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THE POPE FAMILIES OF SUTHERLAND, ROSS,
BY ALLAN C LANNON
INTRODUCTION
During research into the Melville families of the
Doll in the parish of Clyne in Sutherland I came across a
connection between Melvilles and a Pope family living in that
area through the marriage of John Melville to Roberta Pope. As research
progressed much information was collected locally and through
researchers in this country and abroad and their names are
recorded in the reference section to this work. From the collected
material it became clear that the Pope name had some
importance for the Melvilles making a home in the antipodes,
in addition to those remaining in
The Popes and connected families in the Doll lived at various places but principally at Sputie. Two areas not far distant from one another are designated Sputie on this map from the 1870s. One by the A9 road and the other a little up the Sputie Burn which marked the boundary between the Parishes of Golspie and Clyne.
In addition to the Pope Melvilles of
It became clear that the Pope families of
Sutherland, Ross and Cromarty, and
This work tries to logically and clearly document the known facts about the Pope connected families and briefly put their lives in the context of the periods in which they lived. There may be errors and omissions but hopefully this will not detract from the understanding of the significance of the prominent and important families in this family history research. By setting out what is known it is to be hoped that further information will come to light through others working in the same area of research.
The Different Principal Pope Lines
The Popes lines which are most distinctive and which are researched in the greatest detail here are:
The
Popes of East Sutherland
This group includes the families in Clyne and Kildonan Parishes
The Popes of
The
Pope Melvilles of
The
Popes of Durness and Scourie
This group includes the Pope families in
The
Pope Smiths of
There are other
families in
It quickly became obvious that success in the quest for the origins of the Sutherland and Caithness Popes, and the other associated lines, probably lay in identifying the family of Hector Pope of Loth. Though there were many uncertain areas in this family descent in the East Sutherland branch their connection to Hector seemed proven. However, the Durness group and their ancestry were more problematic and required extensive research.
The
Pope family members of interest identified in
Circumstantial evidence existed for this supposition before the final proof and this was as follows:
At the birth of James to
Alexander Pope and Ann Mackay in Durness in 1787 Alexander
is described as ‘from Sutherland’. This is a very
significant remark indicating that he was neither a Mackay
country man from Strathnaver in the widest 19th
century terminology covering the north of Sutherland nor a
The above being the case
what was his parentage?
James Pope a Writer in Dornoch had at least two sons
to Isobell Monro – Alexander and Hugh. Alexander was born
in 1739 and so would have been about the correct age to be
in Durness and marrying in 1787. James being a
professional man working in the law would be a good
candidate to be Alexander’s father coming from the Popes of
East Sutherland who were a high status and generally
professional or landed family at that time.
Alexander in Durness names
his first son James in accordance with naming tradition if
James was his own father.
The next son was called Neil after Ann Mackay’s
father and the third son Hugh which may be reference to the
child’s uncle and Alexander’s brother from Dornoch. The girls are a
little more problematic.
But his second child was Alexie and could well have
been named after himself and this often happened in Scottish
families of the time. Neilina
is also possibly referring back to the maternal side and the
child’s grandfather. Fairly
is a name which appears on the north coast of
A John Pope who went to
Two Popes from Scourie were
said to go to Brora to live with a cousin Angus Pope. Though they did
not live there permanently it is clear that the Scourie
resident who made this report knew of Angus Pope and was
aware he was a relative of the Scourie Popes.
In a letter to James Dun
Pope in
Both James Dun Pope and
James Pope of
The records in Dunrobin
Castle at the time of the Hector Lithgow Last Will and Testament
indicated Helen Pope, Hector’s mother, to be the daughter of
Hector Pope of Loth and indicated that all the Sutherland
Popes were from the same family.
However, the circumstantial evidence, most of it correctly assumed, becomes almost irrelevant with the appearance of all the evidence from the various claims and litigation surrounding the Hector Lithgow inheritance relating to the will of this Hector who was the son, possibly illegitimate, of Helen Pope of Loth. Sources are quoted later but the principal providers of information were George Sutherland Taylor, a Writer (Solicitor/Lawyer) in Golspie who in the late 1820s and early 1830s was commissioned to draw up a Pope family outline with regard to the claims, Depositions and correspondence from the 1820s through to 1848 provided by Pope Descendant Charles Rigg in Worcestershire and researcher Alistair Gordon in London who has collected much information and particularly that associated with the Gordons and Popes.
George S Taylor was commissioned by a Mr Nichol
of Doctor’s Commons, also called
The Society of Genealogy describes the Doctors' Commons as follows:
The
Court of the Bishop of
The name "Doctors' Commons" goes back to the 15th century.
Advocates (equivalent to modern solicitors) were also
doctors of law (having obtained doctors' degrees). They
formed an association called the
George S Taylor conducted his enquiries in the late 1820s and early 1830s concluding them around 1834 and submitting his results as of 31 August 1835. The wheels of justice grind slowly and the date of the forwarding of the information to the Lords of the Treasury by the above Mr Nicol is not clear. However, a letter to the Lords of the Treasury of 24 March 1840 from Mr Nichol shows the regard in which both George S Taylor and his endeavours were held.
The letter stated:
“Your
Lordships are aware from the various reports which I have
had the honour to submit detailing the enquiries made in
Sutherland for the purpose of discovering the history and
connections of the late Hector Lithgow and of the different
members of the family of the late Rev. Hector Pope, formerly
Minister of the Parish of Loth in the county of Sutherland,
that those enquiries were conducted by George S Taylor of
Golspie with the sanction of your Lordships, that gentleman
having been recommended as a person having peculiar means of
access to the muniments in Dunrobin Castle, from which much
of the information desired was ultimately obtained, and of
the satisfactory means in which Mr Taylor performed the
services required of him.’
Clearly there was satisfaction with George S
Taylor’s work which included research at
However, George S Taylor’s work was not the start
of the story and certainly not the end. The search for the
search for the rightful heirs to Hector Lithgow and the fight
for a share of the vast fortune he left preceded and followed
THE ‘FIRST’ POPES
The Popes, or Papes/Paips, as the name was often spelt at that time, was one of prominent families in East Sutherland in the 1600, 1700 and 1800s. They were teachers, ministers, Tenant Farmers, even if sometimes on small lots of land, and soldiers and influential and notable in the area through their learning and social contacts with a number having studied for university degrees.
Black,
in his Surnames of Scotland, identifies a number of Popes, and
the variant spellings of the name, in the North of Scotland
and the Northern Isles. Of
most interest from this source are the
One
of the earliest references found to Pope families is to be
found in a charter of William Pop, son and heir of William Pop
who was a burgess of
Pope family tradition in the North of Scotland, as reported by George S Taylor, suggested that the first Pope to arrive in the area was a ‘stranger’ of the name of Pope, a churchman, who landed in Cromarty bay about the close of the 15th century. Certainly the present research might also lead to the conclusion that the Pope family originated from an incomer to that area at around that time. This ‘stranger’ would then appear to be the progenitor of William, Charles and Thomas Pope and their other noted but unconfirmed siblings. Cleary he was not their parent but possibly their grand or great grand parent though this is unlikely ever to be proved.
WILLIAM
PAPE (POPE, PAIP)
William
Pape, native of Ross-shire, may be the gentleman first noted
as a Reader at Ardersier, in the
Fortrose Cathedral
Readers were used by the church after the Reformation in 1560 as there were too few ministers to cover the whole country. Ministers were responsible for an area with more than one church and they travelled around preaching in their various places of worship. The Readers read the service from a service book on the Sundays when the minister could not be present in the church.
William matriculated at St. Andrew’s University in 1583 and was a graduate of St. Andrew’s University in 1587. However, courses of study were not necessarily continuous in those times and he was, in fact, appointed Schoolmaster at Dornoch in 1585. He became the parson there in 1588. In 1599 further honour followed with his appointment, by King James, to the Chantry of the Diocese and he is later stated to have been appointed Chanter of Dornoch in 1602. This was followed in 1606 with his appointment as constant Moderator of the Presbytery. With the consent of the Bishop, Dean and Chapter he received from John, Earl of Sutherland, in 1607, for life and to his heirs for 19 years the tiend sheaves of the Chanter’s Quarter, town and lands in the parish of Dornoch. This land tenancy and the products thereof probably provided William with considerable social status and not a little financial gain. It should be noted that there is no inconsistency with William having been appointed reader and teacher and then attending University and subsequently becoming a minister of religion. This routeway to the ministry was not an uncommon one. Also as noted above the matriculation and graduation might be separated by a shorter or longer period and a graduation date was not always noted. There was an inference of graduation at that time if matriculation took place.
William is next reported in records as present
at the Glasgow Assembly in 1610 along with his brother
Thomas Pape, parson of Rogart and Chancellor of the Diocese,
who attended on
behalf of the Caithness Diocese.
The parish of Dornoch was dedicated to St Finn Barr. Within this parish, indeed in the centre of Dornoch, there also stood St Gilbert’s, the Cathedral Church of Caithness. This church was to become the church of the parish in the later part of the 16th century. The church took its name from the St Gilbert, Bishop of Caithness, who founded the Cathedral. The Bishop was buried in the Cathedral in 1245 and also within the building is a chapel of St James. A convent of the Red Friars was founded at Dornoch in 1271, no doubt, due to the town’s importance as a religious centre. Further indications of the importance given to the early religious influence can be seen the fairs of St Finn Barr and St Gilbert held in the town.
The Cathedral spent many decades, even centuries, in disrepair due to a number of incidents. It was burned down in 1570 and in 1605 greatly ruined by a very violent storm. It was not until 1835 that a full restoration of the building was begun by Elizabeth, Duchess of Sutherland and this work went on for many years.
Drawing by Cordiner from about 1776 of the Dornoch Cathedral nave.
William Pape finished his career in the ministry and his life as Pastor of Nigg in Ross-shire. The date of his removal to Nigg appears to have been about 1613 to 1616. In the Nigg Chrurch records William is listed without firm dates between Finlay Manson who was recorded as ‘continuing’ there in 1607 and George Corbet given as 1615 and ‘continuing in 1615. The next date mentioned is for William Ross from 1644. Following the sequence it would suggest William was only the incumbent for a shirt time from 1613 to 1614 but there is the possibility that he was there after George Corbett in 1615.
William’s church at Nigg was described as a mensal kirk of the Bishop of Ross which indicates a church where the revenues were appropriated to the bishopric. In the parish there were also chapels at Cullins and Shandwick. In the area of William’s ministry there was in addition two holy wells, Tobar Chormaig and Tobar Eoin. The former was dedicated to St Cormac and the latter to St John the Baptist.
William’s influence in the affairs of Sutherland were not insignificant being a Commissioner for the county and through this, between 1593 and 1599, coming into contact and being an associated of Robert Pont (1524 – 1606) and his son, mapmaker and clergyman, Timothy Pont (c1564 – c1614). The influence in religious affairs of William Pape at a time of change was considerable due to his consistent supporter of Episcopacy. In this regard it was for this purpose he atteended the Assembly of Glasgow in 1610 along with his brother Thomas, parson of Rogart and Chancellor of the Diocese.
It is interesting in family history research and writings for family details to be put in the social, religious and political context of the times in which they lived. While not connected to the Pope family under consideration it is worth saying a few words about the Pont family who were undoubtedly known to the Papes of Dornoch.
William
Pape would have met Robert Pont, an eminent and influential
Scottish clergyman, practicing lawyer and writer, as the
latter became increasingly active in church affairs in the
North of Scotland. Pont
opposed the appointment by James VI of Patrick Adamson as
Bishop of Caithness in 1587 and he was very much involved in
several commissions for ‘stamping out popery’ and for
instigating proceedings against Papists and establishing kirks
from Aberdeen to Caithness.
In the 1590s, as William Pape established himself and
his family in Dornoch, Pont was a senior statesman giving
advice on all matters relating to the church in the
Though much more is known about the life of
Robert Pont than his son, Timothy, it is the name of Timothy
that is often remembered due to his mapping of
The life and times of William Pope is an intriguing and interesting one and equally so is the work and life of the Ponts. It is hardly possible here to give little more than a short description of the work of the Ponts in the Scottish Highlands. There are many sources of information on this family worth consulting but a good start can be made by looking at the Pont website at www.nls.uk/pont. The description of the work in which the Ponts were involved gives a good insight into the structure of society in which William Pape had to live and work.
