Mid 18th century Cavers sasine references from Hawick

Scottish sasine records are records of land transfer and ownership, and are particularly valuable where ancestors owned land, however small. But in many cases, particularly at a local level, they are unindexed, and voluminous to search, so essentially out of reach, unless you can spend a long time in archives in Edinburgh, or pay someone to search the records.

Very kindly Graham Maxwell spotted a couple of Cavers references during other research he was doing in local sasine records for Roxburghshire, and forwarded on images of the relevant documents to me. They concern a father and daughter: John Cavers, merchant in Hawick, and his daughter Isobell.

The first reference dates from 1739, when John Cavers merchant in Hawick seems to have been owed 14 pounds Sterling as an annualrent regarding a tenement of houses within the town of Hawick. Then in 1756 Isobell Cavers spouse to John Currer Skinner in Hawick had sasine of a tenement of houses in Hawick, presumably the same one, which she inherited as daughter of deceased John Cavers merchant there.

There’s no marriage that I could find recorded in the parish registers for Isobell Cavers and John Currer, but they had three children baptised at Hawick: Thomas, in 1742; Mary, in 1743; and Margaret, in 1745. Going back in time I suspect that Isobell may have been the daughter of that name christened at Hawick in 1720, with parents John Cavers and Marion Newbie. Certainly a mother called Marion would fit with Isobell naming her own daughter Mary, a variant of that. The Hawick parish registers in the early 18th century are detailed, including occupations for fathers. At this 1720 baptism the father was noted as John Cavers merchant in Hawick, which definitely fits with the sasine family. On the downside there are other children recorded for John and Marion Cavers, but perhaps they died young.

Hopefully more early Cavers sasine references will come to light, as the records hopefully become easier to access.

Free Church Cavers baptisms at Hawick from the 1840s and 1850

Many genealogists are familiar with the pre-1855 parish registers available at ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk. But, generally, these only include Church of Scotland parish registers. There were an awful lot of other churches in Scotland in the past. Some were of quite different kinds of Christianity, such as Episcopalianism (Church of England) or Catholicism. There were also some other religious or otherwise registers, such as Quakers and Jews. But probably the largest bulk of so-called non-conformist church records are those of breakaway sects of the Presbyterian faith, that splintered out of the Church of Scotland. Not all have surviving parish registers for everywhere they were active, but where they do they are often either in local archives around Scotland, or in the National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh. Generally they are not included in the parish register indexes at ScotlandsPeople.

I’ve just received three transcripts of Cavers baptisms from Hawick Free Church. The Free Church was one of the most significant Presbyterian splits in Scottish religious history in the past, taking a huge number of people with it. And the Free Church was active in Cavers home territory in the Scottish Borders. Graham and Emma Maxwell are transcribing and indexing these non-conformist registers, and through the latest additions to their website indexes I was able to trace these new Cavers references, and buy copies of the transcripts from the couple.

The three new baptisms are all for children of Robert Cavers and Elizabeth McPherson. This was part of the extensive family of descendants of John Cavers and Elizabeth Hislop that I’ve blogged about here before. This line has living descendants. Here are the baptisms:

John, Son of Robert Cavers, Grocer, and Elizabeth McFerson his Wife, was born on the fourteenth day of August one thousand eight hundred and forty-six years, and baptised, in presence of the Congregation, on the thirteenth day of September, aforesaid year, by the Revd. J. A. Wallace, Minister of the Free Church Hawick.

Agnes Wilson, Daughter of Robert Cavers, Grocer, and Elizabeth McFerson his Wife, was born on the twenty-first day of January one thousand eight hundred and forty-nine years, and baptised, in presence of the Congregation, on the eleventh day of March, aforesaid year, by the Revd. J. A. Wallace, Minister of the Free Church Hawick.

James, Son of Robert Cavers, Grocer, and Elizabeth McFerson his Wife, was born on the twenty- third day of September one thousand eight hundred and fifty years, and baptised, in presence of the Congregation, on the twenty-seventh day of October, aforesaid year, by the Revd. J. A. Wallace, Minister of the Free Church Hawick.

EDIT: And here’s one more baptism, the last of this family, just forwarded on to me by Graham Maxwell. Again from the Hawick Free Church baptism registers.

Elizabeth Hislop, Daughter of Robert Cavers, Grocer, and Elizabeth McFerson his Wife, was born on the twelfth day of March one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three years, and baptised, in presence of the Congregation, on the twenty-fourth day of April, aforesaid year, by the Revd. J. A. Wallace, Minister of the Free Church Hawick.

