Big day of searching. Went to Lapeer and Flint.

Verified that Robert S. Rutherford was Nettie Maes' father and therefore Mabel's, although the Lapeer County Clerk did not have Mabel's birth certificate, nor her sister Beatrice's, nor her brother Howard's.... which makes me suspicious. (Archie and Elizabeth also had a daughter named Nettie Mae).

Robert got his U.S. citizenship on October 20, 1883. He was born in Ontario in 1847, and he died in Lapeer County on December 17, 1920 at the age of 73. So, he was in the United States for at least 37 years and probably longer. He was in Canada for perhaps 35 years; long enough to get married and have kids. So maybe Mabel, Beatrice, and Howard were born in Canada and maybe Sarah Wallace was too (and they were probably married in Canada)…. None of this seems correct however since Mabel told me in her letter she was born on the farm near Imlay City, and Sarah (1858) was born in Lapeer County so she probably married Robert in Michigan after 1880.

In a search of the 1880 census for Lapeer County I find neither Archie nor Robert, understandably.

I found Robert's dad and mother (maybe) in Northumberland, Haldimand County (region?) of Canada. This is the area where many Scots arrived in Ontario, coming into Port Hope or Cobourg? Walter Rutherford was 51 in the 1871 census which means he was born in 1820 and (would have) had Robert when he was 27. His wife's name is spelled Jennet in the census. She was 53 in 1871, so was born in 1818. Here's a surprise, Robert is not listed as living with the family in the 1871 census. He would have been the next to the oldest child at 24 years. Other kids listed on the census were Walter Jr. Age 22, James, age 20, Andrew age 18, Mary age 14, and Thomas age 12. Archie is also not listed so something is wrong. Archie was born in 1846 (1849 in 1900 census for Lapeer), so he would have been 25 or 22 in 1871. There is the curious thing that Archie lists his parents as being from Scotland and Robert lists his as being from Canada, maybe they were not brothers improbable as it seems. If Archie died November 6, 1914 at age 68 (or 65). Robert was 67 in 1914. He is supposed to be a year older than Archie, not a year younger (so the 1849 date for Archie's birth is probably correct.) Archie could not have been in the Walter family unless he was Walter Juniors twin (both would be 22 in the 1871 Ontario Census); major confusion here.

I found a Walter Rutherford married to Jannet Williamson November 9, 1869 in Jarvis, Haldimand Ontario. This could be Walter Jr. He would have been 20 when he got married if this was him.

No Rutherfords come up for Lapeer in the 1870 Michigan Census. Robert might not have arrived yet. The first sign of Robert is the 1883 citizenship papers. This suggests that he married Sarah Wallace (who was born in Lapeer County) in the late 1880's or early 1990's. Sarah was born in 1858 so would have been in her thirties when she married.

There is a mystery here involving Archie and Robert Rutherford. The gravestones in Imlay City give the same parents but different countries of birth (origin?) for the father and mother (Walter and Janet). This is what I found in the 1900 census for Imlay Township, Lapeer County: No Robert S. Rutherford and family, no listing in the Lapeer index for any township. Archie is there in 1900, age 51, wife Elizabeth age 41, son Charles 22, and daughter Effie age 15. No Nettie listed. For Archie, Elizabeth and Charles place of birth is given as Canada/England (what does that mean?). Effie was born in Michigan. As place of birth of father, Archie lists Scotland and Elizabeth lists Canada/England again. Archie, Elizabeth, and Charles all immigrated in 1880 and said they had been in the United States 19 years. Naturalization for Archie and Charles was Pa (What does that mean?); no indication for Elizabeth. Occupation for Archie is farm laborer; nothing for the others. All of the family could read, write and speak English. Some notion under "farm or house ownership."

Archie's date of birth would be 1849, not 1846. This would mean he was two years younger than Robert (1847) who would have been 53 in 1900. Robert got US citizenship in 1883, which means he could have come to Michigan in 1880 with Archie and family or followed Archie here.

Here is some Lapeer history that is relevant, especially since I found a Janet Rutherford in an Oakland County index but ignored it because it didn't seem relevant:

"The area now known as Lapeer County was first covered by the (?). which was formed in January 1820. Alvin N. Hart, born in Cornwall, CT., was the very first settler in the area in 1831. He platted the Village of Lapeer on November 8, 1833, registered in Pontiac on December 14, 1833. Lapeer County was formed in 1837 the same year Michigan became a state. Lapeer hosts the oldest courthouse in Michigan. Built by the Hart family at Nepessing and Court Streets it is one of the 10 oldest courthouses in the United States. For 30 yrs. in the mid 1800's lumber was the chief industry in Lapeer, but the forests disappeared and agriculture took over. Today Lapeer still has the agricultural feel to it but it is enhanced with some industry and plenty of diverse retail outlets."

And this from the web:

"Imlay City, located at the intersection I-69 and M-5 (the "Gateway to the Thumb" area of Michigan), was named after William Imlay, an eastern seaboard businessman who moved to the area in 1828. The village was settled in 1870 when the construction of the Port Huron and Lake Michigan Railway was completed. The chief engineer of the railroad, Charles Palmer, selected Imlay City as a likely produce market between Lapeer and Capac. He then purchased 240 acres of land which he surveyed and platted. Since the township was called Imlay, he decided to name this site Imlay City."

Spent the morning at Hoyt Library (Saginaw, Michigan) genealogy section:

Naturalization records do not list women evidently. I found Robert S. Rutherford; book 4, page 184, filing date October 20, 1883, Country of Allegiance was Great Britain, Code I which means application for citizenship.

Archibald Rutherford has both an application and acceptance record as follows:
Application: book 7; page 146, march 28, 1892, allegiance to Great Britain. Code I

Acceptance (Code C): book 8, page 114, August 31, 1896, G.B.

So Archie and Robert applied within a few years of each other.

Of interest is that there is a John Rutherford who also applied at about the same time. He also applied and later was granted citizenship, as follows:

Application: book 4, page 88, 4/24/1878, G.B, Code I
Citizenship: book 8, 94, 3/28/1896

1910 census: Lapeer County, Michigan; Imlay City Township:

Archie Rutherford; age 63, born in Canada (lists both his mother and father as coming from Scotland)
Wife: Elizabeth: age 52, born in Canada (both parents from England)
Son: Charles age 52; born in Canada (can't be a son or his dad had him when he was 11)
Daughter: Mary E. born in Canada, (married to a Walton or is she Charles wife and her maiden name is Walton?); age 41
Daughter: Effie M. age 25, born in Michigan
Are these Mary's kids?:
Grand Daughter: Zelda M. age 10, Mich
Grand Son: Lyman J. age 9, Michigan
Grand Daughter: Vera age 7, Mich

1910 census: Lapeer County (Goodland Township):

Robert Rutherford (Place of birth of both parents given as Scotland); age 61, born in Canada.
Wife: Sarah, age 49 (Place of birth of both parents given as Scotland); born in Michigan
Howard is not on this list of kids (could Howard be a middle name?)
Daughter: Nettie, age 27, born Mich
Daughter: Mable: age 18, Mich
Son: Walter: 16. Mich
Daughter: Beatrice: 13, Mich
Son: Robert, 9, Mich

1920 Census: Lapeer
Robert Rutherford is 71 (this does not jive)
Sarah is 60
Robert Jr. Is the only kid at home at age 19.

Archie has died by 1920 and Elizabeth is living with Clarence Lucas family (her son in law?), age 71.

From the net:

Jennet Rutherford
Age: 4
Year: 1851

Description: 1851 Census of GREY COUNTY, Ontario - Typical records in this document contain the following information: name; age; sex; place of birth; occupation; marital status; and religion. NOTE: When a transcript of an individual is ordered, summary data consisting of names and ages of all others in the household will also be provided. I ordered this, but it has not come.

Richard Richardson entered this on Ancestry.com, but it came partially from my info I think (which I now know is partly incorrect; Robert's date of birth was 1849 for example.); I wonder where he got it:

ID: I3255 Name: Robert S. Rutherford Surname: Rutherford Given Name: Robert S. Sex: M Birth: 1847 in Ontario, Canada Death: 17 Dec 1920 in Goodland Twp., Lapeer Co., MI, USA _UID: 0FF4C66F255B1545B8027827F8D28F22E68E Change Date: 11 Jul 2002 at 08:01:32

Robert S. Rutherford

Father: Walter Rutherford born in Scotland
Mother: Janet Johnson born in Scotland

Sarah Wallace b: 20 May 1858 in Imlay Twp., Lapeer Co., MI, USA

Children :

Nettie Mae b: 7 Oct 1882 in Imlay City, Lapeer Co., MI
Howard W: b: 11 Feb 1886
(?) b: 12 Apr 1887 in Goodland Twp., Lapeer Co., MI, USA
Mable: b: 26 Oct 1891 in Imlay City, Lapeer Co., MI
Walter: b: 11 Jul 1893 in Goodland Twp., Lapeer Co., MI, USA

ID: I1163 Name: Nettie Mae Rutherford Surname: Rutherford Given Name: Nettie Mae Sex: F Birth: 7 Oct 1882 in Imlay City, Lapeer Co., MI Death: 27 Apr 1921 in Flint, Genesee Co., MI Burial: Gracelawn Cemetery, Flint, MI, USA _UID: 98E9A71EA5915A4BA0E518532A109A1B0086 Change Date: 11 Jul 2002 at 08:07:21

