Posted by Dawn-Ann on October 5, 2009
One of the things I really wanted to see when we were in Scotland last year (and which will be on my must-see list for our next visit) was Rosslyn Chapel. This gorgeous structure has become the topic of much debate and even some controversy over recent years. The St. Clair family (now more commonly known as Sinclair) began work on the chapel back in 1446.
One of the first St. Clairs to settle in Scotland was allegedly “William the Seemly.” He is said to have brought a portion of the True Cross or ‘Holy Rood’ to Scotland, according to the Rosslyn Chapel website. Wikipedia says that in a later generation, William Sinclair, Second Earl of Caithness, was “the person reputed to have brought Enochian Magick to Scotland.” Whoa!
Believe it or not, there is a Kirkpatrick connection to Rosslyn, found in the marriage of Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick to Margaret Sinclair, daughter of the famous St. Clairs. Here is what Alexander de Lapere Kirkpatrick has to say in his Chronicles of the Kirkpatrick Family, published in the 1800’s:
Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick of Closeburn [son of Henry, who married Dame Elizabeth Grierson, daughter of the Baron of Lagg] m. Margaret Sinclair, dau. of the Lord of Rosslyn, d. 1515, succeeded by his only son, Thomas…
There sure were a lot of Thomas Kirkpatricks back then – and Rogers!
More about Sir Thomas is given in Records of the Closeburn Kirkpatricks, written by Major-General C. Kirkpatrick in the early 1900’s. He says:
Thomas was taken prisoner at the battle of Solway Moss 1542. He married Dame Margaret Sinclair, daughter of the second Earl of Caithness [the Enochian Magick guy mentioned above]. According to sasine record he was succeeded by his son Roger.
But here’s where it gets confusing. The Chronicles, quoted above, says that our Sir Thomas died in 1515 and Burke’s Landed Gentry of Scotland agrees. But this quote says he was captured in 1542, which would have been impossible if he died in 1515, and Kirkpatrick of Closeburn (unknown author) says it was Sir Thomas’ son, another Thomas, who married Margaret Sinclair:
Sir Thomas, who, on the 22nd June, 1515, got a Brief from the King’s Chancery to be served heir to his father, married Margaret Sinclair, daughter of the second Earl of Caithness, who was killed at the battle of Flodden, 1513, and sister of the third Earl who was killed in an unsuccessful attempt to obtain possession of the Orkney islands, to which he alleged a claim…
Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick was one of that convention of Prelates, Earls, and great Barons, appointed to meet in Edinburgh, 24th June 1545, (Keith’s History) which led to the signal successes of that year, when the English army was defeated at Ancram, their generals killed, and above 1000 men made prisoners; which was followed up by an inroad into England, and avenged by the Earl of Hertford, who ravaged the western borders of Scotland; the result being great misery inflicted on both countries, without any advantage to either.
He died in 1560, without issue [offspring], and was succeeded by his nephew Roger. In the following year his widow, Dame Margaret Sinclair Lady Closeburn, granted a discharge of her jointure, to her dearest and best beloved nephew, Roger Kirkpatrick of Closeburn.
Because of the detail of this last quote, my inclination is to accept it as the accurate one, but more research will be needed to prove it.
Not much else is known of Dame Margaret but here’s an interesting tidbit; Margaret Trudeau, wife of the late Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau, was also Margaret Sinclair. I wonder if there’s a connection.
Posted by Dawn-Ann on October 4, 2009
Sir Walter Scott memorial in Edinburgh
One of the highlights of our trip to Scotland last year was Edinburgh. We happened to hit town during the Fringe Festival and the music, people and vibrant sights are burned in my memory (and stored on my harddrive) forever.
The Scots are brilliant and resourceful, so it comes as no surprise that they are eying urban agriculture as an important way to address “the many problems associated with the globalisation of the food system, urbanisation and increasingly intensified agriculture.”
According to the summary of Jake Butcher’s dissertation to the University of Edinburgh, a “recent increase in urban food production has been stimulated by both the recognised advantages which it brings in terms of health, recreation and urban sustainability and by the solution which it represents to the many problems associated with the globalisation of the food system, urbanisation and increasingly intensified agriculture.”
Read more here
Edinburgh’s “Allotments” program in more detail
Posted by Dawn-Ann on September 14, 2009
It’s so interesting to analyze where my blog visitors are coming from and what they’re looking for. I recently had a look and here is how some people are finding my site:
- Kirkpatrick family research (definitely the number one hit-maker!)
- Facebook profile
- Links from my email signature line
- Searching for something I’ve written about, such as wee homes or urban homesteading
- Some people have even started searching for me by name
One person has even stolen one of my pictures already. I’ve now hit the big time. I’m a real blogger!
