First you find her, then you lose her

A distant cousin popped up on WikiTree the other day, so I connected his ancestor, Janet SINTON up to her parents, James SINTON & Margaret WILKIE.
Then looked to see if there was any research outstanding on the family that might be advanced.

Janet had a sister Mary SINTON, aged 37, still living, when father James died in 1855.
But where was she between 1818 and 1855? What happened to her?
Past investigations had found no obvious death, marriage, or census entry in Scotland, and rather too many Mary anyones, preferably born Melrose or Bowden, in the 1851 census in Scotland, let alone of an age, born Scotland, in England.

So this time I tried immigration records - and turned up a Mary SINTON emigrating to New York on the "Yazoo", arriving in July 1838.
Bit of a long shot I thought - until I noticed the family above her on the passenger list.

John & Margaret FAIRBAIRN with family - known to have ended up in Ontario by Dec 1838, dying in Blandford.

Margaret was Mary's older sister.

So the chase has shifted from after 1855, likely Scotland, to finding any evidence of Mary after 1838, likely Canada but possibly USA, and her death after 1855 somewhere.

Has DNA testing come up trumps?

Early days yet, but indications are that we may be on the way to proving that Robert FAIRBAIRN,  married to Kate SCOTT and emigrated to Ontario around 1827/8 is indeed a son of Archibald and Alison (CROSSER) FAIRBAIRN.
One of my closer previously unknown DNA matches appears on a segment of dna that I share with a known double cousin (4C1R and 5th, as he descends from both James and from David, sons of Archibald and Alison).
"Do you have any known FAIRBAIRN ancestry" I asked.
"Yes, a Mary Catherine FAIRBAIRN married to Peter Nelson KELLER."
Now I just happen to know that Mary is Robert's granddaughter.

Although I don't yet know how my match links to Mary, or whether there's another line in her ancestry that could account for this match, I'm pleasantly hopeful we're finally on our way to proving my long held theory about Robert being "family".
Updates on Mary's family will now ensue.
Confirmation may shortly be forthcoming as the kit from another descendant of Robert & Kate's is en route back to the lab.
It would still be great to find a direct male line FAIRBAIRN descendant of Robert's willing to do a y_DNA test to quickly and more easily prove this link though!

PEEK /HELSON et al

With a couple of separate sets of information and new contacts re the extended PEEK/HELSON family of Devon it was time for a catch up.
Thelma left a note in my GuestBook. She is related to Elizabeth THOMPSON, wife of David COOPER, son of Ellen Jane HELSON (Ontario) and provided a couple of family write-ups from the ?1970s? and a photo of Ellen and two of her sisters.
Peter on GenesReunited found me and provided a link to his tree which is the line from Thomas HELSON and Elizabeth PEEK via son John (married Elizabeth HORTOP).
All of which reminded me that I don't think I've ever mentioned the local ALGAR link that surfaced back in May and led to an interesting exchange of emails with Richard, a 5th cousin twice removed who lives just up the road.
It led to a re-examination of my 5*great grandmother, Elizabeth ALGAR, wife of Richard PEEK, who appears in the tree as Mrs Elizabeth ALGAR, from my interpretation of this entry

in the Walkhampton Parish Registers.
Richard disputes the Mrs, given that he's sure he can claim Elizabeth as sister to his x greats grandfather, Samuel (and take Samuel's line back several more generations, mostly in Yealmpton).

PEEK descendant chart updated, as is Elizabeth PEEK nee ALGAR's page.

Also updated OneGreatFamily with the last few weeks of updates to anyone already on-line in any of my databases or web pages.

A match - and theory proven

More Fairbairns of course.
Today I received the preliminary dna results for Doug, a descendant of the miller Robert FAIRBAIRN of Vegreville, Alberta, son of an Archibald of Scotland and Jane of England. 12/12 with the presumed descendant of my Archibald and Alison (CROSSER) FAIRBAIRN via their son Archibald.
This latter Archibald had a son Archibald baptised in St Boswells in 1813, whom I had assumed, until recently, to have died prior to 1841.
However I had been researching more Ontario and Alberta FAIRBAIRNs and one lot led back to an Archibald and Jane (BLAKEY) whom I thought just might be the couple marrying in Tynemouth in 1841. That marriage cert showed Archibald as son of a gardener, Archibald. Age fitted, occupation of father possible, but not previously known.
Only 12 markers so far, but a perfect match with the representative of the line of Archibald and Janet (SCOTT) FAIRBAIRN, which Archibald I believe is the son of my Archibald and Alison (CROSSER) FAIRBAIRN.
Oh it would be so good to find a known, proven representative of Archibald and Alison to truly confirm this, but for now, I'll rest on my laurels for a while at having proven another theory, and placed the Ontario/Alberta family in the overall tree.

Descendant chart for Archibald and Alison updated, more to follow, particularly on the DNA Projects Portal site (check the dna blogs for further data when it is available, there's a list of them on the overall DNA Projects Portal Blog).

Another FAIRBAIRN blacksmith; ANDREWS sidetrack

Check the Fairbairn DNA project diary for the links/details re the newly loaded pedigree - that of the family of Archibald and Jane (BLAKEY) FAIRBAIRN who emigrated from Northumberland to Ontario. One son, Archibald, moved to Parry Sound, another lived Orangeville, Wellington Co/Dufferin Co. Another, Robert, a miller, moved to Vegreville, Alberta, with descendants moving back to Ontario.

