WINTON, Alexander (DNA Linked)

   Another name for Alexander was WINTON, Alexander Junior.²

  General Notes:

Old Parish Registers
St Cuthbert's Parish Edinburgh
Baptisms

"21 August 1778
Winton
Alexander Winton weaver at Water of Leith and Jean Brown his spouse had a son born Saturday the 8th last named Alexander witnesses John Watt and William Brown weavers at Water of Leith"

In his daughter, Jean's baptism record of 1815, Alexander Winton was recorded as 'Alexander Winton Weaver Water of Leith'.

In the 1822 baptism record and the 1823 death record of his son, Norman Pringle, in St Cuthbert's Parish, Edinburgh, Alexander Winton was recorded as a weaver in Water of Leith.

The 1841 census for St Cuthbert's parish, Midlothian, recorded three of the Winton family living at Dean Village, more precisely at 'Village Water of Leith Dam Side'. Alexander, the head of the household, lived there with his son, John (possible son, not stated as such), and his daughter, Jane, (1841 census did not state relationships). Alexander was a cotton handloom weaver and was aged 62 years. His birthplace was in the county of Midlothian.

Alexander was recorded as a silk weaver in the death certificate of his son and namesake, Alexander, in 1867 in Edinburgh.

The death certificate of his son, William, in 1874, noted that William's father, Alexander, was deceased, and had been a linen weaver.

Alexander Winton was a weaver, according to the death certificate of his son, James, in 1892. ^{1 3 4 5 6}

  Research Notes:

DEAN VILLAGE

Dean Village, one of Edinburgh's most ancient and picturesque villages, lies in the deep river valley of the Water of Leith beneath the tall arches of the Dean Bridge. It was originally the largest of Edinburgh's old milling settlements. The present Dean Village was once known as Water of Leith Village, whereas the Village of Dean was the name given to a separate, smaller community, on the north side of the valley, near the gates to the present Dean Cemetery.
Early habitation in the area was encouraged by the presence of a ford across the river and the suitability of riverside land for water-powered mills. Early spellings of the name are dene and denne, meaning a narrow valley. King David I's 12th century Charter of Foundation of Holyrood Abbey mentions 'One of my mills of Dene'. The Village was for long associated with the Incorporation of Baxters (bakers), who by the 17th century had 11 mills in the area. The Baxters' Tolbooth, their official meeting place, dates from the 17th century and stands on Bell's Brae.

By the 18th century there were three main 'caulds' or dams, holding back the river water allowing it to be diverted into artificial channels or 'lades', leading to the mills which they powered. The highest dam served Bell's Mills taking water from just north of the present Donaldson's College and directing it into the lade which still runs alongside the lower part of Belford Place. The next dam, just above the present Dean Village, diverted water into a lade that ran along Damside. The 'Great Cauld', just below West Mill, diverted water into a lade which served a number of mills as far as Canonmills over a mile away. The caulds are still visible today and have a considerable influence on the character of the river and the setting of Dean Village and its surrounding areas.

The prosperity and expansion of the first half of the 19th century resulted in the expansion of the Water of Leith Village and Dean Village. New industries were also developed in the area, including the Sunbury Distillery and Dean Tannery.

In the centre of the village is an 18th century single-arched stone bridge that once carried the old coaching route from Edinburgh to Queensferry. The West Mill, built in 1806 on the north bank of the river, is the only mill building still in existence. The road on the south bank of the river, called Miller Row, was originally lined with mills and other mainly industrial buildings. When Marr's Mill disappeared in the late 19th century, and Lindsay's Mill and a number of cottages in the 1930s, the close-built character of this bank was lost.

Telford's Dean Bridge across the deep ravine of the Water of Leith, completed in 1832, was built to carry the new turnpike road to Queensferry and to attract residents to Sir John Learmonth's proposed residential development immediately across the valley. Prior to this much of the traffic in the Queensferry direction dropped down Bell's Brae into the gorge and crossed the Water of Leith on the narrow, single-arched bridge. This removed most of the through traffic and had a significant effect on the environment of Dean Village. The 17th century Dean House to the north-west of Dean Village was demolished in 1840s to make way for Dean Cemetery.

Alexander married Janet GUILD (DNA Linked), daughter of William GOOLD and Ann YOUNG, on 7 December 1798 in Saint Cuthbert's parish, Edinburgh, Scotland. (Janet GUILD (DNA Linked) was born on 31 July 1778, baptised on 5 August 1778 in Edinburgh parish, Edinburgh, Scotland and died before 6 June 1841.)

  Marriage Notes:

Old Parish Registers
St Cuthbert's Parish Edinburgh

"Register of Marriages in 1798
December 7th
Winton and Guild

Alexander Winton Weaver Water of Leith & Janet Guild New Town, daughter of late William Guild Grassmarket gave up their names for proclamation of Banns Matrimonial One Sabbath" ⁷