WILLIAM SYMINGTON'S PARENTS

William Symington prepared a Memorial dated 1824 which he submitted to Treasury with his Petition. In his Memorial he said he was born in Leadhills in 1764 "of not wealthy but respectable parents". His father was then a mechanic and supervisor who was employed by the Leadhills Mines Company. 

Scottish Old Parochial Records have revealed no birth entry for William Symington but there is firm circumstantial evidence that his parents were John Symington and Grizel Dickson. 

One indication comes from the traditional Scottish system of naming children. It was conventional to name the first son after the paternal grandfather, the second after the maternal grandfather and the third after the father. The first daughter was named after the maternal grandmother, the second after the paternal grandmother and the third after the child's mother. Elizabeth (christened Betty) Benson 1773-1846 was the twin daughter of William Benson and Elizabeth Duncanson. William Symington and Betty Benson's children were named, in sequence, Elizabeth, John, Grace, Margaret, William and Andrew. 

William Symington had an elder brother, George, and there was at least one other unnamed brother who had died late in 1800. [1] No birth entry has been found for his elder brother George.  It is fair to assume that William Symington had at least one sister.  For the relevant period, the Old Parochial Records for Leadhills in the Lanark Parish and for the neighbouring Wanlockhead area are seriously deficient. There is no birth entry for William or for George Symington but a solitary Symington female birth is recorded, that of Margaret Symington in Wanlockhead on June 24, 1757, daughter to John Symington and Grissel Dixon. 

The female line is key evidence in confirming the lineage of William Symington. That Margaret Symington was William’s elder sister seems likely. That William had at least one sister can be inferred from the claim made by John Williamson Leadhills that he was William Symington's great nephew. [2] John Williamson 1841-1905 had a special interest in William Symington and was responsible for the obelisk at Leadhills which remains the most significant memorial to William Symington. He was the secretary of the committee set up to raise funds for the monument and was a man of some substance in the Leadhills community. The report in the Glasgow Herald of the opening of the monument describes him as a great-nephew of William Symington. 

At first sight, Williamson's claim to be a great nephew would imply that either his grandfather had married William Symington's sister or that his father married a niece.  William Symington's brother George has proven impossible to trace and no niece of William Symington can be ascertained. However, a Margaret Symington married John Williamson in Leadhills and birth records confirm they had at least three sons. Their eldest son, George, was born in 1788 and became a mine overseer. There is no record of any other Symington marriage to a Williamson in the relevant period.

An extensive Williamson presence deriving from Margaret Symington is demonstrable in Leadhills,  but this is not the lineage of the John Williamson who was involved with the 1891 monument.  A review of John Williamson's lineage has revealed that he was not a blood relation. His parents were Thomas Williamson, miner and gamekeeper of Leadhills, who married Jane Glasgow, daughter of William Glasgow, gamekeeper, and Janet Thomson. Thomas was born in 1808 and was the son of James Williamson and Margaret Brown. James Williamson would have been a contemporary of Margaret Symington and indeed must have been her husband’s brother in order for John Williamson to be a great nephew of the inventor. That is, John Williamson 1841-1905 was not a descendant of Margaret Symington and could have been a great nephew only by marriage and not by virtue of direct descent from Margaret Symington. 

JOHN SYMINGTON

William Symington's father was a mechanic who was employed by the Scots Mines Company at Leadhills. He is mentioned in two undated entries in the company records between 1770 and 1773. The bargain book for that period includes John Symington in a list of employees, with amounts owed to them. [3] The names George, John and Margaret Symington are recorded together at the foot of that list. The nature of Margaret's employment is not recorded. The heading and date of the entry have been lost from damage to the page. John and George Symington are also to be found in an obscure list of names at the back of the Mining Journals for 1770-1773, headed "News Money." [4]  Small sums are recorded against the names of Mines Company employees, ranging from three pence to 2/6. The combined sum for John and George is six pence. There is no record in these journals to indicate when John Symington commenced employment with the Company as an engine carpenter. The early journals make only occasional reference to engine carpenters: in 1738, Thomas Forrester was employed as Engine Carpenter in erecting a new water-driven engine on the Susanna Vein; [5] in October 1740, Mr Lowthian is mention in relation to repairs to the old Meadowhead engine; [6] Thomas Allen repaired the pumps of the Meadowhead engine in 1741. [7] On 4 September 1741, the overseer hired an Engine Carpenter from near Durham on a salary of £35 per annum. He is not mentioned by name, but had been recommended as a "very good hand". [8] The Journal entry for 10 October 1744 reads: "the Carpenters are working at the Meadowhead Engine, they having finished the Stamp mill which will begin to go regularly in a few days...; [9] and, on 19 March 1745, the Engineers are working at the Engines with all possible diligence. [10]

Nothing is recorded about Griszel Dickson, William Symington's mother.  Mining company bargain books reveal that men with the surname Dickson were employed by the Leadhills Mines Company from the 1740's: James Dickson, miner 1743; David Dickson, ore carter 1763; James Dickson, ore dressing, washing and smelting 1777-1807; William Dickson 1790; Alexander Dickson, miner 1807-1810.

