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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Fife => Topic started by: surfingpiglet on Thursday 06 October 16 14:53 BST (UK)
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In doing my paternal Family Tree I have hit a stumbling block. I and various others of the family have tried to resolve it over the past 30-40 years, with no luck, so maybe someone here can make things clearer.
My Great Grandfather was called Isaac Robertson and as far as we were told by my Grandfather was a fisherman from Cellardyke. His wife worked in the Oilskin Factory making clothing for fishermen.
However, when my father, Robert Robertson, explored the family tree in the 1980s he found that Isaac's Marriage Certificate ( married 3.6.1870 at Kilrenny Church), to Elizabeth Dick b.13 Feb 1848, stated that he was English, born 1836 Whitehaven.
Married from Caiplie he was Elizabeth's second husband. Copies of Cencus all say he was born Cellardyke, Kilrenny. We know he moved to Kirkcaldy in later life and died there.
His father was listed as John Robertson b.1814 d.1873. His mother Dinah ( surname unknown ) b. Ceres 1841. In 1871 Cencus both lived in Kilrenny.
My Grandfather, Dad's Dad was James Dick Robertson b.1889, Kirkcaldy.
The mystery is three fold: What was his Isaac's mother Dinah's surname?
Was Isaac Born in Whitehaven or in the Kilrenny area ?
Either the Marriage Certificate or the Cencus is wrong.
If Whitehaven then why ? I went to Whitehaven Library in the 1990s and researched them and even with help from the librarian found no trace of them in any Parish Record, Street Index or BMD index. We wondered if Dinah was from Whitehaven or maybe was a fisherwoman who followed the herring fleets, but without a surname for her I can't research her.
I really would like to know more about my Great Grandfather. I have his photo which my grandfather carried in his wallet.
Is there anyone out there who knows more about Isaac?
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Hi surfingpiglet
Welcome to RootsChat :)
Have you got a copy of the marriage cert for Isaac and Elizabeth? Scottish marriage certs do not normally show where someone was born only residence at the time of the marriage. If there is an English address for Isaac, he may have been resident/working there at the time he married Elizabeth in 1870.
Monica
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Isaac does show as born in England in at least one census (I haven't checked others). from 1891:
Isaac Robertson 58 news vendor b. England
Isabella Robertson 42 b. Cellardyke, Fifeshire (Elizabeth and Isabella are standard first name variants)
Isabella Robertson 19
Elspeth Robertson 18
Elizabeth Robertson 14
Anna Robertson 12
William Robertson 9
David Robertson 7
Sarah Robertson 5
James Robertson 2
Address: 12 Pages Pend, Kirkcaldy and Abbotshall
Monica
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A possible christening entry for Isaac https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1
Finding him with parents would help in 1841. Dinah could be a second wife maybe to John. What did Isaac say about his parents on his marriage cert registration? His parents' names should show there.
There is this 1861 census entry in the Whitehaven area https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M7P7-711
Monica
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hello this could be him Isaac ROBINSON 1837 son of John and Dinah , Holy trinity Whitehaven film 90678, regards westlass
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That is a good find Westlass.
A possible 1841 census entry in Whitehaven - everyone showing as born in the county:
John Robinson 45 mariner
Dinah Robinson 50
Sarah Robinson 15
John Robinson 9
Elizabeth Robinson 6
Isaac Robinson 3
Monica
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Hi
There are baptisms for the following as well as Isaac with parents John and Dinah:
William 22 April 1823
Alfred 25 July 1824
Sarah 16 July 1826
Thomas 4 Jan 1829
John 29 May 1831
Elizabeth 10 Nov 1833
And a marriage for a John Robinson and Dinah Edmonson in St Bees 9 Oct 1821. (St Bees is not far from Whitehaven on the Cumbrian coast).
William
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Are you sure that Isaac was Elizabeth's second husband? I note that there are baptisms for George Dick 8 Nov 1868 and for John Dick 2 Sep 1866 in Kilrenny. Only the mother is named - Elizabeth Dick. They have the surname Dick in the 1871 census but in 1881 have the surname Scott (presumably their father's surname).
