RootsChat.Com

Thanks for those citations. I suppose the research might turn to Alexander Douglas, to determine his relationship (if any) to John Douglas. Clock-making is an interesting profession to turn to. Trip to the local cemetery might be interesting too - as far as I know nobody has researched headstones for James Douglas (on my side) and his father William. I've never visited Loudoun, but it might be worthwhile next Summer - they've got an interesting battle site from the Wars of Independence too! Did they ever find a stone for John Douglas, born c.1640? I know they have one for his son James (+1750). I'm assuming the Lairds of Timpendean were buried in the same area, but that we've lost their memorials by now. Not unlikely that some of their earlier number might have been interred in local monasteries, and priories, in line with the practices of the medieval times. It'd be an interesting project for more research?

Yes, it's interesting to also find the Halyburtons married into the Earl of Loudoun's family. Everything starts to connect going this far back. I've found some connections with the Earls (the Campbell family). James Douglas married Janet Sim, and we find that she was the daughter of Francis Sim and Margaret Blackwood. The 1718 marriage for that couple reveals Francis to be linked to the 3rd Earl of Loudoun, Hugh Campbell; it also reveals that Margaret Blackwood was the daughter of John Blackwood, an "Officer" to the same Earl. John Blackwood married Sibylla Campbell, and one possible birth shows her as a daughter of Sir. George Campbell of Cessnock (1639-1704). Possibly illegitimate? This last connection isn't proven, but it seems interesting. Especially as Janet Douglas - daughter of James Douglas - marries another military man, John Gow. They then have grandsons named after persons like Francis Rawdon Hastings, who was very successful in the army, and who married the 6th Countess of Loudoun. Clearly, the Loudoun gentry were highly admired in the local community. I suspect James Douglas was the gardener to the Earl. Especially with their shared Halyburton ancestry. It would be a case of friends of friends, and being well-connected, marriage would have meant a great deal socially within a small town setting like Loudoun.

By the by, we're also cousins of Cardinal Basil Halyburton Hume - who descends from exactly the same folk! It's an unusual and rare surname. I purchased Sir. Walter Scott's genealogical memoirs, and he does the family a great service - we wouldn't know half of what we do without his work. It's often incredibly obscure, and the primary sources lie in medieval state papers etc.

There remains significant work to be done filling in the gaps regarding the Marshall family, and the Gladstanes family. Both married into the Douglas line, and it isn't at all clear how we might investigate them further. I don't like leaving lines untouched, since it leads to a bias in the genealogy. However, as mentioned previously, the primary sources are generally painstaking to get a hold of.

Of course, in descending from the Douglas and Halyburton families, we find people like Malcolm III and Henry I in the ancestry. Perhaps even Henry II, but a direct line isn't clear with him yet. As to Loudoun Earls, including their cousins like Sir. George Campbell, one prominent ancestor is King James IV. Which makes Mary Queen of Scots a 1st cousin, many times removed. That really made me think!

Earlier in the thread, Kathleenmary mentioned the following:

"Bridget Geraghty was born in Leitrim Village County Mayo. Perhaps Kitty was born here also.
There appears to be some family connection with the Tollett Family, who originally came up with Sir Arthur Shaen in the early 1700's. Rev John Tollett, as part of the protestant settlement was given lands in perpetuity.

Some family history (I am following this up) says that Bridget and Katherine were nieces of the Viscount of Mayo, Lord Francis Tollett of Moyrahan, and cousins of Lord William Tollett of Mayo 1780-1849."

That makes Katherine Geraghty the niece of Lord Francis Tollett. I don't know the exact source, but that wouldn't be impossible. Catholic and Protestant names aren't fixed in history. In any case, I thought the Tollett connection would be the next aspect to research thoroughly, then the specific details might reveal themselves. There might have been a village in Mayo named for Co. Leitrim - but it could be difficult to find. If it never existed, I suppose it would have to be Co. Leitrim, as you suggest? I've had trouble in the past trying to find townlands that no longer exist, in my research.

On the point about lifespan, it hasn't really changed, all that has changed is life expectancy. Rameses II (13th century BC) made it to 93 years, Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th century AD) made it to 82. If you had the means, and the general hygiene that entailed, you'd have a good shot at the 80s-90s. It's just that more of us are making it to that ceiling today. I noted that Major Bingham died in a "shooting accident", so he may well have made it farther had he taken it a bit more easy!

John Shevlane and Bridget "Biddy" Mills were in Briska. I had previously thought they might have been my ancestors, but it now seems that my family were instead linked to Michael Shevlane and Anne Barrett. But the 1894 marriage of Bryan Shevlane is still interesting!