April 9th

On this day in 1876 Elspet Christie was born.  She is a 2nd grand aunt for you being the sister of grandma's dad.  And she is the reason we have so many Patersons on our tree.  She married Joseph Paterson.  But today is about her birth.  She was born in Ewebrae Croft in Aberdeenshire the 11th child - and the youngest - for your 2x great grandparents Adam Christie and Isabella Donald.

An also on this day - in 1950 - your second cousin Alan James Campbell Barnacle - was born in Liverpool.

Alan has the family names - Alan and Campbell.  The James is for his dad.  He was born in Ormskirk Hospital - the son of your great aunt Lillian (my dad's sister) and James Francis Barnacle.  I've never been able to figure out how these two got together.  She was in Newcastle.  He in Liverpool.  But got together they did - and they had Alan.  Unfortunately Alan's dad didn't live too long after his birth.  Alan was 5 when Uncle Jim died.  The house Alan came home to from the hospital is the house he still lives in today.  43 Baycliff Road, West Derby, Liverpool.

I don't have a photo of Alan as a baby - but here's one of him and me in the back garden of 43 Baycliff many many years ago....

April 8th

On this day in 1823 Adam Christie was born in Ord, Banff, Banffshire, Scotland.  We have a few - five actually - Adam Christies on our tree.  This one is your 3x great uncle.  His parents, John Christie and Helen Gordon, are your 3x great grandparents.  This one is a bit of a mystery - as our main Adam Christie (2xgreat grandfather) is born 12 years later.  One presumes that Uncle Adam died and the parents wanted to keep the traditional name of Adam in the family.  But I can't find any information about this Adam dying.

And also on this day - in 1898 - Peter Matthew died.  He is your 4x great uncle being the brother of your 3x great grandmother, Ann.

Peter was a farmer and lived his whole life in the Turriff area of Aberdeenshire.  Where love was concerned, he was a late bloomer.  He married for the first time in 1883 when he was 66 years old.  His wife was Jane Gill who was aged 30 at the time.  Jane was the housekeeper for the farm (Quarryhill) where Peter lived.  She was pregnant at the time of the marriage.  Mary Ann was born 5 months later.  And interestingly enough, it was on this day too - 9 years after the wedding - in 1892 - that Jane gave birth to another daughter Elsie Ann Mathew Gill who was registered as illegitimate - but was given a middle of Matthew.  Hmm.

But anyways, back to Peter and his death on April 8th in 1898.  Cause of death was cystitis blights disease of kidneys.  He was 80 years old.


And finally, on this day in 1943 Catherine McNicoll died.  Now, under normal circumstances, Catherine would not have made it into this blog as she is not blood because she is the second wife for your 3rd great uncle, Alexander Fisken.  But I make exceptions for folks like Granny Fisken! She lived until she was 102 in a lovely cottage in Luss on Loch Lomond.  Her advice for a long life?

"Tak a wee drap o' guid whisky when you can get it"

April 6th

For the first event for today we go to the grave which I discovered on the last day of my holiday in Glasgow.  In that grave, in Ballyhennan Burial Ground in Tarbet on Loch Lomond lies your 3Xgreat grandmother Mary Macfarlane.  Mary died on April 6th 1867.

And, also on this day, John Finnie was born in 1874 in Inverkeithny, Banffshire, Scotland.  The family moved a wee bit south into Aberdeenshire (parish of Monquhitter) before he was 6.

John is your first cousin 3X removed.  His grandparents, George Donald and Ann Matthew are your 3x great grandparents.  He was the fourth and last son in the family and he remained at home, working as a farmer, until well into his 30's - maybe into his 40's.  He married Mary Demptster when he was 42.  They had one son that I know of.

April 5th

On this day in  1985 - just a few days after you were born in fact - Helen Christie Paterson died.  Helen is your first cousin twice removed.   She is the daughter of Elspet Christie (grandma's auntie) and Joseph Paterson.  And while I don't think I ever met her (though it's possible I did when I was a baby) I know her as the person my mum called "Nellie".  Nellie and her husband Ian (known as Fergie - Ferguson being his middle name) were on the Christmas card list and were spoken of in our house when I was growing up.  They had a child called Ian, born in 1941, who was profoundly disabled.  In 1985, on May 1st,  Mum and Alex went to the UK and spent quite a few days in Aberdeenshire (in Turriff specifically) with various cousins.  They had missed Nellie but they visited Ian who was now hospitalized.  His mum had done everything for him for 40 years and while he was seemingly non-responsive he understandably lost his ability to live once his mum died.  And so Ian died a few weeks later.