William
Added: The 1871 census states that Isaac was born in Whitehaven, Cumberland.
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Just wondering if it's possible Sarah (on 1861 census) could actually be Dinah (transcription error)?
Annie
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Thanks all. Lots of good leads. I believe that Elizabeth s unmarried name was DICK l. She then married Scott who died leaving her with 2 sons. She then married Isaac. This info is from a descendant of George Scott who is going to look out more info & BMD certificates. She believes that he may have married a Scott brother too before marrying Isaac.Whisk Scot brothers are unclear. ALEXANDER/George/John. I need to unravel this too. But meantime I'll follow up the leads given here re Isaac and of Dinah.You've been a great help thanks.
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Just a little more to consider
Christening for a Dinah Edmonson 10 July 1893 in Crostwhaite, Cumberland -parents Alfred Edmonson and Sarah Gilbanks.
Death notice in the Carlisle Journal 3 November 1848 " At Whitehaven Infirmary Mrs Dinah Robinson widow aged 55 years".
1851 census has an entry mistranscribed as Isaac Rolimon for an Isaac Robinson aged 15 b Whitehaven, a visitor in the household of Patrick Barns in Distington, Cumberland.
1861 there is a census entry for an Isaac Robinson of the right sort of age b England - a soldier at Edinburgh Castle. I cannot see a military record, however to indicate that this could be the same Isaac.
William
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Thanks for that. I'm going to be busy following these leads up and checking they are the same person. I'd seen a death certificate for a Dinah Robertson in the Poor House in Dunbarton and hoped it wasn't her. I'll look these new one up and see if any other names on the records tie in.
I am going on holiday from mid week so I may not have internet for a couple of weeks, but will check the board when I get back and later let you know how I get on. I plan to be back in Fife for 2 weeks in early November so will continue my research then. Thanks for your help. Anne.
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Hello. I was interested to read about the Cellardyke Dick branch of your family-tree. I'm a native of Cellardyke, I've written a book about the place and I have been researching local families for many years, with the help of some fellow family-history enthusiasts.
I expect you know already that Elizabeth Dick who married Isaac Robertson in 1870 was the daughter of John Dick and Elspeth Wilson. John was the son of John Dick, a native of Lochgelly in west Fife, and Elizabeth Davidson, who came from Inverness. My guess is that the elder John Dick did his military service at Fort George in Inverness-shire and that they met and married up there. Anyway, they ended up in Cellardyke where both John Dicks were linen weavers. The elder John became town officer in later life, dying in 1869 at the age of 77.
The male descendants of these people were mostly fishermen, and there was at least one successful local skipper called Dick in my younger days. There are many descendants, and I know of one who became a professor of engineering at Dundee University.
I mentioned that Elizabeth Dick's mother was Elspeth Wilson. Her father David Wilson had some adventures during the Napoleonic Wars, as you can read in George Gourlay's Fisher Life; or, the Memorials of Cellardyke and the Fife Coast, which contains a huge amount of information about Cellardyke in the old days.
Isaac Robertson was a labourer at Caiplie at the time of his marriage in 1870. Caiplie was a farm down near the sea shore between Cellardyke and Crail, but houses were built there some years ago. The area is famous for its sea caves or "coves", the biggest of which has carved Greek crosses on the walls, thought to be a relic of Christian missionaries to the local tribes back in the Dark Ages. I had ancestors myself who were farm labourers at Caiplie, at an earlier period than Isaac Robertson.
Just a thought - if Isaac was a native of Cumberland, I wonder if his original name might have been Robinson? On his marriage-certificate the name is given as Robertson but he was illiterate, making his X, and wouldn't have known what the clerk was writing. Robinson would be more likely in England than Robertson.
Harry
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Harry, what great background you have provided here for Anne :)
You are right of course about the Robinson name variant. Some of the registrations show this way for them, including the likely 1841 census entry.
