Surname Saturday - Slaven/Slavine/Sloan

Since starting to research my family history I've discovered that we shouldn't be to precious about how we spell or pronounce our names as in the long run it will help us break through more brick walls.

Take the Surname Slaven, now there are several generations of these in my family and at the moment I have two families both called Slaven who only seem related through marrying into my Shields family. However tracking some of them down has proved rather tricky.

The first influx of Slavens came from Ireland originally as Slavines. Most of them adopted the Slaven spelling but a few went with Slavin and due to some who couldn't write I also have Slavan, Sleven and on one census I think his handwriting must have been awful as they are recorded as Sloan.

Tombstone Tuesday

This time a gravestone from my Cowie side of the family. My Greatgrandparents George and Isabella Cowie on my fathers side. This was taken in Burnside Cemetery at Rathven outside Buckie in Banff.

Sunday's Obituary - Patrick Shields

The Buteman and Rothesay Express - Friday 15 August 1963, Page 5.

Mr. Patrick Shields

Rothesay lost a well-known and respected citizen with the death last Thursday of Mr. Patrick Shields, Mary Cottage, Hillhouse Road, one of the last surviving "Pointing Porters" of Rothesay Pier. He was 89.

In his earlier years Mr. Shields, who was noted for his friendliness and good humour, is thought to have saved the lives of almost 30 people from drowning, and he was the recipient of the St. John of Jerusalem Medal for services to humanity - one of the highest civilian awards obtainable. It was presented to him in 1924 at Kelso Royal Agricultural Show by the then Prince of Wales (now the Duke of Windsor).

Mr. Shields was also awarded numerous certificates for life-saving by the Royal Humane Society. He was the first captain of Rothesay Swimming Club and gained a prize medal for captaincy at the first annual competition in July, 1894. He retained the swimming club cup, being the first person to win it three times in succession.

Mr. Shields often returned to the baths in later years and on his 81st and 82nd birthdays he enjoyed a dive from the springboard.

He retired as a pier porter at the age of 65 and, until about ten years ago, conducted a licensed brokers' business with a store in Ladeside Street. During the first world war he served with the 51st Highland Division.

Mr. Shields is survived by his wife, two sons Matthew and Charles, and four daughters Mrs Isobel Lachlan, Mrs Margaret McLean, Mrs Christine Lavery and Mrs Mary Slaven.

The Funeral was on Saturday to Rothesay Cemetrery from St. Andrew's Church.

------------------

One correction to this should be that his sister Isobel had the surname Locklin not Lachlan.

Sorting Saturday

Having this week off work has been great and mean't I could spend some time sorting out my genealogy files and try to find a better way of organising the information I already have and try to remember where I've found things.

At the moment all my census returns and certificates are in two ring binders. The first binder is for my direct ancestors and is divided into families by marriage so all the birth/marriage/death certs and census returns relating to each couple (and their unmarried children) are in there with a family group record sheet at the front.

The second binder is sorted the same way but for siblings and descendants of my direct ancestors. It also holds certificates of people I've found, who may or may not be related, until I can add or remove them from the tree.

I also have plastic document wallets with other certificates, id cards, medical cards, photos but they're not sorted at all.

Then there are my computer files that are meant to be sorted into the four main surnames Cowie, Shields, Duncan and Smith with documents, images, photos and information as subfiles. That's where it breaks down, is a certificate a document or an image if I found it online or worse just information, some certificates like marriage certs refer to more than one surname so do I store it twice, once in each folder. Same with photos. I have ended up with duplicates of a lot of information and sometimes they even have different file names. I need help :)

The information parts are the most trouble some as sometimes I find things online and bookmark them to find later but that never seems to work as now I have hundreds of bookmarks under genealogy but I cant remember why I bookmarked which one, or what I'm looking for when I go back to that page.

So finally this week a partial breakthrough that seems obvious when you know it but I've been researching for 10 years and didn't think of it myself so I'm sharing it in case anyone else is like me :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qO_RI4QnX4&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Above is a link to GenealogyGuy's Online Genealogy Information Gathering Method called Gather, Dump Store. It is split into 3 parts and it's well worth watching all of them. The basics are using Cut and Paste to copy information and, I know if you've been using a PC at all in the last couple of years that you know how to cut and paste but trust me, this seemingly simple idea has helped me start to reorganise and actually find stuff again.

