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The Waugh Family While researching the Waugh Family we originally came to the conclusion (based on the best available "evidence" during our early work) that the Robert Waugh born in Ewes in 1784 was one of our direct ancestors. After many years and subsequent research new information came to light that led us to believe differently and that "our" Robert Waugh was the Robert Waugh born in Lochmaben in about 1784. We have left this information online in the event anyone is researching the Waughs of Ewes... Index of Official Parish Registries and
Statutory Registries for Births, Marriages and Deaths
Staplegordon Parish united with Wauchope Parish in 1703 to form Langholm Parish. John Waugh married Jean Elliot(t) (born July 15, 1716), in Canonbie, Liddesdale, Scotland. At that time Liddesdale was part of Roxburghshire. John Waugh may have been born Jan 1, 1701, in Canonbie, and his parents may have been David Wauch and Jean Lamb. Jean Elliotts parents were Robert Elliot (born about 1689 in Canonbie) and Blenche Graham (born about 1693 in Canonbie). Jean's brother John Elliot was born (or christened) Jan 3, 1715, in Canonbie. The Elliots were (and still are) long-time residents of Arkleton in the Ewes Valley.
"The Elliots of Ewesdale were of the Redheuch branch and were ancient allies of the Armstrongs. 'The Elliots and Armstrongs did convene, They were a gallant companie,' etc. as the ballad has it. In 1578 both upper and nether Fiddleton were occupied by an Elliot as “Will o’ Fiddleton.” At the same time one Ringan - sometimes called Ninian - occupied Ewes Doors, and it indicates a sense of humour among them that he was known as “Ringan the Porter.” We also get Archie Elliot, son to Ringan’s Will, the Proter and Hobbe of Glenvorane was an Elliot. In these descriptions Ewes Doors and Glenvorane seem to refer to the same holding or it was perhaps that Ewes Doors was the “friendly tenant” of Glenvorane, who was a holder of much importance. Everyone has heard of the famous fight between the Elliots and the Scotts in 1566. There had long been a feud between the two clans. The Elliots, led apparently by the Laird of Braidlie, to the number of 400 it is said, concentrated on Ewes Doors as the best strategical position. The battle was a sharp one and many of the Scotts were slain The Armstrongs seem to have occupied Arkleton up to about 1610. By a charter dated 13th June, 1611, the King granted the ten pound lands of Arkilton to William Elliot o£ Fallineske, and I think I am correct in saying that they have remained in the possession of that family since that date, though I believe it is also said that the Arkleton lands came to the Elliots by purchase from the Armstrongs." - from The Ewes Valley by Brenda Morrison and R. Bruce McCartney
John Waugh and Jean Elliot had at least two children: Margaret (born May 11, 1735, in Canonbie) and William (born April 30, 1741, in Canonbie).
Janet Nichol's parents were Thomas Nichol (living in Cleughfoot near Langholm at the time of Janet's birth) and Elizabeth Rae (no additional information). Janet had at least one sister (Helen born Sept 7, 1759, in Milnbankhead, Langholm or Staplegordon). Thomas Nichol's parents may have been Edward Nicol and Marian Murray in Whitshields just outside Langholm (to the northeast) and Thomas may have been baptized March 2, 1735.
RCAHMS Site Record for St. Bride's Chapel, Cleuchfoot RCAHMS Site Record for Staplegordon, Old Parish Church Archaeology Notes William Waugh married Janet Nichol (born June 22, 1756, in Staplegordon / Langholm, Canonbie) "third daughter to Thomas Nicol". At the time of their marriage on May 4, 1774, William's occupation was listed as sheppard at Unthank of Ewes and Thomas Nichol's usual residence was Milnbankhead. William Waugh and Janet Nichol had seven children: William (born Sept 24, 1775), Thomas (born Oct 4, 1779, in Ewes), John (born Aug 6, 1781, in Ewes), Robert (born Aug 9, 1784, in Ewes), Andrew (born Oct 15, 1786, in Ewes), James (born July 5, 1789, in Ewes), and David (born May 2, 1793, in Ewes).
