Arthur and Martha... I mean, Mary

I mentioned in my previous post that I'd like to know more about Arthur BUCHAN's next marriage as their children are mentioned in Roy Buchan's book 'From Peterhead to Passchendaele'.  He had married his first wife, Christian BUCHAN in 1857 who had died by the 1861 census.



Marriage of Arthur BUCHAN and Christian BUCHAN 1857


I located Arthur and his sons on the 1871 census who were now living with Arthur's new wife, Mary and their new half siblings - Andrew, Mary and Elspet. 

Arthur & sons with new family on 1871 census

A search of the IGI located a marriage between Arthur and Mary BRUCE in 1864 which I then downloaded.  Strangely, Mary's parents are not listed.



Marriage of Arthur BUCHAN and Mary BRUCE 1864

A further search of the IGI uncovered the births of their children, Isabella and Peter.  This Peter is 'Uncle Peter' who Roy refers to as "a shadowy figure who followed the family to New Zealand, arriving in about 1910". Auntie Isa was also mentioned in letters written by Roy's father and uncles during World War I. "a rotter who deserted his wife and children" (Buchan, R., From Peterhead to Passchendaele, 2003, p145).

I would say there's a whole new story there.


Kissing Cousins?

I'm still reading Roy Buchan's fabulous 'From Peterhead to Passchendaele' which has thrown up some more avenues of research but have been wondering about Jessie's husband who was also a BUCHAN.   John's parents, Arthur and Christian BUCHAN sounded familiar but the same names do keep cropping up in these fishing villages.  How closely related were they?

The first step was to download their marriage certificate to prove the parents of John.



Marriage of John BUCHAN and Jessie BUCHAN
(8 Nov 1883 - 4 Port Henry Lane, Peterhead (bride's home))


Then I located the family on the 1861 census. Christian was deceased and 2 of her sisters were living with Arthur - most likely helping with the 2 young children.


Arthur BUCHAN and his young sons, John and Arthur on the 1861 census at 21 West Row, St Combs


I suspected she died during childbirth but she actually died shortly before the census was taken of consumption and pneumonia.



Death of Christian BUCHAN  -  2 Mar 1861

I then looked to the transcribed 1851 census.  Christian and her sisters were there and again appeared in 1841 with their other siblings. Which I will soon look closer at as a study of the village of St Combs.

Roy lists other children of Arthur and Christian but mentions that he believes some are half brothers and sisters and therefore children of another union after Christian died.  Before I look further into the BUCHAN - BUCHAN connection, I'd like to find out more about this second union.

The One That Stayed Behind

I had mentioned in 'Desperately Seeking John' that there was one BUCHAN who didn't emigrate to New Zealand on the Rimutaka with the rest of the family.  In Roy Buchan's book 'From Peterhead to Passchendaele' he mentions that "there is thought to be at least one other who stayed behind.".

Feeling inspired, I wanted to find out more about Charles BUCHAN (junior) - 'the one that stayed behind'.  He had appeared on all the census records between 1871 and 1891 - odd that he didn't go with them. I wondered why he had stayed and considered whether his descendants were still living in the Peterhead area?

I downloaded Charles' birth certificate:


Birth Certificate of Charles BUCHAN
born 27 November 1865

 After a search of marriages on the IGI, I was unable to find a likely match so I checked deaths.  I hoped this would give me the name of his wife if he had at all married.

Unfortunately, he hadn't.

Poor Charles died at 26 years of age in 1892 - about a year and a half before the family moved to New Zealand.  He died from consumption of the lungs (phthisis pulmonaris). His father, Charles (b.1830), was present at his death and registered the event three days later.



Death Certificate of Charles BUCHAN
Died 30 July 1892

Now we know Charles had no option BUT to stay behind.

Desperately Seeking John - A Sad Conclusion

In case brother John DID refer to brother-in-law John, I decided to check for deaths before embarking on a costly census trawl.  There were a few likely entries but since John hadn't appeared on any of the censuses, I chose one of the infant deaths first and sure enough there he was:

Poor little tyke only lived 12 days - cause unknown.

I think it's safe to say that the John present at Alexander BUCHAN's death is his sister Jessie's (born 1860) husband.  They had married back in Peterhead and emigrated with Jessie's parents and siblings.

