A Eulogy for George Findlay, by His Dear Friend John Freestone

George and Kate Findlay

Included in the Life History of George and Katherine Findlay (Ella’s parents) is this treasure: the eulogy for George, given at his funeral by the Findlay’s dear friend John Freestone, on September 23, 1970.

The Findlays first met John when he was a missionary in the British Mission, serving for a time in Aberdeen. They quickly became friends and had a weekly tradition to gather together for “interesting discussions” and singing along as George played the piano. John was about 6 years younger than them, so he was similar in age. John finished his mission in 1931 and the Findlays were baptized the following year in 1932.(1)

What especially stands out to Ella about the friendship between her parents and John is that as a man in his early 20s returning home from his mission, John could have easily lost contact with the Findlays and carried on with his life in America, but he kept in touch with them for the next 17 years (!) by airmail correspondence. It was John who was their sponsor when they emigrated to America, and he was loyal to the Findlays their entire lives (he was even the emcee at Ralph and Ella's wedding reception).

Here is the text of the eulogy John gave for George. Minor edits to paragraph spacing and punctuation have been made to improve readability.

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We have met this day to pay loving respect to the memory of a husband, father, grandfather, George Findlay. He was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, on the 4th of January, 1903, and passed from his mortal existence on this earth here in Mesa on September 20, 1970.

On September 20, 1930, a young missionary from Arizona arrived in Aberdeen, just 40 years to the day prior to George's passing. I was that young missionary. A few days later I had the opportunity of meeting George and Katherine, and their young child Ina, where I was made welcome in their home.

During the next few months my companion and I made it a Saturday night habit to visit the Findlay home. We were always greeted royally with a nice dinner, after which we would gather around for interesting conversation and discussions on many topics including religion, politics, and history. Often we would gather about the piano where George would display one of his many talents, one not known to all his acquaintances, that of playing the piano while we all joined in singing hymns or Scottish ballads.

Our friendship started there and has continued ever since. After my return in Arizona in 1931, George kept in contact with me through correspondence for seventeen years. During this time he expressed his deep desire to bring his family to America for the advantages he felt would accrue from such a move.

Letters from John to George.
Source: The Life History of
George and Katherine Findlay

Then came World War II, making it temporarily impossible to fulfill his dream, but being a very determined, resolute man he persisted in obtaining that goal, and it was my privilege to sponsor him to this country. He came as a vanguard for the rest of the family, arriving here on Christmas Eve in 1948.

There were no passenger flights by jets in those days, so he came by boat, arriving in New York City on [Dec 20], 1948.(2) While going through customs an inspector asked him where he was going and what his occupation was. The inspector could hardly believe his answer. “You, a Scottish boatwright, going to Arizona?” George pointed to the blizzard in process and replied, “Do you see that weather out there? Well, I’m fed up with it and that’s why I’m going to Arizona.” This incident was typical of him.

George stayed in our home until we could locate an apartment for him in Mesa. A day or two after he was [settled], we came by to check up on him and to find out how he was getting along. He said that he had been walking around the town but that he got lost. I asked him how this could happen in a town with wide, straight streets laid out east to west and north to south. He replied that was the very reason he got lost was that all of the streets looked alike whereas back in Scotland: “Each street had a character of its ane.”

Being a fiercely independent man, George soon found employment on his own. For the rest of his working days here in Mesa, he engaged in carpentry, which was the nearest approach to what he knew best vocationally. He became a pattern maker and many of the mouldings and facings of government and private structures are the result of his skilled handicraft.

Five months following his arrival, Katherine and Ella arrived, then another five months passed before Ina arrived. The family was reunited and the dream of many years fulfilled.

George loved his native land. This love is characterized by the words of the great Scottish writer, Sir Walter Scott, “Breathes there a man with soul so dead, who never to himself has said, ‘This is my own, my native land.’”

He especially loved the sea and the ships that sailed upon it. You would only need to engage him in conversation for a few minutes to discover that he was Scottish - no so much by his brogue as by the content of his conversation. He was extremely proud of his Scottish heritage. There is an old saying that “Strong winds make strong trees.” George lived in a land of extreme weather and other hardships such as was experienced during the World War II days when the city of Aberdeen, the beautiful city of silver granite, was frequently bombed.(3)

George was a great believer in brotherhood. For this reason he espoused many causes to promote his feelings in this regard. He joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and became a staunch member.