Kirkstile is another name for Ewes Kirk RCAHMS Site Record for Unthank Parish Church The southern half of the disused churchyard has numerous 18th and 19 century headstones and a large mausoleum which overlies the east end of the church. The northern half is now featureless. - RCAHMS Site Record The Edinburgh to Carlisle road by Hawick and Langholm runs along the banks of the Ewes. It was planned by a Mr Pulteney and built in 1765. Another public road leads east to Liddesdale, and another allows access to Dumfries and Moffat. - Old Statistical Account, 1793 Perched atop Briery Shaw Hill (above Ewes Kirk and to the west of Arkleton) is a pre-Roman British Hill Fort dating back more than 2,000 years. See Brieryshaw Hill Archaeology Notes.
Not far from Mosspaul Inn (down the pass and into the Teviot Valley) is the Teviothead Old Graveyard. RCAHMS Site Record for Teviothead Old Graveyard Waugh's and Nichol's were buried in the graveyard in the late 1600s. It was also near here that Border Reiver Johnnie Armstrong of Gilnockie Tower and his 50 men were hung by King James V (of Scotland) in 1531. "We saw a single stone house a long way before us, which we conjectured to be, as it proved, Moss Paul, the inn where we were to wait. The scene, with this single dwelling, was melancholy and wild, but not dreary, though there was no tree nor shrub; the small streamlet glittered, the hills were populous with sheep; but the gentle bending of the valley, and the correspondent softness in the forms of the hills, were of themselves enough to delight the eye. At Moss Paul we fed our horse; — several travellers were drinking whisky. We neither ate nor drank, for we had, with our usual foresight and frugality in travelling, saved the cheese-cakes and sandwiches which had been given us by our countrywoman at Jedburgh the day before. After Moss Paul, we ascended considerably, then went down other reaches of the valley, much less interesting, stony and barren. The country afterwards not peculiar, I should think, for I scarcely remember it. Arrived at Langholm at about five o'clock. The town, as we approached, from a hill, looked very pretty, the houses being roofed with blue slates, and standing close to the river Esk, here a large river, that scattered its waters wide over a stony channel. The inn neat and comfortable — exceedingly clean: I could hardly believe we were still in Scotland." - from Recollections of a Tour Made in Scotland A.D. 1803, by Dorothy Wordsworth while traveling with her brother (and poet) William Wordsworth. THE FIRST LANDLORD (of Mosspaul Inn) Mosspaul Inn at one time was said to be little more than a "butt-and-ben," and continued to be so till about the beginning of the 19th century. The first landlord of whom any record can be traced was Thomas Gray, whose name appeared in a list, in 1803, of those who were prepared to defend their country against the threatened French invasion. He was a member of the 1st Battalion of the Roxburghshire Volunteers, and rode to Hawick along with Major Robert Elliot of Arkleton on the night of the False Alarm, the evening of the 31st January, 1804, when the beacon fires on the Border hills flashed the erroneous intelligence that the French had landed. Gray and James Ruickbie, the keeper of the Toll Bar at Colterscleugh, were congenial friends, and being separated by only a few miles, would no doubt have many social and convivial evenings together in their respective houses, for in those days practically all the Toll Bars sold liquor. Ruickbie was a noted Border poet, and believed to have been the first local bard to have published a volume of his verses. He is understood to have issued three of four editions, one of which was printed by Robert Armstrong in Hawick in 1815, the year of the battle of Waterloo. From http://www.electricscotland.com/history/articles/mosspaul.htm
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Which Robert Waugh? Another
Robert Waugh?...
Another Robert Waugh?...
