April 1st

A daughter of your 4Xgreat grandparents, Alexander West and Margaret Anderson - your 4th great aunt, Catherine West was born on this day in 1831.

West, as you likely know by heart by now, means we're in Ferryden with our fishing families which is where Catherine was born -  the 5th child of Alexander and Margaret's nine children.  

Another April 1st birth occured in 1847 when James Morice was born in Monquhitter, Aberdeenshire.  James is your first cousin 4x removed.  Your 4xgreat grandparents Alexander Matthew and Mary Byres are James' grandparents.

James was the son of John Morice and Margaret Matthew.  He was the 9th and last child for them.  The family lived on Greystone Farm.

Next we have a marriage.  Robert Christie, your 3xgreat uncle married Helen Angus.  Robert is the son of your 3xgreat grandparents John Christie and Helen Gordon.  

Robert was a crofter in Banffshire, Scotland.  He was a 50 year old bachelor when he married Helen in 1869.  Helen was 30 and a domestic servant.  Despite Robert's advanced years the couple had seven children!  

Somewhere in Banffshire

And lastly this day Robert Stewart West was born.  Robert is your 2xgreat uncle and he was the son of your 2xgreat grandparents, Alexander West and Jemima Coull.  He was born on April 1st 1881 in Ferryden.  He was the third of the five children.  Their mother, Jemima, died young when Robert was five years old.  

March 31st

On this day in 1985 YOU were born!  It was a Sunday.  5:48 a.m. in the morning and you weighed in at 8lb 7oz.  A most welcome addition to our family!

So, I bet you're keen to know what else happened on this day in the family history.  I have four events for  you:  two births, one marriage and one death.  

First up is the marriage of your 4xgreat grandparents, Alexander Matthew and Mary Byres.  These folks are on grandma's side of the family - part of the Aberdeen clan.  They were married on March 31st 1801 - that's 218 years ago - in Old Deer, Aberdeenshire in Scotland.  Alexander was 22 years old and Mary was 23.  They were farmers and they lived their whole lives in rural Aberdeenshire.  They had five children.  The child from whom we are directly descended is Ann.  She was their second born.


We stay with Grandma's side - but with the Ferryden fishers - for the birth of Mary Ann West.   She is your first cousin 3x removed.  But oh so sadly, Mary Ann did not grow up.  She drowned in the river at Ferryden when she was three years old.  Mary Ann's parents were your 3x great uncle Peter West and Margaret Pert.


The second birthday is of Isabella Cruddas Hope who was born on this day in 1916.  She is your 2nd cousin twice removed.  We are on my dad's side now.  And we're in Newcastle.  Isabella is the third child of Elizabeth Ann Glover and John William Hope who was a railway signalman.

And lastly we have Robert John Glover.  Robert is your 2nd cousin 2X removed and he died on this day in 1959.  He was the son of William Joseph Cruddas Glover and Margaret Key Taylor.  He was a butcher by trade and he married Ann Selina Salvidge in 1928.  I have found no children for them.  Robert died at age 63 and he left £1513 18s. 7d.

March 29th

On this day in 1946 Archibald Ritchie Lawrence Glover died.  You may remember that just a little while ago, on March 17,  I reported his birth.  He is your 2nd great-uncle being the younger brother of William Fisken Glover who is your great grandfather - my dad's dad.

Archibald was raised in the manse of the congregational church in Horsley, a small village in Northumberland.  His father was the minister.  When he was in his early teens he was sent to Caterham which is in the south of England in the county of Surrey.  There was a school there Caterham School  which was founded in 1811 to provide a boarding education for the sons of congregational ministers. Archibald and his brother William both attended.  Archibald was fairly academic and gained the Cambridge Certificate

Once back up north in his late teens, he was a bank clerk - and occupation which he seems to have kept throughout his working life.  After the death of his father in 1902 he moved to Newcastle with his mother where they lived at 88 Ethel Street.  He was active in his church.  He was a deacon of St. James Congregational Church in central Newcastle.