In 1939, he was appointed president of the church branch in Aberdeen. He was given a blessing and a promise that if he would discharge his duties faithfully that his life would be protected and spared through the dark days which lay ahead. This he determined to do. For the next nine years every scheduled meeting was held under his direction. This record was not achieved by any other branch in Scotland. Sometimes only three or four came to the meetings because of the danger of falling bombs from air raids.(4)

Then came an incident which underscored the promise made to him. One night while at work in the shipyard, the boss of the small crew said, “Let’s call it a night and all go to the tavern.” All went except George. Being true to his trust and faithful to his beliefs, he went directly home. A little later an unscheduled single enemy plane flew over the city. There was no alarm sounded by siren. A bomb was dropped. The tavern was destroyed, taking the lives of all who were in it.

After coming to America, George continued his faithful service to his fellow man. He has served two local missions and at the time of his passing was acting in the capacity of first counselor to the High Priest Group Leader.

George leaves a rich legacy to his family and friends. Not one to be counted in dollars and cents, but one to be counted in character and culture. He was not privileged to have a son. However he was privileged to obtain two wonderful sons-in-law, Ina’s husband, Frank Slade, and Ella’s husband, Ralph Mitchell. And, in addition, he has been blessed with 10 grandchildren, five grandsons and five granddaughters. And thus he saw fulfilled in this posterity the paramount dream and goal of his life.

Also surviving, along with Katherine, are his [four] sisters, two in Scotland [Caroline and Marjorie], Ethel Grant of Mesa, and Elizabeth of Washington state, who is here today; and a brother, Jack, who resides in New Zealand.

To all of these survivors, I would like to say, Cherish the memory of this great individual. It will bring strength to you in time of trial and adversity, and comfort to you in all situations. You may be justly proud of your heritage. In the words of our Saviour, “Let not your hearts be troubled; for in my father’s house are many mansions, and I have prepared a place for you; and where my father and I am, there you shall be also.” Any sadness of farewell that we may feel this day will be more than compensated for in the future when there will be a happy reunion.


Given by John Freestone, September 23rd, 1970

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Notes and Sources:

1. Although Ella talks frequently of John Freestone having taught her parents when he was a missionary serving in Aberdeen, she couldn’t remember if he baptized them as well. I have a copy of Katherine’s baptism certificate so we know who baptized her, but I haven’t yet located George’s baptism certificate. But by piecing together details from the eulogy it’s now clear that they were baptized after John went home. John mentions that he returned to Arizona in 1931, and we know that Katherine was baptized on 11 June 1932 and George on 13 June 1932. For more details on George and Katherine’s conversion, see these blog posts: George and Kate Findlay Meet the Mormons (https://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2017/08/george-and-kate-findlay-meet-mormons.html); On the Banks of the River Dee (https://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2014/10/on-banks-of-river-dee-aberdeen.html)
2. The scan of the eulogy is hard to make out in parts, and it seems that the date listed as George's arrival at the New York harbor is June 5, 1948. However, according to the passenger list of the S. S. Mauretania that we have, his arrival is listed as December 20, 1948, which also then fits with the timeframe of George arriving in Mesa on Christmas Eve, 1948. Read more about the Findlays emigration story here: https://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2014/10/across-oceans-and-continents_27.html
3. Read more memories of WWII in these blog posts: At Home and Abroad: Family Members’ Military Service in WWII (https://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2014/05/at-home-and-abroad-family-members.html); The War Years: Air Raids, City and Countryside, and Strength in the Gospel (https://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-war-years-air-raids-city-and.html); Memories of Aberdeen During WWII (https://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2017/10/memories-of-aberdeen-during-wwii.html)
4. Read more about the Findlays and the Aberdeen Branch in the 1930s and 1940s here: https://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-findlays-and-aberdeen-branch-in.html

Williamina/Wilhilmina/Wilhelmina - A Rose By Any Other Name...

Wilhelmina Inkster Bruce/Campbell

In his play Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare penned, “What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” It’s true that what matters is who a person is rather than what their name is...and in this case how their name is spelled or how it’s pronounced.

That being said, when it comes to how to spell Grandma Ella’s great grandmother's name, it’s something that keeps me up at night. After all, her name will be inscribed on her daughter’s granite memorial, Ursilla Katherine Bruce Beattie.(1) I want to get it right!

