Old Castleton

This is the house that my ancestor may have lived in—-Old Castleton House. One is the view across the field from the cemetery, the other is up close.

In Search of Archibald Scott July 20, 2011

On this cold, damp, rainy day, we began our day heading out for Castleton, Scotland. Just a bit down the road, our tire pressure indicator went off so we turned around and Ray took the car back to where the new tire had been put on yesterday. (Forgot to mention that the accident yesterday cut the left front tire also.) So with a delay, we then headed out again.

It was a 2-hour drive almost to the border of Scotland with England to find the tiny village of Castleton, now known as Old Castleton since a Newcastleton has been built over the stone bridge down the road.

My first ancestor to move from Scotland to America was Archibald Scott whose paperwork showed him to be born in 1765 in Castleton, Scotland. Since there is a Newcastleton just down the road, I assumed that Castleton in the paperwork refers to Old Castleton. And as we drove near the village, there was a large house/farm that had the words Old Castleton signed upon it. We stopped to take a picture and the owners of the house came out looking curious, so we explained what we were doing, and this started a long conversation about my search for ancestors.

The gentleman told us of the old market cross that still stands in the village—just a tall stone now. His wife told us about the castle that used to stand on the mound behind the church. They were very helpful and very interested in my search.

We checked out the village and found the church but could not find the market cross. (Although now that I look on Google maps, I think I've found it.) We did stop to take a look at the cemetery just in view of the Old Castleton house. There was a large monument there and I tromped over through the mud and slushy ground to find a surprise—the most prominent gravestones in this cemetery were of the Scott family. There was a David Scott who was minister in the Parish Church for 20 years and his wife Eliza and their daughters Margaret and Mary. There were also tombstones to James Scott and John Scott. This just lends more credence to the fact that Archibald Scott lived nearby.

In olden times, Liddell Castle stood directly behind the church. The records from 1791-99 show Castleton to be excellent sheep pasture land and good for the raising of black cattle and horses. The Duke of Buccleugh greatly improved the area. The area ws also great for butter and they raised oats, barley, pease (which I assume meant peas), potatoes, and turnips.

When Cromwell stayed here, he burned many of the minister’s books and records, and the pews and communion tables. Castleton’s citizens were mostly farmers. In the 1790s, there was 1 surgeon, 2 university students, 3 innkeepers, 3 schoolmasters, 12 masons, 16 weavers, 8 shoemakers, 13 tailors, and 74 registered poor people, who were helped out greatly by the other townsfolk.

There were 15 farms in Castleton and the record says the church was built in 1777 and was in poor condition. There was a natural stone of bridge over the river, too. It also stated that the people were not fond of military life. They were clean and well-dressed in colored vests manufactured in England.

By 1834-45, there was a weekly market at Castleton and 2 fairs per year for the selling of sheep. The records state that the church was built in 1808 and was in excellent condition, so evidently this was a new church. There was 1 library in town. It says that the village began in 1793 and had 1000 inhabitants. By 1831, the population was 2227. Fuel was either peat (very plentiful) and coal.

In an 1837 directory of New Castleton, there was a Thomas Scott, innkeeper; Andres Scott, Boot & Shoemaker; Gideon Scott, Grocer & Spirit Dealer, William Scott, master and auxiliary parochial; and 4 Wrights (I guess this means wheelwrights) named Scott—William, Walter, Thomas, and ARCHIBALD!!! Now this isn’t the ancestor that came to America for he died in America in 1814, but it could be one of his descendants.

Pictures from top: Castleton Cemetery; land surrounding the cemetery; Old Castleton House and its owners; village of Castleton.