Telford Family of Ellinbank
Stirling Castle and Stirling Bridge
Stirling was historically and geographically and strategically important. As you travel up the Forth estuary from Edinburgh, it is the first point at which the river could be readily crossed.
It was the site of the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297 in which William Wallace repelled the invading forces of Edward I. That wooden bridge was destroyed during the battle; the current Stirling Old Bridge was built at the same place in about 1500.
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Stirling Castle is built upon Castle Hill, a massive naturally forming crag with steep cliffs on three sides.
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The first records of Stirling Castle come from the 12th century. King Alexander I died there in 1124, and his successor, King David I, used the castle as a royal administration centre and residence. Stirling continued to be used in this way until the end of the reign of Alexander III (1286).
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In 1314 The Battle of Bannockburn took place very close to the walls of Stirling Castle. In this conflict, the Scots led by Robert the Bruce, defeated Edward II’s army and eventually captured the castle.
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James IV, James V and James VI made Stirling Castle a key royal centre, and most of the castle buildings seen today can be traced back to the the Renaissance period.
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James VI grew up within the walls of Stirling Castle and his first child, Henry was born there in 1594. Following the Union of Crowns in 1603, when James VI of Scotland was crowned as King of England (James I), the royal household relocated to London. Stirling Castle was used mainly as a military centre.
The Stirling Banking Company
In 1777 the Stirling Banking Company was founded by a consortium of businessmen in Stirling including Thomas Wright and William Telford. William was employed as the “cashier” of the bank which I understand to be in charge of day-to-day operations and included being responsible for signing the bank notes that the bank issued.
In 1810 after William’s death, his son John Telford took over the role of cashier. His signature can be seen on the one pound note at right.
The following information taken from The_Scottish_Antiquary_or Northern_Notes at www.forgottenbooks.org is attributed to Mr James Shira ( 1812-188), draper of Stirling:
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"The Stirling Banking Company consisting of some seven partners, began in 1779 ( actually 1777 ) at the corner of Broad Street and St Mary's Wynd - hence 'The Corner Bank'. It is said its original capital did not amount to 30,000 pounds, yet it discounted bills to the annual amount as here noted:- 1781 - 163,000 pounds, 1793 - 223,00 pounds, 1801 - 336,000 pounds, 1811 - 821,000 pounds, 1815 - 699,000 pounds, 1817 - 670,000 pounds, 1817 - 670,000 pounds, 1820 - 1194,000 pounds, 1825 - 1008,000 pounds (rounded figures). The bank suspended payment in July 1826, and Alexander Smith of Glassingall was chosen trustee. The liabilities amounted to 231,000 pounds and the assets including the private property of the partners, were 261,000 pounds. It was wound up by paying 20 shillings per pound less interest."
The Stirling Banking Company was one of a number of private banks founded about that time in Scotland - by 1826 there were 29 of them. These were private partnerships in which the partners were personally responsible for any debts. There were at the time 3 charter banks operating in Scotland, namely Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland and British Linen Company Bank. The first two of these are still operating and the last was taken over by the RBS in 1969.
The bank was located on the corner of Broad St and St Mary’s Wynd - this would be at the right hand end of the row of buildings shown above as they were in 1926. This building has since been demolished but other similar style buildings remain further along Broad St ( see below). According to the publication "Auld Biggins of Stirling" by William Drysdale (1904), the bank offices were on the first floor with entry via St Mary's Wynd.
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The building shown at right was no. 23 and is labelled "Provost Wright's Shop, Broad Street". This refers to Thomas Wright, partner of the Stirling Banking Company who was Provost of Stirling from 1817 to 1818. He was also the father of Jane Wright and father-in-law of John Telford.
The SBC was only one of many banks which collapsed during the 1825-6 financial crisis as a combined effect of being overextended and a general loss of public confidence in the banking system resulting in a run on the bank. By the time of the bank collapse John Telford had been replaced as cashier/manager by Patrick Connal, having resigned a year or two earlier after some of his investment decisions had resulted in significant losses to the bank.
Of course there were 20 shillings in a pound so "20 shillings per pound" represents full payment of the bank's debts. Nevertheless this left the bank with no capital to continue the business.
No doubt during the many years of successful trading the bank's partners would have received substantial dividends on a regular basis.
When the bank was founded in 1777 William Telford was just 20 years old. Where did he get the money to invest ? Probably from his father James, the chapman / merchant. Perhaps James Telford had left some money to him on his death - we have no information on James's date of death and there is no will in the registers. Or perhaps his mother Margaret Campbell had money of her own - we have no information on her antecedents.
