New Year’s Eve for George and Kate Findlay and Family

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A winter holiday tradition that Ella remembers as a child in Aberdeen is that of “first-fittin” - a custom associated with Hogmanay (the Scot’s New Year’s celebration) that commemorates the first person to enter a home on New Year’s Day, believing them to bring good luck to the household in the coming year.

Celebrating Hogmanay with its associated traditions (including first fittin) was the major winter holiday in Scotland (rather than Christmas) up until about the 1950s, a trend that dated back to the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century when Christmas was viewed as being too Papist.
Still commonly celebrated today, the first foot typically brings several symbolic gifts: a coin (representing financial prosperity), bread (food), salt (flavour), coal (warmth), evergreen (long-life), and/or a drink (usually whisky; good cheer).

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And it’s supposedly especially lucky if the first foot is a tall, dark-haired male. Why? There’s a theory that this goes back to viking times, when if a blond male with an axe appeared on your doorstep, that would definitely be bad luck! Thus the opposite being a dark-haired male would definitely be a welcomed sight.

Ella recalls that her family would often go visit a family friend for first-fittin, a Mr. Ross, whom her parents had known for years. This elderly gentleman lived on the other side of Aberdeen from them, and as the Findlay family didn’t own a car and the trams and buses weren’t running (Because of the holiday? Or the late hour?), they would walk clear down Holburn Street, way down Union Street, and beyond, late at night. He lived quite a distance! Ella’s mother Kate would prepare goodies to share and they enjoyed visiting with this long-time friend. And then sometime in the early hours of the morning on New Year’s Day, they’d make that long walk back home.

Was Ella’s father George the tall, dark-haired male bringing good fortune? Maybe? Ella describes his hair color as being “mid brown,” and she doesn’t remember much fuss being made about him being the first foot. But nevertheless, they all enjoyed the opportunity to get together and have fun with family and friends.

..........

Sources: 

• A conversation with Ella recorded on 8 July 2016
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-foot
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogmanay

Santa Claus Is Cleared for Landing!

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For a kid, can you imagine the excitement of seeing Santa descend from the sky in a sleigh with reindeer leading the way? Well, for one particular Christmas-time event, Santa opted to keep his sleigh parked at the North Pole, choosing to pilot a helicopter instead. 

It was December 1963, and Ralph was working as a helicopter flight instructor and salesman for Caribbees Copters at the San Jose Municipal Airport. His boss, BA, owned a shopping center in the area, and he came up with a brilliant marketing idea: Why not have Santa Claus visit the shopping center, flying in by helicopter? 

“Ok! We’re ready! Just have Santa Claus come out,” Ralph said. But who would play Santa? 

BA responded: “You. YOU are the Santa Claus. Let’s dress you up!” 

Ralph was onboard with the idea (literally). He got suited up as the Jolly Old Elf himself with a bag full of candy in hand to throw out to the kids. The Santa Claus stunt was such a success that he did this at two other shopping centers that year and for a few years after that. And thankfully Ralph’s kids, who were in attendance at one event close to their home, heeded his warning: “Don’t you dare say, ‘Hi, Dad!’ when I show up!”

..........

Source: From conversations with Ralph and Ella recorded on 30 Mar 2017 and 2 Dec 2017

It Is Good to Look to the Past

It is good to look to the past to gain appreciation for the present and perspective for the future. It is good to look upon the virtues of those who have gone before, to gain strength for whatever lies ahead. It is good to reflect upon the work of those who labored so hard and gained so little in this world, but out of whose dreams and early plans, so well nurtured, has come a great harvest of which we are the beneficiaries. Their tremendous example can become a compelling motivation for us all.

- Gordon B. Hinckley

Memories of Aberdeen During WWII

FG, one of Ella’s first cousins who also grew up in Aberdeen (their common ancestors are George and Charlesina Findlay), shared over email some of his first-hand memories of life and specific experiences during World War II. Thanks, FG!

As I read through these memories and found related information online, I again was overcome by what a sobering time this was (for lack of a better adjective), and impressed by how daily life routines just carried on, despite the circumstances. As Grandma Ella likes to say, "The Scots are tough." Indeed they are!

In addition to this blog post, see these other posts on WWII:
The War Years: Air Raids, City and Countryside, and Strength in the Gospel
At Home and Abroad: Family Members' Military Service in WWII

……….

On 12th July 1940 Hall Russell's Boiler Shop took a direct hit and 32 shipyard workers were killed and 100 were injured. The men were having their lunch break when the bomb struck….the men were working that day as all holidays were cancelled during the war….In normal circumstances all the men would have been on holiday at that time of the year. Of course, I was five years old at the time but I still remember it happening and the sense of shock among the adults. (1)

Hall Russell Shipyards after the bombings of 12 June 1940
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In another air raid, the primary school that I attended, Victoria Road School, received a direct hit and was extensively damaged. Luckily, it was a night air raid and the school was closed when it was hit. Eventually, temporary classrooms were erected but until then we all attended school for half days only - half the pupils in mornings and the other half in afternoons. (2)

Victoria Road School after the bombings of 12 July 1940
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For a while, when the air raids were quite frequent, we lived with Grandma Charlesina at 4 Ferrier Crescent, Woodside, as my Mum and Dad felt that our house in Torry was too close to Aberdeen harbour. During that time I attended a school near Grandma's house. When the air raids stopped we returned to our house in Torry.

