Andrew Masterton (1858-1941)
Carter, Falkirk
Andrew Masterton appeared in Falkirk Sheriff Court in 1883 and pled guilty to a breach of the peace on the day before. Further circumstances as yet unknown. He appears to have survived the ignominy, marrying Isabella Simpson four years later. and lived to the age of 83. There is another possibility however, that the Andrew Masterton reported in the Falkirk Herald is his father Andrew of the same address, who would have been 57 years old at the time. On no other basis than the impetuosity of youth, Andrew the younger is currently preferred as the more likely offender.
Genealogy
Andrew Masterton the elder was the ninth son of James Masterton, a farm labourer, and Elizabeth Hetherington, who married Margaret Newton in 1848 in Newton, West Lothian, and who became an ironfoundry labourer and later a carrier. Further details of Andrew Masterton's extended family may be found at this link. The younger Andrew Masterton was their fourth child and first son born in 1858 in Edinburgh. By 1883 the family had moved to Canal Bank, Falkirk and both father and son were carters.
The Falkirk Herald and Linlithgow Journal
FALKIRK SHERIFF COURT - On Monday - before Sheriff Bell - Andrew Masterton, carter, Lock 16, was charged with committing a breach of the peace on Sunday morning. He pleaded guilty, and was fined 10s, with the alternative of seven days' imprisonment.
The Falkirk Herald and Linlithgow Journal
Wednesday, April 4,1883