SEPTEMBER 2023 DNA UPDATE

 So that's a year down the line and I've received another DNA update. This seems to have become a regular annual occurrence.

Now, the results summary - 

My Scottish ethnicity is now 82%, up 8% from last year; English is 11%, down 1%; Irish 5%, down 2% and my Norwegian ethnicity has returned to the previous 2%.

Now, my ethnicity inheritance has also been updated , as below -

The main points of note are:-

1. The English inheritance was split 4% / 10% between Parent 1 and Parent 2. Now the split is 4% / 7%.

2. Parent 2 is still providing the 5% Irish ethnicity, and is also giving me the 2% Norwegian ethnicity.

3. For clarification, I have identified that Parent 1 is my mother and Parent 2 my father. I have renamed the columns above, maternal and paternal.

There seem to be changes every time, and I seem to becoming more Scottish with each update.

I MEET THE ARTIST AND BUY ONE OF HIS PAINTINGS

 So, at the end of last month, myself and Janet went to meet with Eric Johnstone and his wife, Catriona, at their house in Selkirk. As we were a bit early we had a light lunch at The Waterwheel Café, just a mile outside Selkirk. I had previously heard that they displayed some of Eric's paintings and indeed they did - not only displaying them but they were also up for sale. About six of them, all landscapes, and from the ones I remember, there were paintings of some Standing Stones (not sure of location), The Grey Mare's Tail (on the Selkirk to Moffat road) and The Gordon Arms (also on the Selkirk to Moffat Road). All very good, with a price range of £150 to £180. Very tempted with The Gordon Arms painting, but a bit too expensive for me at the moment.

Anyway, we found the house easily enough, up a driveway about 100 yards and it stands looking over part of Selkirk with a fabulous view of the hills beyond. Eric came out to meet us and inside was his wife and Kenny, one of his two sons. We all seemed to get on very well, enjoyed a cup of coffee and had a lovely chat about Eric and Catriona's life and family. Catriona had done some of Eric's family tree and knew all about the McGlasson's, which of course was Eric's mother's maiden name. Catriona mentioned that Eric had "painted hundreds of paintings" over the years and Eric mentioned that he had started painting full time, when the local tweed mill, where he worked, had closed - when, I'm not sure, but it was quite some time ago. We stayed about 90 minutes and I left my contact details with Catriona, and we said we would pop in again at some future convenient time.

Finally, and after we had met with Eric and Catriona, I purchased the previously mentioned painting of Eric's, of Peebles and the River Tweed. It had been for sale on eBay for £127. I contacted the seller, a Fine Art gallery, and asked if they would reduce the price to £80. They said they would come down to £112 and I went back and said £96 was my maximum. I didn't hear anything further, but I then fortuitously came across their own website, which had the same painting but at a sale price of £101. In addition, if you completed a brief online survey on their website, you saved 10% on any purchase. This I did, with the result that I bought the painting for £90. With free delivery, I thought this was a good deal. From details on the back of the picture frame, it had been purchased by someone in Galashiels on 30th April 1991, but whether this was the first purchaser I don't know. So it is at least 32 years old.

Anyway, here is the said painting hanging up on the wall in my room. 

I haven't told Eric and Catriona of my purchase, but I will be arranging to go back through and see them soon and let them know then.

CONTACT MADE WITH ANOTHER SECOND COUSIN

A bit of a long story this, but I will try and keep it reasonably brief.

My sister recently mentioned on the telephone that she had two paintings, by an artist called Eric Johnstone, who, it was thought, is a cousin of our granny, Agnes Anderson (née Turnbull). Our Auntie Jean (Mitchinson, née Anderson) had seemingly commissioned two paintings from this Eric Johnstone, one of Hermitage Castle, the other of Ewes Church in Dumfriesshire. When our Uncle David Mitchinson passed away in February 2020, our cousin asked my sister if she would like anything from our uncle's house as a keepsake, hence my sister having the two aforementioned paintings.

Although I have been working on my family history for over 30 years now, the surname "Johnstone" was not one I was familiar with. I had investigated the Anderson and Turnbull sides of my family, getting quite far back on both families but had never yet seen the "Johnstone" surname. So, with no luck from my own research, I decided I would go down the social media route.

I put a post up on a Facebook page called "Lost Scottish Borders", which mainly shows old photographs of villages and towns in the Borders and such like. I mentioned my granny and the potential cousin connection and did anyone have any information about Eric. Quite a few very prompt replies, mostly telling me that they owned a painting by Eric Johnstone and although very nice that he seemed quite popular, this didn't actually tell me anything about the person. That was at the very end of last year but a couple of weeks later, in the second week of this month, I received a message from a cousin of Catriona Johnstone, Eric's wife. This cousin had spoken to Catriona, who had suggested that I telephone her at her home in Selkirk, where she and Eric had lived for over 60 years.