William
Pape married Cristine (Christian) Monypenny and a plaque to
their memory with their initials adorned their dwelling in
what is possibly the old Deanery. This plaque can be
seen in the
THOMAS PAPE (POPE)
The
second of William’s brothers who came to Dornoch from
Ross-shire and settled was Thomas. He is said to have
been encouraged to come by William’s prosperity. Thomas became
Chancellor of the Diocese and Minister at Rogart in 1590 and,
as we have seen, along with brother William, was a member of
the Assembly in
CHARLES
PAPE (POPE)
The
other brother of William Pape who came to Dornoch was Charles,
a Notary Public and Messenger at Arms. The records held by St
Andrew’s University notes that Charles was the brother of
William and was from Meikle Reny. There a number of
places with the name Meikle in Ross & Cromarty and
identifying where Charles moved from to Dornoch was not at
first thought possible with any certainty. However, it became
apparent that the most likely was Meikle Rhynie to the east of
Tain and in the area of Fearn Abbey. Since there was
clearly a strong religious settlement and tradition here
before the reformation and even after 1560 the Abbey continued
to be used as a church it soon became clear that Meikle Rhynie
would most likely have been Charles’s former abode. Black in his
surnames of
Charles was given the Sheriff Clerkship and was the unfortunate family member killed in the Pope Riot described later. Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae Volume 7 in the same section, on William Pope of Nigg, states that both Charles from Meikle Reny was William Popes brother and also tells of his death in the Pope Riot of Dornoch. This being the case it is most likely that Charles came directly from Meikle Reny to Dornoch. It is said that Charles was an affable individual and a merry conversationalist who was popular in the area.
It was only when I became aware of a book entitled ‘The Calendar of Fearn’ published in 1991 by the Scottish History Society that the sought after place was identified with certainty as Meikle Rhynie. This book confirmed a number of suspicions about the origins of the Pope family and added to the family relationships with some other families in the Fearn area. It recorded the wife of Charles as Margaret Gordon, who elsewhere is noted as the daughter of Alexander Gordon of Siddera, and also identified a daughter Barbara.
The
‘Calendar of Fearn’ reproduces information collected in a
manuscript from before 1517.
The Scottish History Society edition relied largely on
a version bound in or soon after 1844. It would appear that
there were several contributors to the Calendar and many
additions throughout the 17th century. Later writers knew
of its existence and referred to it and the Calendar was
placed at an unknown date in
It is worth printing part of the details here as they appear in the Calendar of Fearn:
Hugh
Ross’s first wife Catherine Ross was dead by 23 October
1609, when her widower made a
marriage contract with
Margaret Gordon, widow of Charles Pope, portioner of Meikle
Rhynie (RS37/7, 75r-v, 8June 1650: for Pope, ‘publict notary
and messenger at arms’, killed in Dornoch in 1607, see
Gordon, 246-8; Blackie, 45, traces his ancestry to Bishop
Henry Cockburn [d. 1476]). Barbara Pope, Margaret Gordon’s
daughter, contracted to marry her mother’s stepson Walter
Ross, apparent of Kindeace, on 22 July 1622, very shortly
before Hugh Ross’s death (RS37/7, 74r-75r, 22 march 1650). When Walter Ross
lost Kindeace almost thirty years later his wife and his
stepmother had to renounce their rights (RS37/7, 74r-75v, 22
March 1650). Margaret
Gordon had remarried and was now the wife of Thomas or Hugh
Ross of Resolis (RS37/7, 75r-v gives both names.
To sumarise this it appears that after Charles Pope was killed in the Pope Riot his widow, Margaret Gordon, married Hugh Ross in 1609. Hugh Ross had previously been married to Catherine Ross and their son, Walter Ross, married Barbara Pope thus resulting in the marriage of Barbara Pope to her mother’s stepson.
After the death of Hugh Ross in 1622 Margaret Gordon (Pope and Ross by her previous marriages) married for a third time. This marriage was to Thomas Ross who had previously been married to Helen Ross and another and he too was therefore entering into marriage for the third time. Hugh Ross, the first husband of Margaret Gordon, was the son of a Walter Ross and Margaret Simson. This Walter later married to Agnes Vaus and he was probably the son of another Walter Ross.
CHARLES
PAPE (POPE) OF CULLICUDDEN
In 1662 the parish of Cullicudden joined with Kirkmichael and became known as Resolis. Charles Pope of Cullicudden was still in the charge in August 1655 according to the Mackay Presbytery Records of Dingwall but by 1662 the charge was vacant hence the joining of the parishes. Whether Charles disappearance from the scene was through death or retirement is not known. There is no indication that he moved on to another church.
The
Cathedral of Fortrose held the prebend or stipend of
Cullicudden, and that of Kirkmichael. The former parish
was dedicated to
Charles Pope of Cullicudden, is said in Fasti and by Sage to be most probably the son of the aforementioned Thomas who moved from Rogart to Cullicudden. He succeeded Thomas of Cullicudden there and he took up the charge before 1638 as he is mentioned in Mackay’s Dingwall Presbytery records as Clerk to the Presbytery in November 1638. It is from this Charles Pope of Cullicudden that Alexander Pope of Reay was descended according to Sage who also stated that Alexander was a descendant, through Hector Pope of Loth, of William Pope (Pape). It has also been suggested, though maybe less credibly, that Hector of Loth was son that Gilbert Pape, Burgess of Tain and son of Charles Pape who was killed in the Pope Riot at Dornoch.
Charles Pope, the Minister of Cullicudden and assumed son of Thomas Pope and nephew of Charles Pope of the Pope Riot, therefore appears to have been married but his wife’s name is not known at this time.
The area of Ross in the vicinity of Tain, Fearn and Meikle Rhynie according to Pont’s map of about 1580.
Above Kirkmichael Churchyard and Church in 2010 and similarly below Cullicudden and church remains.
BISHOP
HENRY COCKBURN AND THE LAING MANUSCRIPT
Further
information
upon the ancestry of the Popes appears in the Calendar of
Fearn in a minor reference to Bishop Henry Cockburn. Blackie, in the
transcription of Laing MSS III 666,
The Chanonry of Ross, by C.G.MacDowall (Fortrose,
1963), p.37:
"Further, it was possible for men who were not in holy orders
to be appointed prelates and canons. In Ross a notable example
of this cynical attitude towards what the modern mind might
regard as the neccessity for the preparation and training of
the clergy was provided by the example of Henry Cockburn who
although not even in minor orders had a promise from the Pope
of the Bishopric of Ross whenever it should fall vacant, an
event which occurred in 1460. The Pope thereupon granted
Cockburn, described as having the tonsure only, a faculty or
permission to receive successively
the minor orders and the orders of sub-deacon, deacon and
priest and to receive consecration after taking the oath of
fealty. Cockburn was thus enabled to bypass the various orders
and jump
at one bound from a clerk's desk in
An enquiry to St Andrew’s University Library produced some further information, printed as received below, on Bishop Henry Cockburn and also attributed an illegitimate son to the Bishop.
I can confirm from the Acta Facultatis Artium
and Early Records that Henry Cockburn matriculated in 1448-9
at the
The
source of the St Andrew’s information was from the book by
Bishop John Dowden called ‘The Bishops of Scotland’ and
published in 1912, just after the author’s death. Dowden states that
Henry Cockburn was provided with the Bishopric in March 1461
and paid his ‘commune servitium’ in April of that year. His election and
confirmation as Bishop took place, he states, on
Why or how this son was legitimized, according to Dowden on 20th September 1507, 31 years after the death of his father, is somewhat puzzling! However, legitimization could happen at any time, but usually when the father wanted to see the illegitimate offspring inherit. The legitimization process was normally a request to the king, and the official document then made it possible for the offspring to inherit some or all of the parent's land (eldest son, usually) or goods. The process could also be used to disinherit a younger, legitimate son, by making an older, illegitimate son a legal heir! Since the father was already some time dead it is probable that the latter reason applied in this case. One other alternative that comes to mind might be that the illegitimate individual wanted to be more acceptable in his profession or to gain more credibility and stature within that profession.
According to the Laing Manuscript Bishop Henry Cockburn had a concubine called Bessy Gordon and they had a daughter Ellen Cockburn. This Ellen was then named as the concubine of Sir John Reid, Vicar of Avah (unclear, might this be Avoch?) and they in turn had a son, John Reid. At this point there is mention of an Agnes Reid, most probably the daughter of this latter John though she could be his sister. This Agnes Reid appears to have been the mother of Charles Pope and several other children. The author of the manuscript lists the others as Father Jerom Pope, Thomas Pope, James Pope, David Pope, Nans Pope, Janet Pope and Bessy Pope. In all instances in the manuscript the name Pope is written as Pape.
One omission from the list is the name of William Pope the Pastor of Dornoch. There is little doubt that he was a brother to Charles and Thomas who are both mentioned. Whether he was not known about or missed out is unclear and it is possible that he was known by another name. Jerom (Jerome) is a possibility and it may have been that when William took his religious vows that this was his chosen name.
Bessy Gordon not only appears to have been an
ancestor of the Pope family but also was a concubine of the
parson of Alness, Father Nicholas Tulloch, the nephew of
Bishop Thomas Tulloch. This
line from Bessy Gordon leads through the Tulloch line into the
Ross family of Shandwick, the family of William Sinclair of
Channonry and the family of Sir John Spens in the Channonry of
Ross. While those
are interesting connections and indicate strong links between
some of the principal families of Ross and the Popes it is not
possible here to do little more than indicate some of the
interesting and intriguing connections.
The above is constructed from information in a
number of sources but mainly the Calendar of Fearn, the Laing
Manuscript and information from the
One of the most notable and infamous events to befall the Pope family while in Dornoch was what is known as the Pope Riot of July 1608. It should noted that an Privy Council enquiry dates the event to this time while Gordon in his history gives the year as 1607. The records of the Gaelic Society of Inverness point out this error on the part of Gordon and give a full account of the riot and the aftermath.
The events leading to the riot are not entirely clear but the consequences certainly were. Some say that the prosperity of the Pope brothers and their consequent pride of position and power was their downfall while others suggest that they were merely carrying out a duty to quell a disturbance in the Churchyard.
It
would seem that while most of the able-bodied men of the
parish were on duty guarding the Sutherland border against an
attack from
For some clarity of the event it is worth reproducing here part of the text of the Gaelic Society of Inverness report on the matter as presented by William Matheson in 1974 in an article in a Society publication.
The
fullest account of the Pape
Riot is to be found in the pages of Sir Robert Gordon's History of the Earldom
of Sutherland, and it deserves to be quoted at some length. though, as will appear, some details require to be
corrected. The affair has come to be known as the Pape Riot because three brothers
of that name were the victims. The oldest brother, William, was
minister of Dornoch, Thomas
was minister of Rogart, and Charles
Sheriff-clerk of Sutherland. At the time in question the
Earl of Sutherland had gathered his forces to oppose an expected invasion of his
territory by a considerable
army assembled on his borders under the command of the Earl
of
" Everie man," he writes, " being departed from the toun of Dornogh vnto this convention at
Strathully, the yeir of God
1607, except William Morray,
a boyer, and some few others,
who were also readie to goe away the nixt morning, Mr William and
Thomas Paips, with some
others of the ministrie, had
a meitting at Domogh,
concerning some of the church effairs.
After they had dissolved their meitting, they went to
breakfast to ane inn, or victualling-hous of the toun.
As they were at breakfast, one lohn
Mackphaill entered the house
and asked some drink for his money, which the mistress of
the house refused to give him, therby to be red of his
company, because shee knew him to be a brawling fellow.
John' Mackphaill taking this refusall in evil pairt,
reproved the woman, and spok somewhat stub-bornlie to the
ministers, who began to excuse her; wherevpon Thomas Pape
did threattin him, and he agane did thrust into Thomas his
arme ane arrow, with a broad
forked head, which then he held in his hand. So, being
parted and set asunder that tyme, Mr William and his brother
Thomas came the same evening into the churchyaird, with
their swords about them, which John Mackphaill perceaveing,
and taking it as a provocation, he went with all diligence
and acquented his nepheu Houcheon Mackphaill, and his
brother-in-law William Morray, the boyer, therewith; who,
being glaid to find this occasion whereby to revenge ther
old grudge against these brethren, they hastned furth, and
meitting with them in the churchyaird, they fell a
quarrelling, and from quarrelling to feighting. Charles Pape
hade berie all that day abroad, and at his retume,
vnderstanding in what case his brethren were, he came in a
preposterous hast to the fatall place of his end and rwyne.
They fought a little whyle: in end, Charles hurt William
Morray in the face, and therevpon
William Morray killed him. Mr William and Thomas were both extremlie wounded by John
Mackphaill and his nepheu Houcheon, and were lying there for
deid persons, without hope of
recoverie; but they recovered
afterward beyond expectation. The offenders escaped becaus their wes none in the toun to apprehend them (except
such as favored them), the inhabitants being all gone to the
assemblie at Strathvilie. John Mackphaill,
and his nephiu Houcheon, have
both since ended their dayes in
The
Pape brothers were comparatively recent immigrants from Ross-shire,
but in the space of some twenty years they had become men of
considerable wealth and position in Sutherland. Their busy
acquisition of property in Dornoch
was bitterly resented by many of the inhabitants' and, though the immediate
cause of the affray was trivial enough, it was in fact the
final eruption of hostile feelings that had been smouldering
in the community for some time.