Here is a cool map that Statcounter has generated for me showing all the places my readers come from. Welcome to each and every one of you!
Posted by Dawn-Ann on September 12, 2009
It was a gorgeous, blue-sky morning and I stopped at A&W for a bacon and egger before heading up to the garage sale. I hit every green light along the way and took it as a good omen. Although my sister B.J. has been so ill, my heart was light and I felt optimistic. Usually an event like this that uses a whole, precious calendar day would be met with a little apprehension as I thought about everything else I could be doing, but today I thought only of the task at hand, the prospect of sharing my day with people I love, and making as much money as possible for B.J.’s trust fund.
A big, friendly dragonfly came and hung around with us for a short while.
As early as I was, I wasn’t the first to arrive. Amanda was there already, unloading stuff from her truck and organizing a large collection of bottles for the bottle drive. There were bags and bags of them! I wished I had brought my bag – maybe tomorrow.
I immediately got busy setting up tables and organizing merchandise. Several families had contributed to the cause and we had a LOT of stuff. I despaired that we’d never sell it all but needn’t have worried. Folks started arriving earlier than the posted time and came in waves. Sometimes there would be no one and then – WHOOM – there would be five or six cars cramming into the narrow alleyway.
And we sat and sat all day, taking money and chatting up visitors. More than one kind soul paid more than the asking price because it was a fundraiser. We ate Chris’ delightful cookies and yakked our faces off. One sister did a coffee run to Timmy’s. I snagged a couple of books I wanted (including Dog the Bounty Hunter’s biography
and a book of poetry to read to B.J.) and a Gazelle
. We cheerfully let ourselves get talked down in price and watched people cart it away.
And we had some exciting news – two different people had been to see B.J. that morning and both reported that her eyes had been WIDE open and that she turned her head to look at them! Everyone was pretty tickled to hear that.
There was still a lot of stuff left over when we shut ‘er down tonight but tomorrow is another day. Let’s hope we move the washer and dryer and filing cabinet so we don’t have to haul them to the dump!
Thanks to everyone who contributed goods, donated money, assisted with sweat equity and cheered us on. It was a team effort of the best kind and we are grateful for your help.
Posted by Dawn-Ann on September 7, 2009
In my search for the “missing link” between my family and the Kirkpatricks of old, I think I may have found George of Knock Kirkpatrick who was one of the “Covenanters” who fled to Ireland in 1690. Our family tradition hints that James “The Immigrant” Kirkpatrick came with his brothers from Ireland and I have found a trace of a trail between him and ol’ George of Knock, but that will need to be confirmed.
Here is a bit about George, taken from Chronicles of the Kirkpatrick Family by Alexander de Lapere Kirkpatrick, written in the 1800s.
George Kirkpatrick of Knock, eldest son of William, last Lord of Kirkmichael, was an officer in King William’s army during the early years of his life. At first sight this fact seems difficult to reconcile with the family affection towards the House of Stuart; but Scottish History tells us of the terrible woes of the Covenanters and the awful persecution that raged throughout Scotland from 1661 to 1688 … no portion of the country suffered more severely than Dumfrieshire and Galloway.
…[George of Knock] first came to Ireland in 1690, “in the ship that broke the Boom acrss Derry Harbour,” being then nineteen years of age, an officer, several of his kinsfolk, the Kirkpatricks of Larne, and the Wilsons had settled in this country at the time.
At Mrs. Wilson’s, 32 Elgin Road, Dublin, are two ancient wooden arm chairs that were brought over from Scotland by their Wilson and Kirkpatrick forbears, the two families having intermarried at that date, according to the Wilson family tree. One Miss Kirkpatrick that married a Wilson, is said to have been endowed with second sight. [Dawn's note: does it run in the family?]
George left the army with the rank of major, and settled down at Knock, where Mr. Campbell Gracie remarks, “he took an active interest in the affairs of his Church at Garrell,” a trait that has re-appeared in several of his descendants. His is buried in the Kirkyard there in the same grave as his father and beside his brother Robert of Glenkila, who was beheaded for his adherence to Prince Charles Edward.
In 1861, the tombstone was in good preservation, and the inscription read -
Here lies the corps of
WILLIAM KIRKPATRICK
who departed this life
9th June, 1686.
(Here the Coat of Arms is engraved in high relief)
His eldest son, GEORGE OF KNOCK
who departed this life, 1738,
aged 67 years.
George of Knock had four sons – George, William, Alexander and Robert, and three daughters – Anne, Grizzel and Joane.
The book goes on to describe the son Alexander’s marriage and offspring, but little is said about the other children and what became of them.
