The Findlay & Ritchie Connection
As per the links below to the hand-drawn family tree meticulously draughted by my late Uncle Alexander (Sandy) Waddell, and the various biographies (for which I'm extremely grateful to my brother Simon) that Sandy put together from various sources. A considerable number of further details have now been inserted into his schema, but nothing prior to it is yet (Nov 2014) available.
Origins of the name
The Findlay surname comes from the old Scottish name Fionnlagh / Fionnlaoich, meaning "fair hero" - from the Gaelic elements "fionn" meaning white or fair and "laoch" meaning warrior or hero, and associated in song and story with the legendary (but real-life) hero, Findla Mor ("Big Findlay") Farquharson, reputedly of gigantic stature (well, for those days anyway) who fell at the Battle of Pinkie in 1547.
The Old Gaelic words of "fear" and "char" combine to create the name Farquhar which means "dear one". It was a popular Celtic first-name, and was to be found all over Scotland in the Middle Ages. As a surname today however the form "Farquharson" (son of Farquhar) is more common.
A warrior named Fearchar Shaw founded a dynasty who took the name Farquharson. The Findlays (Finlaysons, Finlays, Finleys, and other similar such names) are generally regarded as a sept of the Farquharsons.
It's a lively-looking coat of arms, but how genuine or appropriate is entirely open to question!
The Findlays and Ritchies
Nothing lifts the spirits like a nice brightly-coloured map, and that's a good excuse to display the counties of Scotland in technicolour hues (cheerfully disregarding the Four Colour Theorem) – specifically Angus (2) and Fife (13) on the East Central coast just to the south of Aberdeenshire (1).
The town of Arbroath, the stamping-ground of 'our' Findlays, is about half-way up the coastline of Angus, known in those days (until 1928) as Forfarshire.
The detailed map reproduced below might well be helpful, not least to me.
Not featuring explicitly in the Generation Table below, but implicit in so much of what eventuated, the remarkable stories of John Ritchie (3 Feb 1778 – 21 Dec 1870) and his younger brother William1, 2 (1781 – 4 Feb 1831), who was in many ways the more remarkable of the two, can't easily be integrated into this narrative.
Sandy thought, probably on the ever-unreliable basis of family legend, that John and William were twins, elder brothers to Margaret Ritchie (4 May 1736 – 10 Feb 1819), but these beliefs aren't supported by their DOB's. I'm still (Nov 2014) unable to establish the true degrees of kinship between the Ritchies and Findlays in that era. They were probably both in very modest walks of life, only traceable via parish registers. I think this may well require intensive on-the-spot expertise from a professional genealogist – I understand the Angus archives do offer a research service at £20/hr, which might be worth considering at some point. I believe they would be able to access any original documents which still exist.
There's reason to believe that the 'newspaper Ritchies' were not closely related, if at all, to Margaret Ritchie, and that the two families were actually connected via Elizabeth Johnstone, whose mother was a sister of John and William Ritchie. This is borne out by the Ritchie monument (see below) which describes Elizabeth as John Ritchie's niece.
Note also that the Ritchie brothers were born in Fife, which though close at hand, isn't actually contiguous with Angus (please see the map above).
Please click here and here for further details of the remarkable Ritchies and their ensuing generations of Ritchie Findlays.
Details given in black are transcribed from Sandy's family tree; corrections in red are taken from the Ritchie monument inscriptions, and those in grey from www.thepeerage.com (or directly from Jen (Findlay) Guerin, from whom thepeerage are fortunate enough to source their best information) or from the Findlay memorial inscriptions.
