Rev William Mercer Pitsligo Parish 1720

[aerofoil]

Greetings All;

I am a direct descendent of Rev William Mercer and am looking for parish records (births, baptisms, etc.) for his family. He was the minister for the old kirk in Pitsligo, Aberdeenshire (from 1720 to 1748). His wife was Ann(e) Monro, daughter of either Sir John Monro, or Andrew Munro, Sheriff Clerk of Moray depending which account you believe!

I am also interested in any records relating to his father (Thomas Mercer of Todlaw, Bannifshire and Smiddyburn, married to one Isobel Smith), and his brother John (minister of Tyrie, Aberdeenshire 1710 thru 1761).

I realize that the records I am looking for are quite old. However since these records were kept by the parish, these records should still exist.

As an aside, Gen Hugh Mercer of Americn Revolution was one of William's sons. All of the Mercer Counties in the US are named after him.

Thank you in advance

Warmest regards

Mark Mercer

[pmouritsen]

You may already know this, but Familysearch has the following information:

Thomas Mercer
christened: 28 Jan 1658 Saint Nicolas, Aberdeen, Scotland
Died: 1 July 1723

Isobel Smith
Born: 2 Nov 1662 Smidibourne, Scotland

John Mercer
born: 18 Dec of Kinnellar, Aberdeen, Scotland
Died 18 Oct 1671

[Elwyn Soutter]

Mark,

Not sure whether you know, but biographical details of all ministers of the Church of Scotland, from the Reformation onwards (1560) are given in Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae, edited by Hew Scott. Information given covers the career of each Minister as well as details of family and any published works. You may get some extra information on Rev Mercer and family from that source.

Elwyn

[aerofoil]

Dear pmouritsen and Elwyn Soutter:
Thank you for your quick reply.

As you know, every bit of information is appreciated.


I had some of the details, but not all.

Warmest Regards

Mark Mercer

[Sue Mackay]

If you go to
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hughwallis/IGIBatchNumbers/CountyAberdeen.htm#P

All the batch numbers for the Pitsligo parish registers are there. Click on the dates you are interested in and then do a search for Mercer or any other name you wish to trace.

[aerofoil]

Thank you for the link to the records

Is there another source for pre: 1720 records?

Thank you Mark

[Sue Mackay]

Thank you for the link to the records

Is there another source for pre: 1720 records?

Thank you Mark

I think that is possibly all that's on the IGI

[jane.harrison.9]

Have found that William and his wife Ann are burried in Peathill cemetry ,along with a David Stephenson.
Stone 184
A friend has the Peathill MI's I will ask her for a full transcription of the stone.
I will have a look through the online MI index to see if anything comes up for Thomas Mercer and Isobel Smith.
Jane

[jane.harrison.9]

There is a John Mercer buried at Tyrie 31/3/1761. stone 141.
Nothing for Thomas or Isobel in Aberdeenshire MI's. Sadly not all of Banffshire has been transcribed yet , but it should be soon.
Sometimes if I haven't been able to find anything on the IGI the MI's have come up trumps especially if later family is buried there too.
Jane

[jane.harrison.9]

Sorry for the delay Mark. My friend is on holiday until next week. Will let you have details as soon as poss.
Jane.

[jane.harrison.9]

Hi Mark,
Peathill Cemetery stone reads
Here are laid the ashes of Rev William Mercer for 47 years a most active minister of the church of Pitsligo, d 29 Aug 1767 in his 73rd year; also the remains of his most dutiful wife Ann Monroe d 19 Jan 1768 ; here also rests the body of Rev David Stephenson minister of the same church for nearly 18 years d 12 Jan 1786 age 60.
Regards
Jane

[jane.harrison.9]

Hi Mark,
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I don't know if this is your direct line but here are details of stone 141 Tyrie as promised.
Erected by Agnes Wilson in memory of her husband John Blyth farmer in Milltown of Rathen d. 6 Sept 1835 in 73rd year : their dau. Agnes d.27 Aug 1814 aged 13 also in memory of her grandfather the Rev. John Mercer of Tyrie d 31 Mar 1761 in the 74th year of his age and 45th of his ministry : her brother James Wilson Merchant at Tyrie d 17 Feb.1796 aged 39. The above Agnes Wilson d. 15 Mar 1855 aged 83.
As you may know 1855 Scottish certificates are worth their weight in gold because of the wealth of information that they provide.
If Agnes is in your line it would be worthwhile gatteing a copy of her death cert as she died in 1855.It should give details of all her children and their ages , also if they had died it should name them and their age at death.
Regards
Jane :)

[aerofoil]

Hi Jane;
Thank you for the information. Unfortunately this is a different line of the family. My line left the country in 1745 due to the Jacobite rebellion and were wanted men!

I appreciate any information however.

Than you for thinking of me.

Warmest regards
Mark

[Isabel H]

Fasti Ecclesiae vol 6 (Aberdeen & Moray) which contains info. about William Mercer, Pitsligo, can be downloaded from this link.

http://www.archive.org/details/fastiecclesiu06scotuoft

[djpeters]

Hi ,
This is my first post on B-G I was trawling and found your request for info on the Mercers.
I have been researching the Rait family and found connections with the Mercers and in the process found an almost complete family history of the Mercers. Thomas Mercer was the g/son of John Row Principal of Aberdeen University who kept a detailed diary and then passed it to his g/son and his family who continued it from about1661-1780.
The original diary is in Aberdeen University but has been published in sections in Notes and Queries.
Thomas was married 3 times 1 Anna Rait 2 Isobel Smith 3 Christian Reid
Contact me at djpeters AT btinternet DOT com and I can send you a pdf file with a large chunk of the Mercer family.
regards
Dave

[philipmercer]

I am of the family of Mercer of Aldie and Meikleour. I am trying to find a connection with the ancestors of Hugh Mercer descendant of William Mercer minister of Pitsligo. There was a branch of my family in Aberdeen and there is a chair of Laurence Mercer in the Trades Museum in Aberdeen with our arms on it,
dating from about 1680. Mercer is of course a trade name (dealers in wool) and the name was not very common in Scotland. I wondered if the family history dug up by djpeters would throw any light on this ?

First time on this site, I hope I have done it right !!!

[Kerrywood]

Hi, and welcome to the forums!


I wondered if the family history dug up by djpeters would throw any light on this ?

djpeters may be alerted to your message but hasn't visited the forums for a couple of years.

As another contact option, you can click on djpeters user name (in blue) and send a private message or email.

While you're here, why not make yourself comfortable and have a good look around. :smile5: