I have just got 4 volumes of listings for (I think) all cemetaries in Caithness so if anyone needs to check out where and when their ancestors are buried let me know and I'll try to help. :eek:
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I have just got 4 volumes of listings for (I think) all cemetaries in Caithness so if anyone needs to check out where and when their ancestors are buried let me know and I'll try to help. :eek:
Do these volumes show who is buried in which plot in the cemeteries?
Sassy, There is a plot map for each listing - I had already checked out the one for Trostan Cemetary and is seeems to be accurate.
Hi Davie, we are wondering if there is a plot map for Ballachly. Sassy and I were there last July, and it was so overgrown, we couldnt find the family graves we were looking for.
Also wondering if there is a tiny cemetery listed, just across the River Thurso from Dale House. It doesnt seem to be on any map, but local folk remember it. Thanks for any help. Regards, Helen
I would be interested to see the layout of Ballacly. We have relatives buried there, and could not find the graves in the overgrowth. Also, we were looking for a little cemetery near Dale House, and wonder if you know where it is?
OMG we are on the same page once again sis o'mine!
Sassers, are you following me LOL
Well, at least we are on the same path here.
Here's to Ballachly in 2004, with more info and a machete.
And a shovel to find gravestones under the moss at the wee cemetery at Dale. -Helen
Helen & Sassy - There is no map given for Ballachly - "Inscriptions noted were right & left of the entrance in a rough line to back wall : not possible to examine undergrowth to extreme right & left walls". The names index shows Bain,Campbell,Doull,Dunbar,Forbes,Gray,MacGregor,M acKay,Morrison,Ramage,Renwick,Sutherland,Taylor.Th ey only listed 13 stones and note that more may be buried in the undergrowth (this was in 1980 so you will need to bring the Marines to do the digging 24 years later). If any of the indexed names is who you are looking for let me know - I can give you the inscription.
There are two cemetaries under Westerdale as follows ( not that they help much) :-
St Trostan's : Field beside the Thurso River & opposite Dale House - unenclosed overgrown mound close to field gate - no inscribed stones found.
Dale House Estate : in far corner of field on right of drive is a small square walled enclosure - no inscribed stones found.
If the correct name isnt under Ballachly let me know who it is you are looking for and approx dates and I can look through all the bits & pieces of info that I have collected.
Forbes and MacKay are our relatives in Ballacly, and would you be so kind as to look up the Bain names, too, as a friend of ours may also have kin there. Thank you Davie.
Sixth Stone on the left as you go in :-
John Bain,Clashchiby,Forse Died 17 June1853 aged 72 years,his wife Cath Gray, died 6 January 1865 aged 74 years,son James died 1 March 1879, aged 54, daugter Jane died 10 March 1845 aged 15 years. The stone erected by son Alex,Melbourne.
Fourth Stone on the left as you go in :
Don MacKay,Clashcreggan died 13 April 1848 aged 81, his wife Isabella Forbes, died January 1827 aged 50 years.Children Cath,George,Patrick ,died 'youth' and Lizzie died 7 May 1884.
There is a note in the list referring the above Donald MacKay to the book" Ministers & Men in the Far North " which starts on Page 117 and runs to page 122 - it starts off "Donald MacKay, Claschreggan, was one of whom it might truly be said that his "conversation was in heaven". The last lines in this book refer to his gravestone quoting the epitaph " he was an example of the believers in word,in conversation,in charity,in spirit,in faith, and in purity".
Quickly scanning through the pages I notice he was a native of Sutherlandshire.
If this is the correct MacKay/Forbes I can get the pages from " Ministers & Men" scanned by my m8 and sent to you.
Davie, thanks so much! Yes, we are direct descendants of Donald Mackay and Isabella Forbes. Their gravestone must be covered with moss, as I surely was standing next to the fourth on the left, after we pried the rusted gate open. Now that I know precisely where to look, we have a better chance of seeing it.
We do have a copy of the pages from "Ministers and Men of the Far North", which was amazing to read. Sounds like old Donald had quite a conversation going with God to protect him from the Devil.
Thanks again. Now let's see if Sassy types the same thing at the same time from another city. It's bad enough we show up at parties wearing the same clothes LOL
Glad to be of some help Helen. Any thing else I can do on the subject let me - it's a lot of fun. I'm back to Latheron 1765 with my own lot & I think that's as far as I will get. Doing research at the moment on a son of the 1765 Sutherlands who served in the Peninsular Wars with Wellington's army - an interesting 'sidetrack'.
I bet its St. Trostan's we are looking for. Our family had a croft on that side of the river, across from Dale House, and both gggrandparents died there. We heard from a local man who is almost 80 yrs old, that his job as a child was to clean the moss from the flat stones of the cemetery, and that there was no fence around it. Now if we can just pinpoint the mound...and bring in the Marines LOL Thanks Davie. -Helen
Helen - If it might help I can look thru all the indices in these books - it wont take long. Some of my own lot were at Newlands,Westerdale, but are buried elsewhere. Let me know the names if you think it's worth a try.