On 10 March 1835, a daughter was born out of wedlock to William Inkster and Margaret Graham. (Read more about her life here and here.) According to what Grandma Ella was taught, she was called “WILL-yum-INE-A,” but how might that have been spelled?

In researching this and trying to come to a conclusion on which spelling to adopt as “official,” here’s an overview of records I've found - parish, statutory, and family records - with different spellings of her name throughout her life:(2)

• Parish birth record for Williamina Inkster, 13 March 1835
• Census entry for Williamina Inkster, 1841, when she was still in her father William's household
• Bruce family register that mentions marriage of Robert and Wilhelmina, 1 May 1855
• Statutory birth register for Robert and Wilhilmina's son Robert, 6 July 1857
• Statutory birth register for Robert and Wilhilmina's daughter Ursilla, 20 Feb 1862
• Census entry for Wilhilmina, 1861
• Statutory marriage register for Wilhelmina and 2nd husband, Duncan Campbell, 24 Feb 1870
• Statutory birth register for Alexander Campbell, son of Wilhelmina from her 2nd husband, 25 Nov 1870
• Statutory death register for Wilhelmina, 28 Dec 1896
• A note from Gma Ella sent to me in 2014 that says she has always gone by the spelling Williamina
• A handwritten family group sheet from Grandma Ella’s mother, Ursilla Katherine Bruce Beattie Findlay (“Grandma Kate”) with the spelling as Wilhelmina. This is Grandma Kate’s grandmother whose name spelling we’re debating. Although Wilhelmina passed away before Grandma Kate was born, she was the closest person to her that we knew.

Now it’s true that perhaps even if her name was spelled as Wilhilmina or Wilhelmina, that it could have still been pronounced as “WILL-yum-INE-A.” Sometimes names are not necessarily pronounced phonetically, so we can’t always make an assumption about a name’s pronunciation from 180+ years ago.

And it’s true that sometimes in this bygone era, a person was not literate, so a registrar would make his best guess when recording that person’s name on an official document. And thus it’s hard to confirm one “official” spelling.

We could debate that her name should be spelled as Williamina, as it appears that that’s how her father had intended it. Or we could debate that it should be Wilhelmina, as many of the official records later in her life were spelled that way - perhaps that was the spelling that she adopted and used (assuming she was literate, or literate enough to spell her name later in her life).

Ultimately, we recognize that there is probably no “right” way to spell her name considering this time in history. And anyone versed in family history will know that spelling variations are common so when researching ancestors it’s a best practice to search on the spelling variations also.

But I still wish there were one, definitive, right way. ;)

……….

Sources and Notes:

1. More on finding the unmarked grave of Wilhelmina’s daughter, Ursilla Katherine Bruce Beattie, here (https://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2017/05/john-mcdonald-and-ursilla-katherine.html).
2. Most of these documents I found on ScotlandsPeople (https://scotlandspeople.gov.uk), though the Bruce family register is a copy that Grandma Ella shared with me - I’m not sure where the original is or who shared the copy with her. I’m in the process of posting documents to FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/), but if you’d like a copy of them in the meantime, send me an email and I can share them with you directly.

Wilhelmina Inkster Bruce/Campbell is Ella's great grandmother.

Aberdeen: Scot by Heritage, Strengthened by the Gospel

While recently researching family history details online, I ran across the following article about the LDS Church in Aberdeen, which was first published in the Ensign magazine (a monthly publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) in March 1990. 

This article features members of the Thompson family, some of the stalwart members of the Church in Aberdeen from the mid-1920s and on, and a family that the Findlays knew well - there were only a handful of members of the Church there, after all! (For reference: George and Kate Findlay first met the missionaries in 1930 and were baptized in 1932.)

Love this line from the article: “Ours is a proud heritage and a promising future." Indeed! 

See also: 

• George and Kate Findlay Meet the Mormons
• The Findlays and the Aberdeen Branch During the 1930s and 1940s

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Aberdeen: Scot by Heritage, Strengthened by the Gospel

By Leslie Smith

Known to local residents as the “Silver City by the Sea,” Aberdeen, Scotland, sits on a 33-mile stretch of North Sea coastline. It is known for its buildings made of the local silver-gray granite. Now the oil center of Europe, Aberdeen has come a long way from the ship-building, fishing, and granite industries for which it was formerly renowned.