Father: Robert Rutherford b: 1849 in Ontario, Canada
Mother:Sarah Wallace b: 20 May 1858 in Imlay Twp., Lapeer Co., MI, USA

Husband: b: 10 Mar 1885 in Genesee Twp., Genesee Co., MI, USA (?)
Married: 7 Dec 1918 in Genesee Co., MI

ID: I1165 Name: Mable Rutherford Surname: Rutherford Given Name: Mabel Sex: F Birth: 26 Oct 1891 in Imlay City, Lapeer Co., MI Death: Nov 1984 in Winter Haven, Polk Co., FL _UID: 42C4148241542441A603F2389273BE77A344 Change Date: 11 Jul 2002 at 07:32:42

Father: 1849 in Ontario, Canada
Mother: b: 20 May 1858 in Imlay Twp., Lapeer Co., MI, USA

Leo Baldwin b: 17 Feb 1887 in Genesee Twp., Genesee Co., MI, USA
Married to Leo Baldwin: 9 Nov 1918 in Flint, Genesee Co., MI

ID: I3256 Name: Sarah H. Wallace Surname: Wallace Given Name: Sarah H. Sex: F Birth: 20 May 1858 in Imlay Twp., Lapeer Co., MI, USA Death: 12 Oct 1950 in Lapeer Co., MI, USA Burial: 15 Oct 1950 Imlay Twp., Lapeer Co., MI, USA _UID: D8FBAAC1D782534D8629AEC90E6DBEFE9434 Change Date: 6 Jul 2002 at 01:32:35

Father: David Wallace b: 28 Sep 1831 in Ontario, Canada (I have that they were born in Scotland)
Mother: Catharine (McQuinn; McEwen?) Wallace b: 29 Feb 1831 in Ontario, Canada (born in Scotland I think)

Marriage 1 b: 1847 in Ontario, Canada

E-mail from Richard Richardson:

"I have the following on the Rutherford Family. Children of Robert S. and Sarah H. (Wallace ) Rutherford included:

Nettie Mae Rutherford, b. -7 Oct 1882 m. John Baldwin 07 Dec 1918 , d. 27 April 1921.

Howard W. Rutherford, b. 11 Feb 1886

David Rutherford, b. 12 April 1887

Mabel Rutherford, b. 26 Oct 1891

Walter W. Rutherford, b. 11 July 1893

Beatrice Rutherford, b 1897

Robert J. Rutherford, b. 25 Aug 1900

"I assume that Robert and Sarah were married around 1881. Next time I go to Lapeer, I will see if there is a marriage record for them.

"If Robert did become a citizen of the United States, there would be very little on the Declaration of Intent or actual citizenship paper prior to the 1910's, other than he rejected the sovereignty of Victoria, Queen of England and possibly his age. It was very common for Canadian citizens to cross the border at Port Huron and Detroit and settle in St Clair or Lapeer Counties during the 1870's and 1880's."

At Hoyt I searched for a John Rutherford who might be a connection with Robert and Archie. In the 1910 census there is a John Rutherford living with a non-relative (Edna F.); although the census itself (not the soundex) lists Edna (age 20 in 1910) as his daughter. He was 71 in 1910 so he was born in 1839. He gives his place of birth and his parent's as Scotland. Robert was born in 1849 and Archie was born in 1846 or 49, so they all could be brothers. John was in Deerfield Township in 1910, so maybe he is buried there.

I found a contact person in the Northumberland area, Peter Bouton. Here's what Peter found for me:

Hi, Doug,

"Tell you what: let's see what we can get with the resources we have in Port Hope and on our website, if you haven't checked there yet. As they seem to be mostly in the Haldimand Twp. area, that will involve going over to Cobourg to their library resources. If I need to do that, and if we get enough worthwhile information there, you can get me a bottle of single-malt Scotch for my labours!

"As I was at the Port Hope library this morning, I checked CemSearch to see what I could find...

> (My message to Peter): I am looking for Walter and Janet (Johnson) Rutherford, parents of Robert and Archie. I believe Walter and Janet (Janette, etc.) were born in Scotland. Their children I believe were born in Ontario someplace. I did find a Walter and Janet (Johnson) during a web search of the 1871 Canadian census (these may be Robert's father and mother) in Northumberland, Haldimand County of Canada. This Walter Rutherford was 51 in the 1871 census which means he was born in 1820 and would have had Robert when he was 27. His wife's name is spelled Jennet in the census. She was 53 in 1871, so was born in 1818.

"I believe your Walter/Janet are buried in St. Andrew's United Cemetery in Grafton (Haldimand Twp., Northumberland Co.):

"Rutherford, Janet (died 03 Jun 1878 aged 60), native of Berwickshire, Scotland, w/o Walter Rutherford, Walter (died 14 Jun 1879 aged 60) also of Berwickshire

> (My message): This looks like the right family except neither Robert nor Archie is listed as living with the family in the 1871 census. Both brothers might have been out of the house by 1871. Other kids listed on the census were Walter Jr. Age 22, James, age 20, Andrew age 18, Mary age 14, and Thomas age 12.

"A further search (using your 1871 census ages and repeated names) revealed: Warkworth Cemetery:

Rutherford, Andrew (Feb 1853-Sep 1896) buried with Ethel Rutherford (1893-1898) and Margaret Rutherford (1877-1898)

Colborne Cemetery:-

Rutherford, Thomas (12 Jul 1858-27 Sep 1950) h/o Ella Fowler...buried with Ella and also Norman Rutherford (1896-1983)

Sidney St. James RC Cemetery (Hastings Co.):

Rutherford, Mary (1857-1914) w/o Robert Milne (1851-1922)...also buried with them is Margaret Milne (1887-1953), Robert J. Milne (1883-1929) and Teresa (Milne) Hunter (1894-1931)

Fairview Cemetery (Haldimand Twp.):

Rutherford, Robert J. (1842-1924) h/o Hattie Dorr and Carrie Smith Could the latter be your Robert, s/o Walter/Janet...perhaps you have info to clarify?

There is no Archibald/Archie Rutherford listed in CemSearch.

>(My message:) Can you help me find the trail of Walter and Janet so that I can verify they are the parents of the Robert and Archie from my records? I would like to trace Walter and Janet back to Scotland so I also need to know when they came to Canada.

"Were Walter/Janet married in Scotland? There is an IGI entry (although a patron submission) showing a 14 May 1841 marriage between Walter Rutherford and Janet Johnston in Cockburnspath, Berwick, Scotland.

Have you other pertinent information?"

Berwickshire & Roxburghshire
Monumental Inscription's

127 In memory of Walter Rutherford who died at Newcastleton 10th May, 1818 aged 83. Also Betty Armstrong his 1st wife who died at Hartside March, 1776 aged 35 . And 2 children who died in infancy. Also Janet Beattie his 2nd wife who died at Toftholm February, 1782 aged 36 years. Also James Rutherford his son who died at Caledonia in North America 31st October, 1829 aged 55 (see rev more Rutherfords)

E-mail from Peter:

> (my message): Is there any way we could trace where Walter and Jennet landed in Northumberland? Maybe the older boys were born in Scotland. What was the major port of arrival?

"Try to find the earliest reference in a census return (there's a James Rutherford in the 1848 Hamilton Twp. census)...perhaps the 1851 Haldimand Twp. census through interlibrary loan - or I can give it a try at Cobourg Library...as to a major port of arrival in the 1840s, it depended greatly on the point of departure...if from the States, perhaps via Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) to York (Toronto) or across to Kingston and then west along Lake Ontario to Port Hope...if from Europe, Quebec and then west...here's the report of my gggrandmother's trip from Ireland in the 1830s:

"DIED. MONAGHAN. - At Port Hope, on Wednesday, 2nd October, Phoebe Mills, relict of the late William Monaghan, aged 86 years. Funeral on Friday at 4 p.m. The subject of this brief notice was one of the oldest residents in this part of Ontario, having lived for a period of nearly sixty years in the township of Hope and town of Port Hope. The deceased was a native of Ireland, and in the year 1831, in company with her husband, the late Wm. Monaghan, emigrated from the county Tyrone, and after a stormy voyage lasting several weeks, they landed in Quebec. Another slow and tedious trip was then began towards the west, the Frenchman's "batteau" being about the only means of transportation in those times. Mr. and Mrs. Monaghan at last reached this port, where they disembarked and drove to Canton, or "Powers' Corners" as it was called. Here they settled down for a time, deceased's husband carrying on a small boot and shoe trade. Yielding to the opportunities of friends in the States, the emigrants sold out and went to Philadelphia, then to Utica and later to Watertown, in Jefferson County, N.Y., where they lived for some years, afterwards coming back to Canada. Subsequently they removed to the "Guideboard," now Welcome, where they lived for a good number of years before coming to Port Hope. Deceased's husband died in 1874.

>(Me) Thanks again for your help Peter. I haven't forgotten the Single Malt Scotch.

"I haven't been able to do anything yet!"

Peter
www.nhb.com/hunter/

September 19, 2002:

Information from Diane Prout:

Hi Doug,

I checked out the marriage records in Lapeer County for the time period which you suggested and did not see any of the names you listed. I did find the following information in other records:

Death records: Nettie Rutherford, 28 Oct. 1881, 15 y 6 days, Almont, b. Ontario, parents: Archie and Elizabeth Rutherford.

