Renwicks of Roxburghshire

[Iandj]

Thanks for the feedback about Elspeth Renwick, Bev.  It's sometimes worth widening the focus from direct ancestors to siblings and aunts/uncles/cousins - I've found many a relative hiding with the in-laws!    Also, the recurrence of names and occupations, maybe in different branches of a family, often suggests connections, however remote.

As regards Tancred, he was not only an historian but also a good storyteller. He relied on the documentary evidence available to him (no internet in those days, of course) and the long - and occasionally dodgy - memories of local people. I remember reading some analyses of his work by a couple of distant Lorrain cousins of mine: one, a very well-known professor in his day who had taken the trouble to contact Tancred's widow, and the other, a semi-professional genealogist. Both concluded that some of his assertions about the Lorrain family heritage were probably a little wide of the mark. If that's true of my family, which is fairly well documented at times, it will be true of other families.

Regards

Ian

[pelirroja]

Thanks for the info about finding ancestors with other family members.  Sometimes it is hard to ascertain if name is related to you or not.  Several weeks ago I had to delete six Renwicks from my lineage due to a mistake pointed out to me by the Legacy software.

I'm sending copies of the Death Certificates of George Renwick and James Renwick in case anyone wants to see them.
   

[pelirroja]

I tried and tried but I'm unable to send the copies, even one at a time.  The attachment is always too big.
Bev

[hdw]

My 4 x great-grandfather Joseph Stephenson married a Margaret Renwick at Alwinton in north Northumberland. I don't have the date handy but it was in the 1790s. Joseph died in 1803 at Longyester farm in East Lothian and was buried on 21st May. Later that day a justice of the peace broke the seal that had been affixed to Joseph Stephenson's desk in presence of members of the family, including George Renwick, "brother of the widow", and read out the will to the assembled company.

These Renwicks were certainly Borderers, but probably from the Northumberland side.

Harry

[terianne]

Renwick is a common name in the Borders, (and both sides of the border)

please be aware of the traditional naming patterns used in Scotland and especially the Borders

traditionally - first son after fathers father, first daug after mothers mother second son after mothers father and second daug after fathers mother and so on using family names (the names can change around slightly depending on common family names, but usual, also the names can vary if the family are trying to keep in with the Minister, or a rich friend or family member)

therefore there will be a few with the same names are a similar age.

Also middle names are very common and usually have a family connection ie female maiden names.

[pelirroja]

Thanks for the name sequence reminder. I'd forgotten about that.  Where is the Northcumberland side of the Borders region?

[Iandj]

The OS map option in Bing shows the English/Scottish border quite clearly as an unbroken line if you zoom out to about 3 or 4 miles to the inch and as a broken line at a bigger scale.

Hobkirk is about four miles north of the present border and Denholm is about 6 or 7 miles north of Hobkirk.

Politics and military strength, along with economic, social and environmental conditions have shifted and tweaked the actual border many many times over the years, however.

Ian

[terianne]

Remember the border isn't a straight line and depends as the crow flys through the cheviot's & roads

Also some farms can have fields on both sides

[pelirroja]

I'm going back through all the documents I have and have found a Jessie Ann Renwick , who was born in the town of Rule.  Some of the writing is a challenge. Though.  Thanks so much for the help again.