« on: Sunday 11 August 13 19:25 BST (UK) »
Given that Ramsay's mother's maiden name was Ramsay and that he was from Lossiemouth and since my wife is descended from Ramsay's who were very prominent in the parishes of New Spynie and Duffus from at least 1700, I recently decided to determine whether she was in fact distantly related to Ramsay MacDonald or not. To do this, I've been tracing his line back... easy enough up to a point. This is what I have so far:
Ramsay's parents: John MacDonald and Anne Ramsay (b.1843 at Elgin)
Anne's parents: William Ramsay (b.1812 at Urquhart ) and Isabella Allan
William's parents: William Ramsay and Ann Brown (b.1775 at Urquhart)
Now this final William's is not so easy, with three possible candidates that I see.
However, all three are members of my wife's extended family, so a connection seems certain. The last one in particular seems like a real likelihood:
father: Archibald Ramsay
mother: Isobel Falconer
Name: William Ramsay
Christening Date: 26 Feb 1749
Christening Place: NEW SPYNIE,MORAY,SCOTLAND
Birth Date: 26 Feb 1749
This William Ramsay married a Christian Laing and they are my wife's direct ancestors, so he is out of the equation. He was a Blacksmith (important fact here).
William Ramsay
birth: 23 January 1752
christening: 26 January 1752 DUFFUS,MORAY,SCOTLAND
father: Samuel Ramsay
mother: Jean Scot
This William Ramsay is a cousin of the previous William. Their father's being brothers.
William Ramsy
Scotland, Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950
birth: 15 February 1775
christening: 19 February 1775 NEW SPYNIE,MORAY,SCOTLAND
father: Samuel Ramsy
mother: Jean Dunbar
This William is a nephew of the first William.
Samuel Ramsay was a Blacksmith in New Spynie amongst other things. He is very prominent in the Burgh records. William's son Alexander is also listed as a Blacksmith at Lochill in Urquhart in the 1841 and '51 Censuses. If William himself was a Blacksmith and noting the birth year would be the same as his wife's, then I think we might have a winner.
I was wondering if anyone had every seen any family history research for Ramsay MacDonald or done any themselves, as I think I've made a link here, but I'm lacking that one last tack to hold everything together?
Banffshire - WILSON, RIACH, CALDER, MUIRY, PETERKIN, CRAIB, OGG, CRUICKSHANK, FARQUHAR, COPLAND, HAY, SHAW, HIND, STRATHDEE, MORRISON, WISEMAN, MOIR, MILNE, SHEPHERD, BLACK, BRUCE, RAMSAY, PEARSON, MCPHERSON, SHEED, MCANDIE
Morayshire - MAVER, RAMSAY, PHINN, SIMPSON
Aberdeenshire - MCINTOSH, GILLAN
Kincardineshire - DUTHIE
Ross-shire - MCANGUS, MCKENZIE, TARRELL,
Inverness-shire - MACKAY, FERGUSON, MACCUISH, BEATON, GILLIES, MACDONALD, MACVICAR, MACDIARMID
Louth - KIERAN, KANE, ENGLISHBY, FEGAN