In the end, cousin Margaret Serzans and I were able to pull together a fair bit of data on Robert Wighton and his family - wife Janet Millar and his two children, Agnes and Robert (Jr). Although this story of Robert's life is fairly solid, there still are some speculative pieces, contradictory data, and one intriguing, but ultimately large error in the data. Let's focus first on Robert, the 6th or 7th child of Thomas Wighton and Elizabeth Taylor.

Robert was (probably) baptized on August 30, 1800 in Newtyle parish along with sister Betty. This wasn't the first time that two of Elizabeth's children were born/baptized on the same date (Elspet & William in 1794), and since some Scottish parents chose to delay baptizing children so that they could do two together, I've assumed that Betty and Robert were not twins but I was unable to determine definitively that this was so.

If you've read the biographies of the earlier children to Thomas and Elizabeth, then you'll know that I've identified the area in Newtyle Parish known as High Keillor as the family homestead. This is in Newtyle Parish but very close to Kettins Parish as well. Robert likely grew up in High Keillor, but at some point afterwards, he took a job in Kettins - almost assuredly a job as an agricultural labourer. At some point, he met Janet Millar (also in the records as Janet Miller) and they married on January 18, 1829 in Kettins. Both Janet and Robert were residing in Kettins at the time. Robert would have been about 28 years old when he married.

From census records, we learn that Janet and Robert had two children: Agnes was born in 18291 and Robert (Jr) was born in 1831 according to Robert Bain. Both births were in Forfar County which included Newtyle and Kettins.

Robert was working as an agricultural labourer on the Baldowrie farm in Kettins Parish on June 6th, 1841 (as per the 1841 census). This farm just happened to be across the road from High Keillor, the likely homestead for the Wighton family during this time. The Baldowrie and High Keillor farms were in two different parishes but were only about a half-mile away from each other across open fields. If you've read the previous biographies for Robert's siblings, you'll know that many of Thomas and Elizabeth's children kept showing up as adults in High Keillor or close to it. Robert's age was shown as 35 years old on the 1841 census - younger than his actual age. However, this is not surprising since 1841 census workers were required to round all adult ages down to the nearest 5. Thus, Robert could have been anywhere from 35 to 39 years old. This doesn't help us much in determining if Robert was actually born in 1800 or if he was born before Betty.

Robert and his family had moved to Denhead in the parish of Coupar Angus by the time the 1851 census was taken on March 30th. My Internet map shows two farms (Easter Denhead and Wester Denhead - [these names are typed accurately]) situated just north-east of the village of Coupar Angus. Both of these farm houses would have been approximately 2.5 miles (as the crow flies) from High Keillor. Robert was working at one of these farms as a farm servant. He is shown in the census as being born in Newtyle around 1803. The location was correct, but the date was off by at least three years.

Robert Wighton died on January 6th, 1858. The death certificate shows his age as 57 years old - the correct age if he had been born/baptized on August 30, 1800. When he died, he was a ploughman for a Coupar Angus farm named Balbrogie. (The ploughman of a farm was the highest ranking employee below that of the farm manager.) Balbrogie was about 2-3 miles north-west of the Wighton's High Keillor homestead. I was unable to make out the cause of death on the certificate, but did learn that Robert suffered from it for 9 days. He was buried in the Newtyle Church graveyard. Serving as informant for the death certificate was William Wighton, Robert's older brother, who was residing in the High Keillor area at the time. Robert's parents were listed as Thomas Wighton (mason) and Elizabeth Taylor, both deceased. So, yes, this was definitely our Robert.

Let's turn our attention now to Janet Millar, Robert's wife. Again, cousin Margaret Serzan's detective work found the necessary statistical data that allowed us to reconstruct a bit of her life.

Janet Millar was born on July 8, 1792 to John Millar and Isobel Barrie in Kirriemuir. (The 1851 census correctly identified the birth location but was way off on the age. The 1861 census reported that she had been born in Glamis and was also badly off on the date. Janet's death certificate was the source that allowed us to nail down the correct location and year.)