Nearly two years after the death of his mother, Archibald married Caroline Anne Page in 1915 at age 34 and they lived at 6 Bentinck Crescent until moving to 29 Sanderson Road in Newcastle.  Archibald and Caroline had two children:  a son Archibald and a daughter Flora who died at age 25 as the result of falling off a horse.

I don't know the cause of Archibald's death but he died on this day in 1946 at age 65.  Probate records show that he left a nice tidy sum to Caroline.

March 28th

On this day - 220 years ago - in 1799 - your 3xgreat grandmother was born.  Her name was Elizabeth Crerar and she was the the first born for James Crerar and Ann Ferguson.  She was born in Muthill in Perthshire, Scotland.  She would grow up to marry into the Fisken family and to be the mother of both your 2xgreat grandfather, William Fisken, AND your 2x great grandmother, Flora Fisken.  William and Flora had children who married (first cousins).  So Elizabeth Crerar does double duty as a 3xgreat grandmother (you're supposed to have 16 - you've only got 14)!

Muthill 2016

And also on this day - in 1893 - Thomas Robert Hay Fisken died.  Thomas is your 4th great uncle.  He is the brother of your 3x great grandfather, Peter (and hence the brother-in-law of the above Elizabeth Crerar) - and also brother of William Fisken of steam plough fame.  Actually Thomas - along with another brother, David - worked with William on the development of the steam plough.  

Thomas was born in Monzie, Perthshire (near the village of Muthill) - a son of a farming family.  He lived in Scotland into adulthood working on various engineering experiments with his brother David and he also became a school teacher.  He married Frances Barker in County Durham, England when he was 32.  They had four children about whom you will hear in future posts.  He was a school master in Stockton at the time of his marriage but it was his work as an engineer which continued through the years and admitted him as a member of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society - and also took him to Yorkshire.  Unfortunately his business as an agricultural dealer in Yorkshire went bankrupt in 1883.  He and his family moved into the London area after that.  

Life became financially very difficult for Thomas and an acticle in The Yorkshire Post was published in January 1893 about the dire straits he was in.  The article begins:

 "The inventor of steam-ploughing is in want.  Thomas Robert Hay Fisken, the Perthshire schoolmaster who first ploughed land, as Tennyson's "North Farmer" has it "huzzin' and buzzin' awaay wi' the devil's own team" is in his seventy-third year and has lost not only his means but the sons who supported him....."

An appeal went out to the members of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society but Thomas died shortly afterwards.  He died in St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London.  Cause of death was strangulated hernia syncope.  He was 74.

May 27th

Over 200 years ago, in 1814, your 4xgreat uncle Joseph Donald was born in Garmond, Monquhitter. Aberdeenshire.  He was the 7th of 8 children for Alexander Donald and Jean Macintire.

And also on this day - in 1841 - David Paton Coull was born in Ferryden.  David is your 1st cousin 4X removed.  His grandfather, Joseph Coull is your 4x great grandfather.  David was the fourth child for Archibald Coull and Mary Noble.  Eight more children came after him.  I cannot find him in any records beyond the census which was taken shortly after his birth.  And while I can't find an actual death record, I fear that David may have died as an infant.

These two ancestors are both on grandma's side of the family.  Aberdeenshire is her dad's family.  Ferryden her mother's.  While researching my dad's side, I'm all over the place in England and Scotland.  For my mother's side - it's all Aberdeenshire (with a bit of Banffshire thrown in - which is "just up the road") and Ferryden except for some folks who headed for the new worlds of America and Canada.

March 26th

We have one event for March 26th - the birth of William Fisken in 1870.  I've already written about William - his death was reported back on January 28.  He is the fellow who died in the Gartloch Asylum in Glasgow.  He is your 1st cousin 3x removed.  Your closest common ancestor is your 3x great grandfather, Peter Fisken.

