29th: When NOT to believe certificates?

Seem mostly to be dna-ing of late, trying to figure out how on earth the matched FAIRBAIRN families are likely to connect.
As a result of a lot more digging around in the OPRs, earlier parts of trees, and old mysteries. On the latter, I have bitten the bullet and decided that despite what two certificates say, the John FAIRBAIRN of Stillwater just has to be the son of David and Jane (WILLIAMSON) FAIRBAIRN.
This John is the chap whose descendant Walter claimed to be a cousin to his wife Clarissa, a descendant of David and Charity FAIRBAIRN, His marriage cert stated his father was Johnathan, and his death cert. gave his parents as John and Agnes (WILLIAMSON) FAIRBAIRN, and he was most unhelpful in that I don't think any two records over his life gave consistent birth years and places, with his birth year ranging from c 1833 thru to 1841. I've documented my conclusions and reasoning on his newly created web page.
The FAIRBAIRN introductory page has had a bit of a revamp, reorder, and some more charts included (some descendants of the dna matched families).
Check the FAIRBAIRN DNA Project Diary for what changed as far as dna pages go.

"Newfound" dna match

The DAWE DNA project has had its first set of results in, and a match with another person tested with FamilyTree DNA.
Didn't take long for him to reply and tell us where he fitted. Another Newfoundland branch - so we're still looking for representatives of the Devon branches.
Follow the DAWE DNA project diary for what all changed, where/when.

Better late than never * 2

People are so much easier to find in the census with a bit more family knowledge.
I'd not been able to find Christopher TURNBULL in 1871 at all back in 2005. Armed with the newfound knowledge, thanks to contact (via GenesReunited) with a descendant of the James TURNBULL and Margaret JACKSON mentioned on the 19th , I found his sister Mary at last, under her married name (which I hadn't known) and living in Muggleswick. I had searched for likely Mary's of the right age and birthplace, but Mary had rather unhelpfully decided not to record anything at all about her birthplace for the 1871 census and inaccurate data thereafter. Lodging with them was one Chrisr TURNBULL, aged 15, also with no birth place information recorded. And ancestry had made the search even harder by indexing him as Chris FERNBALL.
This newfound cousin has a wonderful photo on GR of Mary with her two brothers Robert and Christopher that comes from a newspaper article on Mary's 90th birthday, saying their combined ages totalled 257.
The TURNBULL chart has been updated yet again.

There have been enough additions/updates to the database that a WorldConnect update to (database LornaHenderson is in train, should be in their indexes in a couple of days.

Had to laugh about the aptness of my comment yesterday about all it taking time. Received a phone call this afternoon from a HENDERSON line cousin who lives in the next town to me. She was answering my 2003 email, but as she was promising photos and a visit including her mother, I'll forgive her the tardiness.

]Time solves everything

Another of the English certs on order proved rather interesting. All it takes is time and happenstance for puzzles to be solved (I wish).
You can read about the series of recent coincidental happenings on the newly added page for James TURNBULL of Dykehead, but the start of that story is actually back in 2005 with this posting on GenForum re Robert, Christopher and Hannah, children of James TURNBULL of Nichol Forest, who now turns out to be the above James' son.
Beryl never did get back to me, so I hope someone can point her to the resolution of this as I would like to make contact, but that's rather hard without an address of any sort.

Still avoiding tax returns

Ordered the Canonbie MIs published by the Dumfries and Galloway FHS from the NZ Society library to check out any more TURNBULLs that might be obvious there.
Unfortunately the only TURNBULLs there were the ones I already knew about, Robert and family, so no new TURNBULL mysteries solved, BUT, I did of course check the index for other surnames of interest, and the one and only FAIRBURN aka FAIRBAIRN turned out to solve a mystery of the varying ages for one Margaret, d/o Walter FAIRBAIRN and Grace ARMSTRONG. Easily solved, there was, as suspected, an earlier Margaret who died.
A couple of English certs have turned up and confirmed my guesses as to which death registration might belong to Walter FAIRBAIRN (of Haltwhistle, son of the above Walter - talk about synchronicity!), and Robert SINTON of Castle Ward, NBL.

15th: Tax avoidance!

The only sure things in life being death and taxes, it was long past time to deal with the latter, so I've had to restrict my fun with genealogy for a while. Nearly there, as the accountant will be glad to hear.
Couldn't resist the occasional treat of a foray into assorted emails and updates though of course.
One lot wasn't even my family.
Quite some years ago I did some research for Peter on his Worcester GRAINGERS. One family that I uncovered in that I published with the rest purely because I liked the names (Quendrid, Oswin, Egbert, Canute, Ebissa), and hadn't researched whether or not they were Peter's relations, although it did look quite likely given they too were from Claines. It turned out that at least one descendant of Canute GRAINGER thought so (in Illinois), and kindly shared the information she had been provided with. And then today, up popped another contact, in England this time, with information about Peter's 4*greats uncle Theodore.
So I thought it was time to update his web pages. Theodore proved a bit of a puzzle, as I've concluded he married three times and went by several different names: Theodore GRAINGER, Theodore WHITEHOUSE, Theodore Whitehouse GRAINGER, and may or may not have married firstly Mary FARMER, secondly Elizabeth WHITEHOUSE and thirdly a Catherine.
No wonder he was a bit hard to find in the records.
Can anyone confirm my educated guesses?

Mostly dna - SINTON match, HENDERSON lineage confirmed

Mostly a DNA day or two as a heap of results came pouring in.
SINTON and HENDERSON data in the DNA Surnames Lineages section have been updated to reflect the latest findings, namely that yes, there is indeed a relationship between the Jedburgh SINTON family of William and Isabella (SCOTT) SINTON and the Southdean SINTONs
As William's page shows, we'd love to find a distant cousin of the current representative of this line to help determine whether the differences in the dna signatures crept into the lineage before or after William.

The HENDERSON result is just a confirmation that we're working with the correct dna signature for Archibald - not that it helps us thru the brick wall, as there aren't any matches anywhere in the dna tested community as yet.

Yet another coincidence

I always knew that coincidences abound in this genealogy lark.
The latest is with le place du jour, Dykehead.
One of my WIGHT cousins dropped by and read the entry for the 5th re Dykehead, and was moved to send me an email to say that he used to own Dkyehead, selling it in the early 1990s. He wasn't sure of the exact dates, but it seems likely that it was just before we met up with the then owners of the story on the 30th Nov!
A TURNBULL page has now been included, replacing the previous chart with a page of TURNBULL data, well at the moment, just the previous descendant chart, and a sparsely populated map showing where some of the TURNBULL BDM events occurred.

TURNBULLs (and excitement ) squared

What, December already? Doesn't time fly when you're having fun. Which I am.
Still working thru all the new Americans being added to the Devon TOZER branch (probably wont show up on the bottom end of the KING chart as mostly too recent).

And as if that isn't enough excitement for one week, but along comes a wonderful coincidence.
On the TMG Conference Cruise, I met up with Chaye from Sth Australia who was researching her mysterious OLIVER and TURNBULL couple who had the misfortune to die where death certs are not very informative.
I was very interested to note that one of the sets of parents she was investigating for her Elizabeth TURNBULL was a couple by the name of James and Agnes (ELLIOT) TURNBULL. They appear on the IGI as having children in the geographically challenging area of Dykehead, Kirkandrews, Canonbie, Dumfries.
Well, I suppose the submitter wanted to hedge their bets, and certainly the couple did too as they lived in Dykehead (which just happens to be the place of the comment "some more of those Americans dear" from the Nov 28th entry), in Kirkandrews Parish, Cumberland, but their children were baptised in Canonbie Parish, Dumfries, across the Border in Scotland.
Must be something about the air over there in this Turnbull family.
Anyway. I'd parked this as intriguing info to be investigated at some stage to see if there was any connection with my Robert TURNBULL, joiner of Dykehead, of about the same timeframes.
Today, that got raised up the priority list somewhat following receipt of an email from Robin in Canada asking about my Robert in Dykehead.
Yes, he was a descendant of said James and Agnes (ELLIOT) TURNBULL (but cannot solve Chaye's Elizabeth mystery, more's the pity).
We quickly decided that James and Robert could not be brothers. A 1764 baptism of a legitimate son to Walter and wife in Dykehead, just didn't fit with Walter, Robert's father, marrying as a bachelor in 1774.
However, James' likely mother was Betty also TURNBULL. Not that his baptism said so, but there were a string of Canonbie baptisms to Walter and Betty, several of which stated "in Dykehead", so it was an easy stretch to continue the string of children with the 3 "and wife in Dykehead".
That was James handily placed, but the connection to Robert still unsolved.
And then I examined a list of Canonbie baptisms Robin had downloaded from Scotland's People and noticed that I hadn't all the children of Walter and Betty (TURNBULL) TURNBULL after all. There were two sons I'd missed, a Robert and a Walter, which latter, got me quite interested in a hurry.
Sure enough, his baptism clearly showed he was the son of Walter TURNBULL and Betty TURNBULL in Dykehead, Parish of Kirkandrews. And what's more, a 1745 date dovetailed very nicely as a really good age to be marrying in 1774 and having children in Dykehead, to continue the family tradition.
No wonder I'd not been able to find a suitable baptism for him in England.
TURNBULL chart updated

"Another American dear"

Contact from a 7th cousin once removed on the KING branch. Dennis posted a comment on my GenBlog, which nicely sent me an email to say so, unlike the Guestbook, which relies on my remembering to check it.
His gt grandparents, Charles and Bessie TOZER emigrated to Oregon, Wisconsin in 1912. His guestbook entry tells me I'd written to a cousin of his who couldn't read my writing, which puzzle as to whoever it was, and why handwritten, will no doubt be resolved in due course (I usually type my letters, for that very reason!)

