Person:William Shearer (37)

East KilbrideA small town and a parish on the western border of the Middle Ward of Lanarkshire. The town, towards the NE corner of the parish, stands 590 feet above sea level at the terminus of a brnahc line incorporated in 1863-65, ...... . An ancient place of poor appearance, towards the close of the reign of Queen Anne it was made a burgh of barony ...... .Places of worship ..... are the parish church (1774, 900 sittings), a free church, and a U.P. church (1791, 913 sittings).The population was in 1841 - 926; in 1861 - 1171; in 1871 - 1100; and in 1881 - 1118.The parish, containing also the villages of Auldhouse, Jackton, Kittochside, Nerston and Maxwelton, a third of the town of Busby, and the stations of Hairmyres and Thornton Hall, comprises the ancient parishes of East Kilbride and Torrance. (Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland 1883) For the first few years of their marriage, William and Helen lived on a farm in Strathaven (also called Avondale according to the records) which was called the Brae farm. Thomas, Janet James and William were all reportedly born there although only Janet, James and William's christening records can be found. I recently did a search online for information on the 'Brae" farm and came up with the following. I believe it to the the original farm.

No word on what the final selling price might be....but it sounds quite posh .... 

Property Under Offer/Contract BRIDGE VIEW, BRAE FARM, STRATHAVEN 5 bedrooms (3 en suite) 3 reception rooms & office Gardens with elevated terrace Stabling, riding arena, garage Approx 6 acres grazing

Freehold

SITUATION:Bridge View enjoys a wonderful, slightly elevated location outside the hamlet of Chapelton with uninterrupted views across the surrounding countryside. The property forms part of Brae Farm, a small development of only three properties. Each property is unique in size and layout and all are cleverly positioned within the development to ensure privacy and seclusion. Bridge View extends to approximately 6 acres and is practically laid out with the paddocks situated around both the stabling and the outdoor arena.Chapelton itself is a small rural hamlet located approximately 2 miles outside the town of Strathaven. Strathaven offers a variety of shops, a sports centre, supermarkets and tearooms as well as professional services including banks and solicitors. The town centres around the Common Green and is popular with commuters to Glasgow and beyond. The area offers easy access to the M74 and the M8 which connects to the main arterial routes of Central Scotland.Both primary and secondary schooling are available in Strathaven with private schooling at Hamilton College.

DESCRIPTION:Bridge View is a contemporary, architecturally designed conversion which offers spacious accommodation and an excellent level of specification. Oak flooring is laid throughout the ground floor and double aspect windows ensure the house is extremely bright.The breakfasting kitchen is a wonderful room fitted with a range of shaker style units, wooden work surfaces and a range cooker situated in a central island. Double doors open to a terrace which overlooks the surrounding countryside. The drawing room also opens to the terrace and in addition there is a family room and dining room. An en suite bedroom, utility room and office complete the accommodation on the ground floor. Three bedrooms and a bathroom are located on the first floor. Two of the bedrooms are en suite and the master bedroom also has a dressing room.The land and outbuildings are perhaps as important as the house itself. A well constructed stable block offers stabling for four as well as a tack room and feed room. There is also a double garage and store. An outdoor arena lies adjacent to the stable block and has ample parking for horse boxes or trailers. The land of Bridge View extends to approximately 6 acres and lies adjacent to the house. The land is well fenced and drained.

ACCOMMODATION:Entrance vestibuleReception hallDrawing roomDining roomFamily/living roomOfficeDining kitchen4 bedrooms (3 en suite)Dressing room/bedroom 5Family bathroomUtility roomWCDouble garage, stable block and outdoor arenaWell tended gardens with elevated terraceApprox 6 acres of grazing land

DIRECTIONS:From Glasgow travel westbound on the M8 and exit onto the M77 at junction 21. Exit the M77 at junction 3 and take the A726 (Nitshill Road). Follow the A726 going straight across the roundabout onto East Kilbride Road. Keep on the A726 and at the next roundabout exit onto Queensway. Follow this road then take Strathaven Road. Bridge View is situated on the right hand side.

.... The younger children... Margaret, Christopher, John, George and Ellen ... were reportedly born once they moved to the Highflat Farm in East Kilbride although birth or christening records have not yet been found.There seems to be a possible variation in the spelling of Highflatt Farm. Family correspondence and history sources have the name spelled with a double t ending, however, on historical maps of the time, the name is spelled with a single t ending. The current map location for HIGHFLAT FARM is grid number (261639, 656970).This places it just outside Carmunnock, between East Kilbride and Glasgow. Judging by the marriage registrations which were obtained through the IGI web site of LDS, it certainly seems correct. The LDS records the parish name as East Kilbride and numbers it as 643. The 1881 census has a Highflat farm in enumeration district 5 of East Kilbride that was occupied by Christopher Shearer. Shearer's reportedly still occupied this farm in 1939. Although family information says that Highflat Farm was owned by Shearers, research has proven that this is not true. The Shearers were tenant farmers who did not actually own Highflat but rented it. In Scotland they would have been referred to a "feuars"... tenant farmers who paid rent or "feu duty" to the "feu superior" or owner of the land. The feu superior usually retained the ownership of any mineral rights and could retain the right to cross the land or hunting and fishing privileges on any land they controlled. This practise continued as late as the 1970's when feu duty became too difficult and expensive to collect and the practice was outlawed.

According to one of Christopher's descendants: About 100 years ago most farms were owned by big landowners and tenancies were usually held for a lifetime. This was often continued with the same family and it was difficult as the law stood for the owners to put out the 'sitting tenant' However, if a family gave up the tenancy the landlord would take the opportunity to sell the farm and now there are many more farmers who own their own farm. The Shearers owned West Rogerton farm but rented Highflat from a family called Hamilton.Latterly it belonged to Sheriff Young, a nephew of the Hamiltons. My uncle John died leaving a young family, and while Aunt Grace worked hard I don't think the family as they grew up were interested in farming. So Aunt Grace gave up the tenancy and the landlord sold the farm. The eldest son, Archie, moved into West Rogerton but they also sold that farm. The only Shearers still farming are Uncle Christopher's descendants who farm in the Eaglesham area and have bought a farm in Ayrshire.

dated 16 May 2004.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Ada Jane Shearer and The Shearer Historians. Shearer Family History. (Created in Elma Township in 1938 and maintained by Shearer Reunion Historians. Information was reported by knowledgeable family members and was well maintained in the early years.).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Isa Cleland. Information that Isa researched on the Shearers. (This information was gathered by Isa until her death in 1999. Most is copied from the Shearer Family Tree.).
3. ↑ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. International Genealogical Index (R) (2). (Copyright (c) 1980, 2000, data as of January 2000).
4.   Glasgow Sheriff Court Inventories. Will of William Shearer, farmer, High Flat, East Kilbride, Lanarkshire. (13 Apr 1854).