So, the following day, I spoke to Catriona, who said that she and Eric had lived in Selkirk since the mid 1960's, and in the same house they had had built at that time. They were both in their 80's and kept reasonably well, although Eric had suffered a stroke about 15 years ago and wasn't too keen on talking on the telephone. Catriona was quite chatty and cleared up the mystery of the family connection between Eric and my granny. Because there is indeed a connection!

My great great grandparents, Thomas and Margaret McGlasson, had 12 children including my great grandmother, Agnes and Eric's grandfather, James. Agnes had three children including my granny, Agnes Turnbull, and James had three daughters, including Daisy Martha McGlasson, Eric's mother. So my granny and Eric's mother were first cousins! This means that Eric is my second cousin once removed. (This relationship aspect can get quite complicated, particularly when we move on to second cousins, but my family history computer programme comes in handy for cases like this).

Catriona seemed quite keen for us to meet up, as indeed I was, so our telephone conversation was left on the basis that I would call her again in the next couple of weeks and arrange to go over to Selkirk and meet her and Eric. This I am planning to do next week.

As an aside, I had previously done a quick search on the internet for any information on Eric, but there was nothing at all of note. One or two of his paintings showed up and he seemed to have painted a lot of landscapes, including the two paintings my sister now has. I did find a painting of his for sale on eBay, which was described as a "contemporary watercolour of a riverside town". On further investigation, I discovered that the "riverside town" was in fact - Peebles. That was quite a coincidence and I've made enquiries of the seller of the painting to see if I could negotiate a lower price than that being asked. I await a response. A copy of this painting is below.

                         

Well, that just about covers the story up to now. I will put up another post after I meet Eric and Catriona next week.

IT'S A SMALL WORLD - THE BYERS AND THE ANDERSON FAMILIES MAY WELL HAVE MET LONG BEFORE MY DAD AND MUM DID!

So, the 1921 Scotland Census was at last published - on 30th November 2022, long after the English Census for 1921 went online. Not entirely sure why, but it's now available for research purposes, so that's a good thing!

I haven't investigated too many of my ancestors yet, but I did check the whereabouts of my maternal grandfather, Archibald Hardie Anderson. My grandpa was working at Unthank, a farm in Ewes Parish in Dumfriesshire. He was aged 15 years 6 months at the time the Census was taken on 19th June 1921, and was employed as a Cattleman on the farm of James Douglas (who was a tenant of the Duke of Buccleuch). Also staying at Unthank at that time was an 18 year old "general domestic servant", Agnes Byers. (She was born in Halfmorton, Dumfriesshire, and am not aware of any family connection). Additionally, and probably next door, at Unthank Hope, was a Thomas Byers, who was born in Canonbie, was aged 29 and employed as a Ploughman by the same James Douglas. (Again, no family connection known).

There is however a more compelling case for a Byers/Anderson connection back then. My great grandfather, James Byers, had passed away by the time of the 1921 Census, but at the time of his death in September 1920, his "usual residence" was stated as Unthank Hope. For whatever reason, a corrected entry was made in the Registry which altered his age to a correct 59 years, but also changed his "usual residence" to Unthank Farm Cottage. Depending on when my grandpa started work at Unthank, he may well have known my great grandfather. Perhaps.

James Byers did not die at Unthank however. He had passed away at Howgillcleuch (in Canonbie Parish) and this was the farm of Robert Douglas (also a tenant of the Duke of Buccleuch). The above James and Robert Douglas may well have been related and indeed known to my great grandfather, James Byers.

By way of note, at the time of the 1921 England Census, my great grandmother, Mary Jane Byers (James' widow) was living just over the border in Longtown, with two of her children, Mary Isabella and my grandpa, George Byers.

I'm not sure how much more information on this may come to light, but it's a very intriguing situation, which I will keep a close eye on.

A SECOND COUSIN CONTACTS ME OUT OF THE BLUE

Back in February last year, I received a note via Facebook Messenger from the daughter of a Janet Smith, who was keen to make contact with me. She is the granddaughter of Janet Glendinning Byers, my great aunt and my grandpa's oldest sister. [More can be read about this lady and her husband in my post from March 2018 "Socialism And Aristocracy In My Family"].

She had seen this Blog and had asked her daughter to message me. And in that same February, Janet sent me a letter telling me about visiting her grandmother and great aunts and uncles around Carlisle and the Scottish Borders, during her school summer holidays. And describing her and her grandmother's later life. Very interesting to hear about another branch of the Byers family, of which there are many. Great aunt Janet was the eldest of 12 and my grandpa, George, was the third youngest, being some 18 years younger than Janet.

I phoned Janet later that month (may have been into March) and we spoke about our reminiscences and what we knew of the various members of the Byers family. 

I have been a bit remiss in writing up this post - it's taken me almost two years, which is ridiculous, but it's funny how life sometimes gets in the way of good intentions. Anyway, we have exchanged Christmas cards these past two years and I will make an effort to phone Janet in the New Year. And update this post accordingly.

