In search of our Henry Naysmith

Even though there are literally millions of references to Naysmiths online, it has been a bit of a challenge to locate information on the pre-NZ details of our ancestor Henry Naysmith who arrived in New Zealand in 1842, with his wife Mary McLean and son Alexander, on the Duchess of  Argyle. 

I have been given a comprehensive Naysmith family tree  from Colin, a newly discovered  Naysmith contact in Australia,   who is on another twig of the same tree  as Kenneth,  another Naysmith contact from America. It was with massive disappointment that I couldn't find any link to our Henry Naysmith.  Colin's tree starts with  James Naysmith (wife unknown) in 1660 and has hundreds of descendants  - but none that fit our known information.  Maybe we are descended from 1660's James' brother, or another branch of his family . . .  DNA will answer that question, hopefully. 

There's also another contact in NZ who does not appear to fit in with our records either.  It's frustrating,  but maybe DNA tests will eventually work out where we all fit in.   In the meantime, it is interesting communicating with these not-our-Naysmith contacts even though we only seem to have our surname in common at the moment.  If nothing else, it helps clarify and eliminate many of the Naysmiths that don't fit in our immediate family trees.    It would have been helpful if our ancestors moved outside the limited range of Christian names!

And the search continues.  

What I know about "our" Naysmiths  so far  - and have the evidence to prove it: 

We know that our Henry married Mary MacLean on 12 April 1840 in Barony, Lanark Scotland.  (Note the Naismith spelling  - and we thought we were indelibly Nay smiths!)

Leaping forward to 1880,  Henry's death certificate gives his occupation as a saw trimmer. That would have been, no doubt, his last occupation.  His father is identified as James Naysmith, a weaver,  and his mother as Isabella Steel.  (Grateful thanks to my late cousin Joan for passing on to me her hard-copy records and pre-internet research.) 

 The information in this death certificate is the only reference I can find to James and Isabella being Henry's parents.  Parish records of James and Isabella's marriage (and the births of their other children) can be located in online records, further confirming their likelihood of being Henry's parents.  Henry's wife, Mary McLean,  was alive at the time of his death and most probably would have provided these details - as she would have the most accurate of information. The spelling of both surnames and Isobella's first name, of course, varies widely, although Naysmith seems to have settled into  a consistent N-A-Y after the family settled in New Zealand.  But, I can find no details of Henry's  birth on Ancestry.com or My Heritage records, although there are references to the births of Henry's siblings James (b1810), David (b1812) and Isobella (b 1814). 

Interestingly, I found on another potential family member's tree on Ancestry.com  which attributed three more children to James and Isabella: Janet (b 1823), Agnes (1828 - 1910), and Elizabeth (1831); however, I have yet to find any other references to these three in any online records - and I'm starting to think they have made a mistake and hitched their ancestor's details incorrectly to James and Isabella. More work to clarify that!

It can be seen, also, from Henry's death certificate, that his date of birth was not known (not really unusual in those times and social contexts) and that his age  at death is given as 62 - giving an approximate year of birth as 1818 (+/- one year). This ties in neatly with his age at marriage  - given as 21 on his death certificate - which gives us 1839 (+/- one year) as a date of marriage. This can be confirmed by online records, giving Henry and Mary's wedding date as 12 April 1840. 

 But - on a passenger list of the Duchess of Argyle, (1842) Henry's age is given as 34 - taking his birth back to 1808, the year of the James and Isabella's wedding (1808).  Mary's is given as 25, giving her year of birth as 1817 (+/- 1 year). Son Alexander, born in Scotland, is recorded as being 1 year old, and daughter Mary Argyle was born on board the ship.  

Henry's incorrect (or correct?) date could be a red herring, and would need to be checked against the original to see if it wasn't a misread when it was being transcribed to another format. Although the maths of his ages and stages adds up on his death certificate,  62 seems a bit young to die of general debility - although it might not have been in those days, especially after years of hard physical work and maybe other health-impairing activities . . .  Mary's age in the Duchess of Argyle passenger list doesn't quite add up with her age given at death, but that's for another post. 

Henry's parents - James Naysmith and Isabella Steel -  married February 4th, 1808.    There are many variants of the spelling of Naysmith and Steel, and this could suggest that they might not have been literate - or their parents may not have been.  

