Heritage Discovery
Recently, I made a discovery about my ancestors that began with The Juggler's Children by Carolyn Abraham, a book that I picked up randomly at the library because it looked interesting. The author's family had European heritage but lived in India and eventually immigrated to Canada via England. As a science journalist, she was interested in DNA testing to provide information about ancestry and used it in her journey to discover her own family history.
I was never seriously interested in researching my family history, but the book inspired me to do a little "Googling". After about an hour of typing in a few family names, I was amazed at what I found!
It turns out that I can trace my grandmother's (on my mother's side) ancestry back to 1751 in Scotland! This information was thanks to a site that I stumbled upon called Canadian Headstones. It seems that a "relative", who I do not know, did a lot of work and created a family tree of the Storie family (Storie is my grandmother's maiden name.) ..... since first writing this post I have been in touch with my 3rd cousin 1x, removed, Doug Storie who lives in the U.S.!!
William Storie was born in 1751 in Renfrewshire, Scottland and married Elizabeth Stewart (born in 1757). (They would be my great x4 grandparents).Their son, William Storie (Jr.) married Mary Ann McQueen from Ayrshire, Scotland. In 1829 William and Mary Ann sailed across the Atlantic to Canada with their five children, William, John, Elizabeth, Agnes and Thomas, While at sea, their two young daughters died, Elizabeth was four years old, and Agnes three. One of the children was buried at sea and the other on an island in eastern Canada.
The family settled in McNab Township, Renfrew, Ontario and had eight more children. One of those eight children, Agnes Storie (presumably named after her deceased sister) had a son named John Storie "Harvie". The documents list his mother (Agnes) as "not married"! (interesting!). The family tree goes on to show that one year after her son, John, was born, she married a fellow by the name of John Harvie and together they had nine children. I wonder if her first son, John Storie was the biological son of John Harvie?? (Nice to have a little mystery in your family tree!)
Anyway, John Storie "Harvie" eventually married Annie Ferguson and they are my great grandparents! The woman in the photo below (top left) is Annie (Ferguson) Storie. The woman beside her (top right) is Mary Minerva Storie, my grandmother and the child she is holding is my aunt Mabel, who was the oldest of my mother's three siblings. The woman sitting in the chair is Marion (Frood) Ferguson (Annie's mother, I assume). I believe that the photo was taken in 1903 or 1904 since Mabel looks like she is only a few months old and her birth date is 1903.
So, you might have noticed that the William Storie of 1751 and his family were from Renfrewshire in Scotland and the family that sailed across the Atlantic settled in McNab Township, Renfrew Ontario. That was no coincidence. The original settlers in the area were from Renfrewshire and thus the name Renfrew. My ancestors, William and Mary (McQueen) Storie , from Renfrewshire, Scotland likely came with or followed other relatives to the new land. It seems that most of the Stories settled in McNab Township, a plot of land once dominated by the last Laird of McNab , one of the last clan chieftains. "Laird" McNab was a colourful character to say the least, and not in a good way for the settlers. He ruled the township as a feudal lord, treating the settlers poorly. The families he brought from Scotland arrived with little provisions in place for them, living in roughly built shanties and forced to make steep debt payments. Eventually McNab was forced out by the government and fled to France.
Thus it was such circumstances that William and Mary Storie would have arrived into after making the long journey across the Atlantic as well as suffering the loss of two young children. They obviously survived and went on to have eight more children!. ...... oh that we of the twenty first century could be made of such stern stuff!
The Last Laird of McNab
The Storie Family Tree was found on "Canadian Headstones" thanks to the work of my 3rd cousin x1, Doug Storie.
I was never seriously interested in researching my family history, but the book inspired me to do a little "Googling". After about an hour of typing in a few family names, I was amazed at what I found!
It turns out that I can trace my grandmother's (on my mother's side) ancestry back to 1751 in Scotland! This information was thanks to a site that I stumbled upon called Canadian Headstones. It seems that a "relative", who I do not know, did a lot of work and created a family tree of the Storie family (Storie is my grandmother's maiden name.) ..... since first writing this post I have been in touch with my 3rd cousin 1x, removed, Doug Storie who lives in the U.S.!!
The Storie Family Tree Tells the Following Tale:
William Storie was born in 1751 in Renfrewshire, Scottland and married Elizabeth Stewart (born in 1757). (They would be my great x4 grandparents).Their son, William Storie (Jr.) married Mary Ann McQueen from Ayrshire, Scotland. In 1829 William and Mary Ann sailed across the Atlantic to Canada with their five children, William, John, Elizabeth, Agnes and Thomas, While at sea, their two young daughters died, Elizabeth was four years old, and Agnes three. One of the children was buried at sea and the other on an island in eastern Canada.
The family settled in McNab Township, Renfrew, Ontario and had eight more children. One of those eight children, Agnes Storie (presumably named after her deceased sister) had a son named John Storie "Harvie". The documents list his mother (Agnes) as "not married"! (interesting!). The family tree goes on to show that one year after her son, John, was born, she married a fellow by the name of John Harvie and together they had nine children. I wonder if her first son, John Storie was the biological son of John Harvie?? (Nice to have a little mystery in your family tree!)
Anyway, John Storie "Harvie" eventually married Annie Ferguson and they are my great grandparents! The woman in the photo below (top left) is Annie (Ferguson) Storie. The woman beside her (top right) is Mary Minerva Storie, my grandmother and the child she is holding is my aunt Mabel, who was the oldest of my mother's three siblings. The woman sitting in the chair is Marion (Frood) Ferguson (Annie's mother, I assume). I believe that the photo was taken in 1903 or 1904 since Mabel looks like she is only a few months old and her birth date is 1903.
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| Top left, Annie Ferguson, top right, Mary Minerva (Storie) Neil, bottom left, Marion (Frood) Ferguson, bottom right, Mabel Nellie Neil |
Thus it was such circumstances that William and Mary Storie would have arrived into after making the long journey across the Atlantic as well as suffering the loss of two young children. They obviously survived and went on to have eight more children!. ...... oh that we of the twenty first century could be made of such stern stuff!
The Last Laird of McNab
The Storie Family Tree was found on "Canadian Headstones" thanks to the work of my 3rd cousin x1, Doug Storie.
I have information on Annie Ferguson's ancestors back to her gr-grandparents that I can share with you. Bill M.
ReplyDeleteHello Bill, Thanks so much for your comment! I would love to hear more about Annie Ferguson's ancestors. Perhaps you could email me at lynncarr23@hotmail.com?
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