Desperately Seeking John

A couple of months ago, I found out via an 1896 newspaper article that my ancestor, Alexander Ritchie BUCHAN, had a brother called John.  John was there when Alex died pulling in a fishing net but where was he all those other years?

18 foot shark caught in Otago Harbour 1894

Charles BUCHAN and his wife Jessie (Janet RITCHIE) migrated to New Zealand on the Rimutaka in 1893. All their children (except Charles), some of whom had begun their own families went too.  Peter, Jessie (married to John BUCHAN), Alex and William all arrived on the Rimutaka. John had never appeared with the family on the censuses and so I hadn't realised he was missing.

A little bit of research proved that John was actually twin brother of William - born 11th July 1868 in Peterhead.  Was it just coincidence that he was away from home all those census nights?  Did he stay in Scotland or

A search of shipping lists from 1890 don't seem to show John's arrival in New Zealand so it seems likely that he migrated before the rest of the family.

RMS Rimutaka

A search of the IGI comes up with  9 other John BUCHANs born in Scotland in 1868 alone. I have scribbled down these parents names to avoid confusion as the long census search begins...

Edited to add:
Just reread an excerpt from Roy BUCHANs book about the family:

The Buchan family settled in Carey's Bay, a mile from Port Chalmers. They fished in the comparative calm of the inner Otago Harbour instead of the hazardous and stormy North Sea. The main breadwinners were Jack, his brother-in-law Alexander and father-in-law Dade [Charles]. The younger two men would fish from an open boat in the harbour and Dade would sell the fish.

Could brother John actually refer to his brother-in-law John (married to Jessie)? The newspaper article mentions that Charles also gave evidence at the hearing which means he was probably also there (as the excerpt suggests).

More Buchan 'Lunatics'

I was very excited to receive an email from Roy BUCHAN - author of the book 'From Peterhead to Passchendaele' mentioned on this blog and distant relative of mine.

He also mentioned that the Mr Peter BUCHAN listed above (on the Rimutaka 1893 passenger list) as aged 35 was, in fact, mentally retarded from birth and died 3 years after landing in New Zealand.  This was roughly the same time as his brother, and my direct ancestor, Alexander Ritchie BUCHAN died while working on a fishing boat.

Before I'd even had a chance to look into it, another distant BUCHAN relative, emailed me the information that Peter had actually died in July 1897 (seven months after his brother, Alex).  He apparently died at Seacliff Hospital, Dunedin - also known as Seacliff Lunatic Asylum.
(NOTE: A further email from the same relative warns that this may not be true)

Seacliff Hospital, Dunedin, NZ c.1910

Peter was the son of  Charles and Jessie (nee RITCHIE) BUCHAN.
I will now be checking for his asylum records.

Next Steps:

• Check for Peter BUCHAN's death in New Zealand (Place of death - asylum?)
• Look into story from Roy Buchan's book that suggests he went out 'wandering' and died from exposure

Twins

At the end of my last post, I mentioned that I had no idea that Alexander Ritchie BUCHAN had a brother called John. 

I did a 'parent search' on familysearch.org for Alex's parents, Charles and Jessie (nee RITCHIE) and up he popped! While checking the information, I noticed that his birth date was identical to brother William's but perhaps this was confused with a christening date (children were sometimes baptised in 'bunches').

I managed to download the birth entry on Scotlands People and sure enough, John and William were twins!

Birth record of Charles & William BUCHAN, Peterhad 1868

Anyone else found twins in their families?  I think this was the first instance I've come across.

Inquests and Articles

This morning I received some death certificates for members of my BUCHAN family.  On Alexander Ritchie BUCHAN's certificate it states his cause of death as 'Verdict of Jury - Sudden Failure of the Heart'.

Part of Alexander Ritchie BUCHAN's death certificate - 1896

My grandmother mentioned in a letter years ago that "Grandad B [a fisherman] was actually pulling in a fishing net, when he apparently ( I presume) had a heart attack & died at age 34".  I had no idea there was an inquest into his death though.