But today we celebrate his birth!  He was born in the village of Luss - the 6th of 7 children of sawyer Alexander Fisken who was originally from Muthill in Perthshire and Mary Ann Watt.  His mum died when Alexander was only two.  His father remarried the following year and over the next few years William gained another five siblings!

Another photo of Luss from 2016 visit

March 25th

On this day in 1779 - that's 240 years ago!! - your 4xgreat grandfather, Alexander Matthew, was born.      It's unlikely that he was an only child but I cannot find his siblings - but his parent's names were Peter Matthew and Barbara Bruce - these would be your 5x great grandparents!   Alexander was born in Old Deer in Aberdeenshire and his family would be crofters or agricultural workers.

The photo is of the ruins of Deer Abbey which would have been near to where the Matthews lived.  The abbey was built in 1219 and remained structurally complete until 1809 when, like many other stone structures, it was dismantled to build other projects.  So it was in fact a  ruin even 240 years ago.

And also on this day - in 1867 - James Gordon Christie was born.  He is your first cousin 3x removed.    His grandfather, John Christie is your 3x great grandfather.  James was the 10th child of 11 born to Andrew Christie and Hannah Hendry.  James was born in Wellfield, Banffshire into a farming family.  There seems to be some indication that James emigrated to the United States - to Maine - but I still have to confirm this.

March 24th

On this day in 1837 Ann Donald was born.  She is your 3xgreat aunt, the daughter of your 3xgreat grandparents, farmer George Donald and Ann Matthew. Ann was their 5th child - and six more followed.  She was born in Monquhitter in Aberdeenshire.  The family lived at Greystone Croft which was the property of the Earl of Fife.

Greystone

Also on this day your first cousin 3x removed Ann Follie died in 1919.  Ann was the niece of the above Ann Donald but I have no idea of which sibling of Ann's was this Ann's mother.  Ann Follie was raised by her grandparents (George Donald and Ann Matthew), never married and was a domestic servant.  She died at Lambtech croft and was buried in Monquhitter churchyard with her grandparents.  She was 54 years old.

March 23rd

On this day in 1844 Alexander Christie married Susan Watt.  Alexander is a 3x great uncle of yours and I would normally say that he was a Christie of Aberdeenshire.  But this Christie didn't make the move as many other of his clan did from Banffshire.

Alexander and Susan were married in Fordyce, Banffshire.  He was 31 years old and Susan was 35.  They had one daughter.  Theirs was a farming family for the most part although Alexander had also turned his hand at being a grocer in Portsoy, a village in Fordyce parish.

March 21st

I'll catch up with March 17, 18 and 19 soon - but wanted to post March 21st on the day, because it is Dad's 80th birthday.

Hans Mueller was born on this day in 1939 in Rheinbach, a town in the region of Rhineland-Westphalia in Germany.  He was born into a country in turmoil which was about to have war declared upon it.  The first five years of his life were lived while this conflict raged.  He was evacuated but was lucky to have relatives who lived on a farm in the country so he was able to stay with family.  You visited these country family folks in 1988 and enjoyed yourself immensely!

Hans was the second child for Karl Müller and Klara Schwalb.  He was born 10 years after their first son, Werner.  When I asked Omi why so long between she replied that the doctor had told her that having a baby may help her with "woman troubles".  I guess there are worse reasons to be conceived!

The family lived on Aachener Strasse (Street).  Karl had an autobody business on the premises.  Despite post war difficulties, I feel that dad had mostly an OK childhood.  He was brought up in the catholic church because of his mother.  He did however miss quite a bit of school as a youngster when he was ill with (can't remember the name) - he was very close to having a leg amputated because of the infection.  He claimed that when he snuck out to play in a swimming hole, the natural bacteria of the mud cured him.

The war and the genocidal ambitions of the Third Reich was to have a major impact on dad's thinking and belief system as it did for so many of his generation.  He was keen to leave and embraced Canada in 1957.

