Helen Cheyne born Kintore 1886 ** birthday bumped post **

[imlincs]

In response to Annette's question on Oct 12th about the poorhouse records -

No I haven't checked this out in Aberdeen although clearly I should have done on my visit in August. However I was concentrating on school records and the William Simpson/Ann Rothnie line then.

Incidentally I could find no trace of Helen/Nellie attending any of the schools in the area, which I found odd because my grandmother was by no means uneducated and was an avid reader when I knew her. Of course the education could have come later.

I live in Lincolnshire so the opportunities of searching the Aberdeen archives are somewhat limited (although I would add that the the people in both the offices I visited in August were amazingly helpful as well as knowledgeable).

Will come back soon on the latest "favourite" for Christina.

Thanks again everyone.

Ian
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[imlincs]

Annette, Anne, Sarah, Susan, Alan

Next contender (or have we had this one) -

CHRISTINA SIMPSON Pedigree
Female

Parents:
Father: WILLIAM SIMPSON Family
Mother: CHRISTINA CHAPMAN

She has just become my new favourite of all. Right place, right time and parents who are in Cottown of Kintore. What more could anyone ask really.

This one does look very hopeful doesn't she?

I think the key to this may lie with Margaret Kennedy. But I just don't know how to go about tracing her.
Jane and Thirza appear ruled out as Margaret's mother. The 1947 letter from Margaret to my mother includes this information

Mother & Dad are keeping well and were away up to Alaska by boat this year

Moving back to William who married Christina Chapman, he appears to be brother to James and John the fathers of Christinas #1 and #2 and therefore related to the Ramsay family and thereby strengthening the Kintore connection.

So yes, maybe the photo is William the Miller, meal miller as a young man, sawmiller when older - are the two jobs related? Does the photo look more of a miller than a farm labourer? How much can any of you read into such a photo? How old does he look? In conjunction with Alan's information about the photographer's trading dates maybe we can tie in the man's age withe date of the photo (or am I just fantasising)?

Back later on the other photo.

Ian
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[AnneM]

Ian

Without complicating matters too much, bear in mind that people can use the term cousin loosely. I always refered to my father's cousin's daughter as my cousin, which she was but not my first cousin. My mother also referred to her Islay relatives as cousins but they were even more distant relatives than that.

Anne

[imlincs]

Hello Anne

Yes I accept that but I'm certain that my grandmother had a relation in the Vancouver area and that it was on her mother's side. I think its odds on that Margaret and my mother were first cousins. Still .....

Ian
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[Susan]

The William Simpson who marries Christian Chapman is the son of William Simpson and Christian Johnston, born Forgue 1831. He has brothers George & James and a sister Christian.

Susan.

[Currie]

The fellow in the photo seems to have all his hair. He has a dark beard so he should have dark hair on top however the hair looks very light except for the bits in shadow. The apparent colour of the hair may have been lightened by the reflection of the bright light from overhead which is coming from the direction of the top right corner of the photo. There has been a fair amount of fading of the photo although for the darker areas this is not so obvious.

The photo has a blurred and faded out vignette of sorts and the hair may have been partially obscured by the photographer in the process of creating this. The dark beard appears to be going grey and starting in the usual places. On the basis of the beard I would say he is very close to 50 and I think his face would fit that age.

But everybody ages differently so it’s really only a calculated guess.

Alan

[SarahND]

He has a dark beard so he should have dark hair on top however the hair looks very light except for the bits in shadow.

I have a 19th century relative from Aberdeen who apparently had naturally a very black beard and eyebrows and very light red hair. This trait ran in the family. As the story goes, he was arrested as a suspicious character in Paris because the gendarmes thought he was wearing a false beard and eyebrows

Cheers,
Sarah

[AnneM]

Funny business hair is it not. My oldest son has very dark hair, almost black though not quite, but a sizeable amount of his beard is red-- and he does not have a red hair on his head.

Mind you my hair does not match my eyebrows etc.......that may have something to do with my very expensive hairdresser.

Anne

[SarahND]

To attempt to narrow down the time of the photo: I can find George McPherson, photographer, in 97 Skene Street, Old Machar in 1871. By 1881 his children are all boarders and lodgers in various places and he is nowhere to be seen. His wife appears to have died in 1879.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find him in 1881, to see if he is still in Aberdeen, although by 1891 he has remarried and is living in Edinburgh as a "Photographer (Idle)" and has a daughter born abt 1880 in Aberdeen, and another born abt 1883 in Aberfeldy, Perthshire. So that would appear to narrow the photo down to before 1883, anyway. That's the best I can do.

Regards,
Sarah

[SarahND]

AWJ, 19 March, 1884, George Ironside Cheyne, late restaurant keeper, residing at Lilybank House, Belmont road appeared in Court on charge of assaulting wife and step-daughter. Fined 40s. etc.

Here is the Cheyne family in 1881, before George was tried for assaulting Eddie and Agnes:

1881
48 Market Street, Aberdeen St Nicholas
Geo F Cheyne, 38, Head, born Tarves, Aberdeenshire, Restaurant Keeper
Eddie Cheyne, 34, Wife, born St Nicholas, Aberdeenshire, Restaurant Keepers Wife
Agnes F Donald, 10, Stepdaughter, born St Nicholas, Aberdeenshire, Scholar
Christine M I Cheyne, 3, Daughter, born St Nicholas, Aberdeenshire, Restaurant Keeper Daur
Isabella T D Cheyne, 2, Daughter, born St Nicholas, Aberdeenshire, Restaurant Keeper Daur
Geo F Cheyne, 1, Son, born St Nicholas, Aberdeenshire, Restaurant Keeper Son
James Green, 27, Servant, born Buckie, Banffshire, Waiter
Annie Joss, 23, Servant, born Rhynie, Aberdeenshire, Nurse
Annie Blac, 20, Servant, born Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Kitchen Maid