I searched through the newspapers on New Zealand's wonderful Papers Past site and found a mention in the 'Casualties' section:

A sudden death occurred about 8 o'clock on Wednesday night, 2nd. Alexander Buchan, who was engaged fishing with his brother John in the lower harbour, had just hauled in the net, when he went to the bow of the boat and fell forward, and on his brother going to him found he was dead. An inquest was held on Thursday afternoon when after hearing the evidence of Charles and John Buchan, John Keenan, and Dr Cunninghame, the jury returned a verdict that deceased died from sudden failure of the heart. Deceased leaves a wife and five children in very poor circumstances. (Otago Witness - 10 Dec 1896, p15)

Otago Witness - 10 Dec 1896, p15

His wife Agnes (nee FINDLAY) was left with 5 children under the age of 9 - their daughter was only 3 weeks old!

Alexander was buried in Port Chalmers cemetery on the 5th December 1896.  Also buried on the plot were members of the GRANT family who I believe to be unrelated and a Robert JONES (according to the Cemeteries Database on the Dunedin Ciy Council website).  On the entry in the Cemeteries Database is the note:"GRANT PLOT: CONSENT OF CHURCH"

image via flickr

It seems that the church took pity on Alexander's family (who had only arrived in the country 3 years earlier) and because of their "very poor circumstances", buried him in this plot as an act of charity.

I am really keen to find any surviving inquest records as I know nothing about a brother called John!

Next Steps:

• Locate inquest records (if any)
• Search for church records that may mention the burial
• Research 'brother John'

Dating Photographs

A REID roadside picnic - 1928/9

A lot of magazine articles dedicated to the subject of dating photographs, would use clues such as fashion and the model of the car to date this photograph.  Fortunately, my grandmother wrote on the back of almost every photo so I can use my family tree to make the job a bit easier:

"Grandad Reid; Grandma Reid; Aunt Mona; & probably Ron; & Eric; Uncle Walter's car"

'Grandad and Grandma Reid' are Alexander Gibson REID and Janet HUNTER who married in Glasgow 1886 and emigrated to New Zealand soon after.  It's quite exciting to have photographs of people who for a long time were only names on the 1871 and 1881 censuses.

'Aunt Mona' was mentioned in my previous post so it is also quite exciting to have a picture of her.  'Uncle Walter' must have been taking the photo.  They married in 1925 - my grandmother and her older sister were flowergirls for their wedding - so the photo is obviously post 1925. 

Eric BRUNDELL, the baby being held by 'Grandma Reid', was born in October 1928 which means this photograph was taken late 1928 or early 1929.

'Grandad Reid' died in late 1929 which to me makes this photo as poignant as the one of Ngaire (see here).

I'd love to know the make and model of 'Uncle Walter's car'.  Any vintage car enthusiasts care to hasten a guess?

The Buchan Trio

The Buchan Trio - 1925

Alex, Gwen & Ngaire BUCHAN

The photograph above is of my grandmother, Gwenyth Jean BUCHAN (centre) and her siblings - younger brother Alexander Lewis BUCHAN and older sister Ngaire Margaret BUCHAN (their youngest sister Margaret was to appear 6 years later).

Tragically, Ngaire died of peritonitis (a ruptured appendix) when she was only ten years old (December 1927). Grandma recalls that her family received Ngaire's school first prize after her death.  I'm not familiar with school 'prizes' but I assume this means she was a very clever little girl.  I can only imagine the tears that flowed when the mail was delivered that day.

I have two copies of this photograph.

On the back of one in an unknown hand is written 'With the Compliments of the Season. from the Buchan Trio - To Auntie & Uncle from Ngaire, Gwenyth & Alex'. I'm excited to think the handwriting is that of one of my great grandparents (Charles BUCHAN or Margaret Hunter REID).

On the back of the other, in my grandmother's handwriting is 'Ngaire (died at age of 10); Gwen; Alex; We were flower girls for Aunt Mona's wedding to Walter Brundell'.

A quick check of the family tree shows that Aunt Mona married Walter on the 1st June 1925.  This means that my grandmother was 2 weeks shy of her 5th birthday, Alex was under 2 and a half years old and Ngaire 9 and a half.  She was to pass away six months later.

