To the left is an aerial view of one of the possible homestead locations for the early ancestors of the Wighton family. Of course, back then, we weren't known as Wightons.
Although Wighton is a relatively rare Scottish surname, there have been thousands of Wightons who have lived in Scotland, Canada, United States, and Australia - to name just four countries. In the part of this website, you'll read general information on the Wighton families who lived (primarily) in Angus and Perthshire from 1492 through to 1850. Included is information on our surname, common forenames, the earliest recorded Scottish Wightons, the cities/villages where Wighton families lived prior to the Industrial Revolution, and descriptions of how that Industrial Revolution changed their lives. You'll also find theories on the origins of our surname and where our earliest ancestors came from. Clicking on The Early Wightons button above will take you to the first essay -"How many Wightons lived in Scotland before 1855?"
On February 2nd, 1734, a man named John Wighton married Helen Mill in the little village of Meigle (about 10 miles north of Dundee). Since Meigle's parish records didn't start until 1727, we don't know where John or Helen were born or who their parents were. However, we do know (most of?) the names of their direct descendents - 11 generations of them. In this part of the website, you'll find the usual genealogical data on the descendents of the Meigle Wightons. In addition, there are descriptions of the Scottish towns where they lived and essays (for the lack of a better word) on the times and the conditions in which they lived.
To the left are two members of the Wighton line who were direct descendents of John Wighton and Helen Mill of Meigle, Scotland. Seated is John Baxter Wighton (Generation 5: 1823 - 1890) with his son John Murray Wighton (Generation 6: 1857-1923). The picture was taken in Dundee in 1865 after the family's return from India where John Baxter had served in the British army. In 1865, John Murrray would have been about 7 years old and John Baxter about 42.
The Wighton family owes a debt of gratitude to John Latta Wighton and Ella Peterson (nee Wighton), members of the 8th generation, who collected a wealth of family information from relatives and what official documents were available to them at the time. Margaret Serzans (nee Trefry, 9th generation) continued the letter writing campaign and found valuable information, especially along maternal lines. I also received valuable assistance from Greg Wighton of Tasmania as well as Kirstine Baxter and Robert Bain of the UK.
Your humble author, David Wighton (9th generation), was the grateful recipient of this treasure trove and has been able to augment that early information with Internet research. The result is this web site - a site that will continue to grow as time and energy permit. The members of the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th generations of Meigle Wightons, most of us now living in British Columbia, hope that you enjoy the site.
To the left is a picture of our early researchers - John Wighton and Ella Peterson along with their younger brother James (far right). James, born in 1916, appears to be in his late teens or early twenties, putting the date of the photograph somewhere around 1935-1940.
Contact Information: I'm reluctant to provide a mail-to button because those can be used by spammers. However, if you'd wish to comment on this site (e.g., comments, feedback, questions, corrections....), here's how to create my email address: david.wighton followed by @ and then followed by shaw.ca
© David Wighton, 2008