February 27th

We have two deaths today.

In 1928 Robert John Glover died.  He is your 1st cousin 3X removed.  Your shared ancestor is John Glover  - the Castle Doninton grocer.  He is your 3xgreat grandfather and Robert's grandfather.

Robert was the son of Shaw Glover and Isabella Cruddas.  He was a pawnbroker's manager (but maybe not for his whole working life).  He was married to Lily Curry.  They had one child who sadly died at birth.  Robert was born, lived, worked and died in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  He died at age 56 leaving quite a bit of cash £8373 9s. 4d.


The second death on February 27th was of Robert Christie in 1936.  Robert Christie is your 2nd great uncle.  He was the brother of your great grandfather John Christie (my mum's dad).  Robert Christie would have been someone my mum would have known in person.   He was part of the Aberdeenshire clan and she used to visit them in the childhood and teens.  Robert was a farm servant - the son of Adam Christie and Isabella Donald.  He lived on various farms over the decades.  He married Mary Pratt and they had seven children.

Once into his 30's he became a carter and it was while doing this job that he had an accident in 1895.

 "He was carting wood by horse and lorry down a steep, narrow road when the drag slipped out below the wheel of the lorry.  He ran to the mare's head as the lorry weighing a ton was rapidly pushing the horse down the brae.  The horse, however, trampled on his feet, tearing his right boot to pieces and causing him to fall.  Then the wheels of the lorry passd over him breaking three or four ribs and injuring both his feet, the right one severely."

But Robert went on to to live and work another forty years.  Later in life he worked as a labourer with the railway.  He died at Allanvale Cottage in Dyce Aberdeenshire. Cause of death was carcinoma coli (colon cancer).  He was 75 years old.

February 25th

On this day in 1892 your 4th great uncle, Joseph Donald, died.  He was a master mason in Garmond, Aberdeenshire.  He was the brother of your 3xgreat grandfather George Donald.

Joseph was married to Elizabeth Byres and they had 10 children.  Joseph died at 9:30 in the evening 127 years ago in Garmond.  Cause of death was hemiplegia.  He was 77 years old.

He is buried in the Monquhitter Kirkyard in Cuminestown, Aberdeenshire.

February 24th

On this day in 1979 your 1st cousin 1x removed Anne Christie, died.  Anne is "Auntie" Cathie's sister.  She was the middle child of Auntie Annie and Uncle Jack.  The younger one, Joan,  you may remember was the subject of a post on February 14th.

Auntie Annie lost two daughters within days of eachother in February 1979.  Anne is the one who had been ill with cancer and her death was expected.  News of Joan's death 10 days earlier was a shock.

I knew Anne - but only as a child.  I was 5 years old when she got married.  I have no idea what went on, but Anne "disappeared" from her family after her wedding - it was thought that her husband, Kenneth Kerr,  didn't want her to have anything to do with them anymore.  I'm quite sure there's a lot more to the story than that.  A few years later, when Anne's father died, the police were asked to trace Anne and they found her and her husband in Ontario, Canada.  On a farm I believe.

When I came to Winnipeg in 1972 Anne and husband and children were living in Winnipeg - just around the corner from you actually - at 401 Oak Street (the corner house on the west side at Grosvenor).  They moved to Edmonton in 1973 (husband worked for Eatons and was transferred or asked for a transfer).  It was in Edmonton where she died.  She was 46 years old.

February 23rd

On this day, February 23rd, we have one birth - and somewhat close to home.  Alexander Ironside Ingram was born in York (now part of Toronto), Ontario in 1906.  Alexander is your 2nd cousin 2x removed.  The common ancestor is your 3xgreat grandfather, George Donald.  George is Alexander's grandfather.

Alexander was a first generation Canadian.  His parents, Jane Ironside and John Ingram, came from Aberdeenshire.  I believe he was their only child and he didn't have his mum very long.  She died when he was three.

February 22nd

On this day in 1869 Margaret Donald was born.  She is your 1st cousin 4Xremoved.  Your common ancestor is Margaret's father, Joseph Donald, who is your 3x great grandfather.

Born in Monquhitter, Aberdeenshire, Margaret was the youngest of the ten children born to farmers Joseph Donald and Elizabeth Byres.  And beyond this I know nothing about Margaret.  Yet.

The map of Scotland below shows the location of Monquhitter, the parish which is so significant in our family's history.  It is the area outlined in red.