He also has various other videos and a website full of tutorials and ideas at Treasure Maps

The one change I did make was instead of using Google Docs I've taken a tip from DearMrytle and signed up for Dropbox you can read more about it on DearMyrtles site here if you would like to sign up you can either click the referral link on Dear Myrtles page as I did or click here on mine :) Thanks.

Follow Friday - Surfing route to my own lost page

Ok this is my first attempt at Follow Friday and is a bit mad but go with me, I want to tell how I found my long lost geocities family tree page totally by accident today.

• At the start of this week I joined GeneaBloggers and their Facebook Genea-Bloggers group.

• While searching Facebook for that group today, I found an 'interest' page just Genealogy.

• At the bottom of that was a list of 'Related global posts' and one by a Steve Hayes caught my attention about 'Lost Genealogy web pages -- and how to find them'

• That took me to his blog and todays entry about it being a year since Yahoo closed down Geocities and how all that information may not be lost after all.

• He goes on to mention a site called Reocities which manged to salvage quite a lot.

• On the Reocities home page it explains they have saved millions of pages and to find them just change the address on any of your old links from geocities to reocities.

• So I open a fresh tab and type in www.reocities.com/jantyannie and up comes my first ever family tree web pages.

I had tried to back up the pages from Yahoo before they shut down the site but could never find a way to reopen the files or access the information in them so I love the fact that someone else thought all that information was worth keeping too.

As family historians and genealogists we love finding things our ancestors chose to keep and lament the things they didn't or were unable to keep. As we move to ever more digital information someone else gets to choose what will be kept. Maybe we should think about how our descendants will find our information in the future if its only ever digital.

If you had a geocities account its well worth checking out Reocities and the Making of page is great reading.

Wordless Wednesday - Matthew Shields

My grandfather Matthew Shields,
early 1930's Terratorial Soldier with Royal Garrison Artillary

Tombstone Tuesday

I've decided I need to be more regular in my blogging. To try and help me keep me on track I'm going to use some blogging prompts from Geneabloggers.com so for today its the turn of Tombstone Tuesday.

This is a photo of the first gravestone I found when I started my family tree research.

When my grandfather died in 1995 we were clearing out cupboards and I found various photos and documents including birth and marriage certificates, old newspapers and lair records.

Later, while visiting the cemetery to see my Grandfather's headstone, I used the details on the lair records to find my great grandparents headstone (pictured left).

In Memory of Patrick Shields

Died 7th March 1963, aged 89

Beloved Husband of

Janet Cunningham

Died 23rd Dec, 1970, aged 92.

also their children

Patrick & Jenny

also their Daughter

Isabella Shields

Died 26th Feb, 1984, aged 82

Beloved wife of James Locklin

Lost at sea HMS Hood 1941.

This stone was a great starting point for my research and gave me lots of information for my initial family tree.

The red glow on this photo is not ghost related but due to light getting into the film in my camera in the days before digital.

Sources!?!

I'm having to transfer all my family tree research over to a new program as my current software is becoming unreliable.

I had been using Cumberland Family Tree (CFT) since 2000 and loved it as it was really easy to navigate, input data, add custom details and notes and I love the way it did reports. However recently its started moving data from one individual to another for no reason, in some cases duplicating people I haven't even worked on in months. I've found I was spending way to much time having to re-verify and re-enter data to the correct people I wasnt getting time to do anything else.

I've since found out that the creator of CFT has closed his website and no longer offers support for the program. So the search for a new program begins, why do there have to be so many, why so expensive, why so many features to chose from, maybe I should go back to pen and paper :)

While I'm contemplating the many, many choices hopefully with guidance from 'Your Family Tree Magazine' I've decided to transfer everything to PAF and can then use that to transfer to any other program. I can't copy the GEDCOM from CFT to PAF as I would be copying all the errors as well so have started my tree again from scratch!

This is where I hit the 'Sources' problem.

I was so busy entering data and having fun finding my ancestors and their details I didn't bother to write up my sources at the time or keep a research log.

I did at least kept copies of all the birth, marriage and death certs, census printouts, notes of conversations with family and photos of grave stones but they're in two big files and currently only the certificates are sorted into two sides of the family (my mums and my dads) the rest is in a big heap of notebooks.

So using the advice on PAF help files and various online articles found thanks to Google and Cyndi's List I'm learning the joy of citing my sources and updating my tree on Ancestry at the same time.

