20th: Made it - at last

Check out the new SINTON page, and the recent changes.

In addition my main online BDM only database LornaHenderson has also been updated with the last month+ changes, including claiming a few more of the SINTON tribes, moving them in from LornaPotential.

The ROWE chart also now includes a few of the newfound Australian branch of James & Mary Anne (JESSOP) HAMLEY.

19th: ?another Canadian SINTON?

Still getting sidetracked from publishing the SINTON (and ROWE and HAMLEY) updates.
Everytime I think I'm nearly ready, I find something else to check.
In the SINTON case the latest was re-checking the dth cert of James, son of Peter and Janet (DONALDSON) SINTON to make sure that son John really was shown as alive in 1855 when James died.
He was, but where was he? There's a likely looking candidate in Lancaster, Glengarry Co, Ontario, married to a Jane.
I had noted this couple before but dismissed them as unlikely to be "my" lot with a dtr Sarah and son George (1851 census). Maybe I'd better review that. Anyone know anything about this family?
And of course in checking this John and Jane I found a Jane and a Robert SINTON (Turnberry, Huron Co) that piqued my interest (to no avail, couldn't immediately find them in earlier census data).

All that aside, the ROWE descendants chart has been updated to include a very few of the newfound Australian branch, many more to come when time permits. Many thanks for sharing them Jenny.

18th: Check originals!

It really does pays to check originals! In my SINTON data review I've been checking what original baptisms I can find on the OPRs, and as a result, corrected a couple of the Southdean places. Margaret, bless her cotton socks, had transcribed a couple of places as ending in ...head, eg Strangeburnfoothead etc. The actual entries, in both cases found, were headless, eg Strangeburnfoot (as in x at y had a son baptized).

Rash of new DNA results in today:
Further markers in for Doug, the representative of the James and Helen (GOODFELLOW) FAIRBAIRN line - see the FAIRBAIRN DNA Project and the blog for details on the matches (yes he matches Lineage 1, that of John FAIRBAIRN and Bessie FLINT et al, but it looks like things might get a bit complicated with different markers involved).
Also results starting to come in for the Peruvian contingent of the RUNCIMAN DNA Project. Again, see the both the project files, and the blog for more details, but basically, even at 12 markers, yes he matches the James & Agnes (HERIOT) RUNCIMAN lineage.
(And yes, I know that Google have put warnings on both of the blogs above that they are potentially spam, I have applied to get that designation lifted - yet again!)

Can anyone claim a James SINTON of Woodfield? William, son of James was buried Southdean 1814.
Still trying to get my updated webpages out there, with all the new SINTON connections documented.
This update will bring several lines into the SINTON charts shown on my web pages (eg the outline one on the Research logs portion of my site, and the fuller one under Big Brother, anyone interested in them needs to be aware that although I've done some work on the other lines, there are likely to be huge gaps in the families.
Even if someone is shown on a descendant chart on my web pages, they wont necessarily appear in my WorldConnect databases, as I only gradually add people to that as I check off BDM data where I can and set them to "publish".

15th: Southdean SINTONs

Nearly finished a fairly major review of the early Southdean SINTON portions of the tree.
My personal web pages haven't yet been updated, but I have updated the SINTON Surname DNA Project Patriarch's page with my current thoughts.
Can anyone place Clesleepeel on a map?

