Geneology - What's yours?

[Eric Peterson]

Starting most recent going backwards:
Findlay 1831
Robertson 1822
Young, Campbell from Lanark Co. Govan Parish 1760
Aitkin, a bunch from Renfrew Co. Paisley, Abbey Parish 1751 to 1816
Young, Warner from Lanark Co. , Govan Parish 1734

My Scottish comes from my Grandmother on my moms side, the rest is Swede.


My wife recently compiled an extensive genealogy report from research done by my mom years ago. She used a web site myheritage.com it was a great tool.
eric

[ThistleDown]

Mine: Davidson, Mackintosh, Macpherson, Bayne, Macdonald, Shaw, Oliphant, Drainie, Wilson, Kay, Rose, Dallas, etc.

Chattancat, you will find much more on the Cattanachs at www.clanchattan.org and at www.clan-macpherson.org.

Within my lifetime there were still Cattanachs in Glen Feshie near Newtonmore and I have a farmer-friend there whose mother was one of them.

[Frank McGrath]

For some reason of oother, my forebears did not: 1. Like to write anything down, 2. know how the write at all, 3. Care to write. I go back 5 generations on both sides. Mom in this county and Dad in DC. Makes it hard to know who I am. So I wear the kilt anyway. It's more comfortable than pants.

[cessna152towser]

My ancestry has been difficult to trace as one set of great grandparents were Irish and many of the old Irish records have been destroyed. The other three sets of great grandparents were weaving families from Paisley, Scotland. In Scotland, unless your ancestors were rich or famous, or owned land, it is usually very difficult to find any definite information prior to the start of census records in 1841 or statutory birth death and marriage records in 1855. Older Parish Records are often incomplete and where they do exist, the information given in many parishes is insufficient to enable you to be sure whether you have found the right person or a namesake. I did get lucky with one line, finding a great-great-great-grandmother Jane Hamilton who lived till February 1855, just long enough to have a statutory death record which gave names for her parents Robert Hamilton and Janet BELL. They are mentioned in a number of Old Parish Records from which I have been able to find out something about them. They were married in Glasgow in 1763 while Robert Hamilton was a soldier. Between 1767 and 1771 he left the army and became a weaver. Between 1773 and 1776 the family moved from Glasgow to Paisley. They had ten children, at least four of whom died in infancy. The bride's father was Daniel Bell, who was also a witness to the baptism of their first child. Daniel Bell as a 5 x great grandfather is my earliest confirmed ancestor, he would have been born about 1710 to 1720. I have been unable to prove or disprove whether this is the same Daniel Bell from Lesmahagow in Lanarkshire who fathered a daughter Janet Bell in 1742. If I could confirm this then I could go back a further three generations as that family were farmers and were well documented in local records. So yes I share BELL ancestry.
I also have MacKenzie, Cunningham, Gardner, Gilchrist, Knox, Fleming,Tait and Fraser lineage on my father's side and McLeod, McAllister, Wallace and Wilson lines on my mother's side.

[muirkirkca]

Fathers side:
McDonald - came to Orford Twp, Ontario, Canada 1831 from Lochgilphead, Argylshire married Sarah Gillies of Kilmartin
Son John McDonald married Mary Gillies second cousin of Kilmartin who came to Dunwich Twp, Ontario, Canada 1852
Son Alex McDonald Married Eva Davidson whose father was from Berwickshire, Scotland
Son Ross ( my father ) married Helen Fenton whose father married Mary Hutchinson whose grandfather was from Scotland. Great grandfather William Fenton came from Leitrim, Ireland 1856. John Fenton my grandfather whose mother was a Gosnell who came from the Sherkin Islands of county Cork.

Spouse Lois is a Lilly/McCague the latter from Ireland

Son in law Robert Pollack has father who was from Glasgow.

[ChattanCat]

I did get lucky with one line, finding a great-great-great-grandmother Jane Hamilton who lived till February 1855, just long enough to have a statutory death record which gave names for her parents Robert Hamilton and Janet BELL. They are mentioned in a number of Old Parish Records from which I have been able to find out something about them. They were married in Glasgow in 1763 while Robert Hamilton was a soldier. Between 1767 and 1771 he left the army and became a weaver. Between 1773 and 1776 the family moved from Glasgow to Paisley. They had ten children, at least four of whom died in infancy.

Anne Bell was born in 1804, father was William Bell, mother was Nellie Norman. I have no other information than that. Is Anne any of the brothers or sisters of Janet?

[gilmore]

... The bride's father was Daniel Bell, who was also a witness to the baptism of their first child. Daniel Bell as a 5 x great grandfather is my earliest confirmed ancestor, he would have been born about 1710 to 1720. I have been unable to prove or disprove whether this is the same Daniel Bell from Lesmahagow in Lanarkshire who fathered a daughter Janet Bell in 1742. If I could confirm this then I could go back a further three generations as that family were farmers and were well documented in local records. ....

Might I suggest Y DNA testing?

If you can locate a male, patrilineal Bell descendant from each of these men, it would be a simple matter to determine it is the same Daniel Bell who is their common ancestor.

It might take a bit of digging, following the paper trail forward instead of backward as we usually do in genealogy, and it would cost a couple of hundred pounds, but the results would show to a high degree of probability if it was the same man.

For how to do this, go to www.familytreedna.com and click on their FAQ. They have the largest database of all the genetic genealogical testing companies.

There is a Bell Surname Project here: http://home.earthlink.net/~bell.ancestries/ If you are tested through a surname project, Family Tree gives you a discount.

[ThistleDown]

We really shouldn't get too wrapped up in legitimising our clan connections. Genealogy is one thing, but trying to connect patronymics to specific clans is quite another. There was a time in the 19C when writers and root-finders, all excited about the new romantic Victorian image of Highland Scotland, went off and rustled names from all over the map.

[gilmore]

We really shouldn't get too wrapped up in legitimising our clan connections. Genealogy is one thing, but trying to connect patronymics to specific clans is quite another. There was a time in the 19C when writers and root-finders, all excited about the new romantic Victorian image of Highland Scotland, went off and rustled names from all over the map.

While it is certainly true that many, perhaps a majority, of individuals' surnames' claims as septs of clans are bogus, some aren't. Genealogical research through clans and more recently clan associations can bear fruit from time to time. Many clan associations have a genealogist who assists members.

[Ancienne Alliance]

David Reid 1661 in Inverness
and
Elisabeth McKinnon 1665 in Inverness