Who Was Your Ancestral Doctor?

Link courtesy of: http://public-domain.zorger.com

I have a cousin in Scotland, who contacted me because of this blog.  When she first contacted me, we weren’t cousins, but we quickly became friends looking to be cousins.  She still lives in the town that our ancestors came from in Scotland and, due to her research, now we are cousins, too.  When my dad passed away, she sent me sweet notes and links and pictures of the town in Scotland almost every day.  It helped tremendously- more than she will know.  A couple of weeks ago she sent me the link below.  It’s a website dedicated to the town of Carluke, Scotland.  This link in particular is about the town doctor, who also was a geologist and paleontologist.

http://www.carlukecommunity.org/carlukes-people/24-dr-daniel-rankin

Since our Connor family lived in Carluke during the time of the doctor, it’s rather likely that he called on them.  While there are no records of our direct coal mining family’s daily doings, it sure is fun to read about the time and the town from which they came.  In reading about Dr. Daniel Reid Rankin (born 1805, died 1882), I enjoyed thinking that our Connors knew him and wondering what their opinions were of the wonderfully strange old fellow.

Dr. Rankin was described as humble, honest, brilliant and unfashionable.  He didn’t like to be the center of attention, never even bothering to pick up awards or have his name on a book he authored.  One time, he had a “hemorrhage” over being asked to instruct a class.  He lived in a small run-down thatched cottage at the corner of Market Place that is now the health center of Carluke.  He began his carrier intending to be a lawyer, but quickly changed to the study of medicine, obtaining his degree in 1829.

Handsome with long red hair, big bright blue eyes and an athletic frame, he was tall and wore tight-fitting coat with a flowing skirt, tight knee pants and riding boots.  Often, he wore a silk hat.  Dr. Rankin wasn’t religious- in fact, he was openly not religious. He loved to dance and loved to (yes, you are reading this right) stand on his head.  While it’s said that he lacked ambition, from reading about him, I think it’s more correct to say that he longed for learning, but not necessarily documenting that learning.  He didn’t care for formalities and, when faced with something he disagreed with, (here it comes…) he’d stand on his head.

Did our ancestors ever witness his head-standing?  Were they shocked and tsssking or did they applaud and laugh, egging him on?  When Dr. Rankin came for a house call, he would soar his horse right over the wall into your garden and soar back out the same way.   He would walk right into your house- no knocking.  If you weren’t home, he’d move all your chairs to the middle of the room and tell you later that you weren’t home so he left his calling card.  Did our Connors every have their furniture “Rankin-ized”?  

He had a great sense of humor, teasing those praying, headed to church, or gossiping about their neighbors.  In addition to a sense of humor, he also apparently had a live crocodile as a pet.  A pet that would escape and terrorize the neighborhood.  Did the crocodile ever bug our ancestors?  Did they shoo it with a broomstick?  Did he ever tease our ancestors about their gossip or anything at all?

As a doctor, he had the foresight to hate smoking and excess drinking.  He also didn’t care about money, often not billing at all even for the wealthy in town.  If they remembered and insisted, he’d ask for some produce and have it delivered to a poor patient of his. Did our really great grandparents ever get a basket of fruit?  Did they ever give one?

His collection of fossils sounds like it was better than any others of the time.  It truly sounds like the famous geologists of the time, including Charles Darwin, were literally drooling over his collection.  Darwin’s friend Dr. Huxley (“I’d rather be descendent from an ape than a bishop!”) actually came to Carluke to see the fossils, but arrived too late and then got food poisoning and never did see them.  Did our great great great greatgrandparents ever see those fossils?

Doctor Daniel Reid Rankin died in March 21, 1882 and had strict instructions that it was to have no ceremony and no headstone (although no one listened to that part and they did erect a headstone).    There is a granite plaque in Rankin Square with fossils carved into it in his honor.  I hope to see it one day.  Maybe stand on my head next to it.

