Friday 9 August 2024

Wilson of Maryville

THOMAS WILSON, of Croglin, said to have been son of John Wilson of Croglin, of an old-established family in Dumfriesshire, had a sister, Christian, married to Gilbert Grierson.

Mr Wilson wedded Agnes Grierson, and died in 1571, leaving issue,
MATTHEW, of Croglin;
Michael;
Janet; Katherine; Malic.
The elder son,

MATTHEW WILSON, of Croglin, Dumfriesshire, died about 1612, leaving two sons,
JOHN, his heir;
Thomas, merchant burgess of Edinburgh.
The elder son,

JOHN WILSON JP, of Croglin, wedded firstly, in 1610, Margaret, daughter of Robert, 1st Lord Dalzell, and died before 1641, having had issue,
JOHN, his heir;
Susanna, m 1626 John Sitlington, of Stanehouse;
Anne, m John Stewart, of Drumbeg.
He espoused secondly, Helen Maxwell, and had issue,
JAMES, of whom presently;
George;
Robert;
Jean.
The eldest son,

JOHN WILSON, of Croglin, Commissioner of War for Dumfriesshire, 1643-9, married firstly, _____ Halliday; and secondly, the daughter of _____ Gordon, and had a son,

WILLIAM WILSON, of Croglin.

His direct lineal descendant,

WALTER WILSON, of Croglin (which was sold owing to losses sustained through the failure of the Bank of Ayr), wedded, in 1795, his cousin Jane, daughter of Robert Stewart, of Drumbeg, County Antrim, and through her became possessed of Maryville, Belfast.

He died in 1807, having had issue,
Robert Gordon, died young;
ALEXANDER GEORGE, his heir;
Walter, died young;
Mary Isabella.
The only surviving son,

ALEXANDER GEORGE WILSON (1797-1856), of Maryville, married, in 1837, Emily Lawrence, daughter of the Rev Charles Boyd, Rector of Magheradroll, by Emilia Juliana Theresa, his wife, daughter of Colonel Thomas Dawson Lawrence, of Lawrencetown, County Down, and had issue,
WALTER HENRY, his heir;
Alexander Basil (1846-1913), of Maryville, Malone, Belfast;
Emily Lawrence.
The elder son,

WALTER HENRY WILSON JP (1839-1904), of Maryville, and Cranmore, married, in 1875, Sarah Elizabeth, eldest daughter and co-heir of James Owen Wynne, of Hazelwood, County Sligo, and had issue,
ALEXANDER GEORGE, his heir;
Marion Emily; Lilian Lawrence; Florence Stewart;
Dorothy Gladys; Mary Wynnefred Kathleen.
His son and heir,

ALEXANDER GEORGE WILSON JP (1876-1959), of Maryville and Cranmore, Lieutenant, Army Motor Reserve, educated at Harrow, succeeded in 1904.

*****

THE Wilson family home was Maryville, off the Malone Road.

Maryville originally belonged to the wealthy Stewart family of Ballydrain.

One member of the Stewart family built Maryville and Myrtlefield; another built Macedon.

Maryville was located close to the junction of Malone Road and Stranmillis Road.


It was located at the site of the present Osborne Park Playing Fields, opposite Bladon Park and Bladon Drive.

Maryville might originally have been a farm and it stretched from Malone Road to the present Lisburn Road at Cranmore House.



Cranmore House in 1888

Walter Wilson subsequently purchased Cranmore House and turned it into a fernery.

This part of Belfast was developing rapidly and, in 1900, Mr Wilson took a twenty-year lease of Belvoir Park, Newtownbreda, from Lord Deramore.

Mr Wilson was a partner with Lord Pirrie in the Belfast shipyard, Harland and Wolff.

His first marital home was 1, Botanic Avenue, Belfast.

Thereafter he rented Stranmillis House prior to leasing Belvoir.

The Wilsons' lease on Belvoir Park was terminated in 1918.

WILLIAM III is said to have rested at Cranmore, near Maryville, en route to Belfast, and the tree where his horse was tied is still growing.

Cranmore was formerly called Orange Grove and was inhabited by the Eccles family.

First published in February, 2012.

2 comments :

Anonymous said...

Tim, this is interesting. You may have seen this article already, but it could offer some inspiration on the other houses of Belfast's suburbs: http://www.libraryireland.com/Belfast-History/Some-Old-Country-Houses.php

W.

Demetrius said...

The Wikipedia article on the Credit Crisis Of 1772 deals with the failure of the Ayr Bank. It is a little known but crucial part of the history of the 18th Century. Also, it impacted on many other people very seriously. Check out Arnold Nesbitt and the Mrs. Thrale of Dr. Johnson fame.