Anyone curious why the title? One of my enduring memories of a trip to England was turning up in a farmyard nr Longtown and asking if we might look around the farm yard "as my x greats grandfather had been a carpenter here". Accent recognition wasn't one of the farmer's strong points as he turned back to someone inside the house and said "It's just some more of those Americans dear".
So I couldn't resist it as a title to finding I've another American cousin.

Fully replublished the Originals subsite of Big Brother. That should tidy up a few missing links that Google Web developer tells me I had, but I've also consistently added the link back to further info on Big Brother where appropriate (which is why it looked like I'd been particularly busy on the 22nd Nov if you go by 'recent changes').

DNA Wanted! Sintons

Continuing the SINTON review. Remembered about the family of James & Isabella (FLEMING) SINTON with their Southdean connections (well was prompted to do so by Margaret).
I've added them to the dna Wanted! SINTONs list, and to LornaPotential (or at least will do so, next update).

Projects Portal RUNCIMANs updated

DNA Surnames has had several lineages, dna participants, links etc added to it, mainly for the missing RUNCIM(e)N data.
More to come.

If you have bookmarked some of the underlying pages, the links may have changed as I reviewe/revise the database that drives these pages. Other than around the Haplogroup area, they shouldn't change after this, but no guarantees!

25th: Remember to review your data!

Always good practice to review your data. One thing all these DNA studies have done is cause me to look at a heap of relations that I've not re-examined evidence for their assorted events in a long time.
The latest has resulted in a webpage comment being added about the James WIGHT/Isabella HALL couple, as working back the estimated ages/dates you get to a potentially rather young Mum for Isabella. They aren't outrageously out, just a bit tight, and do assume that Jane STEVENSON did get her correct age on her headstone.

More FAIRBAIRN DNA Results in, still showing a good match between the James & Helen (GOODFELLOW) and the Trotter & Jane (FAIRBAIRN) FAIRBAIRN lines of Spencerville, Ontario and Sunderland, Durham, respectively, and still a match, although less strong, to the others assumed to be down from John & Bessie (FFLINT) FAIRBAIRN.

Made it - at last

Check out the new SINTON page, and the recent changes.

In addition my main online BDM only database LornaHenderson has also been updated with the last month+ changes, including claiming a few more of the SINTON tribes, moving them in from LornaPotential.

The ROWE chart also now includes a few of the newfound Australian branch of James & Mary Anne (JESSOP) HAMLEY.

19th: ?another Canadian SINTON?

Still getting sidetracked from publishing the SINTON (and ROWE and HAMLEY) updates.
Everytime I think I'm nearly ready, I find something else to check.
In the SINTON case the latest was re-checking the dth cert of James, son of Peter and Janet (DONALDSON) SINTON to make sure that son John really was shown as alive in 1855 when James died.
He was, but where was he? There's a likely looking candidate in Lancaster, Glengarry Co, Ontario, married to a Jane.
I had noted this couple before but dismissed them as unlikely to be "my" lot with a dtr Sarah and son George (1851 census). Maybe I'd better review that. Anyone know anything about this family?
And of course in checking this John and Jane I found a Jane and a Robert SINTON (Turnberry, Huron Co) that piqued my interest (to no avail, couldn't immediately find them in earlier census data).

All that aside, the ROWE descendants chart has been updated to include a very few of the newfound Australian branch, many more to come when time permits. Many thanks for sharing them Jenny.

18th: Check originals!

It really does pays to check originals! In my SINTON data review I've been checking what original baptisms I can find on the OPRs, and as a result, corrected a couple of the Southdean places. Margaret, bless her cotton socks, had transcribed a couple of places as ending in ...head, eg Strangeburnfoothead etc. The actual entries, in both cases found, were headless, eg Strangeburnfoot (as in x at y had a son baptized).

Rash of new DNA results in today:
Further markers in for Doug, the representative of the James and Helen (GOODFELLOW) FAIRBAIRN line - see the FAIRBAIRN DNA Project and the blog for details on the matches (yes he matches Lineage 1, that of John FAIRBAIRN and Bessie FLINT et al, but it looks like things might get a bit complicated with different markers involved).
Also results starting to come in for the Peruvian contingent of the RUNCIMAN DNA Project. Again, see the both the project files, and the blog for more details, but basically, even at 12 markers, yes he matches the James & Agnes (HERIOT) RUNCIMAN lineage.
(And yes, I know that Google have put warnings on both of the blogs above that they are potentially spam, I have applied to get that designation lifted - yet again!)

Can anyone claim a James SINTON of Woodfield? William, son of James was buried Southdean 1814.
Still trying to get my updated webpages out there, with all the new SINTON connections documented.
This update will bring several lines into the SINTON charts shown on my web pages (eg the outline one on the Research logs portion of my site, and the fuller one under Big Brother, anyone interested in them needs to be aware that although I've done some work on the other lines, there are likely to be huge gaps in the families.
Even if someone is shown on a descendant chart on my web pages, they wont necessarily appear in my WorldConnect databases, as I only gradually add people to that as I check off BDM data where I can and set them to "publish".

Hounding ROWEs, fossicking in the FAIRBAIRNs

A fun day fossicking in the family of William and Margaret (SCOTT) FAIRBAIRN. This was prompted by finding a newly joined member of the Borders Family History Society interested in FAIRBAIRNs of Bowden, Galashiels, Selkirk, Smailholm. How could I resist.
John is a descendant of schoolmaster William, so we are now swapping notes on that lineage, and hopefully will find a living male FAIRBAIRN to represent them on the FAIRBAIRN Surname dna project.

Also on the family of one of the several Robert FAIRBAIRNs born around 1820. This one married a Catherine STEWART and I'd not placed him with an appropriate set of parents. My current theory is that he belongs to James FAIRBAIRN and Ann WALKER who married Melrose 1806 (banns Merton), and by 1841 were enumerated at "Stable", Galashiels, their children having been baptised in Crailing.
Anyone interested in this family of FAIRBAIRNs and able to help Bonnie and I sort them out?
Both of the above lineages will be added to the DNA Project Patriarch's page shortly.

Back to the Baskervilles. The addition of Baskerville to the name of a child of my Elizabeth ROWE/Hugh HAMLEY family has been explained. Not prescient knowledge of the hound at all, much more prosaic, Dad Hugh HAMLEY's Mum was apparently a BASKERVILLE. This from Vikki, a descendant via son James who married and emigrated to Adelaide, Australia shortly (a few days) thereafter. No wonder I couldn't find hide nor hair of him after his 1819 baptism in Bere Ferrers.

15th: Southdean SINTONs

Nearly finished a fairly major review of the early Southdean SINTON portions of the tree.
My personal web pages haven't yet been updated, but I have updated the SINTON Surname DNA Project Patriarch's page with my current thoughts.
Can anyone place Clesleepeel on a map?

DNA Projects Portal/DAWEs

Prototype version of my DNA Surnames now in place. Many more lineages to be added. Anyone researching the surnames is welcome to contact me to get their webpages included in the Web Links section. Or even have their dna project included.
Currently working on new info from a DAWE descendant (in Michigan) of Isaac DAWE and Thirza STEPHENS.
Will update the pages when I've caught my breath from the TMG Conference and fought the mail backlog, and then get back to the exciting new results from the FAIRBAIRN and SINTON DNA projects.

The Clesleepeel connection

Wont have much time to further evaluate the newly indicated SINTON connection for a fortnight or so, but a few quick checks on what I already have and what can be quickly added too, shows that there was a "son born to Jas SINTON of Clesleepeel" in the Southdean & Abbotrule, OPR on 4 Jun 1806. This is of an age to be the John marr. to Alison HALL who claims in the 1851 census that he was born at Southdean, and of Southdean when he married Alison in 1829. Other candidates are accounted for elsewhere, or at least most I know of are.
This father James is likely to be the James who married Barbary OLIVER in 1804, given that Barbara was of Clesleepeel when whe was buried in 1809, and this James' father is likely to be the James married to Janet OLIVER, given that he also was of Clesleepeel when he was buried 1802. (This is the family of one of my favourite death certs, Betsy WHITE nee SINTON, died "aged 96 of old age, 10 weeks duration" - Betsy was of Clesleepeel when she married John WHITE in 1801.)
Unfortunately, it is unlikely I'll ever prove any of this conclusively as they all died prior to civil registration and Abbotrule headstones aren't exactly plentiful if the photo on geograph is a typical view.
And as to how Peter and James relate?
There are two contemporary, or near contemporary James SINTONs in Southdean and Abbotrule who may or may not be one and the same person, remarrying, both are carriers: one having children 1755 thru 1760 (at least): Thomas, Margaret and James, wife as yet unknown; and the other marrying Janet OLIVER (?of Hobkirk) in 1762 and having children at Burnkinford 1763 and Strangeburnfoot 1765 thru 1769 and Burnkinfoothead 1772, dying Clesleepeel and buried 1802.
My Peter was a cattle dealer of Bairnkin when he was buried 1811. Assuming he was at least 20 when he and Janet DONALDSON married, he has to have been born around 1755 or earlier, so pre-dates the James and Janet (OLIVER) SINTON couple, but would fit in with the earlier James and ?? couple, most likely as the eldest son, given the first we know of is a 1755 Thomas.
Naming pattern of Peter and Janet's known children certainly indicates that his father is a James, mother possibly an Isabella.

In reviewing data, I have also combined two other Peters, both baker journeymen: one the reputed father of the Isabella SINTON (born c 1826, d. 1882) who married David HOPE, the other who married Marion KER in 1832.