Scotland is famous worldwide for its kilts, bagpipes, lochs (lakes), and its traditional meat dish, haggis. At the New Year, Latter-day Saints in Aberdeen join with the rest of their Scottish countrymen in festivities that include honoring the birthday of their national poet, Robert Burns. They celebrate “Burns Night” with poetry reading, singing, and participation in traditional highland dances. The celebrations would not be complete without Scotch broth, tatties (potatoes), neeps (turnips), and the haggis itself—brought in, traditionally, to the tune of the pipes and celebrated in song and poetry.

Aberdeen itself is quaint and beautiful, with well-maintained flower beds around the city. It has won the “Britain in Bloom” competition for so many years that the city had to withdraw from the contest for three years to give another community a chance!

Latter-day Saints in Aberdeen have made their own contribution to the beauty of the city. The Aberdeen Ward meetinghouse and its grounds have won twenty-six local awards in the category of best-kept church and community building. Ward members attribute this to the hard work and dedication of Brother Thomas Thomson, who has worked as custodian since the dedication of the chapel in 1967.

“We haven’t always had a beautiful chapel in which to meet,” recalls Georgina Thomson, the oldest member of the Church in Aberdeen (and no relation to the custodian). “I remember when the elders first met my husband in the marketplace in 1922. He brought them home with him. We were baptized four years later in the River Dee. There were only four members here then,” she says.

“There was nowhere for us to meet, so we met in each other’s homes and missionaries ran the branches. We had to wait nearly forty years for a temple in London so we could be sealed,” Sister Thomson says. “My husband was the branch president in Aberdeen when President David O. McKay dedicated the London Temple and subsequently made a visit to Scotland, the place his father had lived.”

The staunch devotion of Sister Thomson and her husband has been a model for their children. Their daughter was the first member from the area to serve a mission, laboring in England. Their son Stanley has served in many leadership capacities in the Church.

The gospel first came to Scotland in December 1839. From that time through the first fifty years of this century, membership in the Aberdeen area fluctuated because of emigration to America, Australia, and South Africa, and because of the two world wars. In recent years, though, growth has been significant.

When the plans for the first Church-built chapel in Aberdeen were developed several years ago, some of the thirty-four members in the city questioned the need for such a large parking area; only one family among them owned a car. But mission president Bernard P. Brockbank (now a General Authority Emeritus) told them they would see the day when the Saints in Aberdeen wouldn’t be able to get all their cars in it. That day has arrived. The stake now has more than 1,600 members.

The Aberdeen stake spans the width of Scotland. Dedication is required of members like Roddy and Phyllis Ross of Inverness, who must travel more than one hundred miles one way for stake meetings and conferences. When they go to the temple, it is a two-hour trip to the stake center, then twelve hours more to the temple. But despite the distance, Aberdeen Saints travel often to the temple, and some spend a week or more at a time there doing work for the dead.

Well-known Scottish storyteller Stanley Robertson lives in Aberdeen. He joined the Church in 1965 and has since brought thirty members of his extended family into the Church. He is known at home and abroad for his books, ballads, and songs. But “I couldn’t have done anything without the Church,” he says. “The first time I sang was at a Relief Society party, and now I travel the world singing my songs.”

Brother Robertson’s prominence has been an asset in his current calling as stake public communications director, as he has done much to promote the image of the Church in his native land.

Public attention can be very important. Generally Latter-day Saints are not well known in Aberdeen, explains stake president James Rae Dressel. It is important that other Scots come to know them and the quality of their lives.

The gospel is crucial to the quality of Scottish Saints’ lives, says President Dressel’s wife, Patricia. “Emphasis on family unity has given us a goal to work toward as we counsel and teach the principles to our children. We know the gospel will carry them through their lives,” she says. And personally, she adds, the gospel “enables me to do things I would never have the courage to do otherwise.”

The hardy Saints of Aberdeen stand out as Scots, President Dressel says, and they are consistently gaining in spiritual strength through membership in the Church. “Ours is a proud heritage and a promising future.”

Correspondent: Leslie Smith, assistant press officer for the Church in the British Isles.

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Source: Smith, Leslie. (1990, March). Aberdeen: Scot by Heritage, Strengthened by the Gospel. Ensign. Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/ensign/1990/03/news-of-the-church/aberdeen-scot-by-heritage-strengthened-by-the-gospel?lang=eng. Accessed 16 January 2018.