Janet married Thomas Ogilvie in Kettins Parish on February 9, 1812. She would have been 19 at the time. Both Janet and Thomas were residents of Kettins Parish when they wed. (The death certificate for Agnes Wighton, Janet's daughter, had referred to her mother as being previously married to an Ogilvie.)

Janet had five children with Thomas Ogilvie, all born in Kettins parish. John (June 7, 1812); Betty (April 3, 1814); Jean (March 17, 1816), Isabel (June 14, 1818), and Christian (female) (June 11, 1820).

Obviously, something happened to Mr. Ogilvie some time after 1819 and before 1829 because Janet married our Robert Wighton January, 1829 in Kettins. She was about 8 years older than Robert. Their two children, Agnes and Robert, were born in 1831(?) and 1833(?) when Janet was about 38 and 41. I've presumed that most of her Ogilvie children would have been living with Janet and Robert during this time.

The 1841 census found Janet living with Robert Wighton at Baldowrie farm in Kettins. With her were her two Wighton children and Isabel Ogilvie (agricultural labourer), shown as 20 years old (really 23). No other Ogilvies were found on that particular census page. Janet was recorded as being 40 years old, but her age was actually 48.

The March 1851 census recorded that Janet was 50 years old (really 58) and born in Kirriemuir (correct). She was living in Denhead farm with husband Robert and children Agnes and Robert.

Janet lost her husband Robert in 1858. On April 7, 1861, she was living with daughter Agnes in the parish of Coupar Angus. The specific location was given as Welton and there were at least three families resident at this location: a millwright and his family of 8; a linen weaver and family of 2, and Janet & Agnes. The entry previous to the Welton entries was Springbank. I was able to find a reference to a detached home named Springbank on George Street in Coupar Angus. This suggests that a house named Welton was next door to it and that it was at one point a substantial house but had been divided into at least three sets of rooms/apartments. The 1861 census gives Janet's age as 66 but it was really 68. The census also incorrectly states her birth place as Glamis.

Janet died July 13, 1864 in a house on North Street in the village of Newtyle. (North Street has been a frequent location for a number of deaths of Janet Wighton's siblings.) Her will refers to her husband as a farm servant which I take to be synonymous with an agricultural labourer. The certificate correctly identified Janet's mother (Isabella Millar, maiden name Barry) which was important in being able to find Janet's birth information. However, for some reason, the death certificate referred to her father as John Wighton, farm servant. If Janet's father had been named John Wighton, then Janet would have been named Janet Wighton. If Janet had been illegitimate, then presumably she would have been named Janet Barry. Since we have birth records showing Janet being born in Kirriemuir, to an Isabella Barrie, in 1792 - and since all of that information jives with other official documents, it's reasonable to assume that her father was the man who married Isabella Barrie - namely John Millar. (Official documents record a John Millar marrying an Issabel Barry, November 27, 1791 in Airlie, west of Kirriemuir.) The informant who gave the information on the death certificate was Janet's grandson. It's likely that he confused the names - a possibility since he was not a Wighton grandchild, but was instead descended from one of Janet's other children - an Ogilvie.

The grandson mentioned in the death certificate was John Robertson. There is no way that he could have been descended through the Wighton line because that would have meant having Agnes Wighton as his mother. But, she was shown in census records as single; moreover, in order for him to be old enough to serve as an informant in a legal document in 1864, Agnes would have had to marry sometime before her 10th birthday. A much more likely parent for John Robertson was one of the four Ogilvie daughters (Betty, Jean, Isabel, and Christian). All four of these could have produced a grandchild old enough to be the 1864 informant. However, I found no record of an Ogilvie marriage to a Robertson male. In the event that the marriage wasn't recorded, I then searched for evidence of a John Robertson being born to a male Robertson and a mother named either Ogilvie, Betty, Jean, Isabel, or Christian. Several hits emerged, but none of them worked out (e.g., the family had other children that were clearly born too early for one of the Ogilvie girls.) That doesn't rule out the Ogilvie girls as John Robertson's mother; we just can't determine which one.