Donald Stewart died at Dale around 1845, and his wife Janet Mackay Stewart died in January of 1861, also at Dale. They had at least 13 children, most of who disappear from the census within 10 yrs, so we think they may have died young. These include Janet, Peter, Donald, Sinclair, Catherine Ross, Dorothy, Rose, Donaldina & more.
He was an army pensioner, having served in the 72nd Regiment of Foot during the Napoleonic Wars.
Thanks for checking the indices, one never knows how the puzzle pieces will fit together. -Helen
Helen - Leave it with me for a wee while. My ancestor Robert Sutherland who lived at Newlands, Westerdale was also a pensioner of the same period (42nd Foot - The Black Watch or Highland Regiment). Pensions were paid out in Thurso so its more than likely that they visited town on the same day to get the cash. It sure is a small world !.
You maybe already know but the 72nd became the 1st Battalion Seaforth Highlanders at a later date.
Helen - no trace of your Donald on a quick scan of the indices. Do you know if he was born at Dale or moved there ?. Its beddie time here but I will go thru it again tomorrow and see if I have better luck
This is very exciting...thank you, thank you davie
Small world indeed! I can picture them on their way to Thurso to get their pay, with their tartan vests on.
Donald Stewart was baptized at Lybster in 1769, (his father was also Donald Stewart of Lybster, and also an army pensioner) He had at least 5 sisters, all baptized in Lybster Parish, I dont know exactly where they lived.
After his marriage to Janet Mackay in 1825, they lived in various places near Wick, Pulteneytown, Louisbourgh, Newtown, then finally ended up on a farm of 2 acres at Dale in 1841. So there may be a Stewart lair near Lybster.
Take yer time dearie, they've been deed all these years, a few more wont hurt them LOL Thanks again, and Dad says thanks too. -Helen
Helen - No trace of your Donald Stewart (or Janet MacKay) in the indices. I did notice a line in "The Book of Lybster" which says "Donald Stewart was a pensioner in Lybster in 1767" - I assume thats his father who you already know about.
I have printed details of Donald Jnr & his wife off the site and will keep looking - I hate to be beat !. I am going out Dale way on my next trip home to check out the place my own ancestors were at - I will try to have a look around this St Trostans place as well.
Nil Desperandum.
Thanks Davie...yes, we have the Book of Lybster, with that page marked about Donald Stewart. That info came from the baptismal record of one of Donald(2)'s sisters.
That would be grand if you had a look for St. Trostan's. I could give you some leads on who might walk you to the spot. I can't imagine that they were buried on the Dale Estate, my gg gran was a just domestic servant there, when she wasnt digging tatties. -Helen
Helen - the world gets smaller !!. My grand-uncle was caretaker at Dale House for many years until he retired to Halkirk. This was when the Murray-Threipland family had the estate and I remember being there as a child. Even earlier (or so I am told) I was farmed out there for a few weeks and crawled around at such a speed that I was named the "blue-ar**d fly. My mammy had made me blue troosers to go over the nappies :lol: :lol: I know roughly where the cemetary is but don't hold your breath - it could be a while before I get up there.
in the late 80's the community programmes of Caithness District Council undertook the listings of graveyards in the county. Someone somewhere must have these lists. They were originally in the Bruce Buildings in Sinclair Terrace, Wick.
I would be interested in any Oman or Manson heatstones in Trostan Cemetary ( the one near Shebster)
The listings for Trostan show the following Omans/Mansons :
Robert MacKenzie Manson died Greenvale Dunnet 4 December 1927 aged 69, his wife Jane Oman died Sibster Halkirk 31 March 1945 aged 85. Son Nicolas accidentally killed Pass.??, Saskatchewan 7 October 1921 aged 39.
There are 13 entries for Manson as well , I am a big bit no weel at the moment and dont have the energy to type them all in today. If the Manson/Oman above is NOT the one you are looking for can you be any more specific and I'll have another look.
davie
thnak you that is the manson/oman i was looking for. another should be david manson who died in the latter part of the last century. I know there is a lot of them but it is good to have that information
thanks
No David Manson listed at Trostan. I do know that there are some stones in Trostan not in the book so it is possible he is there. The cemetary is worth a look - it's kept quite tidy and you go in thru MacKenzies farm steading to get there. (If you go remember your wellies!).
I had a look thru the Halkirk pages - there are two entries there but the dates are not right for the one you are looking for :-
David Manson,Farmer, died Achavrole,Calder, 15 December 1903 Aged 63yrs. His wife Ann Sinclair, died 14 Jan 1930, aged 74. Their daughter Elizabeth C Smith, died Canada 15 March 1922, aged 32.