Archibald was a blacksmith, and the majority of the few available records, say he was born Scotland;
Probably complete coincidence, but the family of one other of the DNA project members were also in Orangeville, Dufferin Co at one stage.

I have now absolutely no idea where I was researching during the digging on the above, or who I was looking at, that led me to check for some updated details for the family of Abraham ANDREWS of Martock (then St Lukes, Middlesex), but next WorldConnect update there should be some more confirmed dates and places for the family.

FAIRBAIRN sidetracks

Not sure what all the major changes of late have been. Busy chasing FAIRBAIRNs around the records and getting sidetracked, ie business as usual.
One I got sidetracked onto was Robert Brinckerhoff FAIRBAIRN, married Juliet ARNOLD. I couldn't place him and noone seems to be researching the family so I had a dig. Warden of St Stephens Episcopal College at Annandale, NY for many years. Born in NY in 1818, father a William from Scotland who emigrated 1796 and was a publisher in NY. Anyone claiming this family?

Another orphaned family I spent some time on, and couldn't immediately spot any researchers for, was that of Robert FAIRBAIRN of Duns, Berwick who emigrated to Bowmanville, Ontario.
There are memoirs on the web written by his son James Brougham FAIRBAIRN, Postmaster at Darlington Mills (now Bowmanville) and brother of an MP Thomas McCulloch FAIRBAIRN. Possibly also connected with the inventor of mini-golf another Thomas McCulloch FAIRBAIRN.
I've added an outline pedigree to the DNA Patriarch's page.

What I was sidetracked from was finally getting round to updating my info (thanks for the prompt Ed) on the family of John and Elisabeth (MILLER) FAIRBAIRN of New York, John being the one with a father Walter of Roxburghshire who may or may not be my one. Would be great to find a participant for the dna project to test this theory out. I've included a chart for John and Elisabeth on my FAIRBAIRN pages, and will update the pedigree outline on the DNA project patriarchs page in due course.

FAIRBAIRN descendants wanted...

Still plugging away trying to find living descendants on a couple of FAIRBAIRN lines to try and prove my theory of a relationship to Robert FAIRAIRN and Kate SCOTT of Napanee/Richmond Ontario and to my Archibald etc.
Anyone out there a descendant of the family of Archibald FAIRBAIRN and Jane BLAKEY? From Northumberland to Ontario.
Son Archibald was in McMurrich Township, Parry Sound, another, Robert FAIRBAIRN married Martha HUSTON and settled at Vegreville, Alberta.
Another line of interest is that of William FAIRBAIRN and Katherine MORGAN.
Known sons: Archibald Goodison (married Lucinda ROBINSON and Margaret AULD, lived North Fredericksburg for a while); Robert (married Alberta GARRISON and last sighted in Qu'appelle, Saskatchewan); William (married Minnie ANDERSON), still in Richmond, Lennox & Addington, Ontario in 1901; Wellington.

Devon inter-related families strike again.
When I started checking further on the TOOP family (see 21st), I realised that further back up the TOOP tree most people with this lot in their online trees seem to think there's a John TOOP and Sarah WILLCOCK(S). This Sarah being of an age to the the dtr of Walter WILLCOCK and Mary MORRELL, and therefore more of my BARTER descendants. The BARTER connection being dependent on the correct id of the Ann BARTER who married Walter's father Walter.
Along the way I found another OXENHAM married in, and lost Thomas Reed DAWE. Anyone seen him after his 1872 marriage to either Ellen DAWE or Mary Gill WILLCOCK? This Mary Gill WILLCOCK is the dtr of Jane OXENHAM and Henry WILLCOCK, butcher of Horrabridge, and I stumbled on the family because Richard TOOP was with them in the 1851 census.
The other groom in the 1872 marriage page was a Henry LANGMAN, but at the moment I cannot find who married whom via census or death data.

Caithness to New Jersey?; More Ontario FAIRBAIRNs

Where does the time go? Mostly been working on Ontario FAIRBAIRN and related families, in no particular order: GRIEVE, WINDOVER, HUFF, COUGHLIN, HUDSON, RAYCRAFT, ASSELSTINE, FRENCH, FITCHETT, PAGE, VADER.
FAIRBAIRN descendants chart updated.

Sidetracked from FAIRBAIRNs to investigate Livy's theory that her x-greats grandmother Johanna/Jean KERR nee BAIN, d/o of a James and Ellen BAIN, just might be Johanna, d/o James BAIN and Helen ANDREW.
My initial worry was that if the age was right, she had emigrated to America as a 16/17 yr old - but with whom?
However, a 1924 letter from her younger sister Hannah in Wick, written to the American relations, clearly states that the sister didn't remember her as she had left so young, and I quickly found a dth cert of this Hannah, with the right address, that showed we had the right parents. As the letter also mentions Kate, implying she is Johanna and Hannah's sister, I presume Johanna emigrated with her elder sister.
This could well explain how I've not had much joy finding most of the girls in this family after about 1871.

Rootsweb WorldConnect db LornaHenderson updated (prior to this BAIN find). Also updated are the Rootsweb pages (after this BAIN find).