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 showing Scotland's Hotel, Pitlochry, Perthshire. "Scotland's Hotel was originally the Star Inn and is probably the oldest of the larger Pitlochry hotels still in existence, having been started about 1845. When Mr. John Scotland took over the Hotel in 1880 he not only changed its name but redeveloped the buildings." ¹
The Scotland name is very
much a part of the naming pattern in the Steel family-my grandfather was Alexander Scotland Steel and
several of my ancestors have also had Scotland as their middle name. It is often assumed
that this name has been given as a tribute to the country of origin of the Steel family. This
however, is not the case! The pattern was seemingly begun by my great, great
grandmother, Janet or Jessie Scotland who used her own family name as the middle name for her
oldest son. And so the tradition continued, up until the present day when the last
person to share the family name, my great grandaunt, Jessie Scotland Steel, passed away in July of 2003.
The first male ancestor in the Scotland line that can be documented is Alexander Scotland
whose date and place of birth is unknown. It seems likely that he was born in the
very early part of the nineteenth century. One reference found for an Alexander Scotland is in the 1825 Pigot's directory.
A grocer (his occupation) of the same name is listed in Kincardine, though there is no proof that this is the same individual. During that time there were a number
of Scotland families living in the Tulliallan area of Kincardine-they were
mostly ship builders and owners. What is known for certain is that on January 20, 1836 Alexander Scotland married Jessie
Cramb in Auchtergaven, Perthshire. Jessie's mother was a Scotland and she may have been a cousin
to Alexander, though this can not at present be proven. Jessie, one of eleven children, was a daughter of John Cramb and
Janet Scotland of Kinclaven, Perthshire.
Alexander Scotland and Jessie Cramb were parents to two children. Their first child, a daughter named Jessie (Janet) Scotland was born in Auchtergaven
in April of 1836. A son, John Scotland was born in Old Greenock, Renfrewshire, on April 21, 1839. By the time of the 1841 census, Jessie Cramb and her two small children
were once again living in Kinclaven in the home of her
parents. At the same time, Alexander was still living in Greenock where he was sharing living space on Ann Street with a draper named John Marshall. Why the
two were living apart can only be speculated upon. At some point after the 1841 census it is likely that Alexander Scotland died though a date and place of death
have not been discovered.
In 1849 Jessie Cramb Scotland married John Reoch (born August 3, 1822, Redgorton) in
Perth, though a record of the event has not been found at present. John was
a sergeant in the police force in Perth and his brother, James was married to Jessie's sister, Elizabeth. John and Jessie were
parents to three children, Jane Ann born in Redgorton around 1850, Alexander
Scotland born in Perth about 1854, and William born in Perth on May 24, 1855. Jessie Cramb died in Perth on September 5, 1861 at the age of 47. She was buried on September 6 at
2pm in a plain coffin at Wellshill cemetery.
At the time of the 1851
census the two Scotland children, Janet and John, were living in Redgorton
but not in the Reoch home. The two were lodgers in the home of Donald and Isabella
Gorrie and both children were listed as linen weavers. This would seem to be the last time the two siblings were recorded as living in the same place at the same time. The Scotlands seem to have moved about the country quite a bit from then on.
On May 11, 1855 daughter Jessie (Janet) Scotland married John McDonald, son of Andrew McDonald and Charlotte Sutherland of Caithness, at St. Nicholas, Aberdeen. At the time of the marriage, John was
serving as a sergeant with the 79th Highlanders. There were no children born into the marriage. The date of death of Sergeant McDonald is not known at this time, but by 1864 Jessie was a widow living in Dundee and working as a power loom weaver. On June 07, 1864 Jessie gave birth to a daughter in Dundee. She named her daughter Elizabeth Scotland
and registered the birth without naming the child's father.