Sir
Robert Gordon was absent at court in London when the Pape
Riot took placet and it is not surprising that, lacking
personal knowledge of what happened and writing many years
afterwards, his account is inaccurate in some respects. He
assigns the riot to the year 1607; but the records of the
Privy Council show that the actual date was
The matter was further pursued by the Privy Council and the fugitives involved in the case were pursued though at the end of the day there seems to have been little real justice achieved in the case with the perpetrates of what amounted to a murderer effectively going free.
Hector
Pope (Pape) (c1650 – 1719)
Golspie’s Story by Margaret Wilson Grant makes no
mention of Melvilles and only one Pope (Pape) but this
reference to the latter is of some importance. It is stated that
Hector Pape, Minister at Loth, met along with others, at a
diocesan synod in 1682 and also in the following year.
According to Fasti Hector graduated MA at
Hector firstly married Christian Leith and then
he later married to Christian Dunbar and not a lot more is
known of this lady at this time.
The only separate reference I have been able to find
for this second wife is in the Sutherland Estate Records. It is record that in
1725 she received support from the estate as the ‘ relict of
Hector Pope of Loth’.
When reading about the family relationships of men of
the cloth in those times it is clear that many were followed
into the ministry by their sons and many of the sons married
the daughters of ministers.
A starting point in the search for a suitable Dunbar
ancestor for Christian uncovered a number of Dunbar
individuals in the ministry in the area of Nairn and Auldearn
to the east of
Hector
was the father of the well known Alexander Pope, Minister of
Reay in Caithness, of which more below, and he, it was said
came from, and had, a large family. Two questions
immediately came to mind as research progressed. Was this Hector the
one whose name was perpetuated in the Pope and Melville names
in
Alexander Sage, in Memorabilia Domestica, indicates that Alexander Pope, Minister of Reay, was the son of Hector and quotes Sir Robert Gordon who said, in his history of the Sutherland family, that Hector had a numerous family of sons and daughters. To date this numerous family amounts to a son and a daughter by his first marriage and four sons and two daughters by Christian Dunbar.
The
church that stands at Loth today was not the one that Hector
Pope preached in and it may not be on exactly the same spot as
the old church. Marauding
Mackays burned down one early church in the 16th
Century and a new church was built there but the plaque above
the present church door seems to indicate a date of 1822. The present is
building rather too modern to be the one that would have been
the house of God used by Hector.
About 100 metres lower down the hillside at Loth is
situated the old
What
is known is that the church at Loth was dedicated to St
Curadan and belonged to the Bishop of Caithness. It was not the only
religious building in the area there being at least three
chapels. St
Tridwal’s was at Kintradwell, St Inan’s at Easter Garty and a
chapel at Navidale dedicated to St Naomhan. Fasti states that he
Ancestor of William, Charles
and Thomas – Said to be a ‘stranger’ of the
name of Pope, a churchman, who landed in
William Pope
Minister
of Dornoch, Chanter of
Charles Pope
Notary
Public and Sheriff Clerk of Sutherland. Married in
Sutherland to Margaret Gordon, daughter of Alexander Gordon of
Siddera, Dornoch. Died
in affray in Dornoch in 1607.
Thomas Pope
Minister
of Rogart and Treasurer of Caithness (Cathedral of Sutherland
and
Charles Pope
Survived
father Charles Pope above and was Curate of Kirkmichael,
Ross-shire.
Gilbert Pope
Burgess
of Tain, served heir to his father in lands of Meikle Reny
(various spellings) in Ross-shire 18/12/1869.
Hector Pope of Loth
Said
in one account to be son of Gilbert Pope and in another to be
son of Charles Pope of Cullicudden and son of Charles Pope the
Notary Public.
ALEXANDER POPE OF REAY AND HIS FAMILY
Alexander
Pope of Reay, born 1706, merits mention in a variety of
sources. Donald
Sage, recorded in Memorabilia Domestica, recounts much of the
story of Alexander Pope’s life and notes that Alexander was
the son of Hector Pope of Loth.
He additionally points out, as noted earlier, that this
Hector was a descendant of Charles Paip minister at
Kirkmichael and Cullicudden and that William Pope (Paip)
Precentor at the Cathedral in Dornoch was an ancestor. A booklet by
Reverend D. Beaton of Wick, published in 1910, titled ‘The
Rev. Alexander Pope, Reay,
Prior to becoming parish minister at Reay, Alexander Pope acted as schoolmaster in the parish. There is mention in an instruction by the Caithness Presbytery to their Commissioner to the General assembly of 1726 regarding his suitability as a teacher in the parish of Reay. It was noted that he was, ‘ a hopeful young man, having the Irish language’. This latter remark indicates that he was a Gaelic speaker, as well as an English speaker I would expect.
Alexander had graduated from
Various sources give a good description of Pope both in respect of both his physical makeup and his character. He is described as of great bodily strength and size and as having a vigorous intellect. The former attribute of size and strength he appears to have used to great advantage in his ministry in a wild and untamed part of the country. Calder, when quoting earlier sources, describes the parish of Reay as being in a state of ‘semi-barbarism’ and ‘the natives’ to be ‘in general grossly ignorant, disorderly and intractable’. It is said that Pope carried a cudgel with him both for protection and to hand out punishment where necessary.
There are a number of tales of Alexander Pope’s exploits that should be recounted here. The most interesting is his journey in 1732, probably from his residence at that time in Dornoch, to meet his namesake Alexander Pope, the poet. It is said, he travelled all the way to Twickenham, London by pony and though he at first got a cool reception the two men eventually became friends and indeed the poet presented the Reverend Pope with ‘a copy of the subscription edition of the Odyssey in five volumes quarto’.
Other gifts from Alexander the Poet to Alexander the Minister emphasise the affectionate friendship between the two men.
Sage in ‘Memorabilia Domestica’ recounts a number of those tales of Alexander Pope’s time in Reay. It is said that on Sabbath evening after preaching to a small congregation he sat on a stone seat to the west of the manse. This spot gave him a good view of a hut used as a tavern. It became quite clear to Alexander that many more attended this tavern than the church and a number were his parishioners. Those men in the tavern were well under the influence of the liquor they had consumed and two of them in the first instance left the group and approached the minister. They tried to induce him to take drink which was politely refused though he did remark upon their behaviour on the day of rest and worship.
For some time the drunken men tried both make Alexander take a drink and get him to join their company. Having not succeeded they returned to their company themselves and brought back a group of almost a dozen strong, able-bodied men to confront their minister. They were sufficiently drunk not to see sense but sober enough to fight. Alexander placed himself with his back to the wall and with his cudgel in hand stood firm awaiting their actions.
The minister was again asked to drink from a filled glass of whisky and threatened should he not do so he risked injury. When Pope refused this was the signal for battle. A bottle was thrown by one of the mob who was quickly and efficiently felled by a blow from Alexander Pope’s baton. Three or four more of the group came forward but each in turn received the same treatment. It was not long before the gang beat a hasty retreat, carrying with them their wounded companions.
In the days before pictorial communications of any sort it was easy at the start of his ministry for Alexander Pope to visit parishioners without them at first realizing who he was. He would appear to have visited households around his parish dressed in what might be termed a disguise. He might appear as a drover, pedlar or a stranger on a journey looking for accommodation for the night. This lodging was never refused and was a ready method of entry by Alexander Pope to the home of those in his charge. In one instance he compelled his host to allow family worship to be conducted and when the true identity of the visitor was divulged the host became devout himself and later an elder of the church.
The elders chosen by Alexander Pope were said to be not just the most decent and orderly men of the parish but also the strongest to be found. This latter attribute was necessary as Alexander of required to exert force to ensure certain parishioners attend worship. It is reported that on one occasion he required a rather coarse fellow, occupying a small farm with his mistress by whom he had two children, to appear before the Session. He did appear but refused to attend church to make a public repentance before the congregation. The minister not to be outdone arranged at a Session meeting for three of his strongest elders to go to the farmer’s house on the following Sunday and forcibly take him to church. This was done and the man was tied to the pulpit, with an elder on either side of him, throughout the service and induced to endure a thorough lecture by his minister.
The Reverend Beaton, in his booklet on Pope, observes that the parishioners ‘advanced in the knowledge of the truth and also in the arts of civilized life’. He further states that ale and whisky drinking was discontinued in the Sabbath evenings but was still much indulged in during the week. He tells of an instance when the landlady of the tavern sought Pope’s assistance in clearing six heavy drinkers from some distance who had continued drinking when asked to leave and had began to fight with one another. Pope expressed to her that she should not be keeping a disorderly house but assisted by gaining access to the roof, removing some of the thatch and pouring water onto the drunkards below. With drenched clothes, it is said, they left the tavern to be confronted by Pope with his cudgel. This was enough to send them on their way.
Alexander
Pope was a very popular preacher and also a man of
considerable literary talent and a celebrated archaeologist in
his day. He
translated the parts of the Orcades of Torfeus relating to
Alexander preached into ill health and after suffering paralysis he was carried into the pulpit to deliver sermons. His final years must have brought him great distress as not only did this ill health disrupt the end of his ministry but also his son and successor, James Pope, died in 1779 shortly after being appointed assistant to his father. Alexander Sage, in Memorabilia Domestica, indicates that his father, Donald Sage, was employed for several years as assistant to Alexander Pope until the death of Pope in 1782. He states that when his father assisted the Reay minister he resided, in the capacity of private tutor, with George Mackay of Bighouse. This family, the principal heritors of the parish, were relatives of Donald Sage on his mother’s side.
Alexander
Sage notes that after the death of Alexander Pope his father,
Donald Sage, was interested in, and received backing, for the
position of minister at Reay. However, the charge was offered
to and accepted by David Mackay, the son of a ferryman from
It seems that Alexander Pope had fight hard with the heritors of Reay, even through the instruments of the law, to obtain his new church and to get a school and manse. It was not until 1740 that his new manse was begun, a very small building, and used later, when a further manse built for later ministers, as an outhouse. The school took much longer and it took a decision of the Court of Session in 1773, upon action by Pope and the Moderator for Caithness Presbytery, to obtain the requirement of the 1696 statue with regard to the provision of education in the parish. This 1696 Act decreed that a school be established in every parish, that the Heritors,the landed proprietors, provide a ‘commodious house’ for a school and that they settle a salary of 100 to 200 merks on the schoolmaster.
The Reverend James Dewar in his book, ‘The Old White House of God’, reproduced a plan of the church from 1846. Here it states that the ground for the church was granted by the Sandside family. They had their own private Isle and burial place in the church and Sandside put up a loft which was let to the Minister. This was done at the time of repairs to the poor loft in the church, this poor loft having originally been erected by Alexander Pope. One other loft exists in the church and it was put up by the local Laird of Bighouse in the time of the ministry of David Mackay in the first half of the 19th century.
A
large window was built at the west end of the church in 1933
and in 1989 the church was renovated. In this most recent
renovation the church was kept in it original style. The window was not
to everyone’s liking there been a view that it was not in
keeping with the older design of the building.
Robbie
Synge in the book by Reay pupils tells of four manses and
states that Alexander Pope’s manse, the first one, was at
right angles to the road and gave him a good view of goings on
at the
It
is thought that the church before the present one was in the
old cemetery. Fasti
states that the Old Church of Reay, dedicated to St Colman,
stood ‘at the
Within a vault in the old cemetery there is a plaque to the memory of Alexander Pope. Services in the early days of Alexander’s ministry would have been held in the part of the cemetery where this building stands and often taken outside due to the numbers attending. It is thought that this vault was the vestibule of the old church with the rest of the church now under the line of the main A836 road through Reay. An alternative view is that the vault was at one time the structure that housed the minister while he preached. As suggested earlier, the congregation would stand outside to listen. Both suggestions may well be true at various stages in the life of the church before 1739.
Though Alexander had a ministry of almost half a century in Reay he did almost leave the parish in November 1743. At that time George Sinclair of Ulbster presented him to Halkirk. It appears that only a promise by the Heritors of Reay to carry out much needed repairs kept him in his present charge.