In fact William's investment was relatively modest - at his death in January 1810 (aged 53) he had just 3 shares valued at a total 1200 pounds ( approximately $250,000 in today's money). The total value of his personal estate as detailed by the executors to his will, was 5940 pounds; included in this is 3 months salary owed to him by the Stirling Banking Co. ( i.e. his annual salary as cashier was 200 pounds ). The shares went to son John; according to Scots law at the time we may assume that any real estate that he owned would also go the eldest son - property was not normally listed in the inventory.
Almost 4000 pounds of this was in the form of money owed by 6 debtors to whom William had made loans of between 100 and 2000 pounds. In effect he was running his own banking business as well as being cashier to the SBC. In his will he is described as Merchant Burgess and Cashier to the Stirling Banking Co.
He bequeathed 100 pounds a year annuity to his widow Cecilia Heugh, ( note that she was referred to by her maiden name), as 2 equal payments to be paid at Whitsunday and Martinmas each year, plus an additional amount to cover the costs of maintenance and education of the girls,1000 pounds to each of his daughters Rossanna and Margaret, and an annuity of 12 pounds to his sister Janet. His executors were his brother, Rev David Telford of Buckhaven, and his brother-in-law Rev Hugh Heugh.
When his wife Cecilia died in October 1839 she had moveable assets valued at 290 pounds. The household furniture went to the unmarried daughter Rossanna and rest of the money shared between Rossanna and Margaret who was married to Rev. James Gilfillan. Mentioned in the inventory was 100 pounds owed by son John ( who had recently departed for New Zealand ) but this was written down to zero value i.e. unlikely to be repaid. Her executors were Rev Gilfillan and her 2 brothers Rev. Hugh Heugh, and John Heugh, merchant in Glasgow.
According to her death certificate Cecilia died of “old age” aged 73 while living at Queen St Stirling.
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Of the other shareholders of the Stirling banking Company, Thomas Wright had 4 shares valued at 1600 pounds total - specifically stated in his will to be valued at the original purchase price. Thomas left these shares to his sons - 2 shares to each of John and Peter. So the other 5 shareholders must have contributed the remaining 27,000 pounds between them ( = 5,400 pounds or 13 shares each on average).
The story of the Stirling Banking Company and its collapse is integral to explaining the motivation for our Telford ancestors to migrate to New Zealand and Australia.
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In this street plan from 1820 you can see Thomas Wright's property - presumably his home, on Upper Castle Hill (street).
James Telford is listed in the Stirling Burgess Roll as Chapman from 1746.
A chapman was a trader or merchant. The following comments come from the Hall Genealogy website:
1) 13c - 16c Itinerate Trader/Peddler. 2) Merchant - in the 17/18c, before the advent of factories, a Chapman would invest in the raw materials of the cotton, woollen or silk trade, put out the work to spinners and weavers at home on piece-rates, and sell the product for profit - the term later became used for an itinerant peddler of goods in the 19c
James Telford and Margaret Campbell had 9 children, all registered at Stirling over the period 1751 to 1766. These were: John, Charles, James, Archibald, David, William, Margaret, Janet, David. The first David was born May 1759 and died 18 months later; the second David became a minister in the Church of Scotland - details below.
There is no record of the death of James Telford but “Margaret Telford” is recorded as being buried at Stirling in May 1787 - no age given.
In the Holy Rood cemetery in Stirling there is a gravestone which is engraved simply:
JAMES TELFORD
MARGT CAMPBELL This is almost certainly this couple.
William Telford was born on 29th July 1857 at Stirling, son to “James Telford & Margaret Campbell his spouse”; so clearly they were legally married but there is no record of their marriage in the church registers on line at Scotlandspeople.
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William married Cecilia Heugh, the daughter of Rev John Heugh and Ann Ross at Stirling in 1791.
Cecilia was born at Stirling in 1767, her parents being married at Alloa in 1764. Cecilia had 9 siblings including brother Rev Dr. Hugh Heugh who was a leading member of the Free Presbyterian Church and was active in promoting the reunification of the secession churches to form the United Free Church. Cecilia’s grandfather and great grandfather were also Presbyterian ministers.
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During the period from the late 1600s through to the 20th century there have been a series of splits and merging of various dissenting movements within the Scottish church. These are illustrated in this diagram and the Telford, Heugh, Gilfillan and McLaren families were inevitably caught up in these divisions one way or another.