February 20th

Three ancestors died on February 20th.

On this day in 1897 Robert Christie died.  He is your 3rd great uncle as he was a brother of your 3x great grandfather, Adam Christie.  Yes, Adam Christie yet again!

Robert was a crofter in Banffshire, Scotland.  He was married to Helen Angus and they had seven children.  He died of senility at home in Rawgowan Croft.  He was 79 years old.


Also, on this day, in 1912 Peter Fisken died.  Peter is your 1st cousin 3x removed - his father, Alexander Fisken, is your 4x great grandfather.  Like his father, Peter was a forrester.  He was married to Isabella McNicoll who was actually the neice of his stepmother.   They had four children.  Peter lived in Luss (the lovely village on Loch Lomond) but died at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary.  Cause of death Splenic Anaemia.  He was 47.

2007 streetview of 104 Fairview Drive, Beaufort NC

And the last one was not so very long ago - in 1997.  Preston Daniel Riddel was your 2nd cousin 1x removed.  You're connected through the same Adam Christie as above:  Adam is your 3x great grandfather and Preston's great grandfather.

Preston was a 2nd generation American.  He was born and lived in Vermont.  He had four years of college.  He was in the Air Corps for the last year of World War II.  He was married to Ola Mae Tow but had no children.  In his later years he lived at 104 Fairview Drive in Beaufort, North Carolina.  He was an administrator of environmental and housing programs.  He died in hospital in Greenville, North Carolina.  Cause of death chronic heart disease.  He was 70 years old.

February 19th

On this day - February 19th - in 1898 Francis Christie died.  Frances is your 2nd great uncle being the son of you your 2xgreat grandparents, Adam Christie and Isabella Donald.

Francis Christie was born, lived and worked in Aberdeenshire.  He never married and was a farm servant.  His died of typhoid fever at age 42 and is buried with his family in the cemetery in Cuminestown, Monquhitter, Aberdeenshire.

February 18th

On this day in 1855 Mary McLeod died.  Mary is your 4x great grandmother.  She was born in Campbeltown, Argyll but married into the Ferryden clan and lived in Ferryden for 25 years before her death at age 64 from bronchitis.  She is buried in Rossie Island Cemetery.  She left behind her husband George Pert and their five children. (Pert is one of "those" Ferryden names)

And another 4x great grandmother died on this day - in 1877 - also in Ferryden.  Margaret Anderson died of old age at age 77.  She had been a fisher woman and was a widow at the time of her death.  She had had nine children with Alexander West.

February 17th

A couple of posts ago we had the death of your 4th great grandmother and today we have her birth.  Mary Byres was born on February 17th in 1778 - 241 years ago!!  She was born in Gray Stone, Monquhitter, Aberdeenshire to James Byres and Jessie Haddon.  (I now realize that I'm not quite accurate here - Mary was baptised on this day.  I doubt if I will ever know the actual day of her birth but more often than not baptism took place pretty quickly back then in case the baby didn't survive).

Next up is the birth of Adam William Gray Christie - your 1st cousin 2x removed.  Adam was born in Blairfowl Cottage in Fyvie, Aberdeenshire.  He was the 2nd of seven children of Robert Christie, a farm servant, and Mary Pratt.

Also, on this day in 1918 Douglas Haig Paterson was born.  I actually met "Haigie".  He was my mother's first cousin and he farmed near Turriff in Aberdeenshire.  But it wasn't until he visited mum in Canada in the mid-70's that I met him properly (it's likely he saw me as a baby).  Then back in the 80's Mum and Alex visited him in Scotland.  I feel there may be a bit of mystery about Haigie's relationship to the rest of the Aberdeenshire family (which is a considerable size) because as soon as I mentioned him to a great-neice of his, there was pure silence from her.  But whatever that's all about I found him to be a cheery sort and I know mum was fond of him.

His parents were Joseph Paterson and Elspet Christie and he was their youngest, the 11th, child.

Cousin Haigie in mid-70's

And lastly we have the death of Ethel Ann Milne in Barre, Vermont, USA.  Ethel died on this day in 2000 at age 90.  She was your 2nd cousin 1x removed.  She was a first generation American having been born to two Aberdeenshire immigrants.  She never married.  She worked as a waitress, a maid and then at Woolworths.

