The Weatherburns of Spittal, Tweedmouth and elsewhere

Some say Weatherburn, some say Wedderburn. My connection to the Weatherburn family is through my 2nd great grandmother, Margaret Weatherburn (1833-1879).

I've traced my Weatherburn line in Northumberland back to a Henry Weatherburn, who married Agnes Tindal in 1742. His origins aren't completely clear, according to research I've read. But I'll continue to research.

There is a book about the history of the Wedderburns/Weatherburns that covers the period of 1296 to 1896 -- 600 years! I'm still perusing it from time to time, but it's easy to get distracted. The Weatherburns all had large families. So far, I have only Margaret as an ancestor, which considering the numbers of Weatherburns, Youngs and Knoxes in my ancestry is somewhat remarkable, I think.

I have a Weatherburn DNA match with one person, with whom I share 4th great grandparents: (another) Henry Weatherburn (1777-1858 and Agnes Milvin or Melvin (abt 1776-1832).

My Wedderburns/Weatherburns lived in Spittal, Tweedmouth, Norham and several other small places in and very near Berwick upon Tweed. They were primarily working class -- fishers and related occupations, and then railway or industrial-type work in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Spittal (or Spital--the spelling seems to vary, but Spittal seems the most common) is a small village across the Tweed River from Berwick. Its name is interesting, and according to this source, it is a shortened form of the word "hospital". Or, for viewers of Coronation Street, 'ospikle. Read a more detailed history of Spittal here.

Tweedmouth is, as its name implies, at the mouth of the Tweed River and borders on Berwick and Spittal. Read more.

The never ending story continues....


© Margaret Dougherty 2016 All rights reserved