Wisdom Wednesday- Scotland’s People is WAY More Fun than Vegas

Earlier this week, I read about the promotion on ScotlandsPeople for oversees customers.  They are giving away 30 free credits.  I ran over there (figuratively with my fingers and mouse) and got my free credits.

I’ve spent a lot of time on Scotland’s People in the past, but to buy credits is an ordeal.  I have to get denied by my bank (they see my account and know there is no possible freaking way that I can afford to be in Scotland), get my account suspended, wait for the bank to call before I use any money (on SP or elsewhere), and then wait for my account to be activated and redo the order.  So I only do it when I really, really need something. 

Or when someone gives me 30 free credits. 

If you haven’t been on the site, they have original records that you buy with credits.  It’s 1 credit to look at the search results and 5 credits for an image.  So it’s a bit like a slot machine with two times to ante up: the first gives you some odds and the second can be a jackpot or a bust.

You sit down at a slot machine Type your information in the search boxes.

Pull the handle Click search.

The wheels spin cursor turns into a sand-dial.

You get some cherries and oranges It tells you how many matches you have.

That’s when the real gambling starts.  You pick one and spend your five credits.

And you waste 5 credits. 

Or... up pops your 4^th great grandparents’ marriage information from the parish record…

Jackpot. 

P.S. I'm now down to my last 6 credits... one search and one image... It's burnin' a hole in my pocket...

Surname Saturday - Conner (still)

I'm still stuck on my Conners. Not "stuck" as in can't get anywhere, but "stuck" as in I can't seem to not keep finding things to keep me busy with them. Last night while wasting time before a meeting, I sat in a restaruant and decided to write a story about the immigrant ancestory. I thought if I wrote it out, I'd see what was missing and what would make his life more complete (to me- I'm sure it was plenty complete to him). As I wrote, I realized that I needed more HISTORY in it.

I quickly Googled a few things on the Blackberry and found about 407 sites that I need to read all about the Scottish mining industry. I really wanted to finish my US research before moving overseas to Scotland, but in telling his story, I sort of feel like I need the end and the beginning in order to get to the middle.

So first thing this moring I sucked it up and got 30 credits on Scotland's People for L6. I've no idea if I just spent $5, $7 or $5,066. But it doesn't matter, as I now have some cool new toys.

For instance, while Thomas' son's (my 2nd great grandpa) birthrecord didn't feature any new information, it HAS HIS MOM'S "X" ON IT. She made that X. I have now run my finger over that X 407 times and X is my new favorite letter. Grandma made that X.

I then ordered Thomas and Janet's marriage record (6 credits total). More "X"s!!!! Heaven, I tell you. More heavenly? Confirmation that his dad was William. Even more? His mom was Jane Simpson. More? Janet's parents were William Mason and Agnes Alexander. Grandpas William were iron stone (something- I can't read the word yet- could be miner, but could be something else- have to research). Also learned they were in Maryhill and I have an address.

Next steps? Research. And, please help, people. Was it common in Scotland in 1861 to live together before marriage? They have the same address. And she was 8 months pregnant at the time of marriage.

Oh, and sorry Conner family, but we shouldn't be Conner. We should be Connor. Everything spells it Connor in Scotland...

Wordless Wednesday- William Conner

New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
Arrived on the Iowa 9 Jul 1872 from Glasgow, Scotland
Names:
Janet Conner (age 28)
Thomas Conner (age 8)
Jane Conner (age 6)
Elizabeth Conner (age 4)
John Conner (age 2)
William Conner (age 1)- THIS IS MY GREAT, GREAT GRANDPA!

Finally found his ship. And it was the Iowa. Where he spent most of his life. As an FYI, the Iowa was wrecked in 1881. And how hard must it have been for 28 year old great, great, great grandma to keep 5 children calm on the Iowa. I can't even imagine doing it with my 8 and 4 year old. At least not without a portable DVD player and 403 video game systems...

Mappy Monday – Scotland and Madrid, Iowa

I spent Halloween with Thomas Conner. I woke up in the morning and just decided that he was the man I wanted to spend my day with. He’s not my husband or brother. He’s my 3rd great grandfather.

