Conclusions .....Chapter 14

[AnneM]

Hi folks

At long last another episode of the Sarah story. Hope you haven't all forgotten about the characters by now!!!!!!

Conclusions

The scene is again a book lined study, but here the shelves are of pine and supported by metal struts. Thrust onto them at odd angles and with no concern for order is a varied collection. School text books mingle with the familiar black and orange spines of old fashioned paper backs, a sprinkling of hardbacks, among them copies of Harry Potter, and the occasional pastel cover, betraying its owner’s weakness for ‘chick-lit’. The window is open a fraction and the curtains billow gently in a cooling breeze.

A half-full bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and two glasses grace the desk at which sit two middle aged women, a bit giggly despite their so far modest consumption of alcohol. Their attention is focussed on a photograph, a fading black and white photograph which is propped up against the computer screen.

The photo is of a group in a garden. Seated bolt upright at the centre is an elderly woman with still bright eyes and a prominent Roman nose. She is dressed in a dark skirt and high necked blouse, pinned at the throat with a cameo brooch; her abundant white hair is held at either side with a comb and swept back in a bun. The fact that she is seated cannot hide her height.

Jenny turns the photo over. “Look, it says ‘Mother’s seventy fifth birthday’. Pity it does not give a date. Whose writing is that, do you think?”

“Looks like Grandma’s” replies Susan “But then Great Grandma was not her mother. Perhaps she just called her that. Should be possible to work out the date. Who are all the rest of the people, then?”

“Well that gangly teenager in short pants sprawled on the grass has to be Dad. What does he look like?”

“Looks like he does not want to be there. He hasn’t changed much has he? How old do you reckon he is in this picture.”

“About 13 or 14 or could be a bit older I suppose. Kids looked a lot younger in those days. Even when we were kids they did. Now they all look about 25 as soon as they hit their teens.”

“Do you think Dad would remember much about this? We could phone him and ask when it was taken.”

“Heavens no. He’d put Mom on and then we’d never get off the phone and get started. Anyway this whole thing is supposed to be surprise for him. Do you think he’ll appreciate it?”

“Reckon so. As long as we don’t find out anything too awful or, now I come to think about it, he might appreciate a bit of scandal.”

“Right, to business! If we work out who the others are we should get the date about right. That’s definitely Grandma standing behind Dad to great grandma’s right and the chap next to her on Great Grandma’s shoulder has to be our best clue because he’s in uniform, which almost certainly puts it during the War. He doesn’t look very young but adults looked older then. Isn’t that funny but it’s true. Adults looked older and kids looked younger. Now everyone tries to look like a twenty something. OK, better stop philosophising and get on with it. The guy in uniform is he Great Uncle Jack?”

“I thought he died in the war”

“No, that was Uncle Callum wasn’t it and in the First War. Remember Granddad said that Great Grandma never really got over it, though she does not look like someone who spent her time feeling sorry for herself. In fact, she looks like a bit of a tartar”

“I guess there’s getting over things and getting over things. In those days people just got on with life but I don’t suppose they felt any differently from the way we do. I just can’t imagine how I would keep living if anything happened to even one of mine, can you?”

Her elder shudders at the thought, “God, no. Though they drive me mad much of the time.”

Right on cue a tousled head appears round the door. “Mom, are you going to be long? I need to get on the web.”

“Sorry but your Aunt Susan and I have not really got started. We’ll be here for the evening. And don’t use language like that!”

“I didn’t say anything” protests her son.

“I’m your mother. I can read your thoughts. Is there not a test match from the West Indes on the TV?”

“I guess so but the last time I looked we were losing. I’ll leave you alone but just don’t get any of that wine on the keyboard. You’ll wreck it.”

“Certainly not!” replies his indignant parent, surreptitiously wiping a red splash from the space bar.

“OK” says Susan “We’ve established that that is Uncle Jack.”

“Yes, I think he was in North Africa kicking Rommel and survived. If this is during the War he must have been home on leave. Didn’t he get married afterwards and move to New Zealand?”

“I believe you. So if that’s him who are the others?”

“Well the older lady must be one of the Great Aunts. She looks about our age wouldn’t you say or a bit younger.”

“I’m not as old as you, remember. I suppose she might be Caroline or Maggie. We can’t possibly tell. We’ll have to ask Dad eventually. I’m sure he’d know.”