| # | Individual | Spouse / Partner | Family |
| ‑6 | Robert Findlay (10 or 19 Dec 1742 – 5 Feb 1802) manufacturer of linen cloth |
Margaret Ritchie (4 or 14 May 1736 – 10 Feb 1819) (m 8 Jun 1765) |
David Findlay (b 17 Mar 1767) Elizabeth (Elvy) Findlay (b 30 Jan 1769) Margaret Findlay (b 30 Jan 1769, twin) James Findlay (b 23 Dec 1771) Peter Findlay (b 20 Sep 1772, died in infancy) Robert Findlay (b 10 Apr 1775) ? = Mary Petrie (m 17 Feb 1797) Peter Findlay (6 Apr 1777 – 26 Nov 1855) |
| ‑6 | Margaret Fin(d)lay | William Renny (m 1 Jun 1765) |
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| ‑5 | Peter Findlay (5 Apr 1777 – 26 Nov 1855) drapery shop in Arbroath High St, selling woollen & linen cloth |
Hannah (Ann) Dalgety (16 Mar 1777 – 27 Oct 1852) (m 10 Mar 1799) Silhouette daughter of Joseph Dalgety & Ann Dick |
Peter Findlay (10 Feb 1800 – 10 Nov 1850, Bombay) Robert Findlay (8 Jun 1801 – 5 Feb 1802) Joseph Findlay (9 Dec 1802 – 27 Aug 1832) Charles Findlay, surgeon (24 Apr 1804 – 30 Nov 1891) Benjamin Hall Findlay (4 Dec 1806 – 22 Oct 1880, Friockheim) = Sarah Frazer |
| HF never married, was the main beneficiary of her father's will. In old age she lived with spinster niece Jessie Smith Findlay plus Val and Hannah Findlay. | Hannah Findlay (3 Jun 1808 – 3 Aug 1897) Portrait William Renny Findlay #1 (21 Aug 1810 – 22 Feb 1872) Edward Findlay (16 Jan 1813 – 14 Feb 1876, Bournemouth) Margaret (Mary) Findlay (16 Feb 1815 – 10 Feb 1819) Elizabeth Findlay (16 Sep 1816 – 22 Nov 1835) David Findlay (14 Oct 1818 – 28 Nov 1819) George Findlay (27 Oct 1820 – 31 Aug 1846, Merchant Navy, died at sea) | ||
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| ‑4 | Peter Findlay (9 Feb 1800 – 10 Nov 1850, in Poona, near Bombay) family drapery business @150 High St, Arbroath, failed ca1842, became partner with East India merchants Findlay, Monnet & Co. |
Elizabeth Johnston(e) (1797 – 1880) (m 27 Apr 1823, @ St Cuthbert's, Edinburgh) daughter of Robert Johnstone. Mother's maiden name was Ritchie, subsequently remarried a Mr Muirhouse. |
John Ritchie Findlay (21 Oct 1824 – 16 or 28 Oct 1898) Margaret Findlay (12 May 1826– 1827) Hannah Findlay (31 Dec 1827 – 10 Nov 1893) = Thomas Purdom (m 10 Dec 1861) Elizabeth Scott Findlay (28 Jul 1829 – 30 Dec 1912) = William Ritchie McDiarmid (m 1870) |
| ‑4 | Dr Charles Findlay1, 2 (24 Apr 1804 – 30 Nov 1891) Portrait surgeon ancestry website gives 6 offspring, including only James Scott Findlay in common |
Elizabeth Scott (d 26 Jan 1838) (m 3 Jun 1829) |
Charles Findlay (21 Apr 1831 – 23 Apr 1902) James Scott Findlay (3 Jul 1833 – 12 Feb 1870, washed overboard in Atlantic when Master of Brig "Star of Dundee") Robert, Catherine, and Hannah, all died in infancy |
| Elizabeth Laird (ca 1808 – 18 Feb 1890) (m 3 Dec 1839) |
Elizabeth Findlay = Alexander Cargill (d 5 Jun 1922) stepdaughters Nell, Rose and Mary | ||
| ‑4 | Benjamin Hall Findlay (4 Dec 1806 – 22 Oct 1880, Friockheim) |
Sarah Fraser (m 10 May 1831) |