Alexander
Pope married twice. Firstly
to Margaret Sutherland in 1735 in Dornoch and then to Janet
Ross in 1745. By
his first marriage he had three sons noted in the parish
registers of Reay. William
born in 1836, Alexander in 1737 and Harry in 1739. The family of the
second marriages appears to have produced one daughter and
four sons. Abigail,
born 1747, married David Campbell a Tacksman of Achanarass in
Little of Peter (Patrick) Pope of Gartymore is known other than that he was the son of Hector Pope of Loth, he was married to Isabel Fearn from Tain in Ross-Shire, had at least four sons and four daughters and he died in 1802. Though not a lot more was initially known of his family information is beginning to emerge. Sons William and Robert Pope were clearly associated with the early ‘improvements’ in Sutherland at the very beginning of the 1800s and daughter Williamina, through her marriage to Alexander Ross and their family, heads an impressive group of Pope Smith with links in Australia and New Zealand.
In a 1745 list of men able to carry arms there is a Patrick Pope from Wester Helmsdale and Marrel and a Peter Pope in Captain McAlister’s Militia Company in early 1746. Since Patrick and Peter were inter-changeable names it is probable that the records refer to the same person. Certainly George Sutherland Taylor in his research indicated as much.
William
Pope’s exact date of birth is not known but his date of death
is recorded as the 15th April 1826 and no reference
has been found, as yet, to a wife or legitimate children
though there is mention of a daughter Margaret in his Will. In this Last will
and Testament William named his executors as Joseph Gordon,
Edinburgh; Major William Clunes , Crakaig; Alexander Simpson
and Donald Simpson, Helmsdale; James Smith, Hayfield,
The
most interesting part of William’s will relates to money that
he did not have access to at the time of his will or death. In the will of
Hector Lythgoe, as can be seen in the appendix article
relating to ‘The Succession Of Hector’, amongst others, Pope
family members received bequests which were not fulfill due to
long running legal proceedings. William Pope was a beneficiary
having been given a specific gift and he also appears to have
had desires on a share of the final estate which was likely to
be substantial due to the inability of the authorities to find
any trace of Hector Lythgoe’s two illegitimate sons. This money that
might become the way of William was bequeathed in the hope
that it might be forthcoming at some time in the future.
A gift of £50 to his servant, Margaret Polson, and his wish to have his nephews and nieces receive equal shares is clear and straightforward. The puzzle is in his statement where he says, ‘I beg leave now to recommend my respected natural daughter Margaret Pope to the humane care and kind protection of all my good Executors and in the event that the estate of Hector Lithgow is ever recovered I give and bequeath to the said Margaret Pope the interest of one thousand pounds sterling to be settled upon her and her heirs forever’. The clear indication from this is that William had a daughter and the language used would suggest this daughter to be an illegitimate offspring. There being no sign of other family nor a wife to William and the language above the assumption must be made that William was a bachelor.
There are references to William appearing in the Sutherland Estate Papers in relation to developments along the Sutherland coast from Helmsdale to Golspie and associated with the Sutherland Estates planned harbour construction and fish buying and selling project.
It
seems that the Marquis and Marchioness of
William is described by the Marchioness thus, ‘ who I think we shall find an excellent and usefull man; he is now here with his brother (Robert) and we have a great scheme en l’air that he should undertake a fishing establishment at Midgarty ( when Mrs Gray’s farm is out of lease next year) which will employ numbers of people, establish them, and bring riches and industry into the county.
The
Estate had plans to improve the
In the first instance plans were made for a new village at ‘Fishertown of Golspy’ in July 1805. Here houses 50 feet by 20 feet with three quarters of an acres of croft for each were to be laid out. The houses were to be built by the tenants themselves but on a 99 year lease. To enable changes in the land arrangement the croft ground had to be released each year.
One improvement made quickly was the construction of a small pier to provide a safe landing place for boats serving Dunrobin. It was said that the shore was so bad there at times that violent tides prevented a boat from getting near for the rocks. To build the required safe landing place the Marchioness of Stafford had information placed at the church door indicating the requirement for 40 men at one shilling a day for the following week, ‘to make up stones on the beach so that there might be proper and safe landing place or a little pier costing £20’. This work was to be under the auspices of William Pope as was the more major works planned at the places noted above.
The detailed Golspie Plan was revealed to the Marquis of Stafford by his wife, the Marchioness, in August 1805 showing the houses to be built as previously planned with gardens with no lease. The landing place or pier to serve Dunrobin, it seems, was almost ready and would it was suggested not only would benefit Dunrobin but also the ‘fishermen of Golspy’. A suggested by-product of this harbour preparation seems to have been a blueish marl clay which Captain Baigrie had analyised and which might be used to the ‘people of Moray’ who require it there. Captain Baigrie was the father of Charlotte Baigrie who married William Pope’s nephew George, the son of Robert Pope. He is noted in 1808 as the tenant of Mid Garty in the Parish of Loth with a victual rent of 46 bolls 0 firlots 3 pecks 2 lippies and a monetary rent of £41 3s 2d. By 1812 it seems he was dead as his tenancy art Midgarty and part of Wester Garty had been in the hands of his heirs as so described in Estate records. The rent at the time is give as 46 bolls 0 firlots 3 pecks 2 lippies in victuals, as previously, and an annual amount of £78 3s 3d. The lease from Whitsunday 1787 had expired and the heirs, is appears, were having to move having first seen that the houses were left in a condition conforming to the tack. In the records it notes the ‘Tenants warned out; Mr Young to set this farm’. Mr Young being the Estate Factor at that time.
In 1804 – 1805 there was a clear change in the desire of the population, outside of the fishing area, for a better standard of accommodation. The Minister and the Schoolmaster were not happy with their lot and extensive renovations were required at both the manse and the schoolhouse. Of particular interest in the work carried out in 1804 is a reference to James Pope, a mason, working on the manse. I cannot identify this Pope with certainty but living at Sputie, Doll was James Pope his wife, Jane Chisholm, and their family. This individual is the only James Pope I have identified in the area at the time and in 1804 he would have been aged 37 years making his participation in the work a real possibility. In addition this James had a son William described as a Mason in the Clyne Militia list of 1826 suggesting a continuation of the family occupation of Mason..
While
working on the planned developments in 1805 the Marchioness
inspected the coastline from Golspie to Helmsdale and
indicated that she observed Kilgour harbour from a boat and
was pleased by its very promising appearance. It is worth noting
that William Pope and Captain Baigrie, amongst others, met
with the boat party at the proposed site of the harbour to
discuss the drawing up of a plan for the area. The Braes of
Kilgour were seen as a fine backdrop to a harbour just to the
south and the village nearby.
Some Caithness people could settle the fishery and Pope
could deal with the present company, Selby and Co. of
The cost of the harbour was to be about £400 but this money, it was though, could be recouped fairly quickly. Nature itself, it is said, had given the chosen spot an advantage and only the removal of some stones and the heaping up of 75 to 100 feet of stones would be required to form a pier. The engagement of engineers for the coming spring was part of the development plan and the setting out of land for William Pope and the village crofts.
Pope’s letter of acceptance of the plan to develop the fishing, and his place in the scheme of things, to the Sutherland Estate’s Legal Agent in Edinburgh, Colin Mackenzie, is worth printing in full as it appears in the Sutherland Estate Management Papers.
William Pope to Colin Mackenzie
After fully considering the plan which you was
so good as submit to my perusal at Dunrobin for establishing
Fishing Villages and making Harbours on this Coast at the
several stations of Helmsdale Kilgour and Golspy I beg to
acquaint you that I am not only desirous but ambitious to
Embark in the undertaking as general superintendant of the
two Northern stations of Helmsdale and Kilgour. The Station
of Golspy as proposed in the plan to be made under the more
immediate management of Colonel Campbell.
I beg also to assure you that I am deeply
impressed with a full sense of my obligation to the Noble
Proprietors and to yourself and your brother for the
preference given to me, and deeming me qualified to promote
a scheme which promises to be a permanent advantage to the
County of Sutherland, and if persevering diligence and a
faithful discharge of every duty that may be entrusted to my
care can forward the real interest of the undertaking I
Pledge myself with confidence that they will be faithfully
exerted.
Upon perusing your sketch of the scheme the
evening before you left Dunrobin I perceived at once that I
could not engage then to do Justice to the
various objects which the plan embraced with my own funds
alone. It became necessary therefore that I should consult
with my brother to know how far he could assist me in the
undertaking and from the friendly manner in which he has
come forward, being equally zealous with myself to promote
any scheme that promises to improve the County of Sutherland
I have no doubt but I will be able with his aid to command
sufficient funds to meet the principal objects of the plan -
vizt. to provide a proper supply of Salt and casks etc., To
engage qualified people at the different stations to cure
the Fish and to be prepared at all times to purchase the
fish with ready money from the Fishermen and perhaps I may
find it necessary to supply many of the Fishermen with hooks
and lines and some articles of Canvass and small cordage at
prime cost, Charging them. legal interest till they could
repay the debt with Fish. I am fully aware that much will
depend in the infancy of such establishments upon granting
the Settlers little aids of this kind and being punctual in
taking their Fish off their hands at all times with ready
money and therefore it will be absolutely necessary that I
should reserve the principal part of my funds for that
purpose to guard against any disappointment to them or any
check to their industry whatever difficulties I may be
opposed to myself before I can find a regular favourable
market for my fish.
After making a
fair estimate for all these objects and for the expence of
stocking a farm my advances will fall so heavy that it will
not be in my power to undertake to build storehouses at
Kilgour and Helmsdale nor do I think that a store house will
be necessary at present as all the fish must be cured in the
Sun and open air and after it is fully cured it will be
brought to the centre station to prepare it finally for
market.
As to the Farm
of Kilgour and the Highland Place of Sheeskill that is
attached to it all that I know is, that it is not intended
to grant longer leases than Nineteen years. If to that a
Life rent can be added with the Highland place of Kinbrace
with Shuskill it is all that I would beg to propose on that
head Only, that I am afraid that building the intended
village upon the Farm of Kilgour will circumscribe it too
much, particularly as you propose that some of the settlers
should have Grass lands for cows. Considering the scheme in
the most favorable point of view as to myself it is evident that it cannot become an
object of profit to me for a long time. Indeed for some
years I will be perfectly satisfied if I can guard against a
loss, because my advances must be accumulating daily
according to the success of the fishings and the villagers
will be advancing to prosperity when my returns from the
Produce of the Fishings must be extremely precarious and
uncertain. Nevertheless I am willing to engage in it and to
make it the Principal object of my future industry. Trusting
with confidence that the Noble proprietors and yourself will
at all times be ready to afford me Protection and support in
every measure which may appear necessary to promote the
prosperity of the undertaking.
Though
William Pope appeared to favour a farm for himself on the
coast and inland ground in Kildonan parish at Kinbrace and
Sheeskill (Suisgill) Colin Mackenzie indicated to David
Campbell that most of the proposals seemed acceptable except
that regarding the farms.
He said that a low farm should be more suitable than
areas separated from one another with the hill ground some
distance from the coastal property. It would seem more
appropriate, it was thought, to add
In
November 1805 further correspondence between Mackenzie and
Campbell indicates that William Pope had accepted the low
country farm offered to him.
At that time a rent had not been fixed as the amount of
ground required for the village had not been ascertained. However, plans were
made to work out a rent for the whole area and to include an
estimated rent for each individual villager’s plot, including
a quarter acre of ground to each, which could be deducted from
the Pope rental when appropriate. Despite those plans,
however, much to the annoyance of the Estate, word came in
1806 that the village would have to be delayed for a year due
to the refusal of the tenant of
This delay must have had some influence on William Pope’s prosperity and that of his brother Robert. They ran into financial difficulties with Robert losing control of his Wadset in 1808 and William surrendering his Culgower lease at Whitsunday 1809. William is recorded in the Estate Management Papers as living on in reduced circumstances on the Wadset of Gartymore held by his brother Robert’s trustees.
There is no further mention in the Sutherland Estate records of William Pope until a brief entry in 1815 where there is a direction that William’s rent of £5 should be remitted to him in future as he is in distress and very ill. It is further noted that he has always behaved well and deserves to be allowed his croft rent free. This croft must, I assume, have been on the land at Gartymore to where he moved upon the surrender of his lease of Culgower.
The
harbour at Culgower was not developed due to the escalating
costs estimated for its construction. It was principally
Factor William Young in 1809 who was concerned by the cost and
stability of a large project at this point on the Sutherland
coast. As at many
places on
At Dunrobin for the convenience of the castle a further and probably more elaborate pier was planned for construction in 1811 at a cost of £357. The earlier pier there or nearby was likely to have only been a fairly temporary solution though still important as passengers certainly were off-loaded from large vessels onto the beach by small tenders prior to this. The new 1811 pier was to be constructed by a builder from Burghead with experience in such matters. I am not certain of the exact positions of some of the early piers and no doubt many small constructions came and went with the tides.
