The furthest back that we can trace our particular branch of the Mathieson family, so far, is to a James Mathieson, a journeyman mason, (henceforth referred to as James Mathieson I to avoid later confusion) and a Margaret Smith whose marriage was recorded in the parish register of Dalkeith, Midlothian on 12th November 1808. Over the next eighteen years the births of seven children to James and Margaret were recorded in the parish register of Dalkeith, James, (the next generation in our family tree henceforth referred to as James Mathieson II), born 10th December 1811, Helen born 14th January 1816, Euphemia born 15th April 1818, Violet born 3rd February 1820, John born 13th February 1822, Jonathon born 2nd December 1823, and William Thomson born 30th March 1826. (For further details on the know children of James mathieson and Margaret Smith - See Appendix I.)

On 7th April 1831 James Mathieson II, at the age of nineteen years and seven months, enlisted in the 91st. Argyllshire Regiment of Foot for a bounty of £3.00, a payment of 2/6d. on "attestation", and a wage of 1 shilling and 1 pence per day thereafter. (For further details of James Mathieson and the 91st. Argyllshire Regiment of Foot - See Appendix A.) At the time of his enlistment James Mathieson II was 5'7 1/2" tall, of fair complexion, with fair hair and grey eyes. He had been working as a labourer prior to his enlistment and his brave attempt to sign his enlistment papers shows him to have been more or less illiterate.

During his first seven years with the 91st., James Mathieson II served with the regiment mainly in Ireland, but in the spring of 1838, while the regiment was in Scotland, he was hospitalised, possibly in Dundee. After his recovery he spent the next three years recruiting for the regiment in Central Scotland and the Borders, remaining behind when the regiment returned to Ireland in the summer of 1840.

It was probably during this time in the period December 1838 to May 1839 whilst recruiting in Hawick, that James met and married?? Agnes Scott, the daughter, according to her later death certificate, of William Scott, a shoemaker, and Elizabeth Thorburn. From her age given in later censuses and her death certificate, she was born in 1815/16. The 1851, 1871, and 1881census records all have her born in Hawick, however the 1861census is in disagreement and has her born in "Selkirkshire". Strangely this 1861 census may be correct. No actual record of the birth of Agnes Scott, nor of her parent's marriage, has yet been found, nor any record of her subsequent marriage to James Mathieson II . (For further details of Agnes Scott’s probable parentage - See Appendix B.)

On 23rd February 1840, James Mathieson and Agnes Scott had a daughter, Elizabeth. This birth was recorded in the parish records of Ayr, where James Mathieson was recruiting for the regiment at the time. In October of the same year he was awarded "the distinction of one ring". This was not promotion, but an "honourable distinction". (A good conduct award without the bonus of extra pay!!)

Sometime prior to August 1840 back in Midlothian, Margaret Smith, James Mathieson II’s mother, seems to have died, as on the 18th of that month his father James Mathieson I married again. His bride was Robina Adams and the marriage took place in Lasswade, right next door to Dalkeith, and it is in Lasswade that we find James Mathieson I and his new bride for the census of 1841.

1841 Census (7th. June) Lasswade (691) Folio 10 Book 10 Page 6

Sandy Dean, Lasswade Parish

In this census a further child, Robert Mathieson is included. It is also noticeable that the spelling of Robina is a little odd.

For the same census James Mathieson II was recorded in Kimarnock where he was recruiting for the regiment. The regiment itself was over in Ireland. Along with James are his wife Agnes, their 17 month old daughter Elizabeth and a James Lang, also a soldier, presumably a further member of the recruiting party. 

1841 Census (7th. June) Kilmarnock (597) Folio 0 Book 23 Page 19

Sandbed Street, Kilmarnock

James Mathieson II and Agnes Scott’s next child, and the next step in our family history, was a son James Mathieson III, born according to his baptismal entry in the Military Records, on 1st April 1842 in Newport, Isle of Wight, and baptised on 12th October 1842 in the St. James Chapel, Isle of Wight.