4 Ferrier Crescent in the Woodside area of Aberdeen (on the second story),
where Grandpa George and Grandma Charlesina Findlay lived.
Photo taken May 2017. Note that this is not the original building, but similar in design.

I remember when a German bomber was shot down. At the time it was generally accepted that the pilot made efforts to avoid landing on houses in the Ruthrieston area of Aberdeen (very close to Holburn Street, where Ella lived). The plane crashed into a building which housed the town's public ice rink. I think that all crew members were killed. (3)

During those war years we all had to carry gas masks around with us. They were in cardboard boxes, held with loops of string round our necks. Very young children and babies had special gas masks, made of rubber and styled as Donald Duck masks.

School children with gas masks in boxes on a string. (These children were actually being evacuated.)
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Boxes containing gas masks, with a long string to wear around one's neck.
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Every home was provided with an air raid shelter by the local authority. Most were free-standing concrete buildings located in back gardens or other areas near the house. They were known as Anderson shelters, presumably named after their designer. We had a different type in our garden, again made of concrete but partly sunk into a hole dug in the ground and covered with earth and grass turf. I remember spending many hours in that shelter.(4)

A family entering an Anderson shelter.
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A diagram of the exterior of an Anderson shelter.
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An example of an interior of an Anderson shelter.
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Additional images of Aberdeen after the bombings of 12 July 1940

Notes:

1. This is an excerpt of an email from FG to KF on 11 June 2017. I found this related information: “At 12:45, the first bombs began to fall on the Hall Russell shipyard. There was no air raid warning when the bombers approached the city from the sea. Indeed, the first anyone knew was when around sixteen high explosive bombs exploded in quick succession. The boiler shop was worst hit with around ten bombs exploding in and around it….The bombing continued unabated with the Neptune Bar on the waterfront receiving a direct hit. In those days it had an upper floor which collapsed on to the lunchtime drinkers below, killing 40. A fragment from the bomb cut the end off the tail of the bar’s cat who went around with a shortened tail for the rest of its days.” Source: https://aberdeenvoice.com/2013/07/the-july-1940-blitz-in-aberdeen-part-2/. Here is a map that shows all the streets bombed in Aberdeen during WWII: https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/fp/news/local/new-map-shows-every-aberdeen-street-bombed-germans-ww21/.
2. This is an excerpt of an email from FG to KF on 24 May 2017. More information on the bombing of Victoria Road School here: https://doriccolumns.wordpress.com/ww2-1939-45/black-friday-40/.
3. This is an excerpt of an email from FG to KF on 24 May 2017. More information on the bomber crashing into the ice rink here: https://aberdeenvoice.com/2013/07/the-july-1940-blitz-in-aberdeen-part-2/.
4. This is an excerpt of an email from FG to KF on 24 May 2017. More information on Anderson shelters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_raid_shelter#Anderson_shelter. And more images of the shelters: http://mashable.com/2015/07/24/wwii-backyard-bunkers/#wxPr5v9GgZql.

George and Charlesina Smith Love Findlay - Final Resting Spot

On our must-see list on our most recent trip to Aberdeen, in May 2017, was the final resting place of Ella’s paternal grandparents, George and Charlesina Findlay.

George and Charlesina Findlay - 1956

Charlesina Smith Love, daughter of Alexander Love and Caroline Love (M.S. Smith), died on 5 January 1960 at 76 years old. Per the death registry, she passed away at Woodend Hospital in Aberdeen of generalized atherosclerosis, cerebral thrombosis, and bronchopneumonia.(1)

Charlesina was cremated at Kaimhill Crematorium in Aberdeen and her ashes were scattered (can we assume by family?) at the Garden of Rest, which surrounds what is now the Kaimhill Funeral Home. (That particular crematorium is no longer in use, having closed in 1975).(2)

Just about 5 years later, her husband George Findlay died on 29 December 1964 at 85 years old. He was the son of Walter Findlay and Elizabeth Findlay (M.S. Taylor). Per the death register, he died of coronary thrombosis (a heart attack) and senility.(3)

Like his wife, George was also cremated at Kaimhill Crematorium, on 31 December 1964, and his ashes were subsequently scattered at the Garden of Rest.(4)

The Kaimhill Funeral Home in Aberdeen - May 2017

When we arrived at the Kaimhill Funeral Home, we visited the Hall of Remembrance, where plaques on the walls commemorate the lives of deceased loved ones - almost like gravestones, with names and dates, but for persons who were cremated. There is also a beautiful, large Book of Remembrance in the hall, several volumes in fact, with one volume displayed in a glass case, and with persons names detailed in a stunning hand-penned script.

Ralph and Ella in the Hall of Remembrance
at the Kaimhill Funeral Home - May 2017

Book of Remembrance, in the Hall of Remembrance at Kaimhill - May 2017

We lingered in the Hall of Remembrance, reading the names on the walls and hoping to find plaques for George and Charlesina. The caretaker also opened up the Book of Remembrance for us (ever so gently, wearing white cotton gloves so as to help avoid dirt and oil from bare hands tarnishing the pages), but we didn’t find reference to them in either place.

