Nov 27, 2007: Doubly related?

And wonder of wonders, this newfound NZ WIGHT descendant is a relative of the last TINNING at Fauld, recently sold (see report on web), AND has a Jane GRAHAM further back up his ancestry, so just possibly we are connected twice over, once via Borders WIGHTs and once via Arthuret GRAHAMs. He also added that another relative currently owns Hornick Hill.

Nov 26, 2007: The WIGHT stuff...

The new New Zealand relation isn't a SINTON descendant after all, well he is, but of the Jedburgh SINTONs, not the Southdean ones. His connection to me being via his grandmother Christina Mary TINNING nee SINTON led me to jump to the conclusion he was a SINTON relation, but the connection is actually via Christina's grandmother Isabella WIGHT, dtr of John WIGHT and Helen THOMSON.
The contact has prompted me to fill in a few gaps on the tree anyway, so the WIGHT chart has been updated.

Nov 25, 2007: Counting down from 11

6 down, 5 to find. Robert found a couple more of the 11 children of Robert TAYLOR & Isabella Armstrong McGREGOR on his last visit to NRH, along with a few of the spice and a couple of grandchildren.

Oliver JOHNSTON's death remains unfound however.

And a welcome surprise in my Guestbook posted on the 23rd. Another line of SINTONs appear to be in NZ, a grandson of Christina Mary SINTON has left me a message.

And also a message from one of the Australian McADIE relations.
No rest for the wicked, or genealogically minded anyway.

Nov 24, 2007: Confirmed SINTONs

Three English SINTON certificates turned up today to confirm a few suppositions about the family of Peter SINTON and Mary SCOTT, including providing names for the children of Jane DERMONT and Margaret HALL, the successive wives of Peter SINTON, and that the Mary Elliot SINTON birth reg. Bellingham was indeed one of the family, not that I know what happened to her at all.

The SINTON chart has been updated.

Nov 23, 2007: Hiding the McFADEN SINTONs

Robert McCUTCHEON's DUNSMORE web pages have been updated with his write-ups (and his db is in the process of being converted to TMG, I'm slowly tidying up the conversion so the sources etc display better).

The GRAY chart will now show a few of the additions from yesterday.

Hunting around for Northumberland SINTONs led me back to the family of Donald McFADEN (McFAYDEN, McFADYEN) and Jessie SINTON who just has to be a relation of Peter's. Next update of LornaPotential will show some additions to this family, despite the best efforts of ancestry's indexing to hide them under FADEN and all sorts of other inventive interpretations of the census enumerators' handwriting.

Bit of a GRAY area

Bit of digging around on the GRAYs of Caithness, filling in some census gaps on the family of William & Isabella GRAY at Tongside, Halkirk. This being prompted by a renewed contact from a researcher I last heard from 12 yrs ago. Don't yet know what he's found in the intervening time period, but I hope he agrees with my write up about Donald GRAY. Found a few more twigs and where at least one of them ended up (Benjamin died in Colinton, MLN in 1924, so he moved away from Caithness).

Nov 21, 2007: Red or blue?

Continued tracking the JOHNSTON/RANKIN family up to 1901. Chuckled over one chap's change of birthplace between 1861 and 1901, so popped him out on the web (Oliver JOHNSTON).
Each of the Surname DNA projects I administer have spare $15 US vouchers available for the 25 marker and mtDNA tests, check out the FAIRBAIN, SINTON and RUNCIMAN recruitment pages for more details on how to join and request to use them.
Also sorted out a few more of the Michigan RUNCIMeN with help from Michigan.

Nov 20, 2007: FAMILTON descendants anywhere?

With some mtDNA test vouchers available until 31st Dec, I mused over how many female descendants of Bessie RUNCIMAN nee FAMILTON might still be around that they would be of use too. Which of course led me into updating a few more branches of the tree. Mainly JOHNSTONs, the family of David Stewart Erskin JOHNSTON and Elizabeth RANKIN, the latter being the dtr of Margaret WIGHT, grddtr of Margaret RUNCHAMAN.

The newly contacted descendants of William RUNCIMAN in Michigan floored me slightly. When I asked what they did, I certainly didn't expect "we used to farm emus (for a couple of years)". It wouldn't have been top of my list of guesses as to occupation for anyone.

Nov 19, 2007: One more down, one to go

Yes, the Michigan RUNCIMAN contact did indeed agree to participate in the RUNCIMAN Surname DNA project, so that's a representative from the William side. They also had a 3 yr old mobile number for one of the James' descendants I'd been chasing around the available records. And it still worked. Had a very interesting chat to the chap at the other end, a brother of the one I'd been tracking.

Nov 18, 2007: Michigan RUNCIMeN ...

A couple of my USA phone calls have finally hit paydirt. Email received from a descendant of one of the Michigan RUNCIMeN (William's line), confirming my suppositions on who was related to whom in Stockbridge. Hope this also leads to descendants of the line of James, and to participation in the RUNCIMAN Surname DNA project for both lines.
Continued fishing around in TURNBULLs, but that sidetracked me back to FAIRBAIRNs as a couple of them married FAIRBAIRN brothers, or so it looked. Proven, but unfortunately, neither look like my families.
While chasing around census data for this lot I happened across a James FAIRBAIRN from Swinton, but lost him again.

Nov, 17 2007: Gone fishin' (for TURNBULLs)

Hunting around in some TURNBULLs I re-found the Joseph TURNBULL who married Isabella RANKIN (a WIGHT descendant) and realised there was more information available now. Found most of them in the assorted census records, and decided to check son William's death as I didn't have a place for it, only the date from the St Boswell's MIs. Found to my surprise that he was married, to a Theresa AINSLEY. He was a fishing rod maker by occupation; subsequently found them in census data in Northumberland, where he seems to have lived, even though he died in St Boswells).
The first DNA test has reached the lab, so in a few weeks there should be some information for the as yet empty FAIRBAIRN results page. Still hunting for willing participants on the trees I want to compare with, hint hint to anyone eligible or interested.