Hannah Findlay (b 27 Jul 1831) Sarah Findlay (ca 1840 – 13 May 1924) Peter Findlay (13 Aug 1841 – 22 Dec 1923) Mary Anne Findlay (b 2 Aug 1844) Benjamin Findlay (b 10 Sep 1847) |
| ‑4 | William Renny Findlay #1 (21 Aug 1810 – 22 Feb 1872) Portrait cloth merchant etc at 62 Queen Street, Glasgow wide trading interests, including importation of Australian wool financially ruined by failure of the City of Glasgow Bank, and sequestration of his assets, died of stroke his family were considerably and closely involved with Nobel's explosives factory founded in 1871 at Ardeer please see here (or here) also, and here. |
Jessie Smith (1 Jun 1819 – 11 Oct 1883) (m 19 Feb 1839) known as "the Mother" Portrait yr. sister of Jane Smith, who married James Muirhead$ – their g'sons James (1853 – 1934) & Findlay (1860 – 1935) established the famous Blue Guidebook series. "WRF2 moved his whole family out to Melbourne in 1884. Five of his brothers also moved to or did business in Australia." (Jen Guerin) |
Joseph Renny Findlay (b 7 Jan 1840) =Fanny Mary McDonald (d 8 Jun 1924) (m 19 Dec 1863) John Smith Findlay (17 Aug 1841 – 7 Jan 1881) = Ellen A Benet (d 31 Mar 1928) (m 21 Jun 1870) William Renny Findlay #2 (4 Jun 1843) – 4 Jul 1925 Isabella Donaldson (Findlay) Muir (5 Dec 1844 – 16 May 1925) |
| JSF became guardian of nieces Val & Hannah Findlay after death of their father C F Findlay, and shared the family house Dounmohr with her aunt Hannah Findlay, and the two children. | Jessie Smith Findlay (22 Jan 1847 – 31 Dec 1941) Portraits Edward Walton Findlay (25 Nov 1848 – 14 Dec 1898) Richard Porter Findlay (5 Feb 1851 – 8 Apr 1927) Charles Farquharson Findlay (14 Aug 1853 – 15 Sep 1883) Jane Muirhead Findlay (8 Dec 1855 – 28 Apr 1860) Daniel Smith Findlay (11 May 1858 – 5 Jul 1923) = Jessie Ann Black (m 1882) Portraits James Muirhead Findlay (12 Jul 1860 – 18 Apr 1897) = Alice Augusta Watts? Frances Mary (Findlay) Underwood (18 Dec 1861 – 13 Apr 1922) (m 10 Jun 1890) Ann(ie) Smith Findlay (8 Jan 1864 – 5 Apr 1946) =1. Geo. Stevenson (m 21 Aug 1885) =2. Henry Reece (m 19 Mar 1898) Portrait | ||
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| ‑3 | John Ritchie Findlay1, 2 (21 Oct 1824 – 16 or 28 Oct 1898) Portrait proprietor of The Scotsman |
Susan Leslie (1842 – 9 Sep 1917) (m 27 Oct 1863) 10 children in all |
Jane Leslie Findlay (1864 – 1931) John Ritchie Findlay (13 Jan 1866 – 13 Apr 1930/1) Elizabeth Margaret Findlay (1867 – 1948) James Leslie Findlay (30 Apr 1868 – 19 Sep 1952) Susan Stirling (Findlay) Ridsdale1 (1870 – 1936) Charles William McDiarmid Findlay (14 Oct 1872 – 1956) Grace Hunter Findlay (31 Jul 1874) Florence de Quincey (Findlay) Maitland (1878 – 1948) Dora Louisa (Findlay) Backhouse1 (1879 – 3 Jan 1958) Hannah (Findlay) Talbot-Ponsonby (1881 – 6 Jan 1962) |
| ‑3 | Charles Findlay (21 Apr 1831 – 23 Apr 1902) Portrait |
Barbara Bowie (1831 – 13 Nov 1884) (m 29 Jun 1858) Grave (Arbroath Abbey) |
