Saturday 29 August 2009

29th: More catch up updates; ALGARs added

Also time I republished my research logs. They've been lagging behind this, the blog version, for rather too long.

In addition, the PEEK surname link to a descendant chart has been replaced by a Peek/Algar page with charts for both surnames. It's been an interesting exercise fossicking around in assorted lease agreements held in the Devon Archives and swapping notes with Richard up the road on who belongs where.
My knowledge of the area around Newton Ferrers, Yealmpton, Ugborough is growing somewhat.
I do wonder how on earth Elizabeth ALGAR of Newton Ferrers met up with Richard PEEK/PYKE of Walkhampton!

Friday 28 August 2009

28th: Continuing in update mode

My main web pages have been fully reloaded, others will follow as time permits.

Full set of BAIN dna results now in. Too early to tell if we have an accurate DNA signature for the line of John BAIN (married Catherine GRAY) as there are no matches to other tested BAIN families (see full BAIN dna project).
We only have one representative for our BAIN line and would very much like a second line to be represented to confirm this dna signature.

PEEK /HELSON et al

With a couple of separate sets of information and new contacts re the extended PEEK/HELSON family of Devon it was time for a catch up.
Thelma left a note in my GuestBook. She is related to Elizabeth THOMPSON, wife of David COOPER, son of Ellen Jane HELSON (Ontario) and provided a couple of family write-ups from the ?1970s? and a photo of Ellen and two of her sisters.
Peter on GenesReunited found me and provided a link to his tree which is the line from Thomas HELSON and Elizabeth PEEK via son John (married Elizabeth HORTOP).
All of which reminded me that I don't think I've ever mentioned the local ALGAR link that surfaced back in May and led to an interesting exchange of emails with Richard, a 5th cousin twice removed who lives just up the road.
It led to a re-examination of my 5*great grandmother, Elizabeth ALGAR, wife of Richard PEEK, who appears in the tree as Mrs Elizabeth ALGAR, from my interpretation of this entry

in the Walkhampton Parish Registers.
Richard disputes the Mrs, given that he's sure he can claim Elizabeth as sister to his x greats grandfather, Samuel (and take Samuel's line back several more generations, mostly in Yealmpton).

PEEK descendant chart updated, as is Elizabeth PEEK nee ALGAR's page.

Also updated OneGreatFamily with the last few weeks of updates to anyone already on-line in any of my databases or web pages.

Thursday 27 August 2009

26th: What's been updated

Time for a catch up for the databases on-line at WorldConnect: LornaHenderson and LornaPotential have both been updated, but may not appear in index searches for a couple of days, so if you want to check anything there, use the links in this post.

LornaHenderson contains basic BMD data on all rellies and those connected to them (no data published on the living, who may not even appear in this database at all).
LornaPotential is also basic BMD data only, but for families that may, or may not, connect to my assorted families.

All source data available on request, or, check my web pages to see if anyone you are interested in has been given a page of their own there, with sources.

Monday 24 August 2009

Devon DAWEs

Brief flurry of activity on some of the Devon DAWE families, prompted by emails to/from Val and a long overdue filing session.

Main family to benefit from the attention was one of the many Isaac DAWEs as I tried to find the family in 1911, not always successfully.
It makes sense that the Isaac married to Amy FOLLETT, and Thirza STEVENS, is the 64 yr old whose death is registered Dartmouth 1917. But if so, where on earth was he in 1911? Found several of the children, but as yet, no Isaac.
NB Val provided the information that Amy didn't die in childbirth as I'd thought was likely, but was kicked by a cow, his narrative has been updated.

The DAWE/DAW Surname dna project would very much like to recruit a representative of (m)any of the Devon DAWE/DAW families to see how they may inter-relate, and whether or not those in Newfoundland are our (distant) relations.
All you have to be is a direct male line descendant of any of the Devon DAWE families, the more the merrier.

Read all about dna testing, and see the existing Newfoundland family at the Summary pages on the WorldFamilies network, and supplementary information on the DNA Projects Portal pages.
(Other projects have had great success in both proving and dis-proving relationships not able to be determined by paper trails).

Sunday 23 August 2009

22nd: Dorothea Beatrice revisited

Think I might have to conclude Dorothea Beatrice GOULD is NOT Dora Myrtle FAIRBAIRN.
I've found a curious death record at Adlophustown, Lennox Co, Ontario of a Dorothea Beatrice GOULD (indexed as Serethea Beatrice), supposedly aged 6, in 1907, informant one Thos J GOULD of E 17 Con 4, which just happens to be exactly where Thomas James GOULD was living in 1911. But 6!! Dorothea should be 22 in 1907 (ancestry's transcribers interpreted the age as 67, but the line below is 58y, so I think the 7 of the 67 is actually "y").

