Likely rellies

My WorldConnect Database LornaPotential has been updated.
As mentioned earlier, it now includes some of the families being investigated because they've come up in  more than one of my FamilyFinder DNA matches.

Of particular curiousity at the moment is the family of Andrew SMEAL/SMAIL and Ann OLIVER (married 1751, Bowden, Roxburghshire) as they have come up several times amongst my matches.
Unfortunately all matches tested  on Ancestry, not FamilyTreeDNA, and only one of the matches has uploaded to GEDMatch where further dna comparisons can be made to explore further, rather than believing Ancestry's "trust us we know what we're doing" policy.

Another is the family of John HOOD and Janet LINDORES who may lead to some DAVIDSON discoveries?

If you are a descendant of any of the families found in LornaPotential, and at all interested in exploring genetic genealogy, by all means join in the fun and try a FamilyFinder test to see what we would learn about our (possible) connections.
There's a great discount going at the moment - until midnight on the 17th June, EST.

WorldConnect - BDM data

The next of my updates to my assorted online sites was to be to my WorldConnect database LornaPotential, ie those people I've researched as possibly related.
BUT using  my normal link, that on my web pages sidebar, in Firefox, I was taken to a general ancestry search form for the public member trees.
A bit of digging in the ancestry forums led to this thread which explains that there is a problem, that is browser dependent.
For me, FireFox doesn't work to access http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ but chrome does (I don't have Internet Explorer loaded, so haven't checked that).

I'm guessing that this is related to the browser issues that stopped many of us from accessing the source images - the images being covered by big orange bordered boxes with assorted messages that stopped you seeing the actual image.
Switching browsers sometimes worked, sometimes not, as did a forced refresh of the page (Firefox hold shift and hit F5). That has now been resolved, at least for me.

All that aside, LornaPotential has now been refreshed.
Many that were in this database have now been transferred into my main database LornaHenderson (to be updated next).
LornaHenderson database contains basic BDM data on all my researched relations AND their connections. Everyone in there, with about 50 exceptions, can be navigated to/from someone who is related to me and mine.
LornaPotential database contains those I've researched because of potential connections.
Increasingly this latter category includes the lines of dna matches that look most likely to be where the connection lies.
If you are a descendant of anyone in either database I'd love to hear from you, particularly if you have the missing links, or further information AND/OR would be willing to explore potential connections by using an appropriate genetic genealogy test, such as FamilyFinder.
Some of the people mentioned will have a personal page on my webpages with further information.

WorldConnect updated

A fresh copy of the WorldConnect database LornaHenderson, the online tree of BDM data on the rellies no longer with us, and their connections,  has been uploaded.
Last updated in April, so a few months of updates.
Although not proven to be a connection, some of the Morebattle RICHARDSON research from the last few days has also been included in the hope of flushing some descendants out of the woodwork.

While onto updates, database LornaPotential has also had a rather overdue review.
Several people have been shifted into the above Lorna Henderson database as they are now either know to be relations, or connect to people who are, others have been dropped off. There's more that can be reviewed given the timespan since last review (last updated March 2010!), and the fact that 50 of them are "orphans", ie not connected to anyone else in the database, but pegged as of potential interest, mostly as possible sightings of one or other of the rellies.

Megsmire

Back in 1994 I was fortunate enough to be able to visit Nichol Forest in Cumberland, where my TURNBULL ancestors (great grandmother Ellen TURNBULL and her parents) came from, and to research them in the Carlisle Record Office.
While there I noted any likely looking information that may at some stage connect, even if I didn't know exactly how, where or when at the time.
One such was the 1842 will of Walter of Megsmire (which place I visited, or at least where I decided it probably was from census data). It was a very detailed will, and sexist (but of its time), dividing his moss up into sixths, with each of five sons getting one sixth but three daughters sharing the remaining sixth.
Walter survived to appear in the 1841 census as a 75 year old, but that didn't lead me to match him up to the known Nichol Forest families.
Yesterday however George, a descendant, provided me with a copy of Walter's 1842 death cert, which gave his age as 80, and an added impetus to try again, given that between then and now much more research on TURNBULL baptisms had occurred.
I now believe Walter to be the son of James TURNBULL & Betty BELL, and baptised in 1762 (at Canonbie). This makes George and I 7th cousins, which has taken us at least 9 years of (very) intermittent correspondence trying to prove our relationship via the TURNBULLs.

With both yesterday's news re Lester LESLIE aka Jack WALSH, and this TURNBULL reshuffle, my webpages have been updated, and the next batch of changes included in my WorldConnect database LornaHenderson (Walter has been shifted from LornaPotential, which has also had an update, as has the data I contribute to OneGreatFamily, which can include other families unrelated to me, but of relevance to the FAIRBAIRN and RUNCIMAN DNA projects and One Name Studies - FAIRBAIRN, RUNCIMAN).

I even had a rush of blood to my head and also gave the much less often updated Rootsweb pages a refresh. They don't contain as much supplementary information as my main pages, but will hopefully still exist long after I've ceased paying for my own domain name.

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.

Update time

Don't seem to be keeping very good track of just what updates have been done for reporting them here, but regardless of whether they've been noted or not, all updated data will now be included in the full update of all the BDM data I've just run for my:

World Connect databases

• LornaHenderson
and

• LornaPotential

and the last three months of updates have been updated to OneGreatFamily where they will automatically be merged with any existing families there (and any differences with either my earlier data, or that from any other researcher for the same person, highlighted for further investigation, I do so love that feature).
My submissions to OGF only include the same data for those of my database that I publish online somewhere else, eg my web pages, the WorldConnect databases above, and some of the data from the Patriarch pages on the summary dna pages on the World Families Network dna projects (generally only the earlier generations in this case, and where I've checked off the data first as best I can, and they belong to linked families I'm particularly interested in), but there they get combined with other researchers' data and inter-connected families show up easily.
There were 685 of these in the last 3 months it appears.
To make sure that every "family" that had been updated had enough information to enable the matching logic on OGF to slot them into their rightful places rather than leave them as orphans never to be found again, I made sure that all families had two generations with spice/parents as applicable included. This resulted in about 830 people being sent to OGF this run.