On the face of it, this would fit, as according to the regimental muster records, his father, James Mathieson II, had been recalled from recruiting in Dumfries on 12th March of that year, and by the beginning of April was back at the regimental depot at Parkhurst, Isle of Wight. (The main part of the regiment had gone to South Africa to fight in the "Kaffir Wars", with only the reserves remaining at Parkhurst.) However later census records give Dumfries as his place of birth. This would also make sense as James Mathieson's wife Agnes Scott, would have been heavily pregnant at the time of his recall, and may well have remained behind in Dumfries awaiting the birth of the baby before undertaking the journey to the Isle of Wight. However no record of the birth has been found in either the "Official Register of Births" which had started in England in 1837, or in the parish records for Dumfries, and without such confirmation as to the actual whereabouts of the event, James Mathieson's place of birth must remain as either Newport, Isle of Wight or Dumfries.

James Mathieson II remained with the Reserves in and around the Isle of Wight, latterly becoming a batman to the Company Commanding Officer, until the return of the regiment from South Africa in 1848/49. Over this period his pay increased with the addition of "Good Conduct Pay", starting with an extra 2d. per day on 9th April 1845, increasing to an extra 3d. per day on 9th April 1846, and finally reaching an extra 4d. per day on 9th April 1849. Added to his original starting pay of 1 shilling and 1 pence, this would meaning him earning a wage of 1 shilling and 5 pence per day!!

For the census of 1851 James was in West Derby Union Barracks, in Liverpool, along with the Regiment.

1851 Census (31st March) Liverpool HO107/2190 Folio 623 Book 8 Page 14

West Derby Union Barracks, Liverpool

His wife Agnes, daughter Elizabeth, and son James were also recorded in Liverpool, but staying in the Birchfield Barracks along with another section of the regiment. Included in this census is a further son, William, aged 2, whose birth in Portsmouth in 1849 is recorded in the "Index of the Register of Army Births" under the 91st Argyllshire Regiment of Foot. The births of a further two Mathieson children are recorded in this selfsame index, William Mathieson, (Isle of Wight 1844) and Alexander Mathieson, (Isle of Wight 1847). The fact that James and Agnes definitely have a son William in this census born in 1849 means logically that the William born in the Isle of Wight in 1844 was either not theirs or died in infancy. The fact that there is also no sign of a son Alexander aged 4 in this census would also suggest that Alexander Mathieson born in 1847 was not theirs or died in infancy.

Back home in Midlothian sometime in the period 1841-1851 James Mathieson I had died, and by 1851 his widow Robina was living in Dalkeith, where she and young Robert are recorded as living in Pursells Close, High Street, Dalkeith for the census of that year. (For further details of Robina Mathieson and her son Robert – See Appendix C.)

1851 Census (31st March) Dalkeith (683) Book ? Page 25

High Street, Pursells Close, Dalkeith

By the summer of 1851, with the return of the main part of the regiment, and after intensive recruiting to make up the numbers of a regiment severely depleted by war and disease in South Africa, the 91st. were back in Ireland with James Mathieson II with them. They were initially stationed in Belfast, and whilst there James Mathieson II and Agnes Scott had their second daughter, Catherine, baptised at Rosemary Street Church, Belfast, on 27th November 1851.

In the April of 1852 the regiment were moved to Enniskillen, and it was whilst stationed there that James Mathieson II was discharged from the 91st. as being unfit for duty due to "Pulmonary Consumption". He officially left the regiment on 29th November 1852, still a Private, having served 21 years and 235 days, and having been awarded, in the April of that year, a silver medal for "Good and Faithful Service". Also in recognition of his long service he was awarded a pension from the Chelsea Hospital, as an "out pensioner". According to his discharge papers it was James Mathieson II's intention to set up home back in Dalkeith, the place of his birth. Whether he did so or not is not known, but if he did it must have been for only a couple of years or so, for by 6th February 1856, on the registration of the birth of his final child, a daughter Euphemia, he was living at 3 Back Row, Hawick, employed as a "nursery labourer".(For further details of the known children of James Mathieson and Agnes Scott - See Appendix G.)  

On 14th October 1859 James Mathieson II's son, James Mathieson III, who was living at Kaeside, near Melrose, where he was working as a farm servant, married Janet Dickson. She was the daughter of William Dickson, an agricultural labourer, and Euphemia Murray (For further details of William Dickson and Euphemia Murray, - See Appendix D), and she was born in 1837 in Melrose. (For further details of the children of William Dickson and Euphemia Murray, - See Appendix E.) At the time of the marriage Janet Dickson was living at Cotgreen, Melrose, and working as an outworker. The marriage took place at Cotgreen, and it was there that the newly weds set up home, and there, on 29th March 1860, that their first child and the next link in our family history, a son James Mathieson IV was born.

