1685 Andrew Fortay and Sephiah Laing - Forgan, Fife, Scotland

Going back as far as we have records in the Fortie line we find that it is not Fortie but Fortay, as in Andrew Fortay. The information is a bit sketchy but we will start there.

Based on a marriage record Andrew was most likely born in or near Forgan, Fife, Scotland somewhere around 1685 to 1690.
Sephiah Laing was probably born around 1690 also near or in Forgan, Fife, Scotland. No more information is known.

The marriage record from Scotland (I don't know in what church they were married in yet) tells us that Andrew Fortay and Sephiah Laing were married in Forgan Fife Scotland on 30 November 1704.

We have no death date for either person but a normal life would have taken them to about 1850 to 1860. 

They had 5 or 6 children, 2 or 3 girls and 3 boys. I say 2 or 3 girls because one was born a year before they were married and the second was born 10 months after their marriage. The first child has a different last name (not the mothers maiden name) but is close enough that it could have been a misreading of Fortay. Also the first names are very close (though the same name was often used if the first child died as an infant, in order to avoid a name tax for a new name). The day and month of christening is exactly the same just two years apart (1703 and 1705 and 3's and 5's can sometimes be misread). Here is the information we have so far:
1. girl - Christean Faley, christened 9 September 1703.
2. girl - Christian Fortay, christened 9 September 1705.


So, there was possibly a different father and/or marriage before their marriage and the two girls are separate or the two similar names are actually the same person.
3. Anyway, the third (or second) child was a boy, John Fortay, christened 13 March 1707.
4. The fourth (or third) child was their last girl, named Agnass Fortay, christened 1 May 1709.
5. Then they had their fifth (or fourth) child, another boy, named Alexander Fortay (my ancestor). My genealogy records say he was born in 1710 and was christened 15 April 1711 (this christening date seems to be rather far from the birthday (the babies are usually christened within days of birth to avoid having the child die without being blessed which would send it straight to purgatory - according to their beliefs.) I'm not sure why this year was put in as the birth year and I don't have a birth year for the others (this is all from genealogy that has already been done but no sources were given). I haven't seen the actual records to know the accuracy of this information.
6. Their last child was another boy named Patrick Fortay, who was christened 28 February 1714.
All the children were born in Forgan and other than that there is no further information about this family. We have no other locations or any death dates for any of them.

St Fillans Church in Forgan

St Fillans Church

A small church or memorial in the center of a graveyard in Forgan where many people from the area were buried. It was nearly six centuries old when Andrew and Sephiah were married. I don't have a record of where they were married but if not here then perhaps a larger church nearby. There are other newer churches along the coast on the north edge of Forgan in a few towns where they could have lived.

Leng Memorial

Leng memorial, Vicarsford cemetary, Forgan near Newport-on-tay

There is a clan named Laing (Sephiah's last name) in Scotland and I found this information on the BYU genealogy website.


Laing is a descriptive name referring to 'long' or 'tall'. There is no certainty to the first prominent family of Laing, however, Black lists Thomas Laing as promising in 1357, that Dumfries would pay part of the ransom for the return of David II from England.

James Layng, who was the rector of Newlands, became bishop of Glasgow and treasurer to James III between 1473 and 1474. Laing is frequently found in the books of the diocese of Glasgow during the sixteeth century. In 1785 Malcolm Laing, a lawyer and historian from Orkney, was admitted to the Scottish Bar. In 1800, he published a history of Scotland and the poems of Ossian,who was Celtic bard.

The most reverend Cosmo Gordon Land, descended from a Scottish family was Archbishop of Cantebury from 1928 to 1942. He officiated at the coronation of George VI and in 1942 was raised to the peerage as Baron Lang of Lameth.