February 16th

Three events for today.  The first one is from the Glover line.  She is Aileen Hope, your 2nd cousin 2X removed, and she was born on this day in 1904.  Your shared ancestor is John Glover (the Castle Donington grocer) who is her great grandfather and your 3X great grandfather.

Aileen was born in Sleekburn, Northumberland - a place I'd never heard of but I see that it's just an ten minute drive from Blyth!  She was the second child of three for Elizabeth Ann Glover and her husband John William Hope.  Elizabeth was a homemaker, John was a railway signalman.

Next up is Elspet Donald who is your 3X great aunt.  Her dad, George Donald, is your 3X great grandfather.  On this day in 1920 Elspet died in Scotsbrae, Monquhitter, Aberdeenshire.  She was 87 years old and the widow of William Finnie.  Cause of death was senile decay and heart failure.


And on this day, February 16th, in 1939 your great grandmother died.  Catherine Fisken was my dad's mum.  She was 60 years old, the widow of William Fisken Glover.  She died in the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle of cerebral thrombosis (a stroke).  As you may remember, I found her grave last summer.  And it wasn't until 2016 before I knew what she looked like.  She is also Liverpool Alan's grandmother and he had a couple of photographs of her.  This one would have been not too long before her death.  She is with my dad and Auntie Vera (who married my uncle Campbell) outside 88 Ethel Street in Newcastle.

February 15th

On this day in 1866 Mary Byres died.  She is your 4Xgreat grandmother.  She is on grandma's side of the family - part of the Aberdeenshire clan.

Mary died at her home in Quarryhill Farm, near Turriff, Aberdeenshire.  She was the widow of Alexander Matthew.  Cause of death was bronchitis which she'd had for 10 days.  She was age 88.

February 14th

On this day in 1857 Arthur Drummond Fisken was born in Perthshire, Scotland.  He was the older brother of James Fisken of the previous post.  He was the first born of three children for James Fisken and Janet Bayne.  He was your first cousin 4Xremoved.

Arthur did not live long - he died at age 3 - before his brother James was born.



Also on this day - in 1979 - Joan Christie, your first cousin 1X removed died.  Joan was Auntie Annie's youngest daughter and the mother of Leslie who visited here a number of years ago.

Joan died in Felixstowe in the south east of England.  She was 40 years old.  If my memory serves me right, she was away at a conference (maybe a teacher's conference) and died in her hotel room of a heart attack.

February 12th

Got a couple of births today - February 12th.  The first one is of Adam Christie who we've heard of quite a bit in other posts.  He is your great great grandfather.  He was grandma's grandfather.

Adam was born in Banff, Scotland which is north of Aberdeenshire where he ends up.  This is in the far north east of Scotland.

Being born in 1835, he was the youngest, the 10th child for John Christie and Helen Gordon.  For a while I having been playing around with the idea that he may actually be their grandchild raised as their child - and the jury is still out on this one.  There was already a child called Adam.  I haven't found this Adam's death but I also haven't found anything else about him.  But if he died then the parents may very well have used the name again particularly as Adam is a family name.  And secondly, the mother was quite old - late 40's but that's (a) possible but also (b) I may have the mother's birth year wrong.

The second birth on this day - in 1861 - was of James Fisken your first cousin 4Xremoved. He was born in Trinity Gask in Perthshire, Scotland.  He is the son of James Fisken one of the siblings of the plough inventor William Fisken and also your 3xgreat grandfather Peter Fisken.

James, the father of today's James, was very late in marrying.  He was 43.  His wife - and James's mother, Janet Bayne, was 21.  James was their third child and sadly his dad died before he was actually born.  His mother remarried and I have found references to James using his stepfather's name - so he may have become James Penney.  But not sure which name he used in actual fact in his adulthood.

February 9th

On this day, February 9th, in 1883, Isabella Christie died.

Isabella is your 2nd great aunt.  She was the 11th and last child of Adam Christie and Isabella Donald.  She died young.  At age 18.  She is buried in Monquhitter Parish Cemetery, Cuminestown with other members of her family.  I don't know how she died.  I can't find a death certificate for her.  

The second event for the day doesn't fit the usual criteria but I want to acknowledge that it was on this day in 1998 that Doris Maxine Anderson died.  Doris is Ainsley‘s maternal grandmother.  Cal's mum.

Doris was born in Griffin, Saskatchewan in 1921.  At age 23 she married David Louis Forbes Lambeth who was from Fife, Scotland.