There was a Robert Waugh that was born in Hartside, Castleton, Roxburghshire, April 13, 1783 to Thomas Waugh and Christon Ballentine. This may be the tollkeeper Robert Waugh although in the 1851 Census his place of birth is given as Ewes (a bit confusing, isn't it?). The place of birth information on the same census also gives Ewes for William, and Janet, although they were born in Middlebie. It would seem that this is not the same Robert Waugh that was born in Ewes. This Robert died Sept 29, 1853, in Ewes, at the age of 67 (which would have his year of birth as 1786) and is the Robert Waugh buried in the Ewes Kirk Cemetery. Thomas Waugh and Christon Ballantine also had a son Thomas born March 3, 1772, in Castleton although the 1841 Census (below) would have that Thomas born about 1781 (closer to the year of birth of the Thomas born in Ewes - 1779). In the 1881 Census, it is indicated that Mary Irvine is a "Sheppard's Widow". Based on this information it is difficult to definitively say that the tollbooth Robert Waugh is George's father even though both this Robert and George were in Middlebie Parish in the 1840s... "Handfasting" Sir Walter Scott describes the customs of handfasting in chapter 25 of "The Monastery," where he makes Avenel derisively say:- "We Borderers are more wary than your inland clown of Fife and Lothian - we take our wives, like our horses, upon trial. When we are handfasted we are man and wife for a year and day - that space gone by, each may choose another mate, or, at their pleasure, may call the priest to marry them for life - and this we call handfasting." From http://www.electricscotland.com/history/articles/mosspaul.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1841 Census -
Burnmouth, Castleton, Roxburghshire
In the 1851 Census, Robert Waugh was the Tollkeeper at the "Old Tollbar" at Fiddleton in the Ewes Valley. 1851 Census -
Ewes, Dumfriesshire
Note: William was born in Middlebie Fiddleton Bar Tollhouse Photo, 2010 Thomas Waugh (Farmer) died at Burnmouth, Liddesdale, Roxburghshire, November 12, 1851, at the age of 72. This would seem to be the Thomas Waugh born in Ewes in 1779.
Robert died at Fiddleton Bar, September 29, 1853, at the age of 69 and is buried in the Ewes Kirk cemetery.
MAIL COACH GUARD Robert Govenlock, who was landlord of Mosspaul for the long period of forty-five years, was a man of commanding appearance and distinctive personality. He was said to have been brought up at Phaup, where his father was a shepherd. He was for several years a guard on the mail coach, and a picturesque personage in his official uniform of scarlet coat, top boots and hat trimmed with gold braid. The mail coach carried eight passengers - four inside and four outside. The guard was seated on the top of the coach, at the rear end, with accommodation for the mail bags, while in front of him were ensconced a pair of pistols and a blunderbus in case of attack by highwaymen. Nine and a half hours were allowed for the journey of the coach between Edinburgh and Carlisle, the distance being scheduled as 95 miles. After Govenlock, who was familiarly known as "Gloomy Winter," became landlord of Mosspaul, further additions and improvements were made, three sides being added to the stables, which completed the large square of stabling to the west of the inn, the site of the present bowling green which faces the front entrance to the hotel. For many years the old inn was the scene of much bustle and activity, for at one time several coaches ran daily, and these all pulled up at Mosspaul for a change of horses, the passengers generally at the same time partaking of solid or liquid refreshments. The stabling was extensive, consisting of forty-two stalls in addition to a number of loose boxes, and it is said that he had always twenty-four horses ready for the road. MEMORABLE SNOWSTORM As may be inferred, in the depth of winter and in the midst of severe snowstorms, there were many dangerous and exciting episodes in connection with some of the journeys in the bleak and exposed portions of the road, particularly between Linhope and Langholm, One such occurred on a morning in February, 1854, when the mail coach left Carlisle under the charge of William Crozier. The morning was cold, and thin snowflakes were flying about, but the weather did not seem altogether unpromising, though as the coach preceded on its journey the snowstorm began to increase in violence. The Cross Keys at Canonbie had been left behind and the Hollows just passed, when a man was encountered in the middle of the road holding aloft an axe as a danger signal. The coach was drawn up, and in answer to "What's wrang now?" the forester replied, "Ye canna gang ony further, Maister Crozier, there's at least a score o' trees blawn doon and lying across the road, so ye maun juist wait till we make a clearance." Crozier was reputed to have been a man of quick decision, and as he was near Irving House, the residence of the Duke of Buccleuch's chamberlain, he drove into the courtyard there. The