Archie Rutherford, Vol C, pg 29, Rec. #14142, Nov. 6, 1914, ae. 68, Parents: Walter and Janette Johnson, of Scotland. Date of Rec.: Dec. 7, 1914. He might have an obituary which could give you some clues. I did not have time to check this out at the library since I went there prior to the courthouse.

Other names listed in the death records were Caroline, 1904, pg. 181, Vol B, Nancy J., 1906, pg. 219, Vol.B, Lewis M., 1911, pg. 314, Vol B., and Cornelius Rutherford, 1898, Bk. B, p. 75.

I checked the obit files at the library and found no Rutherfords...some Rethfords but no one had your given names. There is a Rutherford family listed in the Bio. history for Tuscola, Lapeer, and Genesee Co. John Rutherford was listed here with different parents and they resided in Tuscola Co. You can see a copy of this on the microfilm of the history at the Hoyt Library.

Have you checked out the Census records for the Rutherfords? Also, Archie, Robert, and John were all listed in the Naturalization index for Lapeer Co....They were listed as former citizens in Grt. Britain. Our state library in Lansing has some indexes for the Canadian Census records....not sure of the years. You might be able to locate where they lived in Ontario by checking the one for 1871 since Nettie, listed above, was alive then and living with Archie and Elizabeth. If I should ever get a chance to check out its index, I will see what I can find for you. These census records could even be online.

Diane Prout

September 26, 2002:

From an online search of Scottish records:

Walter Rutherford married Janet Johnson in 1841 in Cockburnspath Parish

4 relevant birth records for sons named Walter:

1824 to George and Mary Jackson FR 322 Gros: 825/00 0002;
1820 William and Margaret Yates 685/01 0055 F2817;
1820 to George and Jane Bunyie F2012, 792/00 0006;
1819 to John and Ellen Murray Fr 2347, 792/00 0006

12 records for daughters named Janet (Johnson). No Parishes are given

1816: Robert/Anne Craig;
1817: Robert/Elizabeth Duncanson;
1818: William/Mary Henderson;
1819: Andrew;
1820: James;
1822: Ronald/Ann Campbell;
1824: Alexander/Barbara Anderson;
1824: Donald/Janet McKenzie;
1824: George/Margaret Jamieson;
1824: William;
1824: Charles/Elizabeth McKellar;
1825: Robert/Grizel Gilchrist.

Friday, October 25, 2002

Just got this from a genealogy researcher in Flint:

Michigan, Lapeer Co, Goodwin Twp...1900

Robert S. Rutherford born. Oct 1847 Ontario, Canada, died: Dec. 17, 1920... Parents were both born Scotland....(Walter Rutherford) & (Janett Johnson)

Sarah H. Wallace born May 1858 Michigan; Parents born in Scotland

Nettie M. Rutherford born Oct 1882 Michigan
Howard W. Rutherford born Feb 1886 Michigan
David Rutherford born Apr 1887 Michigan
Mabel Rutherford born Oct 1891 Michigan
Walter W. Rutherford born July 1893 Michigan
Beatrice Rutherford born Feb 1897 Michigan
Robert J. Rutherford (Unknown)

I found this information in the 1900 Census for Lapeer Co, Mich... But the spelling of the name was different...it looks like "Rediforth" copy was bad....this is sometimes the fault of the census taker, .I also found a Rutherford researcher for this family that shows a Robert J. Rutherford as the last child, but no date of birth....you may want to contact them....rrichard@gfn.org I hope this helps, Let me know if I can be of further assistance...Corky

Friday, October 31, 2002

Societies in the village of Imlay City included the Odd Fellows, Masons, Royal Arcanes, and the Knights of the Maccabees. Listed in the Knight membership was Lte. C. A. Rutherford. Could C.A. Rutherford be "Charles Archibald" Rutherford? Could this be where the confusion about a Charles Rutherford comes in and why I can't find an Archie Rutherford (Robert's brother)?

A search for Charles A. Rutherford turned up nothing from 1840 to 1920 in Michigan and Ontario (on LDS site).

I was told by my relatives that Robert was called "Charles." I found no evidence of this. His middle name is "S." There are relatives named Charles Rutherford, so maybe my relatives were confused. Or maybe I'll find evidence why Robert was called Charles?

November 4, 2002

Email response:

Hi Doug....The information on the Census says their names, month and year of birth, and where they and their parents were born...If you have a fax # I will send a copy of the Census page, I printed it up today, you should be able to read it.....Robert was born Oct 1849..the Census shows him to be 50 in 1900 ... Sarah 41.....Nettie 17....Howard 14....David 13....Mabble 8.....Walter 6....Beatrice 3.......I will look at other years, see what I can find....Corky

Hi again Doug...Did a little more searching....Census for Lapeer Co, Goodland Twp 1910...showed all of the family including a Robert Jr, age 9...so I looked in 1920..still living in Lapeer Co, was Robert 71, Sarah and Robert Jr. 19.

I also found where 3 Robert Rutherfords came on ship to America...one on the ship "Philadelphia" 12/31/1849 age 18. from Ireland.....another was on the ship "Charlotte Harrison" 5/31/1849 age 22 from England...and one on the "Sidons" 4/14/1851 age 24 from Ireland.....Also the Census says "place of birth" and this is what it says...Canada/Eng....Hope this Helps...Corky

November 26, 2002

This has been a great month for genealogy. A few days ago the Bellinger line went from Genesee County Michigan all the way back to Germany through half a dozen generations within two days. Now this: I just got this mind blowing message out of the blue. The chills went up my back. I've worked so hard trying to figure out the Rutherford line and today I got this wonderful email:

"Just a few days ago, my daughter came across your web-site and subsequently advised me of same. It would appear that we have a common heritage and I may be able to help you in your search.

"Our family tree indicates that John Rutherford born 1783 and his wife Isabella (Douglas), resided near Berwickshire, Scotland. In 1837 or 38, they emigrated to Canada along with their eight children and settled for the most part near Colborne, Ontario which is in Haldimand Twp., Northumberland County. One of their children was Walter Rutherford, born 1819. He subsequently married Janet Johnston and resided in Colborne. They in turn had nine children namely:- John who married Hanna Donaghy; George who married Jennie Johnston: Robert who married Sarah Wallace; Archie who married Elizabeth Steel: Walter who married Minnie Wade; Andrew who married Agnes Weatherson and Emma Engles; James who never married; Mary who married William Wallace and Thomas who married Ella Fowler.

"The records indicate that Robert Rutherford and his wife Sarah (Wallace) resided in the U.S.A. and had the following children:- Mary who married Blackmore; Howard; Mabel who married Baldwin; Walter and Beatrice who married Smith.

"If this is of interest to you feel free to contact me, and I am Malcolm Rutherford, 97 Little Ave., Bowmanville Ontario L1C 1J9 Telephone 905-623-4264 After Nov 27th, we will be traveling to Florida for the winter and our telephone no. is 727-725-2006 (Clearwater) ... Mack Rutherford."

As I look at this email, I see that it answers many of my questions and raises others. The marriage of Robert and Sarah has the children listed that I know about except for Mary (who married a man named Blackmore). Could Mary be a relative that we knew nothing about? Walter and Janet had nine children. Robert married Sarah Wallace and his sister Mary married William Wallace. Was there a connection in Canada between a Wallace family and a Rutherford family (and also the Johnston family?)? Were Robert and Sarah married in Canada? Were the first set of children (including Mabel) born in Canada? Is Archie and Robert's brother John the same John Rutherford that lived in the Imlay City area about the same time period? If John and Isabella Rutherford emigrated with eight children in 1837/38 how could Janet and Walter be the ones married in 1841 in Cockburnspath Parish, Scotland? Also, I see that Mack's records show Janet's last name as "Johnston", while I have "Johnson". Archie's wife Elizabeth is listed as Elizabeth Steel. Her death records in Imlay City show her father as Robert Rogers and her mother as Miss Stelle.

December 4, 2002:

I just had a very satisfying talk with Malcolm Rutherford. He promised to stay in touch and to send me information. His father, Mackenzie Rutherford had put together a family history that traced roots back to Scotland. When Mackenzie was in world war one he went to Scotland to search out relatives in the borders region (other relatives have also been through the region). He went to a town called ilderton (very small with only a few houses and buildings) where there was a cemetery with many Rutherfords. There was a family there called Fortune that said they were related to the Rutherfords. The family records are back in Colborne, but Mack promised to send me some copies of the documents. They have no old family pictures.

Just found this on a rootsweb message board:

Subject: Rutherfords
Author: Bev Hilditch
Date: Sept 2000

"My Rutherford ancestors are from Berwickshire, Scotland. My great, great Grandfather was John and married Isabella Douglas. They had 8 children. I would like to find out when they came to North America (Canada). John was born 1783, died 1847.

I emailed Bev this evening.

Tuesday December 17, 2002

A message from Bev Hilditch:

Hi Douglas,

First of all I wish you a very merry Christmas and all the best in the new year and may God bless all that you do and have.

In 1977 one of our relatives went to Scotland to look up the family tree and thus put a book together of all the relatives up till that time. (Because I never thought I would ever hear from another relative other than those that I know, I threw away all the pages unrelated to my close relatives. What a fool I feel like now. BUT I have a cousin who has the book and hopefully I can get more information from him.