On July 13, 1866 John Scotland was married in South Leith, Midlothian to Helen Hoy. She was the daughter of John Landell Hoy and Sarah Wilkie. The couple lived in Leith for the first few years of their marriage. At least three of their children were born there-an unnamed male
child born in April 1867 and who died at 10 days; a son John Hoy Scotland (November 16, 1868) and a daughter, Sarah (August 09, 1870). The family relocated to Aberfeldy, Perthshire and John began working as a waiter at the Kenmore Hotel. On October 9th of 1872 John Scotland registered the birth of a son, Charles and the
death of daughter Sarah. According to the information recorded on the certificates, both events occurred on October 5th. In addition, two more daughters were born to the couple, Helen Hoy Scotland in 1874 and Eva Scotland in 1876. Both girls were both born in Acharn, near Kenmore, Perthshire.
By the time of the 1881 census, John Scotland and family were living in Moulin, Perthshire where John was listed as the Hotel Keeper at the Inverness
Road Hotel. By 1891 census John was the proprietor of his own establishment, Scotland's Hotel, Pitlochry. Click here to see more views of the hotel over the years.
To be continued...
ALEXANDER SCOTLAND was born in Scotland, date and place unknown, and died between 1841 and 1849 in Scotland. He
married Jessie Cramb January 20, 1836 in Auchtergaven, Perthshire, Scotland,
daughter of John Cramb and Janet Scotland. She was born around or about February
20, 1813, and died September 04, 1861 in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland.
JESSIE SCOTLAND was
born around or about April 10, 1836 in Auchtergaven, Perthshire, Scotland, and died June 25, 1891 in District of St. Andrew, Dundee, Scotland. She married JOHN MCDONALD May 11, 1855 in St.
Nicholas, Aberdeen, Scotland, son of ANDREW MCDONALD and CHARLOTTE SUTHERLAND. He was
born February 1829 in Caithness, Scotland, and died Bef. 1864. She married EDWARD LENNOX STEEL
April 03, 1874 in Dundee, Scotland, son of WILLIAM STEEL and MARGARET YOUNG. He was born
October 29, 1834 in Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland, and died April 23, 1901
in Dundee, Scotland.
JOHN SCOTLAND was born April 21, 1839 in Greenock, Renfrew, Scotland, and died
August 30, 1900 in Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland. He married
HELEN HOY July 13, 1866 in South Leith, Midlothian, Scotland, daughter of
JOHN HOY and SARAH WILKIE. She was born November 10, 1848 in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland,
and died February 20, 1898 in Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland.
ALEXANDER SCOTLAND REOCH, a hairdresser, died April 01, 1897 in Saint Clement,
Dundee, Scotland. He married AGNES KNOX May 04, 1878 in District of Saint Mary, Dundee,
Scotland, daughter
of JOHN KNOX and AGNES BLACK. She was born February 25, 1854 in Banchory-Ternan,
Kincardine, Scotland, and
died October 14, 1903 in Royal Infimary, Dundee, Scotland.
ELIZABETH SCOTLAND was
born June 07, 1864 in Dundee, Forfar, Scotland, and
died August 13, 1947 in Saint Andrew, Dundee, Scotland. She and DAVID GREWER, son of
JAMES GREWER and ISABELLA LAIRD, had one child together. He was born about 1858, and
died June 23, 1885
in Dundee, Forfar, Scotland. She married GEORGE MUNRO 1889 in Dundee, Scotland.
ALEXANDER SCOTLAND STEEL
was born December 16, 1874 in Dundee, Scotland, and
died September 09, 1944 in Bridgeport, CT. He married ISABELLE MACDONALD. She was
born September 25, 1886, and died August 10, 1966 in Stratford, CT.
EDWARD STEEL was born
September 14, 1876, and died March 1970. He married ISABELLA HENRY INNES January 01, 1900
in St. Clement, Dundee, Scotland, daughter of JOHN INNES and AGNES HENRY. She was born 1881.
AGNES REOCH was born
April 07, 1881 in Saint Clement, Dundee, Scotland. She married DAVID HANTON
REOCH November 16, 1907 in District of Saint Andrew, Dundee, Scotland,
son of ALEXANDER REOCH and HELEN HANTON. He was born December 25, 1878 in
Ferry Port on Craig, Fife, Scotland.
 Home ____________ ¹ Liddell, Colin. Pitlochry: Heritage of a Highland District. (Perth and Kinross District Libraries, 1993). |