February 1st

Well, we're now into a new month and for the first of February we've got a couple of marriages to celebrate!

On this day, February 1st in 1890, George Christie was married.

George Christie is your 2nd great uncle because (you may have guessed it) because Adam Christie who is your 2X great grandfather is George's father.  Another way of looking at it is that George was a brother of great grandda who was in yesterday's post.

George was a young chap when he married Margaret Alexander.  He was just 20.  She was 19.  He was a farm servant and she a domestic servant.  They were married in East Moss-side in Monquitter , Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Their marriage produced lots of children - nine of them.

Present Day Moss-Side Farm (presumably East Moss-side is close by)

And the second marriage on this day was 84 years later - in 1974.  This is when Jeffrey Charles Milne was married.

Jeffrey is your 3rd cousin.   And once again it's because of great great grandfather Adam Christie who is the same relation to Jeffrey!

Jeffrey is a descendent of the Aberdeen folks who emigrated to Vermont in the US.   He is a brother of the Secretary of State for Vermont of a post in January.

So, on this day in 1974 Jeffrey married Sharon Tucker in Barre, Vermont.  It was a marriage of teenagers - she being 16 he 19.  They had one daughter later  - Melinda Jean.

January 31st

On this day,  January 31st, in 1857 Thomas Robert Hay Fisken got married.  Thomas is you 4Xgreat uncle.  You're connected through Peter Fisken who is your 3X great grandfather and Thomas's grandfather.

Thomas is a brother of the William Fisken of steam plough fame.  Thomas and another brother, David, worked with William on the steam plough and other mechanical devices.

Thomas married Frances Barker in the Stockton Congregational Chapel in Stockton, County Durham in the north east of England.  He was 32 at the time and a school master of Stockton originally from Perthshire, Scotland.  Frances was 34 the daughter of a Master Mariner.  They had four children.  The family lived in a few different places ending up in London in 1885.  

And also on this day in 1952 your great grandfather died.  John Christie.  This is grandma's father.  He died just a few weeks after I was born.

Great Grandda was born in a croft in Monquhitter, Aberdeenshire, Scotland but by the time of his marriage in 1898 at age 24 he was living in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and working at the Newcastle Breweries.  He continued being employed by the brewery for the rest of his working life.  He and the family lived above the maltings (where grain is converted into malt for the brewing of beer) in central Newcastle.   He was the foreman maltster.

Grandda died of cancer at 40 Kenilworth Road in Newcastle (the home of his daughter Cathie).  He was 78 years old.

I didn't know my grandda but I knew people who did and my sense has always been that he was a really nice man.  Alison recalls walking with him down to the train station in the evenings to meet the night watchman and then  back to the maltings where the two men sat on the steps smoking their clay pipes and chatting before the night shift began.

Newcastle Breweries Maltings on the corner of Melbourne St and Tower St.

January 30th

Just one entry for today.  It concerns your 3x great grandfather, James Coull.

Your mother is me

My mother is Grandma

Grandma's mother was Betsy West

Great Grandma Betsy's mother was Jemima Coull

Great great Grandmother Jemima's father was James Coull - your great great great grandfather!

So, on this day in 1855 James Coull died in Ferryden.  As I may have mentioned before, the records from that year are quite detailed because it was the first year of civil registration.  This was helpful for not only providing me with more information than usual but also confirming that I had the correct person.  As you know Coull is a very common name in the fishing village of Ferryden.

James was a fisherman and lived in Ferryden for the whole of his life.  Unfortunately it wasn't a long life.  He was 40 years old when he died.  His wife was Elizabeth (Betsey) Pert (another of the common names of Ferryden).  They had a daughter Grace but at the time of James' death Elizabeth was pregnant with their second child.  That child was born 5 months later - this was Jemima, your 2xgreat grandmother.

Cause of death:  Fever which had lasted ten days.  He is buried in Rossie Island Cemetery just outside Ferryden.

