The Souters of the Wardmylne of Arbroath

Alexander Souter of Gauldwell & Newton (1810-1878)

Alexander Souter, writer in Banff, died at his house there, St Brandons, on 11 May 1878, the very house in which he had been born in 1810 [1]. He had held several positions of importance in the local community, including County Clerk, Clerk of Supply, Collector of County Rates, Distributor of Stamps & Taxes, Clerk of Lieutenancy and Clerk to the General Road Trustees. He owned property such as Gauldwell and Newton in the parish of Boharm and Strocherie in King Edward. A generous obituary of him was published in the Banffshire Journal on 14 May 1878. The obituary notes correctly that his family had been associated with Banffshire and the burgh of Banff for two generations, his father having been factor to the earl of Fife for many years until his death in 1839, but that the family's origins lay to the south.

Unfortunately, the compiler of the obituary then turns to details that, though often stated, are either myths of long standing or entirely incorrect. He writes:

He continues by providing the gist of an Act of Parliament of 21 Aug 1663:

The Act of Charles II in question, however, begins as follows:

It would probably not be apparent to the necrologist, as indeed it would not to most people today, that "David Souter Johnstone of Wardmilne" and "Mr David Johnstoun, alias Souter, student in divinity" cannot refer to the same person. This is the first of his errors, though it most likely derives from an earlier published work on the Johnstones. We return to it below.

The obituary continues:

Here, 'Hayshade' is a mere typo for 'Hayshead', a small property on the eastern edge of Arbroath. It should also be noted that there is no original record that surnames the above Francis or Stewart as other than 'Souter'. The name 'Johnstone' is nowhere recorded for them. He continues:

He is correct that George, 3rd marquis of Annandale, died in 1792, without an obvious heir to his honours - and, incidentally, non compos mentis since 1748. But the Stewart Souter Johnstone who voted as the marquis at the election of a new representative Scottish peer in 1824 was not Stewart Souter of Melrose. To this point too, we return below. He continues:

In fact Alexander's three sons all predeceased him, as the obituary later details. But, very surprisingly, it would appear from the above comment that some member of Alexander's family, or he himself, believed that his father Stewart was the claimant.

After the death of the third marquis in 1792, there followed years of legal argument attempting to decide the precise meaning of the destinations, as expressed in the original grants, of the marquis's honours; in addition to the marquisate, he was also 4th earl of Annandale & Hartfell.

Thus, William Souter, an officer of the Marines, added 'Johnstone' to his name in 1799 and, as Lieut.-gen. William Souter Johnstone, commandant of the Royal Marines, petitioned for them. After his death on 2 Jan 1818 in London, his grandly-named only son George Conway Montague Levine Wade Souter Johnston (1803-1856), a lieutenant in the 14th Foot, petitioned in his turn. The Manchester Mercury of 20 Jan 1818, recording his death, was in no doubt that William had been heir to the titles:

There were several petitioners, only one of whom was in fact to be considered seriously, namely John James Hope Johnstone. His descendant Patrick Hope Johnstone was finally acknowledged as earl of Annandale & Hartfell in 1985.

Stewart Souter Johnstone (1799-1846), the claimant

So who was the Stewart Souter Johnstone who claimed to be marquis of Annandale in 1824? The answer can be found with help from the following comments by C.L. Johnstone, after his discussion of the 1663 Act of Parliament [C.L. Johnstone, History of the Johnstones 1191-1909, Edinburgh, 1909, p. 347]:

These papers are now held in Perth & Kinross Council Archives in Perth [MS139]. The 1851 census of Dundee shows William Reid, a carter aged 50, born in Methven, Perthshire living in Meadowside with his wife and seven children, the eldest being 17-year-old William who, by 1871 was married and a slater at 96 Dudhope Street, Dundee with a 4-year-old son William. The grandfather died in 1873, aged 76, his mother's surname being 'Mitchell', which leads us to the marriage record of a John Soutar and Catherine Mitchell in 1798 - banns at Methven on 8 Apr 1798 and marriage at Perth on 20 Apr 1798 [OPR index].

