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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Aberdeenshire => Topic started by: MoreGubbins on Sunday 16 October 11 13:32 BST (UK)
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I have put together a database of families and occurrences of the surname Donald throughout Aberdeenshire, Kincardineshire and Banffshire. It isn't online, because I want to share information, help people search as best I can, put cousins in contact with each other, and keep people up-to-date with developments if they so wish. If you send me a private message, I can give you access.
To give you some idea of what it contains:
- Nearly 2000 Donalds (limited to those born before 1851).
- 70% of individuals in the 1841 Aberdeenshire census linked to around 82 families.
- 64% of individuals in the 1841 Banffshire census linked to around 23 families.
- 55% of individuals in the 1841 Kincardineshire census linked to around 12 families.
- Several hundred individuals linked to the 1851 census (work in progress!)
- Half (1529) of the OPR baptisms linked to the 1841 census.
- The average tree goes back to 1767, the earliest to 1624.
- Hundreds of literature Donald records from 1432 onwards, including the 1696 and 1799 tax records.
- Statistical mapping of Donalds throughout Aberdeenshire.
- DNA profiling of three of the five major groups.
Please get in touch if you are researching a Donald ancestor born before 1851, or have information you can contribute, such as family trees, OPR transcriptions, death records, MIs, etc.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Iain.
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Hello, I am interested in accessing your current Donaldproject
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Hello, I am interested in accessing your current Donaldproject
Hi - I've sent you a private message.
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My great grandmother x 4 was Margaret Donald who married John Morrison in Grange, Banffshire in 1807 so would imagine she would be born around the mid 1880's but unfortunately I have not been able to ascertain who her parents were. Would like to find out more about your Donald Database
Many thanks.
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Hi,
My great grandmother x 4 was Margaret Donald who married John Morrison
I've sent a private message to you.
Iain.
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Many thanks for your quick response. None of the Grange Donalds seem to be mine but I will get back to you with any other relevant info when I can. My Margaret Donald lived at Brambleburn Farm in Grange where all her children were born. Will have a look at baptism records I have for witnesses. Thank you again, Iain.
Kind regards.
Karen
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Hello,
I was interested to see you have the Donald History, my late brother in law James George Donald lived in Peterhead though his father was born in Aberdeen, I would be interested to see the Donald families throughout Aberdeenshire as I may know of some other links.
Salthousehead
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Just curious, but which one lost his troosers?? ::)
Regards
Malky
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Appreciate if you can provide access I'm trying to trace info on Alexander donald / Elizabeth Ligertwood m.1790 oldmachar, aberdeen
Ta- Donald Hunter
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Just curious, but which one lost his troosers?? ::)
Regards
Malky
;D
Well he was from Skye. Anyway more importantly far are his troosers?
Seriously great offer from MoreGubbins, well worth a bump up to the top of the board. I don't remember any Donalds in my tree but I'll be having a check just in case.
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Thanks for the bump, Grothenwell! I've had quite a positive response from this and been able to put some cousins in contact with each other. If there's anyone else out there, I'd love to hear from them.
Appreciate if you can provide access I'm trying to trace info on Alexander donald / Elizabeth Ligertwood m.1790 oldmachar, aberdeen
Ta- Donald Hunter
Donald Hunter - I'm not sure I ever succeeded in getting in touch with you (tried sending you a PM, but keep getting a system failure). I have these two in my database - Alexander was a blacksmith, there are a few irregularities about Elizabeth's Christian name, and I have contact details for two descendants from this line. Please send me a message to get in touch privately.
- Iain.
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Any plans to make this available as a resource online? Perhaps in the Aberdeenshire Resources Board? Phil.
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Any plans to make this available as a resource online? Perhaps in the Aberdeenshire Resources Board? Phil.
No - and purposely so. If it's made entirely public, people will just use it as they see it, without context. If people have to contact me first, then several things happen:
- There's a central list of who is researching each family, so cousins can be put in contact with each other;
- I get information in return, helping to expand the database;
- I can give advice on how to proceed from what I have (I can't afford to buy the thousands of necessary records on my own);
- I can put each family in a statistical context which isn't apparent from simply looking at family connections;
- A network builds up where each person researching a family can be notified when someone discovers something new about that family.
The means to do that don't exist through such a widely-based internet forum as this. For those reasons, I'd rather let people get in touch with me first, as I think it makes for a more productive system. I hope you understand!
- Iain.
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Hi Iain, no problem! It's your database, your rules apply! I guess my only concern would be when you become someone's ancestor :'( does the database go with you... Phil
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Hi Iain, no problem! It's your database, your rules apply! I guess my only concern would be when you become someone's ancestor :'( does the database go with you... Phil
Statistically, I've got a fair few decades left, so I hope it's not an issue! I hope my work will be superceded by then. In case of a freak yachting accident, there are enough people with access to the central copy that people should still be able to find access to it.
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Can't seem to PM.