The reason I am not 100 percent certain that ol’ George of Knock is our connection is that family tradition, according to jpkirkpatrick.com, says this: “The tradition of the descendants of James Kirkpatrick … are that this is a Scottish family that moved to North Ireland, in a ‘neck-saving’ operation… It had been believed that in 1746, James migrated to Northern Ireland with his father and five brothers. (New information has been found to show that James and his four brothers migrated from Belfast, Ireland to the colonies in 1736. Originally it was believed that two younger brothers, Andrew and Alexander had left Scotland about this time and came to the colonies, while the remainder of the family migrated to N. Ireland, and thence came to the colonies in the later years. Evidence now shows that the family had moved to N. Ireland in 1725, and thence to the Americas in 1736.)”
However, those dates don’t jibe with George’s and therein lies the mystery. If the persecution in Scotland took place from 1661 to 1688 and George of Knock moved to Belfast in 1680, how is James the Immigrant connected? I feel fairly certain there is a connection there somewhere but will need to do more homework.
Posted by Dawn-Ann on September 6, 2009
B.J. as a young girl.
Isn’t it so incredible how life can blind-side you sometimes? One day you’re going about your business and the next you are immersed in a crisis of great proportions and your whole life is changed. No, wait. One minute you’re going about your business and the next minute you get “the call.”
Three weeks ago my beautiful sister “B.J.” landed herself in ICU, where she is to this day. Her poor body ravaged by the effects of sepsis, she struggles daily for her life – but oh what a fighter she is! The doctor told us she had something like 4% odds a couple of days in and now, three weeks later, the odds are more like 50/50. But it’s going to be a long, hard climb for poor B.J. and she will likely have some severe physical challenges when she comes through. Still, we are remaining upbeat and optimistic as much as we can and surrounding her daughters and Doug, her fella, with love.
I have been charged with sending email updates to all those who can’t be here, so that gives me something to focus on; my little bit of helping instead of feeling helpless. Our tremendous family has banded around and helped pay up the utilities, keep the house clean, drive the girls around and miscellaneous odd things. Many, many prayers are being said and those who can are also performing Reiki and other types of energy healing – up close and from a distance. A fundraising garage sale is being planned and bottle drives have already begun.
All of this is being done with strength, smarts and humour because that’s the Kirkpatrick way. We laugh. We cry. But we roll up our sleeves and “git ‘er done.”
Tomorrow my remaining upright sisters and I are getting together for dessert at the Cheesecake Cafe. Our purpose? To appreciate the dickens out of each other while we still can, to celebrate sisters, and to honour B.J.’s immense bravery and strength as she moves through this tragedy. I’m sure she’ll be joining us in spirit.
With any luck, you’ll be reading about a very happy ending right here. Watch for it.
Posted by Dawn-Ann on August 27, 2009
Here’s some more on the multitasking front, proving that once again, I’m right. (When will you people LEARN?) This new article talks about tests someone did on students who multitask the most and those who multitask the least.
In every test, students who spent less time simultaneously reading e-mail, surfing the web, talking on the phone and watching TV performed best.
I have always kind of suspected that all the sensory input we receive in a normal day of TV, texting, email and video affected our thought structures and memory, but this seems to be proof. However, the six-dollar question is: do people who multitask more become more scattered or are more scattered people more likely to thrive on multitasking? That remains to be seen.
Read: Multitasking Muddles Brains, Even When the Computer is Off
Posted by Dawn-Ann on July 26, 2009
I don’t know a lot of people who maintain blogs (although, I think the number may be higher than I am aware of), but some of my friends and passers by may get something out of this. It’s a cute article called Romancing your blog and it’s packed with a lot of great suggestions for how to improve your blog work. Suggestions like: Look At Your Blog As A Long-Term Commitment; Trying To Juggle More Than One Blog Is Dangerous; and, Share What’s Great About Your Blog With The World.
Worth a look, I’d say!
Posted by Dawn-Ann on July 25, 2009
Google’s new Wave, coming soon, has had me intrigued from the first time I saw the video. I plan to be one of the first in line to try it out and just can’t wait for the day.
So I was gratified to read Dion Hinchcliffe’s article on his first experiences with Wave. Although Dion is looking at the product from a business perspective (as an enterprise solution) and I am looking at it from a social perspective (to replace Facebook), he has some valuable insights to share.
Have a read. Bottom line – I’m even more excited than I was before!
Posted by Dawn-Ann on July 3, 2009
Samuel Davidson Kirkpatrick as a young man, probably around the time he is writing about here
I am preparing a family history binder for the Kirkpatrick Family Reunion this weekend and was reading some of Great Uncle Sam’s writings last night. Uncle Sam was a prolific writer and his stories are a boon to anyone trying to put together local family history. He was born and raised in the interior of British Columbia. His father, Thomas Gilham Kirkpatrick, is considered the “patriarch” of our branch of the clan.
