26th: Jessie claimed

Rightly or wrongly I've decided that the Jessie SINTON of Southdean who married Donald McFADEN is highly likely to be the daughter of James SINTON and Barbary OLIVER.
I'm possibly inventing history here, but given that Barbary died in 1809, a few short years after her marriage in 1804 and Jessie's age consistently implies she was born about 1810, that just possibly, Barbary died in childbirth.
The place names connected with Jessie and Donald whilst still in Scotland also lead me to believe there is a close connection to these SINTONs.
QED.
Anyway, I've updated the SINTON chart to reflect this. It was bugging me way too much having Jessie floating around without parents when there just had to be a connection.

17th: Where things can lead...

I've been catching up on the family of Donald McFADEN and Jessie SINTON, and trying to figure out if I could find any clues as to where Jessie fitted into the Southdean SINTONs. My guess is as daughter of James SINTON and Barbary OLIVER, given the Oliver names in the children, but against this id is that there are no Barbara's in the known family, even if the second son is indeed James.
In the process, I decided to re-check James' baptism for any further clues. Nothing I hadn't already explored, BUT the next entry caught my attention rather more this time.
It was for the baptism of a John, son of a John DONALDSON & Elizabeth SMITH.
Given the SINTON activity, and that I'd never really explored anything at all about Peter SINTON's wife Janet DONALDSON, I decided to follow this family around to see where it might lead. Nowhere in particular, although I did find that John Snr was the son of a John DONALDSON and Margaret DEANS. They are probably not of an age to be Janet DONALDSON's parents (possibly John is a brother, or more likely a nephew), but it did lead me to my breakthrough for the day.
I looked at the gaps in the children of Peter SINTON and Janet DONALDSON, and thought I'd see if there might be a Margaret surviving into civil registration.
There was. One Margaret ROBSON nee SINTON. Haven't yet checked if there's any relationship between Margaret's husband, Thomas ROBSON, carrier of Jedburgh, and Margaret's sister Isabella's husband Richard ROBSON, but have expanded the SINTON tree somewhat by tracking Thomas and Margaret's family down to 1901.
Newly connected names: HERBERTSON, BAIRD, LITSTER, GIBSON; Places include Jedburgh and Kinross, with a spell in Kelvin. I've only found one daughter, Jessie ROBSON, who had two illegitimate children, a James DOUGLAS and a Margaret HERBERTSON. She also seems to have married a John BAIRD but I've no idea what happened to him, just that she reverted to using his surname and saying she was married in two census returns, but her death cert states she was single. The 1852 marriage entry for a John BAIRD and Jessie ROBSON doesn't have any real clues that it is the right Jessie, and they were certainly never together in a census.

14th: Check the original!!

The importance of checking the primary source was driven home (again) today.
A few days ago I mentioned a contact via Rootschat re the SINTON/McFADEN family whom I believe connect, somehow, to my Southdean SINTONs.
When following up on this connection, I realised that we had different wives for James McFADEN, I had Elizabeth LEADBITTER, Bev had Elizabeth ATKINSON.
Mine had come from matching up James with an 1860 Newcastle bride Elizabeth at the same volume and folio number (10b/152) on FreeBMD, Bev's from researching her ATKINSON family connections.
First up, my (slightly) closer inspection showed an Elizabeth ATKINSON marriage in 1860 in Northumberland, but to a John MARSHALL, and in Tynemouth, not Newcastle, this from ancestry's marriages 1538-1940.
I then checked FreeBMD and noticed that there was an Elizabeth ATKINSON marriage in 1860 Newcastle, but volume/folio of 10b/150, whereas I had James as 10b/152.
Thankfully I didn't rest there. Baptisms of Elizabeth ATKINSON and LEADBITTER were both on the IGI, the former matching by year and place to the Elizabeth wife of James in the 1871 census, whereas Elizabeth LEADBITTER was older and of Hexham, not Corsenside.
A further search of FreeBMD finally revealed that there were two entries for James McFADEN in 1860 qtr 1, and an inspection of the original image attached to the 10b/152 entry showed it had been incorrectly transcribed from 10b/150. A correction has been lodged, and my LornaPotential db entry has now attached James to his correct wife.
Would still love to hear from anyone who knows how Jessie SINTON may fit into the Southdean SINTON famlies.