Addendum:  I was checking other peoples trees on ancestry which have our James Coull on them and I found that some have him having an earlier marriage which produced three children.  I actually find this unlikely and suspect it may be the result of lazy research practices.  But, be that as it may, one of the tree owners has been identified as a cousin of sorts through our DNA so I've sent him a note to see what further information he can share with me.  

January 29th

On this day,  January 29th in 1870, your 4X great grandfather, Alexander West, died.  Alexander was a Ferryden fisherman who was married to Margaret Anderson and they had nine children.  He died in Ferryden at age 74 of apoplexy (stroke).



Also on this day - in 1889 - Isabella Henderson - was born.  She is your 2nd cousin 2X removed because your 3Xgreat grandfather, John Christie was Isabella's great grandfather.

Isabella was born in Banff, Scotland to Isabella Christie and James Henderson.  I really don't have any info about her but her father was a mole catcher!


And on January 29th 1904 Isabella Christie married David Campbell.  Isabella is your 1st cousin 2X removed.  Your 3X great grandfather, Adam Christie (yes him again) is Isabella's grandfather.  We're in Aberdeenshire again.

Isabella and David were married in Stoneywood Hall in Newhills, Aberdeenshire.   David was a cable car driver in Edinburgh.  She was a domestic servant in Dyce which is on the outskirts of the city of Aberdeen.

They had one son, Robert.  The marriage was not a long one as David died within five years.


And the last entry for January 29th is about the death of my uncle - your great uncle - Leslie Christie. Grandma's brother.  Mum told me many times of when she saw Leslie off at Newcastle Central Station  after a war-time leave that when she said see you on your next leave he replied, no, this time I won't be coming back.  And he didn't.  On this day in 1944 he along with his six comrades on a Lancaster bomber were shot down over Germany - in Hennickendorf.  Uncle Leslie was a air gunner.  The mission was part of the Battle of Berlin.  They were buried where they fell but later, after the war, they were moved to Berlin where they remain in the Commonwealth War Graves.  

Uncle Leslie was 33.

January 28th

On this day, January 28th 1875 - 144 years ago - your 3X great grandmother, Helen Gordon, died.

Helen died in Lodgehills in the Parish of Boyndie in the County of Banff in Scotland.  The County of Banff (or Banffshire) lies above the county of Aberdeenshire.  She was 90 years old and she died from infirmities of age.  She was at the time of her death a widow her husband, John Christie, a mason, having died some 20 or more years before.

Helen and John had eleven children the youngest of whom was your 2xgreat grandfather, Adam Christie who's popped up in this blog a few times already.  Adam and most if not all his siblings worked their way south into Aberdeenshire (not very far in our terms of distance)

Also on this day but in 1924 Adam William Gray Christie married Alexa Craig Newton.

Adam is your 1st cousin 2x removed.  Adam Christie, your 2 x great grandfather (as above) is this Adam's grandfather.

The marriage took place in Harthill, Lanarkshire, Scotland.  Harthill is a village about half way between Glasgow and Edinburgh.  Quite a ways from Aberdeenshire where Adam was born and raised.  He was 41 at the time of this marriage.  He'd been married before and was a widower.  His profession was Horse Trader.  Alexa was a housekeeper aged 45 and had not been married before.

January 27th

On this day, twenty years ago, dad died.

Hans Mueller lived most of his life in Canada having come by ship in 1957 from Germany.  He lived in Ottawa until 1979 when he came to Winnipeg to take up a teaching job at Kildonan East Regional Secondary School.

He was an auto body repairman by trade, having followed in the footsteps of his father.  He was hired by the River East School Division to teach auto body without actually having a teaching certificate.  Initially he taught on a Minister of Labour's permit but he attended evening classes at Red River College to attain the appropriate vocational teaching qualification.

Hans was a passionate man with principled opinions and a generous heart.  He was active politically and was brave enough to run for public office on two occasions.  He was active in his union and was president of the Vocational Teacher's Organization (part Manitoba Teachers' Society).