However, while we were in the Hall of Remembrance, we did find a plaque for another relative - Alexander Love Findlay, son of George and Charlesina and Ella’s uncle. “Alec” as he was often called, was born 29 June 1906 and passed away on 28 December 1960 of carcinoma of the bronchus (lung cancer). He was 54. He was cremated at Kaimhill Crematorium on 31 December 1960.(5) Alec died without having any children, and what I hadn’t realized previously was that he passed away just about a year after his mother Charlesina. It was nice to remember him this day as well.

"Alexander Love Findlay, Died 28th December 1960, Aged 54 Years"

Ella's uncle Alec Findlay, walking down Union Street
in Aberdeen. Date unknown. Image source: This photo was
shared with us by Cousin CS in May 2017.

We also took time to wander through the Garden of Rest, particularly on the grounds to the right of the funeral home, and we silently paid our respects to Ella’s grandparents. The garden is a peaceful place with paths to meander around and benches on which to sit and stay awhile. It’s also a public space and ashes may be scattered anywhere, so there’s no way to know for sure where George and Charlesina’s ashes are (unless a family member might anecdotally know that detail.)

Ralph and Ella at the Garden of Rest, on the grounds of the
Kaimhill Funeral Home - May 2017

Inside the Hall of Remembrance, and a peek at the Book of Remembrance, 

at the Kaimhill Funeral Home - May 2017

A view of the exterior of the Kaimhill Funeral Home and the Garden of Rest - May 2017

Notes and Questions:

1. See the death registry for Charlesina Findlay, included in this blog post, below.
2. Charlesina Findlay’s cremation and confirmation of her ashes being scattered at the Garden of Rest received via email with a Support Assistant in Bereavement Services, Marischal College, Aberdeen, on 8 March 2017. However, I’m not 100% sure of the cremation date as I’ve been told it’s 7 January 1960 as well as 9 January 1960. It’s a non-essential detail but I wanted to make sure that what details we have are correct.
3. See the death registry for George Findlay, included in this blog post, below. Can anyone decipher what where George passed away? 64 [street name] Crescent, Aberdeen?
4. George Findlay’s cremation date and confirmation of his ashes being scattered at the Garden of Rest received via email with a Support Assistant in Bereavement Services, Marischal College, Aberdeen, on 8 March 2017.
5. Alexander Love Findlay’s cremation date received via email with a Support Assistant in Bereavement Services, Marischal College, Aberdeen, on 30 May 2017. However, I have not confirmed whether there’s any record of his ashes also be scattered at the Garden of Rest, or whether his name is recorded in the Book of Remembrance that is kept at the Hall of Remembrance in the Kaimhill Funeral Home.

Death Registry for Charlesina Smith Findlay - 1960
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Death Registry for Alexander Love Findlay - 1960
Click to enlarge.

Death Registry for George Findlay - 1964
Click to enlarge.

George and Kate Findlay Meet the Mormons

How were George and Kate Findlay first introduced to the Mormon church? That was such a pivotal moment that would lead to their conversion and forever change the course of their lives. But it was a detail that remained a mystery to many of their descendents until this past July, when cousin ES (a great grandson of George and Kate) shared a scanned copy of the Life History of George and Katherine Findlay. This is their life history as Kate told to her grandson NS, who recorded it on tapes and it was later transcribed. Thank you to the various S Family members who worked to preserve these details!

The information below is an excerpt from that history. The formatting has been adjusted slightly to improve readability, and minor clarifications have been added in brackets. 

If you have additional details to add or any clarifications to make, please do! Send that to me via the "Contact Form" at the bottom of this page.

..........

We got married in 1927 and in 1930 we thought we would like to have a holiday. I wrote to a friend of my mother’s from Shetland, a Mrs. Smith. She lived in Leith [just north of Edinburgh]. She wrote back and said they had a room. I had said to ask for bed and breakfast because then we could go out and just come back anytime. This woman, Mrs. Smith, when we went to the address there was a note on the door that said, very sorry but have been sent for to go to Shetland because my mother is very ill. Go to Mrs. [Agnes] Jamieson who lives next door and she will take you.

We went there and she was a nice lady and I know she was from Shetland from the way she spoke. Next morning at breakfast she said to me, “Mrs. Findlay, are you a Bruce?” I said, “Well my mother was a Bruce and Bruce is in my name.” She said, “I thought so. Was your mother(1) born in Burravoe?” I said she was. “Well”, she said, “My father was bailiff to your mother’s mother and father.” A bailiff is like a manager to an estate.

Now my mother had told me things about the place and she had said they had been a well-known family and had money, but it went in here and out there because I didn’t know if it was true or not. I have faint recollections of being in Shetland. She took me there and I did know that I was in a big house. This woman said my mother was telling the truth. She said, “If you look out my window (and she lifted the window) and if you look out from here down to there (and this was the end of the street). That is the length of the banqueting hall.” I was quite surprised.

