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  1. #1
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    Eureka...Wait, What?

    We finally made a breakthough in getting my family tree back to Scotland. Got the sailing papers for our fist immigrant and located the ships passenger list. He was a saddlemaker in rural Scotland as far as we can tell. there was no city of residence or county listed anywhere. Just that he was from Scotland. We then continued to dig further and found that this ancestor and his mother were born and christened in Yorkshire with no record of a father, strange. So our mystery ancestor presents us with yet another mystery. Who was his father and how did the family get from Yorkshire to Scotland or vice versa I'm told families in that region might have bounced around back and forth across the border often. I was also told by another historian that some may have considered themselves Scots even though they did in fact live in England But Yorkshire seems a bit far south for that. Any comments, advice or opinions?

  2. #2
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    My only comment is congratulations for finding the direct link to Scotland. I have documented one (Vallance, a sept of Wallace), but have been continuously frustrated over the decades that I cannot seem to trace my last known Campbell ancestor (b. 1802 in Canada) back to the old country. I work at it all the time!

    Nothing better than century old family mysteries!

    Frank
    Ne Obliviscaris

  3. #3
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    Good job! I was just as confused when I found out that one of my ancestors about ca.1500 (father son and grandson) all married women named goldsmith! Imagine trying to figure that out! I am somewhat lucky as in my searches I found six scottish ancestors and believe it or not they were all chattans!
    Last edited by Theyoungkiltman; 25th August 14 at 04:30 PM.

  4. #4
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    Turbulent times in history led to many migrations of individuals as well as clans. My case was the Jacobite Revolution 1717 that brought the first direct blood relative of mine to America from Scotland. Then 1745 brought a bulk of the remaining clan over the pond. I was lucky that my family stayed in North Carolina throughout the centuries (and are still there). It made the research easier. The challenge has been finding that one person that fled while incognito (religious, legal or other difficulty of past life) to begin anew somewhere other than Scotland.
    We all can't be directly related to the first few of the Mayflower passengers, unless they be cousins of some great-uncles half brother, as was the case with the first of my clan from the ship Blessing (second group to enter America). Close enough to call family but only a distant relative through extended blood lines.

  5. #5
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    Who was his father and how did the family get from Yorkshire to Scotland or vice versa I'm told families in that region might have bounced around back and forth across the border often.
    Well, Yorkshire is not that far away. Crossing the border into England from here, after passing through Northumberland and County Durham, Yorkshire is the third county you would come to. At 158 miles from my house in the Scottish Borders to York the journey is less than half way to London. I would imagine that in the days before mechanised transport the journey on horseback might take around four days so in my view it is entirely feasible that your Yorkshire born relatives might have travelled to Scotland.

  6. #6
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    Don't discount travel by sea - although Teddington lock (tide-end-town) on the river Ouse now separates the city of York from tidal waters, before it was built small vessels sailed right up into the heart of the city. The coastal waters of the North sea were the M1 motorway of Britain back in the day, and goods were moved around by sea and river all the time.

    If the mother was unmarried she could well have contacted family members asking for their help in finding a craftsman willing to take on her boy as apprentice, someone with his own workshop, a 'little mester' able to put family connection first, or repay a favour. Traveling away from where the child was born left behind any problems there might have been over his lack of his father's name.

    The pottery industry - Wedgewood and many more firms, had the white china clay from the West Country quarries delivered by boats able to sail around the coast and navigate the rivers and canals, and the pots were then loaded onto other vessels and sent far and wide. One large order went to the Russian czarina packed into straw skeps on barges all the way from the factory pond to the lady's park.

    Anne the Pleater :ootd:
    I presume to dictate to no man what he shall eat or drink or wherewithal he shall be clothed."
    -- The Hon. Stuart Ruaidri Erskine, The Kilt & How to Wear It, 1901.

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  8. #7
    Benning Boy is offline Membership Revoked for repeated rule violations.
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    My earliest known ancestor in what is now the USA arrived at Salem, Massachusetts in 1639 from Yorkshire. The family name was Tenney. Tenney is a variation on the Viking name Denny or Dennis. Vikings settled Yorkshire, so I'm assuming more distant ancestors were Vikings. Vikings also settled parts of Scotland. There are Tenney's in Scotland, too. Maybe there's a family connection between Yorkshire and Scotland. I have no idea. However, your ancestor from Yorkshire may have traveled to Scotland due to some family relationship that goes even further back into history. Wouldn't that be fun to study. Maybe your Yorkish ancestors arrived on the same Viking long boat mine did.

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