Immigrants and Emigrants

Last Sunday's programme, the second of the new episodes of 'Digging up Your Roots', which is broadcast on 92-95 FM every Sunday at midday until 21 February was of wide ranging interest about both emigrants and immigrants.

If you missed this, it will also be available as a podcast.

The first article concerned Ludovic Grant, son of William Grant of Creichie (near Fyvie, in Aberdeenshire), who as a Jacobite soldier in 1715 was captured at the Battle of Preston and sent to America, like many other Jacobite prisoners in 1715 (and in 1745). He served 7 years indenture there, became a trader with the Cherokee providing tools, cloth and beads, married a Cherokee and they had a daughter. There were interesting notes on Cherokee marriage customs. However, Ludovic had married in 1710, and his first wife, Margaret, sued in court in 1736 for a process of adherence.

In spite of his father being a laird, he was bankrupt, so Ludovic had no estate to come back to.

Other Scots married into native American Indian tribes.

The next article was about Adam Marr who emigrated to Australia from Leith, sailing in December 1841, as a bounty immigrant, working initially as a servant, becoming a bookseller later.
Apparently, from 1828 onwards, fewer convicts were being transported, so there was a strong need for labour in Australia. If I've understood them correctly, private settlers in Australia sponsored immigrants' passages, and the Government eventually refunded the settlers. 70,000 bounty immigrants left between 1828 and 1842.

Useful sites mentioned were genealogylinks.net/australia, immigrantships.net, pilot.familysearch.org, the Scottish Emigration Database containing 21,000 passengers, and the ubiquitous ancestry.co.uk which has a list of bounty immigrants.

Other articles were about the surname Florence, with the recommendation that if you are interested in a single surname, you should look at the Guild of One-Name Studies, and also at clan sites - there's a list at rampantscotland.com/clans.

Marjory Harper mentioned a report that half the ranch-hands in Montana, USA, in the 1930s were of Scottish descent, and on Saturdays in the bars they talked in Gaelic.

Write to: Digging Up Your Roots, BBC Radio Scotland, Beechgrove Terrace, Aberdeen, AB15 5ZT or email them at diggingupyourroots@bbc.co.uk , or phone them on 0500 92 95 00, for help with your family history.

Next Sunday's talk is on deaths, and a deputy bank governor with 67 illegitimate children. I wonder whether they all got Christmas presents from him ?

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