Stewart Soutar was born to John Soutar & Catherine Mitchell in Perth in 1799, their eldest child [OPR births Perth]:

Stewart Soutar's attempt to become recognised as marquis of Annandale was short-lived. Thereafter, retaining the cognomen 'Johnstone' that he had adopted, he emigrated to North America. He settled in Detroit and was married on 20 Mar 1832 to Catherine McDougall at l'Assomption, Sandwich, Essex, Ontario by the priest, Angus McDonell:

Stewart Souter Johnstone and a woman, presumably his wife, are listed in the 1840 census of Detroit, aged 30-39 and 40-49 respectively. He was buried at l'Assomption in 1846. In 1897, Christian Denissen, the pastor of a Detroit church, compiled a work entitled Navarre, or, Researches after the Descendants of Robert Navarre, whose Ancestors are the Noble Bourbons of France. He included notes on the families who intermarried with the Navarres. Robert Navarre had been sent to Detroit in la Nouvelle France in 1730 by the then-government of France. Subsequently, Robert Navarre's descendant Mary Frances Navarre married a George McDougall and they had a son John Robert [Navarre, p. 280]:

Denissen is then briefly confused but then, on page 282, has the interesting entry:

Two David Souters

The obituary of Alexander Souter discussed above identifies him as son of Stewart Souter of Melrose, 2nd son of Francis Souter of Hayshead. It further states that Francis was the great-grandson of the David Souter who obtained the Act of 1663. But the Act calls him 'Mr David Johnstoun, alias Souter, student in divinity' whereas the obituary has 'David Souter Johnstone of Wardmilne'.

1. Mr David Johnstone or Souter

In the mid-seventeenth century, only university graduates were designed 'Mr' (i.e. 'Master'), and the Act adds that the petitioner was a student of divinity. A David Souter graduated from the University of Edinburgh on 26 Jul 1657; and a Mr David Johnstone was admitted as minister at Moffat in Dumfriesshire in 1664 and thereafter, at Perth, on 6 Aug 1664, gave in his name, with Elizabeth Robertson, in order to marriage [OPR Perth]:

No other Mr David Souter or Johnstone was a minister in that period. The Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae provide some further information about him:

He was the "son of Jean Johnston" [True but misleading]. He was a burgess of Perth. He had two sons, David, a writer in Perth and Andrew, a bursar of the city of Edinburgh in 1685, by Elizabeth. She died in 1667 and he married, secondly, a Sarah Johnston [Fasti, vol. 2, p. 216].

An Andrew Johnstone is listed as a graduand of Edinburgh on 9 Jul 1687, presumably the Andrew referred to in the Fasti. Mr David also had two daughters, Ann and Sarah, possibly both by Sarah Johnston. They were served heiress portioners to their brother David on 30 Oct 1722 [NRS RH8/860]:

From the rules of inheritance, it follows that there is no male line of descent from Mr David, minister of Moffat. So, if the line of descent given in Alexander Souter's obituary is to be correct, it must indeed go back to David Souter of Wardmylne, and the writer has simply mistaken David Souter of Wardmylne as being the person named in the Act of Parliament.

2. David Souter Johnstone of Wardmylne

In the burgh records of Arbroath, dated 28 Nov 1634, is a sasine recording the acquisition by "David Souter of the Mill of Alyth" of the Wardmylne & other properties at Arbroath, from James lord Ogilvy of Airlie and James master of Ogilvy, his son [NRS B4/1/5 fo. 109]

On 3 Mar 1636, David, at Arbroath, disponed the mill of Alyth to his brother William [NRS GD16/12/124]:

On 28 Sep 1631, a tack was granted to David Sowter in Both and Christian Maull, his spouse, of the lands and teinds thereof in the parish of Panbryd [NRS GD45/18/195]

David and Christian's marriage banns had been proclaimed at Alyth on 30 Oct 1625 [OPR marriages Alyth]:

The above tack is followed by others: on 31 Aug 1637, Patrick Maule of Panmure granted a Tack to David Souter of Wairdmilne and Christian Maule, his wife, of the lands and teinds of Brewseat of Pitlivie [NRS GD45/18/228]. Pitlivie lies immediately east of Panmure's residence in the parish of Panbride; to David Sowtar of Vardmiln, on 1 Oct 1638, of the superplus of the kirklands of Panbryd [NRS GD45/18/242]; and, on 10 Oct 1639, to David Soutare in Bothe and Christian Maule, his spouse, of the lands and teinds thereof in the parish of Panbryde [NRS GD45/18/247]. And by two letters, of 1669 and 1671, from D. Johnstoun at Bothe [NRS GD45/14/153], presumably addressed to Panmure [NRS GD45/14/153]. From these, it is clear that David was resident at Boath (in Carmyllie) for at least 40 years; on 16 Aug 1633, there is a Renunciation by Patrick Maule of Panmure of a commission to sell his lands on that date, revealing that David worked for Panmure - "David Souttar in Both, a servitor to the renouncer", is a witness [RPC, 2nd series, vol. 5, pp. 564-5, no. 39]

Thereafter, we find, also in the Panmure muniments, the Accounts of David Souter of Wardmylne as factor of the lordship and abbacy of Aberbrothok, crops 1641-1661 [NRS GD45/18/1384 et seq.], followed by the Accounts of David Johnstone as factor of the lordship and abbacy of Arbrothe, crops 1662-64 and 1666 [NRS GD45/18/1405 et seq.].

So it is clear that this David, like the minister of Moffat, had connexions to Perthshire - Alyth in this case - and was one of those motivated to change his name. By turning to the Fasti, we can find two further cases:

1. James Fithie was minister of Mains, just north of Dundee, from 1663 to 1672. He married a Martha Souter in Dundee on 15 Dec 1654 [OPR Dundee]:

   On the 15 of December 1654

   Mr James Fithie in this parochoun and Martha Souter in the paroch of Panbryd (by Testimoniall under the ministers hand of Panbryd) gave up their names to be proclamed

   The Fasti then state, without noting a death for Martha Souter, that he married, secondly, but without any date being given, "Martha Johnston, who survived him" [Fasti, vol. 5, p. 358]. But it is clear that Martha Souter and Martha Johnstone are the same person.

2. In the parish of Barry, just east of Panbride, "John Soutar", who graduated from St Andrews on 12 Jun 1652, was minister from 1659 until 1661 or 1662, according to the Fasti, and married to a Marion Halyburton. He was followed as minister, again according to the Fasti, by a "John Johnstone of Wardmylne, 2nd son of David Johnstone of Wardmylne", who married "Marion Halyburton, probably widow of his predecessor". Clearly, John Soutar and John Johnstone are the same person, even though the Fasti say that the latter was "educated at Marischal College, Aberdeen, 1649-53". Doubtless, that was some other John Johnstone [Fasti, vol. 5, p. 430].

How were the David Souters related?

David Souter or Johnstone of Wardmylne died between 6 May 1672, when there is an "Extract bond by David Johnstoune of Wairdmilnes, elder, and Mr John Johnstoune, minister at Barrie, his second son, to David Kyde in Lochlaire" [NRS GD45/16/1244], and 15 Sep 1679, when there is an "Extract bond by Mr John Johnstone of Wairdmilnes, minister of Barrie, to Mr James Maule of Ballumbie" [NRS GD45/17/500]. The first of these rather suggests that David's eldest son was also called 'David'; however, he must have predeceased his father, as, on 18 Mar 1683, there were "Letters of special charge at instance of Mr James Maule of Ballumbie, brother to the Earl of Panmuire, againstt Mr John Johnstoune of Wairdmilnes, minister at Barrie, to enter heir to David Johnstoune of Wairdmilnes, his father", in the subjects in GD45/16/1264 [NRS GD45/16/1267]. The subjects referred to include the lands of Overmilne or Wardmilne, and Neithermilne or Commonmilne of Aberbrothock.

