Math and misinformation

 

                                                                       A view of Skye from the Skye Bridge

As well as writing factual accounts about my ancestors, I have also started to piece together larger stories based on their lives. That means figuring out the timeline for the ancestor who is the main focus of the tale, of course, but it also involves doing the math when it comes to people with whom they interacted. I'm finding that particularly tricky when it comes to women in their childbearing years.

It also involves checking the documents I've amassed for those intersecting families. It's good to remind myself about the facts I've been able to pin down with documentary proof. Unfortunately, I'm still coming up short on some factual data, particularly that of Margaret Clark nee McPherson, a person who was pivotal in reconnecting Alexander Matheson with his family.

An added source for Alexander's story is his letters. They contain clues to Alex's character and the events of his life. But, as tempting as it is, even the information he wrote down on paper cannot be accepted as gospel. People misremember or embroider the facts and information, although it is on government documents such as the census, can be incorrect.

Early on I remember a well-known source for the Thomson family phoning me out of the blue with facts about the family. I noted them down and thanked her but even as a family historian new to the game I knew that I should treat what she told me with a degree of scepticism. One of the things she said was that Tom Thomson's mother, Margaret, whose maiden name was Matheson, was born in PEI but I already had a copy of the June 25th 1841 baptism record for Margaret Matheson, daughter of Kenneth Matheson and Ann Ross. I had found it in the parish registers for Kilmuir on Skye.

It's good to remember that family lore and written accounts can provide wonderful clues but they can also hand down misinformation that has taken on the weight of fact the more it is told. I've tried to hang onto this principle as I find out about my families. I hope that has brought me closer to the truth of their stories. Perhaps figuring out timelines of intersecting families will also provide me with new avenues of research as I write down my family tales.

Sources:

LDS film 0990671 item 2: Parish registers for Kilmuir, 1823-1854

Making Scottish connections

                                                                     Turf house at Glencoe

In North America especially in the west, history is less readily apparent that it is in Europe. When in the UK, I indulge my love of history. Exploration of historic places enlivened my latest trip to Scotland. It was interesting to see how the other half lived when we explored castles and other places of historic note. But those place didn't make me feel closer to my Scottish ancestors although part of our tip took in the west of Scotland where my family had lived.

The homes my ancestors inhabited would not have compared favourably with the castles we explored but I did see mention of typical Islay houses at the National Museum of Scotland. I could imagine my farming ancestors in the parish of Kildalton living in places similar to those depicted. It added to my knowledge of my family's past to see the illustrations and artifacts that had been found when archeologists went digging on Islay.

Islay seems to have been well studied, perhaps because it was known to have had links to the Lords of the Isles, a powerful faction in bygone days. In my experience, information about Skye is harder to come by. That's too bad as, before they immigrated to what was to become Canada, my Scottish lines came from both places.

Something I remember from my one and only trip to Skye was seeing Glencoe. It was only a fleeting glimpse as the bus didn't stop and my photos left a lot to the imagination. This time I was determined to stop and see Glencoe for myself. I booked a tour that would take us there. I found it to be a very moving site. Of particular interest was the turf hut which had been built there, a replica of similar homes that had been there before the infamous massacre. It made me wonder if any of my family were affected by that historic event. I'd like to find out of there was a connection beyond the eerie feeling that Glencoe gave me but Scottish research is difficult at best. I've not had much success taking my research in that country back that far. Maybe it's time to make a concerted effort to see how far back I can get.

Unpacking my research bag

                                                                           Inveraray Castle

Well, the research trip to Scotland turned into more of a sightseeing trip. There were a lot of sights to see. Most of them were historic. I now have a whole raft of new photos with which to illustrate my blog although I'm not sure many of my ancestors got to spend their time in any of the castles I toured, not even as humble servants in the kitchen.

I spent a lot of time in museums too. Museums tend to reflect the experiences of a wider swath of the public, perhaps giving insight into how family members lived in the past. I've started going through the photos I took. There are so many more of those since photo taking went digital. I also picked up a number of books on Scottish history which may shed some light on my families' story. I have particular hopes of a book called The Poor Had No Lawyers. It's about land ownership in Scotland and may give some insight on how and why my ancestors, particularly the Islay ones, were forced off the land. In the case of my Gilchrist ancestors they appear to have been moved off traditional farm land to make way for the development of the town of Port Ellen. I was able to trace how my Hunter relatives in Glenegedale were forced off in later years, first by the RAF, then by the development of the Islay airport. That information came through the valuation roles maybe there is something to show how the land was taken away from the earlier Gilchrist renters to create the town. 

