Alexander Ogilvie Stevenson & Barbara Stevenson from Banff, Scotland

[MonicaL]

I am really enjoying this post...and it is not my family I know!

As a personal aside, Alex, if I tell you my middle name is Guadalupe    I was born in DF to Scottish Papa and Spanish Mama...

Monica

[nw_whiskers]

Dear Alex,  I am very pleased that you are enjoying the material that I have posted.  It was and still is a most absorbing subject as I always see another avenue of research when I stand back and reflect on what I have done to date.  Yes, the name Elma comes from Eliza Mary which has been carried into the modern generation.  If we recall correctly my late mother in law was in contact with Catelina by written mail many years ago.  Going back to Barbara you will see on the *.pdf chart posting that it is carried all the way forward from Barbara Murray in the 1700s to the one that died in 1874 but it is still carried by at least one living member living in Scotland.  She must be in her 90s and we must go and see her with our latest work.
I am posting the MIs for the Barbara Stevension side as they include the Reid family aspect that is of a wider interest.

Yes, MonicaL is doing a great job for us and we greatly appreciate her efforts.

Best wishes,  nw_whiskers  

[nw_whiskers]

Dear All,  The George Stevenson and Alexander Reid MIs which I hope you will enjoy.

[nw_whiskers]

Dear Monica,  I had the feeling that you were taken with this one and we greatly appreciate you input on every aspect of the subject.  We know that Alexander Ogilvie Stevenson B 1830 was in Mexico in his early years and that he may well have been married out there and suffered a sad loss which brought him home to Scotland.  It is an interesting conjecture at this stage but Alex may come up with something. 

What I found very moving and still do about a great deal of it is the fact that I am reading what was actually written 300 years ago about the family I married into.  I am a most fortunate person indeed on both points.

The book on The Church and Churchyard of Fordyce (1886) by William Crammond is a "compelling read" for anybody interested in the MI for the Old Church Yard there and also the everyday workings of the Parish in the 1800s.  William Crammond was a schoolmaster in Cullen and did a number of books for places around there.  Google for the list!   Best wishes,  nw_whiskers.

 

   

[nw_whiskers]

Dear All,  The difficult stuff that flows from the William Stevenson MI picture that I posted earlier and where it leads.  Considering the state of war in Scotland around 1746 it is surprising that any records exist at all but the ones for Marnoch & Deskford are in a surprisingly legible state.  The variations in the spelling of Stevenson is a local thing and the person performing the writing was possibly the only one with that capability.  I thank William for marrying Janet Smith as I would never have been able to piece this together without her as they always spell her name the same way.  It makes for a more successful computer search!

Best wishes,  nw_whiskers

[nw_whiskers]

Dear All,  The memorial to the rebellion and the plunder that followed:-
nw_whiskers

[nw_whiskers]

Dear Alex,  You must be "shell shocked" with a 300 year old history for the family in Scotland that you thought you would never find.  Take heart and start with the Sonja Reid chart that Monica pointed us to.  Start on the far left hand side of the chart with the one person you associate with.  Each step to the right is "one generation" backwards in time.  The number of people you have to think about raises to the power 2 at each step back. 1, 2, 4, 8, and then 16.  I hardly think that another generation is on the cards but then again!
The Sonja Reid chart is of the same style as the *.PDF one I put up and they tell the same story although they were done by different persons working without the knowledge of the other.  Incredible but they do agree on the main points of interest so you are on a winner.
I attach a few notes on Alex Reid b ~ 1765 and his family which will be useful when you get involved to that depth but that will take time and patience.
Best wishes,  nw_whiskers

[nw_whiskers]

Dear Alex and Monica,  A few notes on George Stevenson b 1748 Marnoch and his immediate family.  This tell us why these Stevensons have so many Ogilvies in their family history.  George & Margaret had Mrs Anna Ogilvie, Anna Fordyce at Mill of Auchintoul, Alex Ogilvie elder & younger of Culvie as witnesses when the first born was baptised and Robert Ogilvie Esq & Robert Fordyce as a witnesses for the 1st son when he was baptised.  They were into one of the Big Five Landowners around Marnoch at that time.  So now you know where the Robert Ogilvie bit came from but you have not been exposed to the Anna Stevenson aspect before.  It has no real bearing on your interest at this time other than to illustrate where some of the early names came from.  Take a look at the far left of our chart and see that the first two go back to the grandparents and the next two go back to the parents.  The interesting question is who was Helena Northey named after? 
The far right top births in 1742 and 1744 (Janet & James) raises the same question of relevance.
Best wishes, nw_whiskers. 

[nw_whiskers]

Dear Alex,  I have attached a few short notes on the William Watt side and the Alexander Steinson ones for you when you get into that depth of interest.

On the names of the seven young Stevensons outside the house at Blairshinnoch we reckon that Eliza Mary 1877 is in the back row with Charles 1884 on one side and Norman 1882 on the other but which is which is difficult to determine.  Front left on the bench with the watch and chain is Douglas 1875 then Helena 1880 with Edith 1891 sitting on her knee and Bertha 1886 on the right.

The "young men" who went to Mexico could have flown the nest by that stage so we will see if you have good ideas on them.

My long suffering wife is beginning to worry that I have caught another bad bought of the Family History Bug again after several months of inactivity she is probably right.  Perhaps a lengthy field trip is in order if I can only judge the weather correctly which is difficult in Scotland these days in spite of the fact that it is supposed to be summer.

Best  wishes, nw_whiskers.