Doris died on this day in Winnipeg at age 76.

February 8th

Just one story today - and really, it shouldn't be a story for this blog at all.....  for on this day, Ann Dunn died.  Ann Dunn was who you knew as Auntie Annie - and she isn't "blood" as far as family history goes.  But, because you knew her and also she was quite a figure in my life, I thought we  should have this post.

Auntie Annie (as we called her - although later in life she expressed that she'd prefer to be Auntie Ann.  Alison complied.  I did not!) - married grandma's oldest brother, Jack.  Jack and Ann had three daughters - Cathie who you knew but also Anne and Joan.

Auntie Annie was 87 years old when she died in Winnipeg on Fbruary 8th 1995.  This was just a few days before you, dad and I went off to Disney World and to South Palm Beach.  The funeral was one of those pre-arranged things which included a limosine.  Cathie kindly suggested that the three of us travel in the limosine.  I think she thought it would be a cool thing for a 9 year old boy to experience.  But do you remember what dad said?  Once settled in and we were moving (this was after the funeral - driving to the actual burial) - Dad turned to Cathie and said "well, how much did that lot cost then?"  I was embarrassed of course but now I can smile.  And I know Cathie smiled at the time because she understood.

Ann came to Canada many many years after being a widow.  She lived in various spots in England but after her daughter Cathie came to Canada she decided that she would live here too.  I can't remember exactly when she came - but it must have been in the mid 70's  She was certainly here when mum and Alec got married in 1977.

She is buried in Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens in Winnipeg.

February 7th

On this day, February 7th - in 1865 Allan Campbell died.

Allan Campbell was your 3x great grandfather.    And how was he your 3X great grandfather?  He had a daughter Lily who had a daughter Catherine who had a son Alan Glover (my dad) who had me and I had you.

Allan Campbell is a member of the family who lived in one of the most beautiful areas of Scotland.  He lived in the village of Tarbet on glorious Loch Lomond.  In the latter years of his life he changed jobs.  He had been a road labourer but in his mid 50's he became a letter carrier.  I have assumed that this came about because his son began to work for the British Postal Service in Glasgow.

Allan had a sweet postal route.  He delivered the mail from Tarbet (or possibly Arrochar - the village just south of Tarbet) to Invernan - some 18 miles up the coast of Loch Lomond.  In Invernan there is a very very old pub/hotel and I do hope that at the end of his shift, dear old grandaddy enjoyed a dram or two with the locals before heading back home.

Sadly, on one day - the 7th of February 1865 - Grandad Allan didn't quite make it.  He was found on the road.  Cause of death was assumed  heart disease.

I very happily spent time in my "Campbell area" in both 2016 and 2018.  When I was there last fall I was so so happy to find the grave where Allan Campbell was buried.  Such a beautiful place.  One could say a perfect place to spend eternity.


Also on this day - in 1987 - your 1st cousin once removed - the famous Cousin Alan - was married.  He sure was a lucky guy to find someone like Jenny!  They were married in St. Bridges Church in Liverpool.

February 6th

I have just one event in the family history on this day - February 6th.  And it concerns a Peter.  Peter West died on this day in 1922.

You've likely clued in by now that if the name is West then it's grandma's mother's side of the family and they are of Ferryden, the fishing village on the east coast of Scotland.

So, who is this Peter?  He is the grandson of Alexander West who is your great great grandfather.  He was born in Ferryden to John West and Helen Pert and continued in the fishing trade.  He married twice and had six children with his first wife, Margaret Pert.  A few years after Margaret died he married a widow, Grace Coull.  And the weird thing about this is - you are related directly to both partners in this marriage - to Peter and to Grace - but they are not related to each other.  Grace is your 3Xgreat aunt - the daughter of your 3Xgreat grandfather, James Coull.  Weird huh?

Peter was one of the Ferryden folks who left the declining fishing life of the east coast and went west in the 1890's with his second wife to work in the ship building industry on the River Clyde near Glasgow.  He became a shipyard labourer.

But he did go home to Ferryden.  He is there in 1914 when Grace dies in there.  And then he himself died on thhis day at 5:55 a.m. at 7 Usan Road In Ferryden.  He was 65 years old.  Cause of death was pneumonia which he had for five days also heart failure.  His son, another Peter West, registered the death.  I note that Peter the son, being the son of his dad's first marriage, only referenced his mother on the death certficate.

