My 5th Great Grandparents Marriage Registry ~ John & Jean (nee Beveridge) Thomson

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 18 (INSTITUTIONS)

Mirriam-Webster dictionary defines Institution as

"a: an established organization or corporation (such as a bank or university) especially of a public character financial institutions

b: a facility or establishment in which people (such as the sick or needy) live and receive care typically in a confined setting and often without individual consent … the testator disinherited her siblings over their efforts to have her committed to a mental institution in the wake of several suicide attempts.—William M. McGovern, Jr. 

c: a significant practice, relationship, or organization in a society or culture the institution of marriage also : something or someone firmly associated with a place or thing she has become an institution in the theater"  1 

 In reading the definition I immediately thought about focusing on marriage. 

I then began searching through the marriage records I had for further back in our tree, and found my 5th great grandparents on my paternal grandmother's paternal line.

My 5th great grandparents:
John Thomson
Birth JUL 1763 • Seggie, Orwell, Kinross, Scotland
Death BEF. 1829 • Scotland, United Kingdom
and
Jean Beveridge
Birth OCTOBER 1765 • Portmoak, Kinross-shire, Scotland, United Kingdom
Death Unknown

They were married on December 21st 1787 in Orwell, Kinross, Scotland.

As I looked at the registry I took a moment - 237 years has passed, and this record provides proof of my 5th great grandparents marriage. 

It offers little insight into who they were as people.

In Scotland these names are common so I have had little success in searching for more details.

I have found quite a bit of information on their son, Thomas Thomson (my 4th great grandfather). He was a fisherman residing in Buckhaven. 

The Thomson family stayed in that location - my grandmother was born in North Berwick.

This is my primary reason for searching & blogging - to breath life into the people who came before me. 

When you find the documents that make you go wow!!! 

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Footnotes:

1  Definition establishment. Mirriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved April 30th 2025 from
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/establishment

Sources:

Mirriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved April 30th 2025 from
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/establishment

Photos:

John Thomson & Jean Beveridge Marriage registration. Cropped. Scotlands People.

Personal

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________

When ThruLines Gives You An Idea ~ Bayes & Dendy Connected?

  52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 17 (DNA)

When I first started searching our family history it didn't take me long to realize DNA would be needed to sort out my father's paternal line.

In doing DNA for that purpose many other details became clear.

BUT DNA testing has also created some confusion.

Added to the challenge of sorting how a match is connected to our Bramble Bush are errors in the trees of our matches.

This week I decided to look at ThruLines to see if there was anything new since I last looked at them.

I discovered something that made me look closer....
My maternal grandmother's maternal line, Dendy, has a potential connection to her paternal line, Bayes.

My great grandparents

Earnest (Ernest) Helmer (Elmer) (Hap) (Ernie) Bayes

Birth 17 JUL 1903 • Campbellford, Northumberland, Ontario, Canada
Death 19 OCT 1986 • Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
&

Rose Honor Dendy

Birth 14 APR 1906 • R.M. of Pipestone, Bardal, Manitoba, Canada
Death 17 SEP 1974 • Nelson, British Columbia, Canada

The Bayes Family: Rose, Hap, Amy, Fred

The Bayes Family: Rose, Hap, Amy, Fred

The Bayes Family: Rose, Hap, Amy, Fred

If ThruLines is to be believed Grandma's 4th great grandmother on her Dendy maternal line was Ann Bayes. 

Since ThruLines on Ancestry can't be taken as fact I began searching for documents that I was not able to find.

A GedMatch check says grandma's parents aren't related:

I was unable to find any proof of the Bayes connection through her Dendy line, but with my curiosity now peaked the search continues.

Remembering that ThruLines can't be trusted, but they can provide ideas!!! 

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Photos:

GedMatch Clip

Personal

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________

Skoryky (Скорики), Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine - Origins Of My Genealogical Search

  52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 16 (OLDEST STORY)

In thinking about oldest story I immediately thought about the origins of where my interest in my own genealogical story began. 

I was 29 when I first heard my Scottish grandfather, Clyde Robertson, might not exist & was in fact a Ukrainian man named Max Pellack.

It took 20 years & DNA matching to confirm this tale was true.

Over the past 30 plus years I have found little information about my family's origins before 1909's arrival in Canada.

What I do know is they lived in a small village in Ukraine - Skoryky (Скорики), Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine. 

It's a strange feeling to know the family you thought you knew never existed. 

So many times I look at the map & wonder what my family's homeland looks like. 

Google Streetview offered me a small peak into that world

Someday I may get a chance to visit in real life!!! 