FamilyTreeDNA seasonal sale ends December 31st 2013

Just a quick reminder to say that the current special sale prices on DNA test kits from FamilyTreeDNA, the company I’m using for the Cavers Y-DNA Project, end on 31st December. So if you’ve been thinking of getting your DNA tested, or (for example if you’re a female Cavers descendant) are considering encouraging a male Cavers relative to be tested, now is a good time to get it done. So long as kits are bought and paid for by December 31st the sale prices will apply. You will receive the kit through the post, and can return it at your leisure.

The Cavers Y-DNA project was only launched on 30th July 2013, so under 5 months ago. Already it has 4 members: 3 representing different Cavers lines (1 test kit still to be returned), and another with a different surname that’s matching the Cavers Y-DNA. Hopefully we will get more testers over time, allowing more different Cavers branches to have their DNA compared to see if they have common origins. But already, from the first two Cavers Y-DNA test kits sent out, we now know that two different Cavers lines are connected, which is very exciting.

For more information on the sale prices see my previous blog post about this, which includes instructions on how to sign up for the project. Y-DNA tests are suitable for direct male line descendants, so generally Cavers surname men, so long as there isn’t a female link e.g. illegitimacy in the direct Cavers ancestral line. Y-DNA is passed from father to son.

More on the Murray versus Cavers illegitimacy case

Recently I blogged about finding a previously unknown illegitimate Cavers birth. I’ve since received copies of the full case papers, which shed more light on the case.

The case was brought at Jedburgh Sheriff Court in 1832 by Elizabeth Murray against Thomas Cavers for support of the female child she apparently had with him. The papers record she was a residenter in Newcastleton, and she signed her name as Elisa Murray. Thomas was recorded as son of John Cavers, Joiner in Newcastleton, which identifies him as the son of John Cavers and Jane Douglas.

The language used in the case papers can be quite entertaining to a modern reader, but must have represented a very shocking family event. The decreet records that Thomas “prevailed upon the Pursuer [Eliza] to yield to his embraces and to admit him to a carnal connexion with her”, leading to the birth of the female illegitimate child on the 9th May 1831. Then though “the Pursuer has often desired and required the said Thomas Cavers Defender to filiate and provide for the said Child yet he refuses at least delays to do so”. She sought £1 Sterling for various expenses, and £1 10 shillings per quarter for the first 9 months from the birth for nursing fee, and £1 per quarter afterwards for aliment until the child reached the age of 10.

The next bit of the case papers includes Thomas’s responses to the charges. He declared that he was “not much acquainted with the Pursuer That she has resided for some years past with her Mother in the village of NewCastleton”. Then he says that he was in company with her on the night of Langholm Fair, in the house of Robert Elliot, but not alone with her. Various other apparently innocent meetings are admitted to, including another in the last summer or autumn when “he went into the Pursuers house along with the said Walter Oliver and there were in the house the Pursuer, her Mother and Walter Nichol Carter That this was after dark – That the Pursuer and Declarant left the rest and went round to the back of the house into a shade – That he cannot say while he was standing in the shade whether he had his arm around her Neck or Waist That he lay down in the shade with the Pursuer, but he had no carnal connection with her” And he further goes on to declare that he never had carnal connection with her, and is not the father of her child.

Thomas’s evidence is contradicted by Elspeth Elliot daughter of Robert Elliot in Newcastleton. She remembers the night of the Langholm Fair, and specifically that “the Defender came forwards and spoke to the Pursuer, after which he pushed her into the house, that after they were into the house the Defender took hold of the Pursuer and threw her into the bed, and went in beside her”.

Based on all this and other evidence the court’s judgement went in Eliza’s favour. But the case papers reveal that she believed Thomas was considering fleeing from Scotland to America “in order to defraud the Petitioner”. Thomas appeared before the court again, but denied that he had any intention of going to America “or else where out of Scotland” But the court didn’t believe him, and ordered the officers “to apprehend the said Thomas Cavers and Commit him Prisoner to the Castle of Jedburgh there to remain until he find sufficient Caution … that he shall present himself at the Sheriff Clerks Office in Jedburgh upon the fifteenth day of May next at Twelve oClock midday in order that he may be then and there accessible to the Diligence of the Petitioner against him for payment of the sums due to her as contained in the Decreet mentioned in the Petition”.

Thomas may not have settled in America, but he went to Canada, where he married and had many children. Meanwhile searching the 1841 Scottish census finds at Newcastleton 10-year old Janet Cavers living with 33-year-old Eliza Murray, 38-year-old George Murray (mealdealer), and 65-year-old widowed Janet Murray. Further research identifies these as Janet Cavers’ mother, uncle and grandmother.

