8th: Wouldn't you know it...

As soon as I decide there's a lull on updates to the visible, published, data, along comes a bunch more, just after I've updated the online databases!

Thanks Bobby, the GRAY updates will appear in due course.

Bobby saw my posting (page down to my one) on the Caithness.org forum asking for GRAY descendants who might be interested in proving a theory about two GRAY families in Watten, Caithness, by joining the GRAY DNA project.

He then acted on a hunch about a BRUCE in his tree, and sure enough, found an additional daughter for the family of William GRAY and Margaret SUTHERLAND.
There's a Margaret who married a William MURRAY and lived at Olgrinmore, Halkirk (1851).

Behind the scenes however, Harry and I have been having fun sorting out his STEPHENSON family of Edinburgh, formerly Kelso, Ancrum, Gifford, and as he's just found out, Cumberland, thanks to Sonia in Mississippi. I'm just tagging along for the ride as there's a WIGHT connection in there that one day we may prove is related to the other STEPHENSON/WIGHT connection that makes us distant cousins.

10th: and then I continued...

I'm in the middle of tidying up my great grandmother, Helen Sinton WIGHT's future web page entry, having realised that I've never posted her on the web.
Doing so involves quite a bit of tidy up and re-checking of years old research against data now more readily available.
I had never before found Helen/Ellen in the 1871 census as she wasn't obvious in Scotland, nor in Northumberland, which latter place she apparently emigrated from.
All is now explained, probably along with a family story from my Great Aunt Millie, who was rather found of increasing the importance of her ancestors. Dear Aunt Millie used to maintain that Helen, her mother, was a lady-in-waiting to the Queen Mother. A basic date check ensures that this is simply a complete load of rubbish, let alone that a farmer's daughter from Maxton in Roxburghshire was highly unlikely to hold such a position.

As with most family stories, there was probably a grain of truth in there somewhere, should we ever recognise it when it hit us.
Tonight it hit me. I found my great grannie, Helen Sinton WIGHT in the 1871 census, with the same occupation as on her emigration papers 4 years later. She is a housemaid in Belgrave Square - to William SCOTT, Baronet. (He's Sir William SCOTT of Ancrum, the 6th Baronet, and living at Ancrum, Roxburghshire, in the 1841 and 1851 census).

Poor Aunt Millie, I don't think she would approve of my demolishing her myths.

I've decided that this branch of the family had wanderlust. Helen travelled to London for work, and later emigrated, apparently on her own, to New Zealand.
I've previously also found that her mother Helen WIGHT nee SINTON, had travelled to America, as her photo was taken in Cleveland, Ohio, where she had presumably gone to visit her son William.