Now this story is going to be serialised
A monumental inscription refers to the death of James Burn, aged 28, in 1867, and his wife, Elizabeth Margaret, died 1869 aged 32. Elizabeth is in my family tree, the cousin of my great grandmother, Theodosia Henderson.
James, as a child, inherited a serious fortune when his father James Grieve Burn of Warkworth died. This James G was a wealthy man who married well. His father was Samuel Burn, a former mayor and Collector of Customs at Berwick (there is a marble plaque in St Lawrence). In 1818 he rebuilt No5 Castle Hill, referred to by Pevsner as the best early 19th century house on the street. The Victoria County History refers to it as having a stone balustrade on the top and "displays greater architectural pretension than its neighbours."
Unfortunately James G and his wife were childless. Yes, I know, I said James inherited from his father! James G died in 1845 and his wife in 1850. HOWEVER, the gentry have their ways.
In Edinburgh in 1837, a child, James, was baptised, the son of James Grieve Burn Esq and Jane Muers, both of the parish of Warkworth. The Muers were a respectable middle class family in Warkworth.
James Junior was left behind in Scotland in the care of Thomas and Jane Ferrier, where he appears in the census.
to be continued