Eliza Scott Findlay (1859 – 10 May 1860) Charles Findlay (5 Dec 1860 – 24 Jul 1943) =Annie Mein Patricia Bowie Findlay (1862 – 1919) =William Scott James Scott Findlay (12 Jan 1865 – 28 Jan 1947) =Ada Hardinge Dr Henry (Harry) Findlay (1867, Rangoon – 22 May 1962) =Lilian Palliser Grace Findlay (1870 – 23 Jun 1888) |
| ‑3 | William Renny Findlay #2 (4 May 1843 – 4 Jul 1925, Melbourne) |
Elizabeth Margaret Fyfe Easton (21 May 1849 – 5 Jun 1919) (m 22 Apr 1869) |
Sara Dorothy Easton Findlay1, 2 (15 Dec 1871 – 2 Jun 1962, Johannesburg) 1=John Wright Dawson (m 27 Feb 1895) 2=Nils Evald Beckman (m 3 Feb 1913, Johannesburg) William Renny Findlay #3 (30 Nov 1873 – 15 Feb 1941, Johannesburg) =Alice Mary Sharman (m 1 Aug 1904, Johannesburg) Felician Roland Findlay (1875 – 2 Apr 1876, aet 6 months) Samuel Easton (Finn) Findlay (4 Dec 1877 – 27 Dec 1955, Johannesburg) =Maud Campbell McLennan (m 4 May 1905) Harvey Findlay (1879 – 17 Jan 1882) Cyril Findlay (3 Feb 1886, Melbourne – 27 Aug 1925, Romford, Essex ) 1=Frances Louise Peters 2=Blanche McPherson 3=Alice Emily Wilkes |
| ‑3 | Isabella Donaldson Findlay (5 Dec 1844 – 16 May 1925) |
James Muir (d 8 Dec 1898) |
Stanley Muir
Edith Isobel Muir Jessie Muir John (Jack) Muir |
| ‑3 | Edward Walton Findlay (25 Nov 1848 – 14 Dec 1898) trained in Glasgow as mechanical engineer and worked at Nobel factory in Ardeer sited new Nobel factory in S Africa for gold mines in Witwatersrand |
Marie Jane Dubery Taylor (29 Mar 1858 – 10 Dec 1909) (m 28 Jun 1881) music teacher |
Edwyn Alfred Findlay (b 27 Mar 1882) Dudley Vincent Findlay (18 Aug 1885 or 86 – 10 Jul 1950) |
| ‑3 | Charles Farquharson Findlay (14 Aug 1853 – 15 Sep 1883) |
Annie Charlotte Cosby (7 Sep 1853 – 17 May 1920) |
Eleanor Dixon Valentine (Val) Findlay (14 Feb 1881 – 12 Apr 1960) Jessie Frances Hannah Findlay (3 Jun 1882 – 12 Jan 1974) Portrait |
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| ‑2 | Sir John Ritchie Findlay 1st Baronet of Aberlour (13 Jan 1866 – 13 Apr 1930) proprietor of The Scotsman Terra Marique Probate |
Harriet Jane Backhouse (12 Mar 1880 – 24 Jul 1954) (m 9 Jul 1901) Portraits later (1929) became Dame Harriet Findlay daughter of Sir Jonathan Edmund Backhouse 1st Bart (15 Nov 1849 – 27 Jul 1918) and Florence Salusbury–Trelawny (1845 – 11 Oct 1902) sister of First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Roger Roland Backhouse (24 Nov 1878 – 15 Jul 1939) who was husband of Dora Louise Findlay! |
John Edmund Ritchie Findlay (14 Jun 1902 – 6 Sep 1962) Roland Lewis Findlay (14 Jul 1903 – 1979) = Barbara Joan Garrard Laetitia Florence (Findlay) Munro-Lucas-Tooth § , 1, 2 (1904 – 5 Jul 1978) Portrait Elizabeth (Findlay) Speir (1906 – 1958) Peter Findlay (1910 – 1967) = Helen Brewer |
| ‑2 | James Leslie Findlay (30 Apr 1868 – 19 Sep 1952) |
Kathleen Marguerite Richardson (25 Oct 1875 – 18 Apr 1966) (m 21 Oct 1897) |