Clan Crest

Clan Seat

Clan tartan

(Much of the following information has been copied from Wikipedia)


Forgan is a civil parish in the Scottish county of Fife. It extends 4 miles in length along the north coast of Fife and is at the southern mouth of the River Tay. It is bounded by the other Fife civil parishes of Ferryport-on Craig, Leuchars and Balmerino. It contains the towns of Newport-on-Tay and Wormit. The roads and railways leading to the Tay Bridges pass through the parish. Of course, just across the water is the larger town of Dundee. I suppose Andrew and Sephiah could have lived in any of these towns, we just don't know right now. Kilmany is just a few miles south-west where Margaret Touk was christened (Andrew and Sephiah's daughter-in-law). It is also interesting that a St Fort Estate is about 2 miles south-west of the towns along the waterfront. It would be worth finding out (the next time I'm in Scotland) if that has anything to do with the FORTay name... so much to learn about.

Fife (pronounced /ˈfaɪf/; Scottish Gaelic: Fìobha) is a county and council area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire. It was originally one of the Pictish kingdoms, known as Fib, and is still commonly known as the Kingdom of Fife within Scotland.

It is a lieutenancy area, and was a county of Scotland until 1975. It was very occasionally known by the anglification Fifeshire in old documents and maps compiled by English cartographers and authors. A person from Fife is known as a Fifer.

Fife was a local government region divided into three districts – Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and North-East Fife. Since 1996 the functions of the district councils have been exercised by the unitary Fife Council.

Fife is Scotland's third largest local authority area by population. It has a resident population of just under 360,000, almost a third of whom live in the three principal towns of Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes. Kirkcaldy is Fife's largest town by population (48,108 in 2006), followed by Dunfermline (45,462 in 2006) and then Glenrothes (38,927 in 2006).

The historic town of St Andrews is located on the northeast coast of Fife. It is well known for one of the most ancient universities in Europe and is renowned as the home of golf.

 

History

Legend has it that upon the death of Cruithne, the Pictish realm – known collectively as "Pictavia" – was divided into seven sub-kingdoms or provinces, one of which became Fife. The name is recorded as Fib in A.D. 1150 and Fif in 1165. It was often associated with Fothriff.

King James VI of Scotland described Fife as a "beggar's mantle fringed with gold" – the golden fringe being the coast and its chain of little ports with their thriving fishing fleets and rich trading links with the Low Countries, ironic given the much later development of farming on some of Scotland's richest soil and the minerals, notably coal, underneath. Wool, linen, coal and salt were all traded. Salt pans heated by local coal were a feature of the Fife coast in the past. The distinctive red clay "pan tiles" seen on many old buildings in Fife arrived as ballast on trading boats and replaced the previously thatched roofs.

In 1598 King James VI employed a group of 12 men from Fife, who became known as the Fife adventurers, to colonise the Isle of Lewis in an attempt to begin the "civilisation" and anglicisation of the region. This endeavor lasted until 1609 when the colonists, having been opposed by the native population, were bought out by Coinneach, the clan chief of the MacKenzies.

Historically, there was much heavy industry in the century or so following the Victorian engineering triumphs of the Forth and Tay rail bridges. The Fife coalfields were developed around Kirkcaldy and the west of Fife, reaching far out under the Firth of Forth. Shipbuilding was famous at Methil and Rosyth. The world centre for linoleum production was in Kirkcaldy (where it is still produced), and flax grown in Fife was transformed into linen locally too. Post-war Fife saw the development of Scotland's second new town, Glenrothes. Originally to be based around a coal mine, the town eventually attracted a high number of modern Silicon Glen companies to the region. Fife Council also centred its operations in Glenrothes.

Geography

Fife is a peninsula in eastern Scotland bordered on the north by the Firth of Tay, on the east by the North Sea and the Firth of Forth to the south. The route to the west is partially blocked by the mass of the Ochil Hills. Almost all road traffic into and out of Fife has to pass over one of three bridges, south on the Forth Road Bridge, west on the Kincardine Bridge or north-east via the Tay Road Bridge, the exception being traffic headed north on the M90.
There are extinct volcanic features, such as the Lomond Hills which rise above rolling farmland, and Largo Law, a volcanic plug in the east. At 522 metres (1,713 ft), the West Lomond is the highest point in Fife. The coast has fine but small harbours, from the industrial docks in Burntisland and Rosyth to the fishing villages of the East Neuk such as Anstruther and Pittenweem. The large area of flat land to the north of the Lomond Hills, through which the River Eden flows, is known as the Howe of Fife.