Monica
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Wow MonicaL this is brill , if anyone needs an Edmonson start , I would look at a Matterdale , Greystoke , Dockray , they have been around there for hundreds of years , regards westlass
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It is my belief that Isaac's father was John Robertson, fisherman, born 3rd June 1814 and baptised 12th June 1814 at Kilrenny. Married to Dinah-surname unknown . That John Robertson's father ( Isaac's Grandfather) would then be John Robertson b 11 Apr 1786 in Abbey, Paisley and married to Grizel Authterlonie/Grizal Ouchterlonie/Grizel Murdoch. I don't know anything about him though, as yet. Why Isaac seems to have been born in Whitehaven remains a mystery.
What I have been searching for is a Marriage Lintel which my father showed to me which had the initials of either his grandparents or great grandparents I think. This was at least 30 yrs ago, so it may have gone. I thought it was Isaac and Elizabeth but I'm not sure at all.
I did find out about David Wilson and his adventures but only through a relative I have connected with in Western Australia. I have a copy of the blue book about Memorials of Cellardyke & Kilrenny, which was my father's, but I have also recently read the 2 pages in Fisher Life which is more detailed. I reckon my father, now deceased, had found this out too when he was researching his family in the 1980s, as he used to tell nieces and nephews that one of their ancestors was a pirate and was captured, etc.- when they had to write something about their family history at Primary School. He added arms and legs to make it a better story for the children I suppose. Mum always said it wasn't true and Dad had just made it up, but obviously he did know something.
I didn't know though the links to Lochgelly and Inverness. I have visited Fort George so have a picture of it in my head. Also I am aware of the markings in the Caiple Caves and when time allows want to visit as I am interested in Archaeology and am a member of the Wemyss Ancient Caves Society and follow their progress from afar as I currently live in England. I have not yet found the access road I am told exists to the cliff above the caves. I know you can drive down to Caiple Farm as I have been for a look at the new housing, but also saw it in the 70s when Dad took me down to see the old farm. However it doesn't look like parking would be allowed there - is it a right of way or private land?
Thanks so much for the extra info. Anne.
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I used to walk along the seashore from Cellardyke to Crail via Caiplie as a boy but haven't been out there since the houses were built. I've lived in Edinburgh for many years now. Here's a link to the little housing estate.
http://search.savills.com/property-detail/gbedrseds160005#/r/detail/GBEDRSEDS160005
Harry
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Here's a bit more detail about the Dicks, from my notes.
John Dick and Elisabeth Brown were married in 1789 in Dunfermline. Their son John was born on 17th June (my birthday!) 1792 in Lochgelly, parish of Auchterderran. At some unknown date and place, this John Dick married Elizabeth Davidson, who was born on 21st March 1794 at Moy & Dalarossie, Inverness-shire, to John Davidson and Margaret McGilvray.
Harry
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Anne, unfortunately, not seeing how you are connecting Isaac to Scotland at this stage, except by marriage :-\
There are clear references from his Scottish life to his birthplace in Whitehaven. There are also sources to his life in Whitehaven from the 1841 census to all the material William has sourced.
Have you viewed his marriage or death certificates? These should include full details on his parents' names including mother's details. Sometimes informants to a death did not know the full details but his marriage cert will reflect the information he gave himself in respect of his parents including his mother's maiden name.
The marriage cert will also let you check whethr Elizabeth Dick showed as widowed or a spinster. Again, given the birth entries on the FS index that William has mentioned, the two Scott children's births were registered under the mother's maiden name. This indicates that their births were illegitimate. Quite common for illigitimate children to go by the surname of the reputed father in later years.
With Harry's details, you certainly have plently of history there for Elizabeth's side of the family :)
Monica
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Got them at last, John Dick and Elizabeth Davidson were married on June 14th 1812 at Inverness. John was a soldier in the 93rd Regiment of Foot. I'm a bit surprised by that as those men were mainly natives of Sutherland, but I suppose he could have been transferred from another regiment.
