Naysmith Births, Deaths and Marriages Dates for your Family Tree (Part 1 - Scotland )

There are quite a few inaccuracies on many family trees, including "Family Search Family Tree" records (Latter-Day Saints online records). This can easily happen when  the same combinations of names are used for many generations and across many different branches of the family. Incorrect information gets copied and perpetuated as fact. 

It is difficult to find any accurate information about our branch of the Naysmiths in Scotland, either through primary evidence (church and other records) or through DNA. I'm sure it will turn up eventually.  Meanwhile, we don't seem to fit into any other  Naysmith family trees or have DNA matches with other  Naysmiths outside the New Zealand descendants of Henry and Mary.  

The following are known facts with all dates and locations verified unless otherwise stated.  There are many variants of some of the surnames, and some of the names registered at birth may have been the only time the individuals were even known as such. All information comes from Scottish parish records for births, deaths and marriages and from censuses (from My Heritage or Ancestry.com). 

Please use this information to update, correct or confirm details on your family tree. Note: some of this may appear in fuller form in other posts in this blog. 

As always, I'm happy to be corrected or challenged on any information.  

Abbreviations: Note: The links are to Ancestry.com  and may be useful for account holders, so you can add any sources directly to your tree.They will not open otherwise. 

 - (SSBB) Scotland, Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013.
 - (SSM) Scotland, Select Marriages, 1561 - 1910

James Naismith married Isabel Still  (also known as Steel) February 4, 1808, Canongate, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland.  (SSM, FHL film number 1067744) See blog post about James Naysmith and Isabell Still.

Their children:

 - James Naismith, born February 23, 1810, Canongate, Edinburgh, Scotland (SSBB).  He died on January 18, 1872 at 481 Duke Street, Dennistoun, Glasgow. 

 

 - David Neasmith born July 21, 1812; baptised August 1, 1812, Canongate, Edinburgh, Scotland. (SSBB).  

 - Isobella Nesmith born December 19, 1814; baptised February 12, 1815, Barony. Lanark, Scotland. (SSBB)

 - Henry Naysmith  born Glasgow, Scotland c.1818 (information taken from details and age given on his death certificate) There is no record of Henry's birth in any known parish or civil records. In fact there is no record of Henry at all apart from his marriage record. His year of birth is calculated from his age on his death certificate (62), making him the youngest of his family; however, his age on the Duchess of Argyle shipping records gives him a birth year of 1808 - making him the oldest child of the family.  The only evidence of his parents is from his death certificate.    See blog post about Henry Naysmith. 

Henry Naysmith married Mary McLean on April 12, 1840, at Barony, Lanark, Scotland. (SSM.) 

Note that some family trees have several more children attributed to our James and Isabella, but I can find no credible evidence to validate these. 

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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.