The Manor House in Burravoe, Yell, Shetland, where Kate's mother Ursilla
Katherine Bruce was born - Photo taken Sept 2014

Then she says, “Oh but you know you had relatives that came to see me.” I said, “Relatives! I havena got such a thing. I’m an only child and mother’s two brothers died. I don’t have any relatives.”

She said, “Oh, but you do. They are from America. These two fellas that came to the door and one of them was looking for me," said Mrs. Jamieson. The family in America, they knew her name and where she lived because the station her father had, had been manager, and she said these fellas want very much to get in touch with your mother. I thought, “That’s strange. I can’t understand that because she has no relatives in America. She has an uncle in Australia but he would be dead now and he made money in beer. He built a big factory and was a millionaire."

She said, “But you do have relatives in America.” She described him and he was a very nice clean living boy and there is one thing I have to tell you. They were Mormons.(2)

George and me nearly had a fit because you know Mormons were something terrible and I was afraid of them. They would be back but they hadn’t been yet. I left my address and said I would be glad to see them.

That was July and we were on holiday in Edinburgh and when we went back I spoke to my mother about it, and she said yes, she knew Mrs. Jamieson, and I asked about this family in America. She thought a minute and said she knew.

Her aunt Mary Bruce married a Scott Anderson and they became Mormons and had five children. And he was a lawyer and left from Liverpool to go to Salt Lake City. And they were never heard from again.

Scott and Mary Bruce Anderson. Image source: Family Search

Elder William S. Costley was the first
missionary to contact George and Kate
Findlay in Aberdeen in October 1930.
Image Source: Life History of George
and Katherine Findlay

That was July and in October a knock comes to the door and it was this young fella in a black suit and he offered me a pamphlet. I took it and he represented The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I said I had never heard of it and he said it was better known as the Mormons. From there on the missionaries came and I was ready for them. That missionary lived in Ogden and his name was Elder Costley.(3)

At that time one missionary went down one side of the street and the other missionary went down the other side. He said his companion was across the street and could they come and visit and they would tell more about the gospel. I thinks to myself - Mormons - they can’t come here. But I said, well come on Saturday and from then on the elders came.

Well to finish the story about Mary and Scott Anderson. Every different elder that came I asked to try and find them but it seemed that there were lots of Andersons in Salt Lake City. Two years passed and then we joined the church. I was ready to join in a year but I waited for George.

Kate was baptized on 11 June 1932 by branch president Le Grand Gentry Sharp and confirmed on 12 June 1932 by missionary Elder Carl Condie.(4) George was baptized on 13 June 1932.(5)

Certificate of Baptism for Ursula Katherine Bruce Findlay, 11-12 June 1932
Source: Life History of George and Katherine Findlay

Baptism of George Findlay in the
River Dee - 13 June 1932

The following year after we were baptized, Patriarch [James H. Wallis], the only patriarch that had ever been to Scotland, came and it was announced that we could have a patriarchal blessing. None of us had ever heard of patriarchal blessings and we didn’t know what it was. They said to put your name in if you were in good standing and you would have to go to Glasgow where they were having conference.

We decided we couldn’t ask for a blessing because we had only been members for a year. The elders came on Saturday and said they hadn’t heard from Brother Findlay that we wanted a blessing. George said he didn’t know what a blessing was and anyway they had only been members a year. They told him what it was and said it didn’t matter how long you had been in the church and they had been praying about it because they felt and were very sure, that someday you will be very needful of this blessing, and this blessing will really help you.

So we went to Glasgow and got a blessing [on 11 June 1933, by Patriarch James H. Wallis]. This was years before the war but the elder had been inspired to say this.

President [John A.] Widtsoe, who was president of the mission(6), and the president(7), and patriarch [Wallis] were going up to Wick. President [David O.] McKay(8) asked them to please go and visit and tell him how the people were. So they went to Wick and they sent word to Aberdeen to tell them to have a meeting and gather their friends. Of course the elders were busy and I was busy trying to get people to come to the meeting.

It was a very small branch of regular members - there might have been 12. But there were others who had heard of us and we went to them. There were about 30 or 40. They were on the stage and some of the elders were with them and every time I lifted my head I could see this patriarch. He was an old man at the time. I have a picture of them.

The Aberdeen Branch at a picnic social. George and Kate's daughters,
Ella and Ina, are in the front row on the far left. Date?

He looked at me quite a lot and I said to myself, what have I done? I kind of got scared. They announced after the meeting that President (9) would like to go around and shake hands with everybody and talk to them and get a general idea of who people were.

He went around the room and every time I saw him getting closer I moved. I did speak to President Widtsoe, and this patriarch [Wallis] eventually caught me (10) and he said, “What’s troubling you? Are you a member of the church?” I said, “Oh yes, I’m a member of the church and I believe the church and the gospel.” He asked what was troubling me. I said, “I’m searching for people in Salt Lake City and I can’t find them. Every elder goes and tries to find them. If I can find them I can get my start in my genealogical work.” He said, “Tell me who they are.” And I told him about Scott Anderson and Mary Bruce and she was my mother’s aunt from Shetland.

A smile came across his face and [he] put his arms around me and said there are six sons and three daughters. … Three daughters Elizabeth, May, and Kate. ... Then he asked me if I got the Children’s Friend [magazine], and I said the elders were very kind and have given it to me. Well, he said, have you seen a picture of a lady in there, May Anderson? Well, that is the daughter.”