And to the other March 21st birthday.  On this day in 1864 Peter Fisken was born.  He is your first cousin 3X removed.  Your third great grandfather, another Peter Fisken, is this Peter's grandfather.

Peter was born in LUSS, Dumbartonshire (the lovely village on Loch Lomond).  He was the third of six children born to sawyer Alexander Fisken and Mary Ann Watt.

March 19th

On March 19th in 1904 Lily Campbell died.  Lily was your great great grandmother.  She was born and grew up in Tarbet, Dunbartonshire, Scotland but once married (to William Fisken) she lived in the town/city of Dumbarton itself.  Lily and William had six children one of whom is your great grandmother Catherine Fisken.

Lily was a dressmaker.  She died at 13 Levenford Place where the family lived in Dumbarton.  Cause of death was angina.  She was 66.

And also on this day in 2002 your mother, Gillian Lesley Glover,  in a  "tax-deductible" ceremony in the courthouse in Greensboro, North Carolina, married Dennis Hudspith.

March 18th

For today we head down to Castle Donington in Leicestershire - but unfortunately it's to learn about a death of a child.  On this day in 1844 Robert Cartwright died.  He is your first cousin 4X removed.  Your 4X great grandfather, Robert Glover is baby Robert's grandfather.  Robert was born in 1842 - a twin with William.  They were the first born for Mary Ann Glover and Francis Cartwright, a cooper by trade.  Robert was just a few months old when he died.

On this day in 1887 Duncan Campbell died.  Duncan is your 3X great uncle being the brother of your 2x great grandmother Lily Campbell.  Dunca was raised in Tarbet on the banks of Loch Lomond in Dunbartonshire.  He moved a little bit south of there to the city of Glasgow where he worked for the British Postal Service.  From being a letter carrier he became a porter at the lovely big old post office building which I saw in Glasgow (no longer a post office unfortunately).  As a porter he had his 15 minutes of fame when he caught a thief.  The thief, Mary McDonald, was sent to prison for 30 days for being a "rogue and a vagabond".

Duncan was married to Catherine Kilgour and they had six children.  Duncan died in Oakfield - a house in Tarbet and he was buried in nearby Ballyhennan Burial Ground with his parents and others - this was the grave I found last fall.  He died from a cerebral haemorrhage.  He was 61 years old.

And lastly on this day, Flora Fisken died in 1913.  Flora is your great great grandmother.  She was born in Perthshire, Scotland but as a young girl went to live with her uncle in Stamfordham, Northumberland, England.  Her uncle was William Fisken, the chappie famous for his steam plough.  He was also a presbyterian minister.  Flora married William Glover who was the minister of the congregational church in nearby Horsley.  They lived in the manse of the church and had two sons.  When her husband died in 1902 she was able to stay on a little while but only until a new minister arrived and then she moved into Newcastle (to 88 Ethel Street - the house which was still in the family when I was a child).

Flora died in 88 Ethel Street of embolism in vessels of both legs and senile gangrene in both legs.  Her exact age seems to be up for debate - but she was in the first half of her 70's.  She was buried with her husband in the graveyard in Ovingham - a village which is down a very steep hill from Horsley.

Found the Glover grave in Ovingham in 2012

March 17th

It's March 17th - St. Patrick's Day - and we've got a whole gang of folks today.... two births and three deaths.

First up is the birth of your 2nd great uncle.  Archibald Ritchie Lawrence Glover.  He is the brother of your great grandfather William Glover.  Funny that one child gets just one name, the other three.  I've never been able to figure out where "Ritchie" or "Lawrence" come from.  But they must have some significance.

Anyway, Archibald was the second of the two sons of  Rev. William Glover and Flora Fisken.  He was born in the village of Horsley in the county of Northumberland.  His dad was the minister of the Horsley Congregational Church and the family lived in the manse which was attached to the church.  Interesting to note that both boys were born when Flora was in her early 40's.  There was another child in the family:  Gertrude was a 6-year-old half sibling.  She was the daughter of the Rev. Glover and his first wife who died during the birth of a second baby.