Dorothy Leslie Findlay (11 Dec 1899 – 27 Mar 1966) =Sir Patrick James Blair (b 16 Mar 1891) (m 21 Oct 1930) Elizabeth Ivan (Joan) Leslie Findlay (10 Sep 1902 – 7 Jan 1992) = Maj Gen Reginald (Rex) Kingscote Hewer (24 Oct 1892 – 1968) (m 6 Oct 1925) Patrick Herbert Leslie Findlay 21 Jan 1904 – 11 Aug 1973) Charles Theodore Leslie Findlay (30 Sep 1905 – 1 Apr 1987) |
| ‑2 | William Renny Findlay #3 (30 Nov 1873 – 15 Feb 1941, Johannesburg) "Moved to South Africa about 1899, eventually joined by all his surviving siblings. His brother Cyril arrived after the Boer War had ended, and his sister Sarah as a widow about 1908" (Jen Guerin). |
Alice Mary Sharman (18 Mar 1880 – 12 Apr 1977) (m 1 Aug 1904) |
Dorothy Renée Findlay (May 1905, Mufalira – 1979, Durban) =Cecil Levenberg (m 8 Jan 1938) Kenneth William Findlay (7 Nov 1913 – 19 Jan 2004, Johannesburg) Margaret (Margot) Alice Findlay (21 Jul 1917, Johannesburg – 20 Jul 2010, Kingston upon Thames) |
| ‑2 | Edwyn Alfred Findlay (27 Mar 1882 – 1972) explosives engineer with Nobel factory at Ardeer, and later in Wales "Cousin Eddie", great friend & offshore sailing companion of Robert Waddell (1883 – 1952) |
Agnes (Nancy) Dods Jamieson (b 17 Dec 1896) (m 27 Mar 1920) |
Agnes Marie Findlay (b 6 Jul 1924) Edna Dubery Dods Findlay (19 Aug 1930 – 12 May 1988) |
| ‑2 | Lt Dudley Vincent Findlay (18 Aug 1885 – 10 Jul 1950) dairy farmer volunteer to Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1914, saw action in France |
Ina Cameron (21 Jun 18xx – 24 May 1842) (m 1915) |
sp |
| ‑2 | Eleanor Dixon Valentine (Val) Findlay (14 Feb 1881 – 12 Apr 1960) Probate |
Elton Lawrence Gueritz (17 Jul 1884 – 11 Jul 1931) (m 30 Jun 19101, 2) Probate |
John Elton Fortescue Gueritz (8 May 1911 – 24 Oct 1975) Lucy Valentine Gueritz (12 Aug 1915 – 1993) Eleanor Elton Gueritz (7 Nov 1916 – 1990) Edward (Teddy) Findlay Gueritz (8 Sep 1919 – 21 Dec 2008) |
| ‑2 | Jessie Frances Hannah Findlay (3 Jun 1882 – 12 Jan 1974) Probate |
Robert Waddell (4 Jul 1883 – 19 Jan 1952) (m 20 Apr 1912, Seattle) Probate |
Walter Wardlaw (Bill, William) Waddell (16 Feb 1913 – 11 Sep 1979) Robert (Robin) Erskine Waddell (23 Sep 1916 – 21 Sep 1938) Alexander (Sandy) Wingate Waddell (23 Mar 1919 – 6 May 2001) Frances Hannah (Waddell) Maskell (1 Apr 1920 – 27 Jul 2002) Margaret Jane Valentine (Waddell) Renaud (3 Oct 1921 – 11/2 Jul 2013) |
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| ‑1 | Sir John Edmund Ritchie (Buster) Findlay 2nd Baronet of Aberlour (14 Jun 1902 – 6 Sep 1962) proprietor of The Scotsman a bold bad baronet of the old school |
Margaret Jean Graham
(? m 9 Feb 1927) daughter of Norval Bantock Graham, Midlands newspaper magnate; a dynastic marriage, perhaps 
subsequently married to the co-respondent John L M'Fadyen |
Moira Juliet Findlay (b 1927) = Meyrick Ovens Gillian Findlay (b 1930) = Robin Brockbank |
| Laura Hawley (5 Aug 1910, Hull Sculcoates Q3 9d 166 – 13 Jun 1997, Palm Beach Florida) =1. Harold R Elsom (m 1931, Sculcoates Q2 9d 373) =2. John Edmund Ritchie Findlay (m 1947, Westminster Q4 5c 947) there is quite a tale to be told about the delightful Laura Hawley |