More Chiropody at Trentham

My mother found more of my great grandfather's cartoons depicting Trentham military training camp (New Zealand) in World War I (see the original post here):

That First Trentham Feeling

on Trentham Pebbles in Bill Massey's boots

(Buck - Copyright)

Recruits Coming into Camp

(Buck.17. Copyright 1917 - Trentham)

S.M. Try one on his head Sergeant

[sign] Massey's Massage Institute - hours any old time - cupping done gratis

[sign] Notice - Don't hurry - Wait your turn

("Buck" Copyright 1917 - Trentham)

Innokulatin dun ere - Don't sass the dokter - By order

(copyright Buchan)

Bill Massey was New Zealand's prime minister at the time.

I received a reply from Archives New Zealand.  Unfortunately, they seemed to ignore my request to accredit the images to Charles BUCHAN and instead focussed on which records I could access for a fee.

Chiropody at Trentham

I've finally managed to scan some of my grandmother's photos that I brought back from my holidays.

This one appears to be a photograph of a sketch:

'Chiropody at Trentham' - Buchan 1916

On the back, my grandmother has written "Done by Charles Buchan during WWI.  He was in medical unit doing chiropody".

Charles BUCHAN was my grandmother's father.  She had written a letter to me years ago, when I first became interested in family history, in which she told me:

"Dad had a slight heart problem (valve) so had not been accepted for active service & ended up in medical corp & it was there that he did his training (or experience) in CHIROPODY (lots of feet there to practice on) & on returning to NZ, decided to set himself up as CHIROPODIST much to Grandma Reid's disapproval. 'Why on earth would he decide to out on his own, when CLUFFS (or whoever) would have been more than happy to re-employ him?'"

Grandma REID was Charles' mother-in-law, who seemed to be a rather stern sort (maiden name - Janet HUNTER - grandaughter of James BROWN).  I've tried to research 'Cluffs' and its variations but came up blank (any help from New Zealand would be welcome).

While trying to find out more about Trentham Military Camp, imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon this page from Archives New Zealand :

There was no mention of Charles by name or any further information on his drawing but a look around provided me with another World War One sketch by my ancestor:

Swabbing While You Wait - another drawing by Charles Buchan, 1916

I had never seen this picture before and got very excited.  I will be contacting the archives to see if I can obtain a copy of the second image or at the very least if they will credit the images to Charles.

Trentham Camp and Upper Hutt District, 1914-1918

via New Zealand Electronic Text Centre

I Feel the Need... the Need for FOCUS

I've been MIA the last few weeks as I travelled back to Australia for my brother's wedding (which was lovely).
Sadly, my grandmother's health has deteriorated and she has now moved to Sydney to be closer to my uncle. (Interestingly, she is a direct descendant of the BUCHAN lunatics I've been blogging about and is also suffering from senility). 

However, this move uncovered many photograph albums that I think even grandma had forgotten existed.  She told me once that she had thrown out all her old photos because she didn't think anyone was interested (!).  Happily, this has turned out not to be the case and I pored over loads of antique photographs of her life (which until now I had never seen).  More on those when I have access to a scanner...

image via doubleday

In other news, I am currently reading a new book entitled, 'Tasmania's Convicts' by Alison Alexander, which I found whilst in Australia.  I am less than halfway through but find it addictive reading and am happy to recommend it to anyone researching convict ancestors in Van Diemen's Land.  It even mentions my ancestor Elizabeth ALLEN (very briefly) who was transported there in 1843 for stealing a shawl.

My brother has just returned from his honeymoon in Tasmania, where he had spent part of it 'researching' at Port Arthur. I hope to receive some information from him in the near future.

My head is swimming with genealogy right now so I've decided to focus on my convict ancestors for a while to give me a bit of focus.  No doubt when I get this scanner, I'll be flitting around again though.

A Family of Lunatics!

I received the case notes for Wilson BUCHAN today. The contents were very interesting. Wilson's case is sad but what strikes me from these notes is that the sense of family was very strong. It also strikes me that insanity very much runs in my family.

On the 17th June 1875, Wilson BUCHAN was admitted in the Royal Aberdeen Lunatic Asylum.

I can almost visualise Wilson - his description was more unique than that given for his sister Agnes. At age 60, he was a short man with a square, stooping figure. His eyes were black, his hair grey with a bald scalp and his complexion ruddy.

