I started planning this trip to find Linda and my Scottish ancestors in October 2019, but due to the Covid pandemic the trip had to be postponed from June 2020 to June 2021 to August 2021 to August 2022. Many changes were made to my original planning blog as I found out more about our Scottish ancestors. Consequently, I cancelled that planning blog and am now publishing what I hope is the final version.
Ive been in search of ancestors for quite some time. In May 1995, before returning to the States after living 18 years in Europe, we visited Norway to find my paternal Carlsen ancestors who came from the island of Notteroy on the Oslo fjord (see Norway and Denmark Memorial Day Vacation). More recently Ive resumed my search. In May 2019, I visited Devon, England to visit the towns from where my maternal Northcott ancestors lived and to find some missing links in the family tree (see Solving a Mystery In My Devon Ancestry). I found the links and solved some mysteries. I had an amazing time.
At the end of that trip, while visiting my daughter Rosanna and family in Connecticut, we visited New London where one of Lindas ancestors, Rev. William Douglas, immigrated with his
family, first to Boston in 1640 and then to New London. Upon reading the history of New London, William turned out not to be a direct ancestor. So once I got home I started to research her paternal family tree in detail using Wikipedia, Google Books, etc. Once I made all the corrections it turns out that William was the brother of Lindas direct ancestor, Robert Douglas, who remained in Scotland. Along the way I discovered many more of her Scottish ancestors.
I was able to track her Hair family name back to George Hair, her 10th great grandfather, who was born in Glasgow in 1580. The family subsequently moved to Kilbarchan and New Cumnock in Ayrshire. James Hair moved from New Cumnock to Lancaster County PA in about 1750. He married Mary Greer (5th great grandparents). They then moved to Pigeon Creek, Washington County, PA where he died in 1817. He and Mary are buried at the Pigeon Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery (see In Search of Colonial Ancestors in Delaware and Pennsylvania) and generations of his descendants are buried at the nearby Claysville Cemetery.
I was able to track her links to Scottish aristocracy through her 2nd great grandparents, Samuel Withers Hair
and Nancy Patterson. Nancys roots can be traced from the Pattersons to the Rutherfords to the Bridgetts to Sir Andrew Riddell, Baron of Riddell and Haining, who married Lady Violette Douglas, daughter of Sir William Douglas, 6th Earl of Morton and Lady Agnes Leslie (11th great grandparents). Through the Pattersons, I followed the Scots branch to Sir Walter Scott, 1st Earl of Buccleuch, then to Sir Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Errol, who married Lady Elizabeth Douglas, Countess of Errol, another daughter of Sir William Douglas, 6th Earl of Morton and Lady Agnes Leslie.
Further up Lindas tree, her 3rd great grandfather, Capt. James Hair married Margaret Black, whose 3rd great grandfather James Black married Marion Somerville (6th great grandparents), whose roots can be traced to the Lords Somerville and Lords Hamilton.
Even further up her tree, her 7th great grandfather, another James Hair, who was transported to Virginia colony in 1750, married Janet Corsbie, whose father John married Janet Douglas, who descended from Sir Robert Douglas, Master of Morton and Lady Jean Glamis Lyon, Countess of Angus (10th great grandparents), the son of the aforementioned Sir William Douglas, Sixth Earl of Morton and Lady Agnes Leslie, Countess
of Morton (11th great grandparents). So Linda is linked to them through three of their children. So the main trunk of her tree is the Douglas family. To ensure that my information was correct, I bought Volumes 1 and 2 of A History of the House of Douglas from the earliest Times Down to the Legislative Union of England and Scotland.
Travelmates near
