John Telfer (of Castleton)

John Telfer was a Scottish farmer from Castleton parish, Roxburghshire, in the Liddesdale valley. He is the earliest confirmed ancestor in the direct Telfer line.

Vital Details

• Born: ~1715–1735 (estimated — exact date unknown), Castleton, Roxburghshire, Scotland
• Died: Unknown
• Spouse: Elspeth Young (m. unknown, ~1750s)
• Occupation: Likely farmer or shepherd in Castleton parish

Known Children

Child	Born/Baptised	Notes
James Telfer (1761–1845)	Baptised 14 Jul 1761, Castleton	Baptised to John Telfer & Elspeth Young at Castleton. Married Betty Hutton (1776–1853). Father of Francis Telfer (1809–1895).

Note: Other children may exist — the Castleton OPRs (1697–1819) are on microfilm at FamilySearch (batch C11865-1) and ScotlandsPeople but have not been fully searched for this family.

Family Stories

De-duplicated 2026-08-30: The Douglas Square / Newcastleton home-place narrative (sheep through the main street, shepherd world, emigration) is told in full on the profile where it is primary-verified — James Telfer (1761–1845), baptised at Castleton 1761. That story belongs to his life and place; this page carries only John's verified facts.

The home parish — Castleton, Roxburghshire

The Telfer home parish was Castleton, Roxburghshire — the village now called Newcastleton (given the "New" in 1793, when the Duke of Buccleuch founded it as a planned town). Castleton parish is in the Liddesdale valley. John lived in this parish, and his son James was baptised there on 14 July 1761 (Castleton OPR, FamilySearch batch C11865-1).

Photo reference: Newcastleton Douglas Square (main street, p.9) — a historic plate from the book illustrating the home village. Filed in `Family History/People/Photos/`, copy on Google Drive `Photos/Places & Objects/`. The full story and use of this photo live on James Telfer (1761–1845).
Source: (From the Borders to the Bush, p.9)

Sources

• FamilySearch IGI: Batch C11865-1 (Castleton OPR) — James Telfer baptised 14 Jul 1761, Castleton, Roxburghshire; parents John Telfer & Elspeth Young. Source call number 1067953. Accessed June 2026.
• James Telfer vault profile: James Telfer (1761–1845)

⚠️ Research Gaps

• No birth or baptism record found for John Telfer. The Castleton OPR begins in 1697; John may appear in it, but this requires a direct search of the registers.
• No marriage record found for John Telfer & Elspeth Young. The Castleton marriage registers begin in 1759 — they may have married just before this date or in a different parish.
• No death or burial record found for John Telfer or Elspeth Young.
• Parents unknown — the next generation back is unconfirmed. Likely Telfer families in Castleton include William Telfer, George Telfer, and James Telfer — but no direct link has been established.

✅ LEAD — upgraded by identification (2026-09-01): 'Adam Telfer' of Redmoss in the 1802 Castleton Militia List is most likely Adam Telfer (1771–1846) of Sorbietrees. The 1802 Liddesdale/Castleton Militia List (Roxburghshire; Relatively Scottish transcription, © 2020) records the single Telfer in the parish: No. 84 — Adam Telfer, at Redmoss, shepherd, aged 18–45 → born ~1757–1784. This is NOT James's son (Adam bap. 18 Oct 1799 — that Adam was ~2–3 in 1802), and NOT a son of John Telfer of Castleton. It matches, by name + parish + age (b.~1771, age ~31 in 1802) + shepherd/Border-farm livelihood, the Sorbietrees-branch Adam Telfer (1771–1846) — son of James Telfer of Sorbietrees & Margaret Armstrong, brother of Francis (1768–1836) and Jenet (1770–1842), commemorated on the Castleton Cemetery headstone (d. 6 Feb 1846, aged 75; From the Borders to the Bush pp.17–19). Two sources (militia list + headstone/book) agree on existence and parish; the only unproved link is that the militia "Redmoss" record IS specifically this Adam of Sorbietrees (occupation "shepherd" and the Sorbietrees/Redmoss steading proximity support it). Treat as probable identification, still flagged pending any record tying "Adam Telfer" to the Redmoss steading (e.g. estate/heritor or OPR cross-reference). Original 2026-09-01 hypothesis (a possible extra son of John of Castleton) is REVISED in favour of this Sorbietrees identification. NOTE: an earlier sibling-link contamination in the wiki data (people.json) wrongly listed this Sorbietrees Adam & Francis as siblings of John of Castleton's son James Telfer (1761–1845) — that is the very same-name conflation flagged in James's profile and is being fixed separately.