MORE ON THE ANDERSON FAMILY AND VERY MUCH A PEEBLES CONNECTION

My great grandfather, Frank Anderson, was the youngest of 6 children born to James Anderson (a shepherd) and Jane Elliot. Walter, the eldest, was born in Lochgilphead, Thomas and John were born in Morven, Argyllshire, the twins William and Cameron born in Elliotsfield, Cavers, Roxburghshire and Frank was born at Whitefield in Yarrow. Shepherds certainly moved about quite a bit back in those days!

I was recently looking again at this (maternal) Anderson line and my grandpa's family specifically. My grandpa being the first son of the above-mentioned Frank Anderson, and was born in Yarrow on Christmas Day in 1905, just over the hill from where I live in Peebles. (For more information on the Andersons generally, please see my blogpost of February 2018 "The Anderson Family In The Scottish Borders").

Given the number of uncles my grandpa had (5 uncles, no aunts), he had a fair number of cousins, and it was this aspect of my family line I thought I would look into further. His father, and all his uncles, were shepherds in the Scottish Borders, but because I now live in Peebles, the thought of looking for potential Peebles residents, or at least those living in the Peebles area back then was quite attractive.

Back to James Anderson, Frank's father, and based on where his sons were born, he moved jobs fairly frequently. Although born in Ettrick in 1832, by 1858 he was in Eskdalemuir, followed by Lochgilphead, Morven, Cavers, and by 1876 he was in Yarrow, where Frank was born. in 1881, he was in Innerwick, East Lothian; 1891 he was in Caddonfoot, Selkirkshire and by 1901 he was in Peeblesshire, in a cottage at Bonnington Farm. With him and his wife, Jane, was their grandson, James, aged 4. (This would be the son of Cameron Anderson (4th born son in 1872), whose (apparent) only child was born in March 1897 and whose wife, Catherine Henry, had died the following year).

The other known connection to Bonnington Farm is William Elliot Anderson (twin to Cameron and also 4th born son in 1872) and who lived at Bonnington Farm at the time of his marriage to Mary Bell in January 1903.

This photo of Bonnington Farm was taken in 2017.

Walter Anderson (first born son in 1867) is nowhere to be seen in the 1901 Census, but he marries a Maggie Beattie Elliot in March 1905 at The Manse in Peebles. Both were resident at the time at Newby, Peebles. Walter a shepherd and Maggie an assistant housekeeper. Their three children were all born in Peebles, James in 1906; Janet in 1909 and Walter in 1911. Janet and Walter were both born at Waddenshope near Peebles (a farm I believe which no longer exists). In the 1911 Census, Walter and his family, and his brother Thomas, were all living at Waddenshope.

This is a photograph of Waddenshope Burn, near Peebles (taken in 2009). This area is adjacent to Bonnington Farm.

The foregoing Janet Anderson married an Andrew Geddes in Traquair Church in 1929, with Janet living at Highland Shiel, Traquair at the time of her marriage and Andrew living at Kailzie Mains Cottages (Kailzie being located south east of Peebles and midway to Traquair).

Thomas Anderson (second born son in 1868) was at Waddenshope in 1911, but by the time he married Mary Ann Holton in 1918, he lived at Upper Newby, Peebles, as did Mary. Thomas was a shepherd and aged 49 and Mary was a housekeeper, aged 27. They had two children, both born at Upper Newby - Jane E. in 1918 and James in 1920. Jane married a David Lind Anderson in 1939 at Blackhouse in Yarrow (where she lived at the time). David was a shepherd who was working at Allangillfoot, Eskdalemuir and aged 19 when he got married.

The above photo is of Upper Newby Farm (from 2019), which is located in the Glensax area, just south of Peebles itself.

And that about sums up all I currently know about the Andersons and the Peebles area. More than I had first thought. Of the six sons of James Anderson, three worked and lived in very close proximity to Peebles, whilst the other three all worked in the Borders, including Yarrow, just over the hill from Peebles. This latter three included my great grandfather, Frank, with John JE and Cameron also missing out. The latter two are seen in the 1911 Census living with their mother at The Yett, Hownam, near Kelso and not far from the English border.

THESE DNA UPDATES ARE COMING THICK AND FAST NOW

Three months on and I've received another DNA update. Hard to keep track now!

First, the results summary - 

My Scottish ethnicity is now 74%, down 3% from last time; English is 12%, down 2%; Irish remains at 7% but there is now mention of Swedish & Denmark ethnicity of 7%. Was 2% Norwegian in May past, but the Scandinavian ethnicity, which had been seen in the past, and had disappeared completely, has come back stronger than ever. This does remain a mystery!

Now, my ethnicity inheritance has also been updated - as below.

