My youngest daughter in our back garden last night. We have had snow since Friday and it doesn't look like it's going anywhere soon.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a Happy 2010
Monday, 21 December 2009
We have snow
My youngest daughter in our back garden last night. We have had snow since Friday and it doesn't look like it's going anywhere soon.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a Happy 2010
Sunday, 20 December 2009
Brooke and Elle (Betty's grandkids)
This is Brooke and Elle, grandkids of Betty Davey (nieces of John Davey).
Betty was the grand-daughter of George Batton & Maggie McCurdie and is the cousin to most of the people on my blog!
Merry Christmas to everyone from snowy Motherwell.
Sunday, 20 September 2009
Some sad news - Strachan
I came back from holiday to find the sad news that my Mum's cousin had passed away on the day I left for holiday.
Allan was the son of Maggie Batton (my Papa's sister) and Bill Strachan.
STRACHAN
Very peacefully at Ayrshire Hospice on Saturday 5th September 2009, Allan aged 65 years. Beloved husband of Janet, loving dad to Ross and Fraser, much loved papa to Loudon, Aidan and Amberleigh.
Service at Galston Parish Church on Tuesday 10th September at 11.00a.m and thereafter to Galston Cemetery for 12 noon.
Special thanks to all the Staff at the Ayrshire Hospice.
First appeared on 09 Sep 2009
Allan was the son of Maggie Batton (my Papa's sister) and Bill Strachan.
STRACHAN
Very peacefully at Ayrshire Hospice on Saturday 5th September 2009, Allan aged 65 years. Beloved husband of Janet, loving dad to Ross and Fraser, much loved papa to Loudon, Aidan and Amberleigh.
Service at Galston Parish Church on Tuesday 10th September at 11.00a.m and thereafter to Galston Cemetery for 12 noon.
Special thanks to all the Staff at the Ayrshire Hospice.
First appeared on 09 Sep 2009
Back from holiday..... Another surprise
Hi folks - Another Batton surprise.......
Just before I left for my recent trip to Aberdeen, Mississippi I got an email from Dick von Briesen (husband of Barbie Paton). Barbie is the great grand-daughter of Samuel Batton/Paton, and daughter of Kenneth Paton.
Some of the contents of Dick's email as follows :
Barbie and I are both 68, retired, and living in Canada. No wildfires or tornados here this year, thankfully.
Your letter is fascinating! Barbie and I, quite some years ago, decided to see what we could find about Samuel Paton's origins and antecedents. We mentioned this to her father, Kenneth Paton, and he said we'd never find anything, because, he said, Samuel changed his name when he came to America, and Ken didn't know what the original surname was.
We checked the index to Scottish births for a Samuel Paton and an Isabella Anderson being married in 1877, and there they were, in Tradeston/Glasgow. We obtained a copy of the original record, and found the names of their parents, George Paton and Eliza Massey, and David Anderson and Margaret Chalmers. So we assumed that Ken's name change was some kind of mythology. Prior to your letter, we had never heard the name Batton. It was puzzling that we couldn't find any trace of the birth or marriage of George Paton and Eliza Massey, but then, those were before the start of mandatory civil registration. We did find various records of brother George Paton at Cambuslang, but nothing that helped us find the parents.
Now we know the truth! And I'm sure we never would have found the Batton connection if you hadn't written.
The database you found on Ancestry.com of George and Eliza, sons Samuel and George, and their descendants, was submitted by me, several years ago. I submitted it to wc.rootsweb.com, and Ancestry copied it and merged it into their One World Tree, incidentally making it difficult to ascertain who submitted the information. One World Tree has never been updated, and never will be, so that data is frozen in time.
As far as we know, Ken and his siblings never mentioned the fact that Samuel's brother John and his large family also lived in New York. So we don't know whether Samuel and John saw each other frequently, or never. Likewise, we have no information on whether Samuel and John's children kept in touch. You'd think if they did Ken would have mentioned it. As far as we know, the Patons in the USA have always pronounced the name as rhyming with Dayton, not like Batton.
We don't know where Samuel was born. We didn't find the 1881 Scottish census showing Kilmarnock. Makes sense, though, as that's not far from Kilwinning, where his wife-to-be lived. Incidentally, a few years ago Barbie and I visited Scotland -- we went to Kilwinning, knowing that the Andersons had been dealers in alcoholic spirits, and noted that one of the prominent businesses on the main street was/is Anderson's pub. Alas, it was a Sunday, and there was no one we could talk to. We also went to Glasgow, and, with some difficulty, found where 153 Gloucester Street once was. It's now an expressway on-ramp. But we took a picture or two anyway, showing the on-ramp and the street sign "Gloucester Street".
We also checked out various places in Banff and Aberdeen where Samuel's father-in-law George Gordon and his family came from. And the GRO in Edinburgh.
It appears that George Batton and Eliza moved from Ireland to Galston, Ayrshire - is that your view? I see that there were lots of Patons in Galston before they got there - maybe they took the name Paton because everyone misunderstood when they said Batton, or to fit in and not appear foreign?
