In search of James Naismith and Isabel Steel - The Canongate connection

According to HENRY NAYSMITH'S* death certificate, (see this post) HENRY'S parents were JAMES NAISMITH, a weaver, and ISABELLA NAISMITH born STILL (Steel).  

JAMES and ISABELLA were married at Canongate, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland  on 4 February 1808. 

The Canongate is a district of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was a semi-autonomous burgh until its incorporation into the city of Edinburgh in 1856. Somewhat disappointingly, the name has nothing to do with large weapons. Canongate, instead,  is believed to derive from  the Scottish word 'gait' meaning 'way'. It was the route the canons (clerics) of Holyrood Abbey took to Edinburgh. Canongate Kirk (church) opened in 1691 as the parish church of the Canongate.   The church still operates for Sunday services and weekday concerts. It can be presumed that JAMES and ISABELLA married in this church. 

Kirk of The Canongait 

Churchyard of the Kirk of the Canongate.  David Rizzio, the murdered private secretary of Mary, Queen of Scots, is believed to be buried in the chuchyard.  

The parish includes  the Palace of Holyrood House (of interest to Mary  Queen of Scots fans), the Scottish Parliament, and is also the parish church of Edinburgh castle, even though it sits outside the rest of the parish.  Interestingly,  Princess Anne's daughter, Zara  Phillips married former England rugby captain Mike Tindall in this church in 2011. 

The ecclesiastical parishes within the 'civil parish' of Edinburgh.

The Edinburgh Old Parish Register (OPR 685¹) covered the the civil parish of Edinburgh.

This was originally only the parishes of the old town, and later included a further four new parishes as the new town was built.

The original 'Old Town' of Edinburgh enclosed by the red line. 

The light blue line encloses the parishes of the 'New Town' 

NOTE - St Cuthberts, the parish almost surrounding the city, was also known as the 'West Church Parish' or 'West Kirk' 

Follow this link to see what Canongate Kirk looks like today. 

Note: One possible reason why there are some no-shows for some of our family members in online transcriptions of parish registers: The Scotland National Archives maintain that "all" Church of Scotland registers of baptisms, marriages and burials were consolidated and submitted to the then Public Record Office in about 1855. However, some local ministers have suggested otherwise. This may be why some parish registers seem to have a puzzling lack of entries, besides mere under-registration of i.e. baptisms and some marriages.    


* Henry Naysmith c. 1818 - 1880 - our founding Naysmith, arriving at Auckland on the Duchess of Argyle, 1842, with wife Mary Maclean,  1-year-old son Alexander, and new-born daughter Mary Argyle.