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As published in the Texas Monthly magazine:  "Section 711.041 of the Texas Health and Safety Code does allow for visits by family and the general public no matter where on the private property the burial ground is situated.  It states, "Any person who wishes to visit a cemetery or private burial grounds for which non public ingress or egress is available shall the right to reasonable ingress and egress for the purpose of visiting the cemetery or private burial grounds."

 https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/apm07

My great-uncle Norman was employed as the manager of an automobile automatic transmission factory in Toledo, Ohio for the Chevrolet division of General Motors. I know that he served in WWII and I think he drove a truck for a mechanized division.  I am not certain whether he served with the British services or with the American services.  He was born 17 March 1909 at Woodlands Cottage, Milngavie, New Kilpatrick, Dumbarton, Scotland.  He emigrated to Brooklyn, New York in 1921 with his mother and older brothers. 

I would like to recover information regarding his service history.



Name: Norman Dunsmore
Birth date: 17 Mar 1909
Death date: Aug 1980
Last residence: Lucas, Ohio
Zip code last residence: 43606
Last benefit:
Zip code last benefit:
Social security number: 073-14-0082
Issued: New York
Source of death record: 36
Estimated age at death: 71
Collection: U.S. Social Security Death Index

Social Security Number: 073-14-0082

I just returned to Texas from a trip to the Rhineland, Scotland, and London.  I have a Scottish fifth cousin with whom I have corresponded regarding family history for over four years.  He was kind enough to book us a stay at Allanfauld Farm B&B, a delightful combination of working farm and hospitality suite that is expertly managed by Libby who is a charming and industrious hostess.  Do book a stay if you can, because it is uniquely serene and picturesque location.

My cousin and I descend from a common ancestor who managed Allanfauld Farm.  He was 'Deacon' Alexander Rennie (1752-1828).  I took a number of pics of the gravestone, but I doubt that I am gleaning all of the information it provides.  I do know something about the 'Deacon' , but I am missing a great deal.  Please clue me in if you can.  It seems that I can not post a legible image of the stone.  I will be happy to provide pics in a way that do not encounter size restrictions.

 Alexander's will disposed of an estate of  £797 and 3 shillings 6 pence.  This sum is equivalent to a present day valuation of £2,511,000 when calculated as capital available for investment as a percentage of the United Kingdom's GDP for the year 1828.  Alexander left a bequest of £250 to his youngest son, James Mathie Rennie, who was my  3rd great grandfather.  Alexander states that James Mathie Rennie is living in his household (he was 19 years old) and the bequest was larger than the  £100 left to the older son, Robert Rennie, who is described as "flesher [butcher] in Glasgow".  Presumably Robert had already received a sum from the estate to set him up in business. Alexander's will describes his intention to obtain an equitable disposition, after providing for resolution of his debts and the maintenance of his widow, of the remaining estate among his numerous heirs.  Alexander's first wife and their two children predeceased Alexander and left no issue.  His second marriage with Elizabeth Ker resulted in eleven children.

The namesake for James Mathie Rennie was the writer (attorney in Scottish parlance) James Mathie (1758-1795) who served as Clerk of the Trades House of of Glasgow from 1790 to 1795.  Another James Mathie, a writer in Stirling, appeared at the Testament Dative and Inventory (probate) in 1809.  I am not sure what the family relationship was between the two James Mathies.       

In the past several months I have, with some difficulty, succeeded in obtaining from the Dept. of  Veterans Affairs a granite marker to commemorate my uncle's service. He was the only son who lived to adulthood of seven children born to my Mom's parents.  As a member of the USAF reserve called to active duty during the Korean conflict, he died in uniform as a crewman on a B-25 that crashed into a mountain near Golden, Colorado in blizzard conditions. VA was not supportive in locating his records.  They requested a form that the family could not provide and directed us to a government archive in which his documents had been destroyed by fire.

His earlier service in WWII shows that on his fifth combat mission as crew of a B-17 he was forced to parachute to safety over German occupied northern Italy.  The eight other crew were captured within hours of landing and became POW's.  John and one other crewman evaded capture, walked by night and slept in haystacks by day.  It took the two of them over 90 days and 300 miles of foot travel through mountainous terrain to reach the Swiss border. John Altgelt grew up in a community of German immigrants to the Hill Country of central Texas. He had a native fluency in Spanish which allowed him to communicate with the Italian farmers who fed him and directed him from one safe house to another.  I'd like to express my appreciation for the freedom-loving Italian farmers who guided and supported his flight from captivity at the risk of their own lives and the security of their families.   

God bless them all!         

The McEan surname is unfamiliar to me.  From 1640 to 1700 in OPR Births and Baptisms it appears in 380 records in Scotlands People.  However in the Statutory Registers it appears only once.  This leads me to believe "McEan" is spelled differently in the modern era.  What might that spelling be?  Is it McIan?  I was actually looking for the birth of a Christen McGowin who married Alexander McDonald on   1 Feb 1677 in Kilmorack.