So, questions for further research: 
- Does anyone have any other references or evidence of this Henry Naysmith in Scotland?
- Is there any other evidence of his age at any other stage of his life? 
- Where do these other mystery  subsequent siblings come into it? 
- What happened to Henry's parents, James and Isabella? 
- What was Henry doing before he left Scotland? 

Henry and Mary Naysmith's Graves

Henry and Mary Naysmith (nee McLean), passengers on the Duchess of Argyle, arriving Auckland 1842. 

We've known for some time that Henry and Mary Naysmith, our founding family forebears, were buried in  the Presbyterian section of the Symonds Street Cemetery, Auckland, New Zealand.   Husband Mark and I had looked over the same section earlier this year but did not find the grave, although it is fairly obvious once found.  For all the years that I have travelled past the Symonds Steet - Karangahape Road intersection,  and for all the times that I've thought that I must go looking for them, there they were all along, within easy sight and sound of the road.   (See the old map below - pre-Grafton Bridge and motorway changes to landscape.)  

Other descendants have obviously visited, and probably planted the rose which is growing between this grave and the neighbour to their immediate left (facing the grave).  If you are the planter of the rose - here it is, still surviving, although in need of a bit of a prune, which we will do on our next visit.  Please let us know any more about the rose.  

The entire cemetery was precariously wet, soggy and muddy when we visited, and it had rained pretty solidly for the previous week. It started to rain as soon as we found the grave, and then the sun came out when we left. A sign? 

The grave as we found it, with rose growing in front and the base fairly well covered in moss. There's lots of onion weed around  and the surface of the grave was very muddy and squelchy . . . The grave faces Symonds Street. 

The grave after a very gentle clean with water only and a light brush. We avoided the writing area in case the letters got brushed off. The rose branch was carefully moved to behind the headstone so it wouldn't  scratch the letters. 

 Map of the Symonds Street Cemetery, identifying approximate location of Naysmith grave. SO 8 (LINZ crown copyright), unknown date.(Pre-motorway and Grafton Bridge.)

 

Julian - a great-great-great grandson of Henry and Mary. He lives in Auckland CBD and is going to keep an regular eye on the grave.  Nice to know that they are being looked after. 


Oh the coincidences:  Note  below in the death notice of Henry Naysmith is beneath the notice for a 9-month-old child called Clarence Milton Farquhar, son of Alexander and Emma Jane. On my grandmother's side of the family, Thomas Logan Williamson and Elizabeth McKenzie's daughter Annie Williamson was Alexander Farquhar's first wife, before she died and Alexander remarried to Emma Jane. Refer to previous posts about the Williamson family for further information. 

Also,  quite coincidentally, Henry and Mary's grave is right next to Sarah Mark's grave, wife of Captain Hannibal Marks, whose home in Parnell was mentioned as the place of death of Thomas Logan and Elizabeth Williamson's  10-month-old son  Hugh Muir in February 1865. (See notice below.) Again, refer to previous posts for more information and evidence.

Mary Naysmith's  death notice 

Mary Naysmith's (nee McLean) obituary. 

Does anyone have any photos of Henry or Mary?

Two days later: I've just discovered that Mary Argyle McLachan, daughter of Henry and Mary Nasymith, is also buried in the Symonds Street Cemetery. She was buried on 11.11.1918, after dying from the influenza pandemic.   Will look for her on the next trip.  

Background Scottish History for our Naysmith and McKenzie Ancestors

This post is to commemorate the anniversary of the departure of our Naysmith Scottish ancestors from Greenock  in the Ship The Duchess of Argyle 174 years ago on 9 June, 1842.  Pure coincidence that the date coincides with the results of my sudden urge to do the Scottish research, but too good a coincidence to let pass. [Have also seen it written that it was 8 June, but hey, it's 8 June in Greenock at the moment of posting.]

Both sides of my father's family have Scottish ancestry. The Naysmiths, from Glasgow, arrived in Auckland on the Duchess of Argyle, and the Mackenzies  from Cawdor, near Inverness, arrived in Auckland on the Jane Gifford - on exactly the same day in October 1842.   I wonder if they met each other as they were starting out their new lives in Auckland. Family members would have perhaps been at the same ship reunions, held regularly for some time. 

In order to understand what life was like for these families leading up to their emigration to New Zealand, it is necessary to know something about the history and cultures of their time and their ancestors' times.  