Looking across the farmland of North East Fife to the distant Lomond Hills

North of the Lomond Hills can be found villages and small towns in a primarily agricultural landscape. The areas in the south and west of Fife, including the towns of Dunfermline, Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy and the Levenmouth region are lightly industrial and more densely populated. The only area which could claim to be heavily industrial is Rosyth, around the naval dockyard.

The east corner of Fife, generally that east of a line between Leven and St Andrews is recognised throughout Scotland as the "East Neuk" (or corner) of Fife, small settlements around sheltered harbours, with distinctive vernacular "Dutch" or craw (crow) stepped gabled and stone-built architecture – an area much sought after as second homes of the Edinburgh professional classes since the Forth Road Bridge was built. The fishing industry on which the East Neuk settlements were built has declined in recent years with the main fishing fleet now operating from Pittenweem and the harbour in Anstruther being used as a marina for pleasure craft.

Looking across the farmland of North East Fife to the distant Lomond Hills

Towns and villages

Cupar took over as county town from Crail in the early 13th century. This has since been transferred to Glenrothes with the decision to locate the headquarters of the newly established Fife Regional Council in 1975. The county has three main towns – Kirkcaldy, Dunfermline and Glenrothes. According to the 2006 estimate, Kirkcaldy is the largest settlement with a population of 48,108. The largest settlement in terms of area is Glenrothes.

Culture

Fife is home to 4,961 listed historical buildings and 48 conservation areas. Domestic sites of importance include Falkland Palace (hunting palace of the Scottish Kings), Kellie Castle near Pittenweem, St Andrews Castle and Kirkcaldy's Ravenscraig Castle, Dysart Harbor area, Balgonie Castle near Coaltown of Balgonie, Hill of Tarvit (a historical house), St. Andrews Castle (with a gruesome bottle dungeon) and St. Rules' Tower. Fife is home to a number of ecclesiastical sites of historical interest. St Andrews Cathedral was home of the powerful Archbishopric of St Andrews, and later became a centre of the Scottish Reformation, while Dunfermline Abbey was the last resting place of a number of Scottish kings. Balmerino and Culross abbeys were both founded in the 13th century by the Cistercians, while a century before Lindores Abbey was founded by the Tironensians outside of Newburgh, : all were highly important sites.

Below are a few famous people from Fife who lived around the same time period as Andrew and Sephiah. Perhaps my ancestors knew them or at least knew of them (perhaps they played after school together or swapped stories down at the pub):

Alexander Selkirk (1676 – 13 December 1721} was a Scottish sailor who spent four years as a castaway when he was marooned on an uninhabited island. It is probable that his travels provided the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe.

The son of a shoemaker and tanner in Lower Largo, Fife, Scotland, Selkirk was born in 1676. In his youth he displayed a quarrelsome and unruly disposition. Summoned on 27 August 1695 before the Kirk Session for his "undecent carriage" (indecent behavior) in church, he "did not comper [appear], having gone away to þe [the] seas: this business is continued till his return".

At an early period he was engaged in buccaneer expeditions to the South Seas and in 1703 joined in with the expedition of famed privateer and explorer William Dampier. While Dampier was captain of the St. George, Selkirk served on the galley Cinque Ports, the St. George's companion, as a sailing master serving under Thomas Stradling.

Castaway

In October 1704, after the ships had parted ways because of a dispute between Stradling and Dampier, the Cinque Ports was brought by Stradling to the uninhabited archipelago of Juan Fernández off the coast of Chile for a mid-expedition restocking of supplies and fresh water. Selkirk had grave concerns by this time about the seaworthiness of this vessel (indeed, the Cinque Ports later foundered, losing most of its hands). He tried to convince some of his crewmates to desert with him, remaining on the island; he was counting on an impending visit by another ship. No one else agreed to come along with him. Stradling, who was tired of Selkirk's troublemaking, declared that he would grant him his wish and leave him alone on Juan Fernández. Selkirk promptly regretted his decision. He chased and called after the boat, to no avail. Selkirk lived the next four years and four months without any human company. All he had brought with him was a musket, gunpowder, carpenter's tools, a knife, a Bible, some clothing and rope.

