According to
the family register, John Mitchell, third child of Jacob
Mitchell and Mary Crosby, was born on the 25th day of
January, 1839. There was some thought that John might have
been born in Kilmarnock, but this is not borne out by various
Census records which consistently show that he and several of
his siblings were born in Dumfries. John Mitchell made his
first appearance in the 1841 Census at Gateside, Dumfries at
age 2, along with his parents, sister 'Jannet' age 5, and
baby sister Elizabeth age 1 month.
Janet Caldwell Smith, was the youngest of six children born between 1827 and 1839 to James Smith and Mary Dempster. The Scottish Church Records show that the first three Smith children were christened in Dalrymple, the next child in Coylton, and the two youngest, James and Janet, in Tarbolton, Ayrshire. Janet Caldwell Smith also first appears in the 1841 Census at James Street, Tarbolton, Ayrshire at age 1, along with her parents and older siblings, Margaret 12, Robert 10, Elizabeth 8, Mary 6 and James 4.
Following their marriage, it is possible that John and Janet may have lived for a time in Troon. At any rate, they were enumerated at 2, Portland Terrace, Troon when the Census was taken in 1861.
John and Janet's daughter Elizabeth Runciman Mitchell was born at Anderston, Glasgow, Lanarkshire on July 22nd, 1863, and accompanied them when they set sail for New Zealand the following year.
Of the 11 children born to John and Janet Mitchell, one died in childhood, 3 in their late teens, and one at the age of 21. Five of the remaining six married and had families. Only Jessie, the youngest daughter, remained single.
James Robert Mitchell married Mary
Ann Kane and had 3 daughters and 1 son
Jacob ("Jack") Mitchell married Lydia
Barron Harbour and had 3 daughters and 1 son
Mary Dempster Mitchell married Kenneth
J. Chambers and had 2 daughters and 2 sons
David Caldwell Mitchell married Mary
Matheson and had 1 daughter
Violet Lees Mitchell married Alexander
Feathers and had 1 daughter and 1 son
A manual entitled "John and Janet Mitchell and Descendants" was compiled by their grand-daughter, Lillian McCarthy in 1973 and copies distributed to those families who had contributed. The bulk of the material in these pages, however, is derived from the many letters written by John and Janet Mitchell's descendants to their cousins in Scotland. The statistics, on the other hand, are derived from Lillian McCarthy's work. Any family member who wants to read Lillian McCarthy's manual should have no trouble in locating a copy.