James Telfer
Biography
Role: Eldest son of James Telfer (1761–1845) — stayed in Scotland when his brother Francis emigrated
Born: 1796 — Castleton, Roxburghshire, Scotland
Died: 1863 — Castleton, Scottish Borders, Scotland
Spouse: Elizabeth Beattie (1802–1891) (m. ~1825)
Father: James Telfer (1761–1845)
Mother: Elizabeth Hutton Telfer (1774–1853)
"In Memory of James Telfer who died at Falside 9th Decr. 1863 aged 67 years." — Headstone inscription, Southdean Churchyard
Family
| Relation | Name |
|---|---|
| Spouse | Elizabeth Beattie (1802–1891) |
| Father | James Telfer (1761–1845) |
| Mother | Elizabeth Hutton Telfer (1774–1853) |
| Brother | Francis Telfer (1809–1895) — emigrated to SA |
| Son | James Telfer (1829–1913) |
| Daughter | Elizabeth Beattie Telfer (1832–1896) — m. Dillon |
| Son | Robert Telfer (1835–1907) |
| Son | John Telfer (1840–1913) |
| Son | Adam Francis Telfer (1842–1925) |
Life Summary
James Telfer was born in 1796 at Castleton, Roxburghshire, the eldest of eight children of James Telfer and Elizabeth "Betty" Hutton. He married Elizabeth Beattie around 1825 and stayed in Scotland when his younger brother Francis emigrated to South Australia in 1838.
James and Elizabeth farmed in the Liddesdale/Castleton area, where they raised at least five children. Their descendants continued in the Scottish Borders region.
Children
No children are named on the Southdean headstone. The inscription on memorial 179710779 names only the couple — "In MEMORY of JAMES TELFER who died at Falside 9th Decr. 1863 aged 66 years. Also ELIZABETH BEATTIE who died at Jedburgh 9th Decr 1891 aged 88 years." All 27 Southdean Churchyard Telfer memorials were checked on 13 September 2026: none lists a set of seven children for this man.
CORRECTION (13 September 2026). This line previously claimed "The headstone inscription at Southdean Churchyard lists seven children by name (Elizabeth, James, Margaret, Jean, Robert, John, Adam)." That claim was false. The stone names no children at all — the seven-child list is the memorial page's database "Children" field, not stone text, and the page's own quotation of the inscription (see above) never contained it. The false claim is the sole origin of the "the headstone omits Agnes" argument carried on cards tk-682dd321c491, tk-0326cb1584c25847 and tw-2026-09-13-016. Do not rely on it.
The children are instead established from the two family books, which agree on eight: James (1829), Ellen (1831), Elizabeth (1832), Margaret (1832 twin), Bellie (1836), Robert (1837), John (1840), Adam Francis (1842). The 1841 census at Shaw, Jedburgh adds Isabella (age ~4). A Brief Account of the Telfer Family (1986) records the difficulty directly: "It has been difficult to obtain reliable information concerning their family, as the children, with the exception of the youngest son, Adam, were apparently not baptised." Because this family has no baptism records, a child who died in infancy would leave no trace at all — which is why an unrecorded child cannot be either confirmed or excluded.
Note: the "up to 11 children" figure that appeared in earlier drafts of this page referred to a different household (George & Jeanette Telfer) and has been removed.
| Child | Born | Died | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Telfer | 12 August 1829 (Hermitage Castle, Liddesdale) | 6 Jul 1913 (Port Lincoln SA) | Emigrated to South Australia. Buried Happy Valley Cemetery. First son — b. 1829 not 1828; see James Telfer (1829–1913) (birth date corrected to 12 Aug 1829). |
| Margaret Telfer | ~1829 (Roxburghshire) | Listed in 1841 census, Shaw, Jedburgh. Margaret Telfer (1829–?) | |
| Elizabeth "Betty" Telfer | ~1832 (Roxburghshire) | 17 Feb 1896 (Norwood SA) | Married John Charles Dillon (1827–1906). |
| Robert Telfer | 1835 (Roxburghshire) | 14 Jan 1907 (Mount Gambier SA) | Emigrated to South Australia. Married Susan Burton Telfer (1844–1924). Buried Lake Terrace Cemetery, Mount Gambier. |
| Isabella Telfer | ~1837 (Roxburghshire) | Listed in 1841 census. Isabella Telfer (1837–?) | |
| John Telfer | ~1840 (Roxburghshire) | 5 Jan 1913 (Tantanoola SA) | Emigrated to South Australia. Married (1) Martha Allen, (2) Martha Henstridge. 15 children. Buried Tantanoola Cemetery. |
| Adam Telfer | ~1842 (Roxburghshire) | 12 Jan 1925 (Mitcham SA) | Emigrated to South Australia. Married Margaret Dougal Telfer. Adam Francis Telfer (1842–1925). |
| Jean Telfer | Listed on headstone only. | ||
| Agnes Telfer | ~1848 | Per vault records. Agnes Telfer (1848–?) |
Family Stories
James Telfer was the first child of James and Betty Telfer, born at Greenholm in 1796. He married Elizabeth Beattie around 1830 and stayed in Scotland as the eldest brother, while Francis set off for South Australia. Four of James's sons and one daughter would eventually follow their uncle across the world in later years.
