James Fairbairn (m. Elizabeth PURVES)1,2,3,4

(circa Jan 1722 - 25 Oct 1808)
FatherJohn Fairbairn (m. Magdalen BO)4 (say 1685 - circa 1721)
MotherMagdalen Bo5,6 (say 1685 - aft. 1722)

BDMs

     James Fairbairn was born circa Jan 1722 Lidgatehead, Par. of Earlston, BEW, SCT, (h/stone implies c. 1720.)4,3 He was baptized on 17 Jan 1722 in the Par. of Earlston, BEW, SCT; entry reads: "James posthumous son to John fairbairn lidgatehead in fanns at a dyet of examination."4 He married Elizabeth Purves on 18 Nov 1754 Legerwood, BEW, SCT; entry reads: "Married were James Fairbairn and Elizabeth Purves both in this parish."2,7,1
     James Fairbairn died on 25 Oct 1808 Hallyburton, Par. of Greenlaw, BEW, SCT; aged 88 (I've assumed Hallyburren from Earlston MI transcripts is Hallyburton, Greenlaw, particularly as James is recorded at Halyburton, Greenlaw in the Farm Horse Tax rolls 11 Sep 1797 - 6 work horses, taxed 2/- each.)3,8,9 He was buried with Elizabeth Purves Earlston, BEW, SCT, #602: IMO Elizabeth PURVES spouse to James FAIRBAIRN tenant in Hallyburren who d. 10.3.1808 aged 75 and of the said James FAIRBAIRN who d. 25.10.1808 aged 88 (I've assumed Hallyburren is Hallyburton, Greenlaw.)3
There is an excellent genetic match (new BigY sub-branch formed 2021) between John(F-17), descendant of John and Jessie (JOHNSTON), and Stewart(F-38), descendant of James & Isabel (TAIT).
The latter James, marr. to Isabel (TAIT), was believed to belong to John and Agnes (GIBSON), with a plausible interpretation of his headstone matching him to the baptism of John to John abt 1713, fitting that at Lidgatehead in that timeframe
BUT an earlier transcription of the headstone, with many of the unreadable bits filled in, ruined that theory. As does the birth differences of the two James (1750 for son of John m. Agnes Gibson vs 1765 for the James marr. to Isabel Iait)

Although baptisms for James and Elizabeth's family show them at Mellerstain, Hallyburton is not far away and there are family connections teased out of the Rev. James FAIRBAIRN of Newhaven's will that links the families of MACK, TAYLOR, PURVES, DOUGLAS et al to enable the family to be as shown here.10

DNA Info

     James belongs to a tested line in the FAIRBAIRN Surname DNA Project. Follow this link for supplementary DNA information.

Family

Elizabeth Purves (circa 1732 - Mar 1808)
Children
  • Janet Fairbairn11 (circa Nov 1758 - )
  • Magdalen Fairbairn5 (circa Sep 1760 - Apr 1800)
  • James Fairbairn12,13 (circa Aug 1762 - bet. 1841 - 1851)
  • Margaret Fairbairn14 (circa Jan 1765 - Nov 1811)
  • Elizabeth Fairbairn15,6 (circa May 1767 - )
  • John Fairbairn+ (circa 1772 - Jul 1824); It should be noted that Burke's Colonial Gentry shows different parents for John. An uncorroborated extract from Burke's Colonial Gentry, (1970) shows John's parents as Patrick and Margaret (Purves) Fairbairn, which I strongly suspect is a mixture of Jessie's parents and John's, given Jessie's death cert. shows hers as a Patrick and Margaret (Johnston) Johnston. The cousinships stated in the Rev John's 1895 obituary do rather make those shown here more likely16,17,6
ChartsLineage 1a2: John & Magdalen (BO) FAIRBAIRN
Last Edited25 Mar 2023