Richard Elsom | ||
| ‑1 | Lt Col Sir Roland Lewis Findlay 3rd Baronet of Aberlour (14 Jul 1903 – 28 Jul 1979) |
Barbara Joan Garrard (m 15 Dec 1927) |
Jane Barbara Findlay (25 Sep 1928 – 1 Sep 2009) |
| Marjory Mary Biddulph (8 Jan 1915 – 8 Jun 1995) (m 28 Oct 1964) her second marriage |
sp | ||
| ‑1 | Charles Theodore Leslie Findlay (30 Sep 1905 – 1 Apr 1987) |
Ailsa Margaret Lindsay (7 Mar 1909 – 25 Dec 1999) |
Angus Leslie Findlay (b 1939) Donald Ian Findlay (2 Jun 1950 – 16 Apr 1998) |
| ‑1 | Kenneth William Findlay (7 Nov 1913 – 19 Jan 2004, Johannesburg) B Chem Eng Inst Chem Eng Inst Mech Eng Inst Elec Eng stainless steel fabrication business |
Hazel Barbara Tregoning (Johannesburg) |
Jennifer (Jen) Mary Findlay (b 1953) Elizabeth Jane Findlay (b 1955) Gillian Anne Findlay (b 1957) |
| ‑1 | Margaret (Margot) Alice Findlay (21 Jul 1917, Johannesburg – 20 Jul 2010, Kingston upon Thames) her marriages, and the provenance of her five children, have until recently been poorly documented Portrait |
Edgar George Vardy (18 Mar 1911 – 21 Jul 1980, Chichester) (m Q4 1938, Wandsworth 1d, 999) (div 1943) wealthy aviator Portrait Probate |
Janet Amanda Vardy (12 May 1942 – 1 Feb 2019) = Michel Panigal (one d) prior to marriage, for many years nun in French convent Susan Virginia Vardy (28 Jun 1943 – 29 Dec 2005) =1. Raymond M Moore (11 Oct 1947-21 Dec 2017), cinematographer (Tobian Nathaniel Moore, Rebekah Moore) =2. Richard Faulkner, architect (Lucy Renée Faulkner) |
| Leslie (aka Lester) (Baron) Everett J Baynes (23 Mar 1902 – 13 Mar 1989) (m 1945) distinguished but impecunious aeronautical engineer left the household & divorced at some point 1958 – 1966 |
Nigel William Easton Baynes (b 13 May 1945) Elizabeth Anne (Lizzie) Baynes (b 29 Sep 1948) =1. David Millar (two p) =2. Nigel Tolmie Henrietta (Hetty) Sara Louise Baynes (b 16 Aug 1956) | ||
| Mary Spencer Watson (7 May 1913 – 7 Mar 2006) Portrait sculptress in 1923 her parents George and Hilda Spencer Watson purchased Dunshay Manor as the family home |
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| ‑1 | Agnes Marie Findlay (6 Jul 1924 – 31 Mar 2014) Portrait |
Tom Leadbetter Cottrell (8 Jun 1923 – 2 Jun 1973) (m 24 Feb 1950) Portrait Professor of Chemistry and first Principal of University of Stirling |
Allin Findlay Cottrell (b 26 Jun 1953) Professor of Economics, Wake Forest University John Findlay Cottrell (b 5 Aug 1956) |
| ‑1 | Edna Dubery Dods Findlay (19 Aug 1930 – 12 May 1988) |
Robert Stuart Leishman (b 20 May 19yy) (m 23 Apr 1955) |
Robert Stuart Findlay Leishman (15 Jul 1956 – 3 Dec 1991) Mhairi Dubery Leishman (b 19 Dec 1959) Rhona Ishbel Leishman (b 28 Apr 1965) |
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| 0 | Jane Barbara Findlay (25 Sep 1928 – 1 Sep 2009) |
Sir David Anthony Thomas Fane, GCVO, DL 14th Baron Burghersh, 15th Earl of Westmorland (31 Mar 1924 – 8 Sep 1993) (m 20 Jun 1950) |