Oct 21, 2008: SINTON dna match

21st: The SINTON Surname DNA project has come up trumps. It has proved a relationship between two Southdean families unable to be proven by other means. At 12 markers only, it is rather hard to determine just exactly how the families relate: those of John SINTON (marr. Alison HALL 1829, Southdean) and Peter SINTON (marr. Janet DONALDSON) d. Bairnkin, Southdean 1811, but relate they do, somehow.

Oct 20, 2008: Seeing the world from your armchair

Ignore all the entries in the recent changes index for October, until today. I've been fiddling with place data to make sure that at least some of the people on the site pop up on their appropriate maps.
The main changes have been to each of the main surname pages (FAIRBAIRNs, HENDERSONs, ROWEs, RUNCI(Wo)MEN, SINTON).
They each now include both an index of all descendants (and spice) included on the site, and a map showing some of the hatch, match and despatch places for said descendants - but only if they are already on the site, AND only if I've gotten round to including Lat/Long coordinates in the appropriate place information, which I certainly haven't done consistently. So, scroll down to the bottom of the pages concerned, eg FAIRBAIRN, HENDERSON, SINTON, ROWE, and RUNCIMAN pages to see the maps, and have fun zooming in/out, panning around the world. Travel from your armchair.
A related change with the last site update is the places link. Again, if I've recorded Lat/Long coordinates against the places highlighted in the place index, then a link to Google maps and Virtual Earth, will show up under the place heading as a clickable G or L accordingly. You may have to use the map controls to get the best picture, and as the updated Abbreviations says, if you can't see enough detail on Google, try Live Search or vice versa. Some of the satellite pictures are quite spectacularly clear. I swear I can almost pick out my 3*greats grandparents' grave in the Morebattle Cemetery on the Fairbain map if you zoom in far enough in satellite view.

Rabbit anyone?

Anyone got a stray John or William HENDERSON in Australia, or even New Zealand?

Another HENDERSON cousin has come up with a family rumour that one of 3? brothers was sent from Scotland. This version was that he was caught stealing a rabbit and sent to Australia, never to be heard from again.
A completely separate branch of the family also has a family rumour that A.N.Other of the family also came to NZ, but without the rabbit story.
Assuming there is a grain of truth behind such rumours I'm betting that it is either William or John, brothers of James, neither of whom have been positively sighted beyond their baptism records at the Bridge of Allan in the early 1800s, although there is a good chance John was on the Scottish Borders in the 1851 census, never to be sighted again before or after. Perhaps it was a Scottish Borders rabbit?

Oct 10, 2008: Do these names ring a BELL?

FAIRBAIRNs and BELL/THOMSON families. Wondering if it is complete coincidence that there are two FAIRBAIRN families connected to the same BELL/THOMSON family, or whether there just might be a link between them.
One family is that of the latest participant in the FAIRBAIRN Surname DNA Project, the other the subject of a Borders Family History Society Journal way back in Feb 1998 about Granny FAIRBAIRN the Bone-setter of Kelso - "Isabella (ROBERTSON) FAIRBAIRN 1859-1940".
The possible connection being made by adding 2 and 2 and probably getting 5.

Robert FAIRBAIRN, Isabella ROBERTSON's husband's lineage works back to a Robert FAIRBAIRN and Agnes JEFFREY, via a Robert FAIRBAIRN, writer in Duns (reputed father) and Ellen BELL.

Robert FAIRBAIRN and mother Ellen BELL are in the 1881 census with Ellen's sister Janet and her (2nd) husband John THOMSON at Kelso.

In 1901 Janet THOMSON nee BELL is at Kelso with a boarder, John FAIRBAIRN, 25 (he later married an Ellen THOMSON).

John's pedigree is now on the FAIRBAIRN Surname DNA Project Patriarchs page, with no known connection to Duns or Robert above.

Anyone actively researching Robert's family? Found part of it on OneGreatFamily
but the email address of the researcher (dtr of John M FAIRBAIRN, a journalist who emigrated to Australia) bounced.

Back to Meavy for a break. ANDREWS this time. I'd not taken the family of Henry Willcocks & Lydia (HELYER) ANDREWS beyond 1871 until contacted by Pauline, who has a family connection with them.
Merrily checking them off in census and BDMs and finally realised I was duplicating data. Dtr Mary Willcocks ANDREWS firstly married John SHILLIBEER, then remarried a Richard Henry BICKLE (I calculate they were 5th cousins once removed, or at least I did once I realised he was the son of John Creber BICKELL and Susanna HELYER).

Pedigree, and latest results, added to the ROWE Surname DNA project.

Oct 9, 2008: Another shortlived HENDERSON?

While checking off the latest batch of merges and hints from OneGreatFamily
, one that popped up was for a John Burnett HENDERSON. The hint wasn't him, but it did prompt me to search for a likely marriage and John's fate after the 1901 census (Whitehaven, Cumberland). Looks like he probably married Mary J REAY and had at least 3 children, Annie B, George R and Williamina HENDERSON, who all show up in the birth index with mother REAY. However, it also looks like he probably died relatively young, as there's a 29 year old John B HENDERSON of the right age registered as dying Cockermouth in 1918. All to be confirmed.

Oct 6, 2008: Lots of updates

Both LornaHenderson and LornaPotential updated, as was OneGreatFamily
.

As is often the case, went looking for something and found something else. Not that a letter from a 13yr old is of more than a passing interest, but it did result in including my great grandfather, William Henderson on at least one of my websites, at long last (basic bdm data only, the rest of my info still needs quite some tidying up for publication).

Updated Links pages to include a couple of the BDM Exchange network of sites: UK BDM Exchange and Australasia BDM Exchange. Both are free, or by donation for additional services (and to support the site). Contribute your certs, find others.
And for a bit of fun, a link to BookCrossing

Bit of this, lot of that

Main changes of late:
Meavy DAWE families had a bit of a looksee for a reason which now escapes me. I can now see why I couldn't find a lot of them in the UK census records - a lot of them emigrated to America!
My main interest is how they may or may not inter-connect with the Buckland Monachorum DAWE families and assorted WILLCOCKS.
Some of those connected to people already showing up on my LornaHenderson db on Rootsweb will be added there next update to try and illustrate some inter-connections.

Forgot to mention a SCAIFE update a wee while ago.
Geoff contacted me via Curious Fox with info on the GRAHAM/SCAIFE connections from his SCAIFE perspective. This enabled me to merge two previously separate people in my db, one the son of Jane GRAHAM (whose husband I now know was called John), and the other the William who married Frances GRAHAM, Jane's niece.

Continued working on the family of John and Elisabeth(MILLER) FAIRBAIRN, where this John's father Walter may, or may not, be my Walter FAIRBAIRN. Would really love to find a representative of this line for the FAIRBAIRN Surname DNA project, particularly before the great discounts run out at the end of Sept (or one each from different branches in case there isn't a match first off)!
The other FAIRBAIRN sidetrack mentioned on the 21st (Bowmanville Robert F.)has been slotted into his rightful place as one of the John FAIRBAIRN/Elizabeth YULE line. I'll update the FAIRBAIRN DNA project Patriarch's page accordingly sometime soon.

FAIRBAIRN sidetracks

Not sure what all the major changes of late have been. Busy chasing FAIRBAIRNs around the records and getting sidetracked, ie business as usual.
One I got sidetracked onto was Robert Brinckerhoff FAIRBAIRN, married Juliet ARNOLD. I couldn't place him and noone seems to be researching the family so I had a dig. Warden of St Stephens Episcopal College at Annandale, NY for many years. Born in NY in 1818, father a William from Scotland who emigrated 1796 and was a publisher in NY. Anyone claiming this family?

Another orphaned family I spent some time on, and couldn't immediately spot any researchers for, was that of Robert FAIRBAIRN of Duns, Berwick who emigrated to Bowmanville, Ontario.
There are memoirs on the web written by his son James Brougham FAIRBAIRN, Postmaster at Darlington Mills (now Bowmanville) and brother of an MP Thomas McCulloch FAIRBAIRN. Possibly also connected with the inventor of mini-golf another Thomas McCulloch FAIRBAIRN.
I've added an outline pedigree to the DNA Patriarch's page.

What I was sidetracked from was finally getting round to updating my info (thanks for the prompt Ed) on the family of John and Elisabeth (MILLER) FAIRBAIRN of New York, John being the one with a father Walter of Roxburghshire who may or may not be my one. Would be great to find a participant for the dna project to test this theory out. I've included a chart for John and Elisabeth on my FAIRBAIRN pages, and will update the pedigree outline on the DNA project patriarchs page in due course.

Dykehead TURNBULLs ++

Updated TURNBULL descendant chart in place to include a few more of the newfound branch of Dykehead TURNBULLs.
Haven't found out that much about the history of Dykehead, but Giles advised that, as I suspected, it was one of the many farms sold into private ownership from the Netherby Estate.
I found a mention in The Times of the sale of 21 of the 25 lots in July 1912, but none were mentioned by name.

The DNA Surnames has also had a complete update, so now should include all dna participants, and researchers, with lineages as appropriate, apart from the ROWE project, which is still very much at the early stages of being included. I now want to know about any missing links, incorrect info etc!
Should you want your DNA project mentioned on the Portal pages, just send me an email with the appropriate links.
Check out the respective lineage Wanted! pages, particularly if you are a male descendant of a line of SINTON, RUNCIMAN, FAIRBAIRN, DAWE families.

The above Wanted! lists are by no means complete, and will be added to over time.

Discounts available if you join and order a test via a surname project before 31 Dec.

