Author Topic: Stuarts stonemasons Tomintoul.  (Read 15129 times)

Offline Spartan67

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Re: Stuarts stonemasons Tomintoul.
« Reply #18 on: Monday 05 February 18 15:19 GMT (UK) »
Distant cousin 😁  Given the levels of illegitimacy in the area I’d bet there’s a fair few “cousins” around.    All information is really welcome.  By the way I’m researching my wife’s family tree so Isabella will be my wife’s Great Grandma and your distant cousin.  Cheers
Lee, Ross, Rose, Stuart, McDonald, Ford, Brewster, Gandy, Jackson, Tomintoul

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Re: Stuarts stonemasons Tomintoul.
« Reply #19 on: Monday 05 February 18 18:27 GMT (UK) »
I realise that this thread is focused on the Stuarts and I don’t wish to distract from that focus but I’m also interested in another family of stonemasons of that time. My research is about Robert McDonald b.1839 who was also a Mason (his father Robert b.1804 was also a Mason).  In particular I’m trying to find the whereabouts of “Millburn aka Mill Burn” in the Abernethy & Kincardine area which was the family home of Robert McDonald b. 1839?  It is shown on the 1891 census records next to “Glenlochy” not far from Tomintoul which I have found on maps of that time across the River Avon from the Kirkmichael church.  I believe Millburn was a farmstead or croft in the Bridge of Brown/Tomintoul area.

Is this the family of Robert McDonald and Jane/Jean Grant, all of whom were baptised in the parish of Kirkmichael?

In 1841 they were at Strongavy; in 1851 and 1861 at Lower Tombreck, both in the parish of Kirkmichael.

Tombreck/Tombreac is in Glen Brown, upstream from Bridge of Brown. See http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15&lat=57.2553&lon=-3.4501&layers=5&b=1 - if you move the map around you can see other places listed in the same enumeration district (Fodderletter, Burnside, Lyngary).

Mains of Glenlochy is on the left bank of the river, in the next parish (Abernethy and Kincardine) and county (either Moray or Inverness-shire - the Statistical Account says, "It is a little remarkable, that at the south east point of this parish, between Glenlochy and Glenbrown, the shires of Inverness, Murray and Banff meet; so that when standing on the Bridge of Brown, one may throw a stone in to any of the three counties").

Sròn a' Chathaidh is south-east of Tombreck; in the second edition of the six-inch map it is anglicised as Stronachavie.

However I can't see anywhere that looks like Millburn (or Allt a' Mhuilinn, which would be the Gaelic version of Millburn). There are a Midtown and a Milltown.
Never trust anything you find online (especially submitted trees and transcriptions on Ancestry, MyHeritage, FindMyPast and other commercial web sites) unless it's an image of an original document - and even then be wary because errors can and do occur.

Offline Spartan67

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Re: Stuarts stonemasons Tomintoul.
« Reply #20 on: Monday 05 February 18 23:04 GMT (UK) »
Hi Forfarian.  Yes that is the family & all the info you’ve posted does hold good.  Thanks

Millburn is a mystery - it first appears by that name in the 1891 censuses when Robert Mcdonald b. 1837 was the head of household.  It’s transcribed in 1901 as “Mill Burn”.  It does look, however, it was known as Mill Croft as in the 1881 census when Robert McDonald b.1837 (head of household) is described as “Mason & Crofter Of 5 Ac. Arable”.  At that time old Robert Mcdonald b.1804 aged 77 was also living there too (occ. Annuitant).

On both the 1881 & 1891 censuses it is completed as the record next to Glenlochy.

I can’t spot it either.
Lee, Ross, Rose, Stuart, McDonald, Ford, Brewster, Gandy, Jackson, Tomintoul

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Re: Stuarts stonemasons Tomintoul.
« Reply #21 on: Monday 05 February 18 23:25 GMT (UK) »
Definitely a mystery - all the other places on the page are easily identified on the second edition of the OS map.

Unless it's the unnamed group of buildings on the opposite side of the burn from Dailabhrogat/Dalavrogat? There's a weir shown just upstream of them, which would fit with a mill there. See http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17&lat=57.2824&lon=-3.4550&layers=6&b=1

Dailabhrogat/Dalavrogat is of course in the neighbouring parish or Kirkmichael.
Never trust anything you find online (especially submitted trees and transcriptions on Ancestry, MyHeritage, FindMyPast and other commercial web sites) unless it's an image of an original document - and even then be wary because errors can and do occur.


Offline Spartan67

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Re: Stuarts stonemasons Tomintoul.
« Reply #22 on: Tuesday 06 February 18 11:41 GMT (UK) »
Definitely strange given the name existed for at least 30+ years.  My wife’s Grandad George Ross was a postman  in Tomintoul during the war & he routinely mentioned that he delivered there to his immediate family. Of course Millburn would also be part of his family as John Mcdonald was his out of wedlock father. 

I’ve downloaded the 1911 census and it’s still there.  It’s listed on the census record in the order of address; Boninch, Lyntelloch, Tomlay, Millburn & Mains of
Glenlochy.  You may well be right about the buildings near to Dailabhrogat as they appear to be the only ones in the area not named.

It may turn up somewhere in the future - thanks for your help.

Lee, Ross, Rose, Stuart, McDonald, Ford, Brewster, Gandy, Jackson, Tomintoul

Offline rowanali

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Re: Stuarts stonemasons Tomintoul.
« Reply #23 on: Thursday 07 March 19 19:26 GMT (UK) »
Just throwing this into the mix.  Maybe relevant, or not...

I have a James Kelman and his wife Jane Gordon (Jean) and a few kids living at Glenlochy (Abernethy) and James was definitely a Miller by trade.  So there must have been a mill there, so possibly a residence of some sort near the burn where the Mill was?  This was in 1841 (although they are listed as Helman, rather than Kelman which made them very tricky to find!).


Offline rowanali

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Re: Stuarts stonemasons Tomintoul.
« Reply #24 on: Saturday 09 March 19 15:50 GMT (UK) »
Actually James Kelman seems to be described as meal Miller of Ruthven Mill or as living at Glenlivet - used interchangeably.  I thought it was a Ruthven further away but looks like it was Ruthven, Kirkmichael. 

Offline Indiana.59

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Re: Stuarts stonemasons Tomintoul.
« Reply #25 on: Tuesday 12 March 19 23:50 GMT (UK) »
Thank you, I have quite a lot of info on the Stuart family mainly from Scotlands People research. I found the baptism record of Peter ( who married Janet Smith) in1848. His father was William Stuart, a stonemason and his mother named as Anne Riach.This information is from  Peter's death certificate , Tomintoul 1904.

I think that I have William , Peter and William cross checked and correct as far as birth, marriage, census are concerned. I have the possibility of the previous generation being Thomas Stuart married to Elizabeth Geddes. Not too sure of this as I think I have been going up too many branches at the same time and get somewhat confused!

I am very interested in finding out about the buildings they worked on and wonder if anyone would know anything about that or could suggest any way of finding out.

I noticed the names you are researching and wonder if you had come across this site in regard of the Grants - http://magoo.com/hugh/grant33.html . . .

And could we be researching the same families as a whole here . . .

Offline Skoosh

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Re: Stuarts stonemasons Tomintoul.
« Reply #26 on: Wednesday 13 March 19 07:35 GMT (UK) »
Passed through Glen Brown 20 years ago, these abandoned houses still had the box-beds in them which is quite remarkable, hopefully they're still intact. Nice to see the names of the folk who lived in them!  ;D

Skoosh.