whitehills, boyndie, banff

[Windsor87]

I have also had trouble locating graves of ancestors.
My Strachan line seemed to travel though the countryside. It sort of starts of at Blackhills/St. Fergus in 1791 and gradually works though the small villages to Boyndlie/Strichen before reaching Fraserburgh in the 1890s.

There are lots of little graveyards spread out across this area.

I'm still looking for the grave of Robert Strachan (1848-1929) but then he could be anywhere in between.

[Barlowclan]

I just came to this thread. I have Lovies, Watson, Findlays and Strachans in my family tree. I think we must be related Princess. Do you have James Lovie (1806) married to Hannah Gow in your tree?  My GG Grandfather was David Lovie (1829) married to Ellen Shepherd. Her parents were Charles Shepherd and Janet Strachan (AKA Jess). I have birth, death and marriage certificates for all of them and I am happy to share.
Cheers
Wendy

[nonisawatson]

Hi everyone

Im a Watson from Whitehills and have compiled quite a bit of my family tree - there are Watsons, Ritchies, Lovies, Nicols and Wisemans.

I'd be happy to help with any questions about Whitehills and a good record collection online is Scotlands people . com - most whitehills records of births, marriages and deaths are there - it can get a little confusing though because all the common names (watson lovie findlay pirie) are all very old names squeezed into a very small community. e.g. my great great grandparents both had the middle name Lovie and the last name Watson before they got married.

There is also a good history here at the Statistical Accounts of Scotland:

http://stat-acc-scot.edina.ac.uk/sas/sas.asp/?monospace=&twoup=&nohighlight=&account=2&transcript=&session-id=07119555443e285c120480103dd1a5c9&naecache=5&accountrec=012955&navbar=&action=publicdisplay&parish=Banff&county=Banff&pagesize=

(should work if you copy and paste i think)

Note that Whitehills is now in Aberdeenshire, it was Banff and Buchan and even further back was the Parish of Boyndie (which even earlier was called "Boidie".  There are still areas here refered to as Boyndie and InverBoyndie.

As far as graveyards the modern Boyndie graveyard is about half a mile towards Banff and the older Boyndie Kirkyard is very close by and unused (and un looked after) in an area now known to locals as Inverboyndie.

Whitehills has been a fishing village for over 200 years however it is no longer as boats got bigger and the newest harbour is now used as a marina for yatchs (has been for about 6-7 years if i remember properly).

As well as all this id be excited to find relatives further afield.

[McCase]

Greetings
My wife is decended from Williamina Watson, daughter of John Watson (dob 24 Mar 1824) and Janet Watson (dob 29 May 1831). they lived in/around Whitehills, Banff, Scotland. Seems we are somehow related.  Would like to see how.  She is trying to find kin living in area.   We are going to the area in June 09 (we live in California USA).
-Dean & Heather

[McCase]

Just wanted to clarify some additional information.

My great-grandmother is: Williamina Watson McIntosh (maiden name: Watson),
born 11 May 1861, of Whitehills, Banff.

According to old census records we located, Williamina is one of 14 children. (siblings: James, Elizabeth, Jane, Ann, Helen, Janet, George, Mary, Elspet, Margaret, John, Olivie, and Henriette Watson).

Williamina's parents:
John Watson, born 24 March, 1824. He was from Boyndie, and was also buried there. He was a fish curer and cooper.
Janet Watson, born 29 May, 1831. From Boyndi.

To confuse things, Janet's maiden name was also Watson. Her parents were James Watson and Jane Urquahart.

John's parents: George Watson, born 1797 and died 18 August 1874 in Boyndie; and
Helen Adamson, born 1796, and died 24 July, 1872, in Boyndie.

My husband, son and I, will be travelling to the Boyndie area in June 2009, and staying at the Bryden B&B which apparently is right near to the Boyndie cemetary. Hopefully we will be able to fill in some gaps and additional information. I would love to learn a bit more about the history of the Boyndie and Whitehills area and possibly meet a long lost relative! Or find copies of old pictures of the Watson family.

My greatgrandmother, Williamina, married a William McIntosh, moved to Killearnan (on the Black Isle), where my grandfather, Andrew McIntosh, was born and raised.

I would greatly appreciate any information about any Watsons in the Boyndie/Whitehills area that may also be desendants of my Watson line, and may know some old stories about the family. With 14 children, I am sure there must be a lot of stories as well!
Heather McIntosh Case

[BanffAnnie]

Hi - I am a Watson!  My granny was Helen Marlow (nee McDonald), daughter of Mary Ann McDonald (nee Watson), daughter of Ann Watson (b 12.07.1848 Banff - d 04.02.1921 Edinburgh), daughter of John Watson (b 1806? Whitehills - d 14.06.1862 Banff) and Helen Dow of Banff.  John Watson was the son of George Watson Wright and Mary Smison. 

[McCase]

I think what makes it so hard to research our geneology, is that there are so many people who share similar and common first names, as well as last names in the Whitehills/Banff area! I think the Ann Watson in your family, was not the same Ann Watson as in our family, as my great-grandmother's sister, Ann Watson was born 1852. She was the daughter of a John Watson, like your ancestor, but her mother (my great, great grandmother) was a Janet Watson, (whose maiden name was also Watson!), and not a Helen Dow. Also, the John Watson in our family, was the son of George Watson, (ie not Watson Wright) and George's wife was a Helen Adamson, and not Mary Smison. But all of their first names are similar - Helen's, George's, Ann's, Mary's etc. Likely your relatives knew my relatives though, as I can only imagine that it was a small community back then.

Do you have any stories about the Banff area that were handed down to you from your family? And were they also fishermen or fish curer's and coopers? I wonder if there is an old school house that may have been used back in the 1800's, that might still be there today? I'd love to hear about any stories you may have of Whitehills or Boyndie.
Heather McIntosh Case

[Forfarian]

My Strachan line seemed to travel though the countryside. It sort of starts of at Blackhills/St. Fergus in 1791 and gradually works though the small villages to Boyndlie/Strichen before reaching Fraserburgh in the 1890s.

Don't confuse Boyndie with Boyndlie. They are two different places altogether. Boyndlie is much further east than Boyndie, and it is in the old County of Aberdeen, not the County of Banff like Boyndie.

I would expect the Boyndlie burial books, if any, to be in Fraserburgh, but I'd be surprised if they go back as far as 1829. I know that the St Fergus ones are in Peterhead, but being under Aberdeenshire Council they all charge £10 an hour just for access to the books , so I have not attempted to look at any of them.

[Emzquem]

I know this strand is kind of old but it came up in my search for more information on the Watson/Lovie line. From the internet research I've done, I've found a James Watson (b1779 Boyndie) married to a Margaret Lovie (b1778 Boyndie). There same to be a few Watsons (William and John) of the same line who drowned on the same day 1st Jan 1843. I'm presuming they were all fisherman. They died in Whitehills.

Has anyone come across this or have further information on what happened to them?

Thanks
Emily