The most notable points to be taken from this are:-

1. The English inheritance was split 4% / 10% between Parent 1 and 2, now the split is 5% / 7%.

2. Parent 2 is still providing the 7% Irish but is also giving me the 7% Sweden & Denmark ethnicity.

Can't work this out at all! Hopefully, the further we go on with this, the clearer it will become?

ANOTHER DNA UPDATE FROM ANCESTRY

 Only seven months this time and another update of my DNA results, which now look like -

So, for a full summary, I now have Scottish ethnicity of 77% (from 21% initially, then 43%, 67% and 82%)

English is 14% (was 60%, 54% and 15%); Irish 7% (was 18% two years ago, then reduced to 2% and now back up again) and finally I have Norwegian of 2% (there was previous mention of Scandinavian/Swedish ethnicity of 8% but this disappeared until now).

Finally, Ancestry now make mention of "Ethnicity Inheritance". They explain this by saying that "Your maternal relatives share some DNA segments—as do your paternal relatives. By piecing together the DNA your matches share with you and each other, SideView™ technology groups your DNA by the parent it came from.

Once that’s done, we test the ethnicities of the DNA in both groups. This shows us which regions you inherited from each parent.

The size of our DNA database is what makes this work. With a network of over 20 million people, Ancestry can provide these results without testing your parents".

A chart is provided, which shows this result -

This all goes to show that DNA technology is always improving, even though the results evident sometimes vary quite significantly. I await the next update.

UPDATE ON MY ANCESTRY DNA

So, another year down the line and my Ancestry DNA has been updated and now look like this - 

Summing up, my Scottish ethnicity is now 82% (from 21% initially, then 43% and 67%).

My English side has risen slightly to 16% (was 15% last time, and 60% and 54% previously).

The Irish ethnicity is now a very small percentage - 2% - down from 18% two years ago. This I would have thought is more likely to be correct as I haven't any Irish connections in my ancestry, to date.

This update has taken account of more samples being added to Ancestry's reference panel, which expands the number and diversity of populations which my DNA can be compared to.

ANOTHER UPDATE FROM ANCESTRY ON MY DNA TEST

I received an email from Ancestry earlier this month, which stated that my AncestryDNA results had been updated and were even more precise".

They added that "we're constantly evolving the technology and methods behind AncestryDNA. Using a combination of scientific expertise, the world's largest online consumer DNA database, and millions of family trees linked with DNA results, Ancestry are releasing their most precise DNA update yet".

It now looks like this - 

Basically, my Scottish ethnicity is now 67% (previously was 21% and then 43%).

My English side started off at 60%, then reduced to 54% and now stands at 15%.

And finally, mention of Scandinavia / Sweden ethnicity has disappeared and I now see an Irish side to my ancestry, which measures 18% of my DNA.

The Scottish / English results seem very reasonable, given my family tree research, but to date I haven't come across any Irish ancestors. Perhaps they come from further back in time.

Interesting how the science has developed over the past 2 years, and no doubt there will be more updates in the future.

MY HARDIE FAMILY FROM CASTLETON PARISH, ROXBURGHSHIRE

My HARDIE family stretches back into the early/mid 18th century. But my own personal connection starts with my great grandmother, Helen Hardie - the second eldest of 16 children born to Archibald Scott HARDIE and Margaret KETCHEN.

Archibald (1842-1934), a farm steward, married Margaret (1853-1929), a domestic servant, in Tweedenhead, Roxburghshire on 30th May 1873. Their eldest child, William was born in November that year and my great grandmother Helen was next born in October 1874 at Saughtree Farm in Roxburghshire.

As a brief aside, it is worth mentioning that Margaret Ketchen's father, Walter Ketchen had married a Helen Glendinning in 1852 and moved that same year to take up a shepherding job in North Knapdale, near Lochgilphead in Argyle. Margaret was born there in 1853 but in December 1855, Walter drowned when he fell though the ice at Lochgilphead.  His wife, Helen, was pregnant with their son, Walter, at the time and three months previously, in September 1855, Walter and Helen's second daughter had died. A traumatic start for the family!

I will expand about the life and times of my great grandmother later, but will now try and lay out the little information I have on her siblings, chronologically, from William in 1873 to the last born, Alexander, in 1896.

William, born Saughtree in November 1873 and married Janet Tate McCrae at The Prince of Wales Hall, Glasgow in 1905. I found one child of theirs, Archibald William, born in 1911. Both William and Janet died in Glasgow in 1955.

After my great grandmother, came Walter, born in November 1875 at Saughtree.

John was born in January 1877 at Saughtree and married Jane Hudson in Langholm in 1903. They had 3 children, Mary, Margaret and Archibald, born 1904-1912. Jane died in Hawick in 1916 and John died in Newcastleton in 1945.

Elliot Stavert was born in April 1879 at Saughtree, but unfortunately died 4 months later from "hooping cough and gradual exhaustion after 1 month". (The origins of the middle name STAVERT was a bit of a mystery, but after finding out that father Archibald Scott Hardie was employed as a shepherd at Saughtree by Archibald Stavert, I can only assume that Elliot was named after him).

