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Hi Kirsty, and thanks for replying!

Sadly their marriage entry in the OPR is very scanty - just basic names and a date, and Charles' burial is not recorded in the OPR and he died before 1855. Helen's death cert. gives basic info saying Charles was a crofter and deceased, and although I know there is a headstone in Kirkinner kirkyard, I don't have any way at present of visiting to get a picture. The children have no middle names other than their daughter Mary, who was lumbered with the name Mary van Agnew McDowall, bless her heart. I'm looking into the name Agnew, but no luck yet.

Helen

Clydesdales as a breed are going strong here in the North-east, and we at Aberdeenshire Heritage (the Aberdeenshire Council Museum Service) have some of the early stud books.

The travelling stallion would be a high-quality pedigree stallion awarded a 'premium' - which meant that he would be subsidised by the Clydesdale Horse Society or similar and his 'covering fee' would be affordable for farmers to breed their cart mares. The horse would travel a well-publicised route, and any farmers wishing to breed their mare would be able to tell when he was in the area. This was to encourage the breeding of solid, sturdy, long-lived and healthy work animals of a decent type. The little pony was often used as a companion for these rather solitary creatures. The stallion man and his charge would be a common sight throughout Britain from the mid-19th century right through to after the Second World War, walking the roads of britain. In England it would be the Shire and the Suffolk Punch, with perhaps a Breton, Percheron or a Flemish stallion here and there, and in Wales more often than not it would be a big, sturdy Welsh Cob.

The list of Clydesdale premiums was listed every year in the society transactions, so if you contact me at

Helen.Chavez[at]aberdeenshire.gov.uk

I'll see what we can do - and if we can't help, perhaps we mgiht be able to put you in touch with someone who can.

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Aberdeen CITY Archives:

http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/LocalHistory/rm_loc/loc_ArchivesHomePage.asp

Aberdeenshire Archives, which deal with the SHIRE ONLY, and exclude the city:

http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.asp?lID=22832&sID=1685

There are also archives in Aberdeenshire Council's museum service, Aberdeenshire Heritage, contact the archives manager here:

Helen.Chavez[at]aberdeenshire.gov.uk

Northern Health Services Archives (useful for records such as fever hospitals in the county etc.)
Archivist, Fiona Watson
f.watson[at]nhs.net

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