Finally found my gg grandmother.

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Ina
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Posts: 1367
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 6:46 am
Location: California,originally from Greenock.

Finally found my gg grandmother.

Post by Ina » Fri Aug 02, 2013 4:19 pm

Hi,
Growing up in Greenock, I would often visit my great grandmother Wilhelmina Hewitson Janets Rutherford (I’m named after her). She was born in 1874 in Whitechapel, England. My mother gave me some old photos of Wilhelmina’s parents James Rutherford and Margaret Hewitson. All I was ever told about them was that they were English. When I started my genealogy research it was thanks to a member on the old SP discussion board that I was able to get Wilhelmina’s birth record and also her parent’s 1873 London marriage record. Sadly the English marriage records only give the names of the bride and grooms father…..no mother’s names on the record. The record listed James Rutherford’s occupation as bag store clerk.

I always wondered what brought Wilhelmina to Greenock, Scotland……unfortunately I never asked her when I had the chance.

For about 10 years I searched English census and death records looking for James Rutherford and Margaret Hewitson, with no luck. I finally gave up several years ago and figured it was a brick wall that I was never going to be able to break down. ](*,)

A few weeks ago I decided to get back in and do some more research. Since I hadn’t been able to find these people in England I decided to take a chance and search in Scotland for Margaret Hewitson, with Rutherford as other names used………and guess where I found her death record?……..in my hometown of Greenock. Boy did I ever feel like a fool. :oops: :oops: Here was the death record of Margaret Hewitson married to James Rutherford , bag store clerk. From her death record I was able to find her parent’s marriage record and then I found her mother’s death record which took me back two more generations. Found them on census records and discovered that the Hewitson’s originally came from Troon, Ayrshire.

So now I know the answer as to why did my great grandmother come to Greenock……..she came to her grandparents.

Moral of this story for me was……if you can't find them, think closer to home!! Now I’m on a mission to find the Rutherfords.

A very happy Ina

LesleyB
Posts: 8184
Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2005 12:18 am
Location: Scotland

Re: Finally found my gg grandmother.

Post by LesleyB » Fri Aug 02, 2013 6:35 pm

It is always good when you get a breakthrough like that! Sometimes it helps to have taken a break from the problem for a bit, as you did, and come at it afresh. Congratulations on finding them! =D>

Best wishes
Lesley

garibaldired
Posts: 642
Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2005 2:42 pm
Location: Dorset, UK

Re: Finally found my gg grandmother.

Post by garibaldired » Fri Aug 02, 2013 7:44 pm

Well done, Ina. =D>
Very pleased for you.

Best wishes,
Meg

Russell
Posts: 2559
Joined: Sat Dec 24, 2005 5:59 pm
Location: Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire
Contact:

Re: Finally found my gg grandmother.

Post by Russell » Fri Aug 02, 2013 11:01 pm

Hi Ina
That's fantastic. Maybe our genealogy motto should be "Never Give Up" You followed De Bono's notion of Lateral Thinking and it paid off =D> =D> =D>

Russell
Working on: Oman, Brock, Miller/Millar, in Caithness.
Roan/Rowan, Hastings, Sharp, Lapraik in Ayr & Kirkcudbrightshire.
Johnston, Reside, Lyle all over the place !
McGilvray(spelt 26 different ways)
Watson, Morton, Anderson, Tawse, in Kilrenny

Bertha
Posts: 230
Joined: Tue May 24, 2005 6:35 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: Finally found my gg grandmother.

Post by Bertha » Sat Aug 03, 2013 9:02 am

Great stuff Ina, only hope I can turn up something similar on my Mclarens. Shows you never give up!
Cheers
[cheers] Bertha
looking for
Nelson/Neilson,Wood,McDonald,Baillie - East Lothian
McLaren,Ross,Kelly,McEwan,Nicholson,Price/Pryce,Telfer,Robertson, Dickson/Dixon, Gibson,Niven Edinburgh

ninatoo
Posts: 1221
Joined: Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:42 am
Location: Australia

Re: Finally found my gg grandmother.

Post by ninatoo » Sat Aug 03, 2013 9:37 am

\:D/ Well done Ina \:D/ It always gives me hope for those brick walls in my own tree, when I hear of someone else smashing one down!

There's a lot to be said for having a fresh look after a break. For me, it seems to clear my brain of all the muddly, piled up possibilities and other stuff that got in the way the last time I searched.

Except for one couple...my gg grandparents who were either dropped here by aliens, miraculously spontaneously appeared in 1870 or just lied outright about their names, parents' names and places of birth! No matter what I do, I just cannot find any likely suspects!

:roll:
Researching: Easton ( Renfrewshire, Dunbarton and Glasgow), Corr (Londonderry and Glasgow), Carson (Co. Down, Irvine, Ayrshire and Glasgow), Logan (Londonderry and Glasgow)

Anne H
Global Moderator
Posts: 2127
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 5:12 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Finally found my gg grandmother.

Post by Anne H » Sat Aug 03, 2013 10:51 am

That's wonderful, Ina. Well done! =D> =D>

Regards,
Anne H

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