Photos and books are not the only things I brought back. I did spend a bit of time doing some actual research. I'm not sure I turned up anything of value. I'll have to give my notes a closer look. 

Family stories

 

                              The Bridgend Hotel where I stayed when following my great aunt's research trail to Islay

My great aunt, Peggy, was the first person to research my family's history, her branch of it anyway. That was back when research was done by mail and it took ages to find information. I often wonder what she was able to find. Very little of what she uncovered has been passed down. An old picture of the hotel at Bridgend on Islay, brought forth the information that she had gone to that Scottish island to find out more about her family line. It was only a nugget of knowledge but one that prompted me to follow in her footsteps. I stayed in that hotel. The family line on Islay was also the one I started my research with.

Strangely, the information about that old picture came from my father. He was her nephew-in-law, if there is such a designation. But that is the power of story. He remembered some of what he had heard her talk about or maybe a story that someone had told about her trip. It was enough to create a memory so that he told me about her hobby and her trip when he saw the picture.

Sometimes the stories passed down are only the top of an iceberg. According to family lore, my maternal grandfather immigrated to Canada because he saw a poster advertising Canadian immigration in a railway station. It was a family fact I let sit for a long time. Further research brought forth a story which added so much to those bare facts. The information passed down had been stripped of the underlying impetus for his move; that all of his family had died one by one. Also not mentioned was the fact that he worked for the railway and probably saw that poster day after day.

It took me a while to dig for my grandfather's story, but at least I had a clue to give me a head start. It's the stories that are lost to time. The ones that weren't passed down, perhaps forgotten, likely hushed up in some cases; those are the hard tales to get a hold of. But if scandalous enough, there may be clues in the public record. That's what I found when I came across the tale of the two Thomas Arments, father and son. Their criminal records brought forth reams of information about their trial, both on the Old Bailey site and in the newspapers. The records also led me to a clue about where the elder Thomas had come from before ending up in London. So, besides finding an interesting story, the search led me further back on this family line. 

My hope is that, if I look deep enough, I'll find hidden stories on other family lines if I delve into the social history of where they were living. Finding out more about events of the times may turn up their names, if I'm lucky. If not, then I'll have a better idea of the town or village where they lived to add social context to their lives. 

Search strategies with limited clues

 

                                                   Over the bridge to Skye. Were my McPhersons also from this isle?

It probably goes against the tenets of wisdom when it comes to genealogical searches but I'm about to take my McPherson search back to the old country. I know I probably haven't exhausted all the possibilities to locate records of them in Ontario but I'll be on the ground in Scotland. I want to see what I can find there.

Margaret Clark nee McPherson is the person I have the most information about although some of that is contradictory. The Canadian censuses were clear that her husband, Angus Clark, was born in Scotland. They weren't as consistent when it came to her birthplace. In 1881 there was just a dash written where the place of birth should have been, in 1871 Ontario was indicated and in 1861, PEI, if this was indeed Margaret. The name of the wife listed in the earliest census was hard to make out. I have a suspicion she may also have been born in Scotland.

What I do know from Alexander Matheson's letters is that Margaret was the daughter of Donald McPherson. It seems that when Alex was young and lived at home he had lots of contact with this Donald McPherson. Also, from the context of the letter, it seemed that the sister Alex was writing to would know the man too. In the 1851 census for Puslinch, Wellington County, Alex, his sisters, brother and father were listed as living next to a clan of McPhersons. Among them was a Donald McPherson, a widower aged 72. I have a feeling that may be Margaret's father. Unfortunately, his place of birth is listed as Scotland and nothing more.

It looks to be a daunting task to find out more about this Donald McPherson back in Scotland. Without a specific place named where do I start? Perhaps the 1851 census has more to tell me as there are other McPhersons listed surrounding Donald. Before him was Duncan McPherson age 30 with his wife and daughter. After Donald McPherson came John McPherson age 39 with his wife. Then came Alexander McPherson age 27, his wife and son. All of these McPhersons look like they are related. Searching Scottish records for Donald McPherson and sons of the right age might get me further ahead. Who knows, I might find the birth of Margaret McPherson while I am looking.

Sources:

Ancestry.ca census searches from Canadian census collection

Letters of Alexander Matheson, 1895 – 1920, personal family papers