HOPE FAMILIES OF TWEEDSMUIR PARISH PEEBLESSHIRE.
The following is taken from the book by James Watson, Peeblesshire and its Outland Borders, published in 1908. All these farms and Hawkshaw, were for nearly two hundred years tenanted by Hopes. John Hope of Badlieu, who lived in the last half of the seventeenth century, is the earlies known member of the family. They were all ardent Covenanters, as was to be expected, from their living beside the high mountains , with their precipitious rocks, concealed caves, and water cleft ravines, which gave shelter to many of the fugitivies who had fled from the Battle of Bothwell Bridge. The Hopes, Hunters of Polmood, Tweedies of Hearthstane and Kingledors, and the Welshes of Corehead and Mossfennan seem to have intermarried frequently; but few of their male descendants are left to witness to their prevalence here.
My genealogical research has revealed the presence of six Hope families in Tweedsmuir Parish from the seventeenth/eighteenth century to their disappearance from the parish records in modern times. Links to the six family trees follow, namely of - Hope of Hawkshaw (TWM-01), Hope of Tweedsmuir & Lamington (TWM-02), Hope-Bell of Fruid (TWM-03) Hope of Glenbreck (TWM-04), Hope of Nether Menzion (TWM-05) and Hope of Nether Oliver (TWM06). It is possible that two or three of the families may be related but due to the surname being very common in the south of Scotland they may all be independent - however genealogical DNA testing may in due course prove otherwise! The earliest Hope that I have so far unearthed is Thomas Hope of Over Oliver who married Agnes Tweedie in 1663 - see TWM-06 below. Another early Hope is John Hope of Hawkshaw 1693-1778. - TWM-01. This John must be the son or grandson of Hope the Covenanter of Hawkshaw. There are other Hopes in Tweedsmuir recorded in the late seventeenth century that so far have not been linked - mainly due to the patchy nature of these records - to the trees mentione above.
For more about the Covenanters see page Covenanters in Upper Tweed.
TWM 01 - JOHN HOPE OF HAWKSHAW - USA, NZ, Canada, Br Guiana,
TWM 02 - HOPE OF TWEEDSMUIR & LAMINGTON. - Br. Guiana and Australia
TWM 03 - HOPE-BELL OF FRUID - Canada.
TWM 04 - ROBERT HOPE OF GLENBRECK.
TWM 05 - ALISON HOPE OF NETHER MENZION.
TWM 06 - THOMAS HOPE OF OVER OLIVER.