The 93rd formed the famous "thin red line" at the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War, when the Light Brigade made its disastrous charge, as Tennyson tells us.
Harry
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I tried to attach the John Dick/EDavidson marriage-certificate but was told it was too large, so I've compressed it.
Harry
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I've followed up all the leads on here - so grateful. But a real shocker to find that as Isaac was a Robinson not a Robertson !!! So we all have the wrong surname! Possibly hundreds of us by now if his brothers got it wrong too. Checked though and we are still connected with Clan Donnachaidh, so I suppose that's not such bad news.
I'm pleased that I can now carry on with my research. This lack of evidence has stumped all of us since my Dad started researching his family in the 1970s with Microfiche Records at Markinch.
I'll need to have a family meeting now with my cousins and break the news. Two male cousins are very proud of their Robertson Ancestry.
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Thanks for the update and glad that your research is " back on track". Have to say that in my own family when you put 19th century illegitimacy into the mix, both my parents surnames and, therefore my own, could have been completely different!
William
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A lot of people are going about with names different from those of their ancestors. I had ancestors in the Borders called Familton. Very unusual now, although I believe there are some in New Zealand. And I know of one individual called Hamilton who has documentary evidence that his ancestors changed their name from Familton to Hamilton, presumably because they were fed-up with people getting it wrong.
Robert Burns's ancestors came from the north-east of Scotland and were originally called Burness. Robert and his brother Gilbert waited till their father was dead, I believe, before changing their name to the Burns spelling that was commoner in Ayrshire.
I had ancestors in St. Andrews called Burns, but if you go back a few hundred years in the St. Andrews records, the name was Burn!
Harry
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One last query.
I posted a photo of Isaac, which my Grandfather (his son) James Dick Robertson kept in his wallet. I am wondering if anyone else has any photos of Isaac or Elizabeth - his parents Dinah & John - or indeed any of the other elders in the tree ? Or more information about them - to make them more than just names and numbers.
I have photos of Isaac's sons, James and William, also James's wife and 4 son ( my Grandparents ) and their 4 sons. Also a photo of the four sons with William's son Jack when he visited Scotland in the early 1960s. That branch emigrated to Western Australia and I am in touch with one of them. Also I have recently found a descendant of George Scott and am going to follow that up. I do remember Scotts visiting my grandparents when I was young. It is a wonderful way of making new friends as well as finding out about the wider family and we are sharing the information & photos we have. Thanks once again.
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In case it is of interest I have attached a photo of my Grandparents, James Dick Robertson - son of Isaac Robertson - with his wife Jemima (Bell).
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Always great to put photos to names :) Thank you for posting!
Monica
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I just wanted to tell you that I spent a day in Whitehaven Ancestry Centre last week searching through the Parish Records of Holy Trinity Church in Whitehaven (demolished 1949) and found the family, as you suggested, under the surname Robinson. The dates match and the names I knew of are there along with others. I do remember my grandparents pronouncing their name as Robeson, which the Archivist said was Cumbria dialect for pronouncing Robinson. Therefore the mix up when he married at Kilrenny and was registered as Robertson. He couldn't read & write so would not know. I'm going back there again soon to spend another day as it is necessary to go through the Christening Directories to find the correct Microfiche for dates before 1837. The staff were very helpful. I've also been in to the Clan Museum at House of Bruar and was told that if I went back further I may find it reverts back to Robertson, or Robson, Robison, Robeson, or some other spelling as that was very common. I still retain my Robertson Heritage through my mother's family who were Reids. So I'm not accepting the change of Clan to Gunn quite yet !
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Re your previous information that John Dick. b 1792 in Fife married to Elizabeth Davidson on June 1812 at Inverness & was in the 93rd Regiment of the Sutherland Highlanders at Fort George, I have discovered that the 93rd (Highland) Regiment of Foot was actually raised by Major General William Wemyss on request from the Throne and enlisted recruits from Fife. See below:
http://93rdhighlanders.com/hist.html
'Major-General William Wemyss of Wemyss raised the 93rd for his 16 year old cousin Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland. Extra numbers were drawn in 1803 from the disbanded Reay Fencibles, Rothesay and Caithness Fencibles, and the Scots Militia'
This answers the question of how he was in the 93rd.