Anthony David Francis Henry Fane, 15th Baron Burghersh 16th Earl of Westmorland (b 1 Aug 1951) Hon Harry St Clair Fane (b 19 Mar 1953) Lady Camilla Diana Fane (b 26 Dec 1957) |
| 0 | Angus Leslie Findlay (b 1939) geologist |
Mecha Lynette Crozier (b 1943) (m 1 Aug 1964) |
Karen Leslie Findlay (b 1966) =George Justin Willey (m 25 May 1996) Patrick Hamish Leslie Findlay (b 1967) 1=Nancy Wilden 2=Jenny Hewitt |
| 0 | Jennifer (Jen) Mary Findlay (b 1953) geology graduate, pre-eminent family researcher, and much else |
Charles Gerard Guerin (b 1951) (m 1976) geologist |
Findlay Charles Guerin (b 1983, Botswana) M Mech Eng Inst Mech Eng TA TAG (b 1985, Botswana) architect, pilot, TA |
| 0 | Henrietta (Hetty) Sara Louise Baynes1, 2, 3, 4 (b 16 Aug 1956) actress$$, philosophy BA, god-daughter of Mary Spencer Watson$$$ Portraits |
Henry Kenneth (Ken) Alfred Russell (3 Jul 1927 – 27 Nov 2011) (m 1992 – 1999; div) third of his four marriages |
Rex (b 1993) |
ghgraham.org/jamesmuirhead1795.html
ghgraham.org/johnmuirhead1828.html
The Muirhead family seem to have been quite closely linked with William Renny Findlay #1 in several ways. I'll just mention one or two of them that have been brought to my attention, and further details can be found from the excellent webpages cited above (in the second of which I notice a handsome acknowledgement to Simon Potter, who has been an enormous help to me as regards our Little (and Martin) connections.
James Muirhead (22 Jun 1795 – 14 Jan 1871), jeweller, m Jane Smith (3 Sep 1799 – 3 Dec 1878) on 28 Jun 1824
John James Muirhead (6 Mar 1828 – 2Q 1899), goldsmith, their eldest son, m Isabella Robertson Fullarton (1832 – 18 Jun 1877) on 2 Nov 1852
James Fullarton Muirhead (b 25 Dec 1853 – 1934), their eldest son, & Findlay Muirhead (9 Mar 1860 – 1935), their youngest son, were journalists working in London, and were (in all probability) known to Charles Farquharson Findlay. As mentioned above, they founded the Blue Book tourist guides
As mentioned in the table, William Renny Findlay #1's wife Jessie Smith (1 Jun 1819 – 11 Oct 1883) was Jane Smith's sister, though younger by 20 years.
I believe the WRF #1 and James Muirhead households were adjacent, and two of the Findlay children were middle-named Muirhead, and one of the Muirhead children was first-named Findlay.
And a witness to signature of WRF #1 in the legal notice of 20 Jan 1857 cited above was John James Muirhead, described as jeweller – he was evidently now a partner in the family business.
We do generally prefer documentaries about cuddly marsupials to drama, but me and Mrs Robin did recently watch The Hand of Lucia, one of the fifth series of TV episodes (2017) based on G K Chesterton's short stories of Catholic priest and amateur detective Father Brown, which featured the instantly recognisable Hetty Baynes as the notorious Lucia Morell. Definitely very Grand Guignol, straight from central casting as they say, and exactly what the role required.