The Manse (white building) where Archibald was born

 Then we have the death of John West on this day in 1896.  John West is your 3X great grandfather.  And if he's a West then he's a "Ferrydenner".  He was the second child of the nine children of fisherman Alexander West and Margaret Anderson.  John lived his whole life in Ferryden and was a fisherman.

And it's another death on this day.  On March 17th 1898 William Morrison Finnie died in Scotsbrae, Monquhitter, Aberdeenshire.  William was your 1st cousin 3X removed.  You are related through your 3rd great grandfather, George Donald who was William's grandfather.

William was young when he died.  30 years old.  He was married with two young children.  He must have expected death as he left a note which expressed his wish that, while his wife, Jan Burnett, was his sole beneficiary, that his father be allowed two years to settle his affairs as they affected the ownership of the Scotsbrae farm.  This "note" was later made legal by an advocate.   As it happens, William's widow, Jane, sued her father-in-law for "money owing".

William was a member of the Vale of Cumine Lodge of Oddfellows and his funeral was attended by his "brothers" - members of the Lodge.  I don't know when the lodge began but William, who was a Vice-Grand, was the first member to die.  He was described as an enthusiastic Oddfellow.

The cause of William's death was pleurisy and pneumonia which he'd had for 15 days and congestion of the brain which he'd had for 7 days.


The next death is particularly sad as it's of a five year old child.  Isabella Christie died on this day in 1907.  She was the second child of my maternal grandparents - John Christie and Betsy West - and also their second child to die.  Isabella and her sister Helen, would have been, had they lived, siblings for grandma.  Isabella died at home, above the maltings of Newcastle Breweries.  The cause of death was Scarlet Fever.  Scarlet fever was a disease of children and back then often caused death.  It's highly contagious.  Grandma would recount the times she had it (twice) and how she was confined to her bedroom for a long period of time.  Only her mother was allowed in to see to her and her father came in to keep the coal fire burning.

Isabella was your great aunt.


And we end this day with a birth.  On this day in 1911 Robina Stewart West was born.  If you're going to say - Oh another Ferryden relative - you are only partly correct.  Robina's dad, Robert Stewart West, was from Ferryden but Robina was born at 344 Glasgow Road in Clydebank,  Dunbartonshire.  Clydebank is where the big shipyards were (on the River Clyde) and is close to to the city of Glasgow.

Robina's mother was Annie Mearns Coull who was also originally from Ferryden.  At the time of the birth the family was living with an uncle.  Robina was the second child for Robert and Annie - she was born less than year after the birth of their first; Grace.

Robina is your first cousin twice removed.  Your great great grandfather, Alexander West is Robina's grandfather.

March 16th

On this day - March 16th in 1894 - Margaret Jane West was born.  She is your 2nd great aunt - she is the daughter of your great great grandfather, Alexander West - but not of your great great grandmother.  Alexander West was married twice and Margaret is the child of his second marriage.  Our line descends from his first marriage.

The name WEST means Ferryden and grandma's maternal side of the family.

Margaret was born at 23 Southesk Place in Ferryden.  Her mam was Catherine Coull.  Dad Alexander was a fisherman.  She had half-siblings from Alexander's first marriage but they were all much older than her.  In her teens Margaret - or Maggie as she was known - worked as a power loom weaver in a linen factory.  The factory would have been in nearby Montrose and she would have been working at a time when Montrose was in an economic slump and many industries were closing down.  During the 1800's Montrose was a diverse and successful manufacturing town.

I reached out to the folks at the Ferryden Connections facebook group to ask about textile factories and the like in Montrose and am now currently engaged in messaging with my 5th cousin once removed Grant Coull of Pennsylvania!

