The Davidson and Christie Section

Davidson is a name with some very ancient historical connections to Perth where we know our family lived for over 200 years. Probably the most famous incident took place here on the North Inch 600 years ago. Feuding between the Davidsons and the Macphersons (who were both clans in a large confederation that was Clan Chattan) became so bad that in 1396 the King of Scotland, Robert II, decided to hold a bizarre staged battle to settle the differences. Thirty men from each side fought to the death in gladiator style. They fought with swords, axes and maces until there were eleven Macphersons and one Davidson left. The story goes that this last Davidson ran off, jumped into the nearby River Tay and swam to safety.

Unfortunately, we can't go back that far, at the moment we are only back to 1775 with the birth of my g-g-g-grandfather, John.

From John until the present day all these ancestors were born in Perth, with the exception of one girl from the Borders (Agnes Purvis, 1801-1861).

The Christies too had been in Perth for at least 200 years and in 1887 my g-grandfather Henry Davidson married Susannah Christie. Again all Susannah’s ancestors were born in Perth except her grandfather (Cornelius McCormack) who came from Ireland sometime before 1825.

Unlike our Ruthven branch, there is no discernible family trade in the Davidson branch of the family as the men were a thatcher, a plasterer and a steam engine fitter. The two Christie men, however, were both cabinet makers.