“Doesn’t matter for now. The younger woman, it’s not Aunt May , too old to be her and doesn’t look like her anyway. Too pretty. She had great grandma’s nose, poor woman. Must be a cousin. Didn’t one of the Great Aunts get married young and move to Zimbabwe. Rhodesia. That was Kate, I think. Maybe that’s her daughter on a visit. She’s very smart. That dress is very 40s and is that hairstyle not a victory roll? I think we’re definitely during the war. What do you think? 1942? 1943? or later?”

“That would make Great Grandma born about mid to late 1860s. Do you think that’s right?”

“It’s the best we’ve got just now. Who’s missing from the photo? Aunt May?”

“Since it was among her things she probably took it herself. Great Grandad must have been dead by then but where’s Grandad? “

“Probably working. Even if it was his mother’s birthday, he would have to rush off for some emergency just as they were cutting the cake. Remember how Grandma was always moaning about him working all the time.”

“And about his pipe and that awful old tweed jacket with the patches he was so fond of. I can still smell it, a mixture of tobacco and wet dog. I still miss him you know.”

“So do I. He was such fun, particularly once he retired, more or less. Do you remember how he used to tell us all those Scottish stories about kelpies and babies that got stolen by fairies and read us Kidnapped and stuff by Sir Walter Scott? I wish I’d paid more attention when he was talking about the family though. It would have made things much easier now.”

“Well, we might as well dive in and we’ve got to start somewhere. I do remember that one of them, Grandad or Grandma, said that the Greats got married in Scotland and moved out a couple of years later to Malawi. We could start by looking for the marriage. It said in the book that that will give us both sets of parents so it would be a good start. Have you logged in?”

“Yes, Miss. And bought some credits. You can pay for the next lot. Do we dare start searching. I’m quite excited already.”

“OK. What do we know? Male surname. That’s easy.Type in McCallum.”

“I know, teacher, and forename Hugh.”

“Now female surname. Dash it, what was Great Grandma’s maiden name? I only ever knew about her as Great Gran McCallum.”

“Don’t know everything do you, teacher? I’m pretty sure it was Grandad’s middle name and he was Bill what? Hold on, I’ve still got a book or two of his and the name in the front is W. R. McCallum. What was the R for again.....something quite unusual. Got it........Redpath. He told me about it when I was little and I said it sounded like he should have been a Red Indian.”

“Since Katie’s not here, it’s my duty to remind you that it’s Native American, dear.”

“I know but it wasn’t back in the 1960s. It’s a real pity Katie could not manage along this evening.”

“She’s desperate to join in next time but tonight she had to go to her book club, the one she calls worst book club in the world.Only half the members ever start reading the book and even fewer finish it. Then they talk about it for five minutes before getting on to the gossip.”

“What’s the book this time”

“They decided for some reason to re-read Lady Chatterley.”

“Can’t see Kate being happy about that. If I remember rightly it’s seriously over-rated and horribly misogynist. Mellors is such a bore no woman in her right mind would go anywhere near him. Even the sex bits are just ridiculous. What’s the real topic under discussion?”

“Evidently the husband of the Senior Social Worker in the mental health team, who’s a senior shrink, has run off with a psychiatric nurse. I thought they were all six foot bearded chaps who wore sandals over socks but this one is a five foot ten blond called Ilsa with legs up to her armpits.”

“You should not think in stereotypes, dear. That’s a shame for the poor woman but we had better get back to the task in hand.”

“OK, have you entered Redpath under female surname? I think her Christian name was Sarah so we can go with that. What about a date?”

“Well we think she was born between about 1865 and 1870, so if she was between 20 and 30 when she got married that would give us a range of 1885 to 1900. Do you think that is too wide?”

“I don’t know. Didn’t people get married really very young in those days?”

“I think I read somewhere that they actually tended to marry quite late. Anyway there surely can’t be many McCallum Redpath marriages so let’s just leave the range quite wide. Scotland’s not a huge country.”

“Now, where do you think they got married?”

“I haven’t a clue. Do you think we have to put something in? Wasn’t at least one of them from the Highlands. They probably both were because people didn’t travel about much in those days. Katie’s always going on about her Highland blood after all. Perhaps we should try somewhere there.”

“Where? Inverness or something like that? That’s the capital of the Highlands isn’t it?”

“It was probably some remote village somewhere. Let’s just go with all of Scotland and try that. We might be lucky.”

“Right. Press search. Look, look there’s only one result.

“But it’s in Edinburgh. It can’t possibly be right. How would they get there?”

“Come on Jen, open it. If we don’t look we’ll never know.”

