All the above spellings of the name appear in various registers for her. However, I have taken Cuthel to be the primary spelling (as far as our family is concerned) as it is the spelling on her son Robert's birth registry entry. Cuthill is the spelling on her tombstone, sofar as it can be made out, and Cuthell seems to be the spelling in the parish death and burial records.
The following information comes from my grandfather's (Claud Leonard Broun) writings:
"My great-great-grandmother, known as 'Granny Broun', was something of an Edinburgh character; she lived to be a hundred, dying in 1828; and as a girl of seventeen she took part in the welcome to Prince Charles Edward, and I think danced at the ball at Holyrood in September 1745. My maternal grand-father well remembered being introduced as a small boy to the awesome old lady, and her remark, 'Aye, laddie, ye've a braw sappy hand'."
And from an earlier set of writings:
"My great-great-grandfather married a lady who at the age of 17 took part in the welcome extended to Prince Charles Edward in 1745. She lived to the age of 100, dying in 1828. My grandfather Wyld remembered being introduced as a small boy to this old lady, whom he knew as 'Grannie Broun'."
I found a (mistranscribed or misprinted) monumental inscription for North Leith Graveyard, plot 3 which stated:
Jean CUTHILL widow of James Brown merchant in Linlithgow d. 28 April 1854 a. 100; her s. Robert BROWN merchant Leith d. 17 Apr 1740 a. 70.
As it stands this is impossible, but if we change the date of Robert Brown to 1840, then this ties in as he died 17 Apr 1840. The death date for Jean Cuthill is too late - she would have been only 10 years old when married, the marriage taking place in Edinburgh in 1764. The marriage was given as "irregular". I am told that this probably means that it was not a regular Church of Scotland marriage but possibly Episcopalian or Roman Catholic. (I am convinced that this is the correct marriage as the family of that couple have Christian names that coincide with Robert Brown's children - at least the ones I have found sofar).
Someone who visited the grave for me said it was very hard to read. However, she said that Robert Brown definitely died in 18-something, not 17-something. It looked like 1810 which could easily be 1840 with the horizontal and diagonal components of the 4 worn away.
Having recently checked the death and burial records for North Leith Parish the Monumental Inscription probably should read:
Jean CUTHELL widow of James Brown merchant in Linlithgow d. 28 April 1834 a. 100; her s. Robert BROWN merchant Leith d. 17 Apr 1840 a. 70.
She was buried on the 2nd May 1834. James Brown was described in the death and burial records as a Falkirk merchant. Robert Brown was buried on the 22md April 1840.
The only plausible entry in the Scottish registers for her birth is a christening recorded 16th June 1734 to John Cuthel and Bessie Hay in Falkirk. I dont have a date of birth for her. There is another girl of the same name shown as christened to the same couple (John Cuthell and Elizabeth Hay) in August 1727. As she may well not have been Church of Scotland, it seems quite possible that her birth will not be in the main Scottish registers, but among the church records in the National Archives.
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