Janet Cavers married at Newcastleton on 10th February 1855 to James Scott, a 28-year-old labourer. Because it was an 1855 marriage, in the first year of civil registration in Scotland, when all certificates recorded extra detail, the marriage certificate includes Janet’s birth details: she was apparently born 23rd July 1831 at Newcastleton. Her parents are named on the marriage certificate as Thomas Cavers, Labourer, and Elizabeth Cavers maiden name Murray. Obviously her parents never married, and the birth date differs slightly from the court case version, but the details otherwise fit.

James Scott and Janet Cavers had 5 children, all born at Castleton parish, probably Newcastleton:

• Eliza, born 2 Dec 1855
• William, b. 10 Mar 1858
• Agnes, b. 8 Jun 1860
• George, b. 25 Jul 1862
• James, b. 23 Jan 1867

Janet Cavers died at Newcastleton on 25th September 1867, aged 35, cause of death typhoid fever. Again her parents are recorded on the certificate, and match the court case: father Thomas Cavers, farm servant, and mother Eliza Murray, domestic servant.

Her mother Elizabeth Murray outlived her, dying on 12th November 1894 at Newcastleton aged 84 years. Her death certificate records her occupation as domestic servant, and her parents David Murray, shepherd, and Janet Murray maiden name Murray. The informant was her son-in-law James Scott, who was present at the death. Eliza was living with her daughter and son-in-law in 1861, and the census records her birthplace as Canonbie in Dumfriesshire.

James Scott died on 16th April 1909 at Newcastleton, aged 82 years. The informant at his death was his son William. Two years later the 1911 census for 40 North Hermitage Street, where the family lived for a long time, records two of his children still living in the house: Agnes, a retired domestic servant, aged 50; and her brother George, “Farm Labourer (Cattle man)”, aged 48. Also living there then was Agnes’s daughter Nancy Scott aged 17 (Agnes was recorded as unmarried) and her granddaughter Nellie Scott aged 5. It’s quite possible that there are living descendants today of this family.

And just to add a little extra colour to the story, here are the signatures of the two parties at dispute before Jedburgh Sheriff Court, as recorded in the original case papers.

Sale prices on DNA test kits available from FamilyTreeDNA

For anyone who has thought about getting a Y-DNA test done as part of the Cavers Y-DNA project FamilyTreeDNA is currently offering special seasonal prices on its DNA tests.

Y-DNA37 – the recommended (and certainly minimum) testing level for new testers joining the Cavers project – currently costs $119 (US dollars) when ordered direct from FamilyTreeDNA, compared with $169 normally. Even adding international postage this undercuts the price I can order kits for UK people direct from the Guild of One-Name Studies, and is available to participants worldwide. There are also sale prices on higher levels of testing accuracy, such as Y-DNA67. If you choose to go for a higher level of testing then its results can still be usefully compared with other Cavers people who have gone for Y-DNA37.

To see more about the various tests available, and the current special offers, see under Products on the FamilyTreeDNA home page. These special prices are available until 31st December 2013. You can also join the Cavers Y-DNA project at these special prices via its own page – click on “Join Request” near the top, and then select the kit you want to order.

Preliminary Cavers Y-DNA project results

Some months ago I started a Cavers Y-DNA project at Family Tree DNA. This is very much a long term thing, as I blogged at the time. The aim is to compare direct male line Cavers DNA, passed down from father to son, to see if different Cavers lines are related, and how closely.

So far one male line Cavers descendant has signed up for a brand new Family Tree DNA test. He descends from a branch of Cavers that is believed to originate in Roxburghshire, Scotland, with Walter Cavers born in Scotland circa 1795, but who then moved to Nottingham, England, and established a large family with many descendants. Walter’s origins are something of a mystery. There is no obviously clear baptism to tie up to him, without some problems and question marks. And many Cavers births are missing from the parish registers anyway. His could be one of those. So let’s call for the purposes of this blog post this DNA line that’s been tested Volunteer 1, a direct male line descendant of the mysterious Walter.

Shortly after that another Cavers descendant agreed to transfer their Y-DNA test results from Ancestry to Family Tree DNA. This can be done for a small fee, and is possible because of an agreement between the lab that Ancestry use and the Family Tree DNA system. This person descends from Thomas Cavers (ca1810-1879) who emigrated from Castleton, Roxburghshire to Lanark County, Ontario, Canada. He had many descendants, and a number of siblings who emigrated around the same time. This family line can be traced back to Thomas’s father John Cavers, who married in Hawick in 1798, and had a large family in Castleton parish. But John’s origins are also something of a mystery. Again there is no obvious baptism for him. Nor do the names of his children offer significant clues. Let’s call the DNA testee in this line Volunteer 2, again a direct male line Cavers descendant, this time of Thomas and John.