May Anderson was a [first cousin once removed] to me.(11) She edited the magazine and also later

May Anderson, first cousin once removed

to Kate Findlay. Image Source

on she was the one proposed getting a children’s hospital and was in charge of the secretarial work in getting the money to build the hospital and I have the big bit with her picture that was in the paper after she died.(12)

He said she was a very good friend, and I’m going to write to her tonight. He gave me her address and asked me to write. She got my letter the same time she got his and I got a letter back and from then on it was a bit easier but I still had a lot of struggle to get this first start in genealogical work.

……….

Perhaps this is the same "big bit"/article that
Kate referred to. Grandma Ella shared this copy with KF.
Click to enlarge.

I wonder to what extent Kate Findlay and May Anderson then kept in touch. Unfortunately, May passed away in 1946, 2-3 years before the Findlays emigrated, so they never had the chance to meet in person.

But when the time came for Kate and daughter Ella to emigrate in May 1949(12), they were in contact with other American cousins from the Anderson family, also members of the church. As they crossed the US by train from New York to Salt Lake City, before they boarded a bus to Arizona, they were hosted for a few days in Salt Lake by Kate's second cousin: Louise Undine Loftus Anderson Clark. She was the daughter of Scott W. Anderson (May Anderson's brother) and Mary Ann Loftus.

In March of this year, I got in touch through Family Search with a grandson of Undine Clark: HC in Texas. I was curious to learn about how his branch of the Bruce line (his ancestors Mary Bruce and Scott Anderson from Shetland) had been introduced to the church and emigrated to Salt Lake City.(13) I was also wondering how Kate would have been in touch with these cousins across oceans and continents. At the time I was merely curious but hadn't yet received the Life History of George and Katherine Findlay (that would come in July), so I didn't know the details of Mrs. Jamieson in Leith first telling Kate of her American cousins.

Cousin HC replied in an email to me: I remember as a boy hearing her talk about the time her relatives came to see her on their way from Scotland to Arizona. I don't remember her saying they were LDS but she so loved seeing them she talked about it for years. That must have been your grandmother. Tell her Undine often talked lovingly about that visit from the "old country" to her grandchildren. She told me she made rack of lamb with mint jelly!

This past July, as we were in Utah on vacation, we visited the graves of Mary Bruce and Scott Anderson and their daughter May Anderson at the Salt Lake City Cemetery. I took a moment to tell them thanks - thanks for looking out for their cousins from the "old country" and  for helping to forever change the course of our lives.

Photos taken of the Anderson family graves in the
Salt Lake City Cemetery - July 2017

How is Kate Findlay related to these American cousins? See above.
Click to enlarge.

Also see these related posts:

• More details of George, Kate, and Ella's baptisms: On the Banks of the River Dee, Aberdeen http://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2014/10/on-banks-of-river-dee-aberdeen.html
• Church callings and activities: Findlays and the Aberdeen Branch in the 1930s and 1940s http://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-findlays-and-aberdeen-branch-in.html
• Preparing for and then finally emigrating: Across Oceans and  Continents: http://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2014/10/across-oceans-

Notes:

1. Kate Findlay's full name was Ursula Katherine Bruce Findlay (pronounced ER-sill-a). Her mother was Ursilla Katherine Bruce Beattie (pronounced yer-SILL-a).
2. If I’m understanding correctly, two Mormon missionaries knocked on Mrs. Jamieson’s door in Leith, having heard of Mrs. Jamieson's family and her bailiff father, and also wanting to get in touch with Kate's mother, Ursilla Katherine Bruce Beattie...Is that correct? Then, was one of those missionaries a cousin? Based on the timeframe, could that elder have been of the grandchildren of Mary Bruce and Scott Anderson?
3. Elder William Sycivell Costley served in the British Mission from June 1929 to August 1931. Source: https://history.lds.org/missionary/individual/william-sycivell-costley-1910?lang=eng.
4. Elder Carl Condie served in the British Mission from June 1930 to September 1932. Source: https://history.lds.org/missionary/individual/carl-condie-1909?lang=eng.
5. Does anyone know who baptized and confirmed George? Does anyone have a copy of or the original baptismal certificate?
6.  John A. Widtsoe was actually president of the British Mission just prior to this, from November 1927 to December 1928. Source: https://history.lds.org/missionary/individual/john-andreas-widtsoe-1872?lang=eng] James Henry Douglass, would have been the mission president at this time, who served from December 1931 to January 1935. Source: https://history.lds.org/missionary/individual/james-henry-douglas-1858?lang=eng]
7. Is it clear which president this is referring to?
8. I'm not sure what David O. McKay's church calling was in 1933 as he was previously president of the European Mission (1923-1925) and had not yet served as a counselor in the First Presidency (1934-1951) and this was years before he would be ordained President of the church (1951). However, he would have had the title of "president" in all of these positions. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_O._McKay#Member_of_the_Quorum_of_the_Twelve
9. Would this have been the mission president?
10. I wonder whether Kate got the order of events slightly mixed up. Would she have first met Patriarch Wallis at the conference, when he asked her "What's troubling you?", and later given her the patriarchal blessing? As it's written, she received her blessing from Patriarch Wallis but then it sounds like they met for the first time afterward. It's a minor detail that does not affect the ending of the story.
11. Kate Findlay had recorded that she was second cousins to May Anderson, but she was actually a first cousin once removed as Kate's mother, Ursilla Katherine Bruce was first cousins with May.
12. May Anderson was the editor-in-chief of The Children’s Friend magazine from its inception in 1902, and she served as the first counselor to general Primary president Louie B. Felt from 1905 to 1925, then served as the second general president of the Primary from 1925-1939. Sources: https://history.lds.org/media/may-andersonlg?lang=eng#1; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
13. George had emigrated to the United States previously, in December 1948. Kate and younger daughter Ella followed in May 1949 while their older daughter Ina arrived in October 1949. 
14. Cousin HC is working on compiling memories and information about his ancestors' conversion, Mary Bruce and Scott Anderson. As he prepares details, I hope to share relevant information on this blog. 

