Mary Besford (née Turnbull) (1865–1951)
Mary Turnbull met David Besford while he was preaching in the street. They married in 1887 and had twelve children, eight of whom survived childhood.
Scotland
The main Scottish connection is through Mary Turnbull, who married David Besford in 1887. Her family were Roxburghshire farming people, and Reiver names run through her ancestry. Other Besfords moved north later, to Govan and to Motherwell.
See the full article about Mary Turnbull’s Border Reiver heritage.
Janet Besford (later Partland) (1902–1994)
Janet Besford married Albert Edward Partland in 1925. In 1928, Janet gave birth to a son, also named Albert Edward Partland. The family later moved to Wakefield and Motherwell.
William Besford (1851–1879)
William was born in 1851 at Cowpen, Blyth and worked as a coal miner. In 1877, he married Jane Temple at Morpeth Register Office. The couple had one daughter.
John David Besford (1883-?)
John David Besford trained as a cabinetmaker in Glasgow and sailed for Boston in 1907, later working as a carpenter in Ontario.
Border Reivers
The raiding families of the Anglo-Scottish border lived outside the law for some 300 years, owing allegiance to their family name rather than to either country.
Scottish Ancestry of Mary Besford (née Turnbull)
Several Reiver family names occur in Mary Turnbull’s ancestry.
George Turnbull and Mary Turnbull (née Barron) (both 1841–1926)
George Turnbull and Mary Barron were the parents of Mary Turnbull, who married David Besford (1863–1954) in December 1887.