Your Scots' stories

[saxandpipes]

Hi all,

I posted this recently, but as the thread moved further down the..."should we/shouldn't we" track, I fear that we missed out on some interesting family histories.

So I'm posting this again, with the hope that others will include stories of what their own (Scottish) families accomplished after leaving their (Scottish) homeland.

We all know that the Scots were responsible for nearly every important discover in history ;) (well, if one considers TV and the phone...), and we know that much of the new world was settled by Scots.

I'm opening this thread up to hear the stories of the "not so famous" Scots, the ones that had something else to contribute to their new societies, however small that contribution may have been.

Please feel free to include pictures, but due to the historical nature of the thread I think we should be able to waive the usual "no pics, it didn't happen" law.

Cheers,

Michael

...

My mother's mother was Scottish and her father's mother was born in Scotland.

My father's mother's parents were Cornish. His father's father was born in New Zealand (I've only recently discovered this, the prior "knowledge" being that he was from Shetland... the name is certainly indicative of Shetland origin). His wife was also born in New Zealand to one Scottish and one English parent.

So, I'm a New Zealander, that's where I was born, that's what it says on my passport and birth certificate. End of story there.

But, we have always known that our family is (mostly) Scottish in origin. In some cases the connections are some generations back, in others it's as recent as living memory. My grandfather said we belong to the Gunn clan, and if it was good enough for him, then it's good enough for me to honour him, by honouring my heritage.

As far as how my immigrant ancestors fared in their new home, well, unexpectedly they did well for themselves. I've only really investigated one part of the Scottish connection so far (considering that the surname has passed on from my paternal grandfather's mother to him, my dad and me as a second family name, this has always interested me).

The Downie's came from Dumfriesshire and 2 brothers left to go to New Zealand. (one was my great great grandfather). His nephews went to Zimbabwe (then Southern Rhodesia) and had some success (one unfortunately died in a mine that he managed) the other took over his estate and eventually went on to manage the national airline, was a member of parliament and ultimately became High Commissioner to Southern Rhodesia in London.


Hon. John Wallace Downie (CMG)

My great great grandfather Charles Downie settled in Murchison, New Zealand and worked with the brother of my great great grandmother (his brother in law) who had secured contracts to build the roads there in the area.


(the town in NZ as it was around the time he arrived)

He later took over the hotel (pictured above) and built a new, larger hotel on the opposite corner of the street.


(the new hotel)

He also owned a farm, a saw-mill, and a bullock team!





This picture is hanging in what is now the museum in the town (It was originally known as Downie's Hall, and was functioning as a sort of local court house). [edit: I just discovered that the original Downie's Hall was destroyed by fire in 1915, so this museum can't in fact be the same building].


(My great great grandparents, Charles and Sarah Downie)

In the same museum I was shown a quote in a book describing how my great great grandmother (pictured above) had to travel by canoe to the nearest city some kms away via the river to the nearest hospital each time she was about to give birth- and she had 12 children!

Some of the children: (my great grandmother is on the left)



I have the book which contains most of the photos above at home.

The eldest brother of my great granndmother become the chairman of the local regional council. He was also master of the local Freemason lodge.

My grandfather Eustace Clifford Downie Jamieson (the grandson of Charles Downie above) started his own business in 1947 after serving in WWII and built up a large family company. His sons (my father included) took over eventually and it grew to become the largest family owned business of it's type in the country. A smaller branch of the business is still operated by my father, sister and 2 brothers today. I guess I'm the odd one out... (some might call me the black sheep)

I am proud of my family, and proud of it's Scottish origins. Of course I am more proud of what they did once they left Scotland, and what they did for my country. However, relatively speaking, I do far more to wave the flag as a Kiwi than I do as any kind of try-hard "kiwi-scot". Playing the pipes, and wearing the kilt on occasion is the least I can do to honour mine and my forebears' heritage.

Cheers!

