20th: Swapping ROX for ROC?

I'm growing a theory here. When James, son of Peter and Janet (Donaldson) SINTON died in 1855 his death cert implied that his son John was aged 45 and still alive. Over the years I've only really found one remotely likely candidate, in Ontario, and wasn't very thrilled that he'd be him at all.
Today I stumbled across a slightly too young John in Ross & Cromarty, a shepherd (right occupation for a farmer's son), who occasionally decided to say he was born in Bowden, ROX (well, ancestry says Bomden, ROX, and in one census Bowden, SEL). I've not checked the original to reassure myself that the FINTON, and SENTER names the family has been indexed as are really SINTON, but was intrigued enough by this chap to chase him thru the records to see where it lead.
He died in 1881 and his death cert. does indeed say his parents were a James SINTON and Margaret. However, I cannot turn his mother's maiden name into WILKIE. Nearest interpretation is GILLES, and even that isn't certain.

Anyone out there researching the family of John SINTON and Catherine CROSS of Kiltearn, Ross and Cromarty? Over the years the family were at: Leadgown, Contin Parish; Swordale, Kiltearn Parish; Boath, Alness; Associated surnames so far are ROSS and McKAY, with one daughter (a Rachel, a name significant in the family of James and Margaret) moving to Dores, Inverness; a son John moving to Bonar, Sutherland and the fates of the rest of the family yet to be discovered.

16th: Hounding ROWEs, fossicking in the FAIRBAIRNs

A fun day fossicking in the family of William and Margaret (SCOTT) FAIRBAIRN. This was prompted by finding a newly joined member of the Borders Family History Society interested in FAIRBAIRNs of Bowden, Galashiels, Selkirk, Smailholm. How could I resist.
John is a descendant of schoolmaster William, so we are now swapping notes on that lineage, and hopefully will find a living male FAIRBAIRN to represent them on the FAIRBAIRN Surname dna project.

Also on the family of one of the several Robert FAIRBAIRNs born around 1820. This one married a Catherine STEWART and I'd not placed him with an appropriate set of parents. My current theory is that he belongs to James FAIRBAIRN and Ann WALKER who married Melrose 1806 (banns Merton), and by 1841 were enumerated at "Stable", Galashiels, their children having been baptised in Crailing.
Anyone interested in this family of FAIRBAIRNs and able to help Bonnie and I sort them out?
Both of the above lineages will be added to the DNA Project Patriarch's page shortly.

Back to the Baskervilles. The addition of Baskerville to the name of a child of my Elizabeth ROWE/Hugh HAMLEY family has been explained. Not prescient knowledge of the hound at all, much more prosaic, Dad Hugh HAMLEY's Mum was apparently a BASKERVILLE. This from Vikki, a descendant via son James who married and emigrated to Adelaide, Australia shortly (a few days) thereafter. No wonder I couldn't find hide nor hair of him after his 1819 baptism in Bere Ferrers.

Aug 26, 2007: Who is James NOBLE? Yet more WINES

GenesReunited Hot matches are to blame for today's sidetrack. They've improved the system somewhat, so I paid more attention this time, and some twigs that have been untouched for years have had some attention. Not that the WINES need more twigs, they're already so prolific, but nonetheless, at least one family has been (mostly) brought forward to 1901, that of Jacob son of James & Rebecca (VAGG) WINES. Who needs more BROWNs in the family? At least the other dtr married into a rarer surname, FORTT (census data & birth index) or FORTH (Marr. index).

After posting the WC updates last night I checked my guestbook and found a renewed contact about the SINTONs who migrated south that I've not been able to conclusively link to mine. In checking where I'd got too on that lot, I was reminded of the link between Carole and my WIGHT/HALL correspondent Jan in Canada. The easier access to Scottish census data led me to reduce some of the duplication in my database and tidy up the family of James WIGHT and Cecilia LAING, who appear in my LornaPotential database (not yet republished).

BUT it left me with a larger mystery about the two Margaret WIGHTs born Bowden around the same time, c. 1811/1814 ish.

Two illegitimate sons exist either one to each of the Margaret WIGHTs, or both to one of them: a James NOBLE, born c 1845 Ancrum and a Thomas WIGHT born Bowden c. 1841. And I thought I had them straight, ie one Margaret WIGHT the dtr of Thomas WIGHT and Elizabeth FISHER, died 1882 Selkirk, informant son Thomas WIGHT, and the other, the dtr of James WIGHT & Cecilia LAING, died 1889 Hawick, informant brother-in-law George HALL (and turned out to be the widow of a shoemaker James WHITE).

James NOBLE is the fly in the ointment. I can only find one of them over the years, but he seems to be associated with both of the Margaret's! Last sighting of him is 1871 by which time he is a cabinet maker in Edinburgh St Cuthberts, with a visitor Margaret WIGHT born Bowden with him. However in 1861 he's shown, at least on Ancestry's index, as son of Margaret at Dunsdale Cottages, Selkirk, as is Thomas. I can't conclusively find the other Margaret in the 1861 census yet, unless she's the cook in Borthwick, MLN.