Life on the island

Hearing strange sounds from the inland, which he feared were dangerous beasts, Selkirk remained at first along the shoreline. During this time he ate shellfish and scanned the ocean daily for rescue, suffering all the while from loneliness, misery and remorse. Hordes of raucous sea lions, gathered on the beach for the mating season, eventually drove him to the island's interior. Once there, his way of life took a turn for the better. More foods were now available: feral goats – introduced by earlier sailors – provided him meat and milk, wild turnips, cabbage, and black pepper berries offered him variety and spice. Although rats would attack him at night, he was able, by domesticating and living near feral cats, to sleep soundly and in safety.

Selkirk proved resourceful in using equipment from the ship as well as materials that were native to the island. He built two huts out of pimento trees. He used his musket to hunt goats and his knife to clean their carcasses. As his gunpowder dwindled, he had to chase prey on foot. During one such chase he was badly injured when he tumbled from a cliff, lying unconscious for about a day. (His prey had cushioned his fall, sparing him a broken back.) He read from the Bible frequently, finding it a comfort to him in his condition and a mainstay for his English.

When Selkirk's clothes wore out, he made new garments from goatskin, using a nail for sewing. The lessons he had learned as a child from his father, a tanner, helped him greatly during his stay on the island. As his shoes became unusable, he had no need to make new ones, since his toughened, callused feet made protection unnecessary. He forged a new knife out of barrel rings left on the beach.

Two vessels had arrived and departed before his escape, but both of them were Spanish: as a Scotsman and privateer, he risked a terrible fate if captured. He hid himself from these crews at one point in a tree at the bottom of which some of the Spanish crews who were pursuing him urinated but did not discover him.

His long-anticipated rescue occurred on 2 February 1709 by way of the Duke, a privateering ship piloted by the above-mentioned William Dampier. Selkirk was discovered by the Duke's captain, Woodes Rogers, who referred to him as Governor of the island. Now rescued, he was almost incoherent in his joy. The agile Selkirk, catching two or three goats a day, helped restore the health of Rogers' men. Rogers eventually made Selkirk his mate, giving him independent command of one of his ships. Rogers' A cruising voyage round the world: first to the South-Sea, thence to the East-Indies, and homewards by the Cape of Good Hope was published in 1712 and included an account of Selkirk's ordeal.

Journalist Richard Steele interviewed Selkirk about his adventures and wrote a much-read article about him in The Englishman.

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John Forbes (5 September 1707 – March 11, 1759) was a British general in the French and Indian War. He is best known for leading the Forbes Expedition that captured the French outpost at Fort Duquesne and for naming the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania after British Secretary of State William Pitt the Elder.

Forbes was born on his family's Pittencrief Estate in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland in 1707. The son of an army officer, Forbes intended to study medicine, but in his second year as a medical student, he decided to become a soldier. He was accepted and commissioned, in 1735, as a lieutenant in the Scots Greys. He saw action in the War of the Austrian Succession. He later served in the Jacobite rising of 1745 and served under the Duke of Cumberland as acting quartermaster-general.

Late in his career Forbes launched an attack on a French fort named Fort Duquesne but the French abandoned the fort and burned it. Forbes occupied the burned fort on November 25, 1758. He immediately ordered the construction of a new fortification to be named Fort Pitt, after British Secretary of State William Pitt the Elder. He also named the settlement between the rivers "Pittsborough," which is the location of modern Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Forbes’s health, which had been poor for much of the campaign, began a rapid decline during his occupation of Fort Pitt. On December 3, 1758, now gravely ill, Forbes began the arduous journey back to Philadelphia leaving Colonel Hugh Mercer in command of Fort Pitt. General Forbes died in Philadelphia on March 11, 1759. He was buried in Christ Church in Philadelphia.

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