The following is taken from “Scottish philosophy in the eighteenth century: Morals, politics - volume 1 by Aaron Garrett and Anthony Harris” :
In 1738, a vigorous attack on Hutcheson came from a former student, Hugh Heugh, in a pamphlet entitled “Shaftsbury’s Ghost conjured ....” . Heugh redressed what he called ‘gross and dangerous errors’ made by Hutcheson, which he had gleaned from 2 sessions of his lectures on natural theology and moral philosophy. .... Heugh’s assumptions conformed with traditional Calvinist teaching and set him at odds with Hutcheson on the moral sufficiency of human nature, the capacity to separate good from evil and the necessity of revelation.... Heugh rejected the view of Church Government which would restrict confessional oaths to a minimum creed in order to allow greater freedom of opinion ...
and in a footnote - Hugh Heugh was the eldest son of a Presbyterian minister, John Heugh ( 1688-1731).
It is believed this Hugh Heugh is the grandfather of Cecilia Heugh and the later Rev Hugh Heugh i.e. Cecilia and brother Rev Hugh had father Rev John, grandfather Rev. Hugh, great grandfather Rev. John Heugh. A Biography of the younger Hugh Heugh is attached here:
The Telfords of Logie had a long connection with the dissenting movement, a John Telford being one of eleven elders of the Relief congregation in Logie that broke away from the Logie Presbyterian church in 1761 in protest at the patronage system that prevented the people of the congregation from having any say in the placement of clergy.
This passionate involvement with the Presbyterian church inherited from both the Telford and Heugh ancestors was continued through to the later William Telford who settled in Beechworth where he was an elder of the Presbyterian church.
However apparently not all the Telford relatives were as religiously minded. According to notes left by Lottie Telford ( nee Docker) the Telfords of Stirling had cousins called the “Dancing Telfords” which they did not associate with.
Also in Lottie’s notes is mention that Cecilia Heugh was “a wealthy woman” , her cousin John Heugh being a noted financier ( until he lost his money in the “South Sea Bubble” financial crisis); this latter part may well be true but Cecilia’s father, grandfather and great grandfather all being ministers of the Gospel, it is unlikely she inherited much from them and in fact there is no record of any of them leaving a will ( on Scotlandspeople website), and at the time of her death she had movable assets of a modest 290 pounds.
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In the book, "Widow of Thorndon Quay", Celia Manson ( nee Drummond), great granddaughter of John Telford of Stirling, discusses the impact of the Stirling Banking Company’s demise on the family as well as giving a lot of detail about the Telfords in Stirling and Blairlogie. In particular it follows the story of John Telford and his sons after their migration to New Zealand. ( published 1991 by Pigeon Press, Wellington, New Zealand.) The family photographs in this document are taken from this publication.
Rev. David Telford, brother of William
David Telford born 1766 was ordained in Buckhaven ( Fife ) in 1796 as the first minister in this newly formed secessionist congregation. He died there in 1824. He is recorded as a witness to brother William's will. David himself died intestate but an inventory of his personal estate names his relict (widow) as Grace Telford and value of his possessions at 272 pounds.
The extract below is from " Online Library → Robert Small → History of the congregations of the United Presbyterian church from 1733 to 1900.. (Volume 2) → online text (page 60 of 113)
BUCKHAVEN (BURGHER)
On ninth June 1792 a number of people in Buckhaven applied to the Burgher Presbytery of Dunfermline for sermon. The vacancy in Kennoway, the church to which most of them belonged, was in course of being filled up, and the call had not been harmonious. Thus Buckhaven became the seat of a Secession congregation, an arrangement greatly needed in the interests of that large fishing village, Kennoway being three and a half miles distant, and no place of worship nearer than two miles. The application was granted, and on 21st July 1794 a congregation was formed, with a membership of 90. From some old congregational records it appears that the church, with 600 sittings, was in course of erection at this time.
First Minister. DAVID TELFER (his own spelling is Telford), from Stirling (now Erskine Church). The call was signed by 122 members, and the people agreed to give 70 pounds of stipend, with 4 for a house, and 6 for sacramental expenses.
He was ordained at Buckhaven, 12th July 1796. The congregation is said to have increased largely under his ministry, a fact which scarcely comes out in the collection lists or in the punctuality with which his stipend was paid. He died, 3rd May 1824, in the fifty-sixth year of his age and twenty-eighth of his ministry.
