16
votes
Accepted
What does VSP mean in the book The Original Scots Colonists of Early America, 1612-1783?
The book 'The Original Scots Colonists of Early America, 1612-1783'' by David Dobson is also available on archive.org. Abbreviations are listed at the beginning of the book, but as you observed, VSP ...
- 5,166
9
votes
Lunacy - what does it mean?
While the exact diagnosis is almost certainly impossible without data from elsewhere that probably doesn't exist, we should at least attempt to see how the words were used at that time.
Anyone ...
- 11.5k
9
votes
Accepted
Identifying cause of death on Scottish record
Paralysis.
Determining the underlying cause is pure speculation, but suffice it to say that the person had some sort of neurologic disorder. Causes could range from trauma to infectious or ...
- 18.7k
8
votes
Seeking informational resources on “Robinson” family name origin?
As it is a patronymically derived name ..."Robin's son", the likelihood of there being any single attributable geographic origin is very unlikely.
Surname distribution maps derived from census ...
- 1,356
8
votes
Accepted
Locating "Bankhead of ..." in parish of Forfar
It appears to be:
"Bankhead of Turfbeg"
Turfbeg is a district to the north-east of the modern town, in roughly the same place as "Bankhead" on this snippet from an 1850 map by James Knox:
...
- 5,166
6
votes
Using DNA to verify story of sailor from Spanish Armada being ancestor?
First of all: the genetic makeup part of a DNA test result is fun, but isn't something that can be relied upon or ever provide 'proof', because it's based on the DNA reference groups and samples held ...
- 595
6
votes
Accepted
Finding Obituary from British Newspaper Archive?
The BNA has the death notice in the Dundee Courier on Tuesday 13 June 1944. It's rather brief:
ORMOND. At Dundee, on June 11, 1944, John Barclay Ormond, of 115 West High St., Forfar, husband of ...
- 4,427
6
votes
Finding British militia records?
The answers, such as they are, are probably available only at Kew with the Muster Books and Pay Lists (that's one document produced every quarter, usually). See TNA Guide on Militia
The problem is ...
- 11.5k
5
votes
Accepted
Locating information on John Megone from 1800's Ireland
When I get stuck, I find it helpful to step back from where I am and review what I already have, starting over again as if the problem was completely new to me, and pretending that I am a complete ...
- 25.3k
5
votes
Military Record is the first sign of existence
I can think of several cases where someone might be considered 'missing' and notices placed in newspapers. Cases would range from the criminal to the simple case where a family moved and lost touch ...
- 1,366
5
votes
Was traditional Scottish naming pattern the same for Highlands, Lowlands and Ulster Scots?
I get both cynical and concerned about naming patterns. Concerned in case people use naming patterns to prove genealogy rather than genealogy to prove naming patterns. Cynical because my great ...
- 11.5k
5
votes
Accepted
Seeking to verify 1862 Scottish marriage, birth and death records for a Henry Clifford stationed with the Royal Navy at Leith
"Would an enlisted Royal Navy man marry onshore?" The only alternative that I can think of, is that he would be married by a Royal Navy Chaplain on board ship. The relevant National Archives (TNA) ...
- 11.5k
5
votes
How can I verify if Kilbirnie is in the Dalry parish in Scotland?
As a supplement to the previous answer, researchers who want to explore the historical geography of places can access:
GENUKI: link to Kilbirnie, Ayrshire and choose the tab nearby churches
A Vision ...
- 25.3k
4
votes
Accepted
Average age at marriage in Highland Scotland in 18th century
On marriages in Britain, The Oxford Companion to Family and Local History notes several key points that dictated the age at which individuals married:
[T]he great majority of the people of Britain ...
- 18.7k
4
votes
Lunacy - what does it mean?
We can assume that your ancestor suffered from some kind of mental condition. Please see Lunatic (English Wikipedia). Given the poor state of psychiatric knowledge and care at this time, it will be ...
- 5,417
4
votes
Was traditional Scottish naming pattern the same for Highlands, Lowlands and Ulster Scots?
I have found Scottish naming patterns to be a useful starting point in researching my ancestors in early North America - not proof, but a starting point for a line of inquiry in the absence of hard ...
- 41
4
votes
Accepted
Does "Mr" in a marriage record indicate a minister? (Or, did Rev James Nasmyth marry Lady Gordinstoun?)
This is the image from the source linked in your question:
I retweeted your question during a chat today, and Fergus Smith at http://www.oldscottish.com/ kindly gave this answer (you can see from the ...
- 25.3k
4
votes
Accepted
Reading illegible document from Scotland's People?
This is probably going to take a bit of work. In general, it's best to start by trying to identify letter and word shapes according to what you know, and what you expect to be there, then move onto ...
- 4,427
4
votes
Accepted
Looking for Alexander Ormond on 1861 census?
What about the family of Jean Osment, with James, Alexander (19), Elizabeth and John?
Anytime a whole family disappears, I look for common mistakes in the spelling of the last name.
Parish: Forfar; ...
- 66
4
votes
Accepted
Why might I be unable to find a parish burial record?
My general advice on finding records in a particular area is in this answer: What records are available in a particular locale?
My checklist looks like this:
Learn what records might have been ...
- 25.3k
4
votes
What is "braid Scotch"?
There is technically no such thing as the Scotch language, although that term was used historically. It is more commonly referred to as the Scots language.
Braid Scots (English broad Scots) is simply ...
- 18.7k
4
votes
Looking for records in Dumfriesshire pre 1841
The Scotlandspeople site only holds parish registers for the Church of Scotland, the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, and a few other Presbyterian churches.
The records of many other ...
- 5,166
4
votes
How to differentiate John Ormond (husband of Katharine Henderson) from others of the same name?
One of the pitfalls of being self-taught when you're doing genealogy research (as I was when first starting out) is that you can pick up bad habits from using tools like hints which are intended to '...
- 25.3k
4
votes
Accepted
Irregular Session Catholic Marriage in Scotland's OPR
The primary purpose of the OPRs was to record baptisms, marriages and (if you are really, really lucky) burials carried out by a Church of Scotland minister in that parish. While there seems to have ...
- 11.5k
4
votes
How can I verify if Kilbirnie is in the Dalry parish in Scotland?
I am not sure that you understand "parish" in this setting: in the post-1855 Scottish Registers of Births, of Marriages, and of Deaths these are civil parishes. Of course these were ...
- 353
3
votes
Missing father for Mary Goldie born 1891?
The other place that you could check is the Kirk Sessions records for the parish where her mother was living when she was born (you should have the parish from the birth certificate).
Although many ...
- 5,166
3
votes
Accepted
Where to find Scottish birth records from 1905?
Scotland's People is always a good place to start for Scottish records. You'll need to register to use the site. Searching is free, but you have to buy credits to see actual documents/images. A "...
- 4,427
3
votes
Accepted
Determining mother's former names on 1884 death certificate from Glasgow?
It looks like "M.S." was a common abbreviation for "Maiden Surname" in Scottish records. There are numerous references to this in commercial sites (two examples) and forums (Rootsweb) although I can't ...
- 4,427
3
votes
Lunacy - what does it mean?
Added to lejonet's answer, I generally associate 'lunacy' with bipolar disorder more in particular, because of its cyclic nature. And it is a life-long condition, but can remain 'silent' for a bit, ...
- 39
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