When Mary Spencer Watson died leaving her £2m house, Dunshay Manor, to the Landmark Trust, a building preservation charity, in March 2006, her partner Margot Findlay Baynes (by now senile, but represented by her 3 children other than Hetty Baynes) and Margot's daughter Hetty each began litigation to try to secure money from the estate. The charity decided to contest these claims to protect the late Ms Spencer Watson's 'ardent desire' to preserve Dunshay intact as a memorial to her parents. On 14 Jul 2008 both claims were rejected by the High Court thus safeguarding the gift to the Landmark Trust, and on ca 11 May 2009 Hetty's appeal was dismissed.
You will inevitably notice that I haven't tabulated a great many of the branches of the Findlay tree that Sandy compiled so assiduously. It's not that I regard them as intrinsically less worthy of attention – it's just that I can't recollect ever hearing about them in my childhood or early adulthood, and so their names don't resonate with me. And also, there are virtually no internet resources from which I could bring more to their party – I could contribute no more colour and depth to the details that Sandy has already provided.
Missing Persons
An intriguing link just discovered is Robert Farquharson Findlay, born on 5 Jan 1860 in Angus (then Forfarshire) to Charles Findlay and Isabella Farquharson:
His paternal background can with a fair degree of trustworthiness be traced to one James Findlay (b ca 1793):
but whether the latter could be identified with perhaps an elder son of 'our' James Findlay (b 23 Dec 1771) – though an attractive tie-up, as my great grandfather Charles Farquharson Findlay (b 14 Aug 1853) was a contemporary of Robert Farquharson Findlay – is outwith my own ability to prove.
The Rude Forefathers
A warm heathery tartanesque whisky-laden Compton Mackenzian peat-fiery glow seems to suffuse ones imagination when visualising the Highlands' and Islands' distant past, but the realities of life in those parts, right up to the mid-twentieth century, were often harsh and indeed brutal, particularly when the English or their Hanoverian troopers got involved. No place for a soft southron such as myself to go sticking my nose into, albeit my finest feature. And not necessarily easy territory through which to trace ones roots.
But I would like to assess the credibility of the Findlay and Farquharson connections with two of the oft-quoted figures from the misty Middle Ages (though real enough themselves), MacBeth and Finla Mhor, and perhaps a few lesser figures too.
It must be emphasised at the outset that, as far as I am aware, they have absolutely no documentary or lapidary tie-in with our earliest credible ancestor Robert Findlay (1742-1802) who married Margaret Ritchie on 8 Jun 1765, as per the Generation Table above.
Septs and Marriage
And the first thing to establish if possible is just what, if anything, linked the Findlays with the Farquharsons. As mentioned above, the Findlays are said to be a sept of the Farquharson clan. But what indeed is a sept?
The dictionary definition of a sept seems to imply a genealogical connection between the various individuals (or families) identifying with it.
Wiktionary: A clan, tribe, or family, proceeding from a common progenitor.
Collins English dictionary: A clan or group that believes itself to be descended from a common ancestor.
So in this sense, even a major clan could be said to constitute a sept. But in everyday usage, a sept seems to refer to a minor clan that benefits long-term by an economic or political affiliation with a major clan, even if there is no genealogical connection between them. This finds support from Wikipedia:
Wikipedia: In the context of Scottish clans, septs are families that followed another family's chief, or part of the extended family and that hold a different surname. These smaller septs would then be part of the chief's larger clan. A sept might follow another chief if two families were linked through marriage, or, if a family lived on the land of a powerful laird, they would follow him whether they were related or not.
Is that the sense in which the Findlays were / are a sept of the Farquharsons? In which case the back-history of the Farquarsons is of little or no relevance to the genealogy of the Findlays. And (without wishing to be in any way derogatory), in a sense it isn't an unusual distinction to be a sept of the Farquharsons, as can be seen from the current (Jul 2018) roll-call:
Perhaps it is significant that only one family member in the Generation Table above – my great-grandfather Charles Farquharson Findlay – carries that middle name, so evidently it wasn't generally thought of as being of particular relevance. I'm genuinely disappointed about this as the Farquharsons were and are (Robert Crampton notwithstanding) a colourful and resolute bunch, aka the "Fighting Farquharsons", and were in longstanding contention with the Erskines, quondam Earls of Mar, whom I document in another Connection.