Oct 22, 2008: The Clesleepeel connection

Wont have much time to further evaluate the newly indicated SINTON connection for a fortnight or so, but a few quick checks on what I already have and what can be quickly added too, shows that there was a "son born to Jas SINTON of Clesleepeel" in the Southdean & Abbotrule, OPR on 4 Jun 1806. This is of an age to be the John marr. to Alison HALL who claims in the 1851 census that he was born at Southdean, and of Southdean when he married Alison in 1829. Other candidates are accounted for elsewhere, or at least most I know of are.
This father James is likely to be the James who married Barbary OLIVER in 1804, given that Barbara was of Clesleepeel when whe was buried in 1809, and this James' father is likely to be the James married to Janet OLIVER, given that he also was of Clesleepeel when he was buried 1802. (This is the family of one of my favourite death certs, Betsy WHITE nee SINTON, died "aged 96 of old age, 10 weeks duration" - Betsy was of Clesleepeel when she married John WHITE in 1801.)
Unfortunately, it is unlikely I'll ever prove any of this conclusively as they all died prior to civil registration and Abbotrule headstones aren't exactly plentiful if the photo on geograph is a typical view.
And as to how Peter and James relate?
There are two contemporary, or near contemporary James SINTONs in Southdean and Abbotrule who may or may not be one and the same person, remarrying, both are carriers: one having children 1755 thru 1760 (at least): Thomas, Margaret and James, wife as yet unknown; and the other marrying Janet OLIVER (?of Hobkirk) in 1762 and having children at Burnkinford 1763 and Strangeburnfoot 1765 thru 1769 and Burnkinfoothead 1772, dying Clesleepeel and buried 1802.
My Peter was a cattle dealer of Bairnkin when he was buried 1811. Assuming he was at least 20 when he and Janet DONALDSON married, he has to have been born around 1755 or earlier, so pre-dates the James and Janet (OLIVER) SINTON couple, but would fit in with the earlier James and ?? couple, most likely as the eldest son, given the first we know of is a 1755 Thomas.
Naming pattern of Peter and Janet's known children certainly indicates that his father is a James, mother possibly an Isabella.

In reviewing data, I have also combined two other Peters, both baker journeymen: one the reputed father of the Isabella SINTON (born c 1826, d. 1882) who married David HOPE, the other who married Marion KER in 1832.

Oct 21, 2008: SINTON dna match

21st: The SINTON Surname DNA project has come up trumps. It has proved a relationship between two Southdean families unable to be proven by other means. At 12 markers only, it is rather hard to determine just exactly how the families relate: those of John SINTON (marr. Alison HALL 1829, Southdean) and Peter SINTON (marr. Janet DONALDSON) d. Bairnkin, Southdean 1811, but relate they do, somehow.

Oct 20, 2008: Seeing the world from your armchair

Ignore all the entries in the recent changes index for October, until today. I've been fiddling with place data to make sure that at least some of the people on the site pop up on their appropriate maps.
The main changes have been to each of the main surname pages (FAIRBAIRNs, HENDERSONs, ROWEs, RUNCI(Wo)MEN, SINTON).
They each now include both an index of all descendants (and spice) included on the site, and a map showing some of the hatch, match and despatch places for said descendants - but only if they are already on the site, AND only if I've gotten round to including Lat/Long coordinates in the appropriate place information, which I certainly haven't done consistently. So, scroll down to the bottom of the pages concerned, eg FAIRBAIRN, HENDERSON, SINTON, ROWE, and RUNCIMAN pages to see the maps, and have fun zooming in/out, panning around the world. Travel from your armchair.
A related change with the last site update is the places link. Again, if I've recorded Lat/Long coordinates against the places highlighted in the place index, then a link to Google maps and Virtual Earth, will show up under the place heading as a clickable G or L accordingly. You may have to use the map controls to get the best picture, and as the updated Abbreviations says, if you can't see enough detail on Google, try Live Search or vice versa. Some of the satellite pictures are quite spectacularly clear. I swear I can almost pick out my 3*greats grandparents' grave in the Morebattle Cemetery on the Fairbain map if you zoom in far enough in satellite view.

Aug 31, 2008: DNA sale extended

Family Tree DNA have extended their summer sale to the end of September, with very good discounts, so if you are at all interested, get in quick. To get the discounts, orders have to be via an appropriate project, so make sure you find the project and use the Join link for it.
I'd love to see a few more FAIRBAIRN lineages represented, not to mention all my other projects: SINTON, ROWE, RUNCIMAN, DAWE or FINLAYSON.

Back to Lennox & Addington, Ontario FAIRBAIRNs.
Does anyone know anything about the family of a William Albert FAIRBAIRN and Grace Helena LONG? They were around Camden & Centreville, Lennox & Addington, Ontario. Lost two sons in WWI, Bruce Wellington and Howard. I've found dtr Ruth married a Victor King William EDGAR, and son John Albert FAIRBAIRN married Henrietta Susannah BALSDON in the 1910s.
William Albert's 1905 death cert shows him to be the son of a Robert and Jane FAIRBAIRN whom I've not yet identified, but would love too.