The research log I'll have to just start from now and risk duplicating all the searches I've already done. Maybe this will help me be more organised.

World Archives Project - Ancestry.com

Having a browse through my copy of Your Family Tree Magazine this month there was an article about volunteering to help with various transcriptions project. Having had a nosey through a few of the sites I decided to try Ancestry.com as I already have a subscription to that and recently found a few family members in their World War I records.

I've done a few records now mainly easy Naturalization index cards that were typed in the first place and even though these have nothing to do with my own research its really quite interesting.

Here is the blurb from their site.

The Ancestry.com World Archives Project gives people everywhere a unique chance to help save the world's historical records — millions that might otherwise be lost. Anyone can participate by accessing record images in our system and entering relevant names, dates and other facts to make the information searchable online.

As part of the Ancestry.com World Archives Project:

•All indexes will remain free to the public on Ancestry.com.
•Ancestry.com will donate copies of record indexes and images from the project to partnering government archives and genealogy societies.
•Images and indexes from the project will be available for free to patrons at thousands of subscribing libraries across the U.S.
•Ancestry.com will provide free advertising to partnering genealogy societies.
And coming soon:

•Active contributors will be able to vote on which records the project indexes next.
Currently, active contributors are participants who help index 900+ records per quarter.•Active contributors will receive free access to original images in the project’s databases. Those who already subscribe to Ancestry.com will be eligible for a discount on renewal.
Active Ancestry.com World Archives Project contributors can currently get 10% off an annual U.S. Deluxe membership renewal and 15% off an annual World Deluxe membership renewal. Active contributors coming up for renewal can call Member Services at 1-800-ANCESTRY to get the discount.

Buteshire Genealogy Research including The Isle of Arran

Found a useful site for Buteshire records so adding to my blog so i can find it later.

can add births, death, marriages and headstone pictures.

Buteshire Genealogy Research including The Isle of Arran: "Buteshire Genealogy Research
Freely sharing genealogy research specific to Buteshire, Scotland. The Isles of Arran, Bute, Cumbraes, Holy Isle, Inchmarnock and Pladda & The Parishes of Cumbraes, Kilbride, Kilmory, Kingarth, Lochranza, North Bute, Rothesay, Shiskin.
'To find the missing link by sharing our information -'tis the sunshine on a rainy day.'"

Updating

I've not had a chance to update much recently and finding working on ancestry's tree system very frustrating as keep getting hints that other peoples info matches mine only to find it is my info that other people have lifted straight into their trees sometimes without even bothering to check if there is a connection to the right family let alone the right person as one contact put it "no info on him he just filled a gap" !!!!

Trying to not get email rage and just start ignoring the links that obviously are just collecting as many people as they can right or wrong.

Off sick this week with flu and not allowed back till Friday so if can shake the coughing, sneezing and fatigue may get some pics uploaded this week and updates done - dont hold your breath though you'll go blue :)

So much to do - so little time :)

I'm in the process of collating all my files and updating all my trees posted around the internet.
I've taken out a subscription to Ancestry UK so should be easier to track the families through the census over the years.

I've finished surveying four graveyards on the island, High Kirk, Barone, Kingarth and St Colmacs and still not found all the family so need to start working on the idea that some of them may have been buried elsewhere for some reason.

I did find quite a few Slavens all from the same side of the tree so will update that info with pictures soon.

Hoping to revamp my family homepage soon to make it easier to read and navigate and need to find a place for my yahoo pages as its closing down in october.

I'm also planning a visit in November to the General Register Offices in Edinburgh to track down more info on Pat Shields my great great grandfather.

Like I said so much to do and so little time :)

Another Year

Ok so its been a few months since the last update. and I've realised although my paper records are quite upto date my pc files and tree programs are all messed up and I cant find anything so taking a few days to update my family tree software.

Also going to start updating the family tree details on various websites ie Genesreunited, Ancestry, tribal pages etc.

I've totally lost track of the various places online that I've uploaded my tree in the past and therefore there could be a lot of wrong info floating out there.

Time to hit google and search for my own details :)

I am a bad blogger

I cant believe its been a year since I posted on this blog!

I have in the mean time manged to get a little more organised and find out a little more about some members of the family.

I did manage to get to Edinburgh (during Juliets Hen weekend) but got so carried away with the family records search I didnt have time to find the Justiciary appeal as its office was at the other end of Princes Street and its quite a trek between the two. So I will have to go back up again at some point and be more methodical.