Mr John Johnstone recorded arms in 1672 [J. Balfour Paul, An Ordinary of Arms, Edinburgh, 1893, p. 228]:

Nisbet has, omitting 'gules' [Alexander Nisbet, A System of Heraldry, Edinburgh, 1816, vol. 1, p. 178]:

No record of any child of Mr John Johnstone has been found. If he indeed had no son, he must have had at least one younger brother if the supposed ancestry of Francis, Stewart & Alexander Souter is correct. And that brother most likely cannot have adopted the surname 'Johnstone'. The Martha who married Mr James Fithie would appear to be Mr John's sister.

We have seen above that David Souter of Wardmylne disponed the Mill of Alyth called Milnhauch to his brother William in March 1636. The next month, William disponed the liferent of the mill to his wife [NRS GD16/12/128, dated 26 Apr 1636]

and, in the Arbroath burgh records, there is a disposition by William Souter of Milnhauch to Jean Pearson, his spouse, of these lands. Witnesses include his brother german John Souter [NRS B4/1/5 fo. 169, dated 26 Apr 1636]

Then, from a disposition by William dated 28 Feb 1656 at Muirton, we find that his eldest son was called 'David' [NRS GD16/12/130 - N.B. before David's graduation]; the following year, William is in financial difficulty [NRS GD16/41/380, dated 24 Jan 1657]:

In a document dated at Alyth 2 May 1667, he is referred to as "deceased William Soutar of Milhuich" [NRS GD16/42/392].

Finally, we have two further documents that identify William's son David as being the minister of Moffat [NRS GD16/12/154, dated 7 May 1667, and GD16/31/150, dated 8 May 1667 respectively]:

Francis Souter and his Family

Francis Souter (c.1730-1810) & Katharine Gray (c.1734-1808?)

The earliest certain evidence for Francis (born c. 1730), Alexander Souter's paternal grandfather, appears in the Examination Roll of Arbroath 1752 [Flora Davidson, Scottish Record Soc., Edinburgh 1987 - which contains extensive notes on many of the inhabitants]. Although this original roll of the burgh's inhabitants was drawn up in 1752, it has some later additions and deletions. Francis Souter and Katharine Gray (3rd surviving daughter of David Gray, a prosperous brewer in Arbroath, & Katharine Mather) were contracted in order to marriage on 28 Dec 1754 at Arbroath [OPR marriages Arbroath] but appear, as additions, as a couple in the roll. Both names are marked with an 'x', indicating that they were episcopalians.

But Katharine Gray also appears elsewhere in the roll, undeleted, in the household of William Scot & Helen Gray (David Gray's 2nd daughter, born in 1729). A Margaret Mather is also in the household, apparently in error for Katharine Mather. Katharine Mather's testament, registered at St Andrews on 28 Oct 1762, shows that she had made a disposition to her daughter Katharine on 27 Mar 1756. The testament states that Katharine Mather was relict of the deceased David Gray, brewer in Arbroath, and that it was made and given up by Katharine Gray, her lawful daughter, and Francis Soutter, wright in Aberbrothock, her husband, executors dative qua creditors.

Only one baptism of a child is recorded to Francis & Katharine, namely Catharine, on 03 May 1758 at Arbroath, the witnesses being William Ramsay and Alexander Souter. The births of their three known sons, David (c.1755 or 1761?), Stewart (1765) and Alexander (1775) are unrecorded; they were doubtless baptised by an episcopal minister, but the episcopal records for Arbroath are wanting. It is very likely that there were other children.

Katharine Gray was served heir portioner general to her nephew John Scott, a baker in Arbroath on 4 Aug 1786, her husband being designed 'tenant, Dickmontlaw'. Francis was still tenant of (part of) Dickmontlaw in St Vigeans parish, but not occupier, when an offer of a sub-lease was advertised on 2 Mar 1801, following the death in 1799 of Dr Thomas Stevenson, the previous sub-tenant [].

Katharine Gray died before 18 May 1808, on which date her eldest son was served heir to her [Retours index]:

Francis was buried in the Abbey Kirkyard, Arbroath, on 3 Jun 1810, as the mortcloth accounts show [NRS CH2/1415/23, p. 101] and the next day the minister, Mr George Gleig, received £10 Sterling, to distribute to the poor, from Messrs David and Stewart Souter [NRS CH2/1415/23, p. 100 and CH2/1415/3, p. 186].