The sub-page attachment below further explores John Williamson and other Williamsons of Leadhills and Wanlockhead.

(Note in passing, a Margaret Symington was born in Douglas in 1762 to Andrew Symington and Margaret Inglis. She can be discounted as an immediate relative-she was the fourth of six children, all born in Douglas from 1754 to 1769.)

[1] Carron Company Letter books. Scottish Records Office, GD58/1/36 number 12, 1800

[2] The Glasgow Herald, Saturday, June 13, 1891, page 4

[3] Bargain Book, Leadhills Library, LML 031, page 176 (image 357) 

[4] Mining Journal, Leadhills Library, LML 008, page 193 (image 402)

[5] Mining Journal, Leadhills Library, LML 001, page 17, 26 May 1739 

[6] Mining Journal, Leadhills Library, LML 001, page 81

[7] Mining Journal, Leadhills Library, LML 001, page 100

[8] Mining Journal, Leadhills Library, LML 001, page 125

[9] Mining Journal, Leadhills Library, LML 002, page 97

[10] Mining Journal, Leadhills Library, LML 001, page 121

THE CHILDREN OF JOHN SYMINGTON AND GRIZEL DICKSON (OR DIXON)

GEORGE no birth record; note he signed his name "Syminton" [1]

MARGARET baptized in Wanlockhead 24 June 1757 John Symington and Grissel Dixon [2] 

JOHN 2 December 1759 L. son to John Syminton (sic) and Grizal Dickson [3]

JOHN 25 February 1761 L. Son to John Symington Grizal Dickson, in Straid [4] [5]

WILLIAM no birth record, but he wrote that he was born in 1764 at Leadhills

AGNES, A POSSIBLE SIBLING TO WILLIAM  

Registered at Dalmellington, November 13th 1763 John Syminton (sic) had a daughter baptized Agnes [6] [7]

ANDREW, THE PRESUMED ELDER BROTHER TO WILLIAM

See notes on Andrew Symington of Wanlockhead, below.

[1] Scots Mines Company, Leadhills, Day Books Number 4 1773-1776 Page 159 Leadhills 1st September 1775

[2] GROS OPR Sanquhar Parish Births OPR 848 10 page 41

[3] GROS OPR New Cumnock Parish OPR 608 10 page 102

[4]  GROS OPR New Cumnock Parish OPR 608 10 page 104

[5]  Straid Ayrshire is a farmstead, with nearby coal pits, placed between Dalmellington and New Cumnock, just East of Dalleagles (O.S. map Ayrshire Sheet XLI.16, survey 1857, published 1860); Grid reference 55 deg 22' 10" N, 4 deg 14' 38" W (55.36926, -4.24366)

[6] GROS OPR Dalmellington Parish 586/00 0010 0132

[7]  Note, no maternal names are recorded in this page

NOTES ON WILLIAM SYMINGTON'S FAMILY AT LEADHILLS AND WANLOCKHEAD

GEORGE SYMINGTON

The elder brother of William and co-inventor of their steam carriage. [1] An entry in Carron Company letter books confirms that George Symington was at Falkirk with his brother William in 1809 but there is no reference to George thereafter.

George, a son of George Symington and Barbara Walker of Wanlockhead (unmarried at the time) was baptized on 20 December 1786. [2]

Note also a George Syminton (sic) married Janet Spark 26 October 1783 Ayton Parish OPR 727/10 page 196 (on the same page, 24 October 1784 James Syminton married Janet Whithead and on 26 November 1784 Margt Syminton married Robt Fortune)

A JOHN SYMINGTON was enrolled at the University of Edinburgh in 1785, a year ahead of William.

AN UNNAMED BOY killed in 1774 

“TWO BOYS BY THE NAME OF SYMINGTON BELONGING TO LEADHILLS”: in February 1774, a boy from Leadhills by the name of Symington was killed by a roof collapse in a mine. His brother escaped. [3] William may have been the fortunate survivor; it seems likely that it was his twelve year old elder brother John who was killed. Nothing is recorded of John thereafter.

AN UNNAMED BROTHER died in 1800. (Mentioned in Carron Company correspondence-see notes on Andrew Symington below) [4]

ANDREW SYMINGTON

A likely elder brother to William, Andrew Symington was made a member of the Leadhills library on 2 October 1773 (member number 131). An Andrew Symington also was an original member of the Wanlockhead Curling Society which was founded in 1777. [5] Andrew Symington is identified as an overseer and clerk with the Wanlockhead Mining Company in 1778-1789. [6] [7] He and George were present when William Murdoch conducted trials of the Wanlockhead engine in July 1779 to ascertain the amount of coal consumed. [8]  Andrew may have been the brother who died in 1800 (See separate notes on Andrew below). 

There is no birth or death record for either Andrew or George Symington.

MARGARET SYMINGTON

William's elder sister. Born in 1757, she married John Williamson, a Leadhills miner. For details of their family, see the sub-page on the Williamsons of Leadhills. In the early 1770's, with her father and brother George, she was on the payroll of the Scots Mines Company (see section on Symingtons of Leadhills).