Elizabeth was born in July 1880 at Saughtree. She died unmarried aged 27 in Melrose, from "intestinal obstruction".

Elliot Stavert was born at Saughtree in October 1881. (it was very common back then for the next born to be named after a child who either died in infancy or very young.) In the 1911 Census, Elliot is aged 29 and living with his parents at Saughtree, but there is no mention of his occupation, only that he is "feeble-minded". He died in July 1959 at Dingleton Hospital, Melrose (the local asylum or as we would now say the "mental health facility") from "chronic nephritis" or chronic kidney disease.

Margaret was born in October 1882 at Saughtree and married Arthur Wylie Ross in Hawick in October 1930. No children from this marriage have yet been found and Margaret died in June 1964 in Hawick, a widow. Cause of death is stated as "dysphagia metastatic" (difficulty swallowing particularly relating to esophageal cancer (although no mention of cancer on the death certificate)) and "bronchitis" and "heart disease".

Archibald was born in February 1884 at Saughtree and married Margaret Thomson in Canonbie, Dumfriesshire in March 1908. They had 8 children that I know of, but information is limited. Archibald died in December 1929 and Margaret in July 1970.

The tenth born was James, in August 1885 at Saughtree. He appears to never have married and died in Carlisle in March 1974.

Agnes was born at Saughtree in January 1887, but unfortunately died 5 weeks later in February 1887 from "bronchitis" and "derangement of digestive system".

Thomas was born in April 1889 at Saughtree and married Catherine Thomson in Castleton Parish in May 1924. They had one child I am aware of, Margaret Ann, born August 1925.

Agnes Mary was born Saughtree in August 1890 and married Henry Spreng in January 1923 in Hawick. They had two known children, Henry and Margaret. Agnes Mary died in September 1974. Henry was born in Germany and had been a German citizen, but became a naturalised British subject in May 1913.

Janet was born in August 1891 at Saughtree. She appears not to have married and died in October 1971.

Jane was born at Saughtree in August 1893. Again, there is no apparent record of a marriage and she died in Newcastleton in February 1955.

Last, but by no means least, Alexander was born in September 1896 at Saughtree and married Janet McVittie Robson by 1922 in Castleton. They had at least 4 children born between 1922 and 1935. Alexander died in Newcastleton in May 1966.

My great grandmother, Helen Hardie, was born at Saughtree in October 1874. In the 1891 Census she was living with her parents and nine siblings at 4 Saughtree Cottages, Castleton Parish, Roxburghshire. By 1901 she was living just over the border in Northumberland, working as a domestic housekeeper for John, Frank and Thomas Anderson (Frank is my great grandfather and John and Thomas his brothers). They all worked at a farm in Upper Longhouse, Wellhaugh, Falstone Parish in Northumberland. This information is all from the 1901 Census, where Helen's sister, Elizabeth, is also mentioned, being a visitor to the dwelling (with her occupation stated as a domestic housemaid).

Helen and Francis ("Frank") Turnbull Anderson married in October 1903 in Yarrow, Selkirkshire and my great uncle James was born in February 1904 at Muttonhall in Yarrow, a shepherd's cottage which Frank had taken over from his twin brothers, William and Cameron. My grandfather, Archibald Hardie Anderson, was born the next year at Muttonhall, on 25th December 1905.

Above, Jim Anderson, Frank Anderson and Helen Hardie (Anderson)

Above, Archie, Frank and Jim Anderson, with Helen Hardie in front.

By 1911, the family had relocated to a Shepherd's Cottage, at Southdean, Roxburghshire, but in May 1912, Francis Turnbull Anderson was born in Newcastleton, Roxburghshire, but died in February 1913 at Burngrains, Ewes parish, Dumfriesshire, from what was stated in the Death Certificate as "(probably) paralysis from 2 days of teething".

In 1915, Helen and family were living at Hillhead House, Hawick and in 1920 were living at Whitehillshiel House, Burnmouth, Castleton parish.

Above, Helen Hardie (second from right) with three of her sisters

1936 sees Helen and Frank living at Redmoss Flatt, again in Castleton, but in 1946, Frank died at Riggfoot, in Ewes parish, Dumfriesshire.

Helen, aged 84, died in 1959 in Langholm, Dumfriesshire. I do however have a photograph of her and me, circa 1954.

Helen Hardie (Anderson) and Neil Byers

MUTTONHALL, YARROW - A HOUSE THROUGH TIME

My first family history recording of Muttonhall, a shepherd's cottage in Yarrow, is in the 1901 Census, where Cameron and William (twin brothers of my great grandfather, Frank Anderson) lived and worked. Shortly after that, by 1903, my great grandparents, Frank and Helen, were living there and in 1904 my great uncle, Jim, was born at Muttonhall. The following year, my grandpa, Archie, was born there, but by the time of the 1911 Census the Anderson family had moved on to a farm near Hawick. (It is perhaps worth mentioning that the family residing in Muttonhall in 1911 was a shepherd and his wife and their 10 children - with the Census stating that the property had "only 2 rooms with one or more windows". Rather crowded I suspect).

