Skip to main content

2024 Week 13: Worship #52Ancestorsin52Weeks

Over the course of my many years of research, I have come across a few direct ancestors whose life was not only shaped by their religious beliefs but who actually ministered to those beliefs. 

My 7 x great grandfather, John Bradfute, was born in 1639. He graduated with an M.A. from the University of Edinburgh in 1658 and, at some point after that, decided he wanted to become a minister in the Church of Scotland.  He was ordained as the minister at Pettinain, a small parish in present day South Lanarkshire in 1689. On the Scotland's Churches Trust website, the church is described as " a fine example of a rural parish church with outstanding views over open countryside". That might not have changed since John delivered his sermons there.  The original church had been established in the 12th century and the present day church dates from the late 17th century. 

Pettinain Church   Source:https://canmore.org.uk/site/47649/pettinain-church

John died in 1709 and his son James, my 6 x great grandfather followed in his father's footsteps,  ministering at Dunsyre, (also in present day South Lanarkshire) in 1713. His marriage record, four years later to Jean Mure, describes him as 'Minister of the Gospel'. His church at Dunsyre is no longer the original one, it having been restored and rebuilt in the early 1800s.

The family tradition of entering the church continued down another generation, when James' son,  John also entered the ministry, and also preached in the Dunsyre Kirk.

These three were typical rural ministers. Another minister in my family tree, but much further back is the Reverend Hans Hamilton, my 10 x great grandfather on a different line. Whereas the Bradfute family ministers seem to have led a low key small parish life, Hans Hamilton was quite different. Son of Archibald Hamilton of Raploch,  Hans Hamilton was the first Protestant minister of Dunlop in Ayrshire. He ministered there from 1583 until 1606. He and his wife, Janet Denham were married for 45 years and had six sons and one daughter. The eldest of his sons, James Hamilton, became the 1st Viscount of Claneboye and was a founding member of the Protestant Church in northern Ireland. He had been chosen by King James VI of Scotland, I of England to lead the plantation of the Scots into Ulster. If you want to know more you can read about him here:

James Hamilton erected a tomb to his father, my 10 x great grandfather Hans, in Dunlop graveyard in 1641. It is still there, complete with stone sarcophagus and marble statues of Hans and his wife, Janet,  having been restored with funding from many sources including Historic Environment Scotland, as well as the Clan Hamilton Society in the USA. 
 
The Hans Hamilton tomb in Dunlop.



.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2025 Week 26 : Favourite name #52Ancestorsin52Weeks

 As well as researching my own family, one of the other trees I have spent a lot of time on is that of my daughter-in-law, Lucy. Whereas my heritage is Scots and Irish, Lucy's is English and therefore some of the names I came across were quite different to those found in my own tree. One of my first favourites was a Francis Badger who appeared in the 1851 census for England! He wasn't actually a relative, but an apprentice to Lucy's 3 x great grandfather and who also lodged with the family.  I did wonder how that  surname came about - did the original Badger have  a funnily shaped face? or perhaps a white streak through his hair?? Or was he just an annoying person?? I'll never know, but it was fun to find him! Francis Badger's entry at the bottom in the 1851 census for England. Source: Ancestry.co.uk However, my all time favourite name - and character - from Lucy's tree is a man named Golden Bridge ! He is Lucy's 5x great grandfather and he was born in Essex...
Post a Comment
Read more

2024 Week 19: Preserve #52Ancestorsin52Weeks

 A few years ago, I came into the possession of a family bible. It was the family bible of my paternal grandparents, John McAra and Christina Walker. Until her death in 2018, the bible had been in the hands of my Aunt Inez, widow of my Uncle Will McAra. When I started enquiring as to its whereabouts, I found that it was her grandson, John, who now had it. John himself had no real interest in it at all, so he was quite happy to hand it over to me. However, it was, to say the least, in a bit of a state. The front cover was completely detached and there were many loose pages as the spine of the book was also damaged and detached. I had no choice but to take it to a book repairer in Glasgow, where it was repaired as best it could be. The bible itself had been originally published in Glasgow in the late 19th century. In Victorian times it was common for Christian families to have such a large bible in which they could record events such as births, marriages and deaths. The one I have al...
1 comment
Read more

2025 Week 12: Historic Event #52Ancestorsin52Weeks

The Battle of Arbroath, one of Scotland's bloodiest battles, was fought in the summer of 1345 between rival claimants to the post of Baillie of the Regality. The Baillie of the Regality chosen by the monks of Arbroath Abbey at that time was Alexander Lindsay. This post gave Lindsay power and prestige and he was responsible for upholding the law in the lands around the abbey. However, like many men in positions of authority both past and present, he chose to abuse his position of power and his fighting men caused mayhem within the walls of the Abbey. This led to the monks deciding to replace Lindsay with Alexander Ogilvy, who had hereditary claims to the position, but who unfortunately was Lindsay's enemy ... and my 15 x great-uncle! His sister, Isobel had married into Clan Oliphant and, on paper at least, Isobel is my 15 x great grandmother! Of course, the appointment of Ogilvy was not acceptable to Lindsay, who then raised an army of 1000 men and marched to Arbroath Abbey to r...
1 comment
Read more