Nov 16, 2007: Who is Lesley?

Back to the Manitoba BAINs, except the snippets I was checking off were actually their MANSON cousins in Brandon, plus an as yet unidentified Lesley, dtr of a George.

Nov 11, 2007: Lots of updates

Despite what my Recent Changes page says for today, the only real change is the addition of William GRAHAM, who has just been added to the web.
In addition the GRAHAM chart also has some updates, down from Dulcibella.
Both WorldConnect databases LornaHenderson and LornaPotential have been updated as there were quite a few snippets here and there to include, ie some HENDERSON/McGREGOR updates on the New Jersey branch courtesy of Linda, and the Scottish lot courtesy of Robert, some WALDIE/WIGHT snippets via census data, and a binge on McEWANs etc etc etc).

Nov 10, 2007: GRAHAMs Galore again ++

A couple of days intensive effort chasing Cumberland GRAHAMs and CARRUTHERS descendants around the records, helped by Kirklinton headstone transcriptions ex Bridget and CARRUTHERS info from Gwynneth. My end conclusion was that the Kirklinton William who died Firbank 1808 is highly likely to be the son of Edward and Dulcibella and the father of the George who married Easet CARRUTHERS (whose brother Richard was at Hornick Hill incidentally), so I've connected him up. Others may well have reached this conclusion quicker, but I've only just worked thru the headstones and done the sums etc.
Got a bit of a problem with some of George's descendants though. Two researchers who have been in contact with me both claim George and Easet's illegitimate son William as theirs. One as William GRAHAM married to Jane FERGUSON, the other as William CARRUTHERS married to Jane ARMSTRONG. More work is needed to sort that lot out.

Along the way of all this activity Bridget mentioned that one of her lot married one of the Moorhouse GRAHAM lot, a Romulus IRVING. The very next marriage I looked up was for Mary Eleanor GRAHAM, who turned out to be the one married to Romulus Graham IRVING. I guess with a father named George ROME you might just call a son Romulus (especially if he was illegitimate and he wasn't living with you).
Also a few snippets from NRH courtesy of Robert. 3 more of the children of Robert TAYLOR and Isabella Armstrong McGREGOR have been identified, only 7 to go.
Also some dates/places on the FAIRBAIRN/JARDINE line in Hawick.

Nov 8, 2007: RUNCIMAN dna project

RUNCIMAN DNA project Patriarchs page has been updated with the three lines I'm particularly interested in proving a connection to/between. And if anyone knows the whereabouts of any of the descendants of the Michigan families who might be willing to participate I'd love to hear from them. There's a discount going for some of the tests for the next couple of months (some details on the Recruitment pages).

Nov 7, 2007: Unrelated FAIRBAIRNs & WIGHTs

A FAIRBAIRN day: the family of Walter FAIRBAIRN and Agnes RENTON, and the goings on of their dtr Elisabeth, mother of the Walter who married Janet RENTON. Way back Terry and I swapped info on this family and I was wondering if there was a connection to the Walter son of James FAIRBAIRN in Selkirk in 1841. I no longer think so as I've convinced myself that Walter is the illegitimate son of Elisabeth, with a sister Agnes. Elisabeth's 1865 death cert shows her as the dtr of Walter and Agnes (RENTON). Even dipped out on a WIGHT connection as the William WIGHT Elisabeth married in 1841 appears to come from Edinburgh, not the Borders, and when he died in 1874, the informant had no idea who his parents were.

Nov 6, 2007:

Worked thru Cherie's SINTON updates, which of course prompted several other checks along the way. Next WorldConnect update will have several new places and some new dates added in.
Unfortunately Dawn cannot verify that Joseph LUCOCK's first wife was Agnes Gair HENDERSON's sister Ann, and there are at least 2 other candidates of the right age in the area. Looks like a cert. will have to be purchased after all.

Nov 5, 2007: While you're away...

Back from a short break recharging the batteries. Wonderful lot of emails to come back too as well.
Ta Dawn for the info re Joseph LUCOCK and Annie HENDERSON, his first wife, hope that we have the bases covered between us, you may have saved my having to buy their marriage cert. to prove she is his 2nd wife's sister. And ta for the info about their (short-lived) son.
Ta also to Cherie for the NBL SINTON updates. Great to come back to those.
And not forgetting Noel's photo of Robert McADIE
En route to, and in, Chch I took the opportunity to look up a couple of relations and a fellow (SINTON) researcher. Always much better meeting those at the end of anonymous emails.
My stated aim for the break was to catch up on lots of reading, and do a heap of overdue clarinet practice, the latter assuming that the hotel had reasonably soundproof rooms. I mostly chose suitable hours for the practice & did get a lot done, but did find that on the final afternoon I must have had some music lovers move in next door, they took exception to my attempts and knocked on the wall, oh well.

Oct 31, 2007: Mysterious SINTON death cert

Continuing down the emigration records has led me to check off all sorts of things en route. Found the death of James SINTON (s/o Robert SINTON and Jeanie PARK), which momentarily threw me as it shows his 1st marriage as being to an Elizabeth WILSON, with KIRKWOOD crossed out, whereas I have it as to Catherine FINLAY. His son has to have had that wrong, as I've received a transcript of the 1st marr. cert, and it clearly shows the same parents, with wife as Catherine FINLAY. Wonder who Elizabeth WILSON/KIRKWOOD is?