Citations

  1. [S888] FAIRBAIRN, International Genealogical Index (IGI), Marr. 18 Nov 1754 James FAIRBAIRN and Elizabeth PURVES, patron submission, batch 7204722, sheet 81 film 0820209, extracted c 1994.
  2. [S55] Scottish BMDB entries (to 1854), http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/index.php, Marr. 18 Nov 1754 James FAIRBAIRN & Elizabeth PURVES, Legerwood, BEW, "both in this parish", 749/0010 0077, copy d/loaded May 2009.
  3. [S692] Borders FHS, MIs: BEW Earlston - extracts, #602 James FAIRBAIRN & Elizabeth PURVES, extracted Mar 2009.
  4. [S55] Scottish BMDB entries (to 1854), http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/index.php, Bap. 17 Jan 1722 James s/o John FAIRBAIRN, Lidgatehead Par. of Earlston, 736/0010 0076, copy d/loaded Dec 2009.
  5. [S55] Scottish BMDB entries (to 1854), http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/index.php, Bap. 29 Sep 1760 Magdallen d/o James FAIRBAIRN, Mellerstain, Earlston, BEW 736/00 0010 0131, copy d/loaded Oct 2010.
  6. [S2] Lorna Henderson, "FAIRBAIRN Analysis", Sep - Dec 2010.
  7. [S2520] OneGreatFamily online at http://OneGreatFamily.com, Marr. 18 Nov 1754 James FAIRBAIRN & Elizabeth PURVES, Legerwood, from O'Sullivan/Cassidy (extensive) FAIRBAIRN tree, no contact details available, extracted May 2009.
  8. [S2520] OneGreatFamily online at http://OneGreatFamily.com, Birth 1720 Dth 25 Oct 1808 James FAIRBAIRN, from O'Sullivan/Cassidy (extensive) FAIRBAIRN tree, no contact details available, extracted May 2009.
  9. [S2891] 1797 Farm Horse Tax Rolls - Scotland online at http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/, 11 Sep 1797 James FAIRBAIRN, Halyburton Mill, Par. of Greenlaw, BEW, extracted Dec 2009.
  10. [S2] Lorna Henderson, "FAIRBAIRN Analysis", Sep - Dec 2010, updated Dec 2022.
  11. [S55] Scottish BMDB entries (to 1854), http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/index.php, Bap. 6 Nov 1758 Janet d/o James FAIRBAIRN, "tenant in Mellerstain", Par. of Earlston, BEW 736 10 / 128, copy d/loaded Dec 2022.
  12. [S1918] Newspaper clippings, Obit 1 Jun 1895 Rev John FAIRBAIRN, Greenlaw, from The Free Church of Scotland Monthly (Edinburgh, Scotland), Saturday, June 01, 1895; pg. 143. Empire, extracted Sep 2010.
  13. [S55] Scottish BMDB entries (to 1854), http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/index.php, Bap. 26 Aug 1762 James s/o James FAIRBAIRN, Mellerstain, Earlston, BEW 736/00 0010 0134, copy d/loaded Oct 2010.
  14. [S55] Scottish BMDB entries (to 1854), http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/index.php, Bap. 9 Jan 1765 Margaret d/o James FAIRBAIRN, tenant, Mellerstain ; and James s/o John FAIRBAIRN, Miller, Mellerstain Mill, same day, recorded Earlston BEW 736/00 0010 0137, copy d/loaded Oct 2010.
  15. [S55] Scottish BMDB entries (to 1854), http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/index.php, Bap. 6 May 1767 Elizabeth d/o James FAIRBAIRN, tenant, Mellerstain, Earlston, 736/00 0010 0142, copy d/loaded Oct 2010.
  16. [S1961] Www FAIRBAIRN searches and miscellaneous correspondence by LornaHen (1) John s/o Patrick FAIRBAIRN and Margaret PURVIS, posted online by Darryl Lundy at http://thepeerage.com/p36149.htm#i361488, quoting Sir Bernard Burke, A genealogical and heraldic history of the colonial gentry (London, U.K.: Heraldry Today, 1970), volume II, page 676, extracted May 2009.
  17. [S1918] Newspaper clippings, Obit 1 Jun 1895 Rev John FAIRBAIRN, Greenlaw, from "The Free Chrch of Scotland Monthly" (Edinburgh, Scotland) pg 143 "Empire", copy d/loaded Sep 2010.
 
  • Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.

    — Abraham Lincoln
  • My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can.

    — Cary Grant
  • Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it.

    — E. B. White
  • I'm living so far beyond my income that we may almost be said to be living apart.

    — e. e. cummings
  • What then is time? If no one asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks, I do not know.

    — Saint Augustine
  • Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.

    — Mark Twain
  • If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.

    — Henry David Thoreau
  • If two things look the same, look for differences. If they look different, look for similarities.

    — John Cardinal
  • In theory, there is no difference. In practice, there is.

    — Anonymous
  • Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.

    — John Adams
  • People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like.

    — Abraham Lincoln
  • History - what never happened described by someone who wasn't there

    — ?Santayana?
  • What's a "trice"? It's like a jiffy but with three wheels

    — Last of the Summer Wine
  • Inside every old person is a young person wondering what happened

    — Terry Pratchett
  • I'll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there's evidence of any thinking going on inside it.

    — Terry Pratchett
  • .. we were trained to meet any new situation by reorganising; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illuson of progress

    — Petronius (210 BC)
  • The time we have at our disposal every day is elastic; the passions that we feel expand it, those that we inspire contract it; and habit fills up what remains

    — Proust
  • You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

    — William J. H. Boetcker
  • Only a genealogist thinks taking a step backwards is progress

    — Lorna 1992
  • No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says: He is always convinced that it says what he means.

    — George Bernard Shaw
  • A TV remote is female: It easily gives a man pleasure, he'd be lost without it, and while he doesn't always know which buttons to push, he just keeps trying.

    — Anon
  • Hammers are male: Because in the last 5000 years they've hardly changed at all, and are occasionally handy to have around.

    — Anon
  • The right thing to do is to do nothing, the place to do it is in a place of concealment and the time to do it is as often as possible.

    — Tony Cook "The Biology of Terrestrial Molluscs"