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 Who was the Edward Jamisone who Married Magalene Keir?

We know there are two marriages for an Edward Jamisone in the latter 1600s in the Edinburgh area of Scotland, but who exactly was the Edward that married Magdalene Keir on November 22, 1660? Was this the same Edward Jamisone who married Katherine Coneltoune/Congilton on June 8, 1672 in Haddington, Scotland, or were there two different Edward Jamisones?

This is important for us to know, because it is the children from only one of these marriages, the first in 1660, of which we feel our particular Jam?son family may be descended. If these are actually different Edward Jamisones that would then effect the ancestral lineage of our particular Jam?son family.

We know exactly who the Edward Jamisone was of that second marriage, including his parents and ancestral family, as well as their children and much about his life and career, etc., see here. The question is, was that actually his second marriage, or was that earlier 1660 marriage a different Edward Jamisone?

There are several things about that first marriage that raise concerns about these Edwards, suggesting that they might be the same Edward and then other things that suggest they most likely would not have been the same guy.

It should be noted, that the time and place of everything we know about this Edward Jamisone, fits either or both marriages, without any significant disqualifying conflicts. Furthermore, we know of no other Edward Jamisons of that time that would fit better, in any way. That is not to say that is not a possibility, only that we cannot find any other contemporaneous records of any other Edward Jam?son that would even fit at all.

The biggest concern about if these two marriages being the same Edward, is that these two marriages, are nearly back to back, without any logical record of explanation. No divorces, no death and most importantly no trace or mention, whatsoever, of Magdelen or any of the children, after the recording of the last of their six children were born in 1668.

We do know that there were other Jam?son families known to be in this general area of Scotland, including specifically in Leith (South Leith), where this first marriage took place, during the 1600s, although we don't know of any with the given name Edward, at that time.

We know quite a bit about the Edward of the second marriage, those details are here. He took his education at Edinburgh University and therefore would have been familiar with that entire region, including South Leith, where this first marriage and births of all the children took place. We also know he was removed from his duties as minister of the church in Swinton and cannot account for his whereabouts or life during most of the time he was married to Magdelene and they had their children, all in South Leith, 1660-1668, making this marriage during this period possible, although it should be noticed that removal from Swinton didn't happen until January of 1661, so there may be some minor conflict and resulting doubt here.

The names of the children of that earlier marriage with Magdelene Keir, don't seem to fit the the typical family naming traditions, of those times. It does with the 1672 marriage to Katherine, where he names his eldest son son George, the known grandfather, curiously missing from that first marriage altogether.

Magdelene Keir is assumed to be the daughter of Patrick Keir and Madalen Houstone, born North Leith on July 2, 1639. (the only recorded possibility). It should be noted that there was a Patrick Keir imprisoned as part of that group Edward Jamison (1624-1704) persuaded and pleaded with at Grayfriars jail for the 1679 Rising at Bothwell, for the Murder of Archbishop Sharp, where he reasoned with them and got several of them liberated, on their signing a bond not to take up arms against His Majesty in future.[X] Although it is not known if the Patrick Keir at Grayfairs was actually Magdeline Keirs father, and therefore Edward's father-in-law, it is a coincidence nevertheless, that cannot be ignored.


Footnotes/References

[X]     History of the Sufferings of the Church of Scotland from the Restoration to the Revolution - Rev. Robert Wodrow - Vol.III, p.129


Bibliography/Resources:

  • Special thanks to Marilyn Jamison for all her help with her many hours of extensive research on this project.
  • Wikipedia