Expanding circle

The THOMSON/RUNCIMAN connections posted on the 14th, have led Harry and I into rechecking our assorted past trawls through the Maxton records, and others.
The most fascinating find was in Harry's old notebooks, where he noted that the Cautioner for the marriage of Thomas THOMSON and Mary LOCKIE (Maxton 1762) wasn't yet another THOMSON, but a Robert PATERSON.
Which Robert seemed rather likely to be the Robert found marrying one Elisabeth RUNCHEMAN in 1768, also in Maxton, with the wonderful note "The Bride's Father declard all her relations and himself were well pleased with the Marriage and became caut. for his Daughter".
Harry and I concur that this is highly likely to be Elisabeth, sister to our shared x greats grandmother Margaret RUNCHAMAN, who herself married in Maxton, in 1771 (to Robert RICHARDSON, smith at Whitelaw).

Hopton, Millfield et al

Contact from Helen set me off on a THOMSON update. She had noted William THOMSON of Hopton in my database and wondered what connection he was to me.
A first quick look showed that he was included because he, and his second cousin, had both married into my RUNCIMAN family. But the mention of Hopton reminded me of the bunch of THOMSONs buried at Maxton, very close to my WIGHTs (who had THOMSON connections), so I did a bit more digging. I'd not touched these latter THOMSONs for 20 years - what an amazing amount of information is now so much more readily available.
Additional info on the assorted THOMSON headstone families was found, and the above William THOMSON also connected in. Contact with Harry about this activity unearthed his 20 yr old photos of the headstones concerned:

Places associated with these farming THOMSONs inlcude Reperlaw (Raplaw, Replaw), Millfield, Hopton (Hobton) and Over Roxburgh.
The other headstone with this lot was that of an Adam, farmer at Rutherford, but born Fogo, whose father appears to have farmed at Bogend, not as yet known to be connected - anyone researching this lot?
During this, I did convince myself that the James THOMSON married to Janet FAIRBAIRN of Yarlside was a grandson of Thomas & Helen (SCOTT) THOMSON of Millfield. (See Fairbairn Surname DNA Project for further info, and the Borders Family History Society Journal of Oct 2010 for an article on a Thomson reunion)
As a result of all of this activity, my WorldConnect database LornaHenderson has been updated to include some of these families, as one day, we may be able to connect them up to my Bowden/Maxton THOMSONs. The update also includes a few more LIDDLE twigs found recently.
While fossicking around on Millfield and Hopton I happened across some interesting House of Commons papers, Volume 14 which included the 1837 Report of the Select Committee, with Minutes of Evidence on Fictitious Votes (Scotland). This is online at google books and has several lists of tenants, joint or single, together with some land transaction sasines. Andrew THOMSON and brother Walter were both listed as tenants at Millfield in 1832.

10th: FAIRBAIRN/RAMSAY Maxton

See Fairbairn DNA project blog for research on a family from Tonbridge in Kent I believe belong to James FAIRBAIRN of Maxton, then Spencerville, Ontario.