You're making great progress. You've added new ancestors to your family tree. But everything grinds to a halt. You can't find that elusive connection. Scotland's People comes back with no results, no matter how many different ways you spell names or widen dates. The Ancestry website is no better. Hints there are only hints, not…
Robert Ballantyne, (1837-1902), is my 3x great grandfather. He eventually settled in Ayrshire having been born in Ross-shire, Scotland. Like his father, he was a shepherd. He married, and had a family. His brother Andrew's story is quite different! Family history research relies heavily on census information or birth, marriage and death certificates. There is…
Andrew Ballantyne's statement on 11th June 1844 came after he had listened to the testimony of the other parties. You can read more about this on my previous blog post. The case involved the little brown mare. Margaret McRae, daughter of the horse's owner, gave her evidence. How did Andrew feel as he listened to…
Second Judicial Declaration of Andrew Ballantyne It may be around 176 years since Andrew was arrested and the horse stealing trial took place, but I find it endlessly fascinating. Here is a young boy, 19 years old, having to face up to the consequences of his actions. Was Margaret McRae's version of events true? I'm…
There were several people who were willing to testify against Andrew. They all declared that he had stolen the little brown mare. This mare belonged to the Mcrae family from Bottacks of Auchterneed. The Mcraes were a crofting family. The 1841 census shows that Margaret was much older than Andrew. He was nineteen at the…
Andrew Ballantyne was imprisoned in Dingwall Courthouse and Jail after his arrest in June 1844. This was a new building that had already been put to use in 1843 following the Resolis Riots. Some of the rioters were imprisoned there. It is interesting to note how differently Andrew and the rioters were treated. Andrew received…
Poor Andrew. On his journey from Bottacks, he had met and chatted with so many people. They were now about to appear before him to give their account of their meetings. Surely he must now be regretting his actions. He didn't stand a chance. Andrew had made his way to Fort Augustus that fateful weekend…
The trial also heard the testimony from people who Andrew met and spoke to during the days before he headed off to Fort Augustus from Strathpeffer. Reading the testimonies gives a small insight into Andrew's personality. He seems to be full of plans and ideas, talking to everybody he meets, trying to involve his mates…
A variety of people were called upon to provide statements for Andrew Ballantyne's trial. Crofters, constables, cabinet makers and now we have the statement from the post runner. John Stoddart, ran with the post between Fort Augustus and Inverness. He was unmarried and about 25 years old and lived with his father, James Stoddart, in…
After the thorough witness statement from John Stoddart, another witness was called against Andrew. Ann Park, servant to and residing with Robert Helm, keeper at (Kinlochurigan?) in the parish of Boleskine aforesaid - aged about 26 years declares: "My master's house is fully a mile from Fort Augustus. On Saturday 8th June, current, in the…
The final witness statement in Andrew Ballantyne's trial was John Fullerton, Inn keeper, residing at Ruskich in the parish of Urquhart in the county of Inverness. The statement is headed, Rushie, 17th June 1844. He was a married man, aged about 46 years. My house is situated on the side of the road leading from…
Second Judicial Declaration of Andrew Ballantyne 1844 After testimonies had been heard from all of the witnesses, Andrew was interviewed again and asked for a second statement. Here is his version of events: At Dingwall, the nineteenth day of June, one thousand eight hundred and forty four years. In presence of George Cameron Esquire, Sheriff…
The trial was well on its way. There didn't seem to be much hope for Andrew after listening to the witnesses. He also had to face a jury of fifteen men. This must have been very intimidating. In this post I've tried to discover a little about these men. Who were they and why were…
Recap: In the early hours of a Saturday morning in June 1844, Andrew took a small brown mare from the stable of farmer Kenneth MacRae at Bottacks. He rode it south to the town of Fort Augustus. The Ballantyne family had on occasion borrowed horses from MacRae. When police questioned Andrew a few days later,…
Millbank Prison In earlier posts, I told the story of Andrew Ballantyne and the events that changed his life forever. Andrew was arrested for stealing and trying to sell a small brown horse. He was tried by a jury of fifteen men in Dingwall in 1844. He was given 'a seven-year transportation to a land…
Andrew was eventually relocated from Millbank to the new prison of Pentonville, opened in 1840. Prisoners were initially kept in isolation in cells measuring 4m x 2m wide. Each cell had a water closet, but these were often blocked. Prisoners used the pipes connecting their cells to communicate with each other. It cost 15/- a…
On 22 June 1846, Andrew left the shores of Britain forever. He travelled with 298 other convicts. They began the long and dangerous voyage to Australia. On 9 November 1846, the clipper Maitland docked in Port Phillip Bay in southern Victoria. Andrew Ballantyne, by this time, was twenty-two years old. He must have been a…
The information in this post is based on the research by Tony Whelan, a descendant of Andrew Ballantyne. Inside St Francis Catholic Church St Francis Catholic Church Melbourne Nothing more is known until 1851. Andrew Ballantyne, who was still of the Church of Scotland, married a twenty-two-year-old Irish woman. Her name was Mary O'Dowd, and…
Do you have a hobby that makes people laugh? Like many people who research their ancestors, I enjoy wandering around graveyards. That always gets a giggle from people. I love reading old gravestones with partially obscured lettering. There's always more to find than names and dates. Many stones tell their own stories of children lost…
The Battle of Passchendaele in World War 1 is regarded as a symbol of the futility and devastation of war. Hubert Essame was a distinguished British Army officer who served in both world wars. He questioned why Field Marshal Douglas Haig chose to attack in an area of reclaimed marshland. For two years the Allies…
Discovering My Family 