Our Mackenzies were from Highlands, mainly Cawdor and surrounding areas in the county of Nairn. The Naysmiths were from Lanark in the Scottish midlands - now called the Central Belt -  lying between the Highlands and the Southern Uplands. (See map below. Nairn is the green area left of the capital N, and Lanark is the red area covered by the Lan. Am working on how to label images . . .) 

Atlas of Scotland: Being a New Set of County Maps from Actual Surveys Showing the Cities, Towns & Villages, Principal Roads and Cross Roads, the Rivers, Canals, Hills, &c. Edinburgh: Thomas Brown, [1800]

There seem to have been some significantly notable Naysmiths (and variations on that spelling) and McKenzies; however, I can find no direct descent from any of them, although somewhere along the line I guess we share some DNA. 

Although we seem to come from "common" and humble origins on both sides of our known Scottish ancestry, our families' lives in Scotland would have been influenced by the political, economic and religious events of their times. Indeed, their lives and livelihoods would have been deeply affected by events far outside their control, which, eventually, would have led to their decisions to emigrate to an unknown life on the other side of the world. 

As I discover more about the history of Scotland,  and find out more about who our ancestors are and where they lived,  I will  add further dates and events and make further assumptions about how these would have affected their lives. 

Let's start with the Stuarts - a very good place to start... (Comments, clarifications, or more concise and accurate information  are always welcome.)

The House of Stuart (or Stewart) had been monarchs of Scotland for a long, long time, with the most well known of them probably Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. 

Queen Elizabeth I

Mary and the infant James

 Queen Elizabeth 1 of England was a Tudor, and died in 1603. She named her heir to be her Stuart cousin King James VI of Scotland, and he became known as James I of England as well. 

James was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, who was executed for treason on the order of Elizabeth in 1587.  James's great-grandmother was Margaret Tudor, brother of Henry VIII and therefore aunt of Elizabeth I. 

James VI of Scotland and James I
of England. 

James VI of Scotland (I of England) was warmly welcomed by the  people and government of England, who were grateful that the transition from the House of Tudor to the House of Stuart came about without any civil unrest. (Hah - little did they know!)

(Cue the next few Stuart monarchs: James's son Charles I (executed) [then Oliver Cromwell / Richard Cromwell], Charles II (restored Stuart monarch), James II (Charles II's younger brother - abdicated, lived on the continent), Mary II and William III - no children, and then Mary's younger sister, Anne, reigning 1707 to 1714 and who had 17 pregnancies but no surviving children!  

Because of the Stuart family's ties to Catholicism, legislation in 1701 and 1704 secured the throne for the Protestant House of Hanover, so after Anne's death, George I from the House of Hanover became King, as he was the closest heir to the throne who was not a Catholic. 

James Stuart - The "Old Pretender" 

James Stuart (The Old Pretender and son of the abdicated James II), and his son Charles (The Young Pretender AKA Bonnie Prince Charlie), had indisputably  closer links to the throne, but were denied the right because of their Catholicism.  In fact, over 50 other Roman Catholics had closer blood relationships to Anne - and the throne - than George I. Supporters of James Stuart (Anne's half-brother) and his son Charles's claim to the thrones of Scotland and England were called Jacobites. 

Therein lies the background of a significant part of Scottish history in the times of our known ancestors. 

Queen Anne- the last Stuart Monarch                              George I of Hanover 

Bonnie Prince Charlie 

The McKenzie clan were supporters of the Jacobites in 1715, and were divided in their support of Bonnie Prince Charles and the House of Hanover by 1745.  I don't know how our own McKenzie ancestors felt about it all, but Culloden was pretty close to their home in Cawdor . . .  There was a known Naysmith Jacobite supporter: John Naismith (age 18), a wool weaver from Dundee was transported to Virginia with other Jacobite prisoners in 1747, and several Jacobite McKenzies were transported to the West Indies and Virginia as well. 

Some events and dates possibly relevant to our families: 

1697 - June 10: Last mass execution of witches in western Europe, at Paisley, Renfrewshire, including Agnes Naismith.  I will do another blog post on Agnes, but am thinking her relationship might have been a bit closer to us than other Naysmiths, especially as we have historic Paisley links - and  I have a faint memory of witches being mentioned in our family oral history  

1707 - Act of Union - abolished the Scottish parliament and gave the Scots instead a proportion of the seats in Westminster, although Scotland's legal system was still safe-guarded. 