Aug 26, 2008: Identifying John CREBERs

When working on Devon families around Walkhampton, Buckland Monachorum, Whitchurch etc, you just cannot avoid CREBERs. I've convinced myself that the Joan CREBER who married Henry TOOP is the one at Dotterbrook in Tavistock in 1841, with what looks like her father John. And that this John is the one who married Margaret GILES. John buried Walkhampton 1845, Henry and Joan (CREBER) TOOP buried Buckland Monachorum, 1844 and 1850 respectively.
Does anyone agree, or disagree, and if the latter, have you more evidence than I on where he belongs?

Family Tree DNA are offering good discounts for their tests until the end of August. Anyone interested in joining the FAIRBAIRN, SINTON, ROWE, RUNCIMAN, DAWE or FINLAYSON projects should get in quick.
If you do so, make sure you find the right surname project and use that to order the test or else the discounts wont be applied, eg a 37 marker test is $119 US, and a 67 marker includes the mt dna test for only slightly more than the usual 67 marker Y-DNA test, at $289 US.

Jul 22, 2008: Ontario FAIRBAIRNs; DNA updates

Anyone know anything about a Robert FAIRBAIRN in Ontario from about 1828?
Scott sent me an extract from the Scots in Canada pre Confederation which showed a Robert born abt 1786 emig 1828, settled nr Selby, Lennox & Addington Co, with children including: William, James, Robert, Elizabeth, Jane, Alison (marr. David FITCHETT, lived Huntingdon Twp, Hastings Co)
Alison and Robert look like they were born Scotland, still trying to trace the rest of them, but the 1851 census shows Robert Snr and Jnr enumerated with a 22 yr old Esther, all born Scotland, along with an 11 yr old Robert born USA and yet another Archibald, aged 9 born Canada West (Ontario).
Sounds promising for a connection to my lot.

Newfoundland DAWEs are now represented on the DAW/DAWE DNA project. There must be some proven descendants on the Devon lines out there somewhere who'd like to take part!
Also progress on the FAIRBAIRN DNA project, the line of Robert FAIRBAIRN and Janet HOGARTH, whose son William married Isabella SINTON.
And another on the SINTON project. I'd been trying to find a suitable candidate down the line of John SINTON and Alison HALL, but in the end one found the project and saved me some effort.
Thank you Steve, I do so hope we get a match with the other Southdean SINTONs.

NB the WorldFamilies DNA pages are undergoing a revamp outside my control, so some links may not work at the moment, and some info is missing, will remedy soon.

Jun 19, 2008: Tracing TRACY

Betsy and I have convinced each other that she has found yet another dtr for David FAIRBAIRN and Jane HERD. The Jane TRACY who married David & Jane's son Archibald had a brother George who is listed on ancestral file as marrying a Martha FAIRBORN, who just happened to be born St Mary, Perth, Ontario, 1834. Looks like another example of siblings marrying siblings. The circumstantial evidence includes the fact that in the 1870 census George and Martha have moved from Perth to Mt Morris, Wisconsin, which just happens to be where David and Jane are now living as well. A George and Elizabeth of an age to be his parents are also with them.
In 1870 George and Martha are shown with two children, Anna and George, both born Canada. Betsy excelled herself and found an Annie of the right age, with parents given as George and Martha, marrying back in St Marys, Perth, to a clergyman Robert O KELLOGG.
Darned if I can find the TRACY family in Canada in 1851 though, or anywhere in 1880. It looks as if Anna/Annie died in California about 1886 and their only dtr shortly before that.
In the process of ferreting around in Ontario records, several more twigs have also been added/updated on the Quebec FAIRBAIRNs (mainly the family of Clarissa Harlow FAIRBAIRN and Elihu Robert MARSTON, but several others as well).
Also found another dtr for the family of John FAIRBAIRN and Margaret SINTON, a Rachel popped up with them in 1851, and I later found her 1929 death in Blandford, Ontario.
Depending of course on when you are reading this, any of the links above pointing to WorldConnect wont necessarily show the updates, as I haven't uploaded them yet, but any pointing to charts on my domain web pages have been.

