The spotlight this month falls on my great x3 grandfather William Beattie . The photograph above is only one known photograph of William and was taken around 1896 when William was 75.

The birth date for William is unknown but he was born to James Beattie and Jean Mathers in Lochtie, Menmuir, Angus in 1821. William was the third of six children.

By the time of the 1841 census, William was married to Mary Wilkie and living in the Brechin area. Although no records remain it is likely that William and Mary were married either at the end of 1840 or the beginning of 1841 in Kirriemuir as that was Mary's home town. James and Mary would have four children. Firstly there were the twins Margaret (my great x2 grandmother) and William Richard born in December 1841. James then arrived in 1846 and Mary Herd in 1849.

For most of his working life William was a farm labourer. However as he got older he became a molecatcher and continued doing this until about the time of his death on the 12th of December 1905 in Trotmuir. William is buried alongside his wife and daughter Mary in the cemetery of Brechin.

The photo above is a close-up of the photo provided by William and Allan Beattie.

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