I plan to visit Fort George on Friday of next week on my way to the Black Isle and will see what else I can glean.
Now working on the connections to the Boyters, numerous Dicks, Wilsons, Scotts & Robertsons from the Kilrenny/Cellardyke/Anstruther East area within my Family Tree. Got back to the 1700s. There's a Watson in there somewhere too - but I suppose that's not unexpected.
Anne
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I looked up your link and it actually says that the 93rd was the most thoroughly Highland of all regiments and most of the soldiers were native Gaelic speakers from the Highlands. No mention of Fife that I could see.
If you'd like any help with tracing Boyters and other Cellardyke families in your tree I'd be glad to help, either on the open forum or by PM.
Harry
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Thanks for the offer of help with the local Fisher families. I have found a lot of information about members of family who drowned in the Nancy - off the Isle of May.
Re the 93rd- try this link. It mentions being in Kirkcaldy in early October 1802. I thought I'd sent this Link. My mistake..
http://www.theargylls.co.uk/service93rd.php
Anne.
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That would be the Nancy that foundered in 1846. An earlier Nancy of Cellardyke was lost in 1805, and the two Scott brothers Alexander and Thomas were related to my 3 x great-grandmother Isabella Scott. It must have seemed like an unlucky name after that.
Militia and fencible regiments were deployed around the country and men might join up anywhere. I had an ancestor in east Fife called William Myles who joined the Dumfriesshire Militia during the Napoleonic Wars but as his wife continued to bear him children in Carnbee parish, he couldn't have gone very far. For a poverty-stricken farm labourer joining one of those regiments must have seemed like a good number, as you got a regular wage, a uniform and food. Especially if you knew you weren't going to be deployed overseas. I had another ancestor from the Borders who joined the Hopetoun Fencibles, raised in 1793 at Linlithgow by the Earl of Hopetoun.
Harry
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Been trying to find reason for Boyter being a middle name. I've now found Isobel Gardner who was married to the famous David Wilson ( of the Pickle ) had a sister Janet Gardener who married Robert Boyter. 7th December 1816. I'm back to the late 1600s now - due to there being a lot of Boyter info online, which seems to link to a Wm Watson in some way back in 1693. Birth Certificate for 19th Feb,1693 of a child born to Andrew & Grizella Boyter. Witnessed by Wm Boyter & Wm Watson. I need to get back closer to my own line again now, but it was interesting to realise how intertwined the local families were back then.
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Not just back then.
Harry
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I certainly remember very clearly Wilsons, Dicks, and Scotts being amongst the older visitors to my Grandma Robertson when she lived with us in the 1960s. Although these names were all from my Grandfather's side the families had obviously all kept in very close contact.
My father was very much the baby of the Robertson family and was quite confused as to how they all fitted into the family. However he had, while still young & living with his parents, drawn out a chart of the close family on brown wrapping paper. Having been drawn 75-80 yrs ago the limited information it contains is likely to be correct. He had done his own research at Markinch Research Library in the '70s. Much of his research notes are useful, detailed & correct, but there are many question marks.
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You'll probably find the answers on Scotlandspeople for a modest outlay.
Harry
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Yes - I'm well on the way now. I was on Scotlands People years ago. Time is all that is stopping me at present. I think I can carry on on my own now. Thanks for your support.
Anne.
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Between 1872 and 1882, Isabella, Elspeth, Anna and William Robertson were born in Kilrenny/Cellardyke to Isaac & Elisabeth (Isabella) Robertson who married in 1870 in Kilrenny Church.
Elisabeth Robertson was born Elisabeth Davidson Dick. and her parents were John Dick and Elspeth Davidson.
