Gilchrist and Begbie Family

William Marshall Gilchrist was my grandfather. He had a cousin with exactly the same name and also an uncle. Where did that name come from? Would I like to find out? You bet!! I have trailed the family back to David Gilchrist born in Comrie, Perthshire in 1802 with no trace of an original William Marshall Gilchrist.

This picture does not show it but Grandad had a beautiful head of red hair when he was young. He passed this trait on to my Mum. He was also very dapper in his youth and liked to look good in smart suits, wing collars and spats – very Fred Astaire!

He loved music and consequently sent all his children for music lessons so that he could enjoy the benefits. He was an engine driver on the railway in the age of steam and he just caught the beginning of the diesel era. Mum tells me that Grandad was strafed on the Forth Bridge when he was taking his train over the Firth of Forth in WW2. He had to get out of the train and shelter underneath till the German planes had passed. He also had a hearty sense of humour and liked to hang out in joke and novelty shops – now have we all tried out the suspicious jam jar with the mystery contents or is it still waiting to catch out someone else?

My grandparents married in Edinburgh in 1929 and were the proud parents of four children – two boys and two girls. Their children were called Thomas, Helen, Peter and last, but definitely not least, Elizabeth who likes to be known as “the bairn”.

Curiously, in an age of large families, Grandad only had one sibling, a sister called Alice.

I would like to know more about Grandad’s Aunts and Uncles. What happened to them – where did they go? If you are researching your Gilchrist tree and you have picked up Robert Gilchrist and Louisa Ross in Edinburgh in the latter part of the 19^th century then please get in touch.

Grandad’s mother was called Barbara Begbie. Her family had been farmers, merchants and tradesmen who came from East Lothian but her own father worked on the railway.

Follow this link to the Gilchrist/Begbie Tree

LINK HERE INTO GILCHRIST/BEGBIE TREE