My NAPIER Family !

By Deborah Shelton Wood

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Nelia Frances Napier & Charles Madison Shelton married in Patrick County Virginia on September 5, 1867. They were my greatgrandparents. This page shows our Napier ancestry.

Our Napier family is of the Kilmahew Castle, the Napiers of Edinburgh, Scotland. We are from the family of Mungo Napier, a Burgess of Dumbarton.

Napier is a Scottish clan originally from lands around Loch Lomond, but with presence in Stirlingshire, Edinburgh, Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire.

Dr. Patrick Napier who came to America and married Elisabeth Booth, was born in London, England. They married circa 1658 in Virginia where he died in 1688.

Dr. Patrick Napier, emigrant, is the son of Patrick Napier Sr. & Joan Wallis. Patrick, Sr. is considered to be the son of Mungo Napier by many. I, too believe this is his line. Please be aware this has not be proven.

My line comes through Patrick Sr., Patrick Jr., Robert, Robert, Ashford and William Napier as you can see below. William Napier who married Elizabeth Witcher is my line. William's brother, Ashford was an anti-slavery attorney in VA.

William and Betsy Napier's daughter Nelia Frances Napier married Charles Madison "Maddy" Shelton. They are my greatgrandparents.

Kilmayhew Castle

The ruins of Kilmahew Castle

Please note: Our Virginia Napier families are not descendants of the Merchiston and Lauriston Napiers, although we may have been related very early to the Lauriston Napiers, unproven. Yet, I find all of the Scottish Napier families interesting.

Lauriston Castle was started as a 13th century stronghold by the Napiers of Merchiston but it was considerably altered in the 16th century and then extended further in the 19th century to create a Jacobean-style mansion.

The castle passed through a number of hands after the Napiers (one of the family, John Napier, was the inventor of logarithms) before being finally handed over to the City of Edinburgh. The grounds became a public park and the Edwardian extension has a public display of Italian furniture, mosaics, Sheffield plate, mezzotint prints and Caucasian carpets.

The sound of ghostly feet have reportedly been heard in the building.

Clan Napier Tartan

More about the Merchiston Napiers

MERCHISTON CASTLE

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See an outline of my Napier family of Virginia

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