AboutCharlotte L. Cowe Expertise As a professional Genealogist living in Scotland I can answer questions with regard to Scottish family history/research from about 1700 to the present day
Experience I have been working professionally since 1986 and have access to the main archives for Scotland which are held in Edinburgh.
Organizations belong to
The Association of Professional Genealogists
Question Hi there, I am researching my G-G-Grandfather EJ Lee who emigrated from England to NZ 1849. I have huge amounts of information about him and his only family, however, it is becoming more difficult with regards to his father's family. His father is William Lee born 21 Sept 1783 in Athelstaneford and his parents were John Lee and Margaret Cunningham who were married 27 Jan 1777 in Dunbar. I know that John's father was William Lee who married Janet Taylor and I draw a blank. I would love more information on this family who seemed to live in Cockburnpath, Dunbar and Athelstaneford in the mid to late 1700's. I am also wondering what their professions were, whether they were farmers? I also know that they are not Scottish by name, so am wondering why the English migrated to Scotland during the late 1600's-1700's? William Lee (EJ Lee's father) then moved to London and that is where my GG Grandfather and his siblings lived their lives. I have the names of John Lee's siblings, however I am wondering if this family is related to Thomas,John and William Lee that farmed in Thortonloch,Skateraw and Crowhill respectively? It's a long shot, but I was hoping that you might be able to fill in the blanks as I cannot find any information on Crowhill or on the above men. They are mentioned in the book - Reminiscences and Notices of the Parishes of the County of Haddington by John Martine. Thanks for any information or help you can provide. Bridget
Answer Bridget
Sorry for the delay in answering this question. I have access to the same type of information that you have i.e. - the old parish registers of the Church of Scotland where I assume you found the events that you describe. It is often impossible to find information to put "flesh" on the bones of country people as they moved around a lot for employment. If families stay in a area for several generations it is often possible to find them in the estate papers of local landowners. But your family moved around various parishes so that may be more difficult. Estate papers are not indexed and it is necessary to ascertain the major landowner for the area and then to see if any papers have been lodged for public research. Often they remain in private hands. When we trace families further backwards in registers sometimes the amount of information becomes very sparse where occupations or places of residency are not given. My husband's ancestors originate from Cockburnspath and around the time his ancestor was born there are 6 possible entries so it is impossible to know which one may be correct.
There a couple of publications which can help with general information about the period of time you are interested in. The first is the First Statistical Account of Scotland which was compiled between 1791 and 1798 by the ministers of every parish giving details about population, employment, crops, industry etc. A copy of this may be in a major library near you. The second is a couple of Books written by Professor T. C. Smout - "A History of the Scottish People 1560-1830" and A" Century of the Scottish People 1830-1950" These are general and you will not find anything about a particular family but are full of interesting information as to how people lived at various stages in the country's development.
I did find a birth for a William Lee on 22 May 1731 in Ladykirk which could be for your family. If you would like to discuss this further you can contact me on charlotte@dmains.co.uk
