James (Nicol) Nicoll (1790 - 1868)

Born 3 Mar 1790 in Errol, Perthshire, Scotland

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Small) Nicoll — married 23 Aug 1812 in Errol, Perthshire

Descendants

Died 11 Jul 1868 at age 78 in Perthshire

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Biography

5thGen is a personal marker to distinguish the many Jameses in this family, in this case 5 generations from myself. I hesitated for a while in entering this and earlier records as the link to the established James 4thGen was not quite assured. It is much the likeliest link - indeed there are no good alternatives - any uncertainty arises because the family is reputed in family tales to have had a major rift between the two Jameses. This may explain why James 5thGen's memorial in Errol churchyard omits the son James 4thGen. Frequent and erratic changes of spellings in records have also not helped. A likely result of the rift is that son James 4thGen and his wife Rachel Martin, having married and set up business in Errol, then moved to Liverpool quite suddenly - see page for James 4thGen.

In the 1841 census (where ages were rounded down and hence continuity of detail is partly lost) James and Mary Nicol (one L) are recorded at Principal Street, Errol, Perthshire with James as 'innkeeper'. Son James with age presumably rounded down to 20 is described as a 'Baker J' and is the oldest of 7 children at home, all born in Errol with the other 6 being girls. Parish records indicate two older girls who had no doubt left home by then; they were Mary and Elizabeth (Betty), both married a few years earlier.

A similar (now Nicoll) family with an inn appears in the 1851 census, give or take inconsistencies in some names and probably more accurate ages. James 4thGen had left home, recently married and set up business as a grocer and ironmonger in what was presumably the same street, now called High Street.

By the 1861 census James had become a farmer, still in the High Street, employing 2 men and a boy. Daughter Ann was now a grocer, rather than a milliner as in 1851, presumably the shop run by James 4thGen in 1851 before his sudden departure for Liverpool. The three youngest daughters, Cathrine (sic), Margaret and Janet, were also still at home, aged 21-27, destined later (1881 census, 1871 census not found yet) to run the inn with their name back to Nicol.

James died in 1868 and his wife early in 1871. Their gravestone records them as Nicoll (2Ls), in line with the censuses of 1851 and 1861.

5th generation removed from contributor.

^[1]

Sources

• Errol kirkyard stones and parish registers as researched by Neta Holme and family, and Sheila Haigh
• Census records as described above.

Footnotes

1. ↑ Entered by John Haigh.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to John Haigh for starting this profile based on researches by Neta Holme and Sheila Haigh. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by John and others.