In the words of his friend and colleague, Kieran Hunter:

"He was a man of firm ideas but he was also a man who could talk endlessly about his love for his son, Peter.  He was vociferous in support of political causes but he could also be a gentle caregiver in the classroom, or when listening or talking to his friends. He was a Golden Gloves boxing champion but he also held a degree in linguistics and could discuss in depth the concept of  'deus ex machina' in modern literature."

But everything changed with an illness which began in the prime of his life.  The degenerative neurological disease took him bit by bit but he died on January 27th 1999 at Riverview Health Centre in Winnipeg.  He was 59 years old.

January 26th

On this day in 1885 Margaret Matthew died.

Margaret Matthew is your 4th great aunt.  This is on grandma's side of the family - the folks of Aberdeenshire.  Margaret's father,  Alexander Matthew. is your 4Xgreat grandfather.

Margaret died at 6:35 p.m. in the Greystone Croft in Monquhitter.  She was 77 years old.  She died of apoplexy which is what we would call a stroke.

Margaret was the third child of crofters Alexander Matthew and Mary Byres.  Her sister Ann is your 3X great grandmother.  She married very young and continued the crofting life with her husband John Morice with whom she had nine children.

I had said that we didn't have a picture of Greystone Croft but this seems to be it - à la Google Maps - 134 years after 4x great Auntie Margaret died there.

January 23rd

Another marriage today.  In 1902, on this day, your 2nd great uncle James Coull West married Mary Bannister.

As you may be able to glean from his name, James was of the Ferryden clan.  That Scottish east coast fishing village with just a few surnames.  Lots of Coulls and Wests.  James had both!  But whilst he was born and grew up in Ferryden, by the time he married he was living on the opposite side of the country in Clydebank which is beside Glasgow.  Clydebank attracted a lot of workers from other parts of the country during the time of its burgeoning shipbuilding industry.  James worked as a labourer in the shipyards.  Mary was a domestic servant.

The marriage produced five children.

You and James are related through your great great grandfather, Alexander West.  Alexander West was James' father.  Put another way, James was grandma's uncle.

January 22nd

On this day, 47 years ago, on January 22nd 1972, your third cousin, James Francis Milne, married Judith Ann Garigliano in Barre, Vermont, USA.

The ancestor you share with James is your great great grandfather, Adam Christie (he seems to turn up quite a bit doesn't he?).  Adam Christie is also James' great great grandfather.

James was a second generation American.  It was his paternal grandmother who left Scotland as a baby in 1890.

James was a pharmacist like his father and worked in the family business.  He was a republican and ran unsuccessfully for Secretary of State - Vermont -  in 1992.  He ran again in 1994 was was elected and subsequently re-elected in 1996 but he was defeated at the ballot box in 1998.

James and Judith had three daughters and one son.

Despite his 8 year stint as Vermont's Secretary of State I cannot find a photograph of James on the internet.

They now live in Venice, Florida in a nice house near the ocean.  I wonder if they'd like some Canadian cousins to come visit....!

January 20th

It was on this day, January 20th in 1903, that Nellie Thompson Glover was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

She is your 2nd cousin 2xremoved.  Your 3xgreat grandfather, John Glover is Nellie's great grandfather.

Nellie was the 6th child (of 9 children) for William Joseph Cruddas Glover (who was a plumber) and Margaret Key Taylor.

I would normally leave information about marriage etc until I'm reporting on that event, but because I  don't have an exact date for Nellie's marriage - I just know it was either July, August or September in 1936, I will make a few comments now.

Nellie married Ronald Donaldson in 1936 in Newcastle.  Ronald was also born and bred Newcastle and they were both 33 years old.   Ronald spent most of his adult life - until his death in 1960 at age 57 - going back and forth on ships to Nigeria.  And on many of these journeys, Nellie accompanied him.  He was an agent for the Elder Dempster Line - a shipping company which operated between Liverpool and Lagos, Nigeria.  The two of them seemed to stay for a few months at either end.  An interesting life.  No children.