His history upon admission reads:

The present attack , supposed to be the first, has lasted for eight months during which time he has twice attempted suicide. There is a strong hereditary predisposition to insanity, his father committed suicide, his sister Mrs James Tait was in this Asylum two years ago, and his nephew James Third is at present a patient here.
According to the medical certificates, he distresses himself unreasonably about his wife's death, will not engage in his ordinary occupation, imagines that the Police are to apprehend him for murder & stealing, talks of committing suicide and has been found with a rope round his neck.

On the 7th October 1876, Wilson was "Removed by his friends - Much Improved".

I have become even more interested in these small fishing villages where everyone seems to be related and plan to do a bit more research on them.

Other facts I have managed to glean from these records:

• Wilson's wife died before June 1875 (this was unclear on his death record)



• his father (& Agnes') committed suicide



• a sister Mrs James TAIT (also Agnes' sister) was in the asylum two years ago,



• a nephew, James THIRD presently in the Asylum



• a son John Buchan (and his address - 91 Cairnbulg)



• 3 daughters - Mrs Mary BUCHAN or Stephen; Mrs Robert STEPHEN; Christian BUCHAN
  

Next steps:
Work out his sister's & daughter's names by finding their marriages
Gain more information about the locality (map of houses)

image via flickr

Son of a Lunatic

I received another reply from the wonderful archivist at NHS Grampian archives. Apparently, Agnes' brother Wilson was also admitted into the Aberdeen Royal Lunatic Asylum. Wilson was suicidal when he entered the asylum in June 1875. He was released under the authority of John BUCHAN in October 1876. He had either recovered from his 'melancholia' or was being cared for at home.

While I wait for the case notes to arrive, I've been looking into John BUCHAN as he seems to be playing a vital role in his families lives. I don't know yet whether this John is Agnes' son or another family member. There are 2 or 3 John Buchans of the right age in the Lonmay parish in 1881. One married to a Mary PIRIE and one to an Isabella. I downloaded the death record of the only appropriate Lonmay death record (between 1876 and 1930) - this John was married to Mary PIRIE and his mother is recorded as Nancy BUCHAN (father - Arthur).

Statutory Death Record of John Buchan, 1907

Click for larger image

At first glance, it seems the other John in the 1881 census is my man. HOWEVER, the names Nancy and Agnes do sound similar - could this be an error? The informant was the man's son, who was 18 on the 1881 census and so very likely to know his grandmother well.

A quick google search reveals that Nancy seems to be a nickname for Agnes. This record is looking more likely to be a match. Hopefully, the case notes will give me a clue (at least to whether the John Buchan whom Wilson was released to was in fact Agnes' son).

Then it dawned on me, dear readers, the case notes had also given son John's occupation as 'carter'. The same occupation is recorded on these records and so, in a village full of fisherman, I can be fairly confident this is my man.

1881 Census Record

John BUCHAN & family and FINDLAY servant

Click for larger image

Before I go, however, the census record and the name Mary PIRIE seemed very familiar to me. Then I noticed the name of their servant, Agnes FINDLAY - this was a direct ancestor!

I even blogged about this Agnes' gravestone a few months ago. I had often wondered if this Agnes was related to her 'employer' as her mother was a Buchan. It turns out young Agnes (Mad Agnes' grandaughter) was living with her uncle. I will look into this situation more and report back. I LOVE genealogy!

If you've only just found this blog - this particular story starts here.

Lunatic in the Family - Death of a Daughter

Rocks at St Combs

Photo by w11buch via flickr

I had a bit of a hunch and it seems I was correct.

As Jane seemed to be the one looking after Agnes, I wondered if she was the daughter Agnes thought people believed she had killed. I searched the death records and found she died in 1886. 2 years before Agnes was admitted to the asylum.

Her brother John informed the death as well as petitioned for her admittance. I presume Agnes stayed with him until it got too much for him and his family. Her address prior to admittance was 12 Charleston (a nearby village). If I can find evidence of John living at this address, it seems to be the most likely scenario.

Lunatic in the Family - Case Notes

I received my case notes from the archives yesterday which made for very interesting reading:

This is a case of senile insanity and patient is stated to have been more or less doted for twelve years. Her brother however is insane.
Medical certificates testify that for some time she has been very excitable, that she uses foul and obscene language and that she sometimes exposes her person. Further that she is sleepless, refuses food, and that she fancies people are going to kill her.