Shetland Ponies Dancing and Wearing Sweaters

Thinking of Shetland cousins today and smiling at this video that showcases so much that is Shetland: the landscape, the ponies, the sweaters, and their good humor. Sending our regards across the miles!

More photos of ponies wearing sweaters, and a behind the scenes look at the dapper photo shoot here. (I bet it was tricky to button those cardigans!)

Image Source

Our Family Lost and Found - It Continues…

Several years ago, we shared on this blog how Ella got in touch with distant cousins she didn’t realize she had - these were relatives on her mother’s side who are living in Shetland. What’s really neat: We recently had a similar experience as we met for the first time cousins on Ella’s father’s side - the details are below.

As the generations continue on and families spread geographically, there’s something special about knowing that there’s kin elsewhere. And it’s even more uplifting to the soul when we can foster these relationships.

I’ve referenced our Bruce and Findlay cousins that we’ve connected with on Ella’s side, but I also wanted to give a shout-out to the McRae and Inglish cousins who have reached out as well, through this blog. We're glad to be in touch!

……….

It was perhaps about 2 years ago that I was asking Grandma Ella: Your father, George Findlay, was the oldest of 11 children (though just 7 of them lived to adulthood).(1) Where in the world did they all end up? And their children? I had heard about her father and one sister who had emigrated to America, and about the youngest brother who settled in New Zealand. But the others? We had cousins that we might not know about! And any still in Aberdeen?

Ella had emigrated from Aberdeen to the United States with her family in 1949 when she was 15, and at the time these were one-way boat tickets.(2). Now in America, even having a telephone in their home in Arizona in the late 1940s and early 1950s was such an unimaginable luxury, let alone calling overseas on one. I suppose there was letter writing, but Ella unfortunately fell out of touch with much of the extended family. And time passed on. Who would have thought that someday traveling would be what it is, and even that communication methods would advance so greatly?

As time passed on, it made sense that Ella’s father’s younger siblings would have children, that there would still family in her homeland as well as elsewhere in the world.

In the late 1990s, one of Ella’s first cousins visited them in Utah, coming from New Zealand. Cousin JF and his family! This was the first time they had ever met in person.

Then fast forward to early 2015: I received a message through this blog, a note from that same Cousin JF in New Zealand, which then kicked off an email correspondence that continues. He knew the answer to my question about where all the Findlay siblings and cousins ended up. And we were excited to hear that he was in touch with many of them!

On our May 2017 to Aberdeen, we finally met some of Ella's first cousins in person: We visited Cousin DD at her home, and Cousin CS joined us for dessert at our hotel’s restaurant. Upon that initial glance (at least for someone super sentimental, like myself!), it was as if they were instantly familiar. And we hugged as if we were reawakening a relationship that had simply been dormant. It was a mini family reunion!

Left Photo: KF, Cousin DD, BR, Ella; Right Photo: Ella and Cousin CS

As you can imagine, during our time together we showed photographs of our families, we shared some of Grandma Ella’s prominent memories of common ancestors, and we enjoyed getting to know each other a little bit more.

Ella's parents Kate and George (on the far right)
on their wedding day in 1927 with George's siblings (left to right, Carrie, Alec, Ethel)

George Findlay's siblings (left to right): Madge, Ethel, Jack, Lizzie, Carrie (we think!) (3)

Ella (bottom right) with older sister Ina
(bottom left) with their Aunt Madge (back right)
and a friend (back left)

Cousin CS said that our visit had prompted her to revisit and sort through some photographs and documents that she inherited when her older sister had passed away.(4)

Our breaths were taken away when she showed us the first photograph: Ella’s parents (Kate and George Findlay) holding Ralph and Ella’s twin babies Bruce and Bonnie, out in front of Ralph and Ella’s home in Wilmington, California, in 1953. Then a realization: I assume that it was Kate Findlay (Ursula Katherine Bruce Beattie) who was keeping in touch with this family so far away, sending letters with photographs, and sharing the joy of their first grandchildren and the first great grandchildren of the Findlay family (and the novelty of twins!).