And that's it for today.

February 5th

Today is February 5th and I have two events to report upon - one a long time ago - the other much more recent.

On this day in 1807 (goodness me - that's 212 years ago!) - your 4th great uncle, John Fisken, was born in Muthill, Perthshire, Scotland.

John is the brother of your 3xgreat grandfather, Peter Fisken which means he was also the brother of the William Fisken of steam plough fame.  He was the second child of the seven children born to James Fisken and Flora Tainsh.  Of all these siblings, John is the one about which I know nothing.  So that's it I'm afraid.



But also, on this day, this time in 1972, Allan George Milne died.  Allan is your 2nd cousin once removed.  He is the grandfather of Heather Milne who've I recently been in touch with.  This is the Vermont, USA family.  You connect through the Aberdeenshire Adam Christie.

Allan's parents both arrived in Vermont from Aberdeenshire, Scotland.  His birth was reported a few posts past (on January 10th).  Between his birth in 1925 and his death today - at age 47, he served in World War II (in the navy), married and had seven children.  He lived in Barre, Vermont for his whole life.  He was a pharmacist and owned his own pharmacy, the Allan Milne Pharmacy.

He died of Pulmonary insufficiency but was also afflicted with lung and liver cancer.  He is buried in Hope Cemetery in Barre.

February 4th

So today we say happy birthday to Mary Morice - this is her 180th birthday!  She is your first cousin 4X removed.  Alexander Matthew, Mary's grandfather is your 4Xgreat grandfather.  We are with the Aberdeenshire family again.

Mary was the seventh child born to John Morice and Margaret Matthew - Margaret being our blood relative.  The family were farmers in Monquhitter and lived in Greystone Croft.

Also, on this day, Clive John Lincoln was born in 1940 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne  This is someone a lot closer to us - he is my unknown first cousin and your first cousin once removed.

You remember Uncle Leslie who was killed in the war?  Clive is his son.  I always knew that Uncle Leslie had a son but didn't give it much thought until a few years ago when it clicked, that this son would be another first cousin for me.  I went looking for him - it took a while because his surname was Lincoln rather than Christie.  The finding of his birth record created quite a stir because it was declared that the parents of the baby Clive were John & Ann Christie.  This Ann Christie is who you know as Auntie Annie!  There is a correction made on the margin of the birth certificate:  correcting the name of the father to be Leslie Christie and the name of the mother to be Alice May Lincoln.  This correction was made on April 3rd 1944.

You will remember that Uncle Leslie was killed on January 29th 1944.  My feeling is that the correction was made because the child of a man killed during the war would likely be eligible for government financial support.

Clive's mother, Alice May Pegnall, was married to Edgar Lincoln.  Both were of Norfolk (a county a long way from Newcastle).  Edgar died in 1942 - after Clive was born.

I was very keen on tracking down Clive but sadly I found that I missed the boat.  He died in 2004.  I went looking for a marriage and descendants and believe I found them - but have only been in touch with a daughter-in-law who suggests that things were not very good for the Lincoln family.  Initially she seemed to be willing to speak with me but then backed away.

Rather oddly, Clive's death certificate declares he was born in Norwich in Norfolk rather than Newcastle - so who knows.

I'm sad about this story.

I've taken this opportunity to revisit Clive's life and am re-thinking whether I have the right folks as his descendents.  I have found evidence of a marriage to someone with a different surname.  I've sent away for the certificate to see if it will offer up any further clues.  

February 2nd

On this day in 1855 James Fisken was married.  James is your 3xgreat uncle.  He is the son of Peter Fisken who is your 3xgreat grandfather.

James was 24 and a sawyer when he married 31 year old Hellen Gloag who was the daughter of a vintner.  Both were of the parish of Muthill in Perthshire, Scotland and they married in Muthill.  They had three children but sadly two of them died in childhood.  The middle child survived and I am in touch with one of his descendants.

Their marriage was, according to their marriage certificate "solemnized according to the Rites & Ceremonies of the Episcopal Church in Scotland" so I think it's safe to assume that they were married in the episcopal church in Muthill - St. James.

And also on this day, in 1890 George Christie was born.  George is the son of the George Christie and Margaret Alexander whose marriage was reported in the previous post.

This George is your first cousin once removed with your great great grandfather Adam Christie being George's grandfather.  George was born in East Moss-side croft in Monquhitter.