Not just any people though. One of the medical certificates state that she "suspects her friends and relatives are going to kill her. Fancies that they blame her for killing [her] daughter". (I would like to find out which, if any, of her daughters died before her but I'm also aware that the daughter's death could also have been imagined).

On her return to the asylum (after 6 months in the poorhouse wards), another doctor states that Agnes "Talks in an excited manner. Her memory is deficient. She fancies the other patients in the ward eat coals. She has delusions about her husband and family".

Although poor Agnes' case is quite tragic, I think its important to have sense of humour about these things and I find it amusing that she felt her fellow inmates ate coal, of all things. It seems I will never know exactly what her delusions were about her then deceased husband but these notes have given me a pretty good indication of her state of mind.

The case notes also give me a vague description of Agnes. She has a pale complexion, her hair is grey (not surprising for an 81 year old), and her figure is 'stooping from age'.

Did she look like the fisherwoman in the photo on the left?

Among other information that I had already gleaned from other records, the sheriff petitions have given me 2 former addresses, the occupation of her son John, and the name of a brother who had also been declared insane.

Fortunately they give the name of this brother, Wilson BUCHAN who I was able to find christening, marriage and death records for. The death record mentions nothing of his insanity and as his wife is still alive, I assume he was being cared for at home. I have emailed the archivist to ask if she can offer any help finding out more.

One of my next steps in the previous post was to find out if any other family members lived at home in the 1881 census to care for Agnes. It looks as if that responsibility fell on her 48 year old daughter Jean (or Jane). I can only imagine that an already tough life as a Victorian fisherwoman was made tougher when she needed to care for her mentally ill mother.

Agnes, Arthur and Jane BUCHAN on the 1881 census.

Click to see larger image.

Lunatic in the Family Update

I received a quick and detailed email back from the archivist at the Grampian Archives, who searched the Asylum (& Poorhouse) records for me. The information she has given me from the admission registers, has enabled me to put some more pieces of Agnes' life together.

Aberdeen Royal Infirmary

Agnes was admitted into the Aberdeen Lunatic Asylum on Christmas Day (!) 1888. She was 81 and a recently widowed pauper. Her husband, Arthur had died in August earlier that year. According to the records, Agnes had suffered from her dementia for 12 years, having her first 'attack' when she was 69.

It seems as though the family were unable to care for Agnes after Arthur's death and admitted her into the asylum.

Six months later, Agnes' condition had not improved and she was transferred to the Lunatic wards of the Buchan Poorhouse. Her physical condition was described as 'very weak' and she was suffering from heart disease and bronchitis along with her 'mental decay'. She was 'sent back' to the Lunatic Asylum another six months later as her condition had not improved. Her disorder was now recorded as "mania, senile" caused by age and heredity. She lived in the asylum for about 3 and a half years before dying in early May 1893. A post mortem examination was carried out and the cause of death recorded as senile decay. She was 85 years old.

Buchan Poorhouse

opened January 1869

source: workhouses.org.uk

The archivist has very helpfully offered to send me copies of the petitions to the Sheriff for Mrs Buchan’s admission to the asylum. I am told these include statements by two doctors giving reasons for committing the patient to hospital and can sometimes also contain additional information about the patient’s background. She has also offered to send me the case notes.

I also want to thank 'The Professional Descendant' who gave very helpful advice on this issue in the comments section of the last post. If you are after more information on this, make sure you read her comments here.

Next steps:

* Check 1881 census for family members living there at the time, possibly caring for Agnes
* Obtain more information from the petitions and case notes

A Lunatic in the Family

A lot of us joke about having families full of them but occasionally you come across things that remind you how serious it can be.

For a while now I've known about my lunatic ancestor (one of them!) but today I've actually decided to try to find out more.

Agnes BUCHAN was born in Aberdeenshire in 1807. Agnes married Arthur BUCHAN (there were a LOT of Buchans in the area), a fisherman, about 1830 and lived in the small fishing community of Lonmay with her family until Arthur died in 1888. It was sometime after this that Agnes was admitted into the Royal Lunatic Asylum in Aberdeen. She appears there in the 1891 census living at Elmhill house (part of the asylum/hospital).

