Ever hopeful

Thought I'd found a connection between the  FAMILTONs I was researching today and my DAWE/GALE twigs: Northumberland and Devon. Still wondering how come they met!
Closer inspection however showed that there were two Martha GALEs of an age born Devon around 1830, one the niece of the John GALE who married Betsy DAWE, the other the daughter of a Maria GALE. The latter's daughter is the one who married Thomas Potts FAMILTON of Preston.

Wondering where I've been?
Check out the FAIRBAIRN and RUNCIMAN project diaries and/or the recent change indexes for their respective One Name Studies, along with the FAMILTON DNA project diary. One day we'll find a willing candidate or two to test the theories on how some of the trees inter-relate.

Those aside here has been some DAW activity following Sheila's posting on my Guestbook with the current investigation being whether or not the Maud Millicent DAWE that Fredy DAW married was a relation?  Jury still out.

SINTON twigs

Email from Dave greeted me this morning, researching Archibald Douglas TURNBULL (Jnr).
Did I know his wife's name? All he had was BROWN and couldn't find a marriage in England.
He was one step ahead of me, I didn't even have Archibald married.
I ended the day a few steps ahead - they married in Edinburgh, presumably because Mary Grace BROWN was working at Fleur, Coldingham at the time, even though she was Northumberland born and bred.
No idea if Mary is any connection to her husband's grandmother Jessie Douglas Carmichael BROWN, with or without an E, daughter of David BROWN(E) watchmaker born Edinburgh.

The SINTON descendant chart these TURNBULLs belong to has been updated with the above and one or two other connected dates, including that for the above Archibald's grandfather's 1934 death as there was a probate indexed in 1934 for Thomas Wilson TURNBULL of the right place, wife and children.
Some trees seem to claim this Thomas Wilson T. as the father of an Archibald Lancelot TURNBULL and have him dying in 1913 in Linlithgow, which date and/or place cannot be verified.

FAMILTONs and LEDGERWOODs

Further to the FAMILTON activity of yesterday, a bit more digging on the Northumberland families unearthed a John FAMILTON marrying a Margaret SENGERWOOD, or so the FamilySearch's England Marriages, 1538–1973 told me.
FindMyPast however has her as LEDGERWOOD, under which name she is indeed shown in assorted census records.
As my FAMILTON connection is on the branch of my tree including RICHARDSON/RUNCIMAN/LEDGERWOOD, I did a bit more digging to see if there might be a connection.
Jury still out, but I did quickly get back to Scotland from Northumberland as her father John LEDGERWOOD was born 1816 in Yetholm, to John LEDGERWOOD and Jean/Jane RIDDEL; John Snr being the son of William LEDGERWOOD or LIDGERTWOOD and Janet STEVENSON. I was interested to note that the 1816 John had a sister Helen/Ellen who married a James RICHARDSON, parents as yet unknown, but born Birgham around 1825, and emigrated to Melbourne, Australia on the "Marian Moore" in 1853.
My LEDGERWOODs hail from Jedburgh, with James, brother of my Walter, being tenant at Lanton in 1714, around which time Walter was at Hundalee.
Walter's last two known children were baptised at Eckford.

At least John was a DAVIDSON

Another set of DNA results just in, the representative for my DAVIDSON line of John DAVIDSON of Chirnside, whom I've suspected of being illegitimate given that his 1900 death cert merely gives a mother's name (Ann COLLINS), and no father at all.
At least it does look like he was a DAVIDSON as there a couple of low level matches. Nothing to get excited about unless the matches' upgrade to 67 markers shows a great match, or a paper trail can be worked out to link an 1841 Earsdon, Northumberland DAVISON with presumed Scottish forbears, to my brick wall, John, born abt 1817 Chirnside, Berwickshire.
The DAVIDSON DNA project chap pointed out that our non-Davidson surname matches had a lot of Chisholm's, adding that this would suggest a ancient connection before the advent of surnames. The Chisholm's according to legend saved the life of one of the Scottish kings in the 14th century and were granted land in Inverness-shire. This area in Scotland was also the home of the Davidson Clan or Clan Dhai or MacDaibheid.

John has been my brickwall for many years, and some years ago I decided to see if the story that Nana told her little boy (my Dad Les), that the people living on Conroy's Gully on the back road into Alexandra, with the huge old walnut tree, were our DAVIDSON cousins.
The first part of the story was indeed true, yes a family by the name of DAVIDSON used to live there. Memory has played false with me however, in that I remember that my research led me back to an Aberdeen family, but no, it looks like they were of Muthill, Perthshire instead, with absolutely no obvious connection to John, so Nana was telling porkies.

Looking at the family again today reminded me that the research turned up another connection to the Bounty in that both this DAVIDSON family, and my Great Aunt's husband, Doug FLETCHER, were descendants of the THOMSON family, early settlers in Port Chalmers, Otago, NZ. This THOMSON family leading back to the HEYWOOD family of H.M.S. Bounty fame.

Another FAIRBAIRN blacksmith; ANDREWS sidetrack

Check the Fairbairn DNA project diary for the links/details re the newly loaded pedigree - that of the family of Archibald and Jane (BLAKEY) FAIRBAIRN who emigrated from Northumberland to Ontario. One son, Archibald, moved to Parry Sound, another lived Orangeville, Wellington Co/Dufferin Co. Another, Robert, a miller, moved to Vegreville, Alberta, with descendants moving back to Ontario.

Archibald was a blacksmith, and the majority of the few available records, say he was born Scotland;
Probably complete coincidence, but the family of one other of the DNA project members were also in Orangeville, Dufferin Co at one stage.

I have now absolutely no idea where I was researching during the digging on the above, or who I was looking at, that led me to check for some updated details for the family of Abraham ANDREWS of Martock (then St Lukes, Middlesex), but next WorldConnect update there should be some more confirmed dates and places for the family.

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.