On 24 May 1883 my great grandaunt, Elizabeth Brawley married Charles McCafferty. The strange thing about Elizabeth is that when she died in 1946 she had been on her own for a long time. The family knew her as Lizzie Brawley and certainly my mum's generation of the family had no idea that she had … Continue reading An Unhappy Marriage – Elizabeth Brawley 1861-1846
Marian Rae – Tiller Girl
The photo below belonged to my father but it’s only recently that I’ve managed to identify the people in it. Back left is my grandmother Maggie Rae née Dickson and my grandfather Archie Rae. I sadly didn’t get to meet either of them but I recognised them from one other photo I’ve seen of them … Continue reading Marian Rae – Tiller Girl
Archibald Smith Rae 1903-1952
My paternal grandfather, Archibald (Archie) Smith Rae, was born on 4 September 1903 in Craigneuk, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was the fourth child of Robert Armstrong Rae, a coal miner and Margaret McGarrity. Robert and Margaret had 13 children between 1899 and 1925. Thomas (1898-1898) Sarah (1899-1966) John (1901-?) Archibald Smith (1903-1952) Grace (1906-1907) Robert Armstrong … Continue reading Archibald Smith Rae 1903-1952
Mary Wilkinson 1827-1871
I have previously posted about my great, great grandmother, Mary Wilkinson. That was back in 2018 and since then I’ve realised that some of the information wasn’t quite right. I’d made assumptions based upon the information I had at the time that have turned out to be incorrect. I had found a baptismal record for … Continue reading Mary Wilkinson 1827-1871
The Ancestral Road Trip (Part 1)
It’s been 2 years since I posted about wanting to travel to Ireland for a road trip round the ancestors’ home towns. With a son still in school we haven’t found the time and even this year we don’t have the 3 weeks I think we’d need to do it justice. What we do have … Continue reading The Ancestral Road Trip (Part 1)
Stories From The Poorhouse- John Wilkinson 1857-1858
Some time ago I posted some information about my great, great grandmother Mary Wilkinson . Mary was my maternal grandmother’s maternal grandmother. Click on her name and you can read it but the post is not totally accurate. Since posting I have been researching further and I have found out a lot more. Her story … Continue reading Stories From The Poorhouse- John Wilkinson 1857-1858
Shaking The Branches 