The picture is of one of the ships Ronald and Nellie sailed on:   The Apapa which was built in 1948.  The voyage took two weeks (or a fortnight as we like to say).

January 19th

On this day, January 19th in 1843, Mary Coull was born.  Mary is your first cousin 4X removed as your 4X great grandfather, Joseph Coull, is Mary'd grandfather.  As you will know by the name, we are back in Ferryden, the Scottish east coast fishing village where my grandma came from.

As far as I have been able to determine, Mary was one of twelve children for fisherman Archibald Coull and Mary Noble.  Because of the difficulty of dealing with so many Ferryden families with the same surname I have not been able to determine anything about Mary's life.

January 18th

On this day in the family history we have one death:  that of your third great aunt, Mary Donald.  Your shared ancestor is her father, George Donald, who is your 3Xgreat grandfather.  This is grandma's side of the family in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Mary Donald was the first child of many for her parents, George Donald and Ann Matthew.  She was born in 1826.  Was married at age 25 to a blacksmith, James Tawse, who was a few years younger than her.  But she still managed to outlive him by a few years.  She died at 4 a.m. on this day in 1909 at Little Midmill Crofters House, Kintore, Aberdeenshire, the home of her son Peter.  She was 83 years old.  She had had influenza for a month and then cardiac asthenia (an anxiety disorder) for three days

You have the day off tomorrow!  For the first time since January 1st, there is nothing to report.  January the 18th was a quiet day 🤫

January 17th

Well, today is the 148th birthday of William Fisken.  We have a few William Fiskens on the family tree - six to be precise - but this one is your great great uncle.

William is the brother of Catherine Fisken who is your great grandmother.  The Fiskens lived in Dumbarton in Scotland.   After Catherine married William Glover she moved to Newcastle and then her father and some of her siblings followed her down there.

This William Fisken was born on this day in 1871 in Dumbarton, Scotland.  His parents were William Fisken and Lily Campbell.   He was their second child.  Down in Newcastle William was a marine engineer which likely means that he worked on the Tyneside shipyards.    He never married - or so it seems anyway.  In the 1911 census, when he was 40, he was living with his dad and various other Fiskens and Glovers - and that's the last I know of him....

January 16th

On this day, January 16th, in 1959 your first cousin twice removed, Adam Christie Paterson died.

Adam's grandfather, Adam Christie, is your great great grandfather.

Adam was 62 when he died.  He was a road worker and married to Elizabeth Winton.  They were living at 119 High Street in Cuminestown, Aberdeenshire. He had one son (though quite possibly more).  The cause of his death was coronary thrombosis.

January 15th

The first January 15th event is the oldest one so far:  1788 - 230 years ago!  It was on that day that your 4Xgreat grandmother was born.  Her name was Mary Pert.  Pert is one of "those" surnames of the fishing village of Ferryden on the east coast of Scotland.

Mary was born in Ferryden to fisherman Robert Pert and Margaret West.

Also, on this day, January 15th in 1907, William Campbell Glover was born.  This is Uncle Campbell (your great uncle Campbell) who was in an earlier post for his marriage.  William was the first born child for William Fisken Glover and Catherine Fisken who were first cousins.  At the time of his birth the family were living at 100 Helen Street in the Benwell district of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

And the last one for today is the marriage of James Fisken to Janet Bayne.

James Fisken is your 4th great uncle.  He is the brother of your 3X great grandfather, the elusive Peter Fisken (he's my proverbial brick wall).  Another brother is William Fisken - he who invented the steam plough.

I had James down as a bachelor who remained on the family farm in Perthshire Scotland while the rest of his siblings who mostly went hither and thither.  Up until 1856 I was right - but then, on January 15th 1856 the 45 year old bachelor farmer married 21 year old Janet Bayne in Trinity Gask, Perthshire, Scotland.  Sadly, after waiting so long for love, he died 4-1/2 years later - long enough for three children although the last one was born after his dad's death.

January 14th

On this day, January 14th, in 1911 Leslie Christie was born.  