A
pier at Dunrobin, which I remember from my young days, but now
no longer there, was clearly, a much more modern construction
and the old, and joined, newer piers of Golspie were also of
much later dates than the developments considered here. I also recall a
small pier, with a sandy bottom to the west side, situated
approximately half way along the
At Golspie there is a barrier of rocks running almost the length of the village beach and a hundred to two hundred yards off-shore which is partly a natural barrier but was clearly further developed by the addition of rock material to protect boats anchored within the bay. At the west end of this rock breakwater and close to the present harbour there are the very distinct remains of early mooring places and markers to show the rock barrier at high tide. This rocky protection or rudimentary anchorage can be seen in the rather poor quality pictures below. Since this barrier runs from not far from Golspie Point and it was at Golspie Point that a harbour suggested in 1809 should be placed then this raised natural barrier could be in part the result of this harbour building and of further developments for the protection of boats and coastline.
Two
further pictures show how this barrier looks in the 21st
century. As a youngster, I remember walking the length of the
rocky structure, only have to get my feet wet at a couple of
points where there was a clear break in the barrier. Those breaks were
probably there to allow small boats to pass through and also
for the water to come in with the flow tide and allow small
boats to float in the inner bay before the barrier became
partially submerged.
The Sutherland Estate Management papers give details about many aspects of life in the area of Sutherland where the Pope families lived and much more local history could be gleaned from those records. The purpose of this work though is to identify where Popes and their relatives lived and what they did in centuries past and not to present a history of developments over the whole area. To this end the Sutherland Estate Management Papers have given an interesting, if not complete picture of the sort of work that William Pope engaged in and the esteem in which those in authority held him.
It
is worth commenting that when one looks around the Loth area
today it is hard to imagine the fishery planned at that time
and how it might have developed had the costs not been so high
and the reports of the suitability for a harbour so
pessimistic. The
area is not particularly well populated today and could not
support a project such as was given to William Pope to manage. However, in a
Sutherland Estate Census, the full details of which no longer
exist except for a few places, the Loth parish had 1295
inhabitants, a quite astonishing number when compared to
today’s population. The
flat plain bordering the sea was prone to flooding in William
Pope’s day and though much improved there is still evidence of
drainage problems to this day.
At the farm steadings of
Robert
Pope was Tacksman of Navidale and received the Wadset of
Gartymore, Achintou and Liriboll on
There
is reference in the Sutherland Estate Papers, in a letter in
January 1804 from Colin Mackenzie to David Campbell, to the
collection of rent from Navidale.
The position of Robert Pope within the social structure of the time was quite a comfortable one while he was a tacksman. Being a Tacksman he held a lease of a tack of land through a formal written contract with the landlord and through this arrangement he could sub-let all or parts of the tack. This written contract was known as a Wadset and laid down the rights of the Tacksman and the level of rent he had to pay for his tack. Those wishing a tack made offers and generally, thought not always, the landlord accepted the highest offer. The Wadset often included not just a money rent but also victual rent. Victuals were generally some sort of grain or corn to be made in payment in addition to the money rent. Clearly this arrangement allowed the landlord of an estate to obtain rents for his property through many different tenants and to obtain victuals which he could sell or use to stock his own larder.
Robert was married to Roberta Sutherland and he died on29th August 1808. During the summer of that year Robert signed over his leases of Gartymore, Achintoul and Leriboll into trust and his trustees held the lease until 1815 when the Estate redeemed them. In the Estate records of Martinmas 1808 Cain and Kilfedder (both in Kildonan Parish) are listed as wadsets of Robert Pope at a rent of £35 per annum while in the 1815 record both are given as wadsets of Robert Pope’s heirs at the same rent.
The is one further reference in the Estate Papers to the late Robert Pope in 1811, when an evaluation was being made of the properties and rents on the Estate for the period Martinmas 1811 to Whitsunday 1812. The Cain and Kilfidder Wadsets are given under the ‘Heirs of Mr Pope, Navidale’ and indicate a lease of 38 years to 1836 which was clearly not held as can be seen from the redemption above.
An interesting short description of Robert Pope is given by Donald Sage and reproduced here.
The farm of Navidale was taken in lease by Mr.
Robert Pope, second son of Mr. Peter Pope, tacksman of
Gartimore, younger brother of Mr. Alexander Pope, minister
of Reay. This old gentleman I recollect to have seen at
Kildonan, and I was much struck with his antique and
venerable appearance. He must, when I saw him, have been
close upon seventy years of age. He wore what was usually
called a Welsh wig, and showed by his manners a rude and
choleric temper.
Robert Pope and Roberta Sutherland had at least two sons and three daughters. Peter, born 1804 and died 1845, married Mary Baillie Mackay in 1827, George, born, 1805 was married to Charlotte Baigrie in 1829, Roberta born 1844, Elizabeth was born 1800 and died 1886 and Isobel born 1801 and died 1886. The marriage of Peter and Mary produced three sons and a daughter and that of George and Charlotte two sons.
In Memorabilia Domestica, Donald Sage describes the meeting and pursuit of Roberta by her future husband. Again the description is best given in the words of Donald Sage.
Old Peter Pope amused us on our return by
stuffing his coat pockets with new-mown hay. His eldest son,
William, whom I well knew, was then in the
Not only does Donald Sage record the meeting of Robert and Roberta but he also tells of their marriage at Kildonan Manse by the Reverend Alexander Sage, Donald’s father. It seems Donald, being a young lad, was engaged in amusing himself outwith the Manse building a mud house when he was called inside and was off to bed unaware of events to follow. In the morning he was quite astonished to find Miss Bertie’s little shoes, side by side with Mr Popes boots, outside the principal bedroom used since some days by Robert Pope. Donald was quickly told by one of the servants that nothing was amiss and that his father had married the couple the previous evening upon the insistence of Mr Pope.
Robert Pope’s wife, Roberta Sutherland, was seventh daughter of Major George Sutherland and his first wife. By his first wife Major Sutherland had eight daughters and two sons. All his daughters, except one who died young, were ‘well married with their spouses coming from prominent families on Sutherland’s east coast. As one examines the various families and their relationships it becomes clear that the families of farmers, tenant farmers, the ministers and members of the medical profession were moving in a social structure where they fraternised and intermarried.
Donald Sage gives information regarding Major Sutherland’s daughters, the families of their spouses and much historical and social detail about life at the end of the 18th and start of the 19th centuries. A summary of this information is given below.
Robert Pope’s Last Will and Testament appears to have been completed on 15th August 1808. In this document, a copy of which is include in the appendices, Robert indicates that the trustees of his estate should be his brother William Pope; William Fyfe a Merchant in Wood street, Cheapside, London; Robert Sutherland formerly of Jamaica and then of San Domingo; and Joseph Gordon of Carrel, a Writer to the Signet.
The Will indicated that the Trustees should sell off as soon as possible, at latest 12 months, after his death his property, bonds and bills, wadsetts and, indeed, all his assets with the exception of his Gold Watch and Chain, Seals, Plate and Linen. The Watch, Chain and Seals were to go to his daughter Elizabeth and the Plate and Linen was to be reserved for the use of his children. The other various provisions can be read in the Will and particularly those that relate to his brother, William, are of interest. The estate itself was a very significant one as can be seen from the break down listed in the Will. The final sum listed at £5661.14.10 (five thousand, six hundred and sixty one pounds, fourteen shillings and ten pence) is a quite substantial figure for the period and indicates a man and family of some substance and standing in the community.
Janet Sutherland married Gray of Skibo
I
am not aware of the forename of Mr Gray of Skibo but he was a
member of the Skibo family and amassed a fortune as a tea
planter in the
Esther Sutherland
married Lieutenant Sutherland the son of Sheriff Sutherland of
Shibercross
Esther did not marry Lt Sutherland until some years after the death of her father and the marriage was kept secret. It was not disclosed until after her husband’s death and done so in order that she might receive the annuity due to her as the wife of an officer. Lt Sutherland died within a year of his marriage to Jean.
Jean Sutherland married the Rev Alexander Sage
Alexander
and Jean were married at Midgarty on
Williamina Sutherland married Captain Robert Baigrie of Midgarty
Captain Baigrie, a native of Buchan, was the master of a West Indiaman vessel before he came to reside in the impressive house of Midgarty. He had the two rooms added to Midgarty and furnished those in the style of a ship’s cabin. Baigrie appears to have been a sociable man, generous and friendly. His years at sea, however, give rise to a life style and eating habit that was moderate and in certain aspects simple. He, it is said, would eat the coarsest of food rather than have it wasted.
Williamina
was Captain Baigrie’s second wife and they married about 1784. His first wife, a
Miss Hadden, had a daughter to him who was brought up in
Captain Robert Baigrie resided at Midgarty until his death in 1809.
The
family of Captain and Mrs Baigrie are of interest here due to
the marriage of their daughter Charlotte to George Pope, the
son of Robert Pope and Roberta Sutherland. This, of course
joined the Pope and Baigrie families together again as
It
is interesting to note that
Charlotte Sutherland married Dr Macfarquhar
This couple resided in the
Elizabeth Sutherland married Joseph Gordon second son of Gordon of Carrol
Joseph Gordon of Carrol was the second son of Gordon of Carrol and his brother was John Gordon the Laird of Carrol. Carrol is in the upper area of the Doll in the parish of Clyne and on the border of Golspie parish.
Joseph
was tacksman of Navidale and later resided at Embo near
Dornoch. Prior to
taking up the Navidalelease he had made some thousands of
pounds as a coppersmith in the
Roberta Sutherland, as noted above, married
Robert Pope.
There is information elsewhere in this work regarding this couple but suffice to say it is clear that the Pope families were very well connected to the prominent families of East Sutherland.
George and James Sutherland
The
two sons Major George Sutherland and James Sutherland died
unmarried. The
former in
Major
George Sutherland’s second wife was a Robertson, possibly
Janet, and they had a daughter Janet and a son Robert. Janet married
Captain Kenneth Mackay of Torboll while Robert became a
planter in the
Williamina’s date of birth is not known and her date of marriage is only estimated being about 1777. Her husband was Alexander Ross, known as Sanny, of Wester Helmsdale. He was the tacksman there and the brother of the Minister of Clyne, Walter Ross. They were natives of Ross-Shire with Sanny coming to Wester Helmsdale at about the same time as his brother took up the position in Clyne.
In
Memorabilia Domestica, Sage describes Sanny Ross as being
‘abundantly shrewd’ in all practical matters. However, it would
appear that the Ross brothers were more than a little inclined
to exaggerate and embellish stories and events some of which
are recounted by Donald Sage.
In this regard Sanny seems to have been even able to
outdo the inventions of his brother and did so with a lisp and
a shrill, whining tone of voice with a
Williamina
and Sanny resided in a small cottage on the hillside at Wester
Helmsdale with a fine view towards the River Helmsdale as it
made its last few flowing miles to the sea. The now long gone
The
couple had what was described by Sage as a numerous family of
sons and daughters. So
far identified are the daughters Isabella, Williamina, Johanna
and Margaret. The
sons Robert, Walter and Hector have come to light. The first named
daughters both married into the Smith family of Olrig House in
Sage is well placed to describe the Ross family having lodged with them on his travels, being a colleague in the Ministry with Walter Ross and Sage himself the Minister of Kildonan.
For
the present there is little information of note about John
himself. He was
married to Lizzy Calder and had three sons and five daughters. A John Pope was a
Sergeant in Captain Gordon’s Militia Company in February 1746
and it is likely that the John referred to is this person. The records do not
indicate another John Pope at that time and he was in the
right place and as far as can be judge would be the correct
age for military service.
The Militia, like Captain McAlister’s referred to
above, was one of a number raised from men able to carry arms
at the time of the 1745 Jacobite rising and the period
following the defeat of the Pretender, Prince Charles, at
Culloden in 1746. The
main purpose of the Militias was to protect the borders of
Sutherland from infiltration by Jacobite sympathisers from the
south or across the
JAMES POPE SON OF HECTOR POPE OF LOTH
As with his brother John, above, little is known personally about James. However, he was married, to Ann Ross from Doll, and had a family and this family has been identified with a good degree of certainty. His sons, James and Hector Pope, head families in the Doll in the early 1800s and it is through Hector’s family that the connection to the Melvilles of the Doll and Golspie comes. Details of this family and links are described later.
However,
the most significant find in James’s family is the connection
to the Durness and Scourie Popes and hence the Dun Popes in
In addition to the sons James, John and Alexander named above, James Pope and Ann Ross had another son, Donald, and two daughters, Christian (Chirsty) and Janet and a final child whose name I have been unable to interpret though it is noted he or she died in Aberdeen..