Later they had another three children in Kirkcaldy between 1884 and 1889. Those were David, Sarah and my Grandfather James Dick Robertson.
I know what happened to William as he emigrated to Perth, Australia and I have a contact for him there. He looks very like my Grandfather James.
However, I am sure that there must be relatives of the others still in Fife who may be able to fill in some blanks in my knowledge.
If anyone has photos of any of the above people I would love to see what they looked like and if there was a family resemblance. My own father looked very similar. I would love to hear from anyone descended from any of the above too.
Photo of my Grandfather, James Dick Robertson with his wife Jemima Bell.
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To the children of Isaac and Elizabeth/Isabella you can add Isaac John Robertson, b.1875 at Cellardyke.
Harry
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The baby sadly died aged just 7 days, of convulsions.
Harry
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Wow - that's amazing. I thought I had them all.
I see Isaac snr is listed as a Labourer. Later in life I find him as a News Vendor in Kirkcakdy. So the story that he was a fisherman seems unlikely - unless he was a fisherman between jobs. I had been led to believe he was a fisherman for part he year and a farm labourer at other times.
Many thanks.
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Thanks. Sad but not unusual I had also heard there were twins in his family but not found them yet,
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So the story that he was a fisherman seems unlikely - unless he was a fisherman between jobs. I had been led to believe he was a fisherman for part he year and a farm labourer at other times.
Many thanks.
A lot of labourers went to the fishing part-time. In the herring season, the "drave", there was a lot of money to be made and plenty fish for everybody.
Harry
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Between 1872 and 1882, Isabella, Elspeth, Anna and William Robertson were born in Kilrenny/Cellardyke to Isaac & Elisabeth (Isabella) Robertson who married in 1870 in Kilrenny Church.
Elisabeth Robertson was born Elisabeth Davidson Dick. and her parents were John Dick and Elspeth Davidson.
I was a bit puzzled by this Elspeth Davidson who married John Dick, so I checked my notes and as I expected, it was actually John Dick and Elspeth Wilson. This couple had sons called David and John. David married Janet Millar and John married her sister Margaret Millar. In the 1881 census of Cellardyke both couples are living in Tolbooth Road, Cellardyke, and they have 11 children between them, so there are plenty of descendants.
Harry
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This is a photo of the Anstruther steam-drifter "Olive Leaf" with a Cellardyke crew, taken from Peter Smith's "The Lammas Drave and the Winter Herrin'". The man standing 4th from the right is David Dick, son of John Dick and Margaret Millar and a nephew of your Elisabeth Dick or Robertson. It's not very clear but if I enlarge it I won't be able to attach it here.
The skipper of the boat William Smith is standing extreme right. His sister Annie Smith was married to David Dick, and Annie's sister Thomasina Smith was married to David's cousin John Dick! Typical Cellardyke, a' conneckit, as my granny would have said. Her brother John Cunningham, my great-uncle, is standing 2nd from the left in that photo.
Harry
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Many thanks once again. I assume there will be a clearer copy of the photo at the Fisheries Museum. I may manage to pop in to see the research lady sometime soon. I would be interested to see if there is any resemblance to the my Grandfather Robertson's sons. My Dad and his brother Jim bore a striking resemblance to their father, my Grandfather. (James Dick Robertson. b.1889 ) The Dick is still carried on through that generation as a middle name. Re: sisters marrying 2 cousins. That is similar to my husband's family ( his mother from a farming family in very rural Co Kerry ) There I found two sisters marrying 2 brothers and over three generations everyone seemed to marry within about four surnames. Brothers, sisters, cousins, etc.. That's what I suppose happened when people stayed in small communities.
Incidentally can you clarify if Cellardyke is part of Kilrenny or is Kilrenny is part of Cellardyke? My thought at the moment is that Cellardyke was part of Kilrenny even though Kilrenny is smaller. Am I right? Then if a certificate reads Cellardyke then could it be Kilrenny, but if it says Kilrenny it could be either ??????
