Brokets of Scotland 18-20th C

i. Lesmahagow 18th C

The OPR recorded 2 families at the start of the century; the fathers probably brothers:

 
         William Brocket m Marion Miller
 
   ______________________|___________________ 
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 Jean John Janet Marion Grissell William Marion
 
 1704 1706 1709  1711   1711     1714    1722

 
 James Brocket m 1708 Margaret Harvy
 
   ____________|_____________ 
   |           |            |
   |           |            |
 
 John       Isobel       Robert
 
 1709       1711         1714

William would have been born in the 1670s or early 80s; perhaps a grandson of John, Thomas or Robert who left wills in the 1680s.

The Lesmahagow OPR recorded no Brokets from 1722 until 1743 (Grissell's marriage). In 1783 Grisal Broket was living in Darnfillan and her brother William, his wife Margaret Weight and children Elisabeth, Andrew, Margaret and James in Netherfoldhous (Linning's list of the inhabitants of the Parish of Lesmahagow, completed 18 Mar 1783). Any other Brokets, whether siblings or 1st cousins of Grisal and William, had either died or moved on.

Some events went unrecorded of course, like the christening of a William who married Shusan Hamilton in 1802, and the christening of James, the head of the 2nd of the 2 families living in Lesmahagow over the rest of the 18th C:

1. William would have been a son of William and Marion above, christened 1714. FB estimated William to have been born c 1720. The men often married in their late 20s and William became a father aged 34. William and Margaret farmed at Netherfauldhouse and had 8 children, 6 recorded christened in Lesmahagow:

The inscription on the family gravestone in Lesmahagow churchyard begins:

To the memory of WILLIAM BROCKET Netherfauldhouse who died August 1790 and MARGARET WIGHT his spouse who died October 1792

Netherfauldhouse. It is not known when the Brockets first came to this farm, situated about 3 m SE of Lesmahagow (Point 847353 on the modern Ordnance Survey Pathfinder map 458, NS 83/93). Not specified on Forrest's 1816 map, it is probably one of the group of 4 black spots just east of Fauldhouse alias Birkhill. FB said it was purchased from the Earl of Douglas. It was assessed at £20 c 1771. 66 other landowners were listed then for Lesmahagow, 12 assessed at less than £20 (Timperley 1976 p 221).

A century later in 1871 Netherfauld House Farm comprised c 53 acres of good crop-yielding land, 4 m S of Lesmahagow, divided into 5 enclosures by stone walls. The house had 6 rooms and a kitchen, with a four-stalled stable, coach house and byre for 6 cows. On 12 Mar 1788 William settled it equally on sons Andrew and James. On Andrew's death 1832 James and son William stayed on, paying Andrew's trustees £80 p a. It remained in the family till it was sold at a Public Auction in Glasgow 1871 for £1700 (FB 2). The valuation of farm stock in 1832 reads (kindly supplied by Esther Galbraith; see also Glasgow Herald, Mondays end Mar-10 Apr 1971, p 3):

£ s   d 18 stack oats 1 stack partly oats partly wheat 4 small ricks ryegrass and hay 1 small rick boghay 4 bolls oats in a barn about 30 bolls potatoes quantity turnip about 10 loads oatmeal a dunghill a brown horse 2 cows at £6 each 2 cows at £5 each 2 old cows at £4 each 2 queys in calf at £4 10s each 2 stirk at £2 5s each 2 calves at 15s each 3 lambs at 6s each 4 swine at £1 each 49 3 4 6 2 12 4 25 12 10 8 9 4 1 4 10 5 4 7 4 15 10 10 18   6 Note: quey = heifer stirk = bullock boghay = hay gathered from uncultivated or marshy ground rick = stack (small) boll = c 63.5 Kg, a dry measure of weight load = a variable measure of quantity Total: £159 3s   6d

2. James, b c 1762, the last son of the previous family, married Jean WILSON 1785 in Edinburgh. His christening is not in any OPR. They occupied Netherfauld House Farm till 1806, when they moved to Jarviswood Farm, near Lanark (FB 19). He was buried Lesmahagow 1840 aged 78. They had 8 children, 6 christened in Lesmahagow:

ii. Carnwath 18th C

Most 18th C adult male Carnwath Brokets were Blacksmiths. Both Hugh and his son James were recorded as 'Smith in Auchengray' (Index to the Particular Register of Sasines for the Sheriffdom of Lanark vol 2: 1721-80 p 25; Sasines RS42/14 f 160r l 3, RS42/16 f 302v l 5 dated 1757, RS42/17 f 303r l 19). Then James' son William moved c 4 m W to be Master Blacksmith at Carstairs and son Robert took over the Smithy in Carnwath.