Leslie was my uncle, your great uncle.  A brother of grandma.  Leslie was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne to John Christie and Betsy West.  He would most likely been born at home which was 7 Tower Street - above the Maltings of the Newcastle Breweries for whom his father worked.  

Leslie was the fifth child for John and Betsy but when Leslie was born there were only two still living.  And my mother was yet to come - 8 years later.

Leslie lived with his parents and worked for the brewery.  He never married but had a son - Clive John - in 1940 - with Alice May Pegnall.

His life ended in Germany in 1944.  

More details when I write about Clive's BMDs and  Uncle Leslie's death.

January 13th

Just one event for January 13th.   It was on this day, in 1893, that your great great grandfather, Alexander West, married his second wife.  Our family line comes from his first marriage - to Jemima Coull.  Alexander and Jemima were the parents of my mother's mother (your great grandmother).

But Jemima died young and left five young children.  But Alexander didn't immediately re-marry.   This second marriage was 7 years later.

I've wondered if Jemima and Catherine, first and second wives, were related.  Both surnamed Coull - but haven't been able to prove one way or another.  This is Ferryden - and, as I mentioned in an early post, there are just a few surnames in that east-coast Scottish fishing village and Coull is one of them.

And I realize that I haven't given sufficient thought as to how the children were cared for after Jemima's death - five of them ranging in age from 1 to 10 years old.  Dad was a fisherman of course and his would have been a hard working life.  The oldest child was my grandma.  I imagine she had a lot of work to do for the family at age 10.

But what we're focussing on today is the wedding which took place at 17 Beacon Terrace in Ferryden on January 13th 1893.  17 Beacon Terrace was where Catherine lived at the time.  Alexander was 42 years old and Catherine was 38 and had not been previously married. This marriage produced one child - a daughter - Margaret Jane - and lasted 37 years until Alexander's death in 1926.

Happily we have a photograph of Alexander.  This photograph would have been taken nearer the end of his life.  So here is your great, great grandfather Alexander West as published in the Dundee Courier & Advertiser at the time of his death (you'll get that story in September!)

January 12th

On this day, January 12th, in 1918 Adam Christie married Helen Rennie in the village of Maud in the parish of New Deer Aberdeenshire, Scotland.  Adam was 26 years old at the time, and Helen was 22.  Adam was a ploughman and Helen was a domestic servant.

Adam is your first cousin 2Xremoved.  Your common ancestor is another Adam Christie, your great great grandfather who is this Adam's grandfather.

Adam is a name often given to the first born boy in the Christie family.  A tradition which wasn't followed by John Christie - your great grandfather - from the sounds of the story told to me by Alison, Grandma (my mother's mother - the one with all the superstitutions and sayings) wasn't going to have that!

But back to the marriage of Adam and Helen.  I am a little short of info but I know that they had two sons and that he (or they) bought farmland at Moss-side (still in the same area of Aberdeenshire) in 1931.  This is a family (including siblings) which I could add much more info to with a bit of effort.



Next we have a birth:  on January 12th 1855 Mary Fraser Donald was born.  She is your first cousin 4X removed.  Your 4Xgreat grandfather, Alexander Donald, is Mary's grandfather.

Mary was born one of ten children (she was the 4th born) of a mason, Joseph Donald and Elizabeth Byres.

January 11th

Just one event for January 11th.  It was on this day, in 1977,  that Alexander John Millar Fisken died.

Alexander was your 2nd cousin 2X removed.  Your 3Xgreat grandfather, Peter Fisken was Alexander's great grandfather.

Alexander died in the Scottish village of Luss - a beautiful place on the shores of Loch Lomond.  I first learned about Alexander when I was in Luss in 2016.  I found him in a grave with his parents, his wife and a son.

Alexander was born in 1910 and was married in 1938 to Isabella Dunn.  They had one son.  He was a road surfaceman.  He was aged 66 at the time of his death.