The above references to Francis clearly relate to Katharine Gray's husband. It seems likely that he was the same Francis Souter who owned Hayshead on the eastern edge of Arbroath, though no document has yet been found to confirm this. Hayshead House seems to have been built for Francis in the late 1780s, possibly earlier. He put the house up for let in late 1793 ["Caledonian Mercury", 30.12.1793]:

There are also newspaper references to a Francis Souter, merchant, Arbroath in 1789, as one of those who took in cloth for bleaching at Mains Bleachfield, one mile north of Dundee []; and to a Francis Souter, Writer and Messenger at Arms in Arbroath in 1796, who says he is about to leave that place []. It is unclear if these are Katharine Gray's husband, though the latter would explain why Francis Souter of Hayshead was wishing to let his house. Possibly, it was his intention to move north to join his sons David and Stewart in Banffshire, where they were both prospering. Possibly he did, for some years, before returning in his last years to Arbroath, as no death record for Katharine Gray has been found at Arbroath. By 1822, Hayshead was the property of a Mr Scott [Wood's map of Arbroath]; the property is on the south-west side of what is now Hayshead Road, close to the junction with Springfield Terrace.

David Souter (c.1760-1831/2) & Stewart Souter (1764-1839)

David had become grieve or factor to James earl of Fife by 1783. On 2 July of that year, David wrote "from Duff House that they had now got white pease milled, and that these were selling at £1 1s 6d a bag. Four days later, he writes that they were milling oats and bere as fast as possible" [Transactions of the Banffshire Field Club, 3 Mar 1893, p. 18]

In 1785, David obtained a tack of Melrose in the parish of Gamrie from the earl [Aberdeen Uni Archives MS 3175/861/2]. He married Janet Milne at Arbroath on 30 Jul 1788 [OPR marriages Arbroath]; her maternal grandfather was John Gellatly, provost of Arbroath. Thereafter, his brother Stewart seems to have become factor to the Duff estates.

Both brothers were appointed captains in the Banffshire Volunteer Infantry on 20 Jun 1803 [John M. Bulloch, Territorial soldiering in the north-east of Scotland during 1759-1814, Aberdeen, 1914, p. 352], but only Stewart was promoted major on 9 Nov 1803 [ibid., p. 352]. Nonetheless, David must have been popular with his company, as "The Melrose Company of the 1st battalion of Banffshire Volunteers, have presented to David Souter, Esq. at Melrose, their Captain, a large and very elegant silver Vase-Cup." [Aberdeen Press and Journal, 30 Jan 1805].

Although that places David at Melrose, his brother had bought Melrose before 7 Jan 1804, on which date he married Miss Mary Robinson, daughter of George Robinson, provost of Banff [The Sun (London), 18 Jan 1804]. David, meanwhile, though resident in the town of Macduff, had acquired the superiority of Northfield of Gamrie, as revealed by a document of 17 Jun 1807 [NRS GD57/1/219]:

On 5 Jun 1805, David Souter of Northfield and Stewart Souter of Melrose were both appointed Commissioners for both Aberdeenshire and Banffshire under the Act 45 Geo.III Cap.48, while on 21 Jan 1809, David was appointed captain and Stewart, major, in the Banffshire Local Militia. [Bulloch, p. 386]

While Stewart continued as factor of the Duff estates until his death in 1839, David concentrated on farming. His superiority of Northfield was advertised for sale by roup to be held on 17 Aug 1810 [Aberdeen Press and Journal, 18 Jul 1810] and he had acquired Gauldwell and Newton in Boharm, Banffshire by 1812, when he published his General View of the Agriculture of the County of Banff [Edinburgh, 1812], a work that contains unusually extensive climate records. He later obtained ownership of Kinminities (or Kinminity) in Birse, Aberdeenshire and is listed as a freeholder of Aberdeenshire and liferenter of Gauldwell & Newton in 1827 [Edinburgh Almanack of 1828].