As with the other Popes listed as able to carry arms in 1745 there is reference to a James Pope and since this is at Ardachy in the Brora area of Clyne parish it is very likely that the James identified is this son of Hector Pope of Loth.
The
Family of James Pope and Jane Chisholm
James
Pope was the grandson of Hector Pope of Loth and son of James
Pope and his wife, Ann Ross.
James, the husband of Jane, was probably born around
1767 in Clyne, Sutherland and died at Sputie, the Doll in
1837. His
gravestone in
James and Jane had at least seven children, four sons and three daughters. The first born and best documented was yet another James who entered this world in 1797. His details and those of his siblings follow.
James Pope
James
was born, as already indicated, in Clyne Parish in 1797 and
died in South Leith,
His widow Christiana continued living in the family home with their son, Robert, and daughter, Emma, after the death James. This home was Junction Villa, Cardross, Dumbarton.
Ann Pope
Anne was born on 1798 in Clyne Parish and died in 1881 at Sputie. Her death was reported by her nephew, William Pope. Her marriage to Angus Davidson, a Cartwight, took place in 1829. They had at least two children, James, born 1831, and Jane, born 1836. The long gap between children might suggest that others were born in the intervening period but the thorough search has not yet been made to determine this. The details of the marriages and families of James and Jane can be found in the reference section containing the Pope database information.
William Pope
His birth date is recorded in 1800
Margaret Pope
Margaret Pope was born in 1803. She probably died young as there was also a later child named Margaret.
Donald Pope
Born in 1804 in Clyne there are, unfortunately, no further details available for Donald at this time.
Margaret Pope
Margaret Pope was born in 1807 in Clyne parish and died at Sputie in the same parish in 1881. She was a Nurse by profession and her death was reported by her nephew, William.
Robert Pope
Robert’s birth year is given as 1810 in Clyne and his place of death is noted at Sputie in 1874. He was a Tenant crofter/small farmer, presumably on the family run croft at side of the Sputie burn close to the route of the present A9 main road. His death was reported by his nephew, William Pope, who appears to have been responsible for this duty for most family members.
Family of James Pope
and Christiana Band
Robert Band Pope
Robert was born in 1835 in
In
1881 census Robert was living at Junction Villa in Dumbarton
with his mother and younger sister Emma. In the 1891 census
for Dumbarton he was in Meadowbank House and with him he had
his brother Donald and his sister Eliza Hay. This house was
demolished about 1900 and probably resulted in their move to
the house called Navidale and named after the Pope family home
just to the north of Helmsdale, Sutherland.
Robert
Band Pope was Manager of Marine Engine Works and Partner in
Denny's Shipyard in Dumbarton and a Marine Engineer (Master).
He was single according to death certificate which indicated
that he had died of Cardiac Valvular Disease and Dropy . His death registered
by his niece, Rosalee Wallace, of
A Memorial Plaque
placed in
ROBERT
BAND POPE
POPE At
Navidale, Dumbarton on 29th July Robert Band
Pope, engineer (of the firm Denny & Co.) The only
intimation. Funeral
private – no flowers (by request)
Noted
Engineer Dead
The
death has taken place at his residence, Navidale, Dumbarton,
of Mr Robert Band Pope. A partner in the firm of Messers Wm
Denny & Co., Engineers and Boilermakers, Dumbarton. Through advancing
years, Mr Pope’s health has been failing of late, and he has
not been so actively connected with the business as was his
want. The
deceased was connected with William Denny for considerably
over half a century. A
skilful engineer, who combined the faculties of imagination
and application, he was so successful in the fulfilment of
the posts of works manager and chief draughtsman from 1857
to 1885 that in the latter years he was assumed a partner of
the firm. Deceased’s
connection with Dumbarton corresponded with the period of
the burgh’s development as a shipbuilding and engineering
centre, and his name is associated with the numerous
successes of the firm.
His skill was reflected in the results obtained from
the first of the British India Company’s steamers. When the compound
engine was introduced he designed those of the ‘
ERECTED
BY ENGR. COMMANDER CHARLES WALLACE AND HIS SISTER ROSE
IN LOVING
MEMORY OF
THEIR UNCLE
ROBERT BAND
POPE
ENGINEER AND
INVENTOR
WHO DIED AT
NAVIDALE, DUMBARTON,
29TH
JULY 1909, AGED 74 YEARS.
GREAT, GREAT GRANDSON OF
THE
REV. HECTOR
POPE
OF THIS
PARISH
AND ALSO OF
THEIR PARENTS
THE REV.
ROBERT WALLACE
WHO DIED 28TH
OCT., 1888, AGED 69 YEARS.
10TH
AND
MARGARET WYLIE POPE
HIS WIFE WHO
DIED JAN., 1885
AGED 56 YEARS.
HELEN
POPE DAUGHTER OF HECTOR POPE OF LOTH
Helen
Pope’s birth date is not known but is estimated to be about
1710. She had an illegitimate son, Hector Lythgoe or Lithgow,
to Alexander Lithgow. Though
noted as illegitimate in some research George S Taylor in his
evidence for the Lords of the Treasury points out it was said
that Alexander and Helen married at house of her half sister
in Kincurdie, Ross-shire. He also notes that a Robert Lithgow
was in Dornoch in 1730-32 and had two illegitimate children
there. He adds that this Robert was known to the Rev Alexander
Pope. Being an
unusual name, and particularly in the
At the time of the attempted settling of Hector Lithgow’s rather substantial Will enquiries were made regarding his ancestry and records at Dunrobin corroborated the view that she was the daughter of Hector Pope. The Will was generous in its gifts to some Pope family members and to some friends though the main beneficiaries were to be Hector’s sons to Frances Sweet. While a substantial some of money was paid out a large sum remained in Chancery for many years as claim and counter claim was submitted and court cases between hopeful contestants was played out.
I
cannot say with any certainty the exact amount paid and to
whom but the records at
Charles Rigg indicates that a
major grant of £15,000 was paid to Jean Pope's Representatives
divided between Mathesons, McPhersons and others. Also correspondence in
his possession belonging to Robert B Pope and Charles’s grandfather, Allen Hay, states that in February 1833
the Estate was valued at upwards of £55,000 and a Minute of 13
January 1843 approved the claim by the one – unnamed in his
record - family branch and that £30,000 was to be paid out. This
was done so in 1844 with the proviso that it was an interim
payment pending any other claims. In 1860 and again in
1879, those successful recipients, apparently including General
George Pope, put in a further claim for the balance, but that
was rejected. It would seem most likely that this large sum
paid out in 1844 went to General Pope and those in his Pope
line.
The last word on the claims on
the Lithgow inheritance appears to rest with the British
Treasury. Charles Rigg states that a letter from his
grandfather, Allen Hay, to the Treasury in August 1924 and a
subsequent reply confirmed that Winston Churchill, then
Chancellor, had looked into the case, but no further payments would be forthcoming. As is
frequently the practice the Exchequer had 'collared' the
balance.
For details of Hector and the Will it is
best to read the article by John Kennedy reproduced in the
appendices. The
family tree below shows some the Lithgow family links and
includes some with an interest in claiming the inheritance. Principal amongst
those was John Eckford who spent many years trying to find
Hector and Frances’s children and who himself also sought reward
from the Will only to receive expenses for his efforts.
APPENDIX TWO - PRINTED
DOCUMENTS
THE SUCCESSION OF HECTOR LITHGOW
By
JOHN KENNEDY
Hector
Lithgow was born at
Alexander
Lithgow was intended for the Church but, after "his views to
the Ministry were thwarted," enlisted in the 42nd Regiment. He
was still serving in the regiment when Hector was received
into a Hospital (or orphanage) in
At the
age of ten years Hector ran away from the Hospital as he had
broken a bottle of oil and was afraid of the consequences. He
was befriended by John Barclay, a farmer of East Wemyss, who
appears to have given him employment and shelter until he
joined the Army and went to
No
record has been found of when he joined the Army or went
overseas but it is confirmed that he was stationed in
It is
not known why the boys, Hugh and John, were not looked after
by their mother, Frances Sweet, as they were taken in charge
by one John Cleary who applied to the Attorney General of the
Province, William Nesbit, to know how they were to be provided
for. Hugh went to live with Hugh Kirkham, a carpenter, and
afterwards entered the service of William Nesbit aforesaid,
and John remained with John Cleary.
Hector
returned to Scotland and for the next two years again stayed
with John Barclay at East Wemyss for part of the time, and
then with Dr Spencer, Minister of that Parish. During this
stay in
During
November 1765 Hector enlisted in the 3rd Battalion, Royal
Regiment of Artillery, aged 25. He was 5' 101/4" in height, had
no trade, but could read and write and, on 31st March. 1768,
was discharged with the rank of sergeant having been promoted
to the East India Service, which he joined in London, aged 27,
during March 1768, on board the "Talbot" bound for Madras and
Bengal.
Hector
Lithgow served in
It has
not yet been possible to elicit more information as to how he
managed to amass such a vast sum in the space of 16 years, but
apparently as a Commissary of Ordnance, he would have been
responsible for the purchase of fodder for the Artillery
animals; horses, mules, camels and even elephants; purchase of
saltpetre for gun powder (India being a major supplier);
rations for the troops; tools and equipment for the
maintenance of guns, carriages and limbers. He would, without
doubt, have placed orders with the Indian merchants offering
the highest secret "backsheeesh," which would never appear in
the official accounts.
Lithgow
must have known that he was likely to die at an early age as
his will was dated
Under the terms
of the Will he left the following legacies:—
To his cousin
Wm. Pope, son of Peter Pope of Gartmore in
To
well beloved friend. Mrs Elizabeth Grant of Dallas Chapel in Strathspey interest of £200 for life;
To his cousin Abigail Campbell (formerly
Pope), wife of David Campbell*
in the Parish of Reag (Reay),
Caithness; Christian Kirkwood (formerly Anderson) of Perth
(Schoolmistress); Mrs Frances
Sweet, mother of his two sons, the interest on £100 for
life;
To his
cousin Helen Pope, daughter of his Uncle
John Pope of Sutherland, £50;
To his
cousin Hector Pope, son of his Uncle James Pope of
Sutherland, £50;
To Mr
John Barclay of East Wemyss
in
To
Archibald Edinton of
The
residue of the estate was left to his
two sons with the proviso that should they predecease him
extra legacies were to go to the aforesaid
relatives whether or not intestate and who were their next of
kin at time of death.
As
John and Hugh Lithgow could not be traced in Halifax, the
Executor. Charles William Alston, advertised for information
regarding them in
In
1822 an opinion was sought of Mr Roupell,
Lincolns Inn, re Pope v. Oswald 1793 (as John and
Hector Lithgow appear to have been illegitimate, if they died
intestate and without issue the Crown is entitled to the
residue and not the next of kin of the Estate of the Testator,
Hector Lithgow). "If John and Hugh Lithgow have not been heard
of since 1793 they will be presumed dead but to entitle the
Crown to receive the property administration must be taken out
by the Grantee of the Crown."
It was
not until 1827 that William Weston,
a Cooper, swore before the Hon. James
Stuart, a Judge of His Majesty's
Supreme Court of Judicature, Nova Scotia
an affidavit testifying that the two sons of Hector
Lithgow had been left on the beach during the hurry of
embarkation when the Great Fleet sailed from Halifax for
England when peace was made with France in 1763. The two boys
were looked after by John Cleary
and Hugh Kirkham who became
their Godfathers. Weston also testified that he became
intimate with the boys when they grew up and Hugh entered as a
sailor on board a ship going to the
On the
same day, 5th May, 1827, Walter Cathcart Wilkie of Halifax,
gentleman, swore an affidavit before James Stuart stating that
in the year 1793 he commanded a Brig called the Porcupine in
the West Indian Trade and he was about to sail for Jamaica
when Hugh Kirkham waited on him and requested 'that he make
diligent search and inquiry for Hugh Lithgow. Wilkie's family
resided in a house belonging to Kirkham, who told Wilkie that
he would permit him to occupy the house rent free for one year
if he discovered Hugh Lithgow, and that he would give him the
house if he found him and brought him to
From
the foregoing it was accepted that the two sons of Hector
Lithgow were dead and had left no issue and the residue of the
fortune was escheated to the Crown. As already stated,
however, litigation went on for some 50 years as claims were
made by relatives and others, some of which were based on very
dubious statements as to relationship with the Testator.
As the
beneficiaries under the will were his sons and relations of
the Pope family; with the exception of "his well beloved
friend," Elizabeth Grant of Dallas Chapel: John Barclay and
Archibald Edinton, both of East Wemyss, who had befriended him
as a boy; it seems that he had no great affection for his
Lithgow relations of whom there were a number, as none of them
were remembered.
