The Abercrombie Family Of St Ninian's, Stirling
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James ABERCROMBIE - Janet GERSHOM
James ABERCROMBIE married Janet GERSHOME at St Ninians on 14 January 1787. The GERSHOM surname (mostly without the last "e") is troublesome as it does not appear in earlier records. It could also be Gresham or Grassom. Note that the GERSHOM spelling was used subsequently for the baptisms of all of James and Janet's children. They had seven children, all born at Bandeth and baptised at St Ninians. Bandeth was a location near Throsk and about 5 miles east of St Ninians on the right bank of the River Forth.
 1787 Jan 14: James ABERCROMBIE & Janet GERSHOME both St N.. |
 Birth of their first child - Isabel - St Ninians parish record for births, 1782. |
 Birth of their last child - Archibald - St Ninians parish record for births, 1802. |
The seven children of James and Janet were:
| Isabel | 8 January 1781 |
| Christian | 8 Nov 1789 |
| John | 18 Dec 1791 |
| James | 8 Jan 1795 |
| Elizabeth | 25 Dec 1796 |
| Robert | 2 Jan 1799 |
| Archibald | 28 Mar 1802 |
Archibald ABERCROMBIE (1802-?)
Archibald ABERCROMBIE was born on 28 March 1802 at Bandeth, near Throsk, Stirling to James ABERCROMBIE and Janet GERSHOM. Archibald became a "taylor" (many people in this area went into the cloth trade at this time). He moved into Glasgow, presumably to find work, where he married Agnes ROBERTSON at Eastwood, Glasgow on 22 Feb 1823. Unfortunately the record does not name their parents.
 Parish record for Eastwood for 1823, showing marriage of Archibald Abercrombie and Agnes Robertson. |
Agnes Robertson
Agnes was born 5th Dec 1803 at Eastwood, Glasgow to James Robertson and Agnes Reoch. James was a "sawer" (?sewer), and Agnes was listed as a vest maker in 1841 and a seamstress in later census records.
 Parish record for Eastwood for 1803, showing birth of Agnes Robertson. |
Archibald and Agnes had 7 children.
| Name | Birth | Death |
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| Agnes | 1825 | 27 Jan 1909 |
| Elizabeth (Eliza) | 1826 | 11 Jan 1898 |
| James | 1832 | 2 Nov 1866 |
| Archibald | 7 Apr 1833 | 23 April 1907, Spokane, Washington |
| John | 3 May 1835 | 4 July 1899, Glasgow |
| David | 21 May 1837 | ? before 1841 |
| Margaret | 2 Jan 1839 | ? before 1841 |
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Census Records: In 1841 Agnes and five of the children were living at Gallowgate, Glasgow. Archibald is absent; it would appear that he had died by this date but I cannot find a death record for him. The two youngest children - David and Margaret - are also absent from the 1841 census. It appears that they may also have died, but there are no death records for them either.
 1841: Agnes and children were living at Gallowgate Glasgow. Archibald cannot be located in this or any other census - perhaps he had died. |
 1851: Agnes and sons James, Archibald and John were at 76 Gt Hamilton St Glasgow. |
 1861: Agnes and son James were at 247 Thistle St Glasgow Govan. |
Death of Agnes: Agnes died at the Royal Infirmary, Glasgow on 7 Nov 1866, she was almost 63 although the death record shows her as aged 68 (unless she was aged 6 at baptism). The informant was her son-in-law David Hutchison, married to Eliza Agnes ABERCROMBIE.
 Death record for Agnes, 1866. (Click on it for a larger version) |
The Children of Archibald ABERCROMBIE and Janet ROBERTSON
Agnes ABERCROMBIE
Agnes ABERCROMBIE was born around 1825 in Glasgow to Archibald ABERCROMBIE and Agnes ROBERTSON. Agnes married William EADIE in Glasgow on 31 December 1850. William and Agnes had six children.
There is more about William and Agnes and their family here.
Elizabeth (Eliza) ABERCROMBIE
Elizabeth was born in 1826 in Gorbals, Glasgow. Her birth is not obvious in the Scotland records. In 1841 she was living with her mother at Gallowgate, Glasgow, employed as a "muslin classer". Elizabeth (now known as Eliza) married David HUTCHISON on 23 June 1850 at the Independent Church in Bridgeton.