The 1757 Sasine spelt the surname mainly as Brockate, but also as Broakate and Brokate. Hugh's daughter Jean Brockett and husband James LIN were also the subject of Sasine RS42/14 ff 159v-160r.

James BROCKET B b ?1630-50 bur 1699  _________|_________  | | | | Margaret m Hugh B Margaret m 1714 James HOWISON WALLACE | b ?1680-90 |  ______________________|______________________________________________________  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Margaret Jean Helen William 1715 Elizabeth James B 1721 Janet John 1728 Jannet 1710 1713 1715 ?m 1758 1718 m ... 1725 m Margaret 1730 ?m 1725 m 1731 Agnuss Libberton | GIRDWOOD | William James TENANT  ____________________|_____   |__________  | | | | TENNANT LINN | | | | William B m C Christian Robert B m Janet Margaret Jane b c 1752 1785 GELLIE b c 1755 SHAW 1753 1761 d C 1824 | d 1828 | d 1855 | | All events at Carnwath aged 72 | aged 73 | | | unless otherwise stated | | C = Carstairs Carstairs line Carnwath line B = Blacksmith 19th C 19-20th C

The Carnwath OPRs could be more complete. Christenings did not begin till 1710 and marriage records only survive 1705-35, resuming 1826.

• Although they were not recorded in the Carnwath Parish christenings—nor any other OPR—it is safe to assume that William and Robert were sons of James.
• Hugh and Margaret's daughter Margaret was christened in 1710: the year that christenings were first recorded in Carnwath. Even though they were still having children 20 years later, Margaret may not have been their first child. All Carnwath Brockets born 1761-1939 descend from Robert and Janet nevertheless.
• Robert and Janet probably married shortly before their first child was baptised 1799, but the Carnwath Parish Register of marriages 1736-1825 is lost.
• The baptism of their son Thomas is not recorded.

iii. Carstairs 18th C

The first Carstairs Parish record of Brokets was a banns-proclamation fee of 5s received 7 Apr 1758 for William Brockat and Agnuss Tenant, both of Carnwath. These two are not recorded again, but William was most likely s/o Hugh chr 1715. Carstairs lies c 4 m W of Carnwath and was a place Brokets moved to rather than originated from. All subsequent Carstairs records concern the children of William of Carnwath and Christian Gellie, born at the end of the 18th C and belonging more to the 19th.

iv. Crawfordjohn, Crawford, Wiston and Wandell 18th C

The parishes of Crawfordjohn, Crawford, Wiston and Wandell lie between 10-15 m S and SE of Lesmahagow, separated by Douglas and Carmichael. The River Clyde, formed by burns running from the hills in the parishes of Crawfordjohn and Crawford, separates Wiston from Wandell as it flows NE towards Biggar. OPRs 1730-62 record 1 marriage and 11 baptisms probably in 2 families. Most modern-day Glaswegian Brocketts stem from this clan, via Penicuik.