There's quite a gang of family in the town of Turriff.  Apart from its fame as a place where our family have lived (and still live I imagine) 😇 it is also known for the "Turro Coo".  Here's the story:

The Turra Coo Monument celebrates a famous incident in 1913 whereby a cow was taken from the farm, then owned by Robert Paterson, by Sheriff's Officers when he refused to co-operate with Lloyd George's National Insurance Act. He was at the centre of a popular protest which claimed the compulsory contributions towards a scheme which provided unemployment and medical benefits were too high, because it was a service that farmers and farm labourer would rarely use. The seizure of the cow by the authorities and its subsequent auctioning in Turriff brought a riot in the town. The cow was eventually bought by Paterson's supporters and returned to the farm, where it died six years later.

April 4th

Two Hundred years ago today - on April 4th in 1819 Elspet West was born.  Elspet is your 5xgreat aunt.  She is the youngest of the eleven children of your 5xgreat grandparents, fisherman John West and Janet Simpson. Elspet was born in Ferryden (of course!)

And we stick we the same family for, on this day in 1883, Elspet's grand neice was born.  This was Williamina West.  Williamina is your 2xgreat aunt.  She is the 4th of the five children of your 2x great grandparents fisherman Alexander West and Jemima Coull.  One of the other children is Betsy West - grandma's mum.  

And we stay with Grandma's side with our last entry for April 4th.  It was on this day in 1961 that Clive John Lincoln was married.  Clive is the first cousin I never knew.  Your first cousin once removed.  The son of Uncle Leslie who was killed in the war.  (check February 4th for more details if you wish).

I have found that Clive was married twice.  Today marks the anniversary of his first marriage which was to Elizabeth Evans Ball.  He was 21 and she was 23.  They were married in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and I'm in the process of tracking down the one child of this marriage - or at least confirming the relationship.  The marriage did not last too long.  Clive married again in 1968.  Not sure of the exact date so it won't come up in this blog so I'll mention it now.  He married Sheila Margaret Wilson in or near Bamburgh where they lived.  Bamburgh is up the coast of Northumberland and is famous for its castle which has been featured in many movies (you will likely see it this summer!).  This second marriage produced two children.

I have the certificates for both of Clive's marriages from which I have learned that Clive was, at the time of his first marriage, a cinema projectionist and at the time of his second marriage he was a groom on Shoreston Farm near Bamburgh.  On both certificates he has declared that his father's name and profession was Leslie Christie Lincoln, Goldsmith.  This has led me to believe that he knew little or nothing of the circumstances of his birth and his biological father.  And why goldsmith I've yet to figure out!

Clive's life and family is an ongoing "active file" for me as I feel I need to know more about this lost first cousin.

April 3rd

On this day in 1899 Joseph Bruce Paterson was born.  He is your first cousin 2X removed.  Most of the information I have about him came via Texas!!  You may remember "Andy in Texas" who went over to Aberdeenshire to follow up on her husband's family.  Unfortunately, due to some sloppy research she and her husband met members of my family!  So Joseph is the son of Joseph Paterson and Elspet Christie.  Elspet is a sister of grandma's dad.  Joseph the dad was a farm servant/ploughman in Monquhitter, Aberdeenshire.  Joseph the son was the thrid child of eleven children.  There seems to be an indication that Joseph's nickname was "Dovie".  Can't imagine why unless he kept doves.

And the next event on this day is a death due to a war - the second so far for this blog.  On April 3rd 1945 Alan Fisken was killed.  He was 31 years old.  Alan is your first cousin 2X removed.  Your great great grandfather William Fisken is his grandfather.   Before the war Alan was married with a son.  The family lived in Northwich in Cheshire, England.  He was a public works general foreman and a reinforced concrete specialist.  At the time of his death they lived in Ealing, Middlesex which is near London.  He was a volunteer flying officer with squadron 190 of the Royal Air Force.  He is Remembered with Honour on panel 266 at the Runnymede Memorial in Surrey England near where in 1215 the Magna Carta was sealed by King John.

April 2nd

On this day in 1860, Betsy Mearns Coull was born.  She is your 1st cousin 4X removed.  She was born in Ferryden to fisherman Archibald Coull and Mary Noble, the youngest of their eleven children.  I've only been able to track her into her 30's when she is living with a sister in Dundee and working in a jute mill.

Another sad story.  On this day in 1877 Ann Christie died.  Ann is your 2x great aunt.  She is the sister of grandma's dad.  She was a twin with Helen.  Ann died after falling into a ditch near her home of Ewebrae Croft.  She had had a seizure and fell face first into the ditch.  She was 18 years old.