January 10th

Today, January 10th, we have two birthdays:

The first - 162 years ago, in 1857 - Euphemia Campbell was born.  She is your 1st cousin 3X removed because Allan Campbell (the letter carrier who died on his route beside Loch Lomond) is your 3X great grandfather and Euphemia's grandfather.

Euphemia was the first of Duncan Campbell and Catherine Kilgour's six children.  She was born in central Glasgow where her dad worked for the post office.

The second birthday was 94 years ago.  On this day, in 1925, Allan George Milne was born in Barre, Vermont, USA.  He is your 2nd cousin once removed because your 2Xgreat grandfather is Allan's great grandfather.  Allan is a descendent of Aberdeenshire folks, on both his mother's and father's side, who left Scotland for the granite mines of Vermont.

Because of his high school year book being online, we have a photograph of Allan George Milne.

January 9th

Well, we have quite a crew for January 9th - six events spanning almost 120 years beginning in 1840.

On this day , in 1840, your 4X great uncle, Walter Donald married Ann Walker in Monquhitter, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.  You are related because you share common ancestors in Alexander Donald and Jean MacIntyre - they are your 4X great grandparents, they are Walter's parents.  This is on Grandma's side of the family.

(anything to do with Aberdeenshire is always grandma's side of the family - her paternal side)

Walter was 24 at the time of his marriage and was or became a grocer and butcher. Ann was 21.  They had one son.

Still in Aberdeenshire, on this day in 1863 - 156 years ago - Adam Christie was born to your great great grandparents Adam Christie and Isabella Donald.  He was the 5th of their 11 children which included grandma's dad.  He  left Scotland at age 18 and settled in Oregon, USA - drawn there, one would imagine, by the "gold rush".  He didn't marry and died young (age 44).

On January 9th 1931 Catherine Christie was born.  You knew her as Auntie Cathie - but she was your first cousin once removed.  She was my first cousin being a daughter of my mum's brother.  Cathie was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, never married and came to Canada in the early 1970's.  She was a nurse.

Also, on this day - this time in 1951 (the year I was born) - your 2nd cousin 2X removed, William Fisken McAlpine, died.  Your shared ancestors are Peter Fisken and Elizabeth Crerar, your 3X great grandparents and William's too.

William was 61 when he died at 72 Cathedral Street in Glasgow.  He was a post office sorter.  He had been married for 30 years to Mary Elizabeth Millar.  They appear to have had no children.

Two years later, on January 9th 1953, Duncan Campbell Fisken died in the Catford area of London, England.  He is your great great uncle as he was the brother of Catherine Fisken, your great grandmother (my dad's mum).  

Duncan was one of the Fiskens who left Dumbarton, Scotland and settled in Newcastle where he worked in the shipyards as a shipwright.  He married Eva Ferguson at age 29 and over the years they worked their way further south.  They had one son, Alan, who was killed in World War I.  

Duncan was 71 years old when he died.  He left £1061 17s 6d to Eva.

January 8th

On This Day in 1909 your Great Aunt, Catherine Elizabeth Christie, was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  She was your grandma's sister.

Auntie Cathie was the fourth child for John Christie and Betsy West, your great grandparents.  But by the time she was born the first two children, Isabella and Helen had died.

She lived with her parents above the Maltings of the Newcastle Breweries until she married in 1948 at age 39.  She died six years later.  She had no children.  (Her husband, btw, was Uncle Eric - who later went on to marry the person you know as Auntie Peggy).

Like so many of my family, I didn't know Auntie Cathie.  I was 2 when she died but I know Alison and she were very close.  This is a photo of her at my parents' wedding in 1946.

January 7th

January 7th is a date I always remember as it was, in 1968, the day my dad died.  And it was also the date, five years earlier, when my Uncle Jack died.  But more of these two people who I actually knew after covering two other earlier deaths on the same date.

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Ann Matthew is your 3X great grandmother.  This is on grandma's side of the family.  Ann was born, lived a farming life and died in the Monquhitter parish of Aberdeenshire, Scotland and is buried in the Monquhitter Kirkyard in Cuminestown.  She was married to George Donald and they had a bunch of children - 11 I've accounted for so far.  One of whom was Isabella who became your 2X great grandmother.