Bravely Jenny clicks the mouse and the sisters watch in wonder as the image appears before their eyes. Jenny shrieks, “It’s them, it’s them. Wow our first success!” Then she reads carefully “24th July 1893, at 10 Inverleith Road or is that Row, can you read that?..........never mind for now……..Edinburgh after Banns according to the ……is that Established….Church of Scotland, signed Hugh McCallum, medical student, bachelor aged 23 and Sarah Redpath, spinster, aged 24. His parents are Malcolm McCallum, Mason and Catherine McCallum, m.s. MacLeod and look here’s her parents William Redpath, mill worker, deceased, and Elizabeth Redpath m.s. that must mean maiden surname Elliot. Are you writing this down or should we just print it off? Here’s the name of the minister who married them and the witnesses. Do you think they’re important?”

“I’m sure the book said we should note every piece of information as it may come in useful.”

“OK. Ninian D. Kerr, minister, witnesses Margaret Cameron and James Campbell.”

“That’s disappointing. They don’t seem to be relatives or at least not brothers or sisters so no clues there.”

“But is it not great? We’ve got parents for both Hugh and Sarah now and 3 out of 4 still alive in 1893.”

“I guess so but don’t you think it’s funny? His father was a mason. I guess that means a stone mason and hers was a mill worker. How did he manage to afford to study medicine? Surely in those days you had to be rich to go to University. Anyway, how did they meet up?”

“Maybe they came from the same village. He somehow came to be a student and she followed him.”

“I still think it’s funny. I’m sure Grandad always said that the McCallums were Highland. Now my geography’s not great shakes but I’d have thought it would have been more natural to go to Glasgow rather than Edinburgh from the Highlands and I still don’t understand how the son of a mason managed to go to University. I didn’t think there was much social mobility.”

“No point in wondering about it. It says it there clearly on the certificate. It’s a mystery. And I guess if Sarah came from the same village she would not be educated like him, though she could sign her name. Girls didn’t get educated in those days did they and her father was only a mill worker. Were there mills in the Highlands? Do you suppose that made the marriage difficult?”

“Well, it lasted, didn’t it. Or we would not be here. Mind you, I suppose marriages had to last then. People didn’t get divorced.”

“All this making up stories is not getting us anywhere. We need to find out properly where they were born.”

“We could try the 1891 census. They might already be in Edinburgh. Who should we look for first?”

“Sarah, after all she’s in the photograph.”

“You don’t think Dad would be more interested in the McCallum line?”

“We’ll get around to that. No, ladies first. We’re going for Sarah. Anyway, I don’t think Redpath’s such a common name so it should be easier to find her.”

“OK, get clicking.”

Painstakingly Jenny types in the details and two results show up. One a 20 year old Sarah in Glasgow and one a 22 year old in Edinburgh. “Edinburgh seems more likely and that’s the right age.”

“Can’t see her can you? This is definitely the page.”

Both sisters anxiously scan the screen, furrowing their brows until Susan shouts excitedly, “Look, there she is, near the bottom of that list. We’d better note it all down.”

“It’s a long list isn’t it? Let’s just print it off.”

“Who’s all there? Read it off.”

Ninian Kerr, Head, Mar. 54 Minister of Religion, Berwickshire, Greenlaw
Isabella Kerr, Wife, Mar 50 Minister’s Wife Berwickshire, Duns
John R Kerr, Son Unm 26 Bank Clerk Berwickshire, Greenlaw
Elizabeth Kerr Daur Unm 22 Berwickshire, Greenlaw
Margaret Kerr Daur Unm 18 Berwickshire, Greenlaw
Susan Kerr, Daur Unm 16 Scholar Midlothian, Edinburgh
David Kerr, Son 13 Scholar Midlothian, Edinburgh
George Kerr, Son 11 Scholar Midlothian, Edinburgh
Sarah Redpath Boarder Unm 22 Berwickshire, Duns
Margaret Brown, Serv. Wid. 52 Housekeeper Haddingtonshire, Bolton
Mary Ann Robertson, Serv, Unm 18 Dom Ser Midlothian, Edinburgh
Jeanie Young Serv Unm. 15 Dom Ser. Ireland

“I think that must be her.”

“Wow, what a list. Look at the number of children they had. Is that not the minister who married them? What do you think she was doing living with him? She doesn’t seem to be a servant does she? Well at least we know where she was born, now.”

Susan is still staring intently at the screen. “Wait,” she says, “Scroll down a bit further. Now look. Is that not Hugh?”

“I think you’re right. It is him! Hugh McCallum, Lodger, Unm. 21 Medical Student Argyllshire, Kilmartin, G&E.”