This family really doesn't know their birth dates.
In 1901 Thomas James GOULD with second wife Celia Ann (OLIVER) and family show their children as: Florence M 7, being born 23 Jul 1883 (actual birth cert shows 23 Jul 1893, so the 7 and day/mth were correct); Roy E as 5 born May 19 1885 (cert. is Ernest Roy born 19 May 1895); John B as 3 born 1 Jun 1887 (John Bogart GOULD's birth was registered 1 Jun, but the cert. shows his birth date as 12 May 1897); perhaps the enumerator thought he was doing the 1891 census? I've rechecked the image, it was definitely the 1901 I was looking at. By 1911 normality was resumed, Dorothea not with them, and no marriage, or other death record obvious in Ontario.

So back to the drawing board and trying harder to interpret the "squiggle something daughter" on her 1901 census entry

where Dora is enumerated with Mary FAIRBAIRN (nee STRAIN).

Thursday 20 August 2009

19th: Dora Myrtle &/ or Dorothea Beatrice?

Those two lone FAIRBAIRNs in Brant's database that I mentioned the other day have revived my curiousity about Dora Myrtle FAIRBAIRN.
Brant kindly provided Dora Myrtle HART nee FAIRBAIRN's obituary, which reinforces that, as her marriage cert shows, she thought her name was Dora Myrtle.
I've placed a post-it against Dora on the online Rootsweb database of Rita in the hope that someone may be able to shed some light on this mystery (Rita's 2003 email address bounces, but there appear to be quite a few living descendants, so someone out there might have an answer)

I'm interested in what anyone may be able to tell me about the family of Franklin HART and Dora Myrtle FAIRBAIRN of Fredericksburg, Ontario.

I'm working on a theory that Dora Myrtle is actually
Dorothea Beatrice, dtr of Thomas James GOULD and Agnes Bush FAIRBAIRN.
Agnes died 3 Dec 1886, and dtr Dorothea Beatrice appears with her father Thomas in 1891 (as 5 yr old Dorothea B) and 1901 (Dorah D 15 b Jun 27 1885).
If she and Dora Myrtle are one and the same, how come she also appears with Mary nee STRAIN in 1891 (as dtr Dora FAIRBAIRN, 4) and 1901 (as "something" dtr Dora FAIRBURN, 13 b 27 Jun 1886 or 1887).
The "something" may be an abbreviation for adopted?.

I can't find any other way of explaining Dora Myrtle.
Her marriage cert to Franklin HART shows her parents as James FAIRBAIRN & Mary STRAIN, ie Agnes Bush FAIRBAIRN's parents, but she patently cannot be the dtr of Mary FAIRBAIRN nee STRAIN, although she could be her grddtr.
The puzzle is how come a Dorothea Beatrice can turn into a Dora Myrtle, and show up in two places on two separate censuses.

If they aren't one and the same person, who on earth is Dora Myrtle (the Myrtle only shows up on her marriage cert to Franklin, and her obit as far as I can tell) who appears to share the same birthday and month, and probably year, as Dorothea Beatrice.

So, I'm hoping for some family knowledge and someone who may be able to explain all this.
My interest is the FAIRBAIRNs. I've been trying to find more proof of my assumption of where Archibald James FAIRBAIRN, married to Mary STRAIN, fits into the picture, and one way of doing that is to find descendants who may have either family stories, or be willing to represent his line in the FAIRBAIRN dna project (he himself appears not to have had sons, so his particular line is a literal dead end as far as dna testing goes, but someone might be in touch with cousins).

Wednesday 19 August 2009

18th: Back to Devon

Slight digression from the 1861 Ontario census.
Brenda drew my attention to a ROWE tree on GenesReunited that had Bickleigh connections.
The family (that of John ROWE and Mary WALTERS) has been sitting in my LornaPotential database for a while, to no particular conclusion as to whether or not their proximity to Matthias and Ann (KING) ROWE at Hele in Bickleigh was coincidence.

Jury still out, but next update, more of the names and dates will have been checked off and included. Unlike my ROWEs, who travelled one way to New Zealand, this family came back to England, after a soujourn in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Tuesday 18 August 2009

17th: Archie and Donald

Some time ago I'd noted a Donald FAIRBAIRN entering the States in 1917 with wife Mabel, giving as his "address whence came", that of his brother Archie in Vancouver.

My genealogical ears prick up when I spot unknown Archibald FAIRBAIRNs, but at the time I couldn't place him, or Donald/Mabel.

Happened upon them in my database again today and decided to see what additional information might now be available.