1714 - George of Hanover succeeds his distant cousin Anne as King George I of Great Britain. 

1715 - The Jacobite uprising: The Jacobites, led by John Erskine, 23rd Earl of Mar, take Perth. Prince James Stuart "The Pretender" lands in Scotland and travels to Perth, the headquarters of the Jacobite movement.

1716 - Prince James and Mar leave Scotland for the continent after reinforced government troops force them to abandon Perth. 

1719 - Battle of Glen Shiel - Jacobites fail to gain the throne - even with Spanish support. 

1720 - Prince James, living in Italy, has a son Charles Edward Stuart "Bonnie Prince Charlie"

1723 - The Society of Improvers in the Knowledge of Agriculture in Scotland is formed to help improve farming methods. Its main aim was to find ways to make the Highlands more economically productive, and was instrumental in the clearances that began later that century. 

1725 - "The Disarming Act" forbids Highlanders from carrying arms in public - a long-standing custom. 

1730 - The first systematic emigration begins from the Highlands to the American colonies, largely in response to rent increases.

1734 - Jacobite supporter Rob Roy MacGregor dies at his home in Balquhidder Glen. 

1746 - Battle of Culloden (not far away from our McKenzie family base in Cawdor), which ended the Jacobite uprising of 1745 - 46. 
         - Dress Act - made wearing of tartan or kilt illegal (exemption made for wearing kilt in army). Six months imprisonment for first offence, transportation for seven years for second offence. 

1748 - A window tax is levied in Scotland.

1755 - The first reliable national census of Scotland is conducted. 
        - The Lisbon earthquake is felt in Scotland.

1758 - Alexander Nasmyth, portrait and landscape artist born in Edinburgh. (Painted Robert Burn's portrait) (Died 1840) 

1759 - Robert Burns born near Ayr. 

1762 - Economic crisis; land tenure reform in the Highlands which will evolve into the Highland Clearances 

1766 - James Stuart, "The Old Pretender" dies, and Bonnie Prince Charlie becomes the new Stuart claimant to the throne. 

1787 - Patrick Nasmyth born - landscape artist and son of Alexander Nasmyth, portrait and landscape painter. (Died 1831)

1792 - "Year of the Sheep" mass emigration of crofters following clearances fro grazing.

1801- First British census - with Scots  counts taken by  school masters 

1808 - James Nasmyth - mechanical engineer - born.

1809 - Paisley canal disaster; pleasure craft capsizes on newly completed canal, with a loss of 85 lives. 

1811 - Census 

1812 - Brackla distillery built on estate of Cawdor Castle 

1816 - Earthquake felt in Inverness - strongest earthquake ever felt in Scotland.

1820 - The "Radical War"  in Glasgow. About 60,000 workers - mainly weavers - stop work across central Scotland. James Wilson of Strathaven is singled out as a leader and is executed by hanging and beheading. 

1825 - February 1 - Windstorm passes over Scotland with winds of over 140 knots (260 kms/hour). 

1826 - Glasgow City Mission founded by David Nasmith, initiating the global city mission movement. 

1828 - A steam road coach constructed by James and George Naysmith runs between Leith and Queensferry. 

1832 - Edinburgh City Mission opened by David Nasmith. 

1837 - 2 years of harvest failure leave many in the Highlands requiring aid.       
        - Paisley and Renfrew railway opened. 

1840s - Paisley Immigration Society established to help send tradesmen, artisans and other suitable emigrants - initially to Canada - but ultimately New Zealand.  
         - much unemployment and poverty. Many weavers in Paisley suffering hardship.

1842 -  9 June: Duchess of Argyle sails from Greenock, Scotland for Auckland, New Zealand.
          18 June Jane Gifford sails from Greenock, Scotland for Auckland, New Zealand. 

"Greenock" engraved by F.W.Topham after a picture by W.H.Bartlett, published in Finden's Ports and Harbours..., 1842. Steel engraved antique print with recent hand colouring, good condition. Size 19 x 14.5 cms including title, plus margins. Ref H5195  (Ancestryimages.com)

Duchess of Argyle and Jane Gifford at Auckland, October 1842.