In the Journal of Dr Hay, Kinross, there is the following testimony to Mr Telfer's worth :
"He was a man of unfeigned piety, great modesty, obliging disposition, and unpretending condescension. If not conspicuous for brilliant parts he possessed what was better adapted for the sphere in which Providence had placed him great affection of heart, amiability of temper, simplicity of manners, and no small measure of good sense." Dr M'Kelvie in a footnote adds : " It is doubtful if any minister of his denomination ever exercised a greater influence over his flock than he did." I know it used to be remarked that Mr Telfer was prophet, priest, and king in Buckhaven.
In 1799 Rev David Telford married Grizel Johnson of Dysart (otherwise known as Grace) and they had 5 children with births registered in the parish of Wemyss - James 1800, Walter 1802, David 1804, Archibald 1806, Grace 1808. Grace married William Brownlie; their descendants include David De Little of Tasmania, his grandfather David Telford Brownlie having migrated from Kirkcaldy to Dunedin NZ in 1880.
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There is a gravestone in the churchyard of St Mary by the Sea at East Wemyss with following inscription:
To the memory of the Rev. David Telford, late minister of the Associate Congregation of Buckhaven, who died 4th May 1824 in the 56th year of his age and 28th of his ministry.
To wean mankind from sin and vice, and lead them to a saviour’s grace, to visit, cherish and console the sick, the poor, the afflicted soul. This Telford spent his useful life, a friend to peace, aloof from strife.
As parent, husband, neighbour, friend, indulgent, loving, good and kind, with love to God and man inspired, the friend of both lies here interred.
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The Buckhaven church building is no longer standing.
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Of the other siblings of William Telford of Stirling we know little. However Archibald, “son of James Telford” was admitted to the Stirling Burgess List as Burgess and Guild Brother in 1777 as was William in 1784 ( Their father James, chapman, was admitted in 1746).
Family of William Telford and Cecilia Heugh
William Telford ( son of James Telford and Margaret Campbell ) was born 1757 and married Cecilia Heugh in 1797 at Stirling. William and Cecilia had the following issue, all born at Stirling: John b 18 September 1792, Margaret b 25 January 1794 and Rossanna b 24 November 1798.
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Margaret married Rev James Gilfillan, minister of the Viewfield United Secession Church (Antiburgher) in Stirling in 1825; they had no children and Margaret died in 1863. The Viewfield church started life in 1752 as part of the Erskine breakaway in 1752. It joined with the Relief Churches ( which included Logie) in 1847 to become part of the United Presbyterian Church. Rev Gilfillan's main claim to fame is as author of a treatise entitled "The Sabbath".
Rossanna remained single and died in May 1871 not long after the 1871 census when she was living at the Blairlogie UP manse with niece Jane and Rev. Wm McLaren. In 1861 Rosanna was living in Irvine St, Stirling with her sister Margaret and husband Rev James Gilfillan,.In the 1861 census her occupation was described as "Proprietor of land and houses and fund holder" .
Rossanna’s movable assets at time of death amounted to 1600 pounds. This included investments in the National Bank of Scotland and the Caledonian Railway Company as well as “Rent due on house and garden in Blairlogie occupied by Mrs Moir” i.e. she owned property in Blairlogie. She left 700 pounds to her sister “Margaret Telford wife of Rev James Gilfillan” and the residue to brother John Telford and his wife Jane Wright ( but Jane predeceased Rossanna).
This photo is looking south and shows the cemetery of the Holy Rude in the foreground ( where the Telford ancestors are buried) - a few hundred metres from the location of the Stirling Bank building on the corner of Broad St. and St Mary’s Wynd.
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In 1888 two gravestones were erected in this cemetery, one commemorating the Telford ancestors and the other the Wright and Littlejohn families. This was the year after the last of the Wright sisters died and no doubt placed there by the 4 Telford daughters of John and Jane - Eliza, Cecilia, Jane and Margaret - who all continued to live in Scotland until the early 1900s.
The TELFORD gravestone shown at right is inscribed:
ERECTED 1888 IN LOVING MEMORY OF GODLY ANCESTORS
WILLIAM TELFORD BANKER, STIRLING WHO DIED IN 1807
AND HIS WIFE CECILIA HEUGH, DIED IN 1839,
ALSO THEIR CHILDREN,
JOHN TELFORD WHO DIED IN 1873,
AND HIS WIFE JANE WRIGHT WHO DIED IN 1856.
MARGARET TELFORD OR GILFILLAN WHO DIED IN 1863 AND ROSSANNA TELFORD WHO DIED IN 1871
THE MEMORY OF THE JUST IS BLESSED.
There is an error in the date of death of the sisters’ grandfather William Telford - it should be 1810.
