Julia Greig

Julia may have been Julian.  In looking for a birth record for her there is one, seven years too early, for a Julian Greig to the correct parents as identifed in her death record.  I'd have thought that the birth was that of an elder brother and left it that that had it not been for the name being recorded for her in the 1841 and 1861 censuses as well.  My assumption therefore is that the record was for a deceased elder sibling but that, in common with other families, they re-used the name when the first child died.  It seems unusual though to see Julian as a girl's name but other names such as Christian could be used with both genders so it might not be so strange after all.  As seen in my notes to the right, there is just the chance that the birth record was actually hers and she just lied about her age.  She wouldn't be the first.

When she married Hugh Alexander it was an irregular marriage, one of those which wasn't sanctioned by the church but had legal standing nevertheless.  There was discusion on Internet forums as to why there should be so many irregular marriages in Linlithgow in that period with no satisfactory conclusion.  Maybe it's just that they were recorded in Linlithgow, as the Church was duty-bound to do, but not in other towns.

Julia's birthplace of St Cuthbert's in Edinburgh is imprecise.  In this map it can be seen that St Cuthberts parish was everything outside the Old Town until the New Town was built when it became anything outside the Old and New Towns.  At times it also included the Canongate and even Edinburgh Castle!  Julia's birth in 1800 was after the founding of the New Town in 1765 but it still doesn't give us any clues as to where exactly she was born.  There is a marriage record for her parents though which reads as below -

Greig Thomas Carter at Colt Bridge and Margaret Tulloch Residenter at Whitehouse, Daughter of William Tulloch late Farmer at Nairn Gave up their names for Proclamation of Banns Matrimonial Daniel Fraser Shoemaker in Cowgate Edinburgh and Archd Brown Weaver in West Kirk became cautioners for the Singleness of said parties

Coltbridge is what we now know as Roseburn and Whitehouse was at the south-east corner of Donaldson's School grounds.  I have seen another map, not on the NLS site, which shows a Whitehouse Farm not far away in that vicinity.  I think we can deduce that Julia was born between Donaldson's site and Roseburn. Nairn is on the Moray Firth and a long way to come but there was a major move to the Lowlands around that period so it is possible.  I cannot find any other Nairn.

Julia gave birth to twins, Andrew and who?  The boy's name is written as Wiral or Wival in 1841, Wynall or Wyvall in 1851, Wanville or Wyville in 1861 according to those who have attempted to transcribe the records.  He was a currier, someone who dresses and colours leather after tanning and he was born somewhere between 1832 and 1834.  But where did that name come from?  I came across this.  Wyville Thomas Charles Thomson was born in 1830 at Bonsyde at the back of Linlithgow Loch.  He became a reknowned marine biologist and was knighted for his work.  Is it possible that Bonsyde was slated and plastered by Hugh Alexander, who then decided to adopt the unusual name for his own son born shortly after?  That's my guess anyway.