Ann died at the farm in Lambtech at age 76.  Cause of death was determined as being "softening of brain" I'd always imagined that this was a term for dementia but in reading a little further I think it may be encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).
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For the next January 7th death we are in Canada.  Joseph Ironside died on January 7th 1936 in Wentworth, Ontario.  He is a 1st cousin 3X removed.  You share ancestry with Ann Matthew and George Donald of above.  They are your 3X great grandparents; they are his grandparents.

Joseph travelled to Canada with his family in 1880 when he was 16 years old.  He became an engineer and was employed and lived in what was originally called the Hamilton Asylum.  He married a woman who had also emigrated from Scotland and they had three children.  Joseph died on this day in 1936 at age 71 of heart disease.

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And now to Uncle Jack.  This is my Uncle Jack.  My mother's oldest brother.  John Christie is your great uncle and he died on this day in 1963 in Saltburn in Yorkshire, England.  I was 11 when he died and I have some memories of him.  For the last few years of his life he lived with his family in Saltburn on the Yorkshire coast.  They moved there from Newcastle after the doctor suggested it for the benefit of his health.

Uncle Jack had a bit of a hazy history - he seems to have had some connection with the brown shirts during the war.  He was a bus driver and married and had three daughters one of whom was your "Auntie" Cathie.  He was 57 years old when he died.

January 6th

One hundred and sixty nine years ago today, on January 6th, your great great great grandfather, John Glover died.  He is on your direct Glover line - his son William had a son William who had my dad.

John Glover was the grocer on the family tree - he ran a grocery shop on Borough Street in Castle Donington which is a small market town in the East Midlands of England where he had lived his whole life.

He was married and had six children of whom only four lived beyond infancy.  He died young, at age 47, after two years of having tuberculosis.

I don't know what John Glover looked like but we have his handwriting!  In 1839 he signed a petition begging the powers that be that Castle Donington be allowed to keep their police constable.

January 5th

It's January 5th and we've got a couple of birthdays to talk about.  On this day, 197 years ago in 1822, John West was born.  John West is your great great great grandfather.  This is on grandma's maternal side of the family.

The Wests are a long line of fishers who lived in the east Scottish coast village of Ferryden.  John West was the second child of the nine children of Alexander West and Margaret Anderson.

There are challenges in researching my Ferryden families.  For a couple of centuries my grandmother's side of the family lived and fished in Ferryden and almost everyone during that period have one of five surnames - and our family has four of them including West.  So when I find that a John West saved some of the people of a sinking boat in 1946 I cannot with a clear conscience claim that this is our John West.  But his life was like all the other fishermen - hard and dangerous.  The unpredictable North Sea was an unforgiving workplace.

January 4th

Another busy day on the family tree!  On January 4th we have a couple of marriages and a birth.

Way back - 196 years ago to be exact - John Campbell married Mary Walker.  John Campbell is your 4th great uncle.  Remember Alan Campbell - the letter carrier - who died on his route beside Loch Lomond? - he's your 3xgreat grandfather.  Well, this John is his brother.

John and Mary were married in the parish of Arrochar in 1823.  They were both about 21.  Back then the recording of dates of birth was a bit haphazard.  But they had a good long life together - about 60 years - and they had two sons and two daughters.


A few decades later your first cousin 3X removed was born.  Jane Ironside came into this world on January 4th 1862 in Monquhitter, Aberdeenshire.  You are related because her grandparents, George Donald and Ann Matthew, are your 3xgreat grandparents.

But what makes Jane particularly interesting is that she came to Canada!  In 1883, at age 21, she sailed on this boat, the Buenos Ayrean, to work as a domestic servant.  She lived, married and died in Toronto.

There were a few of the Aberdeenshire family who came to Canada and I really ought to spend a little time documenting them - and maybe even finding living relatives fairly close to home!

