Never stop trying – there is hope for everyone with their brick walls because after over 30 years of researching I broke through mine and made the connection to my Fife Coal Mining ancestors.  My maiden name is Pryde and I have been researching my family history since 1994.   I knew my father, Joseph Anthony Pryde (1909 – 1985), was born in England although his parents were from Wales and the family returned to Wales soon after my father was born.  My father and grandfather, Richard Pryde (1885 – 1966), were colliers, living and working in the village attached to Llay Main Colliery, near Wrexham, which in its time was the largest colliery in Wales, from the 1920s until it closed in 1966. 

My research found that my great-grandfather, Alexander Pryde (1847 – 1927), was born in Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland.  Further investigation  proved that Alexander was descended from a long line of colliers from Scotland and over the years I was able to compile a line of ancestry going back to my six times great-grandparents, James Pride and Helen Selkirk, who raised their family in Prestonpans, East Lothian, Scotland with eight known children being born between 1705 and 1721.  The family is well-documented in a Journal of the Management of the Coall and Salt Works, Prestongrange 1745 – 1748 which contains an Inventory that lists the family names and groupings of the workmen and women who were the property of and worked for the Laird of Prestongrange at that time.   

From an examination of the Old Parish Registers relating to their children and other potential family members, and in particular from the witnesses named on the relevant baptism records, I was able to ascertain that James probably had a sister Elizabeth, who was married to Robert Lumsden/Lumsdale.  It is also likely that James was related to John Pride and Christian Pride, who were married at Prestonpans in 1693.  They would either both be cousins to James, or one a cousin and one a sibling.  James was a witness to the last child born to John and Christian Pride, namely Agnes baptised at Prestonpans in 1705.  This would indicate that James only arrived in Prestonpans circa 1704, when his first child was baptised, whereas John and Christian were in Prestonpans some ten years earlier.

By  2015. although I had not been able to find any likely parents for James Pride, I had expanded the family a great deal with over 22,000 persons in my database, with just under 8,000 of those being direct descendants of James Pride and Helen Selkirk.  So in that year I self-published a book named A Pride and Prydes, which sold out within a month, so I later made this available on Amazon and it still sells today.

After its publication I continued with my research, and although I had still not found parents for James, in 2025 I decided to write a follow-up edition and as part of my research for this I read many Volumes of the Prestonpans Kirk Session minutes.  Therein I found an intriguing entry relating to John Pride and Christian Pride and this sent me on a new line of enquiry.   

The entry was dated 19^th March 1693, as follows:-

“At the forsaid day Compeared before this Session according to citation John Pride Collier, and Christian Pride coal bearer to the Laird of Preston graing and also confessed and acknowledged yr mutual fornication and in regard they were both Strangers, and wanted Testimonials, they were deferred and delayed until the next Session day and appointed to get Testificats from the respective Parochians qu they last resided betwixt and that time.”

And then on the 26^th March 1693:-

“Ib [Ibid] this day Compeared according to appointments John and Christian Prides, and, in regard, (as they alleged they darst not return to the Paroch from when they had last come viz from the Weims, because of thr deserting thr work to gett testimonials, they brought along with them two Colliers Alexder Stuart, and William Duncan to testify before the Session, that they were both free, single unmarried persons, free of any Scandal before this time offering themselves alsoe Cautioners for them, that they should Satisfie for thr Scandal according to Law and Order, but in regard, that they lying under the Scandal, and in fornication, and cohabiting together a twelve Moneth.”

The Kirk Session were requiring a Testimonial from John and Christian Pride, who were regarded as strangers moving into the area.   This testimonial would be supplied by the Kirk Session where they had previously resided – which is this case was Weems, or Wemyss as we now call it.

A further search of the Minutes revealed a number of references to James Pride over the years, showing him in the main part to be sober and respected, but there was one incident which showed bad behaviour.   These entries started on 25^th January 1719 until 3^rd May 1719 and they outlined James’s involvement in a Saturday night toolzie (Toolzie – Tulyie – Quarrel, fight or scuffle. Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004).   It stated that James had gone to the defence of his sister Elizabeth who was in a quarrel with her neighbours.   This is the first actual confirmation that James and Elizabeth were siblings.  The names of many of those involved were also shown and these include the Lumsdales, Imries, Redpaths and McEwens.  These were all neighbours to James, most were co-workers and some were related by marriage.

