Person:William Palmer (135)

William Palmer was a farmer who probably originally was a tenant of the local landowner. He and his wife spent their later lives in one of the houses in Shankfoot, a hamlet just west of Balmaghie Church. This property was purchased for them by William Neilson, Margaret Neilson Palmer's brother, from money sent from Canada and designated for the purpose by his brother John. (Neilson correspondence, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa.)

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Mitchell, Alison. The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright monumental inscriptions pre 1855. (Edinburgh, Scotland EH1 2JL: Scottish Genealogy Society, c1990-)
   Volume 1, chapter 4, p 52 (Balmaghie), Stone 281.

   William Palmer late in Ern-Genoch died 11 Feb 1837 aged 70;
   children:
   Mary, 25 Feb 1792 infant;
   Agnes, 7 Feb 1802 aged 18 mths;
   Jean, 19 Aug 1816 aged 14;
   William, died North America Oct 1826 aged 31;
   widow: Margaret Neilson, 16 Nov 1851 aged 84;
   daughter: Margaret, died Gatehouse 10 Sep 1871 aged 67;
   daughter: Mary Palmer, died Gatehouse 13 May 1891 aged 82.

   The place Ern-Genoch has never been found on any maps of the local area, but in describing the parish and the church of Balmaghie in Stewartry of Kirkcudbright Memorial Inscriptions pre-1855, vol 1, Alison Mitchell states that the present Woodhall Loch was named Loch Grenoch. Woodhall Loch is to the west of the church and to the northeast of the village of Laurieston. Laurieston had a school and the Palmer children were literate (two of the sons were teachers, the daughter Isabella worked in the Gatehouse of Fleet post office).