Transcribed and Compiled by Tammy

BRICK WALL: Specific and random information I collected while trying to research
James Mowat Born 16 Nov 1705 Hilton, Dunnottar.
This will include trying to find siblings, and parents. We know his father's name is John Mowat, (could be spelled various ways).

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James Mowat  Born 16 Nov 1705

Ideas & Comments:
-Maybe John Mowat moved from Dunnottar to Kinneff & Catterline, perhaps the rest of his children were born there, in the Parish that James was married in (262/ ).

Ideas & Comments:
-Going by the usual Scotish nameing patterns, should we assume that John Mowat's father's name was James? Or do we assume that James is not John's first born.
-I note that James (b 1705) named his first born son William (b. 16 Apr 1732, Fernyflatt(sp?), Kinneff and Catterline, Kincardine 262/ 0030 0033). His second born son was named James 1733. His first born Daughter was named Margaret (b. 1736). His second Daughter was named Esplet (b. 1742).

Donovan Mowatt Further Research and Comments

Info sent to Tammy from Donovan:
On my (Mowat) sampa site I got a message a while ago from Andrew Hadden Mowatt who said he was also a descendant. He posted his tree to me via snail mail. He also has a lot of info but his tree did not have sources. It didn't bother me until I was busy fixing up my gedcom and I found a few things puzzling.

Here is the story.

Robert Mowat married Jane Gordon. He died fairly young - the year before the 1851 census. Jane was left alone with children ranging from William age 3 to Andrew age 24. In the 1851 census everyone is at 23 Reform Street except James age 21.

They seem to have been a a little dysfunctional as a family. By the 1861 census Jane/Jean [Daughter] is living at 28 Reform Street her sister Mary and their three children. There are no spouses and I wonder if these children were born out of wedlock and that their mother may have kicked them out of no 23 as she is still alive according to Andrew who has just given me the details of her death in 1877.

1861 Scotland Census about Jane Mowat
Name: Jane Mowat
Age: 31
Estimated birth year: abt 1830
Relationship: Head
Gender: Female
Where born: Rervie, Kincardineshire
Registration Number: 312
Registration district: Montrose
Civil parish: Montrose
County: Angus
Address: 28 Reform St
ED: 19 Page: 5, Household schedule number: 30 Line: 16 Roll: CSSCT1861_45 Household Members:
Name     Age
Jane Mowat 31
Mary Mowat 1
Mary Mowat 21
William Mowat 5
George Steel 1

James [son] may already have left home as he would have been about 21. He marries Jane Jolly three years later. Andrew has him listed as a baker by occupation.

I was hoping that someone might find the 1841 census confirming him as a child of Jane and Robert.
Here it is:
Click to see larger image off this family, living in Fishers Gate, Bervie, Parish #254 - in the 1841 census:

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Andrew seems to know a lot but unfortunately most of his research was done awhile ago and hand written. He says that James 1733, who moved to Gourdon and built Mowatt Lane, came from Shieldhill Kinneff. Apparently the press gangs came and took the other three brother but because James was cripple that left him alone. He then moved to Gourdon.

Hi Tammy
When reading the statistical account we see that there were not that many people for instance in the Bervie Parish. But I think that Kinneff and Caterline fell into another parish but I am not sure. None the less if I am understaning the numbers correctly then 255 meant the parish number and given that thet all correspond then the likely hood of there being another John Mouat is not likely and therefore I would agree that these are siblings. The only thing I dont then understand is why the marriage number is 262 and also Kinneff ad Catterline. That map I sent you shows Fernyflat quite clearly at the top too.

Click on the Old Map of Catterline for larger view

Click on the Old Map of Sheildhill for larger view

Good Site For Parish Info.

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I have spent a bit of time reflecting on this and have come to the following theory:-

I noticed that the events on the OPR are on irregullar dates. What this suggests to me is that the minister actually travelled to the various places to do the baptisms etc. He therefore would have gone to Hilton for the baptism. But the thing that puzzled me was that Hilton falls into the parish of Kineff and not Dunnottar. This tells me that for some reason John chose to have his son baptized by the Dunnottar minister rather than the Kinneff minister. A possible reason for this could be the religious conflict that was happening at the time. I have scanned two pages from Andrew Simpsons book about Gourdon that tells of these religious problems. It is therefore possible that he want to have his child baptized by the Dunnottar minister for this reason. We take note that the other Godfather was from Crawton which does fall into the Dunnottar parish. The border for the two parishes actually runs between these two farms. It is also possible that Johns wife whom we have not identified may have come the parish of Dunnottar.

What may have then happened was that he was thrown out of the parish for doing this and thus moved to Lumgair - perhaps his wife may have come from there.

Here then the next two siblings are born. Once the religious turmoil was over he may have moved back to the parish of Kinneff. What we can consider is that he was at Lumgair for quite some time as his son James would have met the young Christian Lindsay who may be linked to the Lindsay's from Lumgair.

So either John moved back to Kinneff or James moved there on his own and Christian Lindsay joined him later when they were married. I have no source for Williams birth at Fernyflatt but at some point they must have moved from there to Shieldhill. There are two sources that I have for this. Andrew Hadden Mowatt 1949 who lives in Fife emailed me with the story that Williams brother James [our James] moved to Gourdon with his family after the press gangs came to Shieldhill. The reason they let James of was because he was cripple but the other three brother were taken. This would explain why Williams branch are largely in and around Fetterreso while James's was in Gourdan. I also noticed on a website where Eve had William listed there is a reference to his brother in law who was in the Navy.
The attachments show just how few males there were in the parishes and although they are about 100 years later it does suggest that the likelyhood of another James being there at time is not likely.

The other reference is from the newspaper article "The :Leader" which I have already sent you.
Link: More Information About This Time/Place In History

John Mowat (b. abt. 1680) Family Information

Montealto to Movat / Mowat