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Hi

I've just recently discovered my GGG Grandfather Timothy Newsome was well-known lion-tamer and his brother, James, was the proprietor of Newsome's circus.  A bit of a shock to the system, even though my Dad had mentioned the lion-taming grandfather on several occasions when I was young.  A lot of information has been found for me by people on ScotsTalk which I am still working through in my limited spare time.  If anyone is directly descended from the Newsomes I would be delighted to hear from them.  My maiden name is Stewart and it has been mentioned there might be contacts still in the Stirling area and I remember something about Hurlford in Ayrshire.  Many thanks for the link to the Newsome's Circus programme  .  I've clicked on the yellow grinning face - let's see if it works !

Hi Romany
We lived in Ayrshire latterly, but my Dad's family go back via Glasgow to Ireland and, possibly, Skye.  The story goes that my 3/4/5?x Great Grandfather was a lion tamer who was eaten by a lion !  Never thought much about it until, in the last few years, my older cousin tells me we have travellers in our family and mentioned there may still be some in Stirling.  He also confirmed that people my parents visited in Hurlford? in Ayrshire are also connected.  Now I am struggling to know where to start.  Do you (or anyone else reading this) have any idea of any records for circus performers/horrible deaths.  The only other clue I have is a female ancestor's surname of Rowan, which I am assured by an Irish friend is an Ulster (NI) name.  My Dad's family were originally RC.
Wonder if any of this ties in with your info.  Always a long shot, but worth a try.
Kind regards
Janet

Hi NettieS

I see there is a mention in the list of name interests of Stewart in Stirlingshire and Glasgow.  I wondered if you have any information on the following: there is a story my Dad told me that my ggg? Grandfather was a lion tamer who was killed (he said eaten by a lion - not a successful lion tamer by anyone's standards!  According to my older cousin, there is more than a grain of truth to this story - certainly, my Dad wasn't given to telling porkies!  My Cousin has mentioned there may still be descendents living around the Stirling area and my Mum and Dad talked about some people my Cousin thinks are from that line in Ayrshire and they may still be there.  Going that far back, my gg? Grandfather would most likely have been born in Ireland.  Do you have anything at all on this in your records?