Hector's
grandfather, the Reverend Robert Lithgow, Minister of Ashkirk,
Roxburgh, had a sister Helen who married James Anderson and
had three children; Thomas. John. and Jean, who married George
Thorburn, the smith in Ashkirk. The Thorburn's daughter. Jean,
married another Anderson, called John, tenant in
Eckford
entered the field of claimants in his wife's name and pursued
the claim with a determination and energy that won the respect
and admiration of many famous people of those times, with
perhaps a modicum of ridicule from some of his townsmen. He is
described in the 1872 Transactions of the Hawick
Archaeological Society:—
"John—or
as he was generally termed, Johnny—Eckford, who died upwards
of thirty years ago, was a well known character and a somewhat
local celebrity. Eckford was an operative stocking maker, a
quiet inoffensive man of plodding habits and taciturn
disposition. Dressed in a short tailed blue coat and knee
breeches, his legs encased in coarse blue stockings, a low
crowned broad brimmed hat on his head, his short thick body
bent forward as if pressing in advance of his legs, while the
firm way he planted his feet on the ground bespoke of a
decided determination of character indicative of the man."
His
determination was such that for the remainder of his life he
applied himself to the task of collecting evidence of the
relationship of his wife Jean, to Lithgow, and to ascertain
whether or not the two sons John and Hugh were alive, or, if
dead, had issue.
To
this end he travelled thousands of miles examining tombstones,
interrogating witnesses, obtaining sworn statements, and once
crossed the Atlantic to examine tombstones in the churchyards
of the City of
He
haunted the courts and lobbies of
He was
so well known to the drivers of the stage coaches between
Hawick and
'"When
at home Eckford spent much of his Sunday evenings in reading
the Bible in a loud monotonous manner without stop or
variation in the tone of his voice. The subjects generally
selected for reading were the accounts of the treasures in
gold, silver and brass, and precious stones collected by King
David in the City of
From
the records however it is apparent that Eckford was the only
person who presented a true version of the genealogy of the
Lithgows and Popes and their descendants, and most of the
foregoing information is taken from his researches and those
of the King's Proctor in his preliminary report on
The
latter had contacted Mr Locke, a resident of Sutherland, who
introduced Mr George Taylor of Golspie, resident Agent to the
Duchess Countess of Sutherland, who confirmed the
circumstances of the birth of Hector Lithgow from the records
in the Charter Room at
In
1630 William Pope was Schoolmaster and Minister of Dornoch and
Chanter of the Cathedral of Caithness', he had two brothers.
Charles, a Notary and Sheriff Clerk, and Thomas, Minister of
Rogart and Chancellor of
A
memorial to Sir Thomas Denman, His Majesty's Attorney General,
of November 1831 states: "John Eckford presented a petition in
September 1822 and another in September 1823 to the Lords
Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury praying for a part of
the Succession of Hector Lithgow whose Estate was found by a
decree of the Lord Chancellor in 1823 escheated to the Crown
from his being a Bastard."
A
remit having been made by their Lordships to the Barons of
Exchequer in Scotland in 1823 they were pleased to report that
"the petitioner John Eckford was entitled to the Discovery
Money and to immediate payment of the expenses he had incurred
in tracing the said Hector Lithgow's parentage and pedigree,
the charge then made being considered by the Barons to be
moderate."
The
memorandum then traces the descent of various claimants as
confirmed by twenty six affidavits which satisfied Alston, now
a Lieut. Colonel, and the remaining executor, that on the
death of the Testator, Jean Thorburn, David Anderson. John
Anderson and Helen Anderson were the nearest relations to the
father of the Testator. He also stated that the opposite
parties who claimed next of kin were not related to the family
at all and earnestly recommended that a Bill be filed in the
Court of Chancery with all possible expedition in order to
show that the property escheated to the Crown in the year 1823
upon the information then given by John Eckford.
The evidence
produced by Eckford and set out in the memorandum was
certified correct by sixteen ministers, J.P.s, hosiers,
elders, farmers, manufacturers and merchants of Hawick and was
further endorsed by the following signed statements:—
"After having
looked through the accompanying documents — and having also a
knowledge of many of the persons who certify them, I am of the
opinion that John Eckford has made out a strong prima facia
case to give him a claim for having a Bill filed in his favour
in the Court of Chancery."
Alexander
Pringle M.P.
30 Bury Court,
St James
"Having
examined the above statements and being satisfied as to the
relationship of John Eckford's wife to Helen Lithgow, I
venture to recommend that he be admitted to the Court of
Chancery."
"Having
examined the above statements and feeling satisfied as to the
relationship of John Eckford's wife to the Testator (Hector
Lithgow), I venture to recommend that he be admitted to the
Court of Chancery."
Henry
F. Scott M.P.
"Having some
knowledge of John Eckford and many of the parties certifying
the foregoing statements, I am satisfied that there are good
grounds for his application to the Court of Chancery."
"I verily
believe and can conscientiously testify that John Eckford,
whose labours in extracting the tangled genealogy has been
extremely great, has made his case and that of the other
descendants of Helen Lithgow who will share in succession
along with him."
Abbotsford
II July 1829.
Walter Scott.
Sir
Walter Scott had previously written sternly to Eckford saying
that he was looking into the proceedings on behalf of a poor
neighbour, Thomas Anderson of Gattonside. In the letter he
points out that Jean Anderson, the grandmother of Eckford's
wife, had two brothers Thomas and John both of whom had issue.
The descendants of Thomas he believed were poor people in
Selkirk, and John Anderson in Gattonside was the son of John
the second brother of Jean. Scott points out that all the
evidence which Eckford collected to establish his claim
through his wife would also establish any rights which vested
in his wife's maternal uncles. "I therefore wish you to
consider whether it would not be best to understand each other
and make a common cause of it as your claim coming in
separately and as it were in contradiction to each other will
certainly excite in the Lords of the Treasury a suspicion that
others and nearer relatives may also be kept out of view. I
should also think that your present claim in Exchequer for
reimbursement of expenses etc. is much more likely to succeed
when there shall be no appearance on your part of concealing
the rights of others."
Scott
in writing to John Lock, who also became involved in the case,
said Eckford was "an accomplished bore but a shrewd and
persevering man." (
As
previously mentioned Eckford went to New Orleans and the
reason for this may have been, that with the mass of documents
in the Public Record Office, Chancery Lane, covering the
period 1790 to 1841, one which states that about 1784 Hugh
Lithgow was a seaman before the mast in the Guard Ship at the
Nore and that he had deserted and not been picked up. There is
also a statement from a man in
It is
a fascinating thought that perhaps Hugh after all was not dead
and that after deserting from the Royal Navy he would not dare
to return to England to claim the fortune, if perchance, he
had seen or been told of the advertisement. As the American
War of Independence had now come to a conclusion he would be
safe in the newly born
John
Eckford died in
REFERENCES
The foregoing
information was in the main taken from the documents kept in
the Public Record Office, Chancery Lane, London, being the
records of the Chancery, the Treasury, and the Treasury
Solicitors under the following references:—
Chancery
proceedings:
Pope v oswald
(1790) C12/1090/17
Lythgoe v
Lythgoe v West
(1841) C13/444/5 C13/425/9
Treasury &
Treasury Solicitors papers:
Tl/3938-3942
TSII/76/243
TSII/77/244
My wife Doreen
Kennedy and myself made the search during April 1976, but
owing to the short time at our disposal were unable to examine
all the evidence and a vast number of documents still remain
to be looked at.
(NOTE—The
Hawick-born author is a grandson of the late David Kennedy,
chemist. and a great-great-great-great-grandson of the above
John Eckford, stockingmaker).
* In the bequests should Abigail Pope be married
to James Campbell rather than David Campbell.
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF
WILLIAM POPE, GARTYMORE, HELMSDALE
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF
ROBERT POPE OF NAVIDALE, HELMSDALE
EXTRACTS FROM ACCOUNT BOOK OF
JAMES CAMPBELL, SCHOOLMASTER OF HELMSDALE
SCOTTISH ARCHIVES,
Helmsdale Febry 11th 1887
Dear Sir
I notice from the Northern Chronicle that it is requested that all claims against the late
Misses Pope of Navidale be lodged with you and as I am not sure whether Mr Wahab gave you these a/c s for the ladies funeral expenses I beg to enclose accounts for the same herewith as follows:-
Miss Isabella Pope’s Funeral £19 18 5 ½
Miss Eliza Pope’s Funeral £20 19 6
Other accounts per list
£ 4 7 3
In All
£45 5 2 ½
I induced Mr Nicol of the Caledonian Hotel, Wick to reduce his a/c for Hearse for Miss Isabella Pope’s Funeral from £18 2/- to £12 as I considered the first charge excessive. I believe Mr Duff, Ederton forwarded this a/c to you with the request that payment be made direct to Mr Nicol. - You will observe that the amounts of these a/c s £7 11 5 is due to me for advances made in Settlement of Some of the a/c s.
If you wish me to forward the different a/c s as indicated I will be glad to do so.
The servants who were in the Cottage have been calling here saying that Mr Wahab promised to send board wages for them to me which I would hand them and take their receipts.
The keys of the cottage are left with me to get the place aired and fires lit once a month.
I assume my right to claim for any trouble I may have had in this matter.
I am yours obediently
Jas Campbell
J. M. Murray Esq
STATEMENT OF EXPENSES OF MISS ELIZA POPE’S
FUNERAL 1886
Dec 28
Paid Advertising Death of Miss Eliza Pope as follows:-
Times 12/- Scotsman 5/- Northern Chronicle 3/-
John o’ Groat Journal 3/- Northern Ensign 3/- £ 1 . 6
30
Mr Clark’s a/c for printing Notifications of Death
And Funeral Letters – Miss Eliza Pope . 7 3
Warning to Miss Pope’s funeral in Parish of Kildonnan . 9 .
Do to Parish of Loth per Rev G. McMillan . 4 6
Opening and other work about frame
And tolling bell – Miss Eliza Pope 1 . .
Postage etc in connection with Death of Miss E Pope 7 2
A. Gordon’s a/c for Coffin, Shroud etc for Miss Eliza Pope 10 10 .
1887
Jany 3
Mr Geo Ross’ account for refreshments at
Miss E Pope’s funeral at Navidale 1 9 .
Mr John Ross’ a/c for ‘do’ at Loth 2 18 1
Railway bill Corpse Helmsdale to Loth £0 . 10 .
42 third class return
tickets to Loth at
11d £1
. 18 .6
2 8 6
£20 19 6
STATEMENT OF EXPENSES OF MISS ISABELLA POPE’S FUNERAL etc.
86 Dec 13
Paid per instructions of Miss Eliza Pope for advertising
Miss Isabella Pope’s death as follows
Scotsman 5/- Northern Ensign 3/- Times 12/-
John o’ Groat Journal 3/- Northern Chronicle 6/- £ 1 9 .
For warning to Miss Isabella Pope’s funeral
Parish of Kildonnan £0 9 6
“do” Loth per Rev G McMillan 0 4 0 13 6
Opening and other work about grave
Tolling bell etc 1 . .
J Clarkk’s a/c for printing Notifications of death and funeral letters
Miss Isabella Pope . 7 3
Postage and stationery . 7 9
John Milne’s a/c for Coffin Shroud etc 10 10
George Ross’ a/c for refreshments at funeral at Navidale
Hire of Carriage at Funeral
- telegrams about hearse etc 3 4 1 ½
John Ross’ a/c for refreshments at funeral at Loth 2 6 10
£19 18 5 ½
Accounts lodged with Jas Campbell Helmsdale by instruction od Mr Duff or Mr Wahab
Dr Rutherford for attendance on Miss Eliza Pope £ 1 7 6
‘do’ Miss Isabella Pope 1 1 .
George Ross’ private a/c against these ladies 1 5 9
Alex McPherson for repairs to the cottage
(He says Miss Bertha Pope
knows tis account to be correct) 1 3 .
£ 4 7 3
Helmsdale Feby 1887
Dear Miss Pope
I thought several times of writing to you to say that everything is right about the cottage. Thrice in four days the windows have been opened and the whole place thoroughly aired once I got the fires lit.
It is quite dry and sweet. No person is going near it. It is so sad to see it shut up.
Mr Wahab informed me that Mrs Fraser, the nurse, was to look after some washing but this has not been done. I told Mrs Fraser that I will be glad to open the doors for her whenever she desires.
Last time I saw her she said she was looking for a competent person to do the work.
Perhaps bye and bye the carpet should be lifted and floors scrubbed. All the ornaments would be packed and placed in the back bedroom where they would be safe.
We have for some time splendid weather.