May 16, 2008: Elizabeth AINSLIE revived

The SINTON chart has a few new twigs on it. I was checking off my recent batch of updates to OneGreatFamily and found a hint that led to some investigations in the AINSLIE family. One correction is that I had Elizabeth, dtr of Robert & Agnes (WELSH) AINSLIE, as dying on 19 Mar 1904. I couldn't verify that, and as it turned out to be her marriage day to Andrew McDOUGALL, I thought I'd better revive her.
The other main branch of the family updated was that of Agnes Isabella AINSLIE and James COMMON, who now have a few more children identified as I found them in the 1901 census. (Agnes is the above Elizabeth's sister).
Rootsweb pages about to be brought up to date after a 2 month lull.

May 9, 2008: SINTON/GIBSON twigs

While checking something else I noticed that I'd not found what happened to the family of Daniel & Maggie (Margaret Wilkie SINTON) GIBSON.
Didn't find them all, but several updates have occured, namely: Daniel died after 1881 as Maggie remarried, as a widow, in 1887 to Henry ROSS, adding yet another blacksmith to my extended family. They appear to have moved to Lanarkshire (Airdrie) from Falkirk. Son Peter died single in 1950, the informant being a Fred WARK (possibly of the family he was with in the 1901 census); David Irvine GIBSON died at Stonehouse in 1939, married and with at least one child, James Stewart GIBSON. His marriage to James' mother Sarah Brown STEWART shows David as a widower, so there's another marriage to find as yet; the 1891 census added another child to the family, another Daniel. With a large gap between the 1873 Jane Rae and this new Daniel, c 1882, there may well be others yet to be found.
Maggie died in 1897, after which Henry appears to have remarried as he pops up in 1901 with an Elizabeth as a wife, and several more step-children by name McGREGOR (as opposed to 1891 when it was his GIBSON step children that finally allowed me to find Maggie et al in that census.

May 7, 2008: "Easet"-ing it on the GRAHAMs

Today was a GRAHAM day as a bunch of certificates turned up. Some hits, one miss that turned out a near miss.
Can't seem to find the marriage of David and Jane, both GRAHAM. I therefore ordered the marr. cert of a Jane GRAHAM around the right time and place, but she turns out to have married a Joseph SINTON instead, son of James SINTON, gamekeeper (currently eluding me, although he's probably the one married to Ann IRVING).
Also in the batch was the marriage of John GRAHAM to Elizabeth GRAHAM, so I have pleasure in welcoming their family in from my LornaPotential database as John was indeed the son of George GRAHAM, farmer, and therefore assumed to be the one married to Easet CARRUTHERS (this id being aided by John & Elizabeth's first dtr being Mary Easet GRAHAM).
Elizabeth was the dtr of an Edward and there's probably another connection there as that looks like the family of Edward GRAHAM and Elizabeth BAXTER, with children William, Elizabeth, Andrew, Mary, this latter lady shows up as the inn keeper at the Graham's Arms in West Linton with niece Elizabeth as barmaid (dtr of John & Elizabeth above).
Back to identifying photos and attaching them to the right RICHARDSONs....

May 3, 2008: SINTON & TAYLOR updates

Jane TELFER/TELFORD nee SINTON has now been included on my web pages.

More info received from Peter, the descendant of Leslie Bowman CADELL & Agnes Taylor LYONS, which has brought that line down to the present.

May 1, 2008: Willing RICHARDSONs

Check out the updated Originals pages.
A RICHARDSON will has been added, although I've not yet linked hardly any of the people mentioned in the document (I'm still on the first page marvelling at how many houses she had to leave to her nieces and nephews).
This will is part of a bundle of photos and letters delivered today by Grace from Hataitai, quite a bonus really as I was only expecting the will. It's one of those coincidence things again. I rang her yesterday to tell her about being contacted by the grddtr of William Record RICHARDSON, only to be greeted by, "Lorna, I was going to ring you tonight, I'm coming out your way tomorrow and was hoping to meet you and give you the will to copy".
A most welcome surprise, and visit, I'll be busy scanning for a while now.