Sep 12, 2008: "theory" ruined!

Several more twigs and branches on the assorted Canadian FAIRBAIRN lines have been tidied up a bit, some of whom will now appear on the FAIRBAIRN descendant chart, a lot more on the Rootsweb databases when I next publish them.

I'm getting a bit tied up and puzzled with the families around Hull, Quebec. Lose one, pick up another, can't make up my mind if they're the same David FAIRBAIRN or not.

My rather specious theory that all the FAIRBAIRN families on the Borders are related (well it was only based on a sample of 3 up till now), has been ruined as new results in for the FAIRBAIRN Surname DNA project show the 4th participant is from a different line - pages yet to be updated to show this.

What defines a "cousin"?

Earliest known ancestor for Walter is a John FAIRBAIRN, his son was John A Sr, married to Charity SMITHSON.
Clarissa is a descendant of David & Jane (WILLIAMSON) FAIRBAIRN, David being brother of William (marr. Jean WANLESS) FAIRBAIRN (see FAIRBAIRN Surname DNA project for link to Archibald (marr. Alison CROSSER) FAIRBAIRN).
Census data shows Walter as "cousin" to Clarissa's father David, but also David as "cousin" to Walter's father William George.
Yesterday I stumbled upon a reference to papers donated to the University of North Dakota by a Lawrence D FAIRBAIRN, born Montana and decided to investigate. He turned out to be the son of Angus U(rquhart?) FAIRBAIRN, and therefore a descendant of David and Jane (WILLIAMSON) FAIRBAIRNs. Further web searches led me to assorted Eatonville papers of Washington State that reported the daily goings on of the community, including that Mr and Mrs John A FAIRBAIRN of Hoquiam had been visiting, John being stated as cousin of Angus.
No surprise there, John and the above Walter being related, as were Angus and Clarissa.
But when I added a search of my previous correspondence about Hoquiam into the mix, I was reminded that a couple of years ago Joe and I had swapped info on the family of John in Hoquiam, and Joe had said that his grandfather Albert's 1938 obit stated that John A in Hoquiam was his cousin. Albert had emigrated from Liverpool to Hoquiam early 1900s, his line works back to a Robert who married an Elizabeth TAYLOR in Newcastle on Tyne 1811 but came from Sunderland himself.
Given Robert's son John is demonstrably in England until 1851 at least, he isn't a candidate for the John A family.
So "cousins" is obviously a loosely defined term by current usage, and presents an interesting puzzle to solve.
FAIRBAIRN web page updated to include a descendant chart for the Cousins of the Cousins.
Once again, any dna project takers?

Sep 6, 2008: ROWE DNA updates

Prompted by another candidate joining the ROWE Surname DNA project I tidied up the pages a bit further. Should be a few less awol links now.

DNA sale extended

Family Tree DNA have extended their summer sale to the end of September, with very good discounts, so if you are at all interested, get in quick. To get the discounts, orders have to be via an appropriate project, so make sure you find the project and use the Join link for it.
I'd love to see a few more FAIRBAIRN lineages represented, not to mention all my other projects: SINTON, ROWE, RUNCIMAN, DAWE or FINLAYSON.

Back to Lennox & Addington, Ontario FAIRBAIRNs.
Does anyone know anything about the family of a William Albert FAIRBAIRN and Grace Helena LONG? They were around Camden & Centreville, Lennox & Addington, Ontario. Lost two sons in WWI, Bruce Wellington and Howard. I've found dtr Ruth married a Victor King William EDGAR, and son John Albert FAIRBAIRN married Henrietta Susannah BALSDON in the 1910s.
William Albert's 1905 death cert shows him to be the son of a Robert and Jane FAIRBAIRN whom I've not yet identified, but would love too.

CREBER page

Further to the John CREBER/Margaret GILES as per 26th: Helen provided the 1827 burial info for a 75 yr old Margaret CREBER, of Dostabrook, wife of a John, buried Walkhampton. I believe this makes the John CREBER living with Henry and Joan TOOP in 1841 at Dotterbrook, Par. of Whitchurch, Joan's father, and therefore her mother is this Margaret, nee GILES.

Given so many of these Devon families are related, or connected, to the CREBER tribe(s), even though the earlier lot are not my forebears, I have included a CREBER web page with a couple of charts on how I think some of the families are connected. A lot of the data has been gleaned from census records, and a fair bit of it checked against BDM data, but not all. For these families, a great deal of economy of effort is to be found, find one census record, sometimes it covers several inter-related families.

Identifying John CREBERs

When working on Devon families around Walkhampton, Buckland Monachorum, Whitchurch etc, you just cannot avoid CREBERs. I've convinced myself that the Joan CREBER who married Henry TOOP is the one at Dotterbrook in Tavistock in 1841, with what looks like her father John. And that this John is the one who married Margaret GILES. John buried Walkhampton 1845, Henry and Joan (CREBER) TOOP buried Buckland Monachorum, 1844 and 1850 respectively.
Does anyone agree, or disagree, and if the latter, have you more evidence than I on where he belongs?

Family Tree DNA are offering good discounts for their tests until the end of August. Anyone interested in joining the FAIRBAIRN, SINTON, ROWE, RUNCIMAN, DAWE or FINLAYSON projects should get in quick.
If you do so, make sure you find the right surname project and use that to order the test or else the discounts wont be applied, eg a 37 marker test is $119 US, and a 67 marker includes the mt dna test for only slightly more than the usual 67 marker Y-DNA test, at $289 US.

Aug 25, 2008: TOOP update

BARTER descendant chart updated to include all of the TOOP descendants I already had in my database but not published. Most have had their basic birth/death/marriage data confirmed where I was able, and in checking this, and some census data off, one or two other extended family members were found and updated, mostly CREBERs.
This newfound connection makes Sarah Ann KING and her husband Robert John Newcombe TOOP related as both 1st, 3rd and 5th cousins!
NB some online trees have the John TOOP who married Sarah WILLCOCK as dying 19 Apr 1836. He was buried at Buckland Monachorum, the burial entry of 23 Apr 1834 showing him as aged 68, of Whitchurch. I therefore suspect that the day and month might be correct, but a couple of years out.

FAIRBAIRN descendants wanted...

Still plugging away trying to find living descendants on a couple of FAIRBAIRN lines to try and prove my theory of a relationship to Robert FAIRAIRN and Kate SCOTT of Napanee/Richmond Ontario and to my Archibald etc.
Anyone out there a descendant of the family of Archibald FAIRBAIRN and Jane BLAKEY? From Northumberland to Ontario.
Son Archibald was in McMurrich Township, Parry Sound, another, Robert FAIRBAIRN married Martha HUSTON and settled at Vegreville, Alberta.
Another line of interest is that of William FAIRBAIRN and Katherine MORGAN.
Known sons: Archibald Goodison (married Lucinda ROBINSON and Margaret AULD, lived North Fredericksburg for a while); Robert (married Alberta GARRISON and last sighted in Qu'appelle, Saskatchewan); William (married Minnie ANDERSON), still in Richmond, Lennox & Addington, Ontario in 1901; Wellington.

Devon inter-related families strike again.
When I started checking further on the TOOP family (see 21st), I realised that further back up the TOOP tree most people with this lot in their online trees seem to think there's a John TOOP and Sarah WILLCOCK(S). This Sarah being of an age to the the dtr of Walter WILLCOCK and Mary MORRELL, and therefore more of my BARTER descendants. The BARTER connection being dependent on the correct id of the Ann BARTER who married Walter's father Walter.
Along the way I found another OXENHAM married in, and lost Thomas Reed DAWE. Anyone seen him after his 1872 marriage to either Ellen DAWE or Mary Gill WILLCOCK? This Mary Gill WILLCOCK is the dtr of Jane OXENHAM and Henry WILLCOCK, butcher of Horrabridge, and I stumbled on the family because Richard TOOP was with them in the 1851 census.
The other groom in the 1872 marriage page was a Henry LANGMAN, but at the moment I cannot find who married whom via census or death data.

All those buses coming along at once

Updates from contacts on several fronts in the last few days. Just like buses, nothing for ages on a branch, then along come several contacts all at once.
David & I have been talking FINLAYSON dna (a FINLAYSON Surname DNA project has now been set up if anyone is interested).
Then along comes Jocelyn asking about my William TAYLOR/Isabella FINLAYSON. We were last in contact in 1999. This time I got more serious, and although I still haven't quite convinced myself that her Henderson TAYLOR is the son of William and Isabella, it does look quite likely.
However, in the process, I reviewed what else I had on William, and finally convinced myself that yes, he was the son of William TAYLOR and Janet SMITH of Wester Watten, AND that Jean (who married David McBEATH), was indeed his sister. TAYLOR chart updated.

Then today there were two separate contacts with regard to Devon CREBER connections.
Katherine pointed out that Mary TOOP, dtr of Robert John Newcombe TOOP and Mary Ann SPRY, had married Philip BLOWEY, son of Frederick BLOWEY and his cousin Laura Marina BLOWEY. Two of Philip's brothers married two of my SPRY relations, and Robert TOOP's uncle married one of my DAWE relations.
In the process of checking around this info I also found that Mary's step sister Margaret King TOOP had married a John C W ROWE (1919, registered Tavistock). Wonder if he'll turn out to be another rellie?
Whatever of the many charts all this was on have been updated too.

Meet John BAIN & Sinclair MANSON

The newfound BAIN descendants have progressed enough for it to be time for a update to my main WorldConnect db: LornaHenderson.