In that book it was stated that Berwickshire was now called Haldimand Township. Maybe he was referring to the Canadian Haldimand Township, I don't know.

I am related to the Rutherford line through John's son Thomas. Thomas had a daughter called Catherine Rutherford who married John McCulloch. They in turn had 7 children, one of which was Catherine McCulloch who married William Hooper. Catherine and William Hooper had 6 children , one being my mother Violet Hooper who married my father, Harvey Pearce. Of course, then I came along and I married Jim Hilditch. And that is where we stand. We have had 5 children having lost 2. One at 4 1/2 months and another at 21 years.

I can't seem to find anything about Malcolm Rutherford.

Would it be possible for you to send a copy of the marriage between Walter and Janet Johnson?

And yes, I guess we are related.

Waiting in anticipation for your next e-mail.

Yours sincerely,

Bev.

January 2, 2003:

A message from Bev. Looks like a good start to the New Year. I put my comments in parenthetical phrases.

Hello Doug

Here I am back at you and to say that I have been going over my records. I found a Mabel Rutherford, daughter of Robert Rutherford, but I have the married name s baldwina. But this is probably your Mabel. What do you think? It just stops right there on her name.

(This is definitely Mabel Baldwin, my grandmother).

(Referring to pages in this Rutherford file:)

Re: page 2 of 16; I have Archie and Elizabeth as having no family.

(they had at least three in Michigan)

Re: page 3 of 16: I don't have a Richard Rutherford listed.

Re: page 4 of 16: I don't have a Nettie Mae as one of Robert's children. Listed as children of Robert are Mary, Howard, Mabel, Walter, and Beatrice.

(I have seven kids listed; Bev's list does not include Nettie Mae, David, and Robert Jr. I don't have a Mary listed. This is a mystery.

Aug 9, 2002: I have a Walter married to Minnie Wade.

Top of page 4: James (never married) was a brother of Walter's

Top of page 6: Archie and Robert had an older brother John who married Hanna Donaghy, but I have them listed as living in Colborne, Ontario. They had a sister Mary married to William Wallace and no family.

(This is great. So John, Archie, and Robert came to Lapeer County more or less at the same time. I need to locate Hanna Rutherford in Lapeer to verify that this is the right John. Also, this supports Malcolms message that there was a sister named Mary who married William Wallace. Could Mary and William have come to Lapeer also, and is William related to my David Wallace? Bev's comment that they lived in Colborne, Ontario fits with Malcolms message.)

This is what I have found to date and hopefully when the weather gets nicer I'll be able to look up the Rutherfords in the cemeteries that you provided as they are not far from our place.

"Have a great new year and hope your Christmas was the best. talk to you soon. Bev.

February 26, 2003:

A message from Bev from several weeks ago. I'm glad she is finding the time to pursue the genealogy. I am locked into work and haven't had time for a while to take up the detective work. Here's Bev's message:

Hello Doug,

Reporting in as it's been awhile. It has been very cold here this winter. How about you?

I recently got a book from the library called "Garden of Eden" which is based on the area of South Monaghan. This is where you thought some of our relatives might be. Well, upon looking at it I am sure they're not. They came from Jedburgh, Scotland. Although the date of the two brothers, James and Richard, births are 1793 and 1794. It jives with John's date of birth. If they are related maybe they were brothers or somehow related to John. Is there anyway we can find out if he had brothers or not. I can't seem to get any information on the web as yet.

I looked in the St. Andrew's United Church Cemetery for the Rutherford headstones but it was so cold that day and the writings aren't very clear so I was unable to find anything. I do have the name of the minister and will get on that soon.

I live about a half-hour from Grafton and we have friends living just around the corner from the cemetery. How convenient. I have relatives in Cobourg but have never been to the library there. I found Malcolm McKenzie's connection to us. He is under Andrew Rutherford's line. Was he born in 1934 and is his wife, Shirley Irvine? Anymore information I can find I'll let you know. I do intend to send you copies of the Rutherford clan and will get around to it soon.

Take care and I'll be in touch,

Your distant relative, Bev.

May 12, 2003:

Bev is moving this research along nicely. Here is her latest email:

Hello Douglas,

Well, I have a bit of news for you. I got an answer from St. Andrew's Church in Grafton and I will copy here what they sent me. I hope that the next time I'm in Grafton I can a picture of the headstones.

#126: Our Mother Sacred to the memory of JANET beloved wife of WALTER RUTHERFORD who died June 3, 1878 aged 60 years. A native of Berwickshire Scotland

#127: Our Father Sacred to the memory of WALTER RUTHERFORD who died June 14, 1879 aged 60 years. A native of Berwickshire Scotland.

Take care and we'll talk soon. As ever, Bev.

Sunday, August 17, 2003:

Lots of loose ends to comment on... I checked the Imlay City Lapeer Cemetery for Rutherfords. I got help form Tom Giles at Imlay City Monuments. Tom had the plot layout for the cemetery. I found Sarah Rutherford's parents David and Catherine (and Emma, Sarah's sister) Wallace's graves, and I found Archie and Elizabeth Rutherford's daughter's grave (Nettie Mae). There was also a plot indication for an "L. Rutherford" (not clear), but there were no grave markers on the plot. Liam Rutherford shows up a lot in the records. He was probably indirectly related to my Rutherfords, although maybe not given other Rutherford "clans" that moved to the area about the same time as my group. The important thing was that although Sarah Rutherford was supposed to be buried in this cemetery (according to the death record), there is no grave marker and no plot listing that would prove that she is buried there. There are also no other Rutherfords buried there, evidently.

I asked the caretaker for the cemetery (John Parnicky) to check old records for the Wallace graves, and I sent a letter to the Baird funeral home in Lapeer asking for information about Sarah's grave location and funeral details. I have not heard from either. I also emailed the Tri-City Times in Imlay City asking for information on the historic Scottish Settlement. I asked them to publish a letter asking for knowledge about the Wallace and Rutherford families. I also sent a letter to the Imlay City Historical Museum asking about newspaper records from that time (and other stuff). Nothing back from anyone yet.

Sarah had two brothers who would have carried the Wallace name forward in the region, William born in 1862, and John born in 1864. Their great grandchildren might still be living in the area. William died May 1978 in Columbiaville. The Meadow Lawn Cemetery in Marathon Township is just east of Columbiaville.

When Sarah died he was living with her daughter Beatrice Smith on Lum road near Imlay City. There is a Lum Cemetery (Attica?) that records show was left to decay, with many grave stones vandalized and pulled from their locations. Perhaps the Rutherfords ended up in this unfortunate place. I sent an email but did not hear back. I also asked for the names of the people living now in the home on Lum road, thinking that perhaps the family still owned the place.

Turning now to messages sent to me by Mack Rutherford.... Here is a family tree that takes us from Scotland to Michigan:

John Rutherford, born 1783, died 1847, married to Isabella Douglas born 1786; died 1850, resided in Berwickshire, Scotland, moved to Haldimand Township Ontario.

John and Isabella had eight kids (they came to Canada with their family presumably):

1. Robert Rutherford, born 1810, died 1882, resided in Colborne Ontario, never married.

2. John Rutherford, born 1811, returned to Scotland, no death or marriage information.

3. James Rutherford, born 1813, died 1879, resided in Colborne Ontario, married to Isabella Dawson

4. George Rutherford, born 1814, died 1876, resided in Campbellford (Ontario?), married Mary Wilson

5. Thomas Rutherford, born 1817, died 1902, resided in Campbellford, married mary Falconer

6. Walter Rutherford, born 1819, died 1879, resided in Colborne, married Janet Johnston

7. Margaret Rutherford, born 1824, died 1892, reside in Colborne, never married

8. Andrew Rutherford, born 1827, died 1900, resided in Colborne Ontario, married Jane Forsythe

My great great grandfather Walter Rutherford (number 6 above) had the following nine children:

1. John Rutherford, married Hannah Donaghy

2. George Rutherford married Jennie Johnston

3. Robert Rutherford married Sarah Wallace (my great grandparents)

4. Archie Rutherford married Elizabeth Steel

5. Walter Rutherford married Minnie wade

6. Andrew Rutherford married Agnes Weatherson and Emma Ingles

7. James Rutherford did not marry

8. Mary Rutherford married William Wallace

9. Thomas Rutherford married Ella Fowler

On my visit to Imlay City, I found naturalization records that show the following:

George Rutherford from Almont filed for naturalization March 17, 1896 and received naturalization March 28, 1896. Is this a brother?

John Rutherford from Almont filed for naturalization April 24 1878 and received naturalization March 28, 1896. Is this a brother? Note that he got naturalization the same day as George.

Archie's dates were March 28, 1892 for application, and August 31, 1886 for acceptance (again, in 1886).

Robert's dates were October 20, 1883 for application, and no date given for acceptance.

Mack told me that he thought Rutherford relatives were in Grantshouse, a town south of Cockburnspath.

August 27, 2003:

Here's one of those magic moments:

I couldn't figure out why Sarah's grave was not at the Imlay City Cemetery where her death certificate said she was buried. So I had sent a letter to the Baird funeral home Lapeer asking for information about Sarah's grave location and funeral details. A reply came from the Baird Home on August 20th. I opened the letter thinking that I would find a one page photocopied sheet concerning the funeral day. Instead, there was a letter from Pat Fromwiller who worked for Bairds. I'll copy some of the letter below.