January 3rd

For January 3rd we have three events in our family history.  Two births and a marriage.

First up is Jane Donald - your 3X great Aunt.  Her parents, George Donald and Ann Matthew, are your 3Xgreat grandparents.  This is on grandma's side of the family tree.

Jane was born 188 years ago today in 1831 in the Parish of Monquhitter, Aberdeenshire.  She was the second child for the farming family of George Donald and Ann Matthew (your 3X great grandparents).

Next is Charles West - also on grandma's side.  Charles was born 164 years ago today in 1855 in Ferryden, a fishing village in the county of Angus on the east coast of Scotland.  1855 was a very good year to be born (or be married, or die) in Scotland because it was the first year of civil registration and it was a case of a "new broom" ... great care was given to writing down all the details of the event - including ones which were not recorded after this year.

Charles was the 5th child for fisherman Alexander West and Margaret Anderson but one of their children had died in infancy.

Charles is your 1st cousin 4Xremoved because his parents (Alexander and Margaret) are your 4xgreat grandparents.

And up last for January 3rd is from my dad's side of the family:  Peter Fisken.  Peter is your 1st cousin 3Xremoved because his grandparents Peter Fisken and Elizabeth Crerar are your 3Xgreat grandparents.

One hundred and thirty one years ago, on January 3rd 1888, Peter married Isabella McNicoll in Partick (part of Glasgow - where the Partick Thistle of your soccer shirt play!).  He was 23 years old and was a forester in Luss and she was also 23 and a domestic servant in Luss.  Luss is a lovely village on the shores of Loch Lomond with lovely cottages built by the laird 150 years ago for slate and mill workers.  I wonder why they were married away from their home village but maybe 19 Belmont Crescent (where the wedding took place) was the home of family or friends.

Peter and Isabella's marriage produced four sons (2nd cousins twice removed to you) - including another Peter.

The Lovely Cottages of Luss

January 2nd

January the 2nd was a day for a couple of weddings in the family,  In 1875, January 2nd was a Saturday, and John Downie joined the family tree by marrying your 1st cousin 3x removed Mary Ann Walker.

The way you're related is that your 3xgreat grandparents, George Donald and Ann Matthew are Mary Ann's maternal grandparents.

Mary Ann is on grandma's side of the family - one of the Aberdeenshire folks.

The marriage took place in the Manse of Monquhitter according to the rules of the Established Church of Scotland.

Mary Ann was 17 years old and was a domestic servant.  Her groom, John Downie, was 19 and a farm servant.  While Mary Ann was of the parish of Monquhitter, John was from Millseat in the parish of King Edward which bordered Monquhitter to the north.

🎊 Happy 144th Anniversary Mary Ann and John!

The other marriage which took place on January 2nd is a little closer to home - in that I actually knew the bride and groom.  The groom was the man I called Uncle Campbell (his full name was William Campbell Glover)  He was the much older brother of my dad.  He married Vera Samsum on this date in 1943 in the Methodist Church in Shirehampton which is part of Bristol.  As you can see from the map, the locations of these two weddings couldn't have been much further apart!

At the time of their marriage, Campbell was 35 years old and Vera was 31.  I wondered for a long time how on earth they met.  She was from the Bristol area and he was in Newcastle.  But I discovered Mary, an aunt of Campbell's, was living down there and a couple of photos I found at Alan's house in Liverpool would suggest Campbell would probably have visited his Aunt Mary.

Uncle Campbell and Auntie Vera always lived in Shirehampton and I just saw them a couple of times in my life but despite this, they always loomed large in some way.  Auntie Vera was a bit of a battle axe.  (Even if we didn't see them often there were always letters back and forth).  Cousin Alan was more connected in real-time.  They didn't have any children.  Vera's sister, Grace, married a Walter Diamond and they had a son who lives in Canada - this is the Adrian Diamond I've been in touch with for the past few years.

(William) Campbell Glover was your great uncle because he was the brother of your grandfather.

🎊 Happy 76th Anniversary Campbell and Vera!