There were several key turning points in the life of my 3x great-grandfather, James Hampton, which likely had some impact on his family being large and the relationships a bit tangled.

In 1847, when James was seven, his father died in an accident with a horse. At the time, James had a ten-year-old brother, two younger sisters and a younger brother. Although I know nothing of the rest of his childhood, it doesn’t appear that his mother remarried, and it’s likely the family lived in relative poverty.

James’ older brother David Whyte Hampton became the first of the siblings to marry, an event which took place on 30 May 1863. However, ten months later on 23 March 1864, his wife Eliza Beattie died of childbed fever, just a couple of weeks after giving birth to twin sons.

Later that year, on 28 November 1864, James himself became a father to a son named David, who was born to Helen Bushnell. 24-year-old James and 30-year-old Helen were not married, and it seems unlikely they intended to be. However, Montrose kirk session records say Helen had a letter from James, who was working as a farm servant, in which he acknowledged he was the father of her child.

When David’s birth was registered on 15 December 1864 his name was given as David Messer Bushnell. This is probably because there were rules about registering a birth when the parents were not married. David did use the surname Hampton, and was documented in all other records as David Hampton or David Messer Bushnell Hampton.

Then, on 30 June 1865, just over a year after his sister-in-law’s death, James’ brother David Whyte Hampton died of typhoid. And just six months after that, on 29 December 1865, James Hampton married Jessie Beattie, his brother’s sister-in-law.

So, here’s my theory.

When Eliza Hampton nee Beattie died, her sister Jessie Beattie probably helped David Whyte Hampton, take care of his new born sons. Then when David Whyte Hampton died, Jessie wanted to continue looking after them but needed help, and one way to do that was to marry James Hampton.

What that means is that although James had a son born to someone else, he married Jessie and they informally adopted their nephews. James ultimately had one child with Helen Bushnell, two nephews whom he informally adopted, and eleven more children with Jessie Beattie. That’s fourteen in total!

One of James’ children with Jessie was named David. It’s surprising as that’s the same name as his first son, my 2x great-grandfather who was born to Helen Bushnell four years earlier. Curiously, both these sons, half-brothers who shared the same given name, died in December 1915.

James also had a son named Harry who was born just weeks before his grandson Harry. They weren’t the only similarities, and although it’s not unexpected to have names shared across families, especially when naming children after relatives, it can make it complicated and is an example of why it’s even more important to check the sources and relationships when researching.

Although he had complicated family connections, a photo of James with one of his grandchildren, one of David Messer Bushnell Hampton’s sons, shows he maintained a relationship with his first-born child. I believe that whatever the circumstances, he must have cared about all his family.

James Hampton worked as a farm servant all his life, and died at the age of 81 in January 1921.

Selected references

Scotland’s People, ‘Registering illegitimate births’, https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/help-and-support/guides/registering-illegitimate-births, accessed 15 November 2024.

Scotland’s People, ‘Kirk session records’, https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/help-and-support/guides/kirk-session-records, accessed 15 November 2024.

Death registration of David Hampton, 1847, National Records of Scotland, 28/150 199.

Birth registration of David Messer Bushnell [Hampton], 1864, National Records of Scotland, 312/00 0483.

Entry for Bushnell and Hampton, Montrose kirk session Minutes (1861-1888), CH2/943/10, National Records of Scotland, www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk, accessed 16 November 2024.

Death registration of Eliza Hampton [nee Beattie], 1864, National Records of Scotland, 312/99.

Death registration of David Whyte Hampton, 1865, National Records of Scotland, 280/16.

Marriage registration of James Hanton [Hampton] and Jessie Beattie, 1865, National Records of Scotland, 312/5.