12th: Catskills calling

In the last couple of days Ed has brought to my attention that one of his New York FAIRBAIRNs had not died young and without a family, as previously thought.
He'd found a reference in the 1933 Catskill Mountain News archives referring to Delacey FAIRBAIRN having visited "home", aka Margaretville, from Floral Park, L.I. New York.
Research added a wife (Ernestine SHERBER) and two children, Marie and James, and showed that by now his surname had morphed into FAIRBEN.
Earlier references in the same newspapaer archives showed this spelling as early as 1884.

It was therefore finally time to get all the last couple of months updates to the database published, so the Rootsweb WorldConnect databases LornaHenderson and LornaPotential have been fully reloaded with whatever research has added in that time.
The main tree change was probably bringing the New York FAIRBAIRNs in from LornaPotential into LornaHenderson as they are definitely related, as per findings from the FAIRBAIRN DNA project, but there have been a heap of others.

PS It does rather look like that although we've found a branch of the FAIRBAIRN tribe, we have also tragically lost one of the younger ones. It has not yet been proven that Keith G. FAIRBEN of Floral Park, one of the ambulance people who lost their lives on 9-11, is definitely a descendant of Walter Delacey's, but place and dates make it likely.

Real mixture today

Seem to have covered a fair breadth of the forest today: McADIEs from Caithness *2, one lot the potential London descendants, the other the Australian connection, including a link (I think) to a separate FAIRBAIRN family, that of George FAIRBAIRN and Virignia ARMYTAGE, yet to be explored; a newfound twig of my FAIRBAIRNs in Pennsylvania; more of the NY FAIRBAIRNs;

I can feel some updates coming on, but there's a few loose ends to tie up before it is worth republishing both WorldConnect databases: LornaPotential and LornaHenderson

In addition a pedigree was received, and posted, for the ROWE dna project, yet another family originating in Devon, and although only some of his results are in, there does appear to be a (very) distant match to my Devon ROWE family.

Great grannie's web page didn't get a look in.

Rosie update

Thanks to Helen, a 4th cousin in BC, the BAIN/ROSIE family has had a few snippets added. I took the opportunity to remove a stray David that had snuck into the family from another researcher as I cannot, as yet, find any corroboration he belonged to George ROSIE and Isabella BAIN.
Most of the updates will be behind the scenes into the realms of the living, and
thus not online.
In the process I received a cute picture of the 2 yr old Lucas, 7th great grandson of John BAIN, who shared his fair hair and blue eyes.

My WorldConnect database LornaHenderson has been reloaded.
This update was for any snippets on the above BAIN/ROSIEs, but also to bring the family of Donald McFADEN and Jessie SINTON across from my db LornaPotential into the rellies, even if we're unlikely to prove where she connects.

The BAIN and SINTON descendant charts have also been refreshed.

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

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.

Feb 8, 2008: Updates & more coincidences

Both databases on Rootsweb WorldConnect updated (LornaHenderson and LornaPotential).

Today's coincidence. I was browsing the Rootsweb FAIRBAIRN Message Board and idly wondering if those mentioned in Lambton, Ontario were mine or not. I then checked my guestbook (see link at top right) and found a new message from a lady who kept finding FAIRBAIRN info that she didn't know where it connected with her family, including a funeral order of service for a Jessie of Blandford, 3 of which family had died within a year. Also mentioning a FAIRBAIRN of Lambton.
The Blandford sounded familiar, and sure enough were my relations (John FAIRBAIRN married Margaret SINTON, it is actually the SINTON that is related). Within the space of Jan to Apr in 1871 two daughters died of consumption followed by the father.
Unfortunately her email was rejected, so it could take a while to make further contact.

Jan 24, 2008: Lots of updates, incl. dna matches

Both databases on WorldConnect updated, so the links on the lhs of most of my web pages to "BMD Data on all rellies" and "Likely Rellies" will take you to the latest and greatest, including all the newfound twigs down the SINTON and FAIRBAIRN families.
You'll have to use those links to get to the newer names for a couple of days though as it will take a while for the indexing on WorldConnect to catch up.

On the basis of predicting children's names, I think there also has to be a Peter ROBSON somewhere around Roxburghshire, son of Richard ROBSON and Isabella SINTON.
Finally also managed to update the web pages. The newfound Isabella SINTON and Alison FAIRBAIRN are both included, and all charts now contain the current versions of the trees.

Exciting news on the RUNCIMAN Surname DNA project as well, yes, there's a match (admittedly only 12/12 markers at this stage) between the Wanton Walls RUNCIMAN family, as represented by David in Spain, and the Michigan family of William and Mary (BROWN) RUNCIMAN, as represented by Jerry.
Still looking for a representative of the family of William's cousin (or brother) James & Isabella (CARTER) RUNCIMAN.

And the accidentally newfound FAIRBAIRN relation in Dunedin lives directly opposite the couple who lived in front of my first "home" post University in Dunedin.

Updated databases and success with SINTONs

Both WorldConnect databases have been updated: LornaHenderson and LornaPotential

You will have to use these links for about 24 hrs to access them however as they wont be available for searches until reindexed.
Found (via GenesReunited) a descendant of William SINTON & Isobel BLACK, one of the Southdean SINTONs I'd like to include in the SINTON Surname DNA project. Hope they can help make connections between the SINTONs.