I'm even more convinced that Jane TELFER nee SINTON in Sth Australia is my Helen's sister. Same chubby face. I'll pop a page up on the web for her when I surface a bit more. In the meantime, a few of the new twigs will be on the SINTON chart.

Apr 29, 2008: SINTON surprise

An interesting couple of days working on my favourite trees, the Border WIGHTs and SINTONs.
Both arose from GenesReunited contacts, and although it has turned out that neither are conclusively linked, information has been updated, thanks to Stephen, for prompting more research on the families of John WIGHT and Jessie HOBKIRK, resulting in another child for the family.
Also to Bill, ex of Jedburgh, now in Oz for our SINTON correspondence, during which it turned out that I'd met his Mum back in 1995!
Was able to set him straight about some of his earlier SINTON connections (family of James SINTON and Isabella FLEMING, whom I've now added to the SINTON Surname DNA Project patriarchs page), and may even find someone to join the DNA project to see if they do or don't relate to my Southdean lot.

And just when I was settling back from a fun update session, in comes an email from Perth, WA asking if I knew anything about a Jane SINTON of Southdean who had married James TELFER.
Yes, but not much, just an 1836 marriage where Jane was of Southdean and James of Jedburgh. I'd not found anything further in Scotland for the couple. No wonder really as they'd emigrated, arriving Adelaide in 1839. The Jedburgh OPR added that James was a farm servant of Edgerston, in Jedburgh Parish and Jane of Dikeraw, Parish of Chesters (where the SINTON descendant Janet MATHER nee SINTON was from about 1810 thru at least 1841) and Verity provided the birth/death dates and children. This latter showed a 2nd son Peter and 1st dtr Jane, which, together with a birth date/place for mother Jane of 1812, Southdean, means I'm happy to welcome them to the family of Peter SINTON and Jane WIGHT, and look forward to learning more.

Apr 3, 2008: More happenstance - WIGHT/HALL

While looking for something else I happened to notice an 1858 death cert. for a Margaret WIGHT, mother's maiden name HALL and thought that might be interesting. Sure enough her parents were given as James WIGHT, joiner, dec'd and Isabella HALL, which matches the profile for her to be a sister to my Jane WIGHT who married Peter SINTON, although she could belong to one of the other James WIGHT/Isabella HALL couples. For now, I'll claim her as one of mine, because of the "joiner" occupation for James, and her birthplace of Jedburgh.

Mar 27, 2008: Gala Hotmatches - SINTON/LIDDLE

Noted a GenesReunited Hotmatch on the family of Janet SINTON & James Thomson LIDDLE today.
The researcher wasn't a relation, but made me realise there was more to be found on this family as I'd barely scratched the surface of available records.
SINTON tree updated as a result, as several descendants of Janet and James have now been traced forward in time. They seem to have mostly stayed around Galashiels, although I suspect Agnes moved south, given she married a David SPIERS, fitter of Poplar, Middlesex.
Interesting range of occupations amongst the siblings. Instead of them all being woollen weavers/piecers, power loom weavers, there was a blacksmith, a joiner, and a grocer, at least.

Feb 21, 2008: SINTON certs

A few certs have arrived over the last couple of days but I've been busy with a visitor, and my pv panel installation (now operational, wonderful watching all that power flowing into the house that has no ongoing cost attached - just need to add the windmill now).

Firstly the family of Francis Douglas SINTON and Margaret Alice RUNCIMAN has now been confirmed to have at least Isabella May (born Nov 1904) and John William (born Oct 1906), both with Francis Douglas' occupation given as Police Officer, and occuring at Acklington R.D. Both registered in the Alnwick Sub District of Warkworth, Northumberland.

