Hi all
This is my first post on RootsChat – and it's a bit of a conundrum. If anyone else has any of these families in their tree, and can shed any light, it would be gratefully received
I have two branches of Robertsons, which I'm sure must be related, but I can't find the link.
The first branch is:
1. Ann Robertson (abt 1812, Strichen) married William Mitchell, farmer (1 Aug 1798, Ellon), on 28 Nov 1833, Old Deer. They had eight children (that I know of), including my great, great grandmother, Elizabeth Paterson Mitchell (19 Nov 1845, Old Deer), who married Robert McArthur (3 Jan 1843, Old Deer). Ann died aged 50 on 5 Apr 1862 – her parents are noted on her death certificate as John Robertson (farmer) and Ann Morison.
2. Christian Robertson (abt 1818, Strichen), Ann's sister, married John Henderson (abt 1817, St Fergus) on 12 Nov 1842. They had six children. Christian died 28 Aug 1872 – on her death certificate, her parents are noted as George Robertson (no occupation recorded) and Ann Morrison.
I have all records for Ann and Christian, except their birth records – which I can't find a trace of. I'm fairly sure they were sisters, as Christian appears in the 1841 census in Old Deer living with Ann and her husband and children (although relationships weren't recorded in the 1841 census, so it's a bit of an educated guess). Also, Ann's son, William Mitchell married Christian's daughter, Maggie Henderson – the fact that they are cousins is recorded on the marriage certificate (18 Jan 1873, Old Deer).
I can't find any other siblings though – and it seems likely there were some. I thought I had the family – there is a John Robertson and Ann Morison who married 21 Feb 1807 in Huntly. They had eight children, all baptised in Huntly, including a daughter, Ann (1808), but no Christian – and Huntly is nowhere near Strichen, which is recorded in all the census records as the birthplace for both Ann and Christian.
The web gets even more tangled with the second branch of Robertsons:
1. James Robertson (18 Aug 1837, Old Deer) fathered an illegitimate daughter (Ann Mitchell or Robertson, 24 Dec 1859) with Janet/Jessie Mitchell (25 Apr 1841). Jessie was the sister of Elizabeth Paterson Mitchell and daughter of Ann Robertson (above). Jessie went on to marry Alexander Morrison (blacksmith) and had a further nine children.
2. James Robertson's parents were John Robertson, farmer (abt 1806, Ellon) and Elizabeth Paterson (abt 1805, Cluny or Monymusk). They lived at Mains of Annochie. Elizabeth Paterson died 16 Dec 1872 of meningitis – her death certificate is witnessed by my great, great grandfather, Robert McArthur (the husband of Elizabeth Paterson Mitchell), who was a neighbour of the Robertsons, living at Annochie.
My first thought was that John Robertson (1806, Ellon) must be the brother of Ann and Christian Robertson – why else would Ann have called one of her daughters Elizabeth Paterson Mitchell, after John's wife, Elizabeth Paterson? Calling one of your children after the spouse of one of your siblings seems to have been quite a common practice – I have several examples elsewhere in my family tree. But John's death certificate (3 Dec 1879) records his parents as Arthur Robertson (miller) and Christian Bannerman. So perhaps they were cousins, and it was Arthur Robertson (John's father) and John/George Robertson (Ann and Christian's father) who were brothers? Unfortunately, I'm struggling find any evidence of this, as we're back in the 1700s, where records were sketchier.
There's also a whole Morison/Morrison thing going on with this lot too, but that just complicates matters further
If anyone's still with me after that lot – then well done – I've just read it all back, and it seems even more complicated than it at first appeared
Ruth