On December 10, 2022, it was 200 years since Agnes Greenlee's parents were married. Three days earlier similarly marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of John Darroch (December 7, 1822). In honour of these ancestors, five of their descendants from across Canada hosted a celebration: Keith from the Maritimes, Gail from Niagara, Cristine and Colin from two different parts of Alberta, and Doug from Saskatchewan.
The purpose of the celebration was to remember these ancestors and meet distant cousins, so it was organized into those two parts. If you missed it on December 10, you are welcome to watch the recording at this link (passcode ^2TJk0!9).
Part I: We Learned About Our Ancestors
Agnes’s Parents’ Wedding
On December 10, 1822, William Greenlees and Anne Findlay were wed. Do we have any mementos left over from that wedding? Yes, we do. The Family Bible William gave to his bride was inherited by Agnes and passed down through the generations. Today, it is safely in the hands of Cristine Bayly, who showed it at the webinar.
John’s Birthday
Three days before the Greenlees/Findlay wedding, another event unfolded. On December 7, 1822, Mary Milloy gave birth to a son. Parish documents record it as: “John Darroch, lawful son to Archibald Darroch and Mary Milloy in Ronachan, born 7th, December 1822." In Ronachan? Archie and Mary lived in Clachan. Where is Ronachan? Keith gave some delightful insights into this mystery.
Part II: Meet Your Cousins
During the webinar, we met and introduced ourselves to each other.
John and Agnes had 15 children. Twelve of those have descendants of their own. This provided a natural structure for introductions at the meeting. For example, below we have photos of three of the "original 12" with their families or spouse. The Darrochs are, left to right: Edward J. with some of his family, William F. with his wife Leo, and Annie Darroch with her husband, Weslie Wynn.
Is your ancestor one of John and Agnes's children? If so, will you please send a photo of him or her to FamilyHistorySnippets@gmail.com? I would like to show it at future meetings! (Note: If one of the above three is your ancestor and you have a better photo, please send it.)
Archived Recording
The recording can be accessed here: Click here for the recording of the Zoom meeting.
You will need the passcode: ^2TJk0!9
We hope you enjoy it!
Doug Robertson (great-great-grandson of John and Agnes)
Saskatoon, Canada
306-477-0951 (landline)
P.S.: Some of you descend not through John and Agnes, but through one of his siblings or cousins. The customs, geography, and era are the same, so Part I may still interest you.