“What do you think G&E stands for? He’s the only one on the page with that. Scroll up to the top. Look, Gaelic and English. We had a great grandfather who spoke Gaelic. He seems to be living with the family of a Doctor Bell. Now there is something that makes sense.”

“So do you think Hugh and Sarah met in Edinburgh,then?”

“Must have done. Do you have a map of Scotland?”

“Think so. Let me look.” Jenny rummages in the desk drawer and produces a rather old, battered road atlas. “It belonged to my father in law” she says apologetically, “Look, here’s Argyll. Can you see Kilmartin?”

“It’s a huge county. No, can’t spot it. Must be a little place. Mind you, nowhere there looks very big but there’s one thing for sure, none of it is anywhere near Berwickshire so Hugh and Sarah must have met in Edinburgh. Well, that’s all our theories blown out of the water. Curiouser and curiouser as Alice would say. What shall we look for next?”

“We decided we’d stick with Sarah for now. So we could look for her birth certificate.”

“You decided!”

“OK, but the book said to concentrate on one line to start off with.”

“Fine, then, but get going otherwise we’ll be here all night and none the wiser.”

Jenny’s practised fingers flit across the keyboard and the sisters again breathe a sigh of relief as only one result answers their query. The image however produces cries of dismay. “It’s not her. The parents are all wrong.”

“But it must be her. It’s the right age, born 1869, and the right place of birth, Duns. There surely could not be two Sarah Redpaths born in Duns in 1869. And there were no results for a couple of years either side.”

“Well, it says here quite clearly that she is illegitimate and that her mother is Euphemia Redpath, Domestic Servant. No mention at all of a father. The parents on the marriage certificate are William Redpath and Elizabeth, maiden name Elliot. No Euphemia anywhere. This is so disappointing. I can’t believe we’ve reached a dead end already.”

Jenny frowns. “She must have a birth certificate. Perhaps we need some lateral thinking here. I know! So that we don’t waste any more credits and still end up up a blind alley, let’s look for her in the 1881 Census because that only costs one credit to view.”

“How’s that going to help?” asks her sceptical sibling.

“Not sure but it can’t hurt to look, can it?”

Again two results appear, a 10 year old Sarah in Glasgow and a 12 year old in Duns. Jenny clicks to open the latter and the sisters’ puzzlement increases because there appears William Redpath 56, a mill worker born in Yetholm, Roxburghshire, his wife Elizabeth 58, born Cranshaws in Berwickshire, and children Elizabeth and William both also mill workers and finally, youngest by some years, a daughter Sarah aged 12, born in Duns and a scholar.

“Well there is no doubt that this is our Sarah because she, at least, has the right parents. Wait! I’ve had an idea. Suppose they are all the same person. Suppose Euphemia was their older daughter and the grandparents brought Sarah up to avoid the shame of her being illegitimate, pretending that she was their own daughter. After all Elizabeth would have had to be 46 when Sarah was born otherwise and that’s a bit old.”

“Yes, she might never even have known that she was not their daughter and that would account for the wrong parents on the marriage certificate. I don’t suppose you had to provide proof then. She does not look like someone who would tell a deliberate lie. ”

“We could be getting somewhere but we can’t be sure. Let’s look for Euphemia on the 1881 Census and see if that helps.”

The search yields only one result. “I suppose this could be her” says Jenny, “She’s aged 34, unmarried, a lady’s maid working for a Claud Hamilton who was born in Glasgow and has travelled to India. Just look at the number of servants from all over Scotland. He must have been very rich. This Euphemia was born in Roxburgh, Roxburghshire. That’s near where William came from is it not. She could be the right one.”

“Could be” replies Susan, “Do you think Claud could have been Sarah’s father? That would be quite exciting, wouldn’t it.”

Jenny shakes her head. “I can’t see any woman taking back as her maid someone who had had her husband’s illegitimate child. Anyway, do you think a lady’s maid would have described herself as a domestic servant. I always thought they were rather superior creatures who considered themselves a cut above.”

“You read too much Georgette Heyer dear.”

“And you spend all your time reading Alan Paton and Nadine Gordimer then?”

When Susan does not deign to reply Jenny adds, “This may not be our Euphemia. Shall we see if she is with the family in 1871 when Sarah would only be 2? We’ve only got 8 credits left so we’d better make them count.”

Sadly the sisters are once again doomed to disappointment. A search for Sarah reveals her aged 2 in Duns with William and Elizabeth, now appearing as Betty, but no Euphemia. Susan looks downcast but Jenny says cheeringly “At least we now have a couple of more siblings for her. See, as well as William and Betty junior we have John and Agnes.”