"Returning to work today, I was quite surprised when opening the weekend mail... Let me explain my surprise.

"I've worked at this funeral home for more than 22 years. Several years ago I decided to look up records of many of my own relatives, as I knew many of them had been buried from here (Bairds). I couldn't believe my eyes as soon as I read your letter. It seems that you and I share the same great grandmother! In fact, I remember her. She lived with my own grandmother, Beatrice (Rutherford) Smith, in Lum, at the time of her death.

"My father was one of 11 children (one died soon after birth, they had named her Sara as well). I know that great grandmother, Sara, lived with my grandparents before my parents met. I can remember her speaking with a pronounced Scottish brogue, in fact my own grandmother could imitate her very well. I also remember that she was blind (from cataracts... my note from my father's comments) and had to be led around the house by others. ...I would have been 6 years old when she died.

"I called my Aunt Bonnie Seames, who is the oldest of the children still living, and have obtained this information for us:

"Great grandmother Sara is buried in the Imlay City Township Cemetery. She is buried on the Wallace lot. There is a large Grey "Wallace" monument there and the Rutherford families are buried behind or in back of that monument. Unfortunately, for "us" and them, Sara and her husband Robert Rutherford's graves are unmarked with monuments....."

Pat

I see that Pat says that the "Rutherford families" are buried near the Wallace plot. I wonder what family members are buried here? Perhaps Archie and Elizabeth? Can we confirm that Robert's grave is also there?

August 30, 2003:

My half day visit to Imlay City turned out to be quite a good thing. My chance encounter with Tom Giles of Imlay City Monuments was especially beneficial. Tom took a personal interest in my research and today sent me digital pictures of the Wallace graves in the Imlay City township cemetery. More importantly, he solved much of the mystery about the Rutherford graves. In a letter that came with the pictures he says that the Rutherford lot #445 is right next to the Wallace plot (#444). There are no grave markers for the Rutherfords who are buried in three spaces on the family plot (a plot has room for five graves with 3 foot easements around each). Space one is Robert, space two is Sarah, space three is David, and spaces four and five are empty. The graves are number north to south, space one being furthest north and grave 5 furthest south.

No information was discovered in the township and cemetery records about the Wallaces.

I remember today that my father said he thought Robert and Sarah were married in Canada. That could explain why I can't find records (marriage and birth).

Monday September 16, 2003:

A book: Genealogical History of the Rutherford Family; by William Kenneth Rutherford and Anna Clay (Zimmerman) Rutherford.

Isabell Douglas married John Rutherford 12 December 1807 in Eckford, Roxburgh Scotland. Also, another Isabell Douglas married another John Rutherford December 8 1807 in Longformacus, Berwick Scotland. Maybe one of these two are Walter's parents. (Got these from a LDS search)

December 4, 2003:

Here's one of those magic emails that I love so much.

Hello again,

Since I first emailed you, I have found some additional information that again might be of interest. Firstly, Campbellford, Ontario is approximately 40 minutes North of Cobourg. I was able to visit the Campbellford Historical Center today, to inquire about our home, 'The Rutherford Farm'. Among other things, the people there gave me a list of names of up to eight generations removed from John Rutherford of Scotland, married to Isabella Douglas. I considered these names pertinent to you as they are listed at the top of your Rutherford page. Also listed is Walter Rutherford, married to Janet Johnston. As it turns out, Walter is a brother to Thomas and George Rutherford, who were the original owners of our property. Another brother, James, married Isabella Dawson, and it was they who built our house. At some point in time, the farm was occupied by Abram Rutherford, son of Thomas, and was subsequently passed through his offspring until approximately six years ago, when it was sold out of the family to the people we bought it from.

I have not had a chance to go through all of the names listed to see how they relate to what you are looking for, but plan to do so. I also need to re-read your Rutherford page and refresh my memory. If this information would be useful to you, I would be happy to fax it if you would supply a number. Best Regards,

Jenn Somogyi

December 8, 2003:

I have recent messages from Jenn Somogyi and Ian Mc Culloch. They both sent me valuable information.

I have passed your name and email along to an Ian McCulloch who was very helpful when I visited the historical center. He is the great great Grandson of Thomas Rutherford, son of John and Isabella. He has sent me two photos which I have attached to this note of the raising of a barn on the property next door, which at the time was owned by the same family as ours. The original barn burned sometime in 1910, and the photo is from September 1910, during the re-construction. One of the two photos has had numbers added with corresponding names, most of the people are identified. He also mentioned that he has in his possession, a book, 'The Rutherfords of Northumberland'.

I was unable to fax this information to you today, but will do so tomorrow. Along with the genealogy, there is also an information page on the house and property, including a photo.

In looking at your page, you are many steps ahead of much of the information I was given. But I guess you never know, something may click.

Take care,

Jenn

Hello Doug,

My name is Ian McCulloch of Campbellford, Ontario, and I too am descended from John Rutherford and Isabella Douglas. I was given your name by Jenn Somogyi who I just met this past week. I have a version of the Rutherford family tree descended from John Rutherford in the lines that we know to exist with the people that we know about in our area. It is in the Family Tree Maker format and if you have it I would be glad to send it to you. I also know Mac Rutherford and know of Beverly Hilditch. I do not have much to add to most of the info you already have regarding your branch of the family but I would be very interested if you could provide us with any information on your particular branch. If you do not have FTM I think I can send you a word version, if you like. I am not sure how much info the others have provided to you.

Regards........Ian McCulloch
R R # 4
Campbellford, ON
K0L 1L0
PH (705) 653 3742

Some quick notes concerning the 13 pages of Rutherford genealogy that Jenn sent to me.

My Great, Great Grandfather was Walter Rutherford (Son of John Rutherford and Isabella Douglas). One of Walter's brother was Thomas Rutherford. One of Thomas' sons was Abram Rutherford who had a daughter named Mabel (she married Fred Shafe). I believe that this must be the Mabel Rutherford in the picture of the barn raising. My grandmother Mabel may have been named after her great aunt (?).

The birth and death of my G,G grandfather Walter Rutherford is given as 1819 to 1879 and he is shown married to Janet Johnston. Only two children are listed for them, John and George Rutherford. My great grandfather Robert is not listed, nor is his brother Archie. There is some information on George Rutherford's family which is interesting. First, his wife is "Jannie" (photocopy is not clear, looks like J??ni?) Johnston. So maybe there is a longer standing relationship between the Johnston and Rutherford families. George and Jannie's (?) first child is Walter Wallace Rutherford. There's that Wallace connection again. He had a son named George Wallace Rutherford who had a son he named Wally Rutherford (my cousin's name is Wally). Lots of hints of common family names and possible connections with Wallace and Johnston families back in Scotland.

January 5, 2004

Catching up on some emails. Here are two I received a few weeks ago; the first from Ian McCulloch.

Hello Doug,

I added the info that you provided into the Rutherford FTW file and am sending you two word versions of the family tree. One is an outline descendent tree which shows the families from John and Isabella down from their respective families and the other is a genealogy report which is a bit more comprehensive. It lists birth dates and places, death dates and places, and any other information that you put into the report.

I will see what info I can find on any of the Wallaces in this area. I do not believe the Jack Wallace in the picture has any connection to our family, but I will check it out.

For your information, our geographical location is County of Northumberland, in which are located the Township of Haldimand in which is located the Village of Grafton, the Township of Cramhae and the villages of Colborne and the community of Salem, and the Township of Seymour in which is located the Town of Campbellford. Campbellford is located about 30 miles north-east of Colborne and Grafton is about 8 miles west of Colborne. The Rutherfords of Colborne that I know lived mostly about 3 miles north of the town. The Rutherford in Seymour Twp lived about 6 miles north of Campbellford.

I have one of the "Rutherfords of Northumberland" books and I am enclosing a paragraph from the first page.

JOHN RUTHERFORD 1783-1847 and his wife ISABELLA DOUGLAS 1786-1850

Seven Sons and One Daughter. This family left from near Grants House Berwickshire, Scotland around about 1837 or 1838, and settled in Northumberland County, for the most part in Haldimand Township, while two sons George and Thomas settled in the Township of Seymour.

This book was put together by Malcolm "Mack" Rutherford's father, Mackenzie Rutherford and my Fathers cousin, Gertie McCulloch in 1970. I can remember being at the Rutherford picnic, which used to be an annual event in my younger days, and the family tree was on a long roll of paper. Since their passing, it has been kept and revised by a cousin of mine, Jim McCulloch, who puts in any information as he receives it.

Ian McCulloch

Second message from Jane Ellen Doubt (rutherford/borders list)

Hi Doug,

Rutherfurds is a directory of the Borders area. It was published by J and JH Rutherfurd, Kelso in 1866 and I have a reprint done by the Borders Family History Society. It was by subscription, so only more affluent people are listed but it gives great descriptions of the area. I don't see any Rutherfurds listed in Cockburnspath.

My own Rutherford family is that of Janet Rutherford born 1850, Roberton Selkirk. Her parents were William and Janet Scott.(also not listed)

Rutherford and its variants in spelling is a very common name in the borders. I would suggest you get as much information from the Canadian records as you can. From there you can try the Scotlands People web site or your local LDS family History Library and check the Old parish Register index. Scotlands people is a fee based web site but I have found its resources excellent and well worth the money but best to have a clear goal in mind when you start. Once you narrow down the parish,I like to borrow the actual parish record on microfilm from the LDS so I can see the entire record and look thru it year by year.