Sadly it was also at Cotgreen, only three months after the birth of her first child, that Janet Dickson died, on 28th May 1860, aged only 23. This explains why, for the census of 8th April 1861, we find the baby James Mathieson IV living with his grand-parents at 3 Back Row, Hawick. The whereabouts of James and Agnes’s children - Elizabeth who would have been aged 21, and William, who would have been aged 12 - is currently unknown. In the case of Elizabeth she may well left home and possibly married. In the case of William his absence may signify his death in infancy.

1861 Census (8th. April) Hawick (789) Book 12. Page 3.

3 Back Row, Hawick. (2nd. back house)

For the 1861 census the recently widowed James Mathieson III was working as a agricultural labourer for a John Shiell at Rowflat in Ancrum parish. 

1861 Census (8th. April) Hawick (780) Book 4. Page 13.

Rowflat, Ancrum, Roxburghshire

James Mathieson III remarried on 20th January 1865, whilst resident at Hermiston, in the parish of Lilliesleaf.  His second wife was Elizabeth Cavers, the daughter of William Cavers, a shepherd, and Mary Hunter, and the marriage took place at Sinton Parkhead, in the parish of Ashkirk, where Elizabeth was living at the time. His son, James Mathieson IV, the next step in our family history, does not seem to have returned to live with his father after his re-marriage, but remained with his grand-parents, James Mathieson II and Agnes Scott, throughout his childhood.(For further details of James Mathieson III - See Appendix F.)

For the census of 3rd April 1871 James Mathieson II, Agnes Scott, their two daughters, Catherine and Euphemia, along with their grand-son, James Mathieson IV, were living at Longtown Height, parish of Ashkirk

1871 Census (3rd April) Ashkirk (781) Book 3 Page 4.

Longtown Height, parish of Ashkirk

Eight years after this census Robina Mathieson died on 30th September 1879, aged 72. Her death of "senile debility" was recorded at Common Close in Dalkeith, the house of her son Robert. He was the informant, and although he could identify her late husband as "James Mathieson, journeyman mason", he could not supply his mother’s maiden name or her parents names.

For the census of 4th April 1881, James Mathieson and Agnes Scott were living in Appletreehall, a small hamlet in Wilton parish, a couple of miles outside Hawick.

1881 Census (4th April) Wilton (810) Book 8. Page 5

Appletreehall, Wilton Parish.

This census record shows James Mathieson IV, now a railway pointsman, (probably with the North British Railway Co.), still living with his grand-parents, plus a grand-daughter Agnes. Agnes was the "natural" daughter of Euphemia Mathieson, the youngest daughter of James Mathieson II and Agnes Scott. Agnes, the grand-daughter, was born at Parkhouses, Wilton, on 29th June 1873. No father's name is given on the birth certificate.

Just over a year and a half after this census, James Mathieson II died, on 17th December 1882, aged 70 and still resident in Appletreehall, Wilton. His death certificate is inaccurate, stating that his parents were Alexander Mathieson, a journeyman mason, and Robina Ramsay. I suspect the reason for this was that the informant was HIS grandson James Mathieson IV. He would probably never have met his grandfather’s father, James Mathieson I, and either didn’t know or couldn’t remember his christian name and wrongly guessed Alexander. (He did get the occupation, journeyman mason correct.) He definitely would not have met his grandfather’s mother, Margaret Smith, but may well have met his grandfather’s step-mother Robina, and seems to have believed that Robina was his grandfathers actual mother, although did not know her maiden name so guessed Ramsay, again wrongly, . This is a good example of how the parents names on a death certificate should not be relied on.

A year later, on 6th December 1883, James Mathieson IV, now a railway guard with the North British Railway Co., which he remained all his working life married Rachel Grieve, a woollen power loom weaver. (For further details of James Mathieson IV’s' career on the railway - See Appendix H.) James was living at the time at 8 Buccleuch Street, Hawick, and his bride, Rachel, at 2 Langlandsbank Place, Hawick, her family home. She lived there with her widowed mother, Elizabeth Young Rutherford, her father, Alexander Grieve, a woollen mill foreman, having died on 29th June 1868, when Rachel was only thirteen. Rachel Grieve was born on 11th September 1855 at Weensland, Hawick, and was the 2nd of 5 children, 2 boys and 3 girls. (SEE GRIEVE FAMILY HISTORY).