passengers and the driver and guard were hospitably treated, and their half-frozen limbs thawed before a blazing log fire. In about two hours it was announced that the road was cleared, and accordingly the coach proceeded on its northward journey. But Crozier began to calculate that their troubles were not yet over, as they should have met Jamie Govenlock and his coach on the southward journey about Sorbie. But even at Langholm there were no tidings of him, and Crozier, with his intimate knowledge of the road, began to speculate that Jamie would be stuck between Linhope and Mosspaul. And he had been right, for after a slow and perilous run between Fiddleton and Mosspaul he reached the old inn to find Jamie, a son of the landlord, standing in the doorway calmly smoking his pipe, and ready to inform them; that he had left his coach snowed up near Linhope. He advised Crozier not to ventured farther, but to make himself and his passengers as comfortable as possible in the hotel. But Crozier was not easily daunted, and he resolved to make an heroic attempt to reach Hawick that night with the mails. WHISKY THE REWARD His plan was to leave the luggage behind him, and lead the fresh horses to the scene of the buried coach, while the other coach should try to reach Carlisle under Govenlock's charge. Fortunately, there were about a dozen carters, whose carts were also embedded in drifts, carousing in the kitchen, and Crozier offered to treat the inn to a bottle of whisky if they would turn out with spades and shovels and endeavour to extricate the coach. A second bottle was promised by one of the passengers, with the result that the men marched in a body, knee deep in the snow, to the scene of the embedded coach, and at once commenced operations with vigour and determination, knowing that two bottles were at their call when they returned to the warm and comfortable kitchen. Crozier and old Jamie Ferguson followed after an interval with the fresh horses bearing the mail bags strapped on their backs. The coach was in due course cleared, turned in the direction of Hawick, and the horses attached. With the prospect of, a comparatively clear road in front of them, the journey was resumed. The snowstorm had ceased, and as darkness set in a keen frost developed. The Tower Hotel was reached at half-past seven, nearly six hours behind time, a crowd surrounding the coach eager to ascertain the cause of the prolonged detention. Needless to say, travelling by coach had its dangers and hardships as well as its pleasures. From http://www.electricscotland.com/history/articles/mosspaul.htm
1861 Census - Dumfriesshire - Ewes
On March 5, 1862, Mary Waugh
reported a housebreaking at Fiddleton Toll.
THE "ENGINEER'S" LAST RUN Mr Govenlock was one of the original proprietors of the coach called the "Engineer," which was started in 1825 and continued to run till 1862, when it was withdrawn from the road on account of the opening of the railway between Hawick and Carlisle. The last run from Hawick to the South was made on Monday, 30th June, 1862. For some time previously the run had only been to Scotsdyke, and later to Rowanburn, the branch railway line between these places and Carlisle having been opened for traffic. The final run which, unfortunately, Mr Govenlock did not live to participate in, was made an event of outstanding importance. The departure of the coach from the Tower Knowe was witnessed by a large concourse of spectators. The team of four horses bore silver-mounted harness, and Mr William Crozier, landlord of the Tower Hotel, one of the old mail coach drivers, handled the reins. The company, numbering about a dozen, were accompanied by Bandmaster Teal and Sergeant Bunyan of the 5th Roxburgh Volunteer Band, who discoursed cornet selections on the way. All along the route people turned out to have a farewell look at the coach as it passed. At Northhouse the party were joined by Mr John Fenwick, Mr Crozier's predecessor as landland of the Tower, and long one of the proprietors of the coach, and Mr Robert Govenlock, farmer, Teinside, a son of the old landlord of Mosspaul. At Langholm the company dined sumptuously at the Crown Hotel in the evening, and returned to Hawick by train next day. COMING OF THE RAILWAY The opening of the railway line through Liddesdale to Carlisle, sounded the death-knell of old Mosspaul, the road, except for gangrel bodies and a few country carriers, becoming practically deserted, and the licence was allowed to lapse in 1864. For some years the old inn was occupied as a private dwelling-house, but eventually it became tenantless and was ultimately unroofed and allowed to fall into decay and ruin. From http://www.electricscotland.com/history/articles/mosspaul.htm
1871 Census - Wilton,
Roxburghshire
1881 Census - Dumfriesshire - Ewes
1891 Census - Dumfriesshire - Ewes
Bessie Waugh's occupation is listed as Dressmaker and she was born in Ewes.
Mary died at Fiddleton Cottage on July 11, 1897, at the age of 80.
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