 Marriage of Eliza ABERCROMBIE to David HUTCHISON in 1850 |
David and Eliza had six children in Glasgow. Then in 1880 they emigrated to Melbourne, Australia for a new life.
There is more about David and Eliza's life in Australia here.
James ABERCROMBIE
James was born in 1832 in Gorbals, Glasgow. His birth is not obvious in the Scotland records. In 1841, 1851 and 1861 he was living with his mother in Glasgow. He became a tailor. James married Mary CUTHBERTSON, a cotton warper, at Hogbank (or Hogg) Cottage, Johnstone on 31 December 1861. James was aged 29 and Mary was 24. Johnstone is a large town west of Paisley and 12 miles west of Glasgow. The couple were resident in Glasgow, Mary and her two brothers moving there between 1851 and 1861. In the 1861 census Mary's parents lived in Johnstone where her father William had been born.
 Marriage of James ABERCROMBIE to Mary CUTHBERTSON in 1861 |
It appears that James and Mary had one child, Archibald ABERCROMBIE born 28 June 1865 at 24 Main St, Glasgow. But Archibald died 5 weeks later on 3 August 1865.
 Birth of Archibald ABERCROMBIE in 1865. |
 Death of Archibald ABERCROMBIE in 1865. |
James ABERCROMBIE died on 2 November 1866 at 24 Main St in Glasgow.
 Death of James ABERCROMBIE in 1866. |
After losing her son and husband, Mary set up shop as a dressmaker further along Main St, Gorbals. In 1871 she was living at 153 Main St along with her sister Christina and her daughter Christina. This is likely to be the correct Mary, being aged 33, a widow, born Johnston, and with a sister CUTHBERTSON. The daughter poses a problem. Her age of 8 in the 1871 census and 18 in the 1881 cesnus indicates she was born in 1864 or 1865.
 1871 census for Mary ABERCROMBIE. |
 1881 census for Mary ABERCROMBIE. |
Christina ABERCROMBIE married William Gilchrist OVERSTONE at 94 South Portland St, Glasgow on 16 January 1885. He was aged 20 and she was 21. William was a shipping clerk and the son of John Keir OVERSTONE and master mariner. The marriage is unusual: it was by declaration in the presence of a ship's purser and by a warrant issued by the Sheriff of Lanarkshire.
 Marriage of Christina ABERCROMBIE in 1885. |
Mary continued to live with her daughter Christina. In 1891 they were at 15 Portland Place, Govan Rd. In 1901 they were living at 89 Oxford St, Govan.
  1891 census for Mary ABERCROMBIE. |
 1901 census for Mary ABERCROMBIE. |
William Gilchrist OVERSTON died in 1909. His wife Christina ABERCROMBIE was subsequently admitted to the Dykebar Asylum in Paisley wher she died of heart failure on 27 February 1910. (Dykebar Asylum was opened in 1909. It was designed by T.G. ABERCROMBIE.)
 Death of Christina OVERTON/ABERCROMBIE in 1910. |
Archibald ABERCROMBIE
Archibald was born on 7 April 1833 in Gorbals, Glasgow and baptised there on 28 April 1833. He became a plumber. Archibald married Janet SMILLIE on 2 Dec 1855 at 2 Sandyford Place, Gorbals, Glasgow. Note that in most of the subsequent records Archbald and his family had changed the spelling of their surname to ABERCROMBY. But after 1864 Archibald and the two older children disappear from the records in Scotland. A family of identical names and ages appears in New York in the 1875 census. There is no conclusive evidence that this was the correct Archibald, but if it is, why did Archibald go to America with the children? Did they plan a new life but his wife Janet chose not go? Did she plan to join him once young Robert was old enough to travel, but changed her mind? We do not have a shipping record to know the date of travel.
There is more about Archibald and his family here
John Robertson ABERCROMBIE
John Robertson was born 3 May 1835 in Gorbals, Glasgow. He also became a tailor. He married Janet JOHNSTONE on 2 October 1857 at 67 Great Hamilton St, Glasgow. Janet was aged 22, the daughter of William JOHNSTONE and Janet Chapman DEMPSTER. John and Janet had ten children. They lived all of their lives in Glasgow.
There is more about John and Janet's life here.
29 March 2021