Ella's parents, Kate and George Findlay,
holding twin grandchildren Bonnie (left) and Bruce (right),
Wilmington, California - 1954

This was likely a photograph that Kate Findlay sent to her in-laws, George and Charlesina Findlay, and perhaps she sent some to her husband’s siblings as well (was this particular photo sent to Cousin CS’s mother?) In fact, Cousin MM, also in Aberdeen but whom we didn’t meet in person on this trip as she was on holiday, mentioned over email that she remembers seeing photos of her relatives in America, shown to her by Grandpa George Findlay.

Ralph and Ella marveling at the photo of Ella's parents
with their twin babies

What a thrill to think that on the other side of the world, these relatives grew up with a vague awareness of their extended family. And now, Cousin CS was meeting one of the twins shown in that picture. (Note: Ella’s older sister, Ina, I learned, was in closer contact with some of the extended Findlay family, and Ella was in touch with some of the other cousins years ago. But it can be easy to fall out of touch!)

……….

As I reflect back on the interactions with these cousins, I'm amazed at how Ella’s mother made such an effort to keep in touch with family, even sending photos to the other side of the world. It seems that those family connections were so important to her.

We're grateful for new technology and for the internet that is reconnecting us.  We’re grateful for family stories that were told about these photos - for example: the photo of Kate and George holding the twins was unmarked, without names or dates on the back. And we’re grateful for mementos that were stashed away in a box and saved until a later time. In the current craze of minimalism and purging of belongings (or is this just a fad in America?), it’s significant to know that these items remain and that made for some meaningful icing on the cake for our visit.

We look forward to more family reunions, both virtual as well as face-to-face!

..........

Notes:

1. See footnote #3 for the list of all 11 children, here: http://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2016/09/meet-charlesina-smith-love-findlay-1883.html
2. Read more about their emigration story here: http://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2014/10/across-oceans-and-continents_27.html
3. Ella did her best to try to identify her aunts and uncles in the photos. Is what's listed in the photo captions correct?
4. For details of another document that Cousin CS shared with us, check out this blog post: http://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2017/05/john-mcdonald-and-ursilla-katherine.html

John McDonald and Ursilla Katherine Bruce Beattie - Final Resting Spot

On that windy, overcast morning in May, when we decided to visit the Allenvale Cemetery to find the unmarked(1) graves of Ella’s maternal grandparents, John McDonald Beattie and Ursilla Katherine Bruce Beattie (pronounced "Yer-SILL-a")(2), it seemed like it would be a fairly easy task, as we knew the cemetery section and plot number of the graves.(3) But as the events unfolded, it truly seemed that there was divine intervention to guide us in our efforts.

We had arrived in Aberdeen the afternoon on the previous day, and that evening at the hotel we met Ella’s first cousin CS for the first time.

After some introductions, she said that our visit had prompted her to revisit and sort through some documents that she inherited when her older sister had passed away. Included in these documents, which she unfolded so gently as some were quite delicate, were two hand-written receipts for Allenvale Cemetery, to George Findlay (Ella's father), dated 11 May 1936 and 8 February 1937.

Hand-written receipt to George Findlay for the payment
of a funeral plot at Allenvale Cemetery

In that moment, it didn’t make sense what those receipts would have been for. This was about 13 years before George and Kate Findlay (Ursula Katherine Bruce Beattie Findlay) and their family would emigrate and at that time they were just in their early 30s. Were they buying this plot to plan for their future?(4) We were planning on visiting that cemetery the next day, so we would do some further investigating while there.

The next morning, before we headed out for the day, I took another look at the receipts for the cemetery plots, and it hit me: The plot numbers listed there were for George Findlay’s in-laws, John McDonald and Ursilla Katherine Bruce Beattie. And the dates on the receipts were just days after they had both passed.(5) It now made sense: John and Ursilla had only one child, their daughter Kate, and thus after they passed, it would be Kate and her husband George who would provide for their burial.

……….

Allenvale Cemetery is such a beautiful cemetery, with tall trees and neat rows of headstones of various shapes and sizes. And it’s huge: it must have thousands and thousands of graves.

Allenvale Cemetery - thousands and thousands of graves!

We knew the grave location—section 2, lair/plot 278—but I was unable to find a cemetery map online, so we thought there might be some sort of sign or map at the cemetery itself. So we entered through the gates by Allenvale Road and Hardgate, and we walked in. Wow, was it overwhelming! With so many graves, how would we know where to begin?

The entrance to Allenvale Cemetery
off of Allenvale Road and Hardgate.

I ran ahead, looking for any plaques, maps, or markers, but I wasn’t  able to find anything. Instead, perhaps there might be an office, or a groundskeeper who could direct us?

After working my way through section after section of the cemetery, then across the street in yet another section, I saw a couple of chaps, and asked them whether they could help me find the plot. Sure! They were happy to help! They brushed their hands off on their overalls and apologized for the dirt - they were busy digging graves by hand that morning.

We entered into a small office on the side of a home in that part of the cemetery, and G, the energetic and friendly grave digger, pulled out a tattered map from a drawer. Wow, this office! It was not an “office” in the modern sense, but an unfinished room attached to a home, with a couple tables, perhaps a chair, and aged maps, barely being held together by threads, rolled up in the drawers. There was also a cabinet full of hand-written ledgers of burial records and loose papers, tucked onto the shelves. Nothing digitized - no wonder I couldn’t find this information online!

