Rathen Archives - Geneageek

Further Pedigree Collapse

I previously posted about ‘cousin marriage’ and ‘pedigree collapse’ in my tree here.

I had wondered what effect two less ancestors would have on the ancestor count in my family tree. It turned out, two less ancestors meant that in 17 generations I had 254 less ancestors.

I’ve now discovered another cousin marriage in my tree.

My 4th great-grandparents, Arthur Buchan and Agnes Buchan, married at Rathen, Aberdeenshire in 1828. Their fathers were brothers (as shown in the diagram below).

My pedigree is now only typical until the 8th generation, where I lose two 5x great grandparents, which leads to the loss of another 2046 ancestors by the 17th generation.

My ancestor count now looks like this:

Generation	Relationship	Typical Number	My Number	Ancestors Lost
1	Me
2	Parents	2	2
3	Grandparents	4	4
4	1x Great grandparents	8	8
5	2x Great grandparents	16	16
6	3x Great grandparents	32	32
7	4x Great grandparents	64	64
8	5x Great grandparents	128	126	-2
9	6x Great grandparents	256	252	-4
10	7x Great grandparents	512	504	-8
11	8x Great grandparents	1024	1006	-16-2
12	9x Great grandparents	2048	2012	-32-4
13	10x Great grandparents	4096	4024	-64-8
14	11x Great grandparents	8192	8048	-128-16
15	12x Great grandparents	16384	16096	-256-32
16	13x Great grandparents	32768	31562	-512-64
17	14x Great grandparents	65536	64384	-1024-128
TOTAL		131070	128770	-2300

If I find any more, I will make sure to update.

(If you believe that I have actually calculated incorrectly, please let me know!)

On 26 October 1859, cousins Andrew Buchan (23) and Robert Buchan (17), drowned when their boat was overturned by a strong wind in deep water (Robert was incorrectly named Arthur in the article). The cause of death given on their death records was, “Drowning Near the Boat Shore”. John Buchan, Andrew’s brother, certified that both were buried at St Combs Churchyard.

clipping from newspaper — Aberdeen Journal, 5 October 1859, p3, c6

Their fathers, Andrew Buchan and Arthur Buchan, were brothers. Arthur Buchan, father of 23-year-old Andrew, was my 4th great grandfather; and brother of my 3rd great-grandmother, Helen Buchan. Helen was 19 when her older brother, and younger cousin, drowned (she would marry James Findlay two years later). I can only imagine the devastating effect this tragedy had on the family.

Andrew was the one who “left a widow to lament his fate”. He was described as ‘married’ on his death record, but infuriatingly did not give his wife’s name. There was a likely 1857 marriage record to an Isabella Buchan in Rathen, but it was difficult to establish which of the many Isabella Buchans this could have been.

image of two entries in the death register of Lonmay parish, Aberdeen — Death Records of Andrew and Robert Buchan (1859)

I had to cough up the credits and order the marriage record to make sure it was the right one. Sure enough, Andrew’s parents were recorded, confirming it was the correct people. Isabella’s parents were also recorded but leads to another issue… which of the many ‘William Buchan and Elizabeth Duthie’ couples are they?

A Family of Lunatics!

I received the case notes for Wilson BUCHAN today. The contents were very interesting. Wilson’s case is sad but what strikes me from these notes is that the sense of family was very strong. It also strikes me that insanity very much runs in my family.

On the 17th June 1875, Wilson BUCHAN was admitted in the Royal Aberdeen Lunatic Asylum.

I can almost visualise Wilson – his description was more unique than that given for his sister Agnes. At age 60, he was a short man with a square, stooping figure. His eyes were black, his hair grey with a bald scalp and his complexion ruddy.

His history upon admission reads:

The present attack , supposed to be the first, has lasted for eight months during which time he has twice attempted suicide. There is a strong hereditary predisposition to insanity, his father committed suicide, his sister Mrs James Tait was in this Asylum two years ago, and his nephew James Third is at present a patient here.
According to the medical certificates, he distresses himself unreasonably about his wife’s death, will not engage in his ordinary occupation, imagines that the Police are to apprehend him for murder & stealing, talks of committing suicide and has been found with a rope round his neck.

On the 7th October 1876, Wilson was “Removed by his friends – Much Improved”.

I have become even more interested in these small fishing villages where everyone seems to be related and plan to do a bit more research on them.

Other facts I have managed to glean from these records:

Wilson’s wife died before June 1875 (this was unclear on his death record)
his father (& Agnes’) committed suicide
a sister Mrs James TAIT (also Agnes’ sister) was in the asylum two years ago,
a nephew, James THIRD presently in the Asylum
a son John Buchan (and his address – 91 Cairnbulg)
3 daughters – Mrs Mary BUCHAN or Stephen; Mrs Robert STEPHEN; Christian BUCHAN

Next Steps:

Work out his sister’s & daughter’s names by finding their marriages
Gain more information about the locality (map of houses)

image above via flickr