Michael

[Tobus]

My family history (Kilpatrick) is documented in the book Historical Southern Families, Vol. XXII. Sadly, it is too much information to post here, as it covers 63 pages of text.

But this well-documented book describes our Kilpatrick history from the first immigrant, Alexander Kilpatrick, who came over in the 1720s, all the way down to my great-grandfather, William P. Kilpatrick. I have compiled my own 83-page document that includes excerpts from this book, as well as census records and other official records which fill in the "rest of the story". I have boxes and boxes of old family photos, portraits, etc., which I have not yet had time to go through.

To summarize, though, my branch of Kilpatricks began as Indian traders, trappers, and scouts/guides, and later became major plantation owners in South Carolina. They formed the Coneross Plantation, and later generations migrated to Alabama where they bought more land and owned plantations there. They were central figures in the political history of their county, and important men.

I have evidence of my Kilpatrick ancestors in every war fought in American history. To present the entire history would be boring to most people here, but it holds immeasurable value to me. I can say without a doubt that my Scots-Irish ancestors did very well for themselves and I'm proud of their accomplishments.

[EagleJCS]

Well, this is my Scott (family) story, such as it is - we don't really know if we're actually Scots or not. We haven't been able to trace back that far yet.

From what I've been able to find out, until the last three/four generations, my family have been farmers and blacksmiths (and one farmer/miller) in/around Green County, Kentucky since about 1790. Before that, they were in western Virginia (current Russell County, VA). Before that, who knows? They were probably fairly well off for pioneers of those times - one will mentions about 300 acres of property in VA, and a tax roll of the time mentions 13 horses and 12 cattle. From what I understand, a second cousin (2x removed) still lives on a portion of the original KY property.

My ggf was a farmer to start with, but eventually became a blacksmith as well, but working for the L&N (Louisville and Nashville) railroad company here in Louisville. I don't know what all that entailed, but I presume he was working on the axles and undercarriage metal. Between those jobs, he was drafted into the Army and became a Corporal, but was honorably discharged before going overseas.

My gf grew up on the family farm (I think his grandparents' farm, Dad's not sure), became a store clerk for A&P (the local grocery), went to war in WWII in the US Army, eventually becoming a Staff Sergeant in the Quartermaster Corps. He returned home, went to university (the first in the family!) and started in banking here in Louisville. He retired in late 1983/early 1984, but didn't get to enjoy it for long. He succumbed to cancer in March 1986.

My father also went to college/university (the school was named a College at the time, it's now a University) and into banking in Louisville. Dad was also in the US Army (Reserves, then KY National Guard), eventually becoming a Platoon Sergeant (E7). After many years in banking, Dad decided to get out of the corporate politics and is now working as a dispatcher for the county sheriff's department in a southern Indiana county.

My brother and I are both Eagle Scouts. I'm a long-time volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America. He's in law enforcement (for his & his family's safety, I won't say where). So, we're both trying to contribute, in our own ways, to the betterment of our communities. Who knows what our long-term impact will be?

[ctbuchanan]

My grandfather David Watt Torrance M.D.,O.B.E. was a medical missionary for the Church of Scotland and built a hospital and church in the Holy Land in Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee in 1892.

He was there from 1884 until his death in 1923 with the exception of WWI when the Ottomans occupied Palestine. He enlisted in the British Army and served as a surgeon at an Army Hospital in Glasgow which is when my mother was born. After the war the entire family returned to Palestine and my mother remained there until 1947 after meeting and marrying my father there.

This is a photo of my grandfather in Arab dress and, yes, he did know Lawrence of Arabia and my mother actually remembered having tea with T.E. Lawrence on the veranda of the hospital in the early 1920's.
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.an...com/~torrance/
This website which I created about my grandfather gives you more information on this remarkable man.