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There is a similar gravestone nearby commemorating the Wright family with the following inscription:
In Memorium
PETER LITTLEJOHN, DIED 1825,
MARGARET LITTLEJOHN, DIED 1835
THOMAS WRIGHT, DIED 1824,
ELIZABETH LITTLEJOHN, HIS SPOUSE DIED 1801,
ALSO THEIR CHILDREN
PETER WRIGHT, DIED 1833,
ELIZABETH WRIGHT, DIED 1858,
JOHN WRIGHT, DIED 1859,
MARGARET WRIGHT, DIED 1852,
AGNES WRIGHT, DIED 10TH DECEMBER 1887
Peter and Margaret Littlejohn were brother and sister, both unmarried, and as revealed in their respective wills, living at the Clifford Park property - more on that below. Their sister Elizabeth married Thomas Wright, also mentioned on the gravestone.
Records on Scotlandspeople website show births of Peter Littlejohn August 1764 and Margaret November 1747 to Peter Littlejohn and Jean Cunningham at Stirling and appears the most likely ancestry for our Littlejohn family. Peter and Jean were married in the parish of Fintry, Stirlingshire, on 1st June 1739, Peter ( spelt "Petter Litlejohn" on the church register) being from Kincardine, about 20 km further east. This would give age at death of 61 for Peter and Margaret 87 at Clifford Park. Petter and Jean had 3 other offspring at Stirling - Andrew 1750, James 1754 and Alexander 1760. These are not mentioned on the Littlejohn/Wright family gravestone at Holy Rude but were possibly not known to the Telford sisters who had the gravestone inscribed in 1888, over a century later.
Jean Cunningham was from a family for whom many births are recorded at Fintry in the 1700s. Fintry pictured at right.
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For Elizabeth, sister of Peter, Margaret and James, there is no apparent record of her birth to Peter Littlejohn and Jean Cunningham but this is not particularly unusual - the records are not complete. Likewise there is no record for the marriage of Elizabeth to Thomas Wright.
There is a 1789 will of Peter Littlejohn, Dyer in Stirling, with executor Peter Littlejohn, “writer in Edinburgh who was nearest in kin of the said defunct his father, and to James Littlejohn, Dyer in Stirling deceased, Brother German (i.e. full brother) of the said Peter Littlejohn Junior”. ( a “writer” is an qualified solicitor” ) - the fact that Peter Littlejohn was living in Stirling in 1825 at his time of death and apparently born in Stirling in 1764 does not of course preclude the possibility of him being registered as a writer in Edinburgh in 1789!
What is perhaps a little more surprising is the apparent wealth of the younger Peter Littlejohn at the time of his death. As detailed below he had movable assets of worth more than half a million dollars in today’s money and properties generating rent from 29 tenants, as well as the Clifford Park House.
There is a document dated 1817 relating to the sale of property in Corlarach / Glen Fyne in Argyll ( western Scotland) jointly owned by Peter Littlejohn and Thomas Wright - the only reasonable explanation for their joint ownership is that it came to Peter and his sister Elizabeth on their father Peter’s death in 1789 and Elizabeth’s share then transferred to her spouse Thomas Wright on her death in 1801. But why in Argyll ??
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Jane Wright was born in Stirling in 1795, one of 6 children to Thomas Wright ( originally of Glenny, near Lake Menteith, Perthshire) and Elizabeth Littlejohn.
Her siblings were John 1794, Peter Howard 1796, Margaret 1798, Elizabeth 1799, Agnes 1801,
In a number of documents including his will, Thomas Wright is always referred to as "Thomas Wright of Glenny" despite having a house and business in Stirling. His will also mentions a property in Glenny. He was born 1754, son of John Wright and Agnes Thompson of Buchany which is about 10 Km east of Glenny.
Elizabeth Littlejohn was living at "Clifford Park" at the time of her marriage together with her siblings Peter and Margaret.
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This photo of the house was supplied to me Scotland Police. Below it is a caption -
“the house is thought to have been built in the late eighteenth century and certainly it was owned by Thomas Wright, a founder member of the long defunct Stirling bank. The impressive stained glass window are being sent to Mr Wright’s great great granddaughter in New Zealand.”
This last statement is correct, the recipient being Celia Manson who wrote the book Widow of Thorndon Quay.
However this map shows the property as belonging to Peter Littlejohn. It eventually finishes up in the hands of Thomas Wright’s daughters but analysis of various wills as detailed below suggests it is very unlikely that at any time Thomas Wright had an interest in the Clifford Park property. It was probably built by Peter Littlejohn senior i.e Thomas Wright’s father-in-law.
