ROBIE

A Scots name, variously spelled as ROBIE or ROBBIE or even ROBB. They come from the area of the Angus Glens, well north of Dundee and in the area where you can find Forfar and Brechin, Kirriemuir etc.

Alexander ROBIE and Ann LINDSAY have a grave in the old cemetery at Edzell. The gravestone was commissioned by their eldest son James ROBIE and erected in 1831- he was the parochial schoolmaster in Aberlemno in Forfarshire- he never married but brought up two of his sister Mary’s children when her busband Peter BOWICK died so young- being Ann and Thomas- he had them helping him collect census data in 1841 and in 1851 they were both enumerators. I have traced Thomas BOWICK through every census right through to 1911.

I think that Ogilvy as a surname, which appears twice, may be related to the Earl of Airlie, who owns Cortachy castle, which is at the entrance to the glen Cortachy and Clova.

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Some more ROBIE information:

Alexander ROBIE married Ann LINDSAY on 16th December 1793 in Cortachy, which is a small place at the start of the ‘Angus Glen’ of Cortachy and Clover- Clova is at the head, and if you walk over the top going north and keep going, you end up near to Balmoral. The King used to write poems and draw pictures of the scneery round there. They lived at Tarrybuckle, which is half way up the glen, quite desolate, and it is only a small farmhouse, so something of a squash. The first six children: Margaret, Jean, Isobel, Betty, James and Alexander were all born there. Then the family moved to Edzell [north of Brechin] where the other six were born- Mary, John, Anne, David, Sarah and Helen.\

Alexander took out an insurance policy with Norwich Union for £600 and this indicates they were not poor; there were also two lots of property as well. Alexander was for some time tenant at the Mill of Inveriscandy [Invereskandye, or other spelling!] which is youngest son David eventually took over and his mother Ann lived there after Alexander had died. . We have Alexander’s will copied from the NAS and also Ann LINDSAY’s. By 1861 son Daivd waqs at the 90-acre farm Meikle Burntshields at Kilbarchan, Renfreshire, with his sister Sarah and niece Ann [daughter of Mary, who was brought up when younger by her uncle James the schoolmaster. Ann LINDSAY also left a will, [unusual for a woman at that time] in which she ‘divvied’ up her estate into 20ths and 40ths so that children and grandchiodren might all get something.

As can be seen from the picture, Peter BOWICK died very young, aged only 28, and his brother Thomas [b 1801] also died young, a year later aged 33- as they were cattle drovers, they possibly caught TB as Thomas in his will seemed to be aware he was dying, although Peter’s will does not say as such about him.