I have some exciting news to share! Today, I was looking through the member resources of the Fife Family History Society, and I came across a paper written by David Thomson called Loyal Tay Fencibles. Within this paper, he shares the people who enlisted in this Militia group from Fife.
I am happy to share that I found our Sergeant Major James Watson signing up when he was 17 years old in 1794. It listed his place of birth. The first hard evidence of a specific location where he was born. It confirms he was born in 1777 in Cupar, Fife.
©David Thomson – Loyal Tay Fencibles
This lines up with his parents being James Watson and Margaret Malcom, as many of us have hypothesized for years. I also found that they had two more children:
John Watson b. 12 Nov 1775 in Cupar.
© Scotlandspeople.gov.uk
William Watson b. 13 Apr 1783 in Cupar.
© Scotlandspeople.gov.uk
James Watson is the middle son b. 17 Aug 1777 in Cupar.
© Scotlandspeople.gov.uk
It is thrilling to finally have this confirmation! I look forward to tracing the Watsons of the Jedburgh family line back another generation.
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