I will try and keep this more upto date and include details of who and when I've found.

Where does a month go?

Well where does a month go indeed! Tidying and organising my research thats where.
I've manged to get all my family research documents and certificates filed in some sort of order so I can acutally find what I'm looking for or what I'm missing quite easily.

I've tried various filing methods in the past and still end up losing track of where a document is or where I found information. Using a suggestion from Organise Your Paper Files I have now organised my information by Marriage number that most programs generate. I keep documents for that family together until i find a marriage for a child and they get their own section or I find their parents marriage and that gets another section. I can use my genealogy program to print a list of marriages with marriage record numbers and that becomes the index for the front of my files. So far its working really well and I can easily what information I still need on any family group.


While having a general trawl through Google with my names and places that I'm researching I came across the National Archives of Scotland. Searching their catalogue I found the following entry about a Justiciary appeal by my GreatGrandfather against the then Lord Bute! So now I have to arrange a trip to Edinburgh to see the document to find out what its all about.

Record: 1 of 1
RefNo Title Date
JC31 Justiciary Appeals Processes 1864-1994
JC31/1906 Justiciary appeals processes, 1906

CountryCode GB RepCode 234
RefNo JC31/1906/19
Repository National Archives of Scotland
Title
Justiciary appeal by Patrick Shields, porter, North British Railway Company, Rothesay, and residing at Minister's Brae, Rothesay v The Most Honourable John Crichton Stuart, Marquis of Bute and Earl of Windsor etc.
Date 1906
Description Lodged 16 March 1906. Appeal dismissed.
AccessStatus: Open

Poem

At my Buckie Grans funeral (Hannah Cowie nee Smith) at the start of July I met some of my dads cousins Anna, Marjory and Etta who were my Grans neices. They've all been really helpful in filling in information about my Gran and her brothers and sisters.

Today I received a poem from Marjory that her mother Iris May Soutar (nee Smith) wrote about who married who.

Dae ye ken Maggie Bruce's family That bided doon the Brae?
Peter Smith's their Faither -A fisherman was he.
Noo Wullie mairrit Lizzie, In Leith they bade a wee
And Jessie mairrit Wullie Wood -A Portknockie man was he.
Pat, Johnny, Anne and Jimmy Are names of those who died,
But Marget still lives in the Sloch -She likes her ain fireside.
And Ina - she got mairrit Tae Tam wha cams frae Fife
And Henry gaed tae Stornaway And took Etta for a wife.
Hannah mairrit Johnny Coup, Noo he's a Buckie loon,
And Jeannie mairrit Charlie, He's frae Portgordon toon.
Davy Mairrit Peggy Frae Wick across the Firth,
And Iris Mairrit Andrew, They roam a' ower the earth.
Noo the Faimly are a' scattered And living far and wide
And the Family Tree has branch'ed Since a' thae knots were tied,
And children's children's children Hear tales of auld lang syne
And R-o-etten-etten -The Sloch that is oor Hame.

bits of translation for the non scots -

• Dae ye ken = Do you know
• bided = stayed or lived
• mairrit = married
• the Sloch= Portessie in Buckie
• frae = from
• gaed tae = went to
• loon = boy
• Hame = home

not sure what R-o-etten-etten refers to though.

I spent last night tidying up my genealogy files and adding info received from Marjory Davey to the info I gathered while at Buckie Grannies funeral. Still have to update my website with some of the info but nice to be able to fill in more details on Hannahs side

oops

Oops - Forgot I'd set this blog up

The internet is getting way to big for me to remember everywhere I've been and everywhere I've seen family tree info so I'm going to start leaving myself notes in here like a breadcrumb trail.

I'll start with some of my favourite genealogy sites

Where I've found info

• www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
• www.familysearch.org
• www.ancestry.co.uk
• www.1837online.com
• www.genesreunited.com

Where I've posted info

• www.lostcousins.co.uk
• www.rootsweb.com

My Sites

• www.joannecowie.co.uk

First Entry

Starting a blog to help me record research and findings on my family tree.

Came back to edit this first post as I realised it would have helped to say what I'm researching.

I am following my family tree back through the Cowie, Duncan, Shields and Smith lines in Rothesay, Bute, Buckie, Glasgow, Lewis, Banff and eventually Donegal Ireland.

I'll be updating my family tree on ancestry.com and starting a family tree website www.joannecowie.co.uk