Abstract
We thank Dr Bailey for his interest in our research on James Simpson’s middle name. 1 Although many accounts of the Simpson family history have been written, the matter of when and why James Simpson acquired his middle name ‘Young’, remains speculative. In our article, we noted that no middle name was recorded in either James Simpson’s baptismal or academic records (including his MD testamur awarded by the University of Edinburgh in 1832). However, we did provide the (as yet) earliest documentary evidence of Simpson’s use of a middle name (in a letter penned by Simpson in November 1832), predating by seven years Simpson’s application for the Chair of Midwifery in 1839.
As noted by Dr Bailey, we reported in our article that Helen Young, daughter of James Young, married David Simpson (an older brother of James Simpson) in 1831. 1 Various genealogical records show close connections between the Simpson, Grindlay and Young families over generations preceding James Simpson, possibly through marriages between cousins. For example, another of Simpson’s relatives on the Grindlay side of the family had earlier married a James Young (born 1759, Kirkliston, West Lothian; died 1841, USA). Also, James Simpson’s grandmother was Isabella Grindlay; Simpson married Janet (Jessie) Grindlay (1818–1870) in 1839. Nevertheless, civil or ecclesiastical primary evidence for James Simpson being given or adopting this name, as well as when this occurred, has not to our knowledge, been produced.
Further research may uncover correspondence from an earlier date with Simpson’s middle name, or family records that may yet provide earlier documentation of the middle name and its use by Simpson, but such records are not available to us. The next phase of the research, preferably conducted by family historians and/or genealogists in Scotland, should involve the Simpson, Grindlay, Young and, probably, Jarvey families.