Map showing the position of East Mains of Blair

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John Moon, wright - an introduction

The Kirk Session minutes dated 17th March 1723 records that the Minister (Rev Dr Hamilton) and two Elders, Mungo Campbell and John Stewart, had conversed with the previous minister (Mr Duncan Stewart) concerning the fines imposed by Blair Atholl Kirk and the use to which this money had been put. The largest expenditure concerned the rebuilding of the Kirkyard dykes and the replacement of the doors for the north and east porches. John Moon and Duncan Moon had been paid for building up (erecting) the doors.

The date at which this work was carried out is not recorded, but must have been well before the appointment of Dr Hamilton in 1718. Luckily the expenditure list also mentions that Duncan Gow, smith at Kirkton of Blair (not to be confused with Alexander Gow, smith at East Mains), was paid £1 4s for making the ironwork for the doors. As Duncan Gow is described in the Roll of the Duke of Atholl's Fencible Men as "smith, wanting gun and sword", the new doors must have been erected close to 1705.

The two wrights (who probably also farmed small crofts) are most likely to be father and son, the father being mentioned first. So John Moon in the East Mains was the senior wright. If Duncan was old enough to be paid for working with his father, then he would be included in the Roll of Fencible men, so he was either Duncan Moon in Drumnacrich or Duncan Moon in Toldunie.

John Moon and Janet Stewart in Over Drumnacrich had a son Duncan baptised (Blair Atholl OPR, 3rd July 1739). This appears to be their only child and, presumably, was named after the paternal grandfather as was the tradition. So, this Moon family tree is thought to be:

John in East Mains b ~1648 (46y in 1694, Hearth Tax, 57y in 1705, Fencible Roll);
His son was:
Duncan in Drumnacrich b ~1676 (18y in 1694, so living at home and not paying Hearth Tax, 29y in 1705, Fencible Roll);
His son was:
John in Drumnacrich b ~1705 (27y in 1732, marriage to Janet Stewart);
His son was:
Duncan b 3rd July 1739

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John Moon in East Mains of Blair

John Moon was born around 1648 and was living at the East Mains of Blair by 1694 when he would have been about 46 years old. He seems to have been combining farming with work as a wright. He was 57 years old by the time of the 1705 Fencible Roll and had at least one son, Duncan, with whom he was working as a wright.

John Moon probably died by 1714 in his mid-sixties, as he is not mentioned in 1714 when £4 Scots was paid to Robert Stewart and George Moon, late possessors of part of the East Mains, as the value of the land taken from them for the building of an avenue from Blair Castle down beside the Hercules Park to the river. Although the clearance of the farms surrounding Blair Castle to develop a parkland is normally cited as starting in the 1730s, it is clear that this process had already begun over ten years earlier.

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(Generation 2) The Children of John Moon in East Mains of Blair

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Duncan Moon, wright in Drumnacrich

Apart from the fact that Duncan Moon worked with his father as a wright, very little else is known about him. He probably was about 29 years old when the Fencible Roll was drawn up in 1705 and was listed as a tenant in Drumnacrich. Two years later the Atholl Estate rental roll shows that he sharing a 1 merk land with Patrick Stewart. Drumnacrich was wadsett to Robert Stewart, wadsetter of Ardkincael in 1725 and, as a consequence, the subsequent rental details were not recorded.

Duncan seems to inherited some money from his father as the Testament Dative (personal estate settlement) of John Stewart, merchant in Blair, dated 1714 shows that Duncan Moon in Blair had lent John Stewart 100 merks, which needed to be repaid.

The name of Duncan's wife in unknown but they had a son, John, born around 1705 and named after his paternal grandfather.

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(Generation 3) The Children of Duncan Moon, wright in Drumnacrich

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John Moon and Janet Stewart in Over (Cnoc) Drumnacrich

John Moon and Janet Stewart in Over Drumnacrich had a son, Duncan, baptised 3rd July 1739.

It would seem that John only paid for the baptism of his eldest son to be entered in the Blair Atholl OPR. However, the marriages of Ann and John point to them as being further children of the couple.

By the early 1770s there were two settlements at Drumnacrich: Cnoc Drumnacrich and Nether Drumnacrich. One half of Cnoc Drumnacrich was tenanted by Donald Stewart, while the other half had three tenants: John Gow, John Forbes and Duncan Moon. The last tenant was Duncan Moon jnr. who took over the lease of Cnoc of Drumnacrich when his father died. Duncan remained unmarried and looked after his widowed mother. He died by 1782 but the lease on Cnoc of Drumnacrich was retained by widow Moon and Isobel Gow from 1782 until 1788, after which time the settlement was cleared and made into the Lagandow Park of Blairuachdar.

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(Generation 4) The Children of John Moon and Janet Stewart in Over Drumnacrich

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Alexander Graham and Anne Moon in Blairuachdar

The marriage of this couple appears in the OPRs of both Moulin and Blair Atholl.

Moulin OPR, 15th February 1768
Alexander Graham in this parish and Anne Moon in the parish of Blair being legally booked were married March 4th.

Blair Atholl OPR, 4th March 1768
Alexander Graham in Knoch, Strathgarry, (Moulin parish) and Anne Moon in Cnoc Drumnacriach, married.

There were, at least, three children from this marriage: Donald who was born at West Park of Blair; Elspeth who was born at Upper Drumnacrich; and Christian who was born at Blairuachdar. The entry for Elspeth also mentions that Alexander Graham was a soldier in the 42nd Regiment of Foot. As there were no more childen for another 9 years, he made have been with the Regiment serving abroad. It may also explain why Ann Moon returned to her parental home to give birth to her second child. So Anne's connection with Cnoc (Over) Drumnacrich extended from her marriage in March 1768 until at least April 1775, and John Moon in Cnock of Drumnacrich married Christian McIntyre in Blair Atholl on 31st January 1780.

(Generation 5) The Children of Alexander Graham and Anne Moon in Blairuachdar