The Agnes Durie Family

Research Notes

From a letter written by James Watson to his cousin John’s son Robert Durie on 27 November 1913:

The village of Elphingstone was then mainly agricultural, principally occupied by the tenants of the small farms forming the estate which was held by the Elphingstone family as early as the 13th century. In the 15th century the estate passed through marriage of a daughter into the family of Johnstons of Annandale, whose family held it for two and a half centuries. After being held by two other families it was purchased by Sir John Callander some time before 1800 and his family still holds it with the exception of “Elphingstone Tower” and farm which were purchased back by a member of the Elphingstone family and now belongs to Lord Elphingstone.

The family were successively tenants of the large field now called “Barnyard Park” on what is now the farm of South Elphingstone and now one of the best fields in the district. In addition they did a good deal of carting to the collieries road authorities and others in the neighhbourhood. Their house which was let along with the farm was, about 30 years ago, occupied by the village joiner, either for his workshop or residence or both, and as far as I recollect is situated towards the North West of the village looking East. These small farms were gradually absorbed into the large farms now forming the Elphingstone Estate.

In 1745 after the battle of Prestonpans the village was raided by the Jacobite Army and plundered of everything the Highlanders could carry away. Your ancestor of the time escaped this plunder through hiding his and some of his neighbours’ smaller goods in his straw or grain stacks and driving away the livestock to a place of safety.

The plunderers were much annoyed and carried a few of the other articles away but found them so heavy that after trying to destroy them, they threw them away and most of them was got back.

There was a tradition in the family that they were related to the Rev. John Durie, Minister of North Leith, a well known figure in Scottish ecclesiastics history. There is a reference to his career in Buckle’s “History of Civilisation” and Spottiswoode’s and Calderwood’s “History of the Church.” He took a prominent part on the side of the ministers against the bishops, upheld the “Raid of Ruthven” and was banished from Edinburgh. At the head of a large body of protesters he marched with them from Leith to Edinburghe, singing on their way the 124th psalm, the tune of which, in association with the event, is known to this day as Durie’s 124th.

He was a frequent visitor to and intimate friend of Johnstone, the Laird of Elphingstone. In one of the books I have read about him it is stated he left no family, but it is not unlikely this friendship may have been the means of settling a relative on the estate who might be your ancestor.

Katie MacLenna’s research shows this man as having parents John Durie and Margaret Paterson married c. 1670, Elphinstone, with parents John and Margaret Durie married 1642, Tranant.