Censuses show the rise in numbers at the end of the century:

1. Penicuik

        John Brocket m 1792 Margaret MURDOCH
 
             Wandell and Lamington
 
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        |     |      |        |       |
 
     Thomas Janet Margaret William William  m Marion McFARLINE
 
     1793   1795  1797     1800    1803    1835
 
     W L    W L                             |
                                            |
                                            |
 
                 Christina YOUNG 1856 m John Wilson
 
                                      | 1837
                                      |
   ___________________________________|___________________________ 
   |      |     |           |         |      |         |         |
   |      |     |           |         |      |         |         |
 
William John  Marion     William    Thomas David     James     Andrew
 
Glend-  Young McFarline (BORTHWICK) Young  McFarlane McFarlane 1875
 
inning  1857  1860       b c 1860   1862   1864      1872      Bridgeton
 
1856                     Edinburgh         Glencorse Bridgeton Glasgow
 
                                                     Glasgow 

ii. Lesmahagow 19th C

Only 1 family: William Brocket (1791-1874) and Barbara BROWN's. At the time of the 1821 census of Lesmahagow they were living in Lanark—only William's sister Christian, married to James TUDHOPE, was recorded in Lesmahagow. After the sale of Netherfauldhouse 1871 William farmed at nearby Bellieshole. Will: Glasgow Sheriff Court Inventories 2/12/1874. 5 sons, 4 daus 1823-40. 2 sons to Australia 1860s. 2 sons to Glasgow: David, wholly disabled by fever, applied for poor relief 30 Dec 1869; Andrew became a Spirit Merchant in Kelvin Barony, Glasgow.

iii. Carnwath 19th C

Five families, 2 in the 1st half and 3 in the 2nd:

1. James (1801-76, s/o Robert and Janet SHAW) and Jean MANN. Stobwood. 2 sons 1834-6. In 1841 and 51 James was recorded as a Mason, in 1861 also as a Farmer of 12 acres.
2. Thomas (c 1808-79, s/o Robert and Janet SHAW) and Susan/nah HENDERSON. 3 sons, 5 daus 1846-63. In 1841, 51 and 61 Thomas was recorded as a Labourer in Stobwood.
3. James (1836-1904, s/o 1) and Janet STEWART. 3 daus, 1 son 1865-78. In 1861 and 81 James was recorded as a Mason, in 1891 as a Farmer at Braehead Mains.
4. John (1848-?, s/o 2) and Agnes ALLAN. Stobwood. 2 daus, 1 son 1874-90. Moved to Liberton, Lothian by 1891.
5. James (1852-1916, s/o 2) and Janet Brash MUIR. 4 daus, 6 sons 1880-94. In 1891 James was recorded as a Farm Labourer in Stobwood. In 1901 he was recorded as a Farmer at East Side Wood.

Deficiencies in the records aside, overall Carnwath Brocket statistics read:

• 1710-1999: 41 births/christenings there, the last in 1939.
• 1705-36 and 1825-1999: 12 marriages, the last in 1935.
• 1855-1999: 16 burials, the last in 1911.
• They are recorded in censuses in 4 farmsteads: Braehead, Eastsidewood, Greenwell, Stobwood.

iv. Carstairs 19th C

One family—that of William and Christian GELLIE—most of whom moved to Glasgow. They usually spelt their name Brockat and were relatively wealthy, providing most of the 19th C Scottish wills (Wills in Scotland 1500-1875—http://www.scottishdocuments.com accessed June 2002):

v. Other 19th C Glaswegian clans 19th C

Other than incomers mentioned above from Penicuik, Lesmahagow, Carnwath and Carstairs there were no other 19th C Glaswegian clans.

At the beginning of the 20th C Scottish Brokets comprised about 22% of UK Brokets, and throughout the century they were dominated by Glasgow families.

The Lords Brocket of Hertfordshire also made their presence felt. In the early 1930s Charles Alexander Nall-Cain, 1st Baronet Brocket (Baron 1933) bought the huge, remote peninsula of Knoydart in the North West Highlands. His son the 2nd Baron Brocket inherited the estate in 1934.

Then in 1948 seven Scots staked claims, equivalent to crofters' or squatters' rights, on 65 acres each of unused arable land above Inverie, but Lord Brocket obtained a court injunction against them and they left. The parliamentary debate that took place at Westminster is covered by Hansard. However, the Seven Men of Knoydart became legendary heroes to the cause of crofting rights as well as to many of the Scottish working class, as expressed in the 9 stanzas of the Ballad Of The Men Of Knoydart by Seumas Mor, sung to the tune of 'Johnston's Motor Car'. The estate was purchased by the Knoydart Foundation in 1999.