Helen Mill was the wife of John Wighton, our earliest known direct ancestor. Since Helen's birth predated Meigle's initiation of birth records, her birth is not recorded in the ScotlandsPeople Database. However, from death information provided by Greg Wighton, we can determine that she was probably born in 1713.

Like John, Helen grew up during the early years of Scotland's union with England (1707) but would probably not have been affected by this - at least not as a child. Her family would also likely have benefited from a surplus of jobs compared to workers that followed the many deaths that occurred during the famines in the 1690s.

Meigle's marriage records reveal that there were at least three Mill families in the parish at the time. (There were three Helen Mills who married during this period.) It appears that Helen had about 12 brothers/sisters/cousins although I may be off a bit on this as it was difficult to know when one generation stopped and the other began. Helen was one of the oldest in this multi-family.

Since Meigle was quite small, you might think (as I did) that there were a limited number of marriage prospects for Helen and John. However, I was surprised to find that this wasn't the case. Between 1732 and 1736, 84 Meigle men and 86 Meigle women got married. At a minimum, 95 different families celebrated marriages during this period. (There were 95 different surnames on the register, but some surnames were represented multiple times and this might mean more than one family.)

Helen married John in 1734. The Scots Ancestry Research Society reported as follows: On the 2nd of February, 1734, John Wighton and Helen Mill, both in this parish, entered their names for proclamation in order to marry, were three times proclaimed in this Church and nothing was offered to be objected against their marriage.

Helen had three children: William in 1735, Susan in 1736, and Charles in 1739. All children were born in the Potento community about 1 mile north-east of Meigle. As described in John's biography, the Wighton family would not have been high in Potento's agricultural hierarchy. As such, their housing would have been quite rude. To get a sense of the family's living conditions, you can read about the type of housing agricultural workers had during this period in the essay Housing in 18th Century Scotland: Part 1

Helen would have a wide number of duties. She would have worked in the fields with her husband and children, especially in the busy times of harvest, seeding, and the like. In addition, Helen would have been responsible for the kailyard which provided the family's vegetables. During the evenings and winter, she would have been busy spinning and making/mending clothes.

Helen lived her entire life in Meigle. Along with her husband, she would have experienced the turmoil and worry of the 1745 Jacobite revolution. During her life in Potento, Helen would have run into frequent contact with her brother (cousin?) James. James married Helen Miller in 1737 and had four children in Potento and another 6 children in Meigle. If you think having 10 children wasn't bad enough, 8 of them were boys!

Helen's mort cloth rental fees were recorded in the Kirk Session minutes on May 5, 1765. That would have put her approximately 52 years old at death. Her husband John predeceased her, as likely did two of her children. Her oldest son, William, had married in 1761 and had at least three children before her death. Since William had remained in Potento after his marriage, it is likely that Helen lived with her son's family until her death.

Helen passed a family secret to her daughter-in-law who passed them down... etc. This secret explained how to identify one's future spouse. The Wighton women became so confident in their ability to predict successful partners that they made quite a bit of money as marriage arrangers. Some would think of their confidence as arrogance. I prefer to think simply that they had a lot of gall.

• Take three twigs of gall (bog myrtle) at around sunset. With each twig you should pronounce Gaisean ruagh roid-Deandamh gnothuch grad-Fies mo feanaen as moni-Chrad oi choidfeas mi. (Try saying that three times really fast.) This incantation translates to: Brown twigs of gall, execute speedily my wish. By the dreams of this night may I know my future lover and fortune. Bring the twigs home and place them over the door. The first person of the opposite sex that passes through the door will be your future spouse. (Which explains why there were so many Scottish women marrying their brothers.) On going to bed, put the gall under your pillow and you'll have dreams concerning your sweetheart.

Sources

Family Search, The LDS Genealogical Website: (http://www.familysearch.org/)

Greg Wighton of Tasmania provided Helen's year of death and her age at death.

LDS microfilm of Meigle's parish records had the Kirk Session minutes as well as the birth and marriage records for the parish.

Perthshire Diary (www.perthshirediary.com)

ScotlandsPeople Database (http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/)

Scots Ancestry Research Society (March 26, 1971), Report to John L. Wighton

Where to now? To read more about Generation 1 John's immediate family, just click top to make a selection from Generation 2's genealogical table at the top of this page. Or, you might read The Origin(?) of the Meigle Wighton Line for some speculations on the town(s) where our line originated and speculations on John's and James' possible parents and grandparents. The navigation buttons just below will give you quick access to biographies in other generations.