I’ve mentioned in many of my posts that genealogy is one of my biggest addictions and it is something I used to share with Grandma when she was still with us. Recently, the website, Scotland’s People, updated their online birth and death records to 2006. You can do a search but you can’t access the images until the 100 year rule is over. Of course, ever curious, I couldn’t wait to play with the new records and it is so frustrating not being able to see the images which give you that all important info. It’s very strange to see your info there!

I really don’t know much about my paternal grandparents and I was shocked to realise Papa was 16 years older than Nana! I don’t suppose it makes that much difference when you consider many older men marry much younger women but it is the mysterious aspects that intrigue me. You see, Nana was pregnant when she married Papa and the child wasn’t his! I get the impression that it wasn’t a secret because my mum has often told me that everyone made such a fuss when my dad (the second child) was born and did not accept his older brother. My mum says Granny Emily Jane (someone I never met) was a total bitch about the whole thing and everyone thought she was an evil old cow. (Not my words!)

However, I’ve discovered Papa’s father, Henry, was actually married twice and Papa is actually the son of his first wife, Annie, who died. It’s so sad because all of Henry and Annie’s children died young, except Papa, of course. My dad and his brothers never knew about this and never realised Emily Jane was actually their step gran! I’d love to know the story behind it all! Nana was also illegitimate which makes it next to impossible to trace her line back any further. Her father was listed as James McKenzie, a farmer, but do you know how many men have that name in Scotland?

I also got quite a jolt when I noticed that my older brother was also listed. I knew my mum had lost two babies before me and that one of them had been named Robert but I wasn’t really expecting to see his name there at all since he was born so early. It’s a strange thing to think about how they decide whether a premature delivery should be registered or not. I haven’t told Mum that his name is there because she doesn’t really need to know that.