You might want to post to the list as I know there are many Rutherford researchers and one might be related!

Cheerio,

Jane-Ellen, jedoubt@mail.ocis.net
Doubt Family Pages: www.ocis.net/~jedoubt/

January 13, 2004

From an email from Scotland came this summary:

"The Rutherfords were from Roxburghshire, Johnstones in Annandale, Wallaces were more from Ayrshire/Renfrewshire and the Douglases in Lanarkshire (and Dumfriesshire)." It's too general, but it gives an idea where the clans were focused. I like knowing that "Johnstone" is the core name that became "Johnson" and "Johnston."

Monday, January 19, 2004

Talked to Bonnie Seames on the phone this past weekend. Bonnie is the daughter of Beatrice (Rutherford) Smith, who is the daughter of Robert and Sarah (Wallace) Rutherford. I wrote her a letter asking many questions. My main goal was to find out about the Wallace origins in Scotland, but Bonnie did not know. She gave me lots to think about regarding the Baldwin's and the Rutherfords, however. I'll just copy down my notes in the order things came up.

Bonnie says that Robert Rutherford was a twin and that his twin stayed in Canada when Robert came to Michigan. I didn't see any evidence of this in the Canadian records. I am wondering if Bonnie was thinking of another Robert in the family, or if there is something to this. It certainly raises a mystery or two. Archie's and Robert's birthdays were always unclear as to who was older and younger. I wonder if they were twins(?)

Bonnie said she never heard Sarah (Wallace), Bonnie's grandmother, speak in a Scottish brogue. "She spoke as clearly American as anyone else," Bonnie says. She was very witty, and she had a saying for everything. I asked Bonnie for an example and she told me a story. Other kids in the family (Dolly, Bonnie's brother) could not whistle. Bonnie however could whistle very well. Sarah heard he whistle and then said "Whistling girls and crowing hens always come to a bad end."

Bonnie pronounced Rutherford "Ruth" e ford." She said there was another family in the area who spelled their name Retherford (pronounced Rutherford). Bonnie said there were McQuin's in the lapeer area.

Bonnie listed Sarah and Roberts children as Mable, Beatrice, Howard, Nettie Mae, Walter, and David. David, she said died young. She gave me a long list of Walter's children, but none of these kids matched what I had in my data base (something is wrong). Bonnie listed Walter's kids as David Rutherford, Dennis, Donald, Dewie, Douglas, Dean, Delmar, and Dwayne. Delmar still lives in the area.

Bonnie says that Sarah used to go and visit Mary Blackmore who lived in Imlay City. Bonnie thinks that Mary was a cousin. Blackmore was her second husband. Mary did have children.

Bonnie gave me her brother's address in Florida, thinking that he might have a better handle on the family genealogy.(William Smith, 511 Basil Court, Kissimmee Florida 34759)

Bonnie said that Nettie Mae's baby survived when Nettie Mae died from childbirth complications. Netties older daughter was Dolly, aged 15 months when Nettie died. Prior to her death, Nettie Mae had asked her mother (Sarah) to take care of Dolly should anything happen to her during childbirth. So Sarah kept her promise to do so and she took Dolly after Nettie had died. Sarah went to live with her daughter Beatrice when Sarah got old (and eventually blind) and Dolly came to live in the house as well (I am not sure what age or condition Sarah was when Nettie died, and I do not know when she went to live with Beatrice (Rutherford) Smith. The bay's name was Dorothy. They wanted to take the baby in as well, but something changed their minds (it was too hard I was told; whatever that means). Dorothy was adopted by the Marshall family, a prominent family from the Flint area (I was told). They lived for a while off Saginaw Street. Later, Dorothy searched for Dolly and found her, so the girls had a relationship during their lives. Dolly and Dorothy's father was a Baldwin (my grandfather Leo's brother). I had been told that he died a few months after Nettie in a car accident. Bonnie says she thinks it was a train accident (another mystery).

Howard worked for a local or county government in Tecumseh (?) Michigan (a few miles from the southern border of Michigan). His first wife died of TB Bonnie thinks. They had lost a child, but had several including Robert, Kenneth, Thomas, Christine, and Estelle. There was another boy born from the second marriage.

Bonnie says that Emma Rutherford, Sarah's sister, did not marry and died young.

Bonnie also said that Robert came to Imlay city with his brother Thomas. This is certainly different news. I knew Archie was here and I suspected that John had come. But Thomas is news.

I have written to Bill Smith and am awaiting his call or letter.

Tuesday, February 24, 2004

An email from New Zealand:

Douglas,

My researcher is a man called Bill Stacey and his email address is < bill_stacey@lineone.net > I'm sure he wouldn't mind doing some research for you. Before you contact him you need to have some background and starting point for him to follow. If your Rutherford line is in Cockburnspath, then that would be the place to start. Have you any documentation for the John Rutherford=Isabella Douglas marriage? I see from the website < http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/cockburnspath/ > that there are one or two churches in which your couple may have been married. The parish records may be in one of several places possibly New Register House in Edinburgh, records at Morpeth or even in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. A lot of this information can be chased up on the internet. There's not much point in paying a researcher to do what you can do. All these repositories of records require a search fee, whether you go there yourself or get someone else to.

Paddy.

Wednesday, July 14, 2004

I got a wonderful breakthrough piece of mail recently from William Smith who is Sarah Rutherford's grandson. He sent me a copy of the marriage certificate for Sarah and Robert. The certificate reads: 27th of December 1887 were married in Imlay City, Michigan. The paster who signed was A.O. Bassor (this name is blurred. The first letter could be any number of things. the vowels are also not clear although the two "ss"es in the middle are clear. The church is given, but again it is not clear and it is abbreviated. One of the witnesses is very interesting; William Johnston. This strong suggests that there were Johnston connections in lapeer that played a role in Robert coming to the lapeer, Imlay City area. The other witness is Catharine something, it looks like the same last name as the pastor.

William says in his note that Sarah told him that Robert was a woodsman in Canada before coming to Michigan.

Tuesday, November 9, 2004

Kathy and I visited Scotland this past summer and I had some time to do genealogy on the Wallace and Rutherford clans. It was a very enjoyable and successful trip. My notes ramble but I'll record them as they were written. From my notebook (more or less):

"A nice series of events unfolded in Grantshouse when we stopped to visit. First, I should mention that there is not much to this village. A major highway, the A-1 roars by the main set of buildings that constitute the town. There are only two or three more streets that climb a hill above the highway. These streets are lined with a few row houses- this is Grantshouse. There is an Inn (a tavern) on the main street where I talked with a nice young woman (the barmaid) about my genealogy research (and put my feet up and had a beer). She said she had just moved down from Edinburgh and didn't know the history of Grantshouse. I mentioned that there was a book called "Grantshouse," written by Jim Crosbie. "Oh", she said, "Jim lives up the hill from here". I thought I shouldn't disturb him, but she said "Oh, it's no problem. Just go up there and knock on his door. He's a nice man". I did find Jim Crosbie and he invited me in. We had a long and enjoyable discussion. The book was out of print and there were no others, although there was talk of getting a couple hundred more done in a second printing. I believe the Grantshouse website has a history section and I think there was discussion of printing segments from Jim's book on the web.

Jim told me that Thomas Grant built a pioneering house in the early 1800's on (what became, I suppose) the Harelaw farm, a part of the Renton Estate. Thomas Grant's neighbors were Rutherfords. These Rutherfords had relatives who were from the Douglas Clan. Jim told me that Rutherfords and members of the Douglas family were buried in a town called Longformacus. This turned out to be a very valuable clue. The road we took into Longformacus is one of the most beautiful roads I have ever been on. It was a one lane paved road that snaked through lush green hill country. We parked in this small village with a lovely stream that cascades past the Longformacus Parish and under the town brick bridge. More about that later.

Jim also told me a story about some brothers called the Denham boys (not sure of the spelling). They ended up in Ohio in 1835. I wondered if this was not influential in the decision of the Rutherfords to leave for America a few years later.

Not far up the road from Grantshouse is the village and Parish of Cockburnspath (pronounced "Coburnspath" by the Scottish). Cockburnspath is a short hop to the dramatic cliffs that overlook the ocean. The South Upland Way starts at Cockburnspath- it is a pathway that cuts across southern Scotland; you can walk from one side of the country to the other on this lovely trail. The parish is beautiful from the outside- I took many digital pictures and will have to link them here when I get time. The inside has been renovated and is very modern- this is a stark contrast to the outside of the parish which has sections that date to the 1600's- probably earlier actually. We were fortunate to meet Marnie McGregor who was a caretaker for the parish. Marie was a delightful, friendly, and very helpful person. It seemed magic that she showed up when she did. We found the people everywhere in Scotland to be kind and cheerful and wonderfully helpful.

I decided to spend some money in Cockburnspath so I went into a small store in the center of the village. I walked up to the counter and before I could say anything this sweet young girl working there said with a grin "I guess I'm not supposed to like you." This left me speechless. "What!?" I said, I don't..."

"It's your hat."

I took my hat off and stared at it. It was my Michigan State University hat. I looked at this cute Scottish lass with a puzzled expression."

"I was just studying at Ohio State University in Columbus. I think our football team didn't like the Michigan teams, right?"