Pat and Barbie are delighted to have a new cousin, and maybe lots of new cousins! We'd be especially interested to find out whether there are Batton descendants in the USA, probably in the New York area.
I have added all the relatives mentioned in your letter to our family database.
I have also done some searching of Battons on Ancestry.com and wc.rootsweb.com since receiving your letter, and have added a number of Batton relatives found there as well. Our database is not supposed to be findable via Google or other search engines, and it is password-protected. Although anyone who stumbles upon the website can search it, unless they log in with a valid password they are blocked from seeing anything but initials of living people, and no dates or photos or other information about living people. The database contains about 10,000 people, more than half my relatives, not Barbie's.
Barbie and I live in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, about halfway between Montreal and Toronto. We'd be delighted if you could pay us a visit on one of your trips to North America. We also have a summer home on Otsego Lake near Cooperstown, New York, which is a very pleasant place to visit. It adjoins the grounds of Hyde Hall, the ancestral home of Barbie's mother's Clarke family, www.hydehall.org.
Just before I left for my recent trip to Aberdeen, Mississippi I got an email from Dick von Briesen (husband of Barbie Paton). Barbie is the great grand-daughter of Samuel Batton/Paton, and daughter of Kenneth Paton.
Some of the contents of Dick's email as follows :
Barbie and I are both 68, retired, and living in Canada. No wildfires or tornados here this year, thankfully.
Your letter is fascinating! Barbie and I, quite some years ago, decided to see what we could find about Samuel Paton's origins and antecedents. We mentioned this to her father, Kenneth Paton, and he said we'd never find anything, because, he said, Samuel changed his name when he came to America, and Ken didn't know what the original surname was.
We checked the index to Scottish births for a Samuel Paton and an Isabella Anderson being married in 1877, and there they were, in Tradeston/Glasgow. We obtained a copy of the original record, and found the names of their parents, George Paton and Eliza Massey, and David Anderson and Margaret Chalmers. So we assumed that Ken's name change was some kind of mythology. Prior to your letter, we had never heard the name Batton. It was puzzling that we couldn't find any trace of the birth or marriage of George Paton and Eliza Massey, but then, those were before the start of mandatory civil registration. We did find various records of brother George Paton at Cambuslang, but nothing that helped us find the parents.
Now we know the truth! And I'm sure we never would have found the Batton connection if you hadn't written.
The database you found on Ancestry.com of George and Eliza, sons Samuel and George, and their descendants, was submitted by me, several years ago. I submitted it to wc.rootsweb.com, and Ancestry copied it and merged it into their One World Tree, incidentally making it difficult to ascertain who submitted the information. One World Tree has never been updated, and never will be, so that data is frozen in time.
As far as we know, Ken and his siblings never mentioned the fact that Samuel's brother John and his large family also lived in New York. So we don't know whether Samuel and John saw each other frequently, or never. Likewise, we have no information on whether Samuel and John's children kept in touch. You'd think if they did Ken would have mentioned it. As far as we know, the Patons in the USA have always pronounced the name as rhyming with Dayton, not like Batton.
We don't know where Samuel was born. We didn't find the 1881 Scottish census showing Kilmarnock. Makes sense, though, as that's not far from Kilwinning, where his wife-to-be lived. Incidentally, a few years ago Barbie and I visited Scotland -- we went to Kilwinning, knowing that the Andersons had been dealers in alcoholic spirits, and noted that one of the prominent businesses on the main street was/is Anderson's pub. Alas, it was a Sunday, and there was no one we could talk to. We also went to Glasgow, and, with some difficulty, found where 153 Gloucester Street once was. It's now an expressway on-ramp. But we took a picture or two anyway, showing the on-ramp and the street sign "Gloucester Street".
We also checked out various places in Banff and Aberdeen where Samuel's father-in-law George Gordon and his family came from. And the GRO in Edinburgh.
It appears that George Batton and Eliza moved from Ireland to Galston, Ayrshire - is that your view? I see that there were lots of Patons in Galston before they got there - maybe they took the name Paton because everyone misunderstood when they said Batton, or to fit in and not appear foreign?
Pat and Barbie are delighted to have a new cousin, and maybe lots of new cousins! We'd be especially interested to find out whether there are Batton descendants in the USA, probably in the New York area.
I have added all the relatives mentioned in your letter to our family database.
I have also done some searching of Battons on Ancestry.com and wc.rootsweb.com since receiving your letter, and have added a number of Batton relatives found there as well. Our database is not supposed to be findable via Google or other search engines, and it is password-protected. Although anyone who stumbles upon the website can search it, unless they log in with a valid password they are blocked from seeing anything but initials of living people, and no dates or photos or other information about living people. The database contains about 10,000 people, more than half my relatives, not Barbie's.
Barbie and I live in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, about halfway between Montreal and Toronto. We'd be delighted if you could pay us a visit on one of your trips to North America. We also have a summer home on Otsego Lake near Cooperstown, New York, which is a very pleasant place to visit. It adjoins the grounds of Hyde Hall, the ancestral home of Barbie's mother's Clarke family, www.hydehall.org.
