Tag Archives: somner

Slave owning in the family tree

Posted on May 6, 2013 by

Some years ago I discovered that a 6xg-uncle lived in Jamaica. Thomas Usher (1774-1834) was one of a large family from Melrose, Roxburghshire. As a younger son he had to make his own way, and I’d known that he settled … Continue reading →

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Family gravestones listed at Find A Grave

Posted on October 9, 2012 by

I’ve just been having another look at Find A Grave which has photos and a searchable database of monumental inscriptions from all over the world. Obviously it’s incomplete, and an ongoing project, but it’s always worth trying a search there. … Continue reading →

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Somner connections with last night’s Who Do You Think You Are

Posted on September 20, 2012 by

We just watched last night’s Who Do You Think You Are on the BBC with Alex Kingston. She discovered that an ancestress was a lodging house keeper, which was a bit of a euphemism in her case. I’ll not go … Continue reading →

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Servants in Haddington ancestor households

Posted on August 31, 2012 by

I recently subscribed to the new digitised tax records available at ScotlandsPlaces. I’ve already looked through some of the hearth tax records, for my one-place studies. But I’ve now started looking at the servant taxes from the late 18th century. … Continue reading →

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Lots of Greenfields in East Lothian

Posted on August 29, 2012 by

I’m currently looking at the digitised hearth tax records from the 1690s at ScotlandsPlaces (a subscription site). Among other things I was hoping to find clues to my Somner ancestors in there. I have a Somner ancestor farming in 1720s … Continue reading →

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Ancestor receiving surgeon’s diploma in 1771

Posted on August 22, 2012 by

I’ve always wondered how my ancestor Richard Somner (1731-1804) trained as a surgeon. I’m assuming that he trained on the job, and have found no evidence for any form of university education for him, unlike his son and grandsons who … Continue reading →

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Ancestor’s new seedsman business in 1844

Posted on August 22, 2012 by

My 4xg-grandfather Francis Somner (1803-1891) moved from farming in Berwickshire to becoming a seedsman and commission agent in Kelso, Roxburghshire. Thanks to the British Newspaper Archive I’ve just found a pair of adverts referring to his new business, where the … Continue reading →

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Jean Veitch, Mrs Somner (ca 1770-1804)

Posted on March 29, 2012 by

This blog post is about one direct ancestor, my 5xg-grandmother Jean Veitch. She was the only known child of her parents, and was named after both of her grandmothers. Her father’s mother, Jane Thomson, Mrs Veitch, was a minister’s daughter … Continue reading →

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Dandie Dinmont terriers in the family tree

Posted on February 2, 2012 by

Through the Dodds side I reach the Somner family, including my 4xg-grandfather Francis Somner (1803-1891). He was born in East Lothian, a farmer’s son, and moved as a young man to farm West Morriston near Earlston, before ultimately settling in … Continue reading →

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