The names Clifford Park and Randolph Field derive from their association with the Battle of Bannockburn in June 1314. This is where Sir Robert de Clifford commanding the army of the English King Edward II and Thomas Randolph 1st Earl of Moray one of Robert the Bruce's generals met in a preliminary skirmish the day prior to the decisive Battle of Bannockburn a little to the south at St Ninians.
Margaret Littlejohn left a will 51 pages long describing numerous properties which she had inherited from her brother Peter in 1826. It is somewhat difficult to interpret the legalise but it seems that at the time of Peter Littlejohn's death in 1825 a document (disposition) was signed which made his nephew John Wright the heir to this property portfolio including Clifford Park. John Wright was the eldest son of Thomas Wright and Elizabeth Littlejohn and brother of Jane (Wright) Telford. In this John Wright is described as "of Glenny" i.e. he did not move to Clifford Park until after Margaret Littlejohn's death in 1836. In fact as executor of Margaret Littlejohn’s will he is described as “ formerly of Glenny now of Clifford Park”.
Peter Littlejohn’s will was rather more condensed but rent due from 29 separate tenants located in King St, Port St, Newhouse and “whins of Stirling” as well as capital and interest on money loaned to various residents of Stirling including the Duke of Montrose. Total movable assets were valued at just under 5000 pounds ( equivalent to about 340,000 pounds in today’s money ). This is in addition to the capital value of his properties.
At the 1851 census the occupants of Clifford Park were:
John Wright, 57, landed proprietor
Margt, sister, 52, annuitant
Elizabeth, sister, 51, annuitant
Agnes, sister, 49, annuitant
plus 2 house servants.
The 2 sisters Agnes and Margaret are still listed as living there in the 1881 census, both unmarried. These assets eventually came to Agnes Wright on her sister's death in 1882. The property then remained in the Wright family until Agnes Wright's death in 1887.
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The picture at right shows John Wright and sister Jane Telford nee Wright.
The will of Agnes Wright including the inventory of assets is 40 pages long. However instead of a list of properties as in Margaret Littlejohn's will, we now have a list of dispositions relating to sums of money loaned to various parties and secured by mortgages. i.e. ultimately realisable as cash. But it still mentions specifically the Clifford Park property which she directs should be sold and the proceeds distributed according to her will. After making a number of bequests to the "East Church" in Stirling and a several charitable institutions, the residue of some 35,000 pounds is left to her nephew Thomas Telford in New Zealand.
From the book "Widow of Thorndon Quay" we know that Thomas had a mortgage on his property in the Wairarapa district of NZ, which was due to be paid out in early 1885 and that he was hoping ( and needing) financial help from Scotland to make this payment. In fact the money came too late and he lost the property. The money would ultimately have gone to his widow Sarah Dougherty and/or their children.
Thomas Wright's will shows total movable assets of 18,000 pounds ( = $3.6 million in today's money). This does not include the capital value of his 4 properties for which rents are shown. The inventory of his assets also includes the following: "the deceased died possessed of 531 pounds of Spanish Bonds valued at 20% ... 106 pounds and 5 shillings". This supports the story that large losses from investment in Spanish Bonds was a major contributor to the bank's misfortunes. This represents 30% of his initial investment - likely the other partners were equally involved.
Jane Wright's mother died in 1801 when Jane was 6, the same year as Jane's youngest sister, Agnes was born - she quite likely died in childbirth. As far as we know Thomas did not remarry so Jane would have been cared for partly by female relatives. This no doubt included her aunt Margaret Littlejohn, the owner / occupant of Clifford Park. So the suggestion In Widow of Thorndon Quay that Jane spent much of her childhood at Clifford Park could well be true. We have no information on Jane's Littlejohn grandparents but it is reasonable to assume that they lived at Clifford Park which may have been the family property from the early 1800s.
According to family stories William Telford was born in 1826 at "Clifford House", Bridge of Allan ( between Stirling and Blairlogie) and this is repeated in Widow of Thorndon Quay. Possibly John and Jane rented a house there until they were able to move to Blairlogie and obviously the "Clifford House" name is a reference to Clifford Park.
According to "Widow of Thorndon Quay" Jane "returned" to Clifford Park with the family after John left for New Zealand in 1839. However the 1841 census actually has Jane and children living at Broad St, Stirling together with Jane's sister Elizabeth. By 1851 they had moved to Glasgow.