Now, let's turn our attention to Agnes Wighton, Robert Wighton's daughter. Robert Bain found that she was was born in 1829 and the 1841 census revealed that her birth location was Forfar County (i.e., Angus). In 1841 she was living with her parents in the Baldowrie Farm in Kettins. In 1851, Agnes was still living with her parents, but this time they were at the Denhead Farm in the parish of Coupar Angus. She was listed as a 19 year old labourer.

By the 1861 census, Agnes was living in Welton, Coupar Angus with her mother. She was listed as 26 years old and a domestic servant. Agnes' birth place however was noted: Kettins. This makes sense because that's where her father and mother were living in 1841.

The next record I could find for Agnes was the 1891 census in which she is recorded as being 60 years old, unmarried, and a retired domestic servant. Agnes was living alone on North Street, Newtyle. (Agnes' mother died in a house on North Street, Newtyle but that was 27 years previously.) Agnes' birth place was given as Kettins which was correct.

Agnes Wighton died of endocarditis (inflammation of the heart) on November 16, 1907 at the age of 76. Her parents were correctly listed as Robert Wighton, farm servant, and Janet Wighton, previously Ogilvie, maiden name Millar. She died at Church Street, Newtyle. Sadly, the informant for her death was not a family member but was an Inspector of the Poor.

Finally, let's look at Robert Wighton's son, Robert (Junior). The Bain research determined that Robert was born in 1831. He first appeared in the official records in the 1841 census with his parents at Baldowrie Farm in Kettins. His age was recorded as 8 years old. He had been born in Forfar County (i.e., Angus). More specifically, he was almost certainly born in Kettins like his older sister, but I have no official document stating this.

In the 1851 census, Robert (Jr) appeared once again with the family at the Denhead Farm in the Parish of Coupar Angus. His occupation was a labourer and he was listed as 17 years old.

That's the last sighting we have for Robert (Jr). I found no record of him in the 1861 census when he would have been about 27 years old. I searched for a marriage, but there was only one Robert Wighton to be found. A Robert Wighton married a Margaret Williamson in Dundee in 1863, but further research uncovered the name of his mother - Janet Frazer. Searches through the later census databases turned up only the Dundee Robert Wighton.

Since this Robert Wighton represents one of the few male descendents in the direct line from John Wighton through to James Wighton (generation 8), I was hopeful that I'd be able to find additional information; however, the absence of Robert Wightons of his age in Scotland in the mid 19th century stymied that attempt. Margaret Serzans found a Robert Wighton, born in Scotland, living in the St. Luke District of London in the 1881 census. He was listed as being 50 years old as of his last birthday, whereas our Robert should have been 47-49 years old - probably a trivial difference. The Robert living in London was occupied as an India rubber stamper. Other than the birth in Scotland and closeness in age, we have nothing to link our family to this Robert. Another possibility is that Robert emigrated. Perhaps this website will prove helpful in filling in some gaps: Any descendants of Robert Wighton, born about 1831 in Kettins or surrounding areas, please contact me. ("david.wighton" followed by the @ symbol, followed by "shaw.ca")

Since it's possible that Robert Wighton emigrated from Scotland sometime in the mid-19th century, it would be entirely appropriate to provide an essay on emigration.

Sources

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

Margaret Serzans (Gen.9)

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

Robert Bain's research on The Descendants of Thomas Wighton as provided to the author in March 2011. Robert's partner, Eilidh Mary Smith is a descendant of Janet Wighton through her daughter Anne Fleeming Lindsay.

Where to now? To read more about Generation 4 John's immediate family, just click top to make a selection from Generation 4's genealogical table at the top of this page. The navigation buttons just below will give you quick access to biographies in other generations.