Maria Robertson (née Innes)

Widow of James Robertson of Elgin (q.v.), and annuitant on Orange River estate. The will of Maria Robertson [presently residing at] No. 5 Torpichere Street Edinburgh[made in 1852] proved 27/07/1854 that of Maria Robertson the widow of James Robertson of Elgin. It refers to her house the College Elgin, and names a number of children - Alexander, Sophia, Anna, and Louisa - with names common to the known children of James Roberton of Elgin, and says that she had made a settlement of her property in 1845. The record of the death of Maria Robertson maiden name Innes 05/05/1854 showed her husband as James Robertson College Elgin.

1. Alexander Robertson, the son of Maria Robertson, was identified in her will as of the National Provincial Bank in London. He was Chief Accountant in 1846, and Joint General Manager in 1864.

2. Maria Robertson's will also identified her son-in-law Archibald Bonar as 'lately manager of the Edin. and Glasgow Bank' and alluded to financial problems he was facing, explaining that she forebore from leaving her daughter Sophia Bonar £200 in case the creditors of her husband Archibald Bonar seized it. The Edinburgh and Glasgow Bank was absorbed in 1857-8 by the Clydesdale Bank. It appears that Archibald Bonar moved to Australia in 1854 and then to New Zealand in 1863: his son James Alexander Bonar (1840-1901) has an entry in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography/Teara Encyclopaedia of New Zealand as 'Merchant, shipping agent, company director, politician.'

PROB 11/2195/213; Ancestry.com Maria Robertson, in the Web: Moray, Scotland, Local Heritage Index, 1632-2014[database online].

1. The Bankers' Magazine, and Journal of the Money Market, Volume 4 October 1845 to March 1846, p.401; The Welshman 28/10/1864 p.1.

2. PROB 11/2195/213; https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2b32/bonar-james-alexander.