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
Lily Connell, daughter of Elizabeth Batton and Henry Connell
I recognised the names on this grave and wasn't sure why. Until I got home and checked back through the Batton documents. I knew there was a connection somewhere.
Lily was the daughter of Elizabeth Batton and Henry Connell and shows on the 1901 Census at the home of Andrew Batton and Lily Batton in Ironworks Square.
See below.
Marriage Certificate 1895 for Henry Connell and Elizabeth Batton (oldest daughter of our relative Andrew Batton). Sister of my great grandfather George.
Also 1901 Census for Ironworks Square showing Lily Connell aged 3 years, grandchild of Andrew and Lily Batton.
Also 1919 Death certificate of Lily's mother Elizabeth Batton. She died very young of heart disease, something that was prevalent in the Batton family.
Saturday, 29 August 2009
My Grandparents
After my Gran Maggie died in 2006 a stone was erected to the memory of my Papa George, my Gran (his second wife Margaret Dykes Batton) and to their little grandson who had only lived for 5 days.
William John was the second child of my Uncle John Robert Batton and his wife Isobel.
William was born on my 15th birthday, 17th June 1978 and he died 5 days later on 22nd June.
I can't believe it's so long ago. I used to go through to Darvel every weekend and stay at my Grans and babysit for John & Isobel's daughter Michelle. Michelle is now 33 with a 2 year old daughter of her own. (Mya).
I found the grave of George Batton's first wife and my Grandmother, Jeannie Batton ms King. Jean was only 33 when she died of TB in 1952. How sad leaving behind 3 sons and 2 daughters.
Frank, George, Andrew, Jean and my mother Margaret. My mum was only 12 when her mother died.
Frank Batton is buried alongside his mother Jean and I believe one of Frank's best friends erected this stone when he realised there was no stone marking the grave.
What a lovely gesture and very poignant is the message at the foot of the stone. Adios Amigo Till We Meet Again.
These graves above are all in Darvel Cemetery. The cemetery which sits at the top of the very steep hill as you drive into Darvel from Preistland.
As I parked the car to look for my Papa's grave stone I looked out of the window of the car and realised I had actually stopped at the grave of my great grandparents. I hadn't realised they were buried there.
Margaret C. Brown and Frank Thomas King are the parents of Jean Batton.
My Uncle Frank is obviously named after Jean's father.
Margaret Brown and Frank King married in Parish Church Manse Darvel on 19th July 1918.
All in all, I think I had a very eventful day, both in Galston and Darvel.
Oh, and I popped in to visit my Uncle George and Aunt Ellen Batton on my way through Darvel.
William John was the second child of my Uncle John Robert Batton and his wife Isobel.
William was born on my 15th birthday, 17th June 1978 and he died 5 days later on 22nd June.
I can't believe it's so long ago. I used to go through to Darvel every weekend and stay at my Grans and babysit for John & Isobel's daughter Michelle. Michelle is now 33 with a 2 year old daughter of her own. (Mya).
I found the grave of George Batton's first wife and my Grandmother, Jeannie Batton ms King. Jean was only 33 when she died of TB in 1952. How sad leaving behind 3 sons and 2 daughters.
Frank, George, Andrew, Jean and my mother Margaret. My mum was only 12 when her mother died.
Frank Batton is buried alongside his mother Jean and I believe one of Frank's best friends erected this stone when he realised there was no stone marking the grave.
What a lovely gesture and very poignant is the message at the foot of the stone. Adios Amigo Till We Meet Again.
These graves above are all in Darvel Cemetery. The cemetery which sits at the top of the very steep hill as you drive into Darvel from Preistland.
As I parked the car to look for my Papa's grave stone I looked out of the window of the car and realised I had actually stopped at the grave of my great grandparents. I hadn't realised they were buried there.
Margaret C. Brown and Frank Thomas King are the parents of Jean Batton.
My Uncle Frank is obviously named after Jean's father.
Margaret Brown and Frank King married in Parish Church Manse Darvel on 19th July 1918.
All in all, I think I had a very eventful day, both in Galston and Darvel.
Oh, and I popped in to visit my Uncle George and Aunt Ellen Batton on my way through Darvel.
Gravestone : my great grandmother Margaret McCurdie Batton
Above is the gravestone of my great grandmother Maggie McCurdie - this photo was taken after her funeral in October 1959. Almost 50 years ago.
Walking around the Galston cemetery today I could barely make out the name on this stone below. And realised it was the same stone as I'd previously seen in the photographs.
My great grandmother's gravestone. I almost didn't see it but Gillian was persistent that we look along one more row before walking to the car.
Time has taken it's toll on what was a beautiful memorial to their mother.
I don't know if anyone reading this can answer one important question.
Is her husband George Batton buried alongside her.
He died in 1929, she outlived him by 30 years.
And her gravestone makes no mention of her Batton surname.
I thought this very unusual. Was there a reason for not putting her married name?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)