And with all this activity on the BAINs I thought it was also long overdue for my BAIN 2*great-grandparents to be out on the web, so meet Sinclair MANSON and John BAIN. They've taken rather longer than a lot of the more recent finds, it being a fact of my genealogical life that my much older research isn't as cleanly documented, so each bit I touched meant I had to tidy up several others!

Aug 16, 2008: More BAIN updates

BAIN chart(s) updated with where I've got to so far with Livy's info and related research.
Descendants scattered from one coast of America to the other.

Aug 14, 2008: Who is Elizabeth McKAY?

Still plugging away at all the wonderful info Livy has shared on the New Jersey branch of the BAIN tree.
In the meantime, I've added a BAIN letter and the related people to the Originals sub section of my web pages.
Another Tasmanian DAWE twig has found me (Hi Phil), so look for some further updates shortly.

Aug 11, 2008: Johanna remembered

Yet more work on the James BAIN/Helen ANDREW portion of the thicket.
Descendant chart updated, and more importantly, a page added for Johanna. Nice pic ta Livy. Few more twigs and investigations to come yet.

Back to Caithness

Amazing what an unexpected find does to spur on further research to fill gaps. Several more twigs on the James BAIN/Helen ANDREW portion of the BAIN tree. Most of the charts updated with work to date, more to come - the daughters turn out to have married: SUTHERLAND, FALCONER, MOWAT, GUNN

Caithness to New Jersey?; More Ontario FAIRBAIRNs

Where does the time go? Mostly been working on Ontario FAIRBAIRN and related families, in no particular order: GRIEVE, WINDOVER, HUFF, COUGHLIN, HUDSON, RAYCRAFT, ASSELSTINE, FRENCH, FITCHETT, PAGE, VADER.
FAIRBAIRN descendants chart updated.

Sidetracked from FAIRBAIRNs to investigate Livy's theory that her x-greats grandmother Johanna/Jean KERR nee BAIN, d/o of a James and Ellen BAIN, just might be Johanna, d/o James BAIN and Helen ANDREW.
My initial worry was that if the age was right, she had emigrated to America as a 16/17 yr old - but with whom?
However, a 1924 letter from her younger sister Hannah in Wick, written to the American relations, clearly states that the sister didn't remember her as she had left so young, and I quickly found a dth cert of this Hannah, with the right address, that showed we had the right parents. As the letter also mentions Kate, implying she is Johanna and Hannah's sister, I presume Johanna emigrated with her elder sister.
This could well explain how I've not had much joy finding most of the girls in this family after about 1871.

Rootsweb WorldConnect db LornaHenderson updated (prior to this BAIN find). Also updated are the Rootsweb pages (after this BAIN find).

Jul 31, 2008: Found a home for Robert

For better or worse, I've decided that the Robert FAIRBAIRN who emigrated to Ontario who supposedly had children: Elizabeth, Alison, Jane, William, James and Robert, is another son of Archibald FAIRBAIRN and Alison CROSSER.
This is admittedly conjecture, but based on several bits of circumstantial evidence, a lot of which hinges upon Napanee as a place in common.
Would love to hear from anyone who can comment authoritatively either way, especially as I've also decided that the William who married Catherine MORGAN is his son William.
Webpages updated to include identified family to date in the descendants charts, and to give Robert a page of his own to outline some of my reasons.
Related surnames: FITCHETT, GRIEVE, STRAIN, MORGAN, HAYNES, and in the next generations: VADER (no not Darth), FRENCH, GOULD, ROBINSON, VINE, GARRISON, ANDERSON, HEFFERAN, FRISKIN, GILLESPIE, SMITH, PAGE

Jul 22, 2008: Ontario FAIRBAIRNs; DNA updates

Anyone know anything about a Robert FAIRBAIRN in Ontario from about 1828?
Scott sent me an extract from the Scots in Canada pre Confederation which showed a Robert born abt 1786 emig 1828, settled nr Selby, Lennox & Addington Co, with children including: William, James, Robert, Elizabeth, Jane, Alison (marr. David FITCHETT, lived Huntingdon Twp, Hastings Co)
Alison and Robert look like they were born Scotland, still trying to trace the rest of them, but the 1851 census shows Robert Snr and Jnr enumerated with a 22 yr old Esther, all born Scotland, along with an 11 yr old Robert born USA and yet another Archibald, aged 9 born Canada West (Ontario).
Sounds promising for a connection to my lot.

Newfoundland DAWEs are now represented on the DAW/DAWE DNA project. There must be some proven descendants on the Devon lines out there somewhere who'd like to take part!
Also progress on the FAIRBAIRN DNA project, the line of Robert FAIRBAIRN and Janet HOGARTH, whose son William married Isabella SINTON.
And another on the SINTON project. I'd been trying to find a suitable candidate down the line of John SINTON and Alison HALL, but in the end one found the project and saved me some effort.
Thank you Steve, I do so hope we get a match with the other Southdean SINTONs.

NB the WorldFamilies DNA pages are undergoing a revamp outside my control, so some links may not work at the moment, and some info is missing, will remedy soon.

Online databases updated

Both the main Rootsweb WorldConnect databases (LornaHenderson and
LornaPotential) have been updated today, so will take a while to come back online and be visible via front end general Rootsweb searches. Use the links here instead if you're trying to find someone specific.

Back to Wick

Updated David FAIRBAIRN's page, and the FAIRBAIRN chart to reflect the removal of Martha from the immediate family (see 13th).

The Border line that produced a Congregational Minister who was in Wick in 1891 (father living in Ormiskirk, Lancashire) has another Caithness connection. David Russell SCOTT's dtr married in Edinburgh to Lancelot CORMACK (educational publisher) whose father was born Wick.

Jul 13, 2008: Martha moved

Information newly to hand (from Joan G) has reduced the family of David and Jane (HERD) FAIRBAIRN by one. Martha, wife of George TRACY, brother of the Jane TRACY who married Archibald James FAIRBAIRN, turns out to be a JUNOR, not a FAIRBAIRN, according to her husband's 1871 Mt Morris obituary.
Wonder why the San Diego FH Centre who submitted the data on her and George to ancestral file thought she was a FAIRBAIRN? That in itself could be another interesting lead.

Greenes? now Cavers!

Reviewed the Morebattle Gateshaw Film to see if I could decipher David FAIRBAIRN's birthplace a little better. Scrub "Greenes?", I now reckon it is Cavers, Parish of Eckford, which I thought was in Southdean, but GenUKi's gazetteer says has its own parish.
The webpage recentchanges for the 9th/10th, apart from David, are cosmetic changes rather than information changes.

More HUDSONs

Another HUDSON day, with another breakthru, this time on the family of William HUDSON and Aylsie FAIRBAIRN (dtr of William FAIRBAIRN and Jean WANLESS). See the GenForum HUDSON board for the details.
I was somewhat puzzled how a family could be so definite about the exact birthdates of their two children, over two census records, when the dates are impossible for them to both belong to the mother shown (Mary), but that could explain how come George's birth isn't obvious in the Manitoba records under HUDSON, but there is a neatly matching one as George Eddy MISSIER, mother Dina, who is probably the Dana MESSIER shown as a daughter of Mary in the 1901 census.
Also finally found William & Elcy (FAIRBAIRN) HUDSON in 1851, at Wakefield, a few entries away from her brother George FAIRBAIRN, along with a couple more likely children, Robert and Jane.
William Jnr (marr. to Mary Louise previously MESSIER, nee GETDISS (?GEDDES) show up in the 1911 census in Masset, British Columbia, so followed the injunction to "go West young man".
Still looking for John and Caroline after 1901, although it looks like they may have moved to Brandon.

Hunting HUDSONs

Continued on with descendants of Walter LILLY and Mary FAIRBAIRN. The charts have been updated as it appears some descendants I had as hers, actually belonged to second marriages etc, not where I had them. (Wish the James Arnold WOOD obit I was working from had said survived by his step brothers). Looks like at least one marriage kept things in the family, with Henry WOOD marrying his brother's widow (Eda L SUTHERLAND) after Elizabet Jenet LILLY died.
Those showing on WC are hers, it was some who hadn't made it that far in my publishing of data.
It has been interesting looking back at some of my previous emails, searches etc. I came soooo close to solving this FAIRBAIRN mystery (what happened to David and James, brothers of my Walter) several years ago. I have rediscovered correspondence on file with a now known connection who couldn't recognise my FAIRBAIRNs, and I didn't know about her TRACY, LILLY, IREDALE connections back then, and if I hadn't been so broke when I first found the Cottonwood, Iowa Robert Safley FAIRBAIRN, I could have ordered his death cert then and kept digging.
Such is genealogical life, but it does show that time does solve most mysteries.

Took a break from David and Jane (HERD) FAIRBAIRNs' family and went back to the Quebec FAIRBAIRNs, checking/adding rather a lot of HUDSONs into the tree, spurred on by renewed contact from Ellen H wanting to know about Anthony MORRIS-ROWE, first husband of Mary Ann HUDSON, her husband's grandfather's sister. Couldn't add much to the sum of genealogical knowledge other than his marriage cert shows his parents as Michael and Mary MORRIS-ROWE.
In the process I got interested in who William Fairburn HUDSON was. He has to fit into the picture somewhere given he was in Parry Sound where the HUDSONs seem to congregate (until they moved to Michigan) but I've not placed his parents George HUDSON and Eliza(beth) RAYCROFT as yet.

Hopefully the DAWE Surname DNA project may have found, or been found by, it's first participant. Fingers crossed. I promised I'd get back to finding representatives of my Devon lines, so any DAWE males out there who want to help connect up Newfoundland DAWE families with their assumed Devon and Dorset roots, please check out the project, we'd love to hear from you.
And the FAIRBAIRN project may be about to add in another participant too, which should prove interesting, particularly as he traces back to an Eckford FAIRBAIRN, where I've only recently discovered mine were based for a while.