I hope Mrs Pope and you are quite well
I am
Yours sincerely
Jas Campbell
Helmsdale
Dear Miss Pope
Mrs Fraser has not called for the keys of the cottage but as soon as she does so I will hand them to her. – Last time I saw her she had not decided who to employ for the washing and this may be the cause of the delay.
We have very cold weather with biting east winds.
Trusting you and Mrs Pope are quite well.
Yours faithfully
Jas Campbell
Helmsdale Feby 18th 1887
Dear Sir
I herewith send additional a/c against the heirs of the late Misses Pope as follows
Alex Gordon Carpenter (2nd a/c) £1 2 6
George Cooper Fishcurer £1 14 0
£2 18 9
I am only responsible for charge made by Courier for advs Miss Isabella Pope’s death
I am
Yours Truly
Jas Campbell
J M Murray esq
THE
JOHN POPE MYSTERY
My
quest to link all the Pope families in
In
September 1858 John Pope aged 29 years, from Durness,
Sutherland in
Looking
though the Sutherland records proved fruitless but a John Pope
in Wick seemed worth following.
This John along with his wife, Ann Sutherland, had a
child, Janet, in Wick on 31 March 1856. Searches for their
marriage eventually identified their marriage in
Further
checking of the
Examination of the OPR entry for Wick revealed a quite ambiguous situation. It is as follows:
However, one of those questions was answered by an announcement in the marriage column in the John O’ Groat Journal:
John O' Groat Journal 20 Jan 1854
At
A
letter to the Liverpool Family History Society enquiring about
the Rev Whyte brought an encouraging response. It appears that in
the 1853 Gores directory there is no listing under Whyte but a
Rev Verner Moor White minister of
the Scotch Church 1 Salisbury Street,
The
question of which minister was the one named on the Wick OPR
entry remains but the fact that Robert was given in the
newspaper announcement as being born in Liverpool made the
probability of a Liverpool baptism more likely. The entry might have
been precipitated by information given to the Clerk of the
The
baptism record in Wick was not confirmed by an equivalent
record of any kind in
Was
John Pope in Wick or
The trail had gone cold but continued searching for Robert, even though thought to be dead, revealed a Robert Pope aged 8 years in the 1861 census with Robert and Lillias Sutherland his grandparents and, of course, the parents of Ann Sutherland and wife of John Pope. Suddenly it became clear that John Pope had almost certainly placed a child with each side of the family. One with Ann’s parents and one with what appeared to be a Pope relative in Durness. Could the latter also be grandparents or some other close family connection? After all Janet McKay, ms Pope, did have a son John around the time of her marriage to George McKay. Maybe this John was actually illegitimate and known as John Pope in everything except the official records where he had been given George McKay’s name. It might even have been George’s child but born or conceived at any rate before the marriage to Janet Pope.
However,
a further possibility came to the fore with the finding of
Peter McLean[vii]
and Catherine Pope living in
But
what of young Jess Pope?
Further searches of later census returns, marriages and
deaths at first did not find her. She had disappeared
from
The
question that arose was ‘Did John Pope travel to
There seemed no resolving this question until the discovery on the internet of a website with information on this ‘second’ John Pope who married in Queensland in September 1862 and died in a remote part of Queensland in 1863 leaving a widow, a son John and a large number of Australian descendants. John Pope gave his occupation as Blacksmith at his marriage to Dorothea Gruber[viii]. He said he was a bachelor. This would not be a surprising claim if he was, in fact, a widower from the other side of the world with hardly much likelihood of his new wife finding out his true status if indeed she did not know of the previous marriage.
John’s
untimely death in December 1863 of consumption was reported by
his widow, Dorothea Pope (ms Gruber) who indicated that he was
a Blacksmith and from
The advertisement for John Pope’s Blacksmith Business in the Gayndah and Central Queensland Advertiser.
The
search in
Equally
baffling, as we have seen, had been the disappearance of Jess
(Janet) Pope after 1861 and what relationship she had to Janet
McKay (Pope) as surely there must have been quite a close
family connection. The
trail after 1871 and her discovery in that year once again
went cold until the finding of a marriage record in
Above the 1881 census showing Jessie Pope as single and living at Mickley Vicarage.
Jessie Pope’s marriage certificate showing she married some months before the above census.
With
the finding of Robert on the marriage certificate the hunt of
him before and after 1881 once again became a priority. The 1871 census
search being unsuccessful in the
The
finding of Jess/Jessie Pope and Robert was not the only
interesting development in the north of
Further
information
of possible significance quickly appeared after the finding of
Jessie Pope in
As often happens in family research a trail goes cold for a time and then an unexpected breakthrough occurs. In the case of the Parry connection this breakthrough came by way of my family website and the spotting of the ‘John Pope Mystery Page’ by a Perry family member Mandy Perry (married name Mandy Elhashash). Mandy’s work on her Perry ancestors, whose lifestyle seems to have been as irregular as the Popes, added much new and interesting, indeed intriguing, information to this already complicated story.
Mandy
confirmed that George Arthur, or Arthur as he sometimes
preferred to be called, was living in Marylebone in 1891[x]
with his son John Arthur Perry and various domestic staff and
a sick nurse called Edith Youell. The entry gives a
birth date of about 1853/54 while indicating the place of
birth to be
The birth information for John A tracked down by Mandy Perry was as follows:
John Arthur Perry, born 20 November 1882
Place; Lambeth, Surrey, sub-district or
Father; George Arthur Perry, Auctioneer and Estate Agent
Mother; Jessie Perry formally Pope
The address; Oak House, Carson House,
Registration signed by Jessie Perry on 29 December 1882
The marriage information for Arthur George (or George Arthur) Perry’s second or more likely third marriage was as follows:
Place; The Wesleyan Chapel,
District; Tendring, Essex
Date; 14 September 1891
Occupation; Sanitary Inspector
Father; George Perry, Surgeon
Residing; Clacton,
Wife; Edith Youell, Spinster
Father; Edward Youell
Residing; Clacton,
Witnesses; George and Elizabeth Manning
Mandy Perry’s direct interest in this puzzle becomes clear when she states that Edith Youell, whom George Arthur married in Clacton registration district of Tendring on 14 September 1891, is most likely her great, grandmother through her grandfather Maurice Perry, the third son of George Arthur from his second marriage or his third marriage if he was indeed a widower when he married Jessie Pope. The family was residing in the 1901 census[xi] in Fingringhoe, Essex but John Arthur, the son to Jessie Pope, was still residing at the Marylebone address with an the occupation of Sanitary Inspector’s Assistant/Apprentice thus giving the impression he is probably working with his father.
The
final official reference to John Arthur Perry in
It
is suggested that John Arthur Perry and
Throughout this report of the John Pope Mystery many questions have been posed and answered and others have appeared but without resolution at this time. There were many questions associated with the Perrys both connected to the Pope marriage era and in later times. Those unresolved questions relating to the first and third marriages of George Arthur Perry were of indirect interest and taxed my enquiring mind but of greatest interest was the background to the marriage to Jessie Pope and later movements of their son, John Arthur Pope. The following questions in particular were of some importance and slowly answers appeared for some of those questions.
Who exactly were the Perry family? Were they in
How and why did Jessie Pope turn up in the North of England working in a Vicarage?
Was it a complete coincidence that Jessie Pope,
for sometime in Durness, married in
Where Did John Arthur Perry go and did he emigrate?
Correspondence arriving unexpectedly from
What happened to Robert Pope after 1871 and did
he return to the
This is one of the puzzles in the story that is at least partly resolved. Information from Perry descendant John Perry, mentioned above, indicates that Robert was reported by John Arthur Perry, the son of Janet Pope and George Arthur Perry, to have become a seaman though at what rank unknown. This would account for Robert’s not appearing in the British census and his ability to turn up at his sister Janet’s marriage and disappear just as quickly.
And most importantly, was John Pope, as suspected, the illegitimate son of Janet Pope, the wife of George Mackay of Durness?
This story has still more time to run!
I have search long and hard for answers and been more than ably assisted in the task by Sam Higgins from Glasgow, a young and enthusiastic family history researcher and member of the Pope family. Without her assistance, that of Richard Snedden, a member of the Pope Melville families in Australia, Caithness Family History Society member Robert Morrison in the North East of England and Mandy Perry and John Perry, the direct descendants of George Arthur Perry we would have not progressed this far in the search for John, Robert and Jess Pope and their fascinating connected families.
[i] Hector Melville
(1833 – 1900) was
the son of John Melville and Roberta Pope. (Roberta’s parents
were Hector Melville and Isabella Matheson). Hector born 1833
went to
[ii] George Sutherland,
son of Roderick and Mary Sutherland, sometimes given the
middle name of McKay, married Emma Want in Grafton New South
[iii] John Morrison,
born 18 September 1832, was the son of Robert and Ann
Morrison and was from Eddrachillis, Sutherland. According on
information on arrival in
[iv] Robert Sutherland, born c1801, was a school teacher in Wick. His wife was Lillias Malcolm, born c1803, and they were married 20 October 1820. Indications are that they had at least five children – Jean, David, Robert, Ann and Alexander.
[v] George McKay and his wife Janet McKay ms Pope and their family had along with them Jess Pope, a 4 year old boarder in 1861 census.
[vi] Janet McKay (ms Pope) details according to census:
1841 census Age 30 Estimated Birth Year 1813 Place of Birth: Sutherland
1851 census Age 43 Estimated Birth Year 1808 Place of Birth: Durness, Sutherland
1861 census Age 48 Estimated Birth Year 1813 Place of Birth: Brora, Sutherland
At Marriage Age From : Loth, Sutherland
At Death Age 58 Estimated Birth Year 1810 Parents: Hector Pope and Isabella MacPherson
Those details are at variance and cause considerable problem not least because no Hector apart from the one married to Isabella Matheson can be found. Since the MacPherson surname is given on a death certificate it could well be wrong. All other Pope evidence suggests that this is Janet born to Hector Pope and Isabella Matheson in 1805 In Doll of Brora, Clyne.
[vii] The George S
Taylor Manuscript on the Pope families prepared in early1830
by the Golspie Writer/Solicitor notes Peter and Catherine
McLean in
[viii] Mary (Maria) Dorothea (Bertha) Gruber
b: 5 JUN 1846 in Niederaroff,
[ix] Jane Scott, born 4th
March 1847 and married 16 March 1864, had two children to
McKay Pope – Sarah born c1867, died 1882 and Hannah born
c1869, died 1874. Mother
and children born in
[x] 1891 Census; Arthur Perry, 45 Townsend Road, St John’s Wood, Marylebone, married, head aged 37 years, Sanitary Inspector born St Tago. Also at address; John A Perry, son aged 6 years, born West Dulwich, Kent and Ernest Youell (name error), unmarried Servant aged 25 years, Sick Nurse, born Camberwell. Beatrice Golding, Servant residing there also. (Is St Tago actually Santiago as 1901 census gives birthplace as South America or is it St Tago one of the Cape Verde Islands of the African Coast?).
[xi] 1901 Census; Arthur Perry, 49 Laurel House, Fingrinhoe, Essex, married, head of household aged 47 years, Sanitary Inspector, born South America, British Subject. Others in household: Edith Perry, wife, 35 years, born London; Dorothy Perry, Unmarried daughter aged 9 years born Ipswich, Suffolk; Edward Perry unmarried son aged 7 years born London; Percival Perry unmarried son aged 4 years born London; Alice Youell unmarried sister of wife Edith aged 29 years.
[xii] Mandy Perry says ;-
George Arthur was said to be a charismatic
man, with numerous stories many of a grandiose
nature. He wore a velvet smoking jacket and a smoking
cap…a hat with a tassle. Edith was a bit of an amateur
artist, and there was a bohemian feel to the family.
I have
established details for the children identified in the
census, but I believe there to be 5 more children. One
Uncle I remember is Uncle Les, he was interested in
photography…he was younger than my Grandad, but I have not
been able to find him yet….
Family
history indicates Maurice Frederick Perry ( George Arthur Perry’s
son and Mandy’s grandfather), born 1901 in Lexden,
Essex, joined the Royal Flying Corps in WW1...underage. My Mum believes
that he received a War pension, but I have not been able
to find this, although I believe his no. to be SEF10 or
SF10 (Used in his later name change)
Throughout
his
life he used various alias’ including Paul Parry/ Paul
Perry until changing his name by deed poll in the 1970’s
to Paul Parry Sefton. He died in approx 1978 in
Richmond/Twickenham area.
He
married my grandmother Alice Esther Emma Pitts in 1925 at
Sissinghurst in
Maurice/Paul then had various failed business ventures,
but also was a test driver for Ford.
My
grandfather, had a long term relationship with a cousin
Margaret Cecile, although they never married, my mother
believes her to be related to Lord Hatton, but I have not
established a link.
02/10/2012