On 19 Mar 1831, both brothers were appointed Justices of the Peace for the county of Banff [Aberdeen Press and Journal, 6 Jul 1831], but by the following summer, David had died, as the following advertisement shows [ibid. 27 Jun 1832]:

No record of his death, grave monument or testament for him has been found. It is possible he died in London, as his widow died on 17 Nov 1836 in Hackney Grove there [London Evening Standard, 26 Nov 1836], at the home of her daughter Helen and son-in-law George Hunter, who were to emigrate to Wellington N.Z. in 1840. Helen seems to have been their only daughter, while their only son, James Francis, had died in Edinburgh in 1825 [Monument in Greyfriars Kirkyard].

Of Stewart Souter, James Imlach wrote [History of Banff, Banff, 1868, p. 89]:

Alexander Souter (1775-1857)

Alexander, the youngest son of Francis & Katharine, married Margaret Ritchie, probably in Arbroath in 1801. The baptisms of their first four children are recorded: David Robertson (1802), Stewart Robertson (1804), Margaret (1806) and James Robertson (1808), the first three at Arbroath and James at St Vigeans. Two further children are unrecorded: Ann (1816) and Margaret (1818).

Margaret Ritchie or Souter, wife of Alexander Souter, Merchant, Arbroath was served heir portioner general to her mother Janet Robertson or Ritchie there on 2 May 1810. This may have been partly responsible for Alexander going into partnership with a James Robertson [W.H.K. Turner, The Textile Industry in Arbroath, Abertay Historical Soc., Publication No. 2, 1954 (reprinted 1971)]

The venture was very short-lived, as by 8 Jun 1812 their business had failed [Edinburgh Advertiser, 24 Jul 1812]:

Alexander was still a merchant in Arbroath when his youngest daughter, Margaret, was married on 24 Dec 1839 at Arbroath to Mr John Kirkland, wood-merchant, Dundee [Aberdeen Press and Journal, 1 Jan 1840], but by the 1841 census, Alexander was a merchant in Miln Place, Forres, Morayshire with his unmarried daughter Ann, while Margaret Ritchie was with the Kirklands in Reform Street, Dundee. By 1851, Alexander was a mercantile agent, boarding at 2 South Street, Elgin and it would seem he was working as a wood-merchant at Haughland, Elgin by 1845 [Aberdeen Press and Journal, 30 Apr 1845; Inverness Courier, 19 Feb 1852].

Margaret Ritchie died at 32 Springfield, Dundee (the end of terrace house, facing the Perth Road and now Category A listed) in 1855; Alexander Souter died there in 1857.

David Robertson Souter (1802-1888)

In 1860, Alexander Johnston had his work A Short Memoir of James Young, Merchant Burgess of Aberdeen, and Rachel Cruickshank, his Spouse, and of their Descendants privately printed at Aberdeen. This work included a note on the "Souters, formerly Johnstouns". Johnston says that the "substance of this note was originally communicated in 1860 by the late David Souter Robertson of Lawhead".

An expanded version of Johnston's work was published at Aberdeen in 1894 by a William Johnston. On page 31 of that work, Johnston notes that David Robertson Souter of Lawhead, an accountant in Edinburgh, had changed his name to David Souter Robertson in 1860. This David (1802-1888) was the eldest son of Alexander Souter & Margaret Ritchie. On page 158, we find the note on the "Souters, formerly Johnstouns":

The connexion to the Ritchies of Duchar and to the Robertsons of Mairton has not been examined; otherwise the ancestry is correct, except that the designation 'Souter Johnstoun' is found nowhere in the family.

Alexander Johnston's work of 1860 is the earliest evidence found for the family's claim to be descended from David Souter of Wardmilne. It is unfortunate that David Robertson Souter failed to provide the identities of the two missing ancestors that connected him to Wardmilne.