David Manson,Farmer, Calder. 1 Dec 1799 to 4 Aug 1865. His wife Margaret Munro. 17 Jan 1806 to 8 Jan 1869. Erected by their son David.
indeed the world is very small - your grand uncle must have been christopher - my very dear neighbour - how we miss him - he was a great old man - many laughs we had together ( and sad moments too)
Christy was indeed my grand-uncle Janette. I had not seen him for a few years but remember the last time. It was in the Royal Hotel after a funeral and he was showing off by hopping & skipping about the place. I'm sure if there had been room he would have being doing cartwheels as well !. He must have been nearly 90 then.
Ref. your David Manson - when you say latter part of the last century which one are you actually talking about. With a bit more specifics I can have a look thru all my reference books and maybe find him for you.
For example I have a David Manson who died at Brough 14 June 1899 aged 82 and his wife Jane Trotter who died at Ham 31 December 1876 aged 75. They are in Dunnet Cemetary which might tie in with your Robert Manson being at Greenside ??.
the manson oman reference are my grandfather annd granny i think i can tell you more
hi there all the way from New Zealand
im looking for information on the following couple:
John SUTHERLAND and Janet MACINTOSH emigrated from Caithness in 1859 to Canterbury, New Zealand.
all i know is that they had 9 children, the 6th one being my ggg-grandfather Adam. and their eldest named John (born 15 Nov 1856, Dunbeath, Latheron, Caithness, Scotland)
id love to hear form anyone that might be able to tell me anything about John and Janet or their descendants.
cheers
Richard Anderson
Davie
Would you be able to lookup whether there's a monumental inscription for
Donald Banks or
Christina Banks ms Dunnet
after 1804 in Ratter, Dunnet?
Thanks
Alastair
Australian Capital Territory
Dear Davie,
Could you look up the Meiklejohn family in the monumental inscriptions. They come down from the highlands, Namely Wick and Thurso.
Some names are John Meiklejohn, George Meiklejohn, Donald Meiklejohn, There are many buried up there I know of one grave number 91.John Mucklejohn, Mason....
Not sure of any others, can you help???
thanks Aussfm :D
Re Banks & Meiklejohn. I'm just back after a few weeks away but will get on to these in the next day or so.
Alastair,
No record of a gravestone for Donald Banks or Christina Dunnet in Dunnet/Canisbay/Corsback/Olrig/Bower Cemetaries.
Sorry about the delay in getting back to you.
Have also checked the remaining cemetaries and again no trace of these names o combination.
Aussfm,
Several Meiklejohn tombstones located as under :-
LATHERON OLD CEMETARY -
John Meiklejon, died Spring Park, Thurso, 23 December 1853 aged 67, his wife Agnes Trotter died Dunbeath 16 January 1844, aged 40. Their son Alex died Queenstown, Aust. 28 July 1868 aged 36.
HALKIRK -
(Table Stone) Don Meiklejohn, Farmer, Sibster, died 30 July 1838, aged 66. His wife Barbara MacBeath, died 5 January 1836 aged 55. Erected by daughter Ann.
(Table Stone) John "Miklijohn", tenant at Miltown of Sordal, died 20 December 1781 aged 52, his wife Janet died 13 August 1819 aged 76.
WATTEN -
Don Meiklejohn, West Watten, died 18 June 1862 aged 67. His wife Mary Meiklejohn died 7 October 1860 aged 57.
George Meiklejohn, Bilbster, died 1 August 1841 aged 48, his wife Elizabeth Bremner died 15 October 1850 aged 56, daughter Isa died 15 June 1874 aged 39, son Don died 1 April 1880 aged 58.
These are the only Meiklejohns I can find with the forenames you quoted. Sorry about the delay in getting back to you.
davie, would you mind having a look for Donald Budge and Elizabeth Harper? I know they were married in Wick, but that's about all I know (I do have their children's names if you need them). They were married in Wick in 1815 and I probably passed near or before 1855.
I recently ordered a copy of their marriage record from the Registrar's office, but have yet to receive it.
Thanks, in advance, for your time and effort. :o)
G.
Can find no trace of Donald Budge/Elizabeth Harper in any of the cemetary listings.
Note that the people who compiles these lists did NOT do the following : Halkirk Extension, Latheron Extension, Olrig Extension, Thurso New Cemetary, Mount Vernon, Wick New Cemetary.
If you are carrying on with your research from Marriage Certificate right thru to Death Certificates and find out where they lived at time of death then the Council burial ground records might help - the North Highland Archive in Wick would be able to point you in the right direction on these.
Thanks for trying and thanks for the info, davie! :o)
Do you know of any cemeteries in Wick that have their archives online? I'm living overseas so searching any archives in person is just not possible right now. Someday.... :D
Dear Davie thanks for the assistance very Grateful
Aussfm :D
Hi davie,
Wondering if you could look up in your list a couple of names . . .
James MANSON and his wife Euphen (MALCOLM). Apparently James was born before 1701 in Watten, Caithness.
Another name if you don't mind is David MANSON born about MAY 1724 in Banks of Scowthell, Watten.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Wade
NZ :)