I’d spent a lot of time studying his son William Mason, but not so much on him. In fact, he was a name and dates to me. Meant nothing other than that I was slightly irritated at him for not giving me easy records to find and really irritated at his wife for dying before the census even came out in 1880. Like RIGHT before.

But I decided to start from scratch. The first thing I found from him is the IGI from Family Search. I have written down the info to go and look through them at the Family History Center again. When I looked through them before, I was really poor and couldn’t afford to photocopy them and after looking, decided that I didn’t need them. I should have sold something or just had Ramen for dinner…

ANYWAY, so when I pull up the IGI with his name and the year of his marriage to re-find that, there are two records on the same day for Thomas Conner, 4 Oct 1861. One marries Janet Mason (the woman that I know as my great great grandmother) and one marries V. Jane Fisher. Both on the same day and both in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Coincidence? Maybe, but I’m checking both out this time around. Even if I have to have Ramen for dinner.

Also in the IGI, I found some children born of Thomas and Janet in Scotland:
William born 10 Nov 1861 in Barony (doesn’t show up with the family again and they have another son named William 11 years later)
Thomas born 5 Jan 1865 in Carluke
Jane Humes born 14 Jan 1866 in Carluke
Elizabeth born 13 Feb 1868 in Airth
John born 26 Dec 1869 in Falkirk (note that this one had Jesse Mason as mom’s name and I only found him after looking at the 1880 Federal census and seeing a John listed and specifically looking for him- how many others could there be that didn’t live with them in 1880?)
William Mason born 29 Jan 1872 in Carluke

At this point, Thomas is still just a name and some dates to me. The most noticeable interest thing so far is that of his 6 children, three were born in January.

I also realized the I didn’t know where Barony, Carluke, Airth, or Falkirk were. So I Google Earthed them:



After much Googling I found that Glasgow ate up Barony, but for the most part, I was able to map all. And I see that they stayed in the relatively same area of Scotland. What is this area? Knowing that in America they were coal miners, that jumped out at me on the pages of Googling “History of Lanarkshire.” I have a number of things to look into in that regard in Scotland.

But now I moved to Thomas in America. I don’t know when he came. I know that great, great grandpa said he came when he was 6 months old, so that would put it in 1871 ish. But is that for sure? No. How would great, great grandpa remember? So I don’t know. The census said that he came in 1855. Did he go back to have children? No clue. Will get to that another Halloween.

My first find of him after having children in Scotland in 1872 is in the 1880 Federal Census. It is here that I’ve looked over and over again since the beginging of my genealogical time. My very first look into genealogy and my dad gave me a packet with the 1880 census for them in it. I have it bookmarked and saved in several spots. But I never SAW it. I never FELT it. I missed stuff that could mean a lot. This time, I read BETWEEN the columns.

In 1880, Thomas was in Cass, Iowa (Wapello County). He was a 38 year-old coal miner that couldn’t read or write and has been out of work for 5 months of the year. He was widowed with seven children living with him. The oldest was a 15 year old boy and the youngest a three year old girl. A coal miner, who couldn’t read or write, newly widowed, out of work for 5 months of the year, with lots of children. How must he have felt when that census taker was wrting down that information? I now have a picture of him standing at that door with little three year old Martha nagging at him and five year old Jennett getting into things in the background. He maybe answered the questions with tiredness. “No, I can’t read or write. My wife passed away this year. I work in the coal mines, but haven’t worked much this year.” How did he cope? What difficult times.

I believe I found him in the 1900 census with a new wife and all the children gone. I’m not yet sure that is him, but I have decided that I want it to be and I want that Esther to have loved him and taken good care of him and his children. I found him with his daughter and her coal mining husband in 1920 as a widow. On Google Earth, I found the house in Madrid, Iowa where he lived with Martha and David Rees.



So even though I didn’t get much new information, I now have a different feeling for Thomas than I had before. Before he was a name and a date; now he is my grandpa.