I’d recently written to Mark Nesbitt of the Nesbit/Nisbet Society. I explained that I was trying to find out more about my Nisbet ancestors having discovered that I’m connected to Nisbet family through Alice Anne Nisbet who married George Ramsay Maitland in September 1848. Mark has kindly sent me a number of pointers including an extract from The Nisbets of Carfin by John A. Inglis (1961), and I’ve included the relevant ancestry below.
The extract explains that Alexander Nisbet in his Heraldry’ states that Nisbet of Carfin is a branch of the Nisbets of Greenholm, “a family of good old standing in the shire of Ayr, descended of Nisbet of that ilk“. It points out that this descent cannot be proved from documents, but the Carfin family can be traced by complete chain of evidence back to:
James Nisbet, “formerly in Feoch and then residing in Ireland,”who on 2 February 1633 got a Crown Charter of the lands of Ladytoun, Overmuira and Carlingecraigs in Loudoun parish, Ayrshire, on a disposition from Alexander Hamilton of Ladytoun. He married Jean Hamilton and died between 1654 and 1661.
Interestingly, I did a quick search on Google for James Nisbet and Jean Hamilton, and found some more detail about James and Jean on the Smith Generation 13 of the Smith Bliss Genealogy site:
4544. James NISBET, born Bet. 1603 – 1621 in Ayrshire, Scotland; died 1681. He was the son of Alexander NISBET and Margaret Lockhart. He married 4545. Jean HAMILTON.
4545. Jean HAMILTON, born 1624; died Feb 01, 1679.Children of James NISBET and Jean HAMILTON are:
2272 i. James NISBET, born 1633 in Scotland; died 1681 in Scotland;
married Ellespeth Redpeth.
ii. Isobel Nisbet
iii. Archibald Nisbet, born 1631.
I’ve dropped the Smith Bliss Genealogy site a line to see if they can let me know the source of their additional info. In the meantime, I’ve shown below how I’m descended from Archibald Nisbet above:
Archibald Nisbet II of Carfin, baptized 18 February 1673 ; sold the Orkney property in 1727 to James Trail, writer in Edinburgh died 1739 married 30 January 1701 Emilia, daughter of the Hon. Archibald Stuart of Dunearn, son of James, 4th Earl of Moray.
Walter Nisbet, second son of Archibald Nisbet II of Carfin; born 10 July 1706; “emigrated to Nevis, West Indies, and bought the estate of Mount Pleasant: was on the Council of Nevis 1759-65; married 1743 Mary, daughter of Josiah Webbe of New River, Nevis. She died 24 January 1752-3 in her twenty-ninth year. He died l 5 June 1765.
Walter Nisbet of Mount Pleasant, Nevis, and of Grafton Street, London, born in Nevis 3 January 1745; married at St. Malbylebone, London, 19 April 1784, Anne, daughter of Robert Parry of Plas Newydd, Denbighshire. He died in Nevis 8 December 1797.3 She died at Bath 2 December 1819, aged 67.
Josiah, born l790 ; Madras Civil Service 1806-1834; Senior Merchant at Dharwar, South Mahratta; married at Edinburgh 17 June 1823 Rachel, second daughter of Sir John Marjoribanks of Lees, Baronet. He died at Dharwar 5 August 1834. She died at Richmond, Surrey, 1 December 1874, aged 76.
Alice Anne, born at Arcot, Madras2, 9 October 1825 ; married at Walcot, Bath, 19 September 1848 George Ramsay Maitland, Writer to the Signet, Edinburgh, with issue four sons and three daughters. He died at Largs, Ayrshire, 24 June 1866, aged 45. She died at Largs 27 October 1869.
a tale of downward social mobility 