[Steve Barclay]

My grandfather John Glauchan Barclay (a.k.a. Jack Barr,) was born in the mining town of Cleland just outside Motherwell in 1913. There apparently was a history of music in the Barclay family (which I'm glad to say has followed on with my dad and me,) and Grandad was a very fine singer, as were his three brothers, but grandad's main claim to fame was that he once beat the subsequently rather famous Principle Tenor of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Society and "Voice Of Scotland" Robert Wilson in a talent contest, I presume some time in the 1930's. Here is a clip of Mr. Wilson at the height of his fame in the 1940's. (Note:- I started a thread in "Kilts In The Media" about the film "Carry On Up The Khyber" and I can't get over how much the announcer on this clip reminds me of Charles Hawtrey- "Private Widdle" in the film!! )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q4BNkugkYM

[Meggers]

Great idea for a thread!

Unfortunately, I know nothing about my Scottish side from either my mom or my dad. My grandpa kept track of our records and we could only get our family traced back 6 generations, 2 of those generations in Ireland and Scotland. While I know nothing about my Scottish grandfather, except his name and his wife and children, I know much more about my Irish side.

My dads side- Irish (Co. Derry, Co. Armagh, Co. Dublin, Co. Cork), and Scottish

My great-great-great-great grandfather was Daniel Kane who was born in 1810 in Derry City, Co. Londonderry, Ireland.

<---Henry Kane

He was a Catholic farmer and married a woman named Catherine Dixon from Co. Armagh. Together, they had Henry Kane who was also born in Derry. Henry married a woman named Anna Sharpe who was born in Dublin. Henry, Anna, Catherine, and Daniel Kane all went to the New World around 1870. They traveled to St. Paul, MN. Henry and Anna had a daughter who married a Scotsman in Minnesota. The Scotsman was the son of an immigrant named James Walker. I come from the long line of boys who carried that name down to me.

My Irish side has a sad story. A lot of death (Daniel froze to death in Minnesota), and my great-grandmother, Nora (whose family is from Co. Cork), suffered from polio. One amazing thing about her, however, was that she never complained. She made her own bed every morning using a pole tool and it took her over an hour to do it. Yet, she did it every single morning.

My mothers side: Germany (Hesse), England, Scotland, and a wee bit o' Dutch

now, my mothers side, the German (and a little Scottish and English) side, is where all the fancy stuff is. My mom has her family tree traced back to the Duke of Norfolk and the Howard family from the 900's. (Catherine Howard showed up during all of her research but she said its so far back that shes not sure if its truly legit) and so did Lady Godiva. They came to Virginia before the Revolutionary War. While my dads side is still relatively new to the States, my moms side were the oldest settlers.

My mothers side from Germany were from Hesse. Hessens were like soldiers for hire and some Hessens were sent to Co. Cork, Ireland and beat around the Irish for awhile. Coincidently enough, while my fathers side is from Co. Derry, the other half is from Co. Cork. So, my moms ancestors werent exactly the nicest people in the world to my dads ancestors. lol.

Theres all sorts of inner conflict going on with my genes. Ive got Scottish, English, Irish, Hessen German... Scottish vs. English, Irish vs. English (and potatoes), Irish vs. Hessen.

funny fact about my family: Theres a man in my family tree named Peg Leg Van Vliet. LOL. The Schoonover family is related to me by marriage. An ancesor of mine married a very rich Schoonover man, but had an affair with a man named Peg Leg (cant help but laugh every single time) and had a bastard son. Our family tree stems from the bastard son

[Meggers]

This is a photo of my grandfather in Arab dress and, yes, he did know Lawrence of Arabia and my mother actually remembered having tea with T.E. Lawrence on the veranda of the hospital in the early 1920's.
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.an...com/~torrance/
This website which I created about my grandfather gives you more information on this remarkable man.

Totally awesome.

[madmacs]

Well not a family member, but Tartan Day , St Louis, and the water industry did lead to James P Kirkwood last year... Along with all the other usual suspects of course.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_P._Kirkwood

http://www.websterkirkwoodtimes.com/..._Kirkwood.html

And I'd also throw this one out there...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/histori...kpatrick.shtml

[saxandpipes]

Thanks for sharing people!

Cheers,

Michael