John Haddon's Trip Around the World in 1882

I found yesterday's talk after the AGM very interesting.

The speaker, Andrew Haddon, told us a bit about the family tree. John was descended from Andrew Haddon (born 1690) a flesher or butcher in Selkirk.

John's father was another Andrew Haddon (1818-1894), his mother was Anne White (1821-1878) and John had 10 siblings.

Andrew showed us two books written by John, 'A Doctor's Discovery and the Elixir of Life' and 'Diary of a Trip Around the World in 1882'. The latter book was reprinted from the Hawick News.

John became a well-to-do doctor with a thriving practice in Manchester, but after an illness, he decided to go around the world to recover.

Initially, he crossed the Atlantic in the SS Parisian (it didn't look like a luxury ship). He visited various places in Canada and in the USA including Chicago, Salt Lake City, San Francisco; he was very impressed by the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and said it would one day be the best hospital in the world. He also visited the Sandwich Islands (now called Hawaii), Samoa, New Zealand and Australia. He met fellow Scots, including Kentucky senator James Burnie Beck.

There was a lot more but unfortunately my pen dried up about halfway through the talk,

MI recording at Peebles today

Just had a busy day at Peebles, recording the Monumental Inscriptions.  It was still a bit drizzly early on but by 10am, it had turned into a dry day.  Still not very warm, though.  Gloves should have been added to the kit.

We made a good start on one of the older sections, close to St Andrew’s Tower.  There are some very interesting symbolic stones, still standing after more than 200 years, and even though some of the inscriptions may no longer be legible, the quality and detail of the carving are quite remarkable.   

The stone on the attached photograph is one of the later ones, erected in memory of Agnes Cushny in 1809.  Photographs of some of the most interesting stones can be seen at http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk. 

Now all I need to do is try to decipher my handwriting and type up the MI’s  - and a few warmer sunnier days during the summer would be nice as well.  

Births, Marriages and Deaths in British India

The Families In British India Society, is building a database of intimations in the Times of India newspapers. The database currently contains births, marriages and deaths from 25th July 1859 to 1909.
It took me a long time to spot the surname search for this database, so I've ringed it in red on the picture. It would be nice to be able to search it for a place or a first name as well as a surname but that's not possible, so for a common name you may have to look through a lot of entries. Search the Times of India births, marriages and deaths for yourself.

I looked for my great grandfather, Luke Golding, but he’s not listed so that suggests that although he lived there as a young boy, he wasn’t born in India.


Our latest volume, Coldingham Monumental Inscriptions is now available.

Read our Kith & Kin column every week in the Border Telegraph and Peeblesshire News newspapers.

Dr John Haddon of Hawick's World Trip in 1882 and Annual General Meeting

Our next talk is on Sunday, 27th May at 2.30pm, in the Corn Exchange, Market Square, Melrose, TD6 9PN, when Andrew Haddon will be talking to us about his ancestor, Dr John Haddon of Hawick, Roxburghshire, who took a break from his career at the age of 37, after a bout of illness, and embarked on a 'round the world trip' in 1882 that saw him travel across the Atlantic through America and Canada and across the Pacific. This journey was serialised at the time in the Hawick Express.

His descendant, Andrew Haddon will give a talk, with pictures, retracing his steps and touching upon the social insight it provided into the world of that time and recounting tales of the Borderers he met on his journey.

The talk is preceded by our annual general meeting. In addition to the usual reports we'll be discussing the proposed change to our constitution.

I warmly invite you to attend the talk whether you are a member or not.
The doors will be open at 2pm; the talk begins at after the annual general meeting.
It’s free, so we hope to see lots of you there.
We'll have a range of family history and other publications to buy.

As usual there’ll be tea, coffee, and biscuits available after the talk.
We’ll also be making the monthly 50-50 draw at the meeting.
If you have a problem with your family history, please discuss it (no charge) with one of our volunteers.

If you're not familiar with Melrose, here's a map.


