James Fairbairn (abt. 1765 - aft. 1810)

Born about Jan 1765 in Mellerstain Mill, Berwickshire, Scotland

Husband of Isobel (Tait) Fairbairn — married Aug 1794 in Legerwood, Berwickshire, Scotland

Descendants

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Lorna Henderson [send private message]

Biography

James^[1] was born about 1765.^[2] He passed away after 1810.

From 1794 at least he was the tenant in Westmoriston.

Family

Husband: James Fairbairn

Wife: Isobel Tait

Married Aug 1794 Legerwood, Berwickshire, Scotland

OPR entry dated Aug 1794 reads: James Fairbairn and Isobel Tait both in this parish were married.^[3]

Children:

Violet Fairbairn ^[4]

Agnes Fairbairn ^[5]

Margaret Fairbairn

Isobel Fairbairn

Janet Fairbairn ^[6]

John Fairbairn (1804-1876) ^[7]

Isabel Fairbairn

James Fairbairn

Ralph Fairbairn (abt.1810-) ^[8][9]

DNA

yDNA

Descendants of James married to Isobel Tait, and of James married to Elizabeth Purves have tested BigY700, being an excellent match which formed a new sub branch on the yDNA haplogroup tree of mankind at I-FTB39538.

Keep an eye on the ongoing Fairbairn DNA tree grouping updates that are posted to the Guild of One Name Studies Fairbairn pages as they ensue.

Research notes

James' parents?

The Scottish naming pattern, assuming both that they followed it, and we know about all the children, indicates they might be a John and Agnes.

My, Lorna's, original theory was that they were John Fairbairn and Agnes Gibson, John being highly likely to be the son of the John Fairbairn married to Magdalen Bo.

However a revised, earlier more complete, headstone transcription for John and Agnes' Earlston headstone^[10] has muddied those waters somewhat. Both because it shows Agnes as having died in "1762?", and because it would alter James' grandparents from John Fairbairn and Magdalen Bo to James Fairbairn and Margaret Henderson.

It is more likely that John & Agnes (Gibson)'s family consists of James 1750; Margaret 1753; William 1757; John 1761 and Agnes 1767, all of whose baptisms show a father as tenant on one or other farm, whereas this James born 1765 and his siblings Isobel, Agnes & Rachel all show their father John as a miller in Mellerstain.

The baptisms of John and Isabel in 1761 would conflict and they cannot be in the same family grouping.

It is also unlikely that there's a second James in the family of John and Agnes as James b. 1750 to John and Agnes (Gibson) Fairbairn appears to have survived into adulthood.

So John Fairbairn and Agnes Gibson have been replaced as parents of James by a miller, John Fairbairn, looking for a home that connects him as per the DNA indications of the family of John Fairbairn and Magdalen Bo's family somehow.

Sources

1. ↑ Birthday Nov 1901 Principal A M FAIRBAIRN, Mansfield College, from Berwickshire News and General Advertiser, Tues Nov 12 1901

   "PRINCIPAL FAIRBAIRN. Principal A. M. Fairbairn, of Mansfield College, Oxford, was sixty-three on Monday. He was born the son of a miller in a Mid-Lothian village. He is grandson of James Fairbairn, West Morriston, Earlston, and of Andrew Martin. Blainslie ...

2. ↑ 1765 Baptism: 9 Jan James s/o John FAIRBAIRN, Miller, Mellerstain Mill. Image available ScotlandsPeople. Ref. Earlston (Berwick) 736/00 0010 0137
3. ↑ 1784 Marriage: Aug James FAIRBAIRN & Isobel TAIT, Legerwood, BEW, image available ScotlandsPeople, 749/00 0010 0143
4. ↑ Birth 24 Nov Bap. 16 Dec 1794 Violet dau. of James Fairbairn, image available ScotlandsPeople Legerwood (BEW), 749/ 0010 0146

   entry reads: James Fairbairn tenant in Westmoriston had a Daughter born on the 24th of Novr and Baptized on the 16th of Decr named Violet

5. ↑ Birth 21 Jul Bap. 4 Aug 1796 Agness dau. o James Fairbairn, image available ScotlandsPeople: Legerwood (BEW), 749/ 0010 0148

   entry reads: "James Fairbairn Tenant in Westmoriston had a Daughter born on the 21st Jul & Baptized on the 4th August Named Agness."

6. ↑ Bap.(?) 2 Jun 1802 Janet d/o James FAIRBAIRN & Isable TAIT, Legerwood, BEW 749/ 0010 0158, from OPR index ScotlandsPeople
7. ↑ Bap.(?) 17 Jul 1804 John s/o James FAIRBAIRN & Isabel TAIT, Legerwood, BEW, 749/ 0010 0164, from OPR index ScotlandsPeople
8. ↑ Bap.(?) 24 Dec 1810 Ralph s/o James FAIRBAIRN & Isabella TAIT, from ScotlandsPeople OPR index: Dalkeith, MLN, 683/00 0050 02895
9. ↑ is this son Ralph the baker down in Birmingham?
10. ↑ Earlston MI: from around 1967, when the stone was more legible, than in 2005 as used for published volume from the Borders Family History Society. Earlier transcript kindly provided by the BFHS Research Officer

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 16 October 2021, 08:37), entry for James Fairbairn (PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:K4R8-Y4H ); contributed by various users.