BAIRNSFATHER, Peter

1759 -

• Name	BAIRNSFATHER, Peter  [1, 2]
  Born	18 Feb 1759	St Cuthberts, Midlothian, Scotland   [1, 2]
  Gender	Male
  Person ID	I361	My Genealogy
  Last Modified	16 Sep 2023

  
  

  Father	BAIRNSFATHER, Alexander
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	HERRIOT, Euphen
  Relationship	natural
  Family ID	F1007	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	MITCHELL, Agnes Anne,   b. 1770, Liberton, Midlothian, Scotland
  Children	1. BAIRNSFATHER, Hugh,   b. 1785, Liberton, Midlothian, Scotland ,   d. 25 Nov 1812, Paradykes, Edinburgh, Scotland  (Age 27 years)  [natural]   2. BAIRNSFATHER, Janet,   b. Bef 7 Mar 1790, Liberton, Midlothian, Scotland  [natural]   3. BAIRNSFATHER, Isabel,   b. 1796, Liberton, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland  [natural]   4. BAIRNSFATHER, George,   b. 1801, Saint Cuthberts Edinburgh, Midlothian Scotland ,   d. Nov 1863, Surrey, England  (Age 62 years)  [natural]   5. BAIRNSFATHER, Alice,   b. 24 Apr 1803, Liberton, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland  [natural]   6. BAIRNSFATHER, William,   b. 1805, Liberton, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland  [natural]   7. BAIRNSFATHER, Anne,   b. 1807, Liberton, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland  [natural]   8. BAIRNSFATHER, Margaret,   b. 1809, Liberton, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland  [natural]   9. BAIRNSFATHER, James,   b. 1811, Liberton, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland  [natural]
  Last Modified	16 Sep 2023
  Family ID	F99	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Peter Bairnsfather and Sarah Every Miller - David Fox 2015 Writers to Her Majesty's Signet: "Peter Bairnsfather, of Dumbaukow [sic]. 17th May 1832. "Apprentice to John Russell. Eldest son of Hugh Bairnsfather, W.S. Born 27th May 1809 [no, baptism date]. tiled 31st May 1890. Mar. 7th July 1840, Sarah Every, daughter of Major William Miller, Royal Horse Guards." [1] Dumbarrow "... Robert Downie, ... possessed the estate [Dumbarrow] for some time. It was subsequently acquired by Peter Bairnsfather, who has owned the property for a good many years. There is no mansion house on the estate suitable as a residence for the laird, but the farmhouses and standings are comfortable and commodiuous. Mr Bairnsfather, of Dumbarrow, resides in St Andrews, partly because he can there obtain a good education for his family. He is the eldest son of the late Hugh Bairnsfather, W.S. of Edinburgh, by Catherine, daughter of Robert Walker of Whitelaw, Haddingtonshire, born 1809. He married 1840, Sarah, daughter of the late Major William Miller, Royal Horse Guards (Blue), by whom he has Hugh William, born 1841, Lieutenant Indian Army, and other children. He formerly a W.S, in Edinburgh, and is a J.P. and D.L. for the county of Forfar." [2] The Confusing McQueen or Queen Surname Hmmm McQueen or Queen as a surname is listed by numerous researchers for his children: Margaret, Jessie, George, Kenneth and Thomas. It was initially a mystery to me. On closer examination I found the following: "Margaret McQueen" (yes with no alternative surname), has Peter Bairnsfather as the father and Sarah Miller as mother. Most probably this is a simple omission by the recorder, forgetting to add the surname. Assuming a Further Transcription Error For the other children the "McQueen" or "Queen" name appears in two census records 1851 and 1861, but not for example for Jessie in the NZ death record; not George whose birth name is George Edward Beckwith Bairnsfather born 16 Sep 1855 Rescobie; son of Peter Bairnsfather and Sarah Every Miller; not Kenneth Charles Bairnsfather born 20 Sep 1858 Rescobie son of Peter Bairnsfather and Sarah Every Miller; Thomas Henry Bairnsfather born 27 Nov 1859 Rescobie son of Peter Bairnsfather and Sarah Every Miller, and so on. So I now suspect the "Queen" or "McQueen", was simpy Margaret's 2nd name, but it was transcribed as a surname when these two Census records were transcribed, and, inaccurately, using the "", given to the remaining children following Margaret in the Census list. This can be checked of course by examining the original which should look something like this: 1851 Census: Peter Bairnsfather       41; Sarah E Bairnsfather   32; . Frances Catharine  "   6; . Margaret McQueen "   4; . Jessie Miller           "   3; . Alice Miller             "   2; . Peter Robert          "   1; 1861 Census: . Sarah Mary Bairnsfather . Margaret McQueen " . Jessie                    " . Peter Robert          " . Kenneth M             " . Thomas                " [NB: I did take into account that his sister Margaret Bairnsfather (1805 – 1865) was married in 1831 to a Kenneth McQueen (1798-1878) but they appear to have had only one child Jane in 1833. I also considered that Peter Bairnsfather and Sarah Every Miller might have raised or adopted some of Kenneths children, possibly by a former marriage of Kenneth. However the facts do not fit. I found two of Peter's children, Hugh and Sarah, surnamed Bairnsfather, living with Margaret and Kenneth McQueen, and correctly listed as niece and nephew, in the 1871 Census.] McQueen was Margaret's second forename, possibly a memorial to his dead sister, and my best explanation, for it being used for subsequent children, is the abovementioned transcription error. References: [1] A history of the Society of Writers to Her Majesty's Signet : with a list of the members of the society from 1594 to 1890 and an abstract of the minutes See: https://archive.org/stream/historyofsociety00sociuoft/historyofsociety00sociuoft_djvu.txt [2] Angus or Forfarshire Volume III See: http://www.electricscotland.com/council/pdf/angusorforfarshi03ward.pdf

  
  

• Sources

  [S309] Public Member Trees, Ancestry.com, (Name: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.;;), Database online. Record for Peter Bairnsfather http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=0&pid=1446 [S309] Public Member Trees, Ancestry.com, (Name: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.;;), Database online. Record for Hugh Bairnsfather http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=0&pid=1446