Ernest Francis Fitzherbert Wright (1919–2007)
November 8, 2009
Ernest Francis Fitzherbert Wright was my great uncle and was always called Francis , possibly because his father was called Ernest (FitzHerbert Wright), and possibly because he didn’t like the name Ernest despite being fond of his father. He died in 2007, and is much missed by our family. I’ve included the tribute made by my elder brother at his Funeral Service at Chelsea Old Church in October 2007. There was also a Memorial Service at the parish church in Ebbesborne Wake, Wiltshire (where his ashes were interred with those of his wife, Betty). Read the rest of this entry »
Finally I’m using Family Tree Maker software
November 5, 2009
I’ve finally succumbed to using a family tree make software. I’ve chose iFamily for Leopard for no other reason than it works on an Apple Mac. OK it came with a Royal GEDCOM file, and I was able to link into it in a few places, but real reason is that I have so many notes now that I need to get a bit more systematic about how and where I sort them. I’m allergic to subscription sites like Ancestry.com because I think family history should be both open and collaborative like the Wikipedia. I’m also not a collector of copies of Birth Certificates and original census records. I looked a Genes Reunited as well and it’s family family tree builder is at least free to use and looked user friendly. It also separates out the buying of copies of ancestral records which Ancestry.com doesn’t do. Downside is your family tree is hidden from Google as you have to log in to use it, and their search just isn’t as good as Google at helping me find others researching similar trees because it’s too structured. What I would really like to see is an open and collaborative family tree platform like the Wikipedia, but with the ability to be able to buy related ancestral records. Until that comes along I’m going to just use Google as it’s free and my iFamily for Leopard> software as it works on a mac and is relatively cheap compared to an ongoing subscription. I’ll going with this blog as every now and then someone gets in touch and as mentioned above it the connecting and collaborating I like even if there’s no open platform to it. I’m not going to bother about buying any copies of ancestral records because I think the should be free and in the public domain. However, I may go quiet here, while I enter all the notes I’ve collected.
Obituary Sir Alexander Charles Maitland Gibson, 2nd. Bt.
November 1, 2009
No portrait so far but I found this obituary originally from the Caledonian Mercury (Edinburgh, Scotland), Monday, February 21, 1848; Issue 19756, for my ancestor Sir Alexander Charles Maitland Gibson, 2nd. Bt who married Helen Gibson-Wright, daughter of Alexander Gibson-Wright of Clifton Hall and Margaret Gibson, on 30 Apr 1786: Read the rest of this entry »
Sir Alexander Charles Ramsay Gibson Maitland, 3rd Bart
November 1, 2009
Just found another portrait and obituary, this time for my great great great great uncle Sir Alexander Charles Ramsay Gibson Maitland, 3rd Bart. He was the elder brother of my great great great grandfather George Ramsay Maitland.

Sir Alexander Charles Ramsay Gibson Maitland, 3rd Bart
It’d from the Old faces, old places and old stories of Stirling (1898) by William Drysdale, and I’ve included the obituary below: Read the rest of this entry »
Sir James Ramsay Gibson Maitland, 4th Baronet (1848-1897)
November 1, 2009
Just found a portrait of Sir James Ramsay Gibson Maitland, 4th Bt, while trying to find out more about Charles William William Ramsay in a PHD paper by Stephen Anthony Hill on ‘Sir James Maitland and the Howietoun Fishery, Hill’. He was the nephew of my great great great grandfather George Ramsay Maitland:

Sir James Ramsay Gibson Maitland, 4th Bt
The paper quotes Burke’s Peerage (1936) and explains how the Maitland baronetcy had been founded in 1818 when the title was awarded to General Alexander Maitland (1728-1820). Alexander was succeeded by his son, Alexander Charles (1755-1848), who, in turn, was succeeded by Sir James Maitlands father, his grandson, also Alexander Charles. Sir James Maitland had two female children, Mary (1871-1944), and Sybile who died at only 4 months of age in 1873. On his death in 1897, Sir James was succeeded by his cousin, John Nisbet Maitland (1850-1936), the only child of his father’s brother, George Ramsay (1821-1866). This is only partially correct as my great great grandfather George Keith Maitland was also a son of George Ramsay (Maitland). Read the rest of this entry »
Charles William Ramsay Ramsay of Barnton
November 1, 2009
Just found a picture of Charles William Ramsay Ramsay of Barnton by Robert Pattison, from the Freemason Collection of Portraits of Famous Masons.

Charles William Ramsay Ramsay
Charles was the last of the Ramsays of Barnton, and as the obituary from The Gentleman’s magazine, Volume (220 1866) explains below after his death from an omnibus accident his estates devolved to his cousin Sir Alexander C. Gibson-Maitland 3rd Bt.: Read the rest of this entry »