It's a small world.

When I got to a research library, I checked the 1841 census for Cockburnspath (this is an un indexed census and is very difficult to search). Here are some notes (not sure if this is relevant to my relatives but since the census is so hard to study I'll record them anyway):

From Berwickshire: John Rutherford age 30, laborer married to Alison Rutherford, age 30. Note that in the 1841 census they would round up ages as much as five years.

1841 in Coldingham: John Rutherford shoe maker journeyman.

Berwickshire births:

Robert Rutherford christened 12 August 1810 in Longformacus to parents John Rutherford and Isabel Douglas.
John Rutherford January 23, 1809 in Longformacus, to John Rutherford and Isabel Douglas

This is significant for a couple reasons. First, parish records show a John Rutherford and an Isabel Douglas marrying in Longformacus in 1807 (M117502/0607 Frame 301). We know that our John Rutherford was born in 1783 and our Isabella Douglas was born in 1786. They would have been married then when John was 24 and Isabella was 21. They would have had John junior two years later in 1809. Our family records would be incorrect in that they show Robert as the first child and John as the second, rather than the other way around. I believe these are our relatives especially since Robert's birth date is exactly what our records indicate, and because the ages of John and Isabella and their marriage date match up so well. The family must have left Longformacus after Robert's birth because there were no records (that I could find) of the subsequent children, James, George, Thomas, Walter, Margaret, and Andrew. I searched parish records for East Lothian, Berwick, Midlothian, and Roxburgh with no results. I suspect they were in the Grantshouse area after Longformacus, but it's just a guess.

In the Parish of Morebattle, I found a birth notice (Christening) for a John Rutherford, August 10, 1783. This date fits with family records that indicate 1783 as our John's birth date.His parents are John and Janet Brewhouse (F56 C 118012 0729). My notes are fuzzy here, there is an indication that the Parish of Roxburgh is involved. Maybe Morebattle is not a Parish.

I also found the records of the marriages that I had already known about: Walter Rutherford to Janet Johnston May 14, 1841 in Cockburnspath Parish (Frame 526 M117315 0194); and Thomas Rutherford to Margaret Falconer April 4, 1839 in Cockburnspath Parish (Frame 525 M117315 0178). These marriage dates strongly suggest that the Rutherford family did not leave for Canada until after 1841. If they left before that they would not show up in any census for 1841 and if they left in 1841 they might have missed the census. The actual record reads for both above marriages the phrase: "both of this parish" indicating that all the parties were from Cockburnspath Parish.

The actual record for the Rutherford Douglas marriage is helpful because it gives a location for Isabella: "Longformacus, December 8, 1807, John Rutherford in this parish and Isabel Douglas in the parish of Eckford gave in their names for proclamation in order to marry and gave a shilling for the poor."

I found a record for the birth of a Walter Rutherford about 1819 in Hawich, Roxburgh, Scotland. No other information was available.

Kathy and I were nearing the end of our Scotland trip, so I mapped out a final days route to see if I could turn up any last minute clues. The morning started in Melrose and on a whim I stopped into a small bookstore. The lady who worked at the store asked me what I was looking for and I told her I was searching for books on my Rutherford relatives. She said that the Rutherford Estate was not far away and that Lord Rutherford still stayed there with his wife. Across the road from the Estate was the Rutherford farm and Rutherford Main, a small strip of houses near the farm. This bit of exciting news changed our plans and we ended up visiting the Rutherford farm and Main. At the farm, I parked the rental car and stepped out just as the owner was coming out of the barn. He took one look at me and said "Don't tell me, your are a Rutherford, right? From New York, I would guess." He had it half right. This kind man then told me I should go to the Rutherford Estate and meet Lord Rutherford. I was hesitant to do this, but the curious ity was too great and so Kathy and I ended up at the Rutherford Manor House. There we met two quite young individuals, John and Jean Rutherford who despite being very busy, dropped everything they were doing and graciously talked with us about the history of the Rutherfords.

John Rutherford told me that the family was related to Sir Walter Scott, who had lived and worked in Selkirk. His mother was a Rutherford. John also told me that on the border with England was a town (area?) called Edgerston (or is it Edgerston?) where many Ruthertfords had lived and were now buried. A sudden light went on in my head when I realized that the "Ilderton" connection that I had been searching for, was probably "Edgerston."

Lord Rutherford showed us the family tartan and also the extensive library he had of books about Rutherfords. Here are some of the titles:

1. "Genealogical History of the Rutherfords", privately printed in 1986.

2. "Rutherford Ancestors" by John Campbell, 1996 in New Zealand.

3. "The Rutherfords of that Ilk"

4. The Rutherfords in Britain; a History and Guide by K. Rutherford Davis

John also gave me a list of names of others who had stooped in to see him. I'll won't put their names here, but will share them with other researchers on request.

Friday, July 8, 2005

My uncle Leo (Baldwin, son of Mabel Rutherford and Leo Baldwin) died last night, he was 86. He loved my genealogy research and along with my dad he followed whatever I wrote in these pages. The world is a loner place. I'll keep writing and researching and I'll feel Leo's soul watching, and guiding, and being supportive. I feel it right now.

Kathy and I just got back from our latest trip to Scotland. I love that country and could easily live there. I'll record my notes below as I wrote them in my genealogy notebook.

The Parish of Longformacus ("Long for make us" the locals say) became far more important this trip. I had pondered why there were two John Rutherfords marrying Isabel Douglases in two different parishes at about the same time. The answer is a no-brainer that I didn't figure out until I read the exact records for the two parishes, Longformacus and Eckford. John and Isabel were married at Longformacus December 8, 1807, but they announced their intentions (banns) at Isabel's Eckford Parish a few days after the wedding at Longformacus (December 12, 1807). The longformacus records say: "John Rutherford of the Parish of Longformacus and Isabel Douglas of the Parish of Eckford." The Eckford records say the same thing, identifying John's parish as Longformacus. When the bride and groom were from separate parishes, the announcement was often made in both churches (this they told me at New Register House in Edinburgh ("Edin burra"). I also think that Eckford Parish (the district) includes the area called Edgerston, where the original Rutherford manor was located and where the Rutherford clan is thought to originate (see below).

I made a major breakthrough this trip when I found that my gg grandmother Janet Johnston was born in the Parish of Longformacus. Also, her brother John and his entire family left for Northumberland, Ontario in 1836 (John's wife was Helen Dickson). They also were from Longformacus Parish. There is an entire Johnston genealogical line that has been traced from Canada to the borders region of Scotland (Longformacus). This is a wide open door that I have yet to explore in greater detail. Janet's parents were John Johnston and Mary Hope.

To summarize about the connection to Longformacus:

1. John and Isabel were married there in 1807
2. Their first son John was born there December 12, 1808 and baptized January 23, 1809 (at the Whitchester estate)
3. Their second son Robert was born there July 12, 1810 and baptized August 12, 1810
4. Walter Rutherford's future wife Janet Johnston was born there in February 3, 1818 (Walter is the 6th son)
5. Longformacus is near Grantshouse and the Renton Estate, areas that family lore identify as the location from which the Rutherford family left for Ontario
6. Longformacus is also near the Parish of Cockburnspath where Walter Rutherford married Janet Johnston in 1841, and where John Rutherford (who went to Canada but returned later to Scotland) married Alison Russel in 1836 (recorded also in Alison's Parish of Oldhamstocks)
7. Janet's parents were married in the Parish of Longformacus (John Johnston and Mary Hope) May 21, 1794. Mary was from the Coldstream Parish and so the marriage is also recorded there on the same day.
8. Janet's brother John married his wife Helen Dickson at Abbey Saint Bathans, just down the road a few miles from Longformacus
9. A quick look at the grave stones in the Longformacus cemetery turns up quite a few interesting connections; there are graves for Hopes, Johnstons, Dicksons, Fortunes, Douglas, but no obvious Rutherford:

A. By Janes Hope, wife Agnes Galbraith January 7, 1851, 54 years; granddaughter Mary Ann Hope December 7, 1864, 14 years old; James Hope at Longformacus, December 24, 1884, 89 years, Mary May 16, 1889, 65 years, Isabela at Duns September 23, 1901, 76 years.
B. Simon Johnston, tenant of Whitchester January 15, 1848, his father George May 31, 1860, 81 years at Rulesmains, Dunse, farmer at Gilston, Midlothian and later at Sunderland Farm, Selkirk.
C. John Dickson, late tenant, Longformacus, Townhead, October 13, 1849, 60 years, wife Isabella Wilson; Isabella January 29, 1871, 39 years; Catherine June 11, 1895, 62 years; Helen, wife of Robert Thompson September 3, 1896, 72 years.
D. George Fortune, tenant Baronside, father Alexander died at Godscroft, Woodhouse November 11, 1818, 72 years; mother Isabella Hunter at Baronside February 9, 1835, 83 years; sister Mary (inf) sister Isabella May 14, 1811, 22 years; wife Maraget Purves died at Baronside August 1, 1835, 54 years.
E. By Thomas Douglas, father Thomas May 1841 51 years; son Thomas November 1848, 30 years; Agnes Anderson, wife of Thomas Douglas, senior January 1, 1868, 76 years.
F. George Fortune at Longformacus April 4, 1829, 85 years; wife Janet Hill August 13, 1821, 69 years.
G. James Fortune March 18, 1826, 79 years; wife Silbelly Moffat November 13, 1828, 82 years; Janet Kemp, wife of John Fortune, their son feuar (blacksmith) in Longformacus February 27, 1855, 69 years; son John May 4, 1864, 40 years; John, son of james, March 6, 1869; Alison daughter of james March 26, 1863, 85 years.

