RootsChat.Com

Thanks very much for the surprisingly earnest attempt to help in my research.  I have physically talked this week to a living relative in Yoncalla who is "getting on" in age and she said to hurry up with my research.  She has no computer but has written numerous items and one book  so she will be very pleased with the sort of information you folks can come up with.  I am sure she knows nothing about Thomas and Roberts parents.  If Alexander Cowan and Barbara Wlkinson can be further researched in Scotland, that would be great.  I will be responding in more detail when I sort everything out but want you to know I greatly appreciate this!  Oregon State is having its Sesquicentennial this year and I have been involved in some activities and meetings.  You should know that the Cowans are a big deal in Oregon.  Not many came all the way from Scotland to be the first white people to settle in this Umpqua Valley.  Especially when Robert and Caroline  had the first white child born here.  Their neighbors were Applegates and Scotts.  If you read Oregon history you will realize how important these families were in establishing the state.  One thing I mentioned to the relative referenced above was the following.  Thomas and Robert Cowan are brothers yet one is born in1805 and one in 1822.  I told her this seems unusually unless there were two different mothers, or they really were father and son.  She looked at me with amazement then said I never thought of it!  I would like to get tis right for her and posterity.  Steve

Noticed you have allot of info about Monaghan.  I am looking for a relative named Samuel Lamb (born about 1720- 1784). He married Margaret Jordan and immigrated to America in 1752.  Any idea how to track him?  They had a son William Lamb (1744-1828) who went with his father to Pennsylvania.  Thanks for any information.

I want to find out about Sproat, Houston, Cowan in Borgue, Kirkcudbrightshire around 1600 to 1800.  Specifically, I want to know about Barbara Houston (born 1746) who married Hugh Sproat (born 1740).  Also, want to find out about Thomas Cowan born 1805  and Robert Cowan born 15 August 1822 in Glasgow

I have been researching Sproats around the city of  KKD (Kirkcudbright) for about 5 years.  I can not get beyond Hugh Sproat, borm 20 Mar 1814 in Borgue, KKDshire, married 1840 in Stourbridge Wocestershire, died June 1889,  in  Birkenhead, Chesire, Merseyside .  He was the father of James Henry S Sproat.  James was my great grandfather.  He had my grandmother Jessie Sproat.  I have further details but do not want to be too long winded.  I have every so often run into information on the website in Ancestry World Tree Project called the Gordon/ Bertram Tree, last updated in 2007.  What is intriguing is there were aparently two brothers  John S. Sproat born 1710 around KKD, died 20 Oct 1800 in Pennsborough Cumberland Pennsylvania USA.  He had a brother{a guess]) also born around 1710 who was William Sproat.  These brother may have had William Sproat, born 11 Apr 1742, or Hugh Sproat, as described above.  Anyway, John S. Sproat immigrates to the Americas thru Canada.  I have loads more including Duncan Sproat who wrote Sproatachronicon .  Out in Western British Columbia threre is a Sproat Lake, also a Sproat is one of the immortals of Ohio and coined the term Buckeye State.  Anyway, I hope anyone can help with Sproat genealogy or general stories.  One story has it that  Sproats had land and also worked for th Douglas's, maybe at Threaves Castle.

Stephen Wood, Roseburg Oregon USA