Looking over to Montrose from Ferryden

March 15th

On this day in 1930 George Christie Paterson married Elizabeth Webster.  George is your first cousin twice removed.  The couple were married in Netherton, Greeness, Aberdeenshire.   He was 28 years old and a farm labourer.  She was 39 and a widow.  A bit of an age gap!

Beyond this, I know nothing much about the two of them.  There doesn't seem to have been any children and I don't know when she died.  He lived to the ripe old age of 89.  But of interest perhaps is the fact that my mum and Alex visited George at his home at 14 Chapel Street in Turriff in 1978.

Chapel Street, Turriff

March 14th

Today we're off back to LUSS - the village on Loch Lomond in Dunbartonshire - north of Glasgow.  There, on this day in 1872, Catherine Mcintyre Fisken was born.  She is your 1st cousin 3X removed.  Your 4X great grandfather, Alexander Fisken is Catherine's father.

As I have mentioned before I think - The Fiskens are from Perthshire on the east side of Scotland but some of them moved over to Dunbartonshire.  Not sure that I understand yet why that would be.  The Fiskens were farming folk and sawyers.  But I'll get that figured out sometime - but for now, I just wanted to note that Catherine's father was born and grew up in Perthshire then headed to Luss where he married Mary Ann Watt.

But back to Catherine.  It's her 147th birthday today.  She was the 7th child for Alexander and Mary Anne - and she was their last.  Sadly, Mum died just a couple of weeks after giving birth.  Her dad re-married the following year (to Granny Fisken - of Granny Fisken's cottage fame) and then Catherine and her siblings got five half siblings!

Unfortunately, I can find nothing about Catherine beyond the fact that she was born.

Granny Fisken's Cottage

March 11th

We just have one relative today - the birth in 1871 of George Valentine.  George is your 2nd cousin 3X removed.  He comes to us through the Coulls - one our Ferryden names.

George was born in Ferryden, the first child for James W. Valentine, a ploughman, and Helen Coull, a fisherwoman.  You will see on the birth certificate that George was "illegitimate" however mammy and daddy tied the knot five days later!

March 10th

On this day David Kilgour Campbell was born in 1861.  He was the second child for Duncan Campbell and Catherine Kilgour.  The family lived at 26 Hanover Street in Glasgow.  Dad was a porter at the post office in Glasgow.  David was your 1t cousin 3X removed.    Sadly David did not live long.  He died of croup the following January when he was just 10 months old.


Also, on this day, Alexander John Millar Fisken was born.  He is your 2nd cousin 2X removed.  He was born in Luss (the lovely village on Loch Lomond) the first child of John Millar Fisken and Isabella Thompson.  His dad worked as a labourer on the roads.  The family lived in the Toll Cottage in Luss.

The Old Toll Cottage at Luss today

Our Fiskens are usually from Perthshire but some eased their way west and ended up in Dumbartonshire. 

March 9th

On this day in 1918 Charles Riddel Milne was born in Barre, Vermont, USA.  He is your 2nd cousin 1X removed.  He was the 5th of the six children of John Milne, a granite worker, and Jennie Riddel.  His parents were both from Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

And also on this day, in 1938, your first cousin 4X removed, Alexander Donald, died.  And this is our first foray into the continent of Australasia - to New Zealand.  Alexander was born in Aberdeenshire (on my birthday as it happens) and at some point he left Scotland and began a life in New Zealand.  He was a farmer.  He married Mary Teresa Mahoney in 1895 and they appear to have had a few children but I don't have confirmation of them as yet.

Alexander died in Wanganui, a city on the west coast of the north island of New Zealand.  He is buried in the Aramoho Cemetery.  He was 76 according the cemetery record but I calculate that he would have actually only been 72.

March 8th

Gee - I have nothing for March 8th - but because it is International Women's Day let's salute all the women on our family tree!

From the one born the furthest back to the one most recently born.