Turned out to be a red herring as far as an Archibald immediately able to be connected to my known FAIRBAIRN families was concerned, but did allow me to connect up three other waifs and strays I'd noted in passing, as being one and the same Archibald.
"Brother Archibald" turned out to be Archibald McDonald Duff FAIRBAIRN, and Donald was St George Donald Frere FAIRBAIRN, both born Sth Africa, sons of William Archibald Shaw FAIRBAIRN, born c 1850 East London, Cape Colony (Sth Africa) and Anna Georgina SMITH born Jamaica.
Although not my immediate family, I'm curious to know whether or not their forbears were from the Scottish Borders, and whether or not there are descendants who may be interested in the FAIRBAIRN dna project, given how inter-related such families are proving to be.

Saturday 15 August 2009

BAINs

Bobby's preliminary dna results are in, so DNA Surnames now includes the first BAIN kit, yet another of my main lines represented.
Way too early days to say where that will lead, but no immediate matches to others in the project already.

See also the other DNA project diaries to keep track of what's changed there, mainly the FAIRBAIRN one as several pedigrees have been added over time, and more results are now in, adding to the jigsaw of the Borders FAIRBAIRNs.

Wednesday 12 August 2009

11th: Ontario bits and bobs

Stumbled across Brant's forest with its two lone FAIRBAIRNs that looked a bit familiar.
And so it proved, and provided a wonderful new contact, Jim, with his local knowledge of the Napanee/Lennox & Addington area. (He has a connection to Peter Nelson KELLER, whom I've just found married to Mary Catherine FAIRBAIRN.)

All of which spurred me on to seeing how many of my Ontario relations and connections might be able to be found in the 1861 census now that it is more readily available.
Could take me a while, after a couple of days I'd only winnowed the list down to some 630, and I'm always prone to being sidetracked.

Monday 10 August 2009

9th: Venturing into Peebles

I'd either not looked, or not found, Helen, dtr of James and Joan (FORSYTH) FAIRBAIRN in the 1841 census until now.
Whilst looking for something else, I happened across a proclamation for her marriage to Robert "SAFLAY" in the Peebleshire OPRs (Traquair) "Robert Saflay of the Parish of Melrose, Helen Fairbairn of this parish".
Having previously been satisfied that they had married in Melrose, I'd not looked further afield.
Spurred on by this find, I searched Peebleshire 1841 census, and found her as a female servant at Cardrona House (James & Elizabeth KER), supposedly along with an Isabella and Mary FAIRBAIRN as well, according to Ancestry transcriptions.
However, FreeCen says the latter are THORBURNs instead. There was an Isabella FORSYTH, not born county, with her though, possibly a cousin?

Friday 7 August 2009

7th: FAIRBAIRN/BLAKEY

Realised that I'd not entered all the known (to me) children of Archibald & Jane (BLAKEY) FAIRBAIRN when I first started tracing them. A dtr Jane and son John show up in the 1861 Ontario census, and when reviewing other data, I realised there was also a dtr Helen or Ellen, born 1848 back in Cowpen, Tyneside, fate beyond the 1851 UK census as yet unknown.
They'll show up online next update.

Saturday 1 August 2009

Buffalo anyone?

As I worked thru the Surrogates Notice I realised that it referred to a nephew of Barbara's that I'd assumed had died young.
Last year Betsy had thought she might have found William George son of James and Elizabeth (O'CONNELL) FAIRBAIRN as a riveter in Detroit in the 1880 census.
At the time I couldn't find him to work out whether or not I agreed or disagreed, but now, with the Surrogate Notice implying that he was still alive in 1896 I became rather more determined, and found suitable candidates in Buffalo, Erie Co, NY 1900, 1910 and 1930, but so far 1920 eludes me.
I am now convinced the 1880 riveter is our William, particularly as the 1871 Canadian census is now more readily available and the full images are available instead of just a heads of household index and he was indeed in Canada with his parents then.
This has added names like Lillian (MARK), Anna, Lester, Edmund, Marion, Eugene and Evelyn to the descendants of James and Joan (FORSYTH) FAIRBAIRN, along with the ever present William, James and Robert names. There may, or may not, also be an Ermina.
So, if you recognise any of these names with Buffalo connections, we would love to hear from you (particularly if you are FAIRBAIRN son and willing to represent this line in the DNA project as we still don't have a representative of a line with a fully confirmed paper trail back to Archibald and Alison (CROSSER) FAIRBAIRN to support our inferred dna signature for Archibald.

The Portsmouth CHIPP/WARE updates will appear in my next upgrade to Rootsweb db LornaHenderson. Yet another instance of two sisters marrying two brothers. Thanks Helen for bringing this to my attention, and Colin for his ancestry tree (with photos).