As you can see from the sky, the weather was somewhat threatening. We were coming to the end of a day touring around Fife. We had visited several churches where someone had been there to meet us and show us around as well as give us some of the history of the church. Now, as we were heading back, our driver had pointed out the Dairsie church but said that it wouldn't be open for us. He seemed to think that we would be happy just seeing it from a distance - and my parents probably would have - but there were gravestones there! Of course I needed to stop.Many of the stones were old, and I wasn't looking for anyone in particular. Dairsie would be the area where some of my RITCHIE's had been born, but the ones I had traced had all moved and been buried elsewhere. As the weather was really staring to look ominous, we found this stone:
Erectedto the MEMORY of
WILLIAM RITCHIE
Late Blacksmith at Dairsie
Who Departed this Life
on the 8. June 1798 aged 51 Years
Also
EUPHAME Wife of the above
Who Departed this life on the
4. March 1829 in the 72 Year
of her age
ALSO THEIR DAUGHTER
AGNES WHO DIED 17th MAY 1891 AGED 95 YEARS
Now, I don't have this family "tied in" to mine yet, but Dairsie was not a large place. I feel sure they are somehow related. I just need to figure it out! So glad we stopped.
Fascinating post, Diana. Keep them coming. I'm still hoping for a Monday to go graving with you.
ReplyDeleteJim Pauk
You know that is what gets me about research...when I can't find a connection to people who you are sure must have been family.
ReplyDeleteIn my husband's family we have McBirneys living with the William Hiram English on an 1851 census in Ontario and I have a marriage later for Agnes McBirney and William Hiram English in Ontario 1858 so I am sure she was related to those guys but I can't find any connection to prove it.
Such a beautiful stone! I'd want to claim them as relatives, too.
ReplyDeleteHow envious am I that you are in Scotland...lol I found that many of the kirks were not open to the public during the week, unlike US churches. There were some that I wanted to get into because there were family burial places inside. That was a "no go"! Keep those Scotland posts coming...I will be glued to every photo!
ReplyDeleteHey Lori - Yes, that's when I'd most like a time machine...so I could just go back to when all those relationships were KNOWN. I sometimes think they would laugh to see how much we struggle to reconstruct things that were probably so obvious at the time.
ReplyDeleteHi Lindalee - I'm not actually in Scotland right now...that was a picture from 2 years ago. Oh my goodness - it was a wonderful trip and I so wish I WERE there now!! I occasionally post pictures from it because it was a family history related trip. The churches that were open had been "scheduled" ahead of time...this one was just a "random" stop!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tracy ~ one of the reasons I love blogging is because I hear from people who understand that grave stones are beautiful!! That's exactly what I thought - but my family sometimes thinks I'm a little weird ;-) But they humor me!
ReplyDeleteOh what a wonderful stone. Scotland how I dream of visiting some day there, England and Ireland some day. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDelete