<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> G'day Listers, <p>I would like to thank the many listers who have helped me with my Border Chisholms, especially Janice Poskitt, Katrina Young and her sister Evelyn, and the estimable Doug Leitch who is fast becoming the authority on Chisholms in BEW and ROX. My 3xgt-grandfather was Benjamin CHISHOLM who married Isabella GRAY 14 June 1811 in Gordon BEW. His father's name was Thomas. In the following generation (that of my 2xgt-grandfather) there were at least four males christened Benjamin. As most lowland Scots males are christened James, John, George, Alexander, Thomas, Andrew, William, Robert or Walter, I would be grateful for any information on the use of the given name Benjamin. Obviously there is a biblical connotation, but could it be connected to any particular dissenting church? was it a "fashion" of the the late 18th and early 19th centuries? or are my Benjamins just an aberration? <p>All suggestions/information welcome. <p>Best wishes, <p>Valerie Henshaw <br>Melbourne, Australia</html>
Hi Valerie, There are over 50 Benjamins in the 1881 census for the eastern Border counties (Berwick, Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles), well spread out apart from Selkirk. I would consider it was just a well known biblical name used quite widely, there were at least two in Berwick in the 1950s when I went to school there. Best regards - Mike Simpson, Penrith, NSW, Australia Email: agene@bigfoot.com HomePage: http://www.bigfoot.com/~agene