Agnes not Isabella & a twofer

While checking off yet more data before publishing yet another update, I strayed back onto my shortest family tree, the DAVIDSONs (that of my great grandfather Adam) and decided to check whether or not I would have more luck pinning a few more twigs down.

Just as I picked a correct death cert. from the options available on ScotlandsPeople, in came an email.

This is a line I've not looked at for at least 3 years, probably more, and many years ago the entire tree consisted of some 30 people until the Australian contingent popped out of the woodwork.
The email was from one of the Australian contingent, a descendant of the sister of the chap whose death I had just found!

Only managed to add about 3 descendants and 2 wives into the tree on two of the lines remaining in Scotland but several more fates have been found, including that of Isabella, daughter of John DAVIDSON and Isabella FORD.  The family story was that Margaret Greig DAVIDSON had emigrated to meet up with her sister, and the sister had been very tentatively identified as Isabella. Now however, with the increasing availability of records, the sister is more likely to be Agnes given there's one of the right age and birthplace emigrating to Queensland towards the end of 1891, especially as Isabella's death was found in Chirnside in 1909 - immediately preceding her aunt Mary JEFFREY nee DAVIDSON's on the same page - so two for the price of one!

Oct 10, 2008: Do these names ring a BELL?

FAIRBAIRNs and BELL/THOMSON families. Wondering if it is complete coincidence that there are two FAIRBAIRN families connected to the same BELL/THOMSON family, or whether there just might be a link between them.
One family is that of the latest participant in the FAIRBAIRN Surname DNA Project, the other the subject of a Borders Family History Society Journal way back in Feb 1998 about Granny FAIRBAIRN the Bone-setter of Kelso - "Isabella (ROBERTSON) FAIRBAIRN 1859-1940".
The possible connection being made by adding 2 and 2 and probably getting 5.

Robert FAIRBAIRN, Isabella ROBERTSON's husband's lineage works back to a Robert FAIRBAIRN and Agnes JEFFREY, via a Robert FAIRBAIRN, writer in Duns (reputed father) and Ellen BELL.

Robert FAIRBAIRN and mother Ellen BELL are in the 1881 census with Ellen's sister Janet and her (2nd) husband John THOMSON at Kelso.

In 1901 Janet THOMSON nee BELL is at Kelso with a boarder, John FAIRBAIRN, 25 (he later married an Ellen THOMSON).

John's pedigree is now on the FAIRBAIRN Surname DNA Project Patriarchs page, with no known connection to Duns or Robert above.

Anyone actively researching Robert's family? Found part of it on OneGreatFamily
but the email address of the researcher (dtr of John M FAIRBAIRN, a journalist who emigrated to Australia) bounced.

Back to Meavy for a break. ANDREWS this time. I'd not taken the family of Henry Willcocks & Lydia (HELYER) ANDREWS beyond 1871 until contacted by Pauline, who has a family connection with them.
Merrily checking them off in census and BDMs and finally realised I was duplicating data. Dtr Mary Willcocks ANDREWS firstly married John SHILLIBEER, then remarried a Richard Henry BICKLE (I calculate they were 5th cousins once removed, or at least I did once I realised he was the son of John Creber BICKELL and Susanna HELYER).

Pedigree, and latest results, added to the ROWE Surname DNA project.