CLAN CARRUTHERS: Another link to Mouswald, a brief summary.

People ask us why we don’t post genealogy on our pages, the simple reason is that there are those who chose to misuse people’s family lines and join the dots for their own ends. As such we prefer to keep our maps closerr top home, and in part that is what membership of our society gives.

However, accepting we do have the best genealogists in our family on board based on their accuracy and tenacity, and on occasions have permission to post a family tree, albeit not with the full information, from both the recipient and the genealogist who did the research.

The story begins when we were contacted a couple of days ago by Gary Carruthers FSA Scot, one of our Senior Genealogists, who had a pleasant and very interesting discussion with Mathew Carruthers, one of our Society members from Wales.

Matthew, above to the right with his son Alan and his daughter Arianwen, is known to us in another capacity as a keen local historian, he has acted as an advisor to the family, linking the Brythonic language with modern Welsh. It was Matthew who deciphered the reason and transfer from Caer ‘Rydderch’ to the pronunciation as Caer ‘Ruthers’, progressing to the name we all proudly carry today, either first hand or through our personal ancestry.

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Matthew Carruthers, historian and a direct link to Mouswald

Gary will now take over the story;

Matthew who lives in Wales, had shown me how his family had moved from Dumfriesshire in Scotland to in the mid 1800s to manage sheep for another Scottish landowner. As with many of our ilk, they came from the land and in this case they were shepherds.

Both Mathew and his brother had estate records and a brief history of their family, some gathered from the more recent owners of the Estate in which their forefathers had been enticed to travel from their origins in Hutton & Corrie, in Annandale to work in Wales.

(above is Alexander Carruthers d 1967 )

During my years studying our family’s genealogy, I have gathered some 40,000 records relating to Carruthers individuals. This has been accumulated over the past 50 years and luckily I have a few records of the family from Hutton & Corrie. ,interestingly and in particular from Macmaw in that county, which led us to discover that Mathews 4x great grandfathers family also originated from.

(James Carruthers b. 1923, d. 2010)

Looking at the naming patterns of the generations from that area gave us a clue that his family were connected to David in Kinningswell. David was a son of Samuel of Milne, which is recorded on page 14 of Records of the Carruthers family.

Following this up, I found John Carruthers (born 1740) and his wife Jannet Johnstone and their children. What was interesting was that their children where born late in life ie 1790s.

This information led me to look for an earlier wife to John in Macmaw and was amazed to find that John had 2 children noted in the Old Parish register: Ann daughter of John Carruthers tenant in Macmaw and Margaret Graham [unmarried] and John, son of John Carruthers tenant in Macmaw and Elspeth Watt [unmarried].

Below that entry was John, son of John Carruthers tenant in Macmaw and his wife Jannet Johnstone born 1778.

This John Carruthers born 1778 married Agnes Little who had a son also John born 1804  who married Jean Bell.  It was this John who had moved to Wales.

Earlier I mentioned that John in Macmaws lineage can be found on page 17 of The Records of the Carruthers Family which traces back through Milne, Woodfoot then Mouswald.

This gives Mathew a direct male lineage back to William de Carruthers in the 12th Century. (See below ).

Matthew would like to thank the following for their research and hard work; Gary Carruthers who put all the pieces together and Laurie Carruthers Canon for digging the first hole. Also his 2nd cousins Allan Elliott and Brynmore Evans and their grandsons Alexander Carruthers and Anges Carruthers for their input.

Last but not least Matthew’s Grandfather James Carruthers, who stimulated his thirst for family and local history, with the many family stories of the shepherd life of a Carruthers, both in Wales and in Dumfriesshire.

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As a Society, we bring you the facts based on the evidence that is out there. We are very proud of our family and its history, which we offer without blemish or exaggeration.

As such we are authorised by our Chief, Carruthers of Holmains, to carry the torch for the family and ensure that our truth keeps burning brightly.

We look forward to your continued support by joining us.

Promptus et Fidelis

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