Muttonhall is located approximately 4 miles north of the Selkirk to Moffat road. Turning off approximately 1 mile west of The Gordon Arms Hotel, at Craig Douglas Farm (and before you come to St Mary's Loch), it is reached by following the Douglas Burn northwards, passing both Craighope and Blackhouse.

The earliest mention of this cottage I have found to date, is from a book
published in 1902, titled “A History Of The Tweedie, or Tweedy, Family; A
Record Of Scottish Lowland Life & Character”. It states – "Something quite after the fashion of the good old days happened to Thomas Tweedie of Oliver in 1753. It seems that he had some difference with the Crawfurds of Muttonhall, and on the 10th July in that year they "insidiously and violently attacked" him as he was riding on the high road to Linton, a little to the North-east of Hairstanes".

The next mention is in the 1841 Census and from then to 1935, via various Census and Valuation Rolls, it is apparent that the cottage was always occupied by shepherds and their families (with the land owned by wealthy families such as the Tweedies and the Maxwell Stuart's of Traquair).

In July 2013, for no reason other than I thought it would be a good idea to walk to the cottage where my grandpa was born in 1905, I walked from our house in Peebles to Muttonhall and then on to The Gordon Arms. A total distance of just under 20 miles.

My journey that day is related in a separate blog - neilbee.blogspot.com

Not long after that, in early 2014, I contacted a past owner of Muttonhall who had compiled a photo album of the property and surrounding area and uploaded it to an online photobook web site (which my sister had randomly found). Tim Price, whose family had owned Muttonhall from 1982 to 2010 and had completely refurbished the cottage, mentioned that his aunt had made a painting of Muttonhall in 1987/88 and he forwarded to me a printed copy of this painting - which is probably as near as I will get to see of the original building. Here it is.

  

This month (April 2019), I thought I would see if there was any updated online information about Muttonhall. Nothing on any family history websites but I did notice that the sale of Muttonhall and surrounding forestry was mentioned on a couple of estate agents websites. It was being marketed as "The Blackhouse Forest Estate" and I contacted one of these agents and asked if they could send me a copy of their sales particulars, which they did in a glossy brochure.  Here is the front cover of said brochure, as well as a couple of other photos. And the estate agents also created a short video to accompany their sales pitch. This is also included below. And I should mention that the cost to purchase was over £1.8m!!

My great grandparents and grandpa could never have imagined the changes made to their old home! 

AND YET MORE PUBLICITY FOR JAMES HOGG!

Well I bought the local newspaper last Friday - the Peeblesshire News - and in the inside front page was an article taken from another newspaper, the Border Telegraph.

The headline said that there were plans to mark the birth of the Ettrick Shepherd, as next year is the 250th anniversary of the birth of James Hogg.

A Dr Hunter of Stirling University and the Ettrick and Yarrow Community Development Company are getting together to promote Hogg's work and organise events and celebrations in the Scottish Borders during 2020. Local people and businesses will be encouraged to get involved.

Dr Hunter is a Senior Lecturer of English Studies and is quoted as saying that "It is really important to celebrate James Hogg as he is one of the great literary geniuses of the 19th Century, whose work is just as relevant now as it once was".

I look forward to seeing what will be arranged but in the meantime the full newspaper article is undernoted.

GREAT UNCLE RICHARD BYERS - THE STORY SPREADS!

About a month ago, I received a comment on one of my posts. This related to great uncle Richard Byers, who was killed in action in the Great War, and was from someone who was involved with a project at Langholm Academy.

Because Richard was born in the catchment area (Rowanburnfoot near Canonbie) of Langholm Academy, they wished to include Richard in their "Remembering My Soldier" project, which had commenced in 2017. One of its' aims was to create a memorial book, to be retained at the school, with details of all the men from the catchment area who had fallen in the Great War - and a total of 264 were currently known.

A page in this book would be dedicated to each soldier, including as much information as was available, and I was asked if they could use the photo and some detail from my blog post in compiling this page for their book. I replied absolutely no problem.

I was subsequently forwarded a copy of the aforementioned page - and here it is.

A CRITIQUE BY BILLY CONNOLLY OF ONE OF MY COUSIN'S NOVELS!!

In an article written for Penguin Books, in October 2018, Billy Connolly provided a suggested reading list, and of the 12 books he listed, one of them was the undernoted - written by my cousin (six times removed).

For a young Billy Connolly, the library was his salvation. He discusses his love of literature and how it has accompanied him through his adult life.

