Episode Synopsis
Annie Lennox was born on Christmas Day 1954 in Aberdeen, an only child. She moved to London when she was 17. She wants to find out about the generations who came before her grandparents.
Annie started off in Aberdeen, where her grandparents lived. Her father was
Thomas Lennox, and his mother
Jean lived to her late 90's. Annie visited her
Aunt Jean, her father's only sister, to find out what she knew about the family history. There was a photo of Annie's grandparents' wedding; her grandmother got married at 18. Her father (Annie's great-grandfather) was
Charles Fraser Henderson and he died when Annie's grandmother was about 3.
Annie visited Aberdeen Central Library to do some research on the Scotland's People website. She found a birth record for Charles showing his father as
James Henderson, a stoker on a steam vessel, and
Jessie Henderson, M.S. Fraser. Annie also viewed the 1871 census which showed James, born in Aberdeenshire, Jessie age 24 born in Banff, and two sons, Charles and
James jr.
ancestry transcription of 1871 census entry
Annie tried to find Jessie Fraser on the 1851 census but couldn't find her, so tried using the name
Janet as Jessie was often a variant of Janet. She found a Janet Fraser age 3 in Banff with her mother
Mary Fraser, pauper, widow, formerly horse-shoer's wife, and four other children -
James 11 an Iron Founder Apprentice,
Mary Ann 10,
Isabella and
Charles.
ancestry transcription of 1851 census entry
Annie visited St Andrew's Episcopal Church in Banff where she was shown two entries in the burial register - one for
Charles Fraser, blacksmith, 28th Jan 1851, cause of death consumption, and one for Mary Rose or Fraser, buried in 1853.
Annie was also shown the Parochial Board Minutes from 1858 which mentioned that Janet Fraser age 10 was living with a
Mrs Cruickshank in Turriff, but Mrs Cruickshank was going to send her back when she "had no further use for her".
Annie next visited the neighbouring parish of MacDuff where she was shown a baptism entry dated 9th Aug 1821 for Mary N D (= Natural Daughter) of
James Rose, writer (i.e. solicitor), and
Ann Stewart. She was also shown the record of the marriage of Mr James Rose and
Miss Isabella Faulder,15th Dec 1821.
Annie went to look at a close off Carmelite Street in Banff similar to the one where Mary and her children lived, and the site round the corner on High Shaw where James Rose's house used to be. She was shown the 1851 census entry for James Rose, his wife Isabella, their three daughters
Jane, Georgiana and Jemima and two servants. She was also shown the baptism records for James Rose, who was born 10th Jun 1794, and his younger sister
Ann Rose born Feb 1796. There was a marriage record for Ann Rose and
John Cruickshank, so it seems that Jessie's great-aunt Ann was the Mrs Cruickshank who looked after her after her mother's death.
Going back onto Scotland's People, Annie viewed the 1861 census entry showing Jessie living as a boarder in Aberdeen, age 13, working as a Flax Mill Worker. Annie visited Broadford Mill, where Jessie worked, and learned about the working conditions. She then viewed the 1871 census again, and then the 1881 census where James and Jessie had four sons. Then she was shown Jessie's death certificate - she died on the 22nd Nov 1885, cause of death Carcinoma Uterine (Annie read this out as "ulcerous"), with the age at death given as 35, although this should be about 37-8.
ancestry transcription of 1861 census entry
ancestry transcription of 1881 census entry
Annie then looked into the family of her mother
Dorothy Ferguson. Dorothy's parents were
William and Dora Ferguson. William was a gamekeeper and Dora a dairy maid at Balmoral, where they met. Annie's
Uncle Alastair, Aunt Biddy and Cousin Shirley showed her some old photographs and told her the story of how William once danced with the Queen (i.e. the lady known more recently as the Queen Mother) at the Balmoral Staff Ball. Annie had heard rumours that William was illegitimate, but Uncle Alastair denied this.
Annie visited Balmoral to see where her grandparents worked, and was shown their entries in the staff records from the Royal Archives in Windsor. William Ferguson was born in 1896 and started working at Balmoral in 1913, while
Dora Jean Paton was born in 1902, started working there in 1924, and left to get married in 1929.
Annie then looked William's birth up on Scotland's People - he was born in Braemar, father
George Ferguson and mother
Sophia Ferguson M.S. Farquharson. The birth certificate showed their marriage date, which would have been when Sophia was about six months pregnant.
George Ferguson's baptism record showed that he was born 23 Feb 1852, the illegitimate son of
William Ferguson and Isabella McHardy. Annie visited Braemar and was shown the Kirk Session Records, which showed that Isabella appeared before them in 1852 and stated that William Ferguson, a farm servant in the parish of Kettins, was the father of her son, then again in 1860 when she was pregnant with the child of one
Thomas Russell, watchmaker, who she said had promised to marry her. She stated that the "guilt" between them had taken place at her mother's house in Tomintoul. Her daughter Jane was born illegitimate as the marriage to Thomas Russell never took place.
Isabella appeared before the Kirk Session again, asking for help with her son George's school fees but did not apply for money for herself.
Tomintoul turned out to be a farm in Braemar and Annie went to have a look at it. The 1881 - 1911 censuses show Isabella living on her own as a poultry keeper or poultry maid and then a pensioner. (Annie says that Isabella was "living here" in her old age when they visit the cottage at Tomintoul but it seems from those census entries that she was actually living at Corriemulzie by that time.) She died in 1913 at the age of 83, cause of death given as senile dementia.
ancestry transcription of 1881 census entry
ancestry transcription of 1901 census entry