Despondent Susan replies, “I think we’re on a wild goose chase here. Euphemia may not even be Sarah’s real mother and we’ve wasted all this time and money looking for her. Even if she is we’ll never know who her father was. This is not nearly as much fun as I thought it would be.” She looks at her sister expecting agreement but is shocked to see that her eyes have taken on the intent gleam of the true addict.

“There has to be an answer to all of this. Did I not read that there was a bulletin board where you can post questions? Perhaps we could try that if we can’t work it out ourselves. Wait a minute. We’re assuming that Euphemia is still alive. Perhaps she died in childbirth and that is why her parents looked after the baby. Why did I not think of this before? We should look for her death. It says in the book that Scottish death certificates give full details of both parents and we can prove our theory about her being William and Elizabeth’s daughter......or not. We know she must have been alive in 1869 and born before about 1854, so let’s go. Damn it, there are 4 results and we have only 2 credits left. Let’s look at the list anyway. I’d never have guessed there were so many Euphemia Redpaths and none of them died before 1890. Here’s one in Duns in 1893, Euphemia Redpath, other name Shand, female aged 45. That could be her. The others are all in Edinburgh or East Lothian. But we’ll have to buy more credits. How I wish I could get to Edinburgh to see where Sarah and Hugh lived and got married and to search all the records. Do you think Martin would buy me a trip there for Christmas? It’s not far off now. We haven’t explored nearly enough options. I think there is a clue in the minister’s family. Hey, perhaps he was her father and him a clergyman too.”

Even Jenny cannot fail to notice that during this monologue her younger sibling’s eyes have glazed over.“OK” she concedes, “we’re about out of credits . Let’s leave any more hunting for another evening when Katie can be here. Three heads must be better than two and she can apply her famous Highland intuition to the problem. Won’t she be peeved when she realises she is only one eighth Highland! Do you want me to get Martin to give you a ride home?”

“No thanks, I’ll call Pete on my cellphone and he’ll come round. Did I tell you that he’s just bought a new Honda jeep and is mad keen to try it out? He’ll be here in five minutes.”

Leaving the cold, grey, Victorian, Scottish world of their ancestors the sisters step into the lush fragrant garden. Jenny presses an electronic switch and the heavy metal gates grind slowly open to let them out into the warmth of a Cape Town evening.



P.S. Here's a query. Why did Susan and Jenny not manage to find Effie in 1881????

[CatrionaL]

Hullo there Anne.

Seems that writing a new episode was one of your Christmas activities.

I enjoyed it. Felt all the thrill of the chase, but also was a wee bit envious of the two sisters involved in the family project together.

P.S. Here's a query. Why did Susan and Jenny not manage to find Effie in 1881????

Answer: Because they were searching for Euphemia and not Effie? Because they eliminated Edinburgh as a possibility?

Hope you'll keep us in reading matter during the year ahead

Catriona

[AnneM]

Catriona

Right first time. Adam gave the details to the enumerator and of course never called her anything other than Effie.

Anne

BTW I too am envious. It's a lonely pastime when you are really the only interested one in the family. My sister was not at all pleased with some of what I found which disappointed me very much.

[DavidWW]

....snipped......BTW I too am envious. It's a lonely pastime when you are really the only interested one in the family. My sister was not at all pleased with some of what I found which disappointed me very much.

Not long after returning to Auld Scotia from abroad in the mid-80s I made contact with a cousin of my mother's, retired and living in Edinburgh, with whom contact had been lost a decade or more previously, and we co-operated on a mutual aspect of our tree.

I was always "on at him" to let me assist him with his father's tree, but he was always reluctant to take up the offer ..................

One day, when all the planned NRH tasks had been completed so that I ended up with a couple of spare hours, I had a look.

Turned out that his father was illegitimate (but with a paternity RCE that identified his grandfather). Even so, it obviously embarrassed him so much that it was 6 months before he spoke to me again ................ <v sad g>... but then that was typical of the reaction of many of that generation to that situation ................

David

[Jean Jeanie]

See my post "Illegitimacy in the Highlands"

I'm quite sure this is what happened to my contact in America.

Must confess that as a teenager in the 60's, it was rammed down my throat, from my father..............basically NEVER come home and tell me you are pregnant.............the rest I can't repeat

Jean

[MaryE]

Anne

Great to see it all brought up to date - and fascinating to see those familiar names, old and new!

Mary

[Alison Plenderleith]

Hi Anne,

I'd been wondering when we were going to get more but knew you wouldn't disappoint

Kind regards,

Alison