Thomas Fairbairn (abt. 1790 - 1854)

Born about 1790 in Berwickshire, Scotland

Husband of Elspeth (Redpath) Fairbairn — married 18 Dec 1807 in Canongate, Edinburghshire, Scotland

Descendants

Died 17 Oct 1854 at about age 64 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Biography

According to the 1851/2 Canadian census, Thomas Fairbairn was born about 1790^[1] which would only make him 17 when he married Elspeth, herself aged 18.

Family information passed down from a daughter of Thomas apparently states that his parents were Robert Fairbairn and Margaret Paterson in Gordon, Berwickshire. A couple of this name married at Gordon in 1778, but a baptism for Thomas has not been found. Parents of these names do however "fit" the Scottish naming pattern for Thomas and Elspeth's children.

Thomas Fairbairn married Elspeth Redpath (sister of John Redpath) December 18, 1807 in Cannongate Edinburgh, Scotland. ^[2]

The family immigrated from Scotland to Montreal with 7 children around 1826, their 8th child being born in Montreal in 1829. Shortly later, Thomas took his family to Bytown, Upper Canada (Ottawa) where he was involved with the building of the Rideau Canal with his brother-in-law John Redpath. It appears that some of the children remained in Bytown, while others moved back to Montreal.^[3]

Thomas' family and later his son, Peter, lived on John Redpath’s land in the area of today's Ottawa South (between the Canal and Rideau River) before buying it in 1859. The land passed through several hands before it was acquired, in 1832, by John Redpath. Redpath’s brother-in-law, Thomas Fairbairn, built a house on the property to the east of Riverdale and in 1859 Thomas’s son, Peter, bought the property from his uncle. The register shows Redpath acquiring an interest in the property from R.D. Fraser in 1832 and selling it to Peter Fairbairn in 1859. ^[4]

He died in Montreal in 1854, but is buried in Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa, along with his first and second wives, as well as many of his children and grandchildren. Descendants had transferred the plots on the family grounds at Billings Bridge to Beechwood Cemetery.^[5]

Links

Thomas in the FTDNA Fairbairn Surname DNA project

Thomas on the FamilySearch Tree

DNA

direct male line descendants of Robert Fairbairn (married Elizabeth Crosbie) and of Thomas Fairbairn (married Elspeth Redpath) have tested yDNA (BigY) and as at Nov 2019 share a newly created terminal SNP of I-YF13955.Henderson-2297 02:09, 5 November 2019 (UTC)

keep an eye on this branch of the yFull tree for any further developments and timescales (doesn't yet show the newly created branch)

Sources

1. ↑ 1851 Census: Nepean, Carleton Co, Canada West (Ontario) Dist 4 Sub Dist 31 Pg 3 Sched A Roll C_11716, hsehold of Thos & Betsy FAIRBAIRN, image available Ancestry.com
2. ↑ "Scotland Marriages, 1561-1910," Thomas Fairbairn and Elspit Reidpath, 18 Dec 1807; citing Canongate, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, reference
3. ↑ “Another Epic South End History About Period When Belmont Avenue was Lane of a Farm,” Ottawa Citizen, 7 March 1931.
4. ↑ Ottawa-Carleton Land Registry Office, Ottawa, Nepean Township Register, RO, Concession C Lot letter L, Reel AR2.
5. ↑ Headstone, Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa, Ontario.