Secondly - confirmation that James SINTON, son of gamekeeper James SINTON and Jane AINSLIE, did indeed marry Isaballa Mary EMMERSON.
These SINTONs are actually a different branch of SINTONs, with Southdean connections, Jane being the dtr of Robert AINSLIE and Margaret SINTON, "my" Southdean SINTONs.
Usual refrain applies, would love to trace present day SINTON descendants of this line to join the SINTON Surname DNA project and see if the families are connected. James traces back to a Thomas SINTON and Elizabeth HASTIE.
There were several males in the next generation from James and his brothers Thomas and Robert, so I live in hope. Places associated with them are Anfield Plain, Wooler, Alnwick, Newcastle, Castle Ward.

Jan 24, 2008: Lots of updates, incl. dna matches

Both databases on WorldConnect updated, so the links on the lhs of most of my web pages to "BMD Data on all rellies" and "Likely Rellies" will take you to the latest and greatest, including all the newfound twigs down the SINTON and FAIRBAIRN families.
You'll have to use those links to get to the newer names for a couple of days though as it will take a while for the indexing on WorldConnect to catch up.

On the basis of predicting children's names, I think there also has to be a Peter ROBSON somewhere around Roxburghshire, son of Richard ROBSON and Isabella SINTON.
Finally also managed to update the web pages. The newfound Isabella SINTON and Alison FAIRBAIRN are both included, and all charts now contain the current versions of the trees.

Exciting news on the RUNCIMAN Surname DNA project as well, yes, there's a match (admittedly only 12/12 markers at this stage) between the Wanton Walls RUNCIMAN family, as represented by David in Spain, and the Michigan family of William and Mary (BROWN) RUNCIMAN, as represented by Jerry.
Still looking for a representative of the family of William's cousin (or brother) James & Isabella (CARTER) RUNCIMAN.

And the accidentally newfound FAIRBAIRN relation in Dunedin lives directly opposite the couple who lived in front of my first "home" post University in Dunedin.

Jan 23, 2008; There had to be an Alison

Having been found by the descendants of the newfound (to me) dtr Isabella, to Peter SINTON and Janet DONALDSON, and having done a lot of digging around to find as many of the descendants as wanted to be found, I then went digging to find other researchers of the new names added into the tree: ROBSON, MABON, HILSON, TURNBULL, BRODIE, THOMSON, INGLIS, SCOTT, MIDDLEMIST, GRAHAM, TAYLOR, RENWICK, HUNTER, WAUGH.
On the Borders FHS site, the Surname interests came up trumps for TURNBULL and MABON. At the time I found the TURNBULL researcher and looked at the web page, I wasn't sure it was the same family, but a bit more digging, and bingo. A couple of Isabella's great grdchildren had emigrated to Canada after WWI.
For MABON I picked one researcher for no better reason other than she had a NZ address. Such decisions can be fateful.
This evening, I received a pedigree chart from Amanda, and completely forgot about checking MABONs further, as she was a FAIRBAIRN relation of mine from a daughter I didn't have, for Walter FAIRBAIRN and Agnes ROBESON/ROBISON/ROBERTSON, but I knew had to exist somewhere. In a family with several sons and daughters I was missing a son named after the mother's father, and a dtr named after the father's mother, but am no longer missing the latter. The former may well still be the John in New York with father Walter of Roxburgh, SCT, but DNA participants are yet to be found to aid this conjecture.
Figured out who Mary BUCKHOLM is (but not what happened to her after 1871), but the rest of the grandchildren of Richard and Isabella ROBSON are yet to be "fitted in".

Jan 20, 2008: Another Southdean SINTON !!

I'd often looked at the gaps between the known children of Peter SINTON and Janet DONALDSON and wondered if any more children would be found. The answer today is YES. A 5th cousin in Ayr has emailed to say he's a descendant from their dtr Isabella, who married Richard ROBSON, all previously unknown to me. So I spent a hot summer's day digging. The SINTON descendant chart has considerably more twigs on it now, and sometime soon I'll have to do a WorldConnect database update.
If anyone can claim or shed any light on, a Thomas R & Adam ARMSTRONG, or Mary and John N BUCKHOLM, all born Jedburgh around 1850-1860ish, and all supposedly grandchildren of Richard and Isabella's, I'd love to know what happened to them and whose children they are. So far they've eluded me beyond the 1871 census.