The new Elmhill House featured in The Illustrated London News in 1863

source: UrbexForums

In 1893, Agnes died at the asylum of senile decay. This seems like quite a broad term and would like to know the extent of her 'lunacy' and what the conditions may have been like for her. I searched SCAN (Scottish Archive Network) to find what kind of hospital records might be available and have sent an email to the archivist. Hopefully, I'll be able to learn more about my troubled ancestor.

From Peterhead to Grave

Northern Cemtery Dunedin via Flickr

Sometimes as genealogists we have to wait years for answers.
Waiting for the required records to become available.
Waiting for the chance to visit somewhere that may hold the key. Waiting for some kind of miracle.

But by some extraordinary stroke of luck, I didn't have to wait long at all (or do much work) to find the answers to the puzzles I listed on my Emigrating to New Zealand post.

As I searched for more information on the Rimutaka (there were a few ships with this name), I came across The Northern Cemetery site. This site, I'm told on the home page, "brings together information from many different research sources to offer you a unique view of one of New Zealand's most interesting cemeteries". On this site I found excerpts from the book "From Peterhead to Passchendaele" written by Roy Buchan, who also turns out to be one of my distant relatives.

It also contains the following transcribed monumental inscription for some members of this family buried in the Northern Cemetery, Dunedin:

Monumental Inscription

(1)
In memory of

CHARLES BUCHAN

1830 - 1910

and Wife

JANET BUCHAN

1830 - 1915

JESSIE RITCHIE BUCHAN

1888 - 1908
JOHN BUCHAN

1858 - 1926

and Wife
JESSIE BUCHAN

1860 - 1910
Arrived in NZ on ship Rimutaka, 1893

from Peterhead, Scotland

and lie buried here.

(2)
In loving memory of
ROSEMARY ANN BUCHAN

Died 5th June 1988

Aged 41 years.

(3)
In loving memory of

ANNIE ROSS BUCHAN

Dearly loved wife of ROBERT

And loved mother of

LORELEI, ROBIN and ROSEMARY

Died 22nd March 1972.

Also ROBERT BUCHAN

Died 4th January 1995

Aged 90 years.
"Keep a green bough in your heart,

And God will send you a singing bird."

(4)
In loving memory of

Henry J.D. SCRYMGEOUR

Dearly loved husband of LORELEI

Loved father of ROSS, MURRAY & ALISTAIR

17-11-1926 - 6-1-1999

(5)
CHRISTINA BUCHAN

1894 - 1978

The information I found on this site allowed me to answer the questions I had on my Emigrating to New Zealand post :

* Which Jessie and John are recorded above Alex's family and how do they link to my family?

Jessie is Alex's sister and John Buchan is her husband - I would now like to find out if John's family were closely connected to Jessie's.

*What happened to Alex's sister Jessie (is she the Jessie mentioned above) and brother Charles?

Jessie also travelled to New Zealand on the Rimutaka (see answer above). It appears Charles stayed in Scotland:

"Four of their children were: Peter (1858), Jessie (1860), Alexander (1862), and
William (1872). These sailed with their parents to New Zealand, but there is
thought to be at least one other who stayed behind".

* Which Jessie Buchan is buried in the family grave with Charles and Jessie (born Janet RITCHIE)?

"Their daughter Jessie died at the age of twenty in 1908 of meningitis and is buried in the same plot with her mother, who died two years later in 1910".

* Who is Master John? I've had no record of this person so far - is he Charles and Jessie's son?

He is John & Jessie's son, apparently just tagging along with his grandparents.

I also now have more family members to fit into the tree.

NOTE: I did find an error in this information, which should be a warning to all of us NOT to accept all that we're given without question. It appears the author confused Janet/Jessie Buchan (1833) with her daughter Jessie Buchan (1860) when he writes that her maiden name was also Buchan. I have much evidence to prove that her maiden surname was RITCHIE.

Thank you to all the people involved in sharing the information I found on The Northern Cemetery site - it is VERY much appreciated.

Image on left: "From the Road to the Northern Cemetery" by George O'Brien found on Auckland Art Gallery