JAMES SYMINGTON

A foundation member of the Wanlockhead Curling Society; his relationship to William has not been firmly established. He may have been the unnamed brother who died in 1800. A biography of James S. Symington, who emigrated to the United States in 1853, claims that he was a grandson of James Symington, a shepherd and landholder of Leadhills and brother of William Symington the steamboat inventor. James S. Symington was born in the Parish of Coldstream in 1833, the son of Walter Symington and Janet Pedon. [9] [10] The lineage of James S. Symington is yet to be fully explored and confirmed.

EARLY SYMINGTONS AT LEADHILLS AND WANLOCKHEAD

WILLIAM SYMENTOUN

Recorded as a mine worker at Wanlockhead in 1676.  (Mentioned in Harvey and Downs-Rose: SRO RH/15/102/6/2/144 William Blackett's accounts 1676)  

JOHN SYMINGTON

John, the son of Andrew Symington, was born on 22 June 1720 and christened at Crawfordjohn on 18 September 1720. John may have been William Symington's father. 

A John Symington was baptised in Douglas in 1734, a son of John Symington and Marion Thomson, but the first name Marion is not handed on or perpetuated in William Symington's near family members.

MARGARET SYMINGTON

The Old Parochial Records for the parishes of Crawford and Leadhills contain a baptismal record for Robert Dalziel, who was baptised in the church at Crawford on 24 January 1862. His parents were Robert Dalziel and Margaret Symington. They resided in "Blackhouse." [9] There is no record of her marriage or of other children. This Margaret belonged to a generation before William and may have been his aunt. 

[1] Edinburgh Evening Courant 12 July 1786

[2] GROS OPR Sanquhar Parish 848 10 page18 

[3] Dumfries Weekly Magazine 22 February 1774   ** check this entry

[4] Notes from Carron Company Letter Books GD58/1/36 Page 476 Nov. 12th 1800

[5] Wanlockhead 26 Decr 1777 A Copy of the fundamental articles & by Laws belonging to the Curling Society Wanlockhead, was held by the late Sheriff David Smith of Troon

[6] Queensberry MSS Letter from Andrew Symington February 1778

[7] BRL Boulton and Watt Collection Letter from Murdock to Watt 20 July 1779

[8] Ibid.

[9] Portrait and biographical record of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens ... 1894 Pages 233-234

[10] GROS OPR Baptisms and Births Coldstream 733 40/77

[11] GROS OPR Baptisms Crawford and Leadhills 635 10 page 314

ANDREW SYMINGTON OF WANLOCKHEAD

William and George had at least one other brother. Correspondence in a Carron Company letter book dated 12 November 1800 reveals that a brother had died when William was involved in supplying an engine for James Mitchell's sugar plantation in Jamaica. [1] Their letter to Mitchell communicated that Mr. Symington wished to proceed with the undertaking, notwithstanding the death of his brother. The brother was not named. George was still alive at the time and is known to have been living in Falkirk in 1809. It was most unusual for Carron Company to include information of a personal nature in their business correspondence. A likely interpretation is that the deceased brother was involved in their business dealings with William. Apart from George, there was another Symington who held a responsible position with the Wanlockhead Mining Company. In the 1790's Andrew Symington was a claer and overseer to Messrs. Ronald Crauford and Company at Wanlockhead. A communication to the Duke of Queensberry dated 11 February 1778 is signed Andw. Symington in precise copperplate script (in contrast to the careless signature of George who omitted the letter "t" in one example of his signature). [2]  

[1] Carron Company Letter Books GD58/5/1/36 page 476: "James Mitchell Esqr Richmond Hill Surrey

This morning we received your favour of the 8th which we did not fail to communicate with Mr. Symington at Kinnaird. Mr. Symington as you will observe in the annexed copy has desired us to proceed notwithstanding the death of his brother to compleat your engine. We are therefore proceeding. I doubt not of meeting your approbation. I.S.M."

[2] Wanlockhead Mining Company records, Queensberry Manuscripts Bundle 915 Letter from Andrew Symington dated Wanlockhead 11 February 1778 on account of Mr. Gilbert Meason to His Grace The Duke of Queensberry and Dover

Andrew and George Symington were founding members of the Wanlockhead Curling Society, being members number 75 and 76 respectively, the consecutive membership implying a close kinship. Member No. 131 of the Leadhills Reading Society was Andrew Symington, who was admitted on 2nd October 1773. William Symington was member No. 184 and was admitted on 3rd November 1784. Andrew was most likely the brother who died in 1800. No birth entry for Andrew, George or William is to be found in old parochial records. Assuming Andrew was the "lost" brother, he would have been considerably older than William who was probably the youngest child of John Symington and Grissel Dickson. It is noteworthy William Symington would name his eldest son with Elizabeth Benson John, after his father (and elder brother), the second son after himself and his third son, born three years after the death of his unnamed brother, was named Andrew.