The Wighton family presence in Kinnaird may have originated with the Johne Vichtane who was married in 1559 in Errol, a few miles away. However, the Wighton presence in Errol disappeared after that marriage and it's possible that he relocated to either nearby Kinnaird or Longforgan where he stayed to raise a family. Both of these villages had three Wighton families in the 1630s. Unlike Longforgan where the family disappeared from the records, the Wighton presence in Kinnaird was more permanent. Kinnaird's attraction - whatever it was - was sufficiently strong to keep them there for almost a century and a half. By 1775, 53 births/marriages had been recorded through 6 fairly identifiable generations.

The Kinnaird families didn't experience quite the same pressures as our families in Alyth and Coupar Angus. The Alyth families disappeared around 1710 and the Coupar Angus families did likewise around 1720. The Kinnaird families were at their height in the 1730s. However, only two families remained after 1750. Although those two couples had 10 children before 1773, the Wightons essentially disappeared from parish records afterwards. Given the information in the Statistical Accounts which described farm monopolization occurring around that time, we can assume Lowland Clearances were the cause of their relocation to more hospitable climes.

There is nothing in the records to suggest that the Meigle line of the Wightons was ever in Kinnaird although the taunt Peasants rule! was carved on the top of each spire of the Kinnaird's family mansion (shown above). These inscriptions were coded in a series of 0's and 1's. That sounds like something we'd do.

Sources

National Archives of Scotland (http://www.dswebhosting.info/nas/)

ScotlandsPeople Database

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