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Photos:

Google Maps Clips, Retrieved April 20th 2025

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________

Jane Gaylor married to Robert Watt ~ Tracking the mtDNA

  52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 15 (BIG MISTAKE)

My 5th great grandmother following my father's maternal line is

Jane Gaylor
Birth 21 MAY 1763 • Whitekirk, East Lothian, Scotland
Death Unknown
married to
Robert Watt
Birth 5 NOV 1765 • Athelstaneford, East Lothian, Scotland
Death 2 OCT 1851 • Prestonkirk, East Lothian, Scotland

This is as far back on my dad's direct maternal line I have found via traditional paper-based research.

Recently we did dad's mtDNA:
The initial results: mtDNA Haplogroup I1a1, 
The updated results: Mitotree Haplogroup I1a1l

We are luckier than some because dad had 5 exact matches along with 13 1 step matches.

In looking at the matches who have trees not one jumped out as an obvious connection.

Since we are only back to X4 great grandma on that side it really would have been a mistake to think mtDNA would provide what was needed to go back further on that line.

BUT it also might be that the research I have done so far isn't correct.

Elizabeth Young (nee Slicer) Thomson with
her daughters Marion (Maisie) &
Mary (my grandmother) up front

When the mistake might be in the research!!! 

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Photos:

Personal

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________

Mother Tongue ~ This Family's Historical Languages Were Lost

  52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 14 (LANGUAGE)

"Canada prides itself on being an international beacon of multiculturalism; nearly one in four people in Canada today is an immigrant. The country relies on newcomers to boost both population and productivity and aims to increase immigration levels to 500,000 newcomers a year by 2025. Yet its Multiculturalism Act, which enshrines the right of immigrants and Indigenous peoples to protect, preserve and enhance their mother tongues with government support, is falling short.

Mother tongues are in steep decline, generation over generation. Many arrive here not realizing they are likely to be the last generation in their family to speak their language. Worse, the important role of language in preserving culture is being ignored, say experts and advocates. “It’s not possible to have multiculturalism without multilingualism,” says Slava Balan, a human rights researcher and a PhD candidate at the University of Ottawa who immigrated to Quebec from Moldova. “If cultures are only reduced to the dances, songs, cuisine and all this stuff, that’s just a pretence. That’s not real multiculturalism.” " 1

I'm a 2nd generation Canadian on my paternal grandmother's side, and 3rd generation on my paternal grandfather's side.

I was born in Quebec, and spoke French before English. 

The only language I speak & understand now is English.

My paternal grandmother was born in North Berwick, Scotland coming to Canada when she was 4. 

Until this week, I had never even considered what language she first spoke as a child. 

I only ever heard Grandma speak perfectly pronounced English.

"According to The National, Scots is “one of three native languages spoken in Scotland today” along with English and Scottish Gaelic. However, despite the ongoing debate as to whether or not Scots is a real language or just a dialect, it can be considered a settled matter as it has already been recognised by the UK government and Council of Europe."  2

I never asked Grandma what language she spoke as a child in Scotland, but I would have loved to hear her say:

"Cam Ower an Gie’s a Bosie"  2

which translates to 

“come here and give me a hug.” 2

I will never know if Grandma's first language was Scots.

My paternal grandfather was the first child born in Canada on the homestead (1910). His parents & 3 older siblings immigrated from Ukraine in 1909. The 1916 census records none of the family spoke, read, or wrote English. The family spoke Ukrainian. 

I grew up hearing my grandfather speak perfectly pronounced English. 

I would never have guessed English wasn't his first language.

Like many immigrant families they did not pass their mother tongue to their children/grandchildren. 

The only language spoken in the family was English.

My grandparents
Clyde & Mary (nee Thomson) Robertson
Clyde's birth name was Max Pellack 
AKA Clyde Robertson (no record found of name change to date)

Our family's historical languages were not preserved!!! 

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Footnotes:

1  Why diaspora communities in Canada are struggling to keep their first languages alive. Ramzy, Mark. Broadview. Originally published November 14th 2023. Retrieved April 1st 2025 from
https://broadview.org/canada-immigrants-mother-tongue-diaspora/    ***This publication takes a Christian worldview***

2 Can you read Scots? 16 Scots language examples, is it really “just a dialect”. Hepburn, David. The Scotsman. Originally published January 10th 2023, Updated November 28th 2024. Retrieved April 1st 2025 from
https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/examples-of-the-scots-language-3981707?page=2

Sources:

Can you read Scots? 16 Scots language examples, is it really “just a dialect”. Hepburn, David. The Scotsman. Originally published January 10th 2023, Updated November 28th 2024. Retrieved April 1st 2025 from
https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/examples-of-the-scots-language-3981707?page=2

Photos:

Personal

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________