Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Byers/Byres

Randy Seaver's Challenge: 
Go to your family tree database of choice (you know, like RootsMagic, Reunion, Ancestry Member Tree), and determine who the very last person on your list of B names is.  Or the last person on your list of D names.  Or H names.  Or any other name you need to research.  Your choice!

2)  What do you know (or not know) about this person based on your research?  It's OK to do more research if you need to - in fact, it's encouraged!

3)  How are you related to this person, and why is s/he in your family tree?

The last person on my B surname list is living so I went to the second last name.

the person is Margaret Byers or Byres depending on the record I am looking at. 

What I know about her

  

  Margaret married James Johnston, 31 May 1815 in Annan, Dumfries, Scotland, [1, 2] b. 1 Jun 1793 in Dumfrieshire, Scotland, [3] d. 24 Jul 1866 in Uxbridge Twp., ON, [4] buried in St. Andrew's Scotch Kirk Cemetery, Quaker Hill, Uxbridge Twp., Ontario.  Margaret: In the parish registers of births for her children her name is spelt Byres and Byers and Byser.

                             Children:

            2.       i.     David Johnston b. 26 October 1816.

            3.       ii.    Margaret Dickson Johnston b. 20 September 1818.

            4.       iii.   John Johnston b. 23 January 1821.

            5.       iv.   James Johnston b. 17 March 1825.

            6.       v.    William Johnston b. 30 June 1830.

Margaret and James came to Canada in 1833. They lived for a year and a half in Richmond Hill, Ontario before buying land in Uxbridge Township at lot 35, concession 5. They moved there in September 1834 but it was not until 2 March 1835 that the deal was registered in the land registry office in Whitby. This farm remained in the family until 1916.

Margaret, James and four of the children and their families are buried in the St. Andrew's Scotch Kirk Quaker Hill cemetery which fronts the farm. [4] When Margaret died she left a will where she designated what each were to receive.

It was not until I found the writings of Helen Johnston that I learnt that Margaret and James came to Canada with the children. Her research helped me learn about the descendants of David Johnston's siblings (my great-great grandfather).

How is she related to me - Margaret is my great-great-great grandmother.

    

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[1]  Register of Marriage in the Parish of Annan, Scotland , Johnston-Byre marriage, (LDS #102307).

[2] Johnston, Helen, Descendants of James Hardy Johnston 1788-1872 and Margaret (Byres) Johnston 1793-1866 of Annan Scotland and Quaker Hill  (Queensville, ON : H. Johnston, 1979-1984.), information taken from the family Bible, published 1822, and brought with them to Canada. p. 2.

[3] Johnston, Helen, Descendants of James Hardy Johnston 1788-1872 and Margaret (Byres) Johnston 1793-1866 of Annan Scotland and Quaker Hill   p. 2.

[4] Tombstone transcription - by Whitby Oshawa OGS.

© 2013 Janet Iles