Jan 11, 2008: A DNA day

Another preliminary set of results came in for SINTON Surname DNA project, and thankfully had a 12/12 match with the earlier set. Which tells me that the two sons of Peter SINTON and Janet DONALDSON, and their sons in turn etc, were faithful, and thankfully also confirms everyone's research. So we have a good set of comparisons for when I finally track down other lines.
Also the preliminary 12 marker results on a HENDERSON (2nd)cousin. No exact matches on any HENDERSONs, but I note that scratching around in the ySearch database seeing what I could find that the closest matches did indeed appear to be Perthshire based, but at 10/12 markers, that's all fairly airey fairey, and definitely not conclusive. A Shetland one wasn't even in the running, so theory A that he may have come from the Caithness area may well prove to be only that, theory.

Dec 22, 2007: DNA results

A day for DNA results. Nothing as exciting as the FAIRBAIRNs completely unexpected match with the first SINTON set to arrive back, but one day maybe there will be. At 12 markers, about 1200 tested people share the same dna, but none of them are SINTONs, so any match is unlikely to be in a genealogical timeframe.

I've also had it confirmed that I'm unique. My mtDNA results are also back, with nary a match. The nearest did however have her earliest maternal ancestor from Cambridge, England, which is pretty close to Braintree, Essex where I think mine came from!

Dec 13, 2007: A DNA match! And a hunch confirmed

This DNA testing lark has already proved interesting. The first (partial) results are in, and already there's an exact 12/12 match. My sole FAIRBAIRN Surname DNA project testee matches with another Family Tree DNA testee by the surname of FAIRBURN. I await with baited breath to find out more about him. Hope his email address is still current.
And I would love to find more FAIRBAIRN descendants interested in this process to volounteer, particularly the Delaware lot down from John FAIRBAIRN and Elizabeth MILLER, who may be descendants of my Walter, and the William & Jean (WANLESS) FAIRBAIRN & David & Jane (WILLIAMSON) FAIRBAIRN lot.

Another hunch proved correct. When told about James Percy SINTON being in the same orphanage as a Frederick Walter SINTON in 1891, Helen had ordered the latter's birth cert. She advises that he was indeed his elder brother (children of David and Mary Ann SINTON, descendants of William SINTON & Isobel BLACK). Neither of us have been able to find Frederick after this census, anywhere as yet. Sightings welcome.

Dec 9, 2007: Updated databases and success with SINTONs

Both WorldConnect databases have been updated: LornaHenderson and LornaPotential

You will have to use these links for about 24 hrs to access them however as they wont be available for searches until reindexed.
Found (via GenesReunited) a descendant of William SINTON & Isobel BLACK, one of the Southdean SINTONs I'd like to include in the SINTON Surname DNA project. Hope they can help make connections between the SINTONs.

Dec 8, 2007: Sorting out the Southdean SINTONs

Continuing right along with Southdean SINTONs.

This time on the family of Thomas SINTON and Elizabeth HASTIE who married and lived in Southdean, even though Thomas said he was "of Jedburgh".
Son James married Jane AINSLIE, grddtr of Peter SINTON and Jeanie WIGHT, making the family of double interest.
This increased the number of Northumberland policemen in the family by one, as it looks like son Robert switched from being a newly married Water Bailiff living with his wife's parents (1891) to a widowed police constable in 1901, with his widowed sister in law Margaret as housekeeper for his 4 children.
Full and brief SINTON charts updated as a result, World Connect databases will follow shortly as this also led me to solve a long standing mystery as to who on earth was the Elizabeth SINTON who married Thomas Henry STAWART, as per a SCT General board posting on Rootsweb back in 1998.

Florence indicated that they were the parents of her Richard STAWART who married Sarah MATHER in 1911 and emigrated to Canada in 1912. But as she had this Richard as born 1866, it had thrown the dates of my searches out completely.
I now believe that Richard is Thomas Henry's brother and that Elizabeth is the dtr of James above.

