John Crighton & Agnes Stevens

Jane Davies writes, “Hi Paul, my grandparents on my father’s side died before or just after I was born so I don’t know very much about them. My grandfather was John Crighton who died in 1934 I believe, & my grandmother was Agnes Stevens who died Christmas 1935 when I was just 3 weeks old. They lived in The Oaks, Broompark Road where my father, Alexander was born, the youngest of 8 children as far as I know. He was married to my mother, Annie Nimmo (of the Nimmos of Auchentibber) on 21 September 1934. I’d like to find out more about my grandparents & their parents etc.”

I was able to reply with the following: “Hello Jane. When I read of the Crichtons of Blantyre, I immediately recall that this may have been a large family.  I wasn’t wrong. However, the Crightons origins weren’t in Lanarkshire.

When your grandfather John Crichton was born on 9 September 1859 in Benvie, Angus, his father, Alexander (1812-1866), was 47 and his mother, Mary Robertson (1826-1915), was 33. The family lived in Liff, in Angus, in the north of Scotland. After the death of his father in 1886, John moved to Cambuslang.

John Crighton married Agnes Steven on 20 June 1890 in Hamilton, Lanarkshire. A big family as I mentioned.

They actually had nine children in 16 years (not 8).  After 1895, the couple and their growing family moved from Cambuslang to Hamilton. However, they only spent a short time in Hamilton most likely due to the sad death of their 2 year old daughter Annie Steven Crichton in 1898. Around 1900 perhaps seeking to remove themselves from sad memories, they moved to Maxwell’s Buildings in Blantyre. In 1901, John was working as a plumber but by 1911 was working to install gas in homes.

Some of his siblings ended up in Perthshire and London, but John stayed in Blantyre for over 3 decades, passing away on 28 November 1934 in Blantyre, Lanarkshire, at the age of 75.

Your grandmother Agnes Steven was a Hamilton woman, although she did spend half her life in Blantyre. When Agnes was born on 8 January 1868 in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, her father, George, was 25, and her mother, Agnes, was 22. She married John Crichton on 20 June 1890 in her hometown and as above, she moved to Blantyre around 1900. By 1911, the family had moved to 45 Broompark Road, as you say at the Oaks. Her son, John Junior became a postman in 1911 at nearby High Blantyre Post Office.

Your gran Agnes Crighton (nee Steven) died on Christmas Day 1935, age 67 outliving her older husband by just over a year.

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Jane Davies Thank you Paul for all that information. It’s wonderful to know more about my Crighton ancestors. Great work!