James Ross was born in Gledfield, Ross-Shire, in the winter of 1827, the fourth child of the village blacksmith and his wife. James' birthday was the 31st of January, but there were a lot of children (12 in all) in the Ross family and it … Continue reading James Ross’s sixteenth birthday
Category: Identity
Communion season in nineteenth century