The note continues:

And there we have the confusion between David Souter of Wardmylne and Mr David, his nephew, minister of Moffat. Was this Alexander Johnston's confusion or David Robertson Souter's? Was the latter gentleman manufacturing a lineage for himself? His father Alexander Souter's testament dative [NRS SC26/39/8 Elgin, registered 9 Nov 1857], designs him "sometime Commission Agent in Elgin" and says that he "died at Dundee having his Domicile in Elgin ... on the twenty third day of June Eighteen hundred and fifty seven". The inventory, given up by David's sister Ann, shows Alexander to have left a moveable estate of just £31 7s 6d, of which £23 was a debt owed to him by another commission agent in Elgin and the rest, the value of his clothes, a trunk and a watch. It makes an interesting contrast with his brother Stewart Souter of Melrose, who had left a moveable estate of £17,351 10s 6½d in 1839 [NRS SC2/40/8 Banff, registered 27 Oct 1841]

By 1860, when he changed his name, David Robertson Souter was: married (1847) to Elizabeth, daughter of John Leith Ross of Arnage; a member (1847) of the Highland & Agricultural Society; Deputy Lieutenant of Bute (1848); a Deputy Lieutenant of Lanarkshire (1850); and a Justice of the Peace for Angus, Bute and Lanarkshire. In 1860, he subscribed to two copies of David Miller's Arbroath and its Abbey, indicating his interest in his birthplace. In 1863, he was appointed Commissioner of the Duke of Hamilton's estates in both England and Scotland.

Alexander Warden [Angus or Forfarshire, vol. 3, Dundee, 1882, p. 18] states that:

David was in fact 2nd cousin twice removed of the brothers Thomas & George Robertson Chaplin of Colliston (né Robertson); he had worked in Thomas's accountancy firm in Edinburgh.

It became apparent only after David's death that he had lived considerably beyond his means [NRS CS318/36/282 Concluded sequestration process, 1889-1893], with serious consequences for his eldest son, Stewart Souter Robertson (1839-1898), and the two youngest sons, Thomas Chaplin Souter Robertson (1853-1943) (alias Thomas Robertson Chaplin) and George Chaplin Souter Robertson (1857-1923) (alias George Robertson Chaplin). Stewart, having been sequestrated twice, in 1874 and 1890, worked as clerk to the L.N.W.R. in London, and died "virtually penniless" in Penzance; Thomas and George were both sequestrated in 1890 [For detailed discussion, see Thomas A. Lee, Accounting Historians Journal, v. 36, pp. 75-92, 2009].

Was Francis Souter the great-grandson of David Souter of Wardmylne?

This page has been written using only online resources. Without access to the Register of Sasines and other original records, there seems little prospect of proving Francis's descent. David was married in 1625, Francis in 1754, so the average length of the intervening generations would be 43 years, fairly long but not impossible.

David hailed from Alyth. He and his father, also David, had had sasine of the mill and mill lands of Alyth in 1620, the father in liferent, the son in fee [NRS GD16/12/119, dated 1 Jun 1620]. The father died in 1631 [Confirmed testament, NRS GD16/43/6], but did their ancestors come from Dumfriesshire? It may just be a myth, that just happens to bear a striking resemblance to another story that appeared in several newspapers in early 1854 [Brechin Advertiser, 7 Feb 1854]:

Aran is in the canton of Vaud/Waadt, just east of Lausanne on Lake Geneva, but the story is most likely nonsense, apart from the final sentence; could it be part of a concerted effort to encourage statutory registration that succeeded the next year?

Notes

1: John Wood's plan of the Burgh of Banff shows Stewart Souter's property, labelled "S. Sutar Esq." on the east side of the High Street, a short distance south of his brother-in-law George Garden Robinson's. Between these stands St Andrews Episcopal Church, for which Stewart Souter laid the foundation stone in 1833 [Perthshire Courier, 9 May 1833; and Aberdeen Press and Journal, 3 May 1933, 100 years on]. However, the census of 1841 has Alexander and family at Strocherie and the 1851 and 1861 census at 49 High Street, which seems now to be a modern building occupied by the CO-OP.

2: James Moody (from 1806, James Moody Howison Craufurd of Craufurdland) was minister of the West Kirk of Perth from 1772 to 1807 [Fasti, vol. 4, p. 235]

3: "Pittinbrid" here supports Mackenzie's conjecture that "Pan" is a contracted form of "Petan" in the name "Panbride" [W.C. Mackenzie Scottish Place-names, London, 1931, p. 247]

References

In the text at present.