And they would be:  your 5Xgreat grandmother Mary.  She is just Mary.  I don't know her surname unfortunately but she became a Glover by marriage.  She was born in Castle Donington, Leicestershire, England in 1725 - that's almost 300 years ago!  I found her in a grave in Castle Donington with her husband John Glover.  She died in 1815 "in her 90th year".  She and John had four children :  Mary, Sara, Judith and Robert.  Robert is the one who is our blood ancestor.

And no guesses for who the most recently born is!  Of course it is our dearest Isla Catherine Mueller!  Isla is the 6th great granddaughter to Mary.  Her line goes directly back through you, Peter Mueller her dad, then me her grandmother, then Alan Fisken Glover, William Fisken Glover, William Glover, John Glover and Robert Glover.  And Robert was the son of Mary.

March 7th

Today we have the birth of another Peter on the family tree.  Peter McAlpine was born on this day in 1891 in Glasgow, Scotland.  He is your 2nd cousin 2X removed.  The ancestor you share is Peter Fisken who is your 3X great grandfather and Peter McAlpine's great grandfather.

Peter was the fifth child of nine of Hugh McAlpine and Mary Thomson Fisken (his mother being the bloodline as you can probably guess with the Fisken name).  His dad was a sawmill worker.

I can actually tell you a little of what he looked like thanks to Royal Navy records from WWI.

Peter was 5 ft 5 1/2 in. tall.  Chest measurement 35".  His hair was black.  Eyes were grey and he had a fresh complexion.  He had four small brown spots above his left elbow, a small mole on left shoulder blade, a small mole on right side of back over lower rib.

The McAlpine Tartan

March 6th

Two days ago we had Auntie Annie's birthday.  Today it's Uncle Jack's.  Uncle Jack was my mum's brother.  Your great uncle.  His actual name is of course John Christie.  He was born on this day in 1905 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  He was the third child of six for John Christie and Betsy West.  The first two children did not live into adulthood. One had already died by the time Uncle Jack was born.  The other died when he was two.  He, like all his siblings including my mother, grew up above the maltings of Newcastle Breweries at 7 Tower Street in Newcastle.  

Uncle Jack

Then on this day in 1911 Robert Stewart West died.  Robert is your 2nd great uncle.  His father, Alexander West, is your 2X great grandfather.  Robert grew up in Ferryden but moved west to Clydebank in his 20's.  The fishing industry was declining on the east coast but the shipbuilding industry on the River Clyde near Glasgow was booming.  Robert became a shipyard labourer and then an electric craneman.  He married Annie Mearns Coull.  Sadly he died young.  He was only 29 when he contracted and died from Enteric Fever (typhoid) on March 6th - two weeks before the birth of his second daughter.  

March 5th

On this day in 1820 James West was born.  He is your 4X great uncle - he being the brother of John West, your 3xgreat grandfather.  WEST is a Ferryden name.  James was a fisherman and lived his whole life in Ferryden.  He was the first of nine children for Alexander West and Margaret Anderson.  He married Mary Sutherland and they had eight children.

Another birth on this day - this time in 1891 - was of your 1st cousin 2x removed Adam Christie.  You are related to him through your 2x great grandfather Adam Christie.  CHRISTIE is an Aberdeenshire name.  Adam was the second of nine children for farmer George Christie and Margaret Alexander.

And lastly, on this day, Robert Christie Paterson was born in 1913.  A family surname will often be used as a middle name - so we are still in Aberdeenshire.  And for this family member we actually have a fairly recent photograph!  Robert is your 1st cousin 2X removed.  His mother was a sister of my grandfather (your great grandfather) John Christie.  Robert was born at Netherton Greeness in Aberdeenshire - the ninth of the eleven children of the farming family of Elspet Christie and Joseph Paterson.  You may remember the folks from Texas who went looking for their family in Aberdeenshire and thought they had found them until I gave them evidence to the contrary.  Well those Texans spent time with Robert - and it think it's probably from them that I have this photo.

March 4th

First off we've got a marriage on this date.  In 1852 Mary Donald, your 3X great aunt, married James Tawse in Monquhitter, Aberdeenshire.  James was a blacksmith and the couple had nine children.  

