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.