Eckford not Morebattle

Check out the Recent changes. Mostly from my finally reading the Morebattle Gateshaw Associate Session records - long overdue. Turns out that my "Morebattle" FAIRBAIRNs, are actually Eckford FAIRBAIRNs with a thing against the local Established Church at Eckford, having their children baptised by the Gateshaw minister at Morebattle instead. Assuming that my Walter really did know where he was born (Swinton), then Archibald and Alison moved from there to Eckford and were at Grahamslaw and then ?Greenes? for the next three baptisms.
Which may well add some weight to Betsy's current search for why David had McDOUGALL as his middle name - seem to be a few of them in Eckford.
If you're wondering where the rest of the research log went, I've archived off the first 6 months of the year into 2008: Jan-Jun

Jun 30, 2008: Rootsweb pages tidyup

Thought it was about time the Rootsweb pages were updated. I also did a behind the scenes tidyup, so I hope I didn't delete something necessary - let me know of any broken links/missing images etc.

Jun 29, 2008: Clergyman to Attorney to Newspaperman

Many thanks to the USGenWeb sites, and Betsy (yet again). Betsy found a History of Western Nebraska with a biography of a Robert H FAIRBAIRN, Jr which conclusively linked Clergyman Robert to newspaperman Robert, as one and the same person, his father. One more mystery solved.
Web pages updated, and Mary LILLY nee FAIRBAIRN included for good measure.

Mattie in Moorcroft or Modesto?

I've admitted defeat - I cannot find what happened to Mattie FAIRCHILD, dtr of John and Lucinda (BOYCE) FAIRCHILD.
Known info: mentioned as the surviving daughter of Lucinda when she died in 1908, as Mrs J E SULLIVAN of Moorcroft, Wyoming. Mentioned by Grandma VIELE (so pre 1956), as last heard of in Modesto, California, as a nurse.
May have been called Winifred.
RootsWeb WorldConnect db updated, wont be available for searches for up to 36 hours, so use the facility to jump straight to database LornaHenderson

Jun 27, 2008: LILLYs of the field

FAIRBAIRN chart updated, yet again, to reflect latest findings, most updates were in the descendants of Mary FAIRBAIRN and Walter LILLY.
The id of Mary was definitely clinched for me when I found a "cousin" with them in 1920, one Lorraine E LEE, grddtr of Mary's sister Esther.

Herding more FAIRBAIRNs

Been busy chasing some of the FAIRBAIRN/SAFLEY family around in the census, and in the process, trying to figure out if I'd picked up the right Robert H, grdson of Robert and Helen (FAIRBAIRN) SAFLEY in the 1910 census. Decided that he couldn't possibly get from a to b between the two census days he appeared in (with parents James and Mary in Portland, Multomah Co, Oregon) on the 15th April 1910, with an uncle and aunt on the 21st (Brook Park, Pine Co, Minnesota).

Meanwhile Betsy had worked another of her miracles and found what looked like Mary dtr of David and Jane (HERD) FAIRBAIRN. She had also had made it to Mt Morris, Waushara Co, Wisconsin, where she pops up with husband Walter LILLY (married Huron Canada according to a patron submission on the IGI).

Jun 23, 2008: FAIRBAIRN to RUNCIMAN

Interesting journey today. Checked off a marriage cert for one chap, looked at the other one on the page and realised it was one of the FAIRBAIRN/CLAPPERTON lot. So off I went checking what I did and didn't have for the family from assorted census data. Decided to cross check one census against a marriage, so got the cert, and realised that I already had the groom in my database down my RUNCIMAN tree. James WALLACE, descendant of William MERCER and Janet RUNCIMAN, married Janet CLAPPERTON, descendant of George FAIRBAIRN and Janet PURDIE. No, they weren't related, but both are distant relations of mine.
The FAIRBAIRN Surname DNA project is growing - a descendant of the family of William FAIRBAIRN and May CARTER (married Greenlaw 1792) has joined, so that should be an interesting addition given where all the family lived - Greenlaw, Eccles, Earlston, Jedburgh, Bedrule, Ednam (with Dumfries, and Kirkcudbright thrown in for good measure).

Jun 22, 2008: Elsie found too

And Betsy found David and Jane (HERD) FAIRBAIRN's dtr Elsie too. So more of the family have been documented. Elsie married Joseph L BROTT, variously described as born Canada, Michigan or New York. Apparently has two children, so it does look likely that the 1850 census Jane is hers (still to be found after that census though).

Miles of Fairbairns

Think I've found David and Jane (HERD) FAIRBAIRN's dtr Jane in the States as well.
On the Waushara County, Wisconsin GenWeb site there are some marriages transcribed from the Wautoma Courthouse records, including an 1854 marriage of a Jane FAIRBAIRN and a Joseph PROCTOR. Census data shows that Jane was born Scotland c 1824, AND they lived in Mt Morris, Waushara County, which is also where David and Jane were to be found at one stage.
Dtr Elvira married a Joseph MILES and lived Dale, Cottonwood, Minnesota, then Garfield, Washington State.
Anyone got any obits to prove these connections?
Jane appears to have disappeared between 1880 (Dale, Cottonwood, Minnesota living with dtr and son-in-law) and 1900. I've not found Alvira (MILES) beyond 1900 (River, Garfield Co, Washington) as yet.

Jun 19, 2008: Tracing TRACY

Betsy and I have convinced each other that she has found yet another dtr for David FAIRBAIRN and Jane HERD. The Jane TRACY who married David & Jane's son Archibald had a brother George who is listed on ancestral file as marrying a Martha FAIRBORN, who just happened to be born St Mary, Perth, Ontario, 1834. Looks like another example of siblings marrying siblings. The circumstantial evidence includes the fact that in the 1870 census George and Martha have moved from Perth to Mt Morris, Wisconsin, which just happens to be where David and Jane are now living as well. A George and Elizabeth of an age to be his parents are also with them.
In 1870 George and Martha are shown with two children, Anna and George, both born Canada. Betsy excelled herself and found an Annie of the right age, with parents given as George and Martha, marrying back in St Marys, Perth, to a clergyman Robert O KELLOGG.
Darned if I can find the TRACY family in Canada in 1851 though, or anywhere in 1880. It looks as if Anna/Annie died in California about 1886 and their only dtr shortly before that.
In the process of ferreting around in Ontario records, several more twigs have also been added/updated on the Quebec FAIRBAIRNs (mainly the family of Clarissa Harlow FAIRBAIRN and Elihu Robert MARSTON, but several others as well).
Also found another dtr for the family of John FAIRBAIRN and Margaret SINTON, a Rachel popped up with them in 1851, and I later found her 1929 death in Blandford, Ontario.
Depending of course on when you are reading this, any of the links above pointing to WorldConnect wont necessarily show the updates, as I haven't uploaded them yet, but any pointing to charts on my domain web pages have been.

Attorney, Newspaper Publisher, ?clergyman?

Another successful conclusion to a few days searching. I've been trying to find what happened to Robert the son of David FAIRBAIRN and Jane HERD, and had been following a couple of candidates around Wisconsin and Iowa records, both Robert H FAIRBAIRN/FAIRBURN, one married to a Lucy, with sons Lewis D and Robert (1860 and 1870 census) and another married to a Sarah, with dtrs Bird and Ora, but with a possible son David from a prior marriage (later census records).
I'd given up trying to prove they were one and the same person and decided to go public on GenForum asking if anyone recognised the families and could help.
And 5 minutes later, decided to also check out, and post, to the Rootsweb Iowa board, which I searched for FAIRBAIRNs first. Didn't find any, but when I searched for Chickasaw I did find a link to the Iowa GenWeb pages, where I plugged in FAIRBAIRN to see what would come up.
Lo and behold, Robert H FAIRBAIRN pops up straight away, as Robert Hurd, or Herd, FAIRBAIRN, author of a 1919 history of the county, born Napanee, Ontario. So, what with his mother's maiden name explaining the H in the census records, and a birth place the same as sister Eshter, I'd found the right chap, despite the fact that he was an attorney and newspaper editor and publisher, neither occupation being typical in the family.
Haven't proven the Lucy link though.
Rootsweb LornaHenderson db updated, and pages added to the web for both Robert Herd FAIRBAIRN, and his father David.

Jun 13, 2008: OneWorldTree

I continue to be amazed, or more accurately, incredulous, at Ancestry's OneWorldTree. I just hate the way it automatically combines data, presents it as fact, and makes it look I've contributed rubbish data! I've tried getting them to remove the original gedcom they used way back for my data, but all I've succeeded in doing is that they've changed the last update date from the really old ?1995? date, to a more modern one, which makes it even worse.
So, if you are looking at OneWorldTree and follow links back to the sources that show data supposedly contributed by me, don't necessarily believe what you see there, jump out to the web pages (at least that link is accurate) and look at the current data on WorldConnect.

Jun 11, 2008: Dashing soldier anyone?

Still sorting out FAIRBAIRNs, tracking them around Ontario, Iowa, Minnesota, Washington, California +++, and in the process wondering if some of the other Lennox Co, Ontario families are also connected, particularly any with connections to Napanee, where David and Jane's dtr Esther's obit says she was born (in 1840).
Added a couple more photos to the web, including an unidentified dashing young chap clad in tartan, in Hamilton, Ontario, and a lovely photo of James and Joan's dtr Barbara.
Thanks Betsy and Melinda, respectively.