Then in 1894 Jean Alexena Ironside was born.  She is your 2nd cousin 2X removed and she was born in......Canada!!!  She was the 2nd of the three children of Joseph Ironside and Jane Craib who emigrated from Scotland (Aberdeenshire).  Jean was born in Hamilton.  One of these days I'm going to go to Hamilton - we have quite the gang out there!  

Now we have TWO birthday on the same day!    Firstly, because you knew her,  on March 4th 1907 Auntie Annie was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  She was born Ann Dunn.  She was the only child of John Robert Curry Dunn and Catherine Brennan.  Her mother died when she was two.   Her father re-married and Auntie Annie had two half-brothers.  

 

Auntie Annie at my wedding

Still in 1907 - Herbert Ridley Glover was born.  Herbert is your 2nd cousin 2X removed.  He was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the son of Alfred Shaw Glover and Susanna Ridley.  

And finally, on this day Jane Ironside died in 1909.  Jane is your 1st cousin 3X removed.  She was born in Scotland but came to Canada when she was 21.  She lived in Toronto and married a Scotsman there and had one son.  She also died there at age 47 of pleurisy and cardiac failure.

March 3rd

On this day in 1829 Alfred Shaw Glover died at the age of 6 months in Castle Donington.  He was the first born for your 3Xgreat grandparents, John Glover and Elizabeth Shaw.  John and Elizabeth had six children.  Three of them did not survive babyhood.  

In 1869 on March 3rd your 2X great aunt, Mary McFarlane Fisken,  was born in Dumbarton, Scotland.  She was the first born for your 2xgreat grandparents William Fisken and Lily Campbell (although Lily had a child - Neil - before her marriage to William).  

great great Aunt Mary

Another death on this day was of Jennie Riddel.  Jennie died in 1969.  She was your 1st cousin 2X removed.  She emigrated as a baby with her parents from Aberdeenshire and grew up, married and had children in Barre, Vermont, USA.  She died of acute coronary thrombosis.  She was 79.

March 2nd

On this day in 1824 David West was born.  He is your 4Xgreat uncle.  If the surname is WEST then it's someone of Ferryden - the east coast of Scotland fishing village.  He was the 3rd child of the nine of the fishing family of Alexander West (your 4X great grandfather) and Margaret Anderson.


March 2nd is also the day of the birth and the death of my aunt - your great aunt.  Kathleen Mary Glover was my dad's sister.  She was born on March 2nd, 1910 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  She was the third child of William Fisken Glover and Catherine Fisken.  Even though I was only 8 when she died she looms large in my memory.  She was quite alarming.  Not a soft bone in her body although Alan, I believe, has a more affectionate memory of her.  She was the one who gave me brown knickers for my birthday (we were supposed to wear navy blue ones for school).  From an early age until her death she lived at 88 Ethel Street in Newcastle.  She never married.  She worked as a telephonist with the Royal Postal Service.  She died on her birthday, March 2nd, in 1960 at age 50.  She is buried with her parents and her aunt in Elswick Cemetery (this is the grave which I found last summer).

March 1st

March 1st is St. David's Day.   We don't have any Welsh folks on our tree but I love daffodils.  And leeks are good too!

So, on this day in 1833 we have two events.

In 1833 Elspet Donald was born.  She is your 3X great aunt.  Maybe you're getting the hang of the surnames.  Donald is one of the Aberdeenshire names.  Elspet was the third child of the eleven or so off-spring of farmer George Donald and Ann Matthew.


Then in 1940 your 2X great uncle George Christie died.  George was the nephew of the above Elspet.  George was a farmer who lived in Aberdeenshire all his life.  He was married to Margaret Alexander with whom he had nine children.  He died at Little Northburn in Monquhitter parish.  Cause of death was coronary thrombosis.  He was 70 years old.  He is buried in the kirkyard at Cuminestown.