I'm hoping to attach the Donalds I am related to, with Nellie Donald 1890 being my grandmother. As I am visiting Aberdeen soon from Australia, I'd love to know where they are buried.
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Hi & welcome to rootschat.You will be able to send p.m.'s once you've made 3 posts.
Regards,
flst
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Hi Dial999,
Just place two more replies on this board and you can send PMs. Phil.
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Do you have any info on Nellie Donald, such as dates of birth / marriage / death and where she lived? Regards, Phil.
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Hi again! Just noticed your pdf file with the family tree. You might want to review the links to Aberdeenshire resources:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,507507.0.html
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Hi,
I'm hoping to attach the Donalds I am related to, with Nellie Donald 1890 being my grandmother. As I am visiting Aberdeen soon from Australia, I'd love to know where they are buried.
I don't have these Donalds in my database, but I notice that there's some discrepancy between Donald and McDonald. Do you know which they were using at what time, and when/what prompted the change? The two are generally not interchangeable in records, but at least two other Donald families in the area have latterly adopted McDonald as their surname.
I've looked for your ancestors in the Aberdeen and N.E. Scotland Family History Society index of memorials, with no success. This covers most of the cemeteries in the area. There may be no grave marker for your family, but you might (if you're lucky) still be able to find old burial records at Scotland's People that will tell you where they were buried. The other place to try is Deceased Online.
Best of luck!
Iain.
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Thanks for the help. I am checking a few links and will get back to you later with what I find.
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I am related to the Grange Donalds, through James, DOB 1860, who fathered Elizabeth Donald, born 1874. Lizzie's mother was my great-aunt Catherine Buchan. Would like to see your tree. Thanks so much.
Jean Buchan
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Hi Jean,
I've sent you a private message with my e-mail address in - please get in touch and I'll give you what I have!
All the best,
Iain.
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Hi Iain: I'm immersed in Aberdeenshire Donalds at the moment! My great grandmother was Isabella Donald born 3 May 1835 to George Donald and Ann Matthew in Monquhitter. Do you have her on your database? I have a few documents for her and other Donalds which I'd be happy to share. And of course I'd love to be put in touch with anyone else researching this family. Thanks! Jillian (Winnipeg, Canada)
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Hi, Jillian: I have a George Donald born in Monquhitter on 1Nov1802. I know his parents and his siblings, but nothing further on him. My connection is through his uncle and of course his grandfather, who were Finnies, some of whom eventually emigrated to Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Interesting that you are in Manitoba.
My George Donald was the son of Alexander Donald and Jean McIntyre, both born around 1778 in Monquhitter. I am attaching a list of their kids, including George. Hope this is of some help.
Lakeview in Grimsby, Ontario
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Hi Jean: Thanks for the info - and making the connections. Your George is my George! Elspet, one of his other daughters (other than my great grandmother that is) married William Finnie (1837 - 1912) - the son of Francis Finnie and Jane Hay. Are these connected to your Finnies?
I've only just recently found ancestors who came to Canada. The first one I found wasn't from the Donald side - but he came to Manitoba. Killed in WWI. But just today I found two offspring of Jane Donald (another of George's daughters) and Alexander Ironside arriving in Ontario in 1881.
You mention George's grandfather and uncle being Finnies. George's grandfather would be my 4xgreat grandfather and I'd love to know who he was.....!
--Jillian
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Hey, cousin, distant though you may be!
Elspet Donald married William Finnie. William was brother to my great-grandfather, James, whose son Francis (they loved to keep using the same names, just to confuse future genealogists) emigrated to Canada, followed by several of his brothers and nieces and nephews. I see that you can't use the personal message system in rootschat until you have 3 messages online. Once that happens, you can send me a personal message with your email address and I will send you a report with the whole Finnie family laid out for you.
The Finnies originally settled around Marquette in Manitoba and later moved to Kamsack, Saskatchewan, although some stayed on. One, Isabella Finnie, married George Thompson and lived in Holland, Manitoba. She died in 1971, but had a pile of kids, who are probably still around. My dad, went out to Canada at the age of 20 and lived first in Kamsack, then moved to Winnipeg, before the depression hit and he returned to Scotland. His mother was a Finnie.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Jean
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Hi again Jean:
Well, this exciting! Particularly hearing of the Manitoba connections! So your great grand uncle (William) married my great grand aunt. I'm not sure if my brain can figure out just what sort of cousins you and I are but I'll put you on the christmas card list nevertheless!
I haven't used Rootschat very much but if, as you say, by posting three times I can send you a personal message then this is #3 and I'll now go and see how I do that.
Thank you in advance for all the lovely info you're willing to share with me! If you don't have the newspaper article about William Finnie being sued by his daughter-in-law (Jane Burnett) I'll pass that on. I also have the will of William's son (William Morrison Finnie)...
--Jillian
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Hello,
Is this still active? If so, please send me your email address [by personal message] (*) as I have some questions.
