

Robert Kilgour GRINTON (RN=5)
He was born in the parish of Abbotshall (“Robert Kilgour, son of Alexander Grinton and Janet Kennedy, was born on the 9th May 1833”) and was christened there on the 9th of June 1833.
The 1841 census records for Abbotshall (enumeration schedule 4) give his residence as the High Street, Linktown.
Name Age Occupation Born in the county?
Alexander Grinton 52 Tobacconist No
Janet 53 Yes
Janet 23 Yes
Margaret 14 Yes
John 13 Tobacconist Apprentice Yes
Robert 8 Yes
The 1851 census (taken on March 30th) in Kirkcaldy enumeration district 6 indicates that the family was living on Hill Place:
Name Age Occupation Where born
Janet Grinton head 62 tobacconist employs Dysart
(RN=10) 1 journeyman, 2 appt. 7 boys
Margaret daur 24 assisting at home Kirkcaldy
Robert son 17 tobacco spinner (app) Abbotshall
Robert married Jessie in the parish of Knockando, County Moray on the 6th of November 1861, it was proclaimed in the parish of Kirkcaldy, County Fife on the 4th of November 1861. According to the register of marriages it took place at Macallan, Elginshire. The grooms age is listed as 29 and his usual residence is Hill Place, Kirkcaldy. Her age is 19 and is from the parish of Knockando. Witnesses to the ceremony were William Stenhouse (RN=15), her father, and W. Bryson (RN=167?).
His occupation is listed variously as tobacco manufacturer and tobacconist of Kirkcaldy. The Fifeshire Advertiser for Saturday January 5, 1861 carried the following on page one under the title of “Tobacco Juice. Robert Grinton, Tobacco manufacturer, has on hand a quantity of tobacco juice, of good quality. 250 High Street Kirkcaldy December 8, 1860” The Kirkcaldy Directory for the years 1882-83, 1885-86, 1894-95, and 1906-07 show that his business, Robert Grinton & Company was at the same location, 250 High Street, Kirkcaldy. In the 1894-95 edition of the directory there was an advertisement: “Presentation Goods, A large selection of walking sticks, meerschaum & briar pipes, cigar and cigarette cases, &c. Robert Grinton & Co., 250 High Street, Kirkcaldy.”
The Membership Roll of the Congregational Church Kirkcaldy 1800–1869, edited by Rev. Dr. William D. McNaughton, The Congregational Union of Scotland, Glasgow, 1994 indicates that his admission to the church was prior to 1860, that his address was Hill Place, that his designation was that of tobacco manufacturer, his date of demission is given as 6 February 1867(the entry indicates that his name was removed), and his date of death is shown as 3 January 1878.
The 1871 Census for Kirkcaldy, Enumeration District 19, for Townsend Place has the following entry:
Name Age Occupation Where born
Robert Grinton Head Mar 37 Tobacco manufr Fife Kirkcaldy
emp 2 men 1 woman & 6 boys
Jessie Do Wife Mar 27 Stirling
Alexander Do Son 8 Scholar Fife Kirkcaldy
William Do Son 6 Do Do Do
John Do Son 4 Do Do
Eliza Do Daur 3 Do Do
Janet Wishart Serv Unm 19 Gen Hse Svt Perth Abernerhhy?
He died at the age of 44 at 2:30 a.m. the 3rd of January 1878. The place of his death is listed as High Street, Kirkcaldy and the cause was “consumption for some years” and there was no medical attendant at the time of death. The informant looks to be J. Bryson, his cousin John (RN=168) or Janet (RN=164).
A book in the Kirkcaldy library: Monumental Inscriptions (pre-1855) in West Fife by John Fowler Mitchell, C.I. E., and Sheila Mitchell, produced for the Scottish Genealogical Society, 1972 comes the following for Kirkcaldy Abbotshall churchyard:
Alex Grinton (RN=9) tobacconist, here 8 Dec 1849, 61
wife, Janet Kennedy (RN=10), 7 Jun 1856, 68
eldest son, Alex (RN=143), 20 Jun 1836, 20
3d son, John (RN=137), 20 Dec 1849, 21
youngest daughter, Isabella (RN=138), Dec 1833, infant
2d son, William (RN=145), 4 Oct 1850, 31
eldest daughter, Janet (RN=144), 11 Jul 1854, 36
Robert Kilgour Grinton (RN=5), 3 Jan 1878, 45
wife, Jessie A Stenhouse (RN=6), 8 Jun 1873, 30
daughters, Jessie Kennedy (RN=39), 31 Mar 1871, infant
Isabella Maggie (RN=40), 5 Aug 1873, infant
In the Fife Family History Society Journal for Summer 2007 there is a section on Family Businesses in Kirkcaldy and indicates the following: “GRINTON, ALEXANDER (1788-1849): tobacconist and snuff manufacturer, founder of Robert Grinton an Co, 1839 – c1963, was the son of Alexander Grinton, mason. He established the business in 1839 in Linktown, from where he removed in Aug 1843 to 79 High Street. On 26 Nov 1815 he had married Janet Kennedy (1788-1856), dau of William Kennedy, sawyer, and Janet Henderson, and she continued the business after the death of her husband on 8 Dec 1849. She died on 7 June 1856, and her son, Robert Kilgour Grinton (d 1878) took over the management and removed to premises at 250 High Street. After his death on 3 Jan 1878 aged 45, the business was run in the name of the family under the firm of Robert Grinton and Co, firstly by William McLeod and then by Robert D Anderson (d 24 Sep 1904) and from 1904-09 by John Isles Grant (d 8 June 1909). The business was later at 193 High Street, and continued to c 1963.”