I thought I’d pass along this passage, as it shows a bit about both the Kirkpatrick sense of fun and their pioneer spirit. I tidied up the spelling and grammar to make it a bit smoother to read. By the way, the “Jim” in this story is James Douglas Kirkpatrick. Enjoy!
On Sunday I went with John Sr. and his cowboys. We coralled a buch of wild horses and brought in a half dozen to be broke to the saddle. Every night after supper the Indians gathered around and their best buckaroos rode those wild horses. They put on a miniature rodeo.
There was a big crowd on hand and they all enjoyed the fun. Those riders were game and very seldom thrown. Of course, they did not comply with the rules of our modern stampedes, but they put on a good show. There were no shutes; the horse was brought out to the center of the yard with just a neck rope and a hackamor. He was snubbed to the saddle of another rider and a blindfold tied over his eyes. Then a cowboy grabbed the horse’s ears and pulled his head down between his elbows and held him while the saddle was cinched on. The rider stepped up, pulled his hat good and tight, then mounted. He grabbed the horn with both hands and shouted, “Let ‘er go, Gallagher!” The blind was pulled free and they were in action.
The rider usually lost his hat on about the second jump, as when a rider pulls leather his head is bound to flop.
By this time I was thinking about heading for home but Jim said wait another week. I want to take you on a grizzly bear hunt next Sunday. This appealed to me, as I had a rifle that I was proud of, so I remained another week.
Jim, John [Bowe] and I went out Saturday evening to what was known as the Milk Ranch, about 12 miles east. An Indian reported to Jim that a steer had been killed out there by a grizzly bear. We stayed overnight. There was a cabin, a barn and a fenced pasture.
We were up before daybreak and went on foot to where the steer had been killed, but there was nothing left but bones. The bears would not be back, so after breakfast we saddled up and Jim took us out to where he had killed a huge grizzly a month or so before. The coyotes had done a good job on that carcass.
Then we separated and roamed the back country, hoping we would spot a bear, or perhaps another kill, but found nothing. It was easy going through open timber with small meadows and pools of water where we saw bear tracks, but no bears. After lunch at the cabin, we headed for the Home Ranch. Again we separated to see what we could find. There were plenty of live cattle but no dead ones. We had no luck, but had a fine trip and I saw a lot of ideal cattle country.
I expressed my intention of leaving soon. The folks wanted a day or so to make orders for things needed that could be sent out from Clinton by the weekly stage. They gave everyone a chance to add to the list, so it was agreed that I would pull out Wednesday.
On the last evening we had a football game. Jim had got in some balls the year before and taught the Indians the rules of the game. They were eager and soon became experts in maneuvering a ball with their feet.
The playing field was from near the ranch house north. Jim said, “Okay, we will have a short game; 30 minutes without changing ends.” Sides were chosen; I was among them. The rules called for 11 men a side, but I’ll swear there were 20 a side in this game. Jim did not play; he was to be the referee.
We took the field. Jim tooted his whistle and the game was away to a flying start. Within minutes, positions were ignored and rules were forgotten. Everybody chased the ball. There were so many players on the field you couldn’t drive the ball without hitting someone. The old chief sat on a post near the barn, shouting at the top of his voice in his own language. It seemed everybody was shouting orders to their partners and no one was listening. One minute the whole gang was rushing towards the north pole and the next minute they were like a flock of geese heading south. One man got a black eye when hit by the ball. Very often one man kicked another instead of the ball, but the Indians all wore moccasins so there was never anyone hurt. I was kicked twice on the shins, once on the rear end, but I rushed madly on.
I wanted to get a kick at that ball. Sad to say I only got one chance, then I missed as the ball was breaking all speed limits at the time, heading towards the enemy fullback, who sent the ball high over the gang near our goal and resulted in a goal being scored a short time later. Time was running out on us. The game went on and it seemed to me our team was tiring. We lost ground and it was our goaltender that turned the tables, making a long pass down the field, where a couple of our boys took posession of the ball. Then, after a brilliant display of the Highland Fling, a bit of hopscotch and a final twist, a goal was scored and the game tied and one and all, everyone was satisfied. The Indians went up the road, all talking and laughing. The old chief with his cap in his hand was still shouting at the top of his voice. So the knowledge and pleasure that was brought to those people by brother Jim will never be forgotten.
Well, that ended my visit at Alkali Lake and, believe it or not, this happened 65 years ago [ca. 1900].