Even fewer James'

Another very successful FAIRBAIRN day, culminating in 3 fewer James FAIRBAIRNs in my database.
For some reason I decided to check the actual marriage entry for Alison, dtr of James and Joan (FORSYTH) FAIRBAIRN. What a bonus. She was described as of Melrose bridge bar, and a few entries down the page was a James FAIRBAIRN of the same place, marrying an Elizabeth LAIDLAW. I'd stumbled across James' 2nd marriage!
I then found I already had James and Elizabeth in 1851, but hadn't known who she was, so had never connected them, but had tentatively identified that James as the one an Elizabeth LAIDLAW or FAIRBAIRN, relict of James of Lantonhall, and if that held, he was highly likely to also be the James F. who erected a headstone to his uncle James CROSSER. So, all these James' have now been combined, and James FAIRBAIRN's web page updated.
Several more twigs have been identified from US census records as well, and more snippets received from Melinda to add to the picture of our Civil War veteran, John FAIRBAIRN aka FAIRCHILD.

Jun 5th, 2008: The army and John F. didn't agree

John, son of James and Joan (FORSYTH) FAIRBAIRN is now on the web, with what I suspect could be the reason for his name change from FAIRBAIRN to FAIRCHILD.

Orkneys to Edinburgh

GenesReunited has come up trumps again. A while ago I found another FAIRBAIRN twig had married a FOTHERINGHAM from the Orkneys. And there she was on GR. The descendant (Diana) has now been in touch, extending the family of James and Agnes down to present day (Hampshire mainly).

In the process of getting John, son of James and Joan (FORSYTH) FAIRBAIRN onto the web as Melinda has come up with a couple of photos and some family snippets that illustrate the relationship evidence.

Jun 2, 2008: SAFLEY/SAFELY does it

Major update to the FAIRBAIRN, (or should I say FAIRCHILD?) tree. About a month ago I was contacted by a lady with FAIRBAIRNs in Iowa but I couldn't spot any immediate connection. Sanna, bless her cotton socks, dug out an old message I'd posted to help someone else with some Iowa FAIRBAIRN data and kept me in the loop when she found more.
Betsy kept digging, turning up FAIRBAIRN/SAFLEY cousins marrying FAIRCHILD cousins between a family of a James and of a David, in Ontario and Iowa/Nebraska/Connecticut/Washington ++. Then she got back in touch, having found my plea for "what happened to this family - that of the James in Selkirk in 1841 with children named Alison, Archibald etc.
Both her David and her James had children named Alison and Archibald, the family stories for her James matched by name, date and age, the family in Selkirk in 1841. With a lot more digging, over the space of the last couple of days, we've confirmed what happened to David and James, sons of Archibald FAIRBAIRN and Alison CROSSER.
The FAIRBAIRN family tree has grown somewhat as a result.
And even better, one of the prior researchers of the American line has reminiscences from "Grandma Viele", which bring them to life, and photos, some of which will gradually be added to the web.
In the meantime I've added one of the newfound Archibald FAIRBAIRNs to the web pages to add a bit of colour to the family story.
Watch this space.

May 25, 2008: Solving RIDDELLs

Mostly FAIRBAIRN tidyups of late. A lead from Alison added a RIDDELL branch to the family of Archibald FAIRBAIRN and Mary GRIERSON (I had noted the marriage of an Agnes FAIRBAIRN to a John RIDDELL, but never explored further), and several others have had a few dates/places confirmed/added, including the family of Walter FAIRBAIRN and Agnes HENDERSON.
Another WINES branch has also been brought forward in present day Australia thanks to Gary B., whom I calculate is a 6th cousin.

May 21, 2008: Hello hello hello !

Birth certs have arrived to confirm my educated guesses as to the fate of John A T WIGHT. Yes he did move south into Northumberland, become a member of the Constabulary, and marry Elizabeth PERCIVAL. Son John George WIGHT was born Stocksfield Broomley where J A T W was a Police Constable, and dtr Janet Hobkirk WIGHT was born in the Police Station at Rothbury where J Q T W was by then a Sergeant of Police.
Having fun checking FAIRBAIRN loose ends and tidying all sorts of things up as I realise I have duplications in my database, now that I can access census records more readily.
I had previously concentrated on all the Archibald and Alison/Alice FAIRBAIRNs I could find, but given the recent-ish DNA revelations, I've extended investigations to Roberts, and Georges - but keep getting sidetracked, surprise surprise.
Did stumble across the death of Robert son of George FAIRBAIRN and Janet PURDIE, so there are several more twigs on that tree, which someone else has obviously been interested in, as there are patron submissions on the IGI for the family of Robert and Elizabeth (WAYNESS) FAIRBAIRN.
All of which gave some light relief from trying to sort out the discrepancies in the family of William FAIRBAIRN & Sarah FARRELL.

Elizabeth AINSLIE revived

The SINTON chart has a few new twigs on it. I was checking off my recent batch of updates to OneGreatFamily and found a hint that led to some investigations in the AINSLIE family. One correction is that I had Elizabeth, dtr of Robert & Agnes (WELSH) AINSLIE, as dying on 19 Mar 1904. I couldn't verify that, and as it turned out to be her marriage day to Andrew McDOUGALL, I thought I'd better revive her.
The other main branch of the family updated was that of Agnes Isabella AINSLIE and James COMMON, who now have a few more children identified as I found them in the 1901 census. (Agnes is the above Elizabeth's sister).
Rootsweb pages about to be brought up to date after a 2 month lull.

May 14, 2008: Jasmine

The Original documents subsite has had the rest of the 1894 Tasmanian letter images included, as are all the people referenced, implicitly or explicitly. Would still love to track down present day DAW descendants of this lot (and any other lines for that matter).
DNA testing of a matrilineal descendant of Jane ANDREWS nee GIBSON has shown her to belong to "Jasmine" of the "Seven Daughters of Eve, as the descendant was haplotype J1a. There are some links at the bottom of Jane's page about this.

May 13, 2008: Guestbooks fixed - mostly

Guestbook problems have been explained. Yes, they were to do with the integration of Rootsweb into Ancestry, a domain name included in the code for all the guestbooks has to change, would have been nice to have been told that explicitly.
At least the existing postings haven't been lost.
I've fixed most of the entry points into the Guestbook, except the Rootsweb Freepages site.
In doing so, my Paradise hosted Homepages have also had an overdue update, given it has been 5 months since they were last updated.

May 11, 2008: Letter from Tasmania

Few more tweaks and additions to the originals subsite. Letter from Australia partially added (more to come), some letters/photos resized for better viewing, Isaac DAW(E) from Tasmania and wife Emma GREEN included on pages.

May 10, 2008: Simon writes home

Something seems to have changed with the Rootsweb GuestBooks, all posts are rejecting. I've logged an error and hope this will be temporary, and that the existing posts wont be lost, as I suspect this is something to do with the integration of Rootsweb into ancestry.com.
Been busy identifying and adding RICHARDSON photos to my database, thanks to Grace's photo album, nothing new online there as yet though.
Have included an 1842 letter home from Taranaki in the original documents subsite. It was written/dictated by Simon ANDREWS to his parents, and included in a book of "Letters From Settlers & Labouring Emigrants, in the New Zealand Company's Settlements of Wellington, Nelson, & New Plymouth" published in 1843. I note that it is now on Google books.
So this means that Simon ANDREWS, my 2greats, is finally online in my web pages, albeit only for his basic info. It's a fact of my life that those of the closest rellies that aren't on the web yet, have a bit too much data available, and I've not spent the time winnowing it down for the web.
The will of Margaret MOSSMAN nee SCOTT has a few more bits transcribed, and behind the scenes a bit more data on some of the people involved.

May 9, 2008: SINTON/GIBSON twigs

While checking something else I noticed that I'd not found what happened to the family of Daniel & Maggie (Margaret Wilkie SINTON) GIBSON.
Didn't find them all, but several updates have occured, namely: Daniel died after 1881 as Maggie remarried, as a widow, in 1887 to Henry ROSS, adding yet another blacksmith to my extended family. They appear to have moved to Lanarkshire (Airdrie) from Falkirk. Son Peter died single in 1950, the informant being a Fred WARK (possibly of the family he was with in the 1901 census); David Irvine GIBSON died at Stonehouse in 1939, married and with at least one child, James Stewart GIBSON. His marriage to James' mother Sarah Brown STEWART shows David as a widower, so there's another marriage to find as yet; the 1891 census added another child to the family, another Daniel. With a large gap between the 1873 Jane Rae and this new Daniel, c 1882, there may well be others yet to be found.
Maggie died in 1897, after which Henry appears to have remarried as he pops up in 1901 with an Elizabeth as a wife, and several more step-children by name McGREGOR (as opposed to 1891 when it was his GIBSON step children that finally allowed me to find Maggie et al in that census.

"Easet"-ing it on the GRAHAMs

Today was a GRAHAM day as a bunch of certificates turned up. Some hits, one miss that turned out a near miss.
Can't seem to find the marriage of David and Jane, both GRAHAM. I therefore ordered the marr. cert of a Jane GRAHAM around the right time and place, but she turns out to have married a Joseph SINTON instead, son of James SINTON, gamekeeper (currently eluding me, although he's probably the one married to Ann IRVING).
Also in the batch was the marriage of John GRAHAM to Elizabeth GRAHAM, so I have pleasure in welcoming their family in from my LornaPotential database as John was indeed the son of George GRAHAM, farmer, and therefore assumed to be the one married to Easet CARRUTHERS (this id being aided by John & Elizabeth's first dtr being Mary Easet GRAHAM).
Elizabeth was the dtr of an Edward and there's probably another connection there as that looks like the family of Edward GRAHAM and Elizabeth BAXTER, with children William, Elizabeth, Andrew, Mary, this latter lady shows up as the inn keeper at the Graham's Arms in West Linton with niece Elizabeth as barmaid (dtr of John & Elizabeth above).
Back to identifying photos and attaching them to the right RICHARDSONs....