Armed with this information I turned my attention to the church records for Wemyss and found a James Pryd, baptised at Wemyss on the 18^th November 1681, together with a sister Elspet, amongst other siblings, baptised 5 January 1684.   James and Elspet were recorded as the children of John Pryd and Elspet Dicksone who were married at Wemyss on the 18^th August 1676.  James and Elspet also had a sibling John baptised at Wemyss on 18^th October 1691, so sadly too young to be the John Pride who married Christian Pride in 1693, nor was there a sibling named Christian.

I then undertook a search of the Wemyss Kirk Session minutes and found a reference to John Pryd.   This was an entry dated 18^th March 1709 which stated:-

“The Salters and Colliers in the east ground called none compeared Save John Oswald who pretended right to the Colliers mortcloath which he bought 20 years agoe from Jo:Pride.”

In support of increasing belief that James Pride was from Wemyss I investigated the other relevant persons mentioned in the Kirk Session minutes for Prestonpans and found that Alexander Stuart and William Duncan, who testified to the behaviour of John and Christian Pride in March 1693,  were both originally from Wemyss.   This is not unexpected given that John Pride, himself from Wemyss, had cited them to testify for him.  Alexander Stuart had married Janet Black in Wemyss in 1685 and they had a child baptised there in 1688 and another child baptised in Prestonpans in 1694.  William Duncan had married Katherine Lindsay at Wemyss in 1685 and had a child baptised there in 1688 and they had another child baptised in Prestonpans in 1693.   This would suggest that these three men, namely John Pride, Alexander Stuart and William Duncan, and their families, all moved from Wemyss circa 1693.

There is rather shocking incident outlined in the Prestonpans Kirk Session minutes which would give further support to this movement of colliers from Wemyss to Prestonpans.  There are a number of entries relating to John Williamson, who is referred to as a “Gardener in the Graing”.  He married Jean Nisbet at Prestonpans in 1710 and he was brought before the Session many times to answer to the charge of wife-beating, which he always denied.   This commenced September 1719 and continued frequently thereafter.   When the same charge was made again on 6^th November 1720 James Pride was called as witness on 13^th November 1720.  Time precluded the evidence from  James Pride and other witnesses being heard but John Williamson was arrested and detained in Edinburgh Tolbooth for seven months before being released.  However, within two months of being released he again came to the attention of the Kirk Session, this time on a more serious matter.

On the 3^rd September 1721 John Williamson was called before the Session as he had been accused by one Janet Hutchie who was hanged at Edinburgh on the 30^th August 1721 having been found guilty of the murder of her newly born child.   Her confession to this crime was issued as a broadsheet and in it she named John Williamson as the father of the child, and also accused him of urging her to murder the child whilst not taking part in the actual act itself.    Janet also said that she was born in the Weems and that she came to Prestonpans with her parents when she was a child.  I found that Janet Hutchie was baptised in Wemyss in 1691, daughter of Thomas Hutchie and Isobell Stewart who were married in Wemyss in 1675, they had nine children all born in Wemyss between 1675 and 1695.  At least two of these children raised a family in Prestonpans.  (Despite many attempts to bring John Williamson to confess his crimes he was never brought to justice).  He did abscond from the area for a while and when he returned he continued to be accused of wife-beating, the last mention being March 1726.

Given the above, and additional information not included in this article,  I am confident to advocate that the parents of James Pride were indeed John Pryd and Elspet Dicksone thus, after over 30 years of searching, finally  leading me to my Fife ancestry.

After completing my research I published A Pride of Prydes Volume 2 later last year and it is this Volume 2 that outlines the Fife research links in more-depth.   The book can be found at Amazon – together with Volume 1.

I am happy to share what information I have about the persons named above and any other cohorts of James Pride, and welcome any communication from other interested researchers.  I would like to believe that there is a lot more information to found out there about my Fife relations – the search continues.   Breaking through one brick wall creates another!

Eve Pryde-Roberts

evepryderoberts@hotmail.com