I am Scottish! It took a few years of research, but I recently found the baptism of my 4x great grandfather John Wait(e) (above). Two pages of this parish record confirmed my earlier research and revealed new information - my Scottish roots!
The first page shows that John Wait(e) was born on the 15th June 1765 - the son of David Wait(e) (c.1738-1793), a carpenter in Shoreditch, Middlesex. There are always surprises researching family history - this was a big one. John was baptised in The Scottish Church, London Wall,' in front of the Scottish congregation', on the 7th July 1765. (I have 18% Scottish DNA).
Reading through those two pages, I noticed the baptisms of David’s two other children, James (b.1766) and Elizabeth (b.1768). Elizabeth must have been ill because she was baptised just over a mile away, in her father's house near Shoreditch by Rev. Robert Lawson. Intriguingly, there is also the baptisms of the two children of James Waite, a Cooper, from New Inn Street in Shoreditch. Were they related? My research continues!
The Old Scots Church formerly met at Founder’s Hall, Lothbury and was the oldest Scottish church in London. Its origins are uncertain, but existing records take it back to the Restoration of Charles II.
John Wait(e) was baptised by Rev. Robert Lawson, the son of a minister of Closeburn in Dumfries, Scotland. Lawson was educated at Glasgow University and was invited to Lothbury in May 1752 to be a pastor. On the 29th July of that year he was ordained.
Robert Lawson was greatly respected preacher; his congregation at Founder’s Hall increased so much that they decided to build a larger meeting house on land at the upper end of Coleman Street near London Wall. Construction of the new Scot’s Church finished in the summer of 1764.
Lawson’s ministerial services continued for nearly seven years until one cold, snowy day he became ill while walking from his house in Hackney. He died on 24th April 1771.