Getting reliable records of James and Elizabeth's family has been a challenge. The children — with the exception of the youngest, Adam — were apparently never baptised, which suggests the family attended a non-conformist church during those years. Many births simply weren't registered because of a government tax of one shilling, which was a significant amount of money at the time.
The 1851 Jedburgh Census shows James as a 52-year-old agricultural labourer born in Roxburghshire, living with his wife Betty (48), and their children Ellen (19, servant), Bellie (14, servant), John (13, scholar) and Adam (9, scholar). Also in the household were Robert Beattie, a 77-year-old widower labourer (likely Elizabeth's father), and a nephew also named Robert Beattie, aged 11. James, Robert, Elizabeth and Margaret were already out of the home by then. The same census lists a Robert Telfer, aged 16, agricultural labourer, born Newcastleton, living at Falside Stable — this would have been James and Elizabeth's son Robert.
James Telfer died at 4pm on 9th December, 1863, at his dwelling house at Falside, Southdean, Roxburghshire. The cause was injuries he received from being squeezed between the shafts of a cart and a granary wall. His youngest son Adam reported the death. Elizabeth died on 28th December, 1891, at the age of 89, from "natural decay" — a quiet end after a long life.
(From the Borders to the Bush, pp. 188)
⚠️ Disambiguation — a SECOND James Telfer lives in this valley
Added 2026-09-13. A different man of the same name is a documented resident of the same
parish, married to a woman whose surname is also Beattie. Grepping `James Telfer` +
`Beattie` returns him, not us. He is better documented than we are and has published
works, a Find a Grave memorial and a WikiTree profile, so he is the easier find.
He is NOT this James. Do not merge any of his records onto this page.
| THIS JAMES (ours) | THE OTHER JAMES | |
|---|---|---|
| Born | 1796 | 3 December 1800, Oxnam, Scottish Borders |
| Died | 9 December 1863, Falside, Southdean | 18 January 1862, Castleton (aged 61) |
| Buried | Southdean Churchyard | Old Castleton Cemetery, Newcastleton |
| Occupation | Agricultural labourer | Schoolmaster at Saughtree; poet and novelist |
| Wife | Elizabeth Beattie (1802–1891) | Janet Beattie (1802–1889) |
| Father | James Telfer (1761–1845) | John Telfer (1781–1860) |
| Mother | Elizabeth "Betty" Hutton (1774–1853) | Isabella Taylor (stepmother Anne Davidson / Ann Davison) |
| Children | Adam Francis Telfer (1842–1925) and 7 others | Catherine Lillico "Christine" Telfer (1835–1909), Janet Armstrong Telfer (1839–1911) |
| Find a Grave | memorial 179710779 | memorial 162842430 |
| WikiTree | Telfer-149 | Telfer family under John Telfer (1781–1860) |
How to tell them apart in one glance
- Ours married Elizabeth. The other married Janet.
- Ours was a labourer. The other was a schoolmaster.
- Ours died 1863 at Falside. The other died 1862 and is buried at Old Castleton.
- Our father is James. The other's father is John.
(Scottish Indexes, house 78401002)
shows James Telfer, Head, age 60, Schoolmaster, born Roxburgh, Oxnam, with **Janet Telfer
(Other name: Beattie), Wife, age 64, born Roxburgh, Castleton**. Age 60 in 1861 gives a birth
of about 1800 — not our 1796 — and that household is the other man's.
*(Recorded while resolving card `tw-2026-09-13-017`. An earlier attempt during the same session
ran the 1851 and 1861 censuses against the wrong James and read a conclusion off them; that
conclusion is void and is logged in `work/Leads.md` as a warning.)*
Newspaper References
- 1841 Scotland Census: Household recorded at Shaw, Jedburgh, Roxburghshire as James Telford (40), Elizabeth Telford (30), Margaret (12), James (11), Betty (9), Robert (7), Isabella (4), John (1). Surname variant "Telford" used.
Sources
- Source: Donald Telfer, From the Borders to the Bush (ISBN 0 7316 6387 X), pp. 19–20 — extract via vision_analyze 18 June 2026
- Find a Grave: James Telfer — memorial 179710779, Southdean Churchyard; headstone photo with full inscription. Accessed 24 May 2026.
- WikiTree: James Telfer (Telfer-149) — parents, spouse, children. Accessed 24 May 2026.
- 1841 Scotland Census via FindMyPast (cited by WikiTree Telfer-150). Accessed 24 May 2026.
Photos
Tags
Spouse
- Elizabeth Beattie (1802 – 1891)
Parents
- Elizabeth Hutton Telfer (1774 – 1853)
- James Telfer (1761 – 1845)
Children
- Adam Francis Telfer (1842 – 1925)
- Elizabeth Beattie Telfer (1832 – 1896)
- Isabella Telfer (1837 – ?)
- James Telfer (1829 – 1913)
- John Telfer (1840 – 1913)
- Margaret Telfer (1829 – ?)
- Robert Telfer (1835 – 1907)
Siblings
- Adam Telfer (1799 – ?)
- Francis Telfer (1809 – 1895)
- Isobel Telfer (1798 – ?)
- John Telfer (1805 – 1839)
- Margaret Telfer (1801 – ?)
- Robert Telfer (1803 – 1878)
- William Telfer (1811 – ?)