Irvines & Bonshaw Tower

[BonshawScout]

Hi everyone,

I'm researching my Irvine/Ervin line and legend has it that our ancestors lived at Bonshaw Tower in Dumfriesshire, Annandale. Our Ervin family did emigrate with (to America), live amongst, and inter-marry with the Corrie/Curry family and the Bells, two families who lived near Bonshaw and were connected with the Irving clan. But I'm somewhat skeptical that we have a strong tie to the tower itself (which is why I'm scouting). Does anyone out there have any information on the Irvines or the Bonshaw Tower? It would be greatly appreciated.

Stephanie

[BonshawScout]

OK, nobody is researching Bonshaw. Well, maybe someone out there is researching Gilchrist or McAllister/McAlester families? I have a Duncan Gilchrist and Florence McAlister coming to the U.S. in 1738 with Lachlan Campbell's group out of Argyleshire. If anyone is researching a Gilchrist/McAlister or has done research on families traveling with Lachlan Campbell (and the Argyle patent in New York), I'd love to share notes!

Thanks,
Stephanie
http://thedailyvegetable.com

[margrace]

Hi I don't know anything about the Irvings of Bonshaw tower, but I am just back from that area and saw the Farms in that area that my Irving and Carruther relatives came from. We are also related to the Jardines and Bells in the area as well, would love to talk to you about this.

[BonshawScout]

Oh, I'd love to talk with you, too. I have a copy of The Book of the Irvings by John Beaufin Irving, and it contains many listings of the surnames you mention.

[margrace]

Hi Stephanie, what is the Book of Irvings. I have never heard of that one. I don't know that much about the Bonshaw Tower and forgot to ask about it when we were there.

My Great Great Grandfather Robert Irving was born, in 1793 on a farm outside Annan I believe, I have to get my head straightened, I saw so much. He and his wife had a farm on the outskirts of Lockerbie and saw where it had been. The ecpressway now goes over it but the lane is till there. It is called Quaas Loaming. I also have a picture of him and his wife.

My Great Great Grandmother was Janet Carruthers and many of her descendants still have farms in the areas around Carruthertown.

My Great Grandparents came to Canada in 1854 or thereabouts. A brother came also but the rest of the family stayed there and married into the Bells, Jardines, Murrays, etc. I have been in touch with some descendants.

In the area where they lived there were many Carruthers and Irvings so I would be very interested to see if we can connect a branch.

Margaret

[BonshawScout]

Well, I'll preface by saying that it will be very difficult to connect our branches, simply because I don't yet have a definitive link to Bonshaw, or even Scotland! I'm trusting in the family stories that have been passed down, but have no verified data before John Erwin, who died in Virginia or Pennsylvania in 1813 or 1814. According to my great-grandmother, though, one of her ancestors lived in Bonshaw.

The Book of Irvings was published in 1907 by John Beaufin Irving (one of many in the family with that name). The book lists 12 different Robert Irvings... do you have a middle name? No Janet Carruthers, specifically, but this is a huge book and there's lots of general information referring to your overall family:

From _The Annandale Observer_ March 22, 1901: "The First Census of Annan"
"...Irvings and Johnstons there have been, doubtless, as long as Annan itself has existed. One person in thirteen was, at the time of which we are speaking (1801), an Irving, and one in fourteen a Johnston. The head of the Irving clan resided then, as he does now, within the parish, and the best-known of the Johnstons were the well-known families of Galabank and Gullielands. The Bells, the Farishes, and the Thomsons held the next place in the list, and were a long way in front of any others... The table annexed shows the positions held by the names, of which there were 165, which comprised the community:-Irving, 100; Johnston, 91; Bell, 48; Farish, 46; Thomson, 41; Dickson, 29; Davidson, 23; Forrest, 22; Henderson and Jarden, 21 each; Holiday, 19; Little, 18; Carruthers, Pool, and Richardson, 17 each; Scott, 16; Robison and Currie, 15 each;... "

I think my John Erwin in the U.S. was married to a Mary Thomson, and John's daughter Mary Polly married a Bell, so these surnames show up in our branch, as well.

This book is huge and not annotated well; the names of indexed individuals don't give dates, and it's extremely hard to follow his genealogy. I've skimmed through his section on the Irvings of Bonshaw, but haven't even cracked the Irvings of Dumfries, Robgill, Woodhouse, Drum, Brucklay or Hoddom. Oh - I have another, smaller book entitled The Irvings of Bonshaw by Alastair M.T. Maxwell-Irving. It has no index, but I'll peruse it again and see if I find any stories pertaining to your surnames.

[BonshawScout]

OK, the only thing I found in the second book was an incomplete family line:

Mary Irving (1750-1832)
m. Col. John Carruthers of Denbie

only one daughter listed:

Louisa Carruthers (1782-1849)
m. Richard Hetherington

These books are frustrating; they tend to only follow the tree down through male "heirs of entail." I suspect that my Bonshaw anceestor was probably born there, but wasn't in line to succeed the tower, so the line was dropped. :-(