Janet's parents had ten children (that I could find):

John Johnston and Mary Hope had the following kids:

1. Archibald 2. Margaret 3. John, born 1799 in Copper mains, Coldstream Parish
4. Mary, Christened December 26, 1801 in Longformacus
5. Isabella, Christened November 5, 1803 in Longformacus
6. Grizel, Christened October 18, 1805 in Longformacus
7. Jean, Christened December 6, 1807 in Longformacus
8. George, Christened May 2, 1810 in Longformacus
9. George, Christened September 28, 1813 in Longformacus
10. Mary, Christened October 3, 1815 in Longformacus
11. Janet, Christened February 3, 181818 in Longformacus
12. Simon, Christened November 30, 1820 in Longformacus

There is a walk that goes across the entire southern part of Scotland, sea to sea. It is called the Southern Upland way. While I was doing my research and studying a map of the region, I suddenly realized that the Southern Upland Way starts at Cockburnspath, travels up near Grantshouse, passes through Abbey Saint Bathans, and then goes directly through Longformacus. This is a pathway that was probably used to connect these locations and may be how these families knew each other.

From W J Watson (1926) 'The Celtic Placenames of Britain'; publisher: Birlinn, 1993:- "Longformacus, Langeford Makhous, mentioned c1340 AD ( according to a scholar named Johnston) is 'Maccus longphort', .i.e the encampment or hut or dwelling [of Maccus]". There is no mention of this in the other scholarly works - by Nicolaisen, 1976 or Darton, 1994." It is interesting that this was written by a Johnston. Further internet search came up with this: "Longformacus, a small village and a parish in lammermuir District, North Berwickshire. The parish comprises the ancient parishes of Longformacus and Ellem, united in 1712...In olden times the barony of Longformacus belonged successively to the Earls of Moray, The Earls of Dunbar, and the St. Clairs of Roslin. Longformacus House stands a little way East of the village, on the opposite bank of the River Dye...The only other resident landowner was Andrew Smith, Esq of Whitchester House, whose turreted mansion stands on a hill between Ellemford and Longformacus...in the presbytery of Duns and the synod of Merse and Teviotdale." Whitchester House is now a teen "rehabilitation center".

I was still (this trip) unable to locate anything about the the births of any of John and Isabel's children after Robert's birth at Longformacus in 1810. I did find the children of John (who returned to Scotland) and Alison Russel: John Rutherford christened November 1, 1841; David christened May 28, 1844; Robert christened September 3, 1848; and Peter christened April 8, 1851.

When I talked with John and Jean Rutherford last year (2004), John told me that Rutherford history revolved around the Rutherford Manor in a borders area called Edgerston (pronounced "Edge er ston"). Kathy and I drove to the location and took pictures of the church yard and relevant gravestones. This small region has a church (Edgerston "Parish"; or maybe this is the Eckford Parish Church since there is no church in Eckford Village) and a few houses (at least one is a B&B). I learned from a discussion with the owner of a B&B where we were staying in Jedburgh (just a few miles from Edgerston) that there were Fortune's still living in the area. She gave me the name and address of Joyce Fortune (I'll write to her shortly) who lived within a mile of Edgerston. There were some Rutherfords buried at Edgerston, but no Fortunes (there are several Fortunes buried at Longformacus). Jedburgh (pronounced "Jed burra") cemetery has many Rutherford graves, as well as Fortunes, Johnstones, Douglas's, and even a Wallace (with a son David) and a McEwan (?!- was there a pocket of Wallaces and McEwans in Rutherford territory?). By the way, the view from the Jedburgh cemetery is worth the trip to Scotland.

Previously, there was confusion about the location where Mackinzie Rutherford visited relatives during World War One. The location was passed down as Ilderton, Scotland. I visited the Parish church at Ilderton (which is in Northumberland England about ten miles south of the Scottish borders) and asked people in the area about Rutherfords. I also walked through the cemetery searching for Rutherford and Fortune graves. The best place to study genealogy in Scotland (my opinion so far) is Edinburgh. New Registry House (on Princes Street) has the best records for 1855 forward. The records going back from 1855 are from local parish districts- these can be accessed through a computer program (not real sophisticated- hard to do cross checks)- the actual records are housed here, so you can look at originals if you need to. The Register House is full of researchers, and although you can get help as you need it, you are expected to be pretty much on your own (I felt some irritation from staff when I was asking my usual too frequent questions). Next door to New Registry House is the National Archives of Scotland. Here you can view the actual church (Kirk) records for every parish. The archives also have newspaper records. A few blocks away from the Archives, is the National Library of Scotland. This is the same as the US Library of Congress. You need to be a serious researcher to get in (I am writing a book, so I had no problem), and you are interviewed before they make a decision to allow access- if you are looking for a rare book, they probably have a copy (you have to order the book, and they have to track it down from millions of books- this can take a few minutes or a few days- be prepared to wait). Across the street from the National Library is the Edinburgh public library. The public library has over 1,300 family genealogies, and they have an extensive collection of genealogy materials. Just a block away from the main library is the office of the Scottish Genealogy Society. The society is a friendly place; you can get personal attention here. They have an extensive collection of materials for sale, as well as many genealogy reference books on shelves. You should join this society (I did) and share your data and family history records with them.

Outside Edinburgh, there are other great resources. Greenoch has two maritime museums and a maritime library. This is the place to go to do research on ships and passengers. They also have newspaper archives that can be accessed from microfilm, so you can check the news on specific days. Newspapers reported on passenger lists and ship details. Glasgow has a large genealogy library also. Each region of Scotland has a genealogy society; the borders society for example has records and books relevant to research on the Rutherfords.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Got this email today:

Dear Sir,

You wrote: "Kathy and I were nearing the end of our Scotland trip, so I mapped out a final days route to see if I could turn up any last minute clues. The morning started in Melrose and on a whim I stopped into a small bookstore. The lady who worked at the store asked me what I was looking for and I told her I was searching for books on my Rutherford relatives. She said that the Rutherford Estate was not far away and that Lord Rutherford still stayed there with his wife."

Johnny Rutherford is NOT the Lord Rutherford. He's the grandson of brewery owner named Rutherford from England who was a descendant of the Rutherfords of Annan. His grandfather was Sir John Rutherford and he inherited the property at Rutherford on the Tweed. Sir John Rutherford, a bachelor, was educated at the Lancaster Royal Grammar School and Glasgow University. Elected to the Jockey Club in 1924, he was also a JP for Dumfriesshire and Blackburn, Mayor of Blackburn and Chairman of Salford New Brewery at Blackburn. Sir John Rutherford died in London in February, 1932, aged 77 years.

There are three hamlets in Britain called Rutherfurd/Rutherford; in Yorkshire, Roxburghshire and Peeblesshire. Each has an historical link with the Rutherfurds of Edgerston. The Edgerston family formalized its spelling as ‘Rutherfurd’ from an early period, hence the correct designation is always, “Rutherfurd of that ilk”. There is no such designation as “Rutherford of that ilk”. Johnny Rutherford is a Rutherford NOT a Rutherfurd - therefore he is not the Lord Rutherford or Clan Chief.

Please see:

http://www.clanrutherfurd.org/Default.aspx

http://www.hunthill.4t.com/whats_new.html

best regards - Gary Rutherford Harding

The History of the Surname

Mysteries/Research Avenues/Stray Thoughts

1. Write to Joyce Fortune (A698 Kelso, Jedburgh Road; Eckford Parish)
2. Trace the Wallace buried in Jedburgh; make sure this is not your David!
3. Go back to Edinburgh and search kirk records and newspaper artciles from the archives; also the public library records
4. Go back to Glasgow and check genealogy records at their genealogy library
5. Go back to Greenoch and check newspaper archives and ship records
6. Join the Borders Genealogy Society
7. Subscribe to the Borders Family history magazine
8. Search for a John Rutherford in Lapeer County and see if he is related to Robert and Archie. Check death records in Lapeer to see if John Rutherford had the same parents as Robert and Archie. George Rutherford was naturalized about the same time as Archie. He could be a relative. Also Mary Rutherford and William Wallace might also have moved to Michigan
9. Why can't I find the rest of the Rutherford births in Longformacus (or anywhere in Scotla nd and England)
10. What is the mystery of the English Rutherfords versus the Scottish Rutherfords; both living in the same region of Lapeer County.
11. Find the farm in Imlay City area where Mabel was born and take pictures;
12. County property records might give clues to Robert's middle name.
13. Get C.L. Johnston's book "History of the Johnstones"; also "The Johnstones of Annandale"; and the "Letters of Samuel Rutherford"
14. The Johnstone relatives have done extensive genealogy. Investigate this line and see what it tells us about the Rutherfords in Ontario and Michigan.
15. Get the monumental inscriptions for Longformacus cemetery
16. Trace Nina Johnston Douglas.
17. Read Nigel Tranters books, especially the "Black Douglas"
18. Get a good Borders map; historical and detailed
19. Track the Fortune genealogy
20. Search the Kirk records for Longformacus (need clues on what happened to Rutherfords)