May 6, 2008: Snuff anyone?

What a productive day for the RICHARDSON tree.
I decided to try harder to find who might currently have the snuff box. And succeeded. The snuff box is safe and still in the family, and I might even get to see it, or at the very least a photograph of it and the letter.
I can't quite believe that little mystery was solved so quickly and satisfactorily. Nor can the two other cousins who have been helping me in the updates to the tree.
And that wasn't the end of it.
The 1986 chart from Judy, the grddtr of William Record RICHARDSON, showed a daughter to Andrew William Alexander RICHARDSON Jnr, with a possible marriage to a MORGAN, and no known surname to AWAR's wife Mary Sarah Gertrude. It was an easy leap to add an S to the MORGAN and try and figure out if they were connected once I'd confirmed the marriage of Elizabeth Eleanor RICHARDSON to Rodney Evan MORGANS.
This turns out to be another example of cousins marrying cousins. Betty, dtr of AWA and Mary (MORGANS) RICHARDSON married the son of Leopold Carodoc MORGANS, her mother Mary's brother. This relationship info from a phone conversation with the grandson of a third sibling, Alfred Henry MORGANS, all 3 are children of Evan MORGANS, who left Wales a MORGAN and arrived, and stayed, a MORGANS.

May 4, 2008: WIGHT hunch looks good

A bit more detective work on John A T WIGHT's marriage showed that the bride was indeed highly likely to be Elizabeth PERCIVAL. Not only was she in the area in 1901, but her mother was an Isabella IVISON, and there's a birth registered Alnwick in 1905 of an Isabella Ivison WIGHT. So the circumstantial evidence is indeed mounting, so much so that I've included them in the WIGHT tree as such, and will hopefully verify the id by a birth cert.
Prompted by all that success I guess I'd better complete the family and figure out what happened to John A T's sister Helen after her marriage.

Another RICHARDSON will included on my "Original documents" sub site - prompted by also including the two family letters (1961) that mention the snuff horn/box ?presented to? James RICHARDSON of the Eastern & Western Hammermen of Portsburgh, Edinburgh.
Does anyone know where it currently is, including hopefully, the letter inside it explaining it?

May 3, 2008: SINTON & TAYLOR updates

Jane TELFER/TELFORD nee SINTON has now been included on my web pages.

More info received from Peter, the descendant of Leslie Bowman CADELL & Agnes Taylor LYONS, which has brought that line down to the present.

May 2, 2008: Yet another Northumberland copper

The newfound descendant (Margaret Elliot WIGHT) of John WIGHT and Jessie HOPKIRK turns out to have married a David KING, confection baker from Ayr.
Brother John Adam T WIGHT moved south, at least temporarily, as in 1901 he shows up as a police constable in Corbridge, Northumberland,, although it looks like he may have stayed south and joined my growing collection of Northumberland constabulary relations, as there's a marriage in 1902 to either Elizabeth PERCIVAL or Margaret BELL, and a birth of a Janet Hobkirk WIGHT in Rothbury in 1909 that looks like it might match this family. I suspect Elizabeth is the more likely candidate as she appears to be in Corbridge in 1901 and was born in Rockcliff, Cumberland, which would fit with the Brampton Cumberland marriage.
Sister Helen Thomson WIGHT married a Robert Baptie CAMPBELL, stone mason and was living Heiton in 1901. WIGHT tree updated.

May 1, 2008: Willing RICHARDSONs

Check out the updated Originals pages.
A RICHARDSON will has been added, although I've not yet linked hardly any of the people mentioned in the document (I'm still on the first page marvelling at how many houses she had to leave to her nieces and nephews).
This will is part of a bundle of photos and letters delivered today by Grace from Hataitai, quite a bonus really as I was only expecting the will. It's one of those coincidence things again. I rang her yesterday to tell her about being contacted by the grddtr of William Record RICHARDSON, only to be greeted by, "Lorna, I was going to ring you tonight, I'm coming out your way tomorrow and was hoping to meet you and give you the will to copy".
A most welcome surprise, and visit, I'll be busy scanning for a while now.

I'm even more convinced that Jane TELFER nee SINTON in Sth Australia is my Helen's sister. Same chubby face. I'll pop a page up on the web for her when I surface a bit more. In the meantime, a few of the new twigs will be on the SINTON chart.

Apr 29, 2008: SINTON surprise

An interesting couple of days working on my favourite trees, the Border WIGHTs and SINTONs.
Both arose from GenesReunited contacts, and although it has turned out that neither are conclusively linked, information has been updated, thanks to Stephen, for prompting more research on the families of John WIGHT and Jessie HOBKIRK, resulting in another child for the family.
Also to Bill, ex of Jedburgh, now in Oz for our SINTON correspondence, during which it turned out that I'd met his Mum back in 1995!
Was able to set him straight about some of his earlier SINTON connections (family of James SINTON and Isabella FLEMING, whom I've now added to the SINTON Surname DNA Project patriarchs page), and may even find someone to join the DNA project to see if they do or don't relate to my Southdean lot.

And just when I was settling back from a fun update session, in comes an email from Perth, WA asking if I knew anything about a Jane SINTON of Southdean who had married James TELFER.
Yes, but not much, just an 1836 marriage where Jane was of Southdean and James of Jedburgh. I'd not found anything further in Scotland for the couple. No wonder really as they'd emigrated, arriving Adelaide in 1839. The Jedburgh OPR added that James was a farm servant of Edgerston, in Jedburgh Parish and Jane of Dikeraw, Parish of Chesters (where the SINTON descendant Janet MATHER nee SINTON was from about 1810 thru at least 1841) and Verity provided the birth/death dates and children. This latter showed a 2nd son Peter and 1st dtr Jane, which, together with a birth date/place for mother Jane of 1812, Southdean, means I'm happy to welcome them to the family of Peter SINTON and Jane WIGHT, and look forward to learning more.

Cousins?

Thought it was probably time I did an update to my Rootsweb WorldConnect database LornaHenderson. It seems to have grown somewhat since the last update a couple of months ago!
Same warning as earlier, the Quebec FAIRBAIRN families are likely to have quite a few people floating around without parents or full details as I'm only gradually working through the checking off what I do/don't have.

Have also updated the FAIRBAIRN page to include a tree for the "cousins" to the Quebec FAIRBAIRNs.

And wonder of wonders, a descendant of the mysterious William Record RICHARDSON has been in touch!

Apr 26, 2008: never ending story..

Read the never ending story about the tale of the FAIRBAIRN research to date on Archibald and William/David, culminating in the dna matches between the three lines not previously believed related.
The relevant FAIRBAIRN page and related charts likewise are also now updated to reflect my current thinking on the relationships between these families.

Apr 25, 2008: Matching FAIRBAIRNs

Full 67 marker results for all three participants have now been received for the FAIRBAIRN Surname DNA project.
Earl and Roy match 67/67, with Martin a genetic distance (GD) of 3 away. Check out the Discussion page for how I currently interpret this.

Had a chat to the newfound (Australian) 5th cousin down the Caithness TAYLOR line. Should be able to fill in those gaps very soon.

Devon letters ctd

Another letter added to the Devon letters pile, and assorted ROWE family members pages' updated as a result.
Behind the scenes I'm playing mix and match with several fragments, letters that begin and don't end, or end and don't begin, trying to figure out from the context where they all fit.

Apr 21, 2008: Source docs subsite

I think I've figured out a satisfactory way to put Marion's ROWE & DAWE letters onto the web and integrate the web pages as near as I can.
Check out the beginnings of my Original source documents pages.
This subsite only contains people referenced in the source documents included.
I intend this mainly for the letters and possibly wills.
The data on the associated people is restricted to BMD data, along with transcripts of the letters.
So, some people will appear here with basic data but not appear with a narrative on the larger Big Brother site.
Some source documents other than the intended letters will also appear if they are attached to one of the BMD events, so there may be some unexpected bonuses in here.
And I've a LOT of tidying up to do to get all the letters published.

Apr 19, 2008: Less ROWEs?

Having fun working through my photographs of Marion's treasure trove of ROWE and DAWE letters.
Interesting to see that the KING family get a mention in 1902 (Walter had just died and James was at Hatchell), and that the Williamstown Melbourne DAW contingent (David, son of Isaac, and brother to Honour and Thirza) appear to have been in regular contact with the Melbourne BROOKINGs, even though they weren't related, the connection being via the ROWEs.

But more importantly, I think I've just subtracted one from the family of William & Honour (DAWE) ROWE. I've never managed to find corroboration of the Fanny I'd ascribed to the family, born 25 Aug 1863, and also never managed to find corroboration of her brother Henry's birth. A scrap of paper amongst the letters may have solved this, as it gives Henry's birth as 25 Aug 1863. So either I've misread Fanny from my original source, or the original source was wrong. At the moment I'm tending to the idea that Fanny is a figment of my imagination.

The same scrap of paper has my Matthias' birth as 19th September 1852, instead of the 9th Oct I had. What do others have?

Apr 18, 2008: ROWE dna matches

Thankfully, the preliminary results from the two ROWE Surname DNA project participants (Max & Ernest) do show a match. No need to throw out years of research.

Would love to get the DAWE Surname DNA project kick started by finding some eligible (male, still DAW(E) surname) modern day DAWE descendants to participate.