After the marriage the couple seem to have moved to 5 Havelock Street, Wilton, Hawick, as it was there that their first child, a son James, was born on 8 May 1885. Sadly the baby James died only fifteen days later on 23 May 1885. Their next child, a daughter Elizabeth Young Rutherford, named after Rachel's mother, and the next step in our family tree, was born on 11 May 1886, at 8 Wilton Place, Hawick. Two years later the family had moved to Mansfield Crescent, Wilton, Hawick, as it is there, on 13 July 1888, a second daughter, Janet, was born.

The following year, on 1st April 1889, Agnes Scott, widow of James Mathieson II, and great-grandmother of Elizabeth and Janet Mathieson, died aged 73. The death is recorded as occurring at Spottsmain, Smailholm, and the informant on the death certificate is "Robert Oliver, son-in-law". Robert Oliver and Catherine Mathieson Agnes's daughter were married in 1880 in Wilton and it is possible that Spottsmain, Smailholm was their home at the time of Agnes’s death and she had been living with them in her old age.

James Mathieson IV and Rachel Grieve's fourth child, a son Alexander, was born on 18th August 1890, at 1a Arthur Street, Hawick, and it is at this address that we find the family for the census of 1891.

1891 Census ( April) Hawick (789) Book 5. Page 21.

1a Arthur Street, Hawick.

The father, James Mathieson IV is not recorded in this census, but at lodgings in Newbattle near Edinburgh presumably staying away as part of his job as a railway guard!?

1891 Census ( April) Newbattle (695) Book 6. Page 5.

119 Newton Grange, Newbattle.

Sometime between this 1891 census and early 1894 the family moved to Springburn, Glasgow, as it is at 12 Wellfield Street, Springburn, that James and Rachel's fifth and final child, a daughter Barbara was born on 28th March 1894. It is at 12 Wellfield Street that we find the family for the census of 1901. Elizabeth the eldest daughter, aged 13, is listed as a tailoress, presumably working locally.

1901 Census (1st April) Glasgow (644/3) Book 107 Page 35

12 Wellfield St., Springburn, Glasgow.

In 1903 the family moved from Wellfield Street, across the Springburn Road, to 158 Morrin Street, Springburn, and four or five years later they moved again, this time to 17 Endrick Street, Springburn.

On 11th August 1911, at Fishponds, Bristol, Elizabeth Young Rutherford Mathieson, the eldest daughter of James and Rachel, who had moved south to England to work as a nurse, married Herbert Dart. Herbert Dart was the son of Daniel Madge Dart, a tailor by trade, and Maria Dyer, and was born at 32 Palmer Street, Weston-super-Mare on 27th July 1877. After a brief apprenticeship as a butcher, he had joined the Coldstream Guards in 1896, and had seen active service in the Boer War. (SEE DART-DYER FAMILY HISTORY). Tradition has it that they met on a railway platform and it was "love at first sight".

The following year back in Springburn, Glasgow, James Mathieson IV and Rachel Grieve seem to have moved again, this time next door to 15 Endrick Street, although this apparent move may have only been a re-numbering of the houses in the street. In 1914 they definitely did move, this time round the corner to 152 Gourlay Street, Springburn. Sadly it was at this address the following year that Rachel Grieve died, on 1st December 1915, aged 60.

Two years later, Herbert Dart and Elizabeth Young Rutherford Mathieson, having moved from Bristol to the West Midlands, had their one and only child, a daughter, my mother, Dorothy Phyllis, born on 2nd May 1917, at 88 Hallam Street, West Bromich. Herbert Dart had rejoined the Coldstreams at the outbreak of the First World War, but had been invalided out a year later with a gunshot wound to the head. At the time of his daughter's birth he was working as a male nurse, presumably at Hallam Hospital, just down the road from their home address.

James Mathieson IV seems to have continued living at 152 Gourlay Street, Springburn, until 1929, after which time he is no longer recorded at this address on the electoral role. It was probably at this time that he went to live, along with his daughter Janet and her husband Jack Robertson, in a house provided for him in his old age by his son Alexander, at 33 Crosshill Road, Bishopbriggs. The house was called "Cotgreen", after James Mathieson III's birth place in Melrose. It was at "Cotgreen", in Bishopbriggs, that he died on 21st August 1940, aged 80. He was laid to rest in Wilton Cemetery Hawick, alongside his wife, Rachel, and his son, James, who had died in infancy.

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