More connections

Yes the LEITH women noted a day or two ago were related, aunt/niece.
And the connections continued!

Sarah Abernethay LEITH married Thomas JOHNSTON, one of my McEWAN rellies.
Their daughter Sarah Margery JOHNSTON married a George Miles, (later Myles) TURNBULL.
An ancestry tree has this family, and shows George's TURNBULL ancestors as being of Melrose, with, wait for it, John TURNBULL and Bessie FAMILTON, who married at Earlston in 1718, at the end of the tree.

Bessie is highly likely to be one of my Earlston FAMILTONs, but we'll likely never prove that given we're back at the start of the Earlston registers here (at least I think we are, yet to fully re-check that bit).
I've not yet checked the reputed link from George's grdfather Thomas TURNBULL (b. abt 1801 Melrose, ROX, d. 1891 Georgefield, Waipahi, Otago) back to John and Bessie (FAMILTON) TURNBULL, but do note that John and Bessie's family were all baptised in Melrose from 1721 to 1737 and John was living at Gattonside when he married Bessie.

A snippet from the 1899 NZ obit of Helen TURNBULL nee TAIT, wife of Thomas, and grdmother of George Miles TURNBULL:
"... born in Berwickshire, Scotland, on the 5th July, 1814, and, with her husband and family, came to New Zealand in the ship Vicksburg in the year 1867 ... the deceased's father, Joseph Tait, an influential farmer on the Borders; sold to Lord Polworth the sheep that formed the nucleus of the world-famed flock of Border Leicesters."

Relationships clarified & yet more connections

Reading old newspapers, as one does, I stumbled upon a different obituary for the Rev John FAIRBAIRN of Greenlaw than that I had previously seen. This one was in The Free Church of Scotland Monthly (Edinburgh, Scotland), 1 Jun 1895, and contained a new interesting little snippet for my FAIRBAIRN research: "Along with his more distinguished brother Dr Patrick FAIRBAIRN, Principal of the Free Church College Glasgow, he spent his youth at Hallyburton, ... while his two cousins Dr James FAIRBAIRN of Newhaven, and Dr John PURVES of Jedburgh, had their homes at farms a few miles further west in the same district."
I've been tripping over the Newhaven James often enough in the past but had never managed to place him in any of my known FAIRBAIRN trees, his death cert showing his parents as James FAIRBAIRN and Elizabeth TAYLOR, with the only other known (to me) family being an unmarried sister Eliza.
Knowing that the Rev John's grandparents were a James and Elizabeth (PURVES) FAIRBAIRN, and quickly finding out that Dr John PURVES was the son of Peter PURVES and Margaret FAIRBAIRN, with Margaret looking highly likely to be a dtr of James and Elizabeth (PURVES) FAIRBAIRN, I've now placed the Newhaven James as brother of Margaret and the Rev John's father John (marr. to Jessie JOHNSTON).
The informant for the Newhaven James' 1874 death was his cousin, a Peter someone of Ferry Rd.
I had initially taken a stab at the squiggle being THOMSON, but have subsequently confirmed that it is actually Peter Chas PURVES, who was living in Ferry Rd in 1881, Peter Charles being the son of the Jedburgh Dr John PURVES above, and being yet another minister in the family - presumably ministering to my own FAIRBAIRNs at Morebattle, given he was the Free Church minister there in the 1861 and 1871 censuses.

3rd: Still on FAIRBAIRNs

Tied up a few loose ends in my FAIRBAIRN database today.
Sidetracked onto a separate Yorkshire family, a Walter, and got curious as to any possible connection to either mine, or the Yorkshire confectioner Thomas (see 1st May), or to mine, given Walter is a name common amongst my lot.
Instead of leading in either of these directions it lead me to connect up several loose ends and tie the family back to Alexander, son of John FAIRBAIRN & Grizel JOHNSTONE of Oldhamstocks (which family is not yet represented in the FAIRBAIRN Surnmae DNA project should any potential candidates out there read this and be interested in seeing if there is any connection to the existing tested families).

Nov 21, 2007: Red or blue?

Continued tracking the JOHNSTON/RANKIN family up to 1901. Chuckled over one chap's change of birthplace between 1861 and 1901, so popped him out on the web (Oliver JOHNSTON).
Each of the Surname DNA projects I administer have spare $15 US vouchers available for the 25 marker and mtDNA tests, check out the FAIRBAIN, SINTON and RUNCIMAN recruitment pages for more details on how to join and request to use them.
Also sorted out a few more of the Michigan RUNCIMeN with help from Michigan.

Nov 20, 2007: FAMILTON descendants anywhere?

With some mtDNA test vouchers available until 31st Dec, I mused over how many female descendants of Bessie RUNCIMAN nee FAMILTON might still be around that they would be of use too. Which of course led me into updating a few more branches of the tree. Mainly JOHNSTONs, the family of David Stewart Erskin JOHNSTON and Elizabeth RANKIN, the latter being the dtr of Margaret WIGHT, grddtr of Margaret RUNCHAMAN.

The newly contacted descendants of William RUNCIMAN in Michigan floored me slightly. When I asked what they did, I certainly didn't expect "we used to farm emus (for a couple of years)". It wouldn't have been top of my list of guesses as to occupation for anyone.

Aug 27, 2007: Non swimmers, non FORTTified wines, ex empress of the French

After all these years I've finally had it pointed out to me that there's a convict in the family. Simeon WINES has been sitting in the db a long time, in Tasmania, but now someone has pointed out he didn't swim and ended up there rather involuntarily, so I've added him to the published family tree. Not that I've seen the final proof that this is the right Simon WINES, the family is quite prolific and there is at least one other candidate of an age.

And so much for finding Mary Ann d/o Jacob married to Richard FORTT. A grandson points out to me that the marriage cert. shows her father to be Jesse, not Jacob. One day I'll figure out where Jesse might fit in.

While fossicking around further to see where else she might have got to I did happen upon a Mary WINES enumerated in 1881 at Windsor Castle: Head of household, Queen Victoria, members of household included John Brown, Queens personal servant, and visitor Eugenie, occupation "Ex Empress of the French".

Also dotted and crossed several is and ts on the family of Agnes Johnston WHITE (she married John HENDERSON at Awamoko). My "family rumour" bits coupled with the Clan Johnston researcher coming at the family from the JOHNSTON end have fitted a plausible theory together that needs a few more bits to clinch things, but is looking good. I should be able to check a couple more things next visit to Wellington.