Confirming the location of the family plot.

Gathering around the map.

Hand-written ledgers of burial records.

G checked the map for the location I noted (section 2, lair/plot 278). The area we were interested in was right on a torn seam, so he was carefully rolling frayed pieces of the map down to try to piece it together. “Ah!” he says. “G. Findlay!” “Yes! That’s the one!” Why “G. Findlay” on the map? Because that’s who paid for the plot, even though he is not buried there. And because of the documents Cousin CS shared with us the night before, it was all making sense; there was no confusion about why G. Findlay’s name would be on the map.

"G. Findlay," located on that ripped seam.

Now that we had confirmed the general area, G grabbed the map and we headed out across the cemetery, with his fellow grave digger A following along.

We actually went back to the section of the cemetery near where we had parked our car and had initially walked in. We were so close already! G would energetically check the map, walk a few paces, check the map, get down on his hands and knees to check grave stones, removing his glasses, putting them back on, moving to the next spot with this ragged map billowing in the wind as he walked. Assuming that our family’s plot had no grave marker, we were checking the adjacent graves that had tomb stones, comparing them to the map. Our anticipation kept growing! We were on the verge of finding the plot!

Checking the map. So close now!

G and A thought they identified the spot, but there seemed to be another grave marker placed there - a loose one. As often happens, the stones might be moved for maintenance or groundskeeping work, and then erroneously placed back in the wrong spot. It appeared we had a squatter!

However, after closer inspection of the map, G confirmed that the grave we were looking for was right where we were standing, denoted by a small tin pot mostly submerged in the dirt (that perhaps held flowers at some time). We found it! What a thrilling treasure hunt! And how grateful we were for the help of these cheery grave diggers.

We were on the hunt! Found it!

The submerged tin pot in front of Ralph's left toe marks
the final resting place of John and Ursilla Beattie.

We lingered at the gravesite longer, marveling at the events of the day and so very grateful. Grandma Ella and I picked some of the tiny wildflowers that were growing in the lawn and laid a petite bouquet of wild daisies and dandelions on their graves.

A tiny bouquet, in remembrance.

……….

These are the graves of my great great grandparents, John McDonald Beattie and Ursilla Katherine Bruce Beattie. From what I’ve learned of them, life was not easy for them but they seem to have had strong characters. Both were deaf since childhood but that didn’t seem to hold them back. He was born in Aberdeen, an illegitimate child, his mother died when he was 9 and he grew up in an orphanage. She was born in Shetland. Her father died when she was 3 years old, and she spent 6 years at a boarding school for deaf students in Edinburgh. They married in their late 30s and had one child in their early 40s, whom they raised to be a strong, stalwart woman - Ursula Katherine Bruce Beattie Findlay (“Grandma Kate”), Ella’s mother. He worked in the Aberdeen iron foundry, dying of chronic bronchitis when he was 75. She was trained as a dressmaker and had worked for a time as a domestic servant as well. She died at age 74 of uterine cancer. Ella was just 2-3 when they died, so she doesn’t have any first-hand memories of them, though she heard much about them growing up.

……….

All coincidence perhaps, but I like to believe that the hand of God was helping orchestrate the day’s events, that through inspired thoughts and actions (including the receipts that Cousin CS shared and meeting the grave diggers), we were guided to answers, that so many little pieces and people came together to lead us to where our ancestors were laid to rest. Perhaps we would have found this information eventually regardless? But it all certainly came together in a way we couldn’t have anticipated.

What’s next? We are waiting to hear back from the burials office of Aberdeen City(6), as it’s time we have a proper gravestone marker put in place. “Until we meet again.”

……….

If you find yourself at Allenvale Cemetery in Aberdeen, Scotland, here are directions for how to find the (currently) unmarked graves of John McDonald Beattie and Ursilla Katherine Bruce Beattie.
………. Notes:

1. We weren’t 100 percent certain that the graves of John McDonald Beattie and Ursilla Katherine Bruce Beattie were unmarked, but we had vague memories of oral history recounting such.
2. Ella’s maternal grandparents, John and Ursilla Beattie, passed away when Ella was 2-3 years old. I wonder whether Ella had ever visited the graves with her parents before they emigrated?
3. The plot locations of John and Ursilla Beattie at Allenvale Cemetery were confirmed via email with a Bereavement Services Registrar at Marischal College on 5 Oct 2016.
4. It also isn't apparent why George’s sister would have been the caretaker of these receipts, which were then passed to her daughters (eventually to Cousin CS), as these were for plots for George’s in-laws, not related to the Findlays. But for whatever reason, we were glad they were preserved!
5. John McDonald Beattie: 12 November 1860 - 8 May 1936. Ursilla Katherine Bruce Beattie: 19 Feb 1862 - 6 Feb 1937.
6. When I called Aberdeen City to inquire about getting a proper gravestone for their graves, they asked who had paid for the plot. Ah-hah! “I’ve got the receipts for that: George Findlay.”

John and Ursilla Beattie are Ella's
maternal grandparents.