Our latest volume, Coldingham Monumental Inscriptions is available.

Read our Kith & Kin column every week in the Border Telegraph and Peeblesshire News newspapers.

Gravestone Recording at Peebles St Andrews Cemetery

This Saturday (19th May), we’ll be at St Andrews Cemetery, Peebles, Peeblesshire  from 10am to 4pm to record gravestone inscriptions and take photos.

If you have not been to a previous transcribing session - don't worry, you will be made very welcome and full training will be given.
Bring along a notebook and pen/pencil, a kneeling pad, a light brush and some chalk (optional).
Most people coming for the whole day bring along a picnic, and a bottle of water; deciphering faded and weathered inscriptions can be thirsty work.
If preferred, the Neidpath Inn is a few minutes walk back towards the town and does bar lunches. Beyond the inn, Forsyth the baker's has a shop; there's a Coop store just beyond that and beyond that is Rambler's cafe, part of the Castle Warehouse store. If you are looking for something special - just round the corner from Ramblers is Cocoa Black on the bridge - award winning chocolatier with cakes and sandwiches as well.

It's wonderful if you can manage the whole day, but if that's too long for you, no problems at all - all assistance on the day is very welcome.
Although you can just turn up, it can be helpful if you could let Ronald know, in advance, via our Contacts page using the contact type Gravestone Recording.

We’re looking forward to catching up with you and meeting some new faces.

Getting there: Go out of Peebles on the Glasgow Road (also known as Old Town Road/Neidpath Road/A72) and the cemetery is on the right hand side opposite the entrance to the Park/medical centre. It is about a 5 minute walk from the end of the High Street. Map.

Change to Borders Family History Society's Constitution

Old Gala House

For many years Borders Family History Society has used the Laird's Room at Old Gala House, Galashiels for its archive, library and search room.  We need more space as we've outgrown the Laird's Room and a lot of our other property is stored in members' homes or businesses.  In addition, changes at Scottish Borders Council mean that our current arrangement to use Old Gala House is likely to change.
The Premises Committee has been re-activated and is looking out for a suitable
property in the central Borders.
One issue that needs to be addressed is the legal status of the Society.

Borders Family History Society is an unincorporated association.
Legally it has no separate existence; it is merely a collection of people who own its assets and are responsible for its debts.  The Society cannot sign contracts in its own right and owning its own premises is difficult.  This structure has served us well for over 25 years but it is time to consider a change to become an incorporated organisation.  This would allow the Society to sign contracts and own property in its own right.  It would also mean that the members would no longer be responsible for the Society's debts.

The most appropriate structure to adopt would be that of a Scottish Charitable
Incorporated Organisation (SCIO).  This gives the Society the benefits of
incorporation but means that there would only be one regulator  - the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) with whom we are already familiar as a registered Scottish charity, to deal with.

If the Society wishes to go down this route then the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 27th May 2012 must adopt a new constitution.  To comply with the legal requirements for a SCIO, this new constitution is a much longer and more complex document than the current constitution.

Here are the links for the current constitution and the new constitution.

Since we will want to retain the name Borders Family History Society the current
organisation must be disbanded and its assets transferred to the new SCIO.

At the AGM, I will be proposing two motions:
1. This meeting agrees that Borders Family History Society should become an
incorporated organisation.
2. This meeting wishes to adopt the constitution for Borders Family History Society (SCIO) before it, authorises the Council to make changes in the light of
recommendations, and changes required by OSCR and otherwise as it thinks fit and
agrees that once OSCR has approved the formation of Borders Family History
Society (SCIO), the Council  be empowered to disband the existing unincorporated
Borders Family History Society and transfer its assets to the new organisation.
[Note that if motion 1 fails then there will be no need to discuss Motion 2.]

These motions have the support of the Council of Borders Family History Society.

If having read this email and the proposed new constitution, you have any questions,
please do not hesitate to contact me via our Contacts page selecting the contact type Contact the Chairman.

David Rudram,
Chairman