The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg

"Now, here’s a character! James Hogg was a shepherd from a village in the Borders called Ettrick. They call him the Ettrick Shepherd. In fact, I think somebody once called him the Electric Shepherd! I was first attracted to Hogg when I read a quote by him in a bookshop in Inverness. He said, ‘I spent most of my youth trying to lose my innocence and succeeded only in finding a higher form of innocence.’ I read that and I thought, Oh, I like you! It felt like he was writing about me. Because with all the reading I was doing, and the playing instruments, and trying to make something of myself and change my life . . . I wasn’t becoming somebody else. I had thought I would become this other person, but all I was becoming was a bigger version of what I already was. Hogg wrote this work of genius, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justifed Sinner, about twins who are desperately unlike each other. You eventually – spoiler alert! – conclude that it is two sides of the same person. It’s like Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde but it came before it. It’s a brilliant book – and it was written by a wee shepherd! A few people have tried to make it into a film, and Peter McDougall did a good version for T V. James Hogg should be a much bigger figure in Scotland than he is. Everybody goes on about Robert Burns, which is great, but they don’t seem to have room to celebrate anybody else, which is a pity. So, go on! Read the Electric Shepherd!"

FOUND!! - A PHOTOGRAPH OF MY GREAT GRANDFATHER

Well, about 3 weeks ago and totally out of the blue, I had a message sent to me over Facebook Messenger, by a Leslie James Byers. It said "Hi Neil. If you come from Gretna you will be related to me. I had three uncles and half a dozen or more cousins there..." And that was it.

I replied saying that I was indeed born in Gretna and that my grandpa was George Byers. This was Leslie's uncle and it transpired that he (Leslie) was the son of my grandpa's younger brother, Marius. So Leslie was my dad's first cousin and mine, once removed. He is 81 years old and lives in Springfield, just outside Gretna.

Leslie also went on to say that he had messaged a Neil Byers in Lockerbie, who he thought was the grandson of John Thomson Byers (1903-1967), the youngest of the 12 children born to James Byers and Mary Jane Thomson. He had received no reply from this Neil Byers (who I had not heard of before).

Anyway, I thought, on the off chance, to ask Leslie if he had a photo of my great grandfather (his grandfather), James Byers, who is the only one of my eight great grandparents I don't have a photograph of. Amazingly, he replied within half an hour, through Messenger, with a photo of James and here it is.

My great grandfather, James Byers

And upon saying to Leslie that I had a dearth of photos from the Byers side of my family, he also sent me the following - 

My great grandmother, Mary Jane Thomson

Janet Glendinning Byers (1881-1962) (My grandpa's eldest sister and the oldest of the 12 children)

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Her brother and my great uncle, Robert Byers (1887-1951)

My great uncle, Thomas Joseph Byers (1893-1968)

Another photo of my great uncle, Richard Byers (1896-1917) (Killed in action in the Great War)

My great aunt, Mary Isabella Byers (1897-1962)

My grandfather, George Byers (1899-1960)

My great uncle, Marius Anderson Bell Byers, and wife Hilda Mary Davis, at the time of their Silver Wedding in 1953

As a matter of curiousity, I asked cousin Leslie, why his father had been named "Marius". He said that my great grandfather had worked at some stage for a Marius Bell, at "Broats Farm". (There are a few Broats Farms, but the most likely one, and the closest to Scotland, is near Penrith, Cumbria). Leslie added that Marius' middle name "Anderson" was after the Doctor who delivered him. His other middle name "Bell" is not from the Marius Bell mentioned above, but is the maiden name of his paternal grandmother.

My great uncle, John Thomson Byers (1903-1967) and his wife, Mary Helen McWhir, on their wedding day in 1928

And finally, this is a photograph of my first cousin, once removed, William James Johnston Byers. He fought in the Second World War, was captured by the Japanese and became a Prisoner of War. He worked and died on the building of the Burma Railway. (This was a 258 mile railway line between Thailand and Burma, built by the Empire of Japan in 1943 and more than 12,000 Allied prisoners died in the making of it).

William J.J. Byers (1912-1943)

Quite a treasure trove of family photographs and all as a result of my father's cousin randomly getting in touch.

THE MEANING OF THE BYERS SURNAME

I received an email today from Ancestry, inviting me to discover the origins of my surname. Clicking on a link in the email took me to the Ancestry website, and this informed me of the following (although please bear in mind the source of this information is from the "Dictionary Of American Family Names") - 

Byers Name Meaning:  Scottish and Northern English. Topographic name for someone who lived by a cattle-shed, Middle English byre, or a habitational name with the same meaning from any of several places named with Old English "byre"; for example, Byers Green in County Durham. Amercanised spelling of the German "Bayers".

And "Where is the Byers family from"?

The above is a map of England reflecting the preponderance of the Byers surname in the Census year of 1891. The recorded number of the Byers surname in the UK in 1891 was 1,266. The county with the largest number of Byers was Cumberland with 23% of the total; next was Lancashire with 14%; London with 10% and then Northumberland with 6%.