Thanks,
Jo
(*) Moderator Comment: Avoid giving out your e-mail directly on here, to avoid spamming and other abuses.
Please use the Personal Message (PM) system for exchanging personal data.
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To anyone reading this thread, in the interim, we've done quite a lot more work on putting together this database of Donalds. However, we're now at the stage where more progress is able to be made through Y-DNA testing than conventional genealogy. If anyone is interested in Y-DNA testing their Donald lines in Aberdeenshire, Kincardineshire, Banffshire or Moray, please let me know.
Jo - I've sent you a private message.
Cheers,
Iain.
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Hello, I'm descended from Donalds of Huntly. Specifically John Donald, Weaver, Huntly. He married Elspet Cameron in 1809.
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Thanks - we were looking at John Donald and Elspet Cameron in July but couldn't take them any further than their 1809 marriage record.
In general, there are very few Donalds in Huntly, and most of them appear to have come there from elsewhere. The 1790s were hard times in the north east, and lots of people moved about at that time. Many of the Donalds we see in the area around Huntly have come over the border from Banffshire. The locus of Donalds in the area appears to be somewhere near Boyndie. While I haven't gone back into the earliest records of Banffshire as much as Aberdeenshire, there are Donalds present in Boyndie since at least 1702. We don't have any Y-DNA tests from the Banffshire Donald families to compare to at present. Of course, many Donalds in the area also spread from elsewhere in Aberdeenshire, although these tended to arrive later, and if any living Donalds of that family still exist, then they could be Y-DNA tested to see if they match the Aberdeenshire families.
However, there were also many Donalds in Huntly in earlier times. A James Donald in Raws of Huntly gave up his arms in 1716; George Donald enlisted in the Gordon Highlanders at Tombae in 1792, while William Donald served 1824-1848; Mrs. William Donald paid property tax in 1807; Alexander Donald was schoolmaster there 1799-1816. The 1810 tax records record this Alexander Donald, and a William Donald, weaver in the town. William is also mentioned in the 1820 tax records. We have yet to determine whether any of these are associated with your family.
Best regards,
Iain.
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Hi Iain,
Thanks so much for your very informative and helpful reply. I had wondered if John could have been the son of Alexander Donald and Janet Largue. This couple seem to have had at least 5 children, between New Deer 1773 and Huntly 1784.
As far as I know John Donald and Elspet Cameron just had the one child, a daughter called Lily Donald who in her marriage record appeared to have given her surname as Alexander. She is also under the name of Lily Alexander on her first child's baptism record. Thereafter every reference to her is under either Donald, or her married name of Mann.
The William Donald, weaver, that you mention sounds interesting as John was apparently a weaver to trade.
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We have Alexander Donald m. Janet Largue with children:
John, bap. 08 08 1773 Old Deer ABD
James, bap. 15 10 1775 Old Deer ABD
James, bap. 05 10 1777 Old Deer ABD
Margaret, bap. 29 08 1779 Old Deer ABD
William, bap. 18 11 1781 Old Deer ABD
Robert, bap. 14 08 1784 Huntly ABD
John's baptism record notes he was born in Stuartfield, a town just south of Old Deer but within the parish:
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=57.50553&lon=-2.04546&layers=5&b=1
No witnesses were named. This is the earliest record I have found of Donalds in Old Deer.
William became a provision merchant, and m. 26 09 1840 Huntly, Helen McHardy. They lived in Deveron St. in Huntly in 1841. He died 26 06 1865 in Nelson St. in Huntly. His death record marks his father Alexander as a weaver.
I'd speculate that James (1777) is likely to be the Private James Donald, weaver born in Old Deer, who enlisted in the 92nd Gordon Highlanders aged 16 in 1794. He died 02 10 1799:
https://archive.org/details/territorialsoldi00bullrich/page/238/mode/2up?view=theater&q=donald
I also have it in my notes that a John Donald signed up to the 92nd in 1794 at Coynachie (parish of Gartly, south of Huntly), and that a lieutenant John Donald resigned from the 92nd in 1799. I can't find the original reference for that. Coynachie was part of the Gordon estate. The Duke of Gordon's Black Watch company of 1791 included a George and John Donald, brothers:
https://archive.org/details/territorialsoldi00bullrich/page/136/mode/2up
Whether either of these John Donalds is the son of Alexander Donald and Janet Largue I do not know.
The Largue family appears to be from Inverkeithny but I cannot trace a marriage record for the pair.
I have not been able to find any mention of the surname Donald in the 1696 Poll Tax records for Huntly, nor any other mention of Donalds in Huntly before 1716.
If you have the time and patience, it might be useful to go through the (recently released, free-to-view) Kirk Session records for Huntly and/or Old Deer at Scotland's People, looking for any mention of the surname Donald. If you do this, please do let me know which pages you've been through and what you've found, so that we don't have to go through them ourselves!
Best wishes,
Iain.
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Hi, I have Donald ancestry in Kincardine. I would like to find out more about. Can you help?