Dec 4, 2007: More Southdean SINTONs, and sad news

And still on the Southdean SINTONs, not that I've found any new branches to connect, but have found lots of twigs on the known relations. The main find was an interconnected family of HALLs.
Realised I'd not checked off the family of Matthew HENDERSON and Ann MATHER, and as a result found a couple more children, one of whom, Robert HENDERSON, married an Isabella HALL. Thought she sounded a bit familiar, and sure enough I already had her in the database. Her sister Margaret married William WALDIE, one of my WIGHT relations. And when I checked out her grandparents as well, I found that their (Margaret and Isabella's) uncle, Thomas HALL, had married Margaret AINSLIE, 2nd cousin to Robert HENDERSON. So I checked out one further generation back up the HALLs, bearing in mind that I do have some from around the area in the SINTON tree. No immediately obvious connection as yet, but with James HALL's parents being John HALL and Margaret SHIEL, I may well find another connection somewhere.
Very sad to note the death (in the latest Borders Family History Society Journal) of Margaret, one of my earliest SINTON contacts, a descendant of James SINTON and Janet OLIVER. Should the SINTON Surname DNA project ever hit paydirt and indicate a connection between her and my Southdean families, it would have been great to be able to share that news.

Dec 3, 2007: More SINTONs and TELFERs

Continuing Southdean SINTON tracing. Thought I was onto one of them in England, and with a child named John Isaac Barrow SINTON, I thought I even had someone who might be easy to find in records. Unfortunately he was easiest to find in a marriage and death record, registered a quarter apart in 1866, so that trail went cold far too quickly, both for me and for him I guess.
I did eventually find his parents in 1871, they'd been indexed as SANTON, and in 1851 as SENTER. I've no idea if this George is the descendant of William and Isobel (BLACK) SINTON, as I only know he's the right age and was born Scotland. Interestingly enough, by 1871, a nephew had joined the family, born around 1857 in the United States, but so far, he too has disappeared into oblivion before and after this one census.
I will be including a bit more of this family in my Rootsweb databases in the hope someone pops out of the woodwork, but so far it doesn't look like anyone researching this family has shared much/any data online.
Had much more success with the descendants of Cecilia TELFER nee MATHER. A lot of the family moved south into England (Yorkshire and London), then one branch at least (Robert & Ann Brown (DORWARD) TELFER), onto Canada, not that I'm having much luck finding them beyond the 1906 Alberta census.

SINTON charts updated: both the brief one here and the full SINTON chart on the main part of the web pages

Dec 2, 2007: Southdean SINTONs

Decided to continue hunting for other Southdean SINTON descendants to see who I might find still living and willing to participate in the SINTON Surname DNA project.
Sorted out several duplications in my database on the family of William SINTON and Isobel BLACK, some of whose children show up in census data as being born Southdean, even though their baptisms were in Jedburgh at the Associated Session Congregation or Free Church. Some day I might find out where all the Free Churches were in the area, perhaps that was the closest for them?
William and Isobel are the parents of both the Agnes SINTON who married Robert TELFER and of John SINTON who married Dorothy EASTHAM.
William TELFER, son of Agnes & Robert, married Cecilia MATHER, grddtr of Peter and Janet (DONALDSON) SINTON.
Several more twigs will therefore show up on the assorted SINTON charts as I've found a few more of them in censuses etc.

Nov 26, 2007: The WIGHT stuff...

The new New Zealand relation isn't a SINTON descendant after all, well he is, but of the Jedburgh SINTONs, not the Southdean ones. His connection to me being via his grandmother Christina Mary TINNING nee SINTON led me to jump to the conclusion he was a SINTON relation, but the connection is actually via Christina's grandmother Isabella WIGHT, dtr of John WIGHT and Helen THOMSON.
The contact has prompted me to fill in a few gaps on the tree anyway, so the WIGHT chart has been updated.

Nov 25, 2007: Counting down from 11

6 down, 5 to find. Robert found a couple more of the 11 children of Robert TAYLOR & Isabella Armstrong McGREGOR on his last visit to NRH, along with a few of the spice and a couple of grandchildren.

Oliver JOHNSTON's death remains unfound however.

And a welcome surprise in my Guestbook posted on the 23rd. Another line of SINTONs appear to be in NZ, a grandson of Christina Mary SINTON has left me a message.

And also a message from one of the Australian McADIE relations.
No rest for the wicked, or genealogically minded anyway.