Some of the DNA results for Volunteer 1 came through quickly, for 12 markers of Y-DNA, and showed a perfect match with Volunteer 2′s Y-DNA. For such an unusual surname this suggests strongly that they have a shared male ancestry, although because Volunteer 2′s DNA was transferred over from Ancestry it’s not possible in Family Tree DNA to run a further report estimating how close the connection is. Then tonight the fuller results for Volunteer 1 have come through, sooner than expected, accurate to 37 markers, which can be compared with the 27 markers available from Volunteer 2′s transfer from Ancestry. And again they match very very closely. There is one genetic difference, but that may be due to a mutation in a later generation. Again though the indication is shared ancestry.

But to complicate things further a third test kit then matched the Y-DNA of volunteers 1 and 2, and this person isn’t even a known Cavers descendant! They are a Cowings, descended from Cowings or Cowan ancestors traced back to Gateshead, County Durham, and 1720. On 12 markers this person, let’s call them Volunteer 3, for they have now joined the Cavers Y-DNA project, match the DNA results for Volunteer 1 and Volunteer 2 perfectly. Extending things to 25 markers Volunteer 3 has a close match to Volunteer 1, with just 2 genetic differences i.e. a genetic distance of 2, and an even closer match to Volunteer 2 (at least those 23 markers available after transfer for Volunteer 2), with 1 genetic distance. At 37 markers Volunteer 1 again matches Volunteer 3 closely, with a genetic distance (differences in marker numbers) of just 2 – very strongly indicative of shared ancestry. Volunteer 2′s available 27 markers match Volunteer 3′s, but with a genetic distance of 3 this time. A further 3 genetic markers (outside the core 37) available for Volunteer 2 also match Volunteer 3′s results.

So what does this mean?! Well I think the 12 marker results indicate shared male line ancestry in all cases, but the higher genetic distance when more markers are compared suggest it is somewhat distant. Genetic distance grows as mutations in the DNA occur, and these mutations happen more frequently over a long time, and many generations. Volunteer 1′s line seems to tie up more closely with Volunteer 3′s line than Volunteer 2′s does. But I am confident that they ultimately have the same ancestry. With the Y-DNA results from Volunteer 1 and Volunteer 3 it’s possible to run a report at Family Tree DNA which estimates how closely the lines are related. This suggests that the chances of Volunteer 1 and Volunteer 3 sharing a common ancestor in 6 generations is almost 54%, in 8 generations 71%, and in 10 generations 83%. In genealogical terms this is relatively close, and quite exciting.

As for the Cowings/Cowan thing, I can’t give a simple answer at the moment. One possible explanation is that a distant Cowings or Cowan ancestor dallied with a Cavers, to put it nicely! Or that there is an illegitimacy link there somewhere, and a Miss Cowan had an illegitimate child, father someone Cavers, and the child took on the Cowan surname. There was a cluster of Cavers people in the Durham area from at least the 18th century onwards, and possibly earlier. Though they probably had Roxburghshire origins ultimately.

Alternatively it’s possible these Cavers lines link up to a Cowan in their ancestry somewhere. That is equally possible, and DNA can’t give a simple answer to this, especially because anything like this probably happened an extremely long time ago, before the good written records we genealogists rely on for piecing together family trees using documentation.

But it is all very exciting. To have two separate Cavers lines link up through the DNA when there was no evidence before of a connection is superb. We can now reasonably say that the Nottingham descendants and the Canadian descendants of John Cavers in Castleton are distant cousins of each other. And the Cowan matching side of things is interesting for raising more questions than answers. All information is good information.

Ultimately though we need more volunteers to sign up to have their DNA tested, from different Cavers branches. The more lines we can get tested, the bigger the picture the DNA can build of if and how the various lines are connected. And perhaps we might in some cases be able to back this up by tracing links in the documentary records, spurred on by the findings from the DNA tests. That would be nice. For more information about what is involved in testing, including the costs of the test kits, please see my original blog post about the project.

Recording of talk about Cavers one-name study

I gave a talk recently about my Cavers one-name study at the Guild of One-Name Studies regional meeting at Perth, Scotland, on 2nd November 2013. I was asked afterwards by fellow Guild members if I could put a version online. I’ve just recorded a new version, slides and audio. It’s just under 16 minutes long, and is essentially the same talk as before. I talked about how my one-name study has evolved over 30 years, including changing techniques, benefits and challenges of digitisation, and moves into social networking. Here’s the link.