but also a lot of hands to help out.
| Child | Birth date | Death date | Spouse | # offspring |
| Margaret | 7 Jan 1782 | bef. 1810 | unknown | |
| James | 27 April 1783 | |||
| William* | 15 Sept 1784 | abt. 1855 | Janet Frazer* Jean Hillows |
8/3 |
| John | 9 March 1786 | 12 Oct 1873 | Agnes Kerr | 2 |
| Elisabeth | 7 Jan 1788 | 3 Dec 1874 | Charles Miller Baird | 7td> |
| Robert | 12 July 1789 | |||
| Andrew | 5 Feb 1795 | 1851, Muirkirk | Janet Herron | 10 |
| George | 8 Aug 1798 | 1876, Galston | an imbecile | none |
| Jean | 24 Sept 1801 | 15 Mar 1890 | George Mitchell | 2 |
| Margaret | 1810, Mauchline | 1 Oct 1887, Galston | never married | none |