12th: Mostly dna - SINTON match, HENDERSON lineage confirmed

Mostly a DNA day or two as a heap of results came pouring in.
SINTON and HENDERSON data in the DNA Projects Portal Lineages section have been updated to reflect the latest findings, namely that yes, there is indeed a relationship between the Jedburgh SINTON family of William and Isabella (SCOTT) SINTON and the Southdean SINTONs
As William's page shows, we'd love to find a distant cousin of the current representative of this line to help determine whether the differences in the dna signatures crept into the lineage before or after William.

The HENDERSON result is just a confirmation that we're working with the correct dna signature for Archibald - not that it helps us thru the brick wall, as there aren't any matches anywhere in the dna tested community as yet.

27th: DNA Wanted! Sintons

Continuing the SINTON review. Remembered about the family of James & Isabella (FLEMING) SINTON with their Southdean connections (well was prompted to do so by Margaret).
I've added them to the dna Wanted! SINTONs list, and to LornaPotential (or at least will do so, next update).

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.

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.

Mar 7, 2008: FAIRBAIRN DNA match

What an eventful day, genealogically speaking. Yesterday the preliminary 12 marker results arrived in for the 3rd kit of the FAIRBAIRN DNA project and to my surprise, showed a 12/12 match with both of the other 2 participants, neither of whom had ever been seriously considered as relations.
Sure, I'd speculated at times that, despite what others had said, that the William who married Jane WANLESS and the David who married Jane WILLIAMSON, who had emigrated to Quebec, might be the children of my Archibald FAIRBAIRN and Alison CROSSER, purely on the basis of naming patterns of their children, and approximate ages, but proof was definitely lacking.
Then today, the rest of the results arrived showing a full 37/37 match with the descendant of Archibald and Mary (GRIERSON) FAIRBAIRN, and a 36/37 match with a descendant of my Archibald and Alison (CROSSER) FAIRBAIRN.
I've spent a lot of today re-examining assorted claims and OPRs and will soon update the patriarchs page of the Surname project to reflect my findings, combining them as best I can with details reported to me, leaving exactly where they fit into the overall tree for another day, and possibly an upgraded dna test or two.
I'm still very drawn to attaching them to an Archibald as a father, but it would now have to be the one married to Mary GRIERSON instead. A 1790 date for William would fit in between two known children both baptised St Boswells but at different farms, and a 1799 date for David would definitely fit in between 1793 Margaret baptised when they were at Thornylaw, St Boswells, and 1804 George by when they had moved to Macksidemoor, Southdean.
As to the rumoured/believed connection to Sir William FAIRBAIRN's family via his schoolmaster uncle....
I believe that schoolmaster to be the William married to Margaret SCOTT. He was teaching at Bowden from 1778 to 1789 and from 1792 thru 1798 children are now being baptised in Galashiels. This latter period would fit the dates when Sir William was supposedly learning book-keeping from his Uncle in Gala.
In addition, this William looks very like the 53 yr old buried in the Galashiels Old Kirk Cemetery in 1810, which date coincides very nicely with the baptism of the William, son of John FAIRBAIRN and Helen ANDERSON, Apr 1756, Smailholm.
All in all, an eventful day indeed. It is wonderful to know that the work I have sporadically done on the descendants of William and David in Quebec has not been in vain, and that they are indeed all relations, just not sure where yet! Maybe one day soon we'll also figure out how come Walter A FAIRBAIRN is a cousin to his wife Clarissa. I now have more of a vested interest in the answer to that.
In the meantime, I've updated the FAIRBAIRN introductory page to include charts for William and David.
The other charts will also now include some new twigs for the family of John FAIRBAIRN and Bessie FLINT, and Robert FAIRBAIRN and Agnes LANDRETH/LAUNDRESS found while looking for others.

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.