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Archiver > ABERDEEN > 2006-02 > 1139417053
From: "Trena" <>
Subject: Re: [ABERDEEN] Re: People's Scotland a Pauper's prespective
Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2006 11:44:13 -0500
References: <PFECLJGNDBCHEEFBCEKLOEDGECAA.casliber@ozemail.com.au> <00d201c62c35$07e89650$0200a8c0@dell8400> <01c001c62c45$423409b0$0201a8c0@LAPTOP> <005201c62c83$cdd3b720$0200a8c0@dell8400>
----- Original Message -----
From: "Janet"
Subject: Re: [ABERDEEN] Re: People's Scotland a Pauper's prespective
I've heard from people who say they have taken their lines back much
earlier to the 1500s. I tend to think that is their luck and its not the
same for all of us.
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Several times I've mentioned we have info/data on our NE lines back to
latter 1600s, with some names back into mid-1500s. 98% of what I have and
it is alot, was the work of one man, my 4C1R Alan MORRISON of Glasgow, who
was doing a one name study of my mother's m/s REIDFORD. It's not a very
common name, which no matter (it seems) how it is spelt, still sounds/looks
very much the same. Alan's the one who spent untold hours at the GROS,
tramping all over Aberdeenshire (Banffshire), as well as other counties in
the NE where the families lived. Alan's the one who connected the vast
majority of dots. When I 'met' him on-line via another REIDFORD researcher
who lives in Enlgand, Alan sent me what he had. Included in his files were
my mother and father (a Canadian) including my father's parents' names. My
parents wed in 1945 Scotland.
At the time I wasn't 'into' genealogy. Was only trying to find a first
cousin to make contact with (long story - mother had no contact with her
family since 1945), if the cousin wished. There are obviously some bits
missing (births, but no M/D), who Alan assumed must have immigrated to other
parts of the world. He had some REIDFORD names in North America, so I
promised to contact them, which I did. Once hearing what they knew about
their families, was able to place them within the tree, asking them to send
their details to Alan. I also kept hearing from expierienced researchers
that we should verify whatever others had given us. I did with some of my
own direct line, but found Alan was spot on, so in the end stopped doing so.
Six plus years later I'd still be doing the same main name if I tried to
verify each individual on the tree Alan sent me, with no time to spare for
any other lines. That would have required me to make countless trips to
Scotland, as well as order in film for every parish within Banffshire,
Aberdeenshire, plus from other parishes in Nairn, Morayshire, Perthshire,
Ross/Comartry, Stirlingshire, Fifeshire, the Lothians, Lanarkshire ... sure
I missed a few!
Lucky? I'll say. I must have had a fairy Godmother sitting on my shoulder
the day I 'met' Alan MORRISON. We'll always be extremely grateful to him
for sending his data, but because he shared his work he re-united a large
family (4 living generations). My sister and I went to Scotland to meet
with all and Mum's brother flew to Canada to see the sister he hadn't seen
in 63-64 years and a younger sister he'd not seen in 66+ years. My aunt had
no memory of him at all. In Scotland, they thought my aunt was in
Australia. Of Mum's 11 siblings (grandfather married 3 times), this auntie
was the only one we knew.
I mentioned as well, in an earlier e-mail, that I found my Mum's maternal
lines led back to Shetland. I did do my own research to that point, via SP
and was prepared to spend the money to do further research. We've all have
heard of how newbies go on-line expecting their family trees to be waiting
there for them, all tied up with a pink ribbon etc. I didn't and often felt
insulted being lumped into that catagory. Well ... guess what? I went to
the Shetland Message Board and was almost immediately contacted by a Tony
GOTT who lives in Shetland. A hero ... a saint ... to all who do have
family hailing from Shetland. Tony gave me the directions to his web site
(associated I believe with the FHS of Shetland, where he works) and there
(on-line) was a great deal of my family's history ... going back to the
1600s on two lines, early 1700s on most of the others. If lived to be a
thousand years old, I couldn't possibly verify all the names/dates/places.
I'd have to go live in Shetland to even attempt it.
Would you believe? My father's maternal grandmother's main line is also
on-line? Within "Island Register PEI" The file is so big now, you have to
d/l it in a zipped file. I did grow up knowing who my 7th g-gf (came to PEI
c1790) was, some of his history, but didn't know all the in between bits,
until reaching my 2 x great-gran. From there down to me, I did know alot,
most without actual dates (just estimates). It's my 2 x g-gran's husband's
line which I'm concentrating on there, as I know nothing about him, only
supposed parents' names. I'm going to PEI (Prince Edward Island) this
summer to do research on him ... but already he is leading me back to
Scotland .. possibly to the Isle of Skye. One thing I was able to verify,
via Roger BANFIELD of the Scilly Isles, was that my 7th g-gf did not marry
in the Isles, nor was his first wife born there ... which is what the
researchers (and most others) believed. My family history/lore has always
said her family originated there, but were in Manhattan NY at least 2
generations before she was born, plus she & he wed there. Researchers now
say they think they have two men with the same name confused/intertwined and
they should be separate! So yes, I'm double checking this line, which
fortunately is all New York and PEI.
Dad's paternal line(s) is totally my own research (Manchester/Stockport, but
Dad's gran was a Scot), as is my husband's, mostly via 8 or so trips back to
England, travelling from Sussex to Devon > Shrops > Wales > Lancs/Ches >
Yorks, when back to visit with my mother-in-law/family. Planning is a way
of life (financially), in order to make these trips. Our local LDS centre
is only open when I'm at work, excepting for one night a month (2 hours!)
and the local FHS holds their meetings on a Saturday, when I'm also at work,
so is virtually useless to me until I retire 01 Feb. 2007 (dept store > not
one of the highest paid jobs in society!) Have also always known who Dad's
paternal great-grandparents on the one side were, including her m/s. So am
luckier than most in that regard. Have also 'interrogated' older family
members. Surprising what paperwork/photos they may be hoarding!
Yes, I've had amazing luck in finding folk who started on some of my direct
lines long before I did. They in turn have been generous in the extreme to
either share directly with me and others, or to put the data on-line for
descendants to find and add to. In the one case, when I contacted the
author, I found she had down to my father and his siblings (in some cases to
my first cousins and their children) also documented, but as the latter were
still living, the data on-line stopped with what would be my
great-grandparents.
Keep plugging away .... don't give up ... someone out there has keys to
your doors. They may already be a regular member of this list.
Toni ~ Ontario
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