It's a pity there is no mention of the Scottish statistics. As far as I am aware the surname "Byers" originated from Dumfriesshire and indeed almost all my Byers ancestors came from that county. The relevant parishes within that county are - Lochmaben, Kirkmichael, Wamphray, Westerkirk, Canonbie and Gretna. All these parishes are located in either the middle or east of Dumfriesshire. A map of all the county's parishes is shown below.

AN UPDATE FROM ANCESTRY ON MY DNA TEST

A note on the Ancestry website states that "Since AncestryDNA first launched, we've continued to add new regions and improve the precision of your results. DNA research is a fast-paced, cutting-edge field, and you can expect us to make more advancements as DNA science evolves".

So today I happened to recheck my DNA results on the website and found that indeed my test results had been updated. They now look like this - 

So, to summarise, my Northern England side is still dominant, but not so much as it previously was. Down to 54% from 60%.

The Scotland side is up from 21% to 43%, although the "ethnicity estimate" previously only said "Scotland" and now says "Central Scotland & Ulster, Ireland and Northeast & Central Scotland".

Gone is mention of Scandinavia (8%) and West Europe (7%), and other regions constituting the other 4%, and there is now only mention of "Sweden" with 3%.

Quite a change in these results and in my own mind, probably more realistic with the England / Scotland split. Also quite specific, with the only other country mentioned in my DNA make-up being Sweden.

As mentioned in a previous post, the average Briton is 36% British, per the Ancestry DNA database, and it would now appear that I am 97% British. This would seem to be almost as British as you could get. But I daresay the results could change again?

ESTHER BYERS AND HER JOURNEY FROM THE WEST OF THE SCOTTISH BORDERS TO THE EAST

Quite recently, I saw one of my Ancestry "hints" directing me to an "Esther Byers", my great great aunt and my great grandfather James Byers' sister. Researching another BYERS ancestor seemed a good idea, as apart from her name (and birth of an illegitimate son) I had no more information.

I decided to check out both Ancestry and the Scotlands People website to see what was held online. The initial Ancestry "hint" was basically Esther's name appearing in 20 other online family trees. Having looked at all this information, it was obvious that some researchers had just copied details direct from one another and even erroneously included information for another Esther Byers, born in the same month and the same year (this Esther being my first cousin, three times removed). Many of these other family trees also had different dates of death for Esther, so I decided to look for Esther's marriage and death certificates on the Scotlands People website.

Firstly though, I looked at Census information and in 1861, Esther (named after her grandmother, Esther Rae) was living with her mother, Janet and her half sister Fanny, aged 8, (Esther's mother Janet Bell, having given birth to Fanny in 1853 - whether James Byers was the father is not known, although obviously Fanny did take the Byers surname) and her brother, Richard, aged 2. The 1871 Census is confusing inasmuch as the Esther Byers I have found is probably my cousin, not my great great aunt. 

So, onto 1877, when, as mentioned, Esther had given birth to a son, David Byers, with no information currently known of the father. This was on 13th May (Esther's 19th birthday). Three years later, on the 26th of November, 1880, Esther married James HUSBAND, an under gamekeeper, aged 23. They were married at Grahamshill Cottages in Kirkpatrick Fleming, which James also gave as his "usual residence" at the time of the marriage. Esther's residence at this time was Fairy Row, Kirkpatrick Fleming. The marriage was witnessed by Fanny Byers and a James Howden.

From what I can find online, Grahamshill Cottages lie about 1 mile east of the village of Kirkpatrick Fleming (near Junction 21 of the A74(M)), and Fairy Row lies about 1 mile south of Kirkpatrick Fleming. Per the Ordnance Survey Name Book at that time, it states that the name of this hamlet is HOLYLEE, not Fairy Row, as can be seen from this quote "this is a long range of one storey buildings with garden attached to back. This place is sometimes called Fairy Row, which is not proper. Colonel Graham states that there was an encampment of monks near this place - but the site cannot be pointed out - hence the name Holylee".

Per the 1881 Census, Esther and her husband, James were living with James' parents and three siblings in Old Engine (?), Lasswade, Midlothian. Between 1882 and 1888, Esther and James had three children, Archibald, Frances and Christina and by 1891, the family were living at 16 Market Place, Coldstream, Berwickshire. They certainly moved about, presumably with James' job as gamekeeper, as Archibald was born in Lasswade, Frances in Cockpen, Midlothian and Christina in Coldstream.

By 1901, James was a coal miner, and the family, now with James' mother, aged 86, lived at Waterside Cottage, Stobhill, Borthwick Parish, not far from Gorebridge. Ten years later, Esther and James were still at the same address.

Esther died on the 1st of March, 1928 (of mitral stenosis (heart disease)) at Waterside Cottage, Gorebridge, with Esther's husband present at the time of her death. So Esther and family had lived in the same cottage for the best part of 30 years. And she had outlived her brother, James, my great grandfather, by 8 years.