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Incidentally can you clarify if Cellardyke is part of Kilrenny or is Kilrenny is part of Cellardyke? My thought at the moment is that Cellardyke was part of Kilrenny even though Kilrenny is smaller. Am I right? Then if a certificate reads Cellardyke then could it be Kilrenny, but if it says Kilrenny it could be either ??????
Yes, it's confusing all right. The problem is that there's a small hamlet called Kilrenny, inland from Cellardyke, but both villages - Kilrenny and Cellardyke - belonged to the parish and burgh of Kilrenny. So the name Kilrenny was ambiguous, it was the larger entity of the parish and the burgh but also the smaller entity of the landward village which has the parish church and churchyard. If you're using the Scotlandspeople website to trace your ancestors, you have to look for Kilrenny, not Cellardyke. Cellardyke was always an unofficial name, although it held the majority of the population of "Kilrenny".
The burgh was also Kilrenny, as I said, so strictly speaking the town council was Kilrenny town council, although just about all the councillors would have lived in Cellardyke and most would be fishermen.
Occasionally, in the records, you find the inland village of Kilrenny called Upper Kilrenny, and the fishing village of Cellardyke called Lower or Nether Kilrenny.
Harry
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That's a bot clearer/ My Dad always said his Grandparents hailed from Ainster Easter. Was that therefore Cellardyke too. I did ask a few Anstruther locals but most had no idea. One reckoned it might be the name of the main part of Anstruther where the harbour is up to the burn where the Dreel Hall is ? Is that correct ? Others said t was just Cellardyke.
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I've sometimes envied people who were simply from Crail, Pittenweem or St. Monans! So much easier.
The present town of Anstruther comprises Anstruther Wester, Anstruther Easter, Kilrenny and Cellardyke. Until the Local Government (Scotland) Act of 1929(??), Anstruther Wester, Anstruther Easter and Kilrenny (including Cellardyke), were three separate burghs, each with its own town council and provost (i.e. mayor). Each burgh was also a separate ecclesiastical parish, each with its own parish church. After 1929 they were all thrown together as one town, and of course they are all physically joined up. To make matters even more complicated, Anstruther Easter was part of Kilrenny parish until the 1600s. Anstruther Easter is the area from Burnside Terrace (west side) on the east to the bridge over the Dreel Burn, where Anstruther Wester starts. Most of what people understand as Anstruther nowadays - Shore Street and the harbour area - is Anstruther Easter.
Do a bit of Googling if you want more info. about these places.
Harry
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Just got a Booklet today in the post which I bought on E-Bay which explains much of that. Called' The East Neuk of Fife' by the East Neuk Preservation Society ( 1968 ) Also just a few days ago obtained 'The Pageant of the Forth' (1910) which has the story of David Wilson and of other fishermen/sailors of Cellardyke. It must have been a fearsome time to live in these parts.
I'll try not to bother you again for a while. Meanwhile many thanks.
Anne.
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No bother at all, I'm happy to see a thread about Cellardyke here. The "bible" of Cellardyke studies is George Gourlay's "Fisher Life; or, Memorials of Cellardyke and the Fife Coast", first published in 1879 but re-issued some years ago by the Fife Family History Society. That's where the story of David Wilson comes from.
Harry
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Yes - I have bought Fisher Life last year. My problem is that I live mainly in the South of England and am only in Fife one week a month. However I am coming up next Thursday so will get more reading done & perhaps find time for visit to the FIsheries Museum on Monday if I can. I have found, from the Crematorium's records, where Isaac's grave is, so that will be getting a visit too.
I am hoping to find that it may also contain my Dad's siblings who died in infancy. We have never found them ( John Robertson & Annie Robertson - born in Kirkcaldy somewhere between 1910 and 1920 ). There seems to be no record of either of them anywhere at all. I need to try Street Indexes as I know the address. Dad just knew that there had been a John & Annie born before him as it was while his parents were trying to replace Annie that he & his older brother David were conceived. She never was and that's possibly why I was called Anne. When she got dementia she was convinced that I was her Annie.