Showing posts with label OAG. Show all posts
Showing posts with label OAG. Show all posts

Monday, 8 August 2011

8th: OAG twigs

Ancestry's Recent Member Connect Activity alerted me to someone researching the family of David & Johnina (BAIN) OAG, so I had a look to see what light might be shed on exactly how many children Johnina actually had.
Time is running out for first hand knowledge as apparently there is only one of the children still living.
As yet I have no corroboration that Christina married to a James someone with children Alec, Dora and Jean, and supposed sister Janet married to a John someone with children Jean, John, James, do actually belong in this family.
Wonder if Janet is actually half sister Janet Flett BAIN instead? To date I've not sighted the latter beyond 1901.
Can anyone shed further light on this?

Friday, 13 November 2009

Shifting Alistair

One result of the correspondence with Sheena was a re-examination of the family of Diana Berry BAIN and Donald SWANSON. (Their son John SWANSON married a relative of Sheena's).
My initial data on the family had come with two sons for Donald and Diana, John and Alister. I'd never been able to confirm Alister's existence, and have now decided that he is probably Alexandra Mowat SWANSON, John's son instead, as Sheena advised he was also known as Alistair.
Sheena's family story also assigns a son John George Waters SWANSON to John and Alexandrina (Alice) SWANSON, John being Diana's son.
The 1916 Manitoba census does show a John G SWANSON in the family of John and Alice SWANSON, who may or may not be this family - the doubt being that Alex M seems to have turned into an Alice T.
I found a London Gazette entry (Nov 1945) mentioning a Capt John George Waters SWANSON of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps being recognised for gallant and distinguished services in Italy who seems a likely match.

My WorldConnect database LornaHenderson has been updated to include the latest round of updates, as has OneGreatFamily.

Thursday, 12 November 2009

Where things lead..

Prompted by the correspondence with Sheena, I became curious as to why the Wilma MacDONALD who married David OAG, had Finlayson as a middle name. Interesting journey.
I nearly stopped looking once I'd hit her grandparents as they were living in the Orkneys rather than Caithness, but then noticed that her father said he was born Pulteneytown, so I persisted one more generation "just in case" there was going to be a connection.
David FINLAYSON, born Pulteneytown in 1827 turns out to be the son of a cooper William FINLAYSON born Bower. At which point my mild curiousity went up a notch or two.
William, wife Catherine (LIDDEL) and family had moved to Whitehall, Orkney by 1841, and were still there in 1851 but then they vanished, and I couldn't find a death for him at all. Nearly gave up, thinking he might have died between 1851 and 1855, so not in civil registration.
Idly searched ancestry for his son Neil and found his death at age 90 as Capt Neil FINLAYSON in Toronto.
Yes, William, Catherine and family had indeed vanished from Orkney (apart from David who stayed behind). They'd emigrated to Trafalgar, Halton Co, Ontario along with a David who looked like he might be William's brother.
That led me to the Bower baptisms of a David and William children of James and Elizabeth (COGHILL) FINLAYSON of Stemster.
Someone must be researching this family as there are patron submissions on the IGI, but I've not yet figured out who they are to see what conclusions they may have reached working back from James and Elizabeth in Bower.

Monday, 9 November 2009

more buses

I think I've commented before about the bus saying: nothing for ages, then along come two at once?
I've been working on a FAIRBAIRN family with Eckford connections to try and find candidates for the FAIRBAIRN dna project.
My attention strayed, as it often does, to a different Robert FAIRBAIRN I'd found in the wonderful London records now more readily available.
One of the sons was from Yoxford, Suffolk, a place I'd never heard of, and obviously none of the census enumerators had either as it variously appeared against his name as Yufford, Foxford, as well as the more often listed, and presumably correct, Yoxford.
Then along came an email (or two, or three) from Sheena about a mutual interest we have in the family of David & Johnina (BAIN) Oag. Sheena and I aren't related, but are both connected to this family, one way or another.
So, once again, I checked off what additional info had come my way, and looked to see what else might be found.
This time, I found a new ancestry tree had been posted dealing with a branch of these BAINs that I knew had New Zealand connections but had never tracked down.
I have now confirmed the marriage of the additional NZ BAIN link, that of Albert Victor KEABLE and Hughina Bain MATHIESON.
Not entirely sure how ever they came to met up and marry in Caithness as Albert gave his address as of Heveringham, Yoxford, Suffolk.
With a more accurate spelling of Albert's surname, I am now in contact with one of the descendants, and in the process have tied up several other loose ends.

Tuesday, 9 June 2009

8th: One less OAG

A descendant of David and Johnina (BAIN) OAG has found me, and provided some updates for her branch of the family (many thanks Lindsay).
This revived my interest in attempting to verify, yet again, exactly how many children Johnina actually had.
I have been told 13 survived out of 22, and have (had) 22 names/dates, but I haven't managed to verify 3 of them. This latest contact makes me think that John born 8 Mar 1910 is one and the same as Jackie supposedly born 15 Mar 1911 (unverifed), especially when you realise that Hugh was verifed as born 15 May 1911 (bdm 43/145) and the only John reg. 1911 in Wick was 43/74, so unlikely to be a twin. The clincher for me being that Jackie died 1961 and the only death registration that matches is a John of the right age. So, my version of the family has shrunk by one child, and I'm still trying to verify the births of a Christina, supposedly married to a James someone, and of Janet supposedly married to John someone.

Any advance on 21 for poor Johnina, and married names for Matilda, Christina, Janet?

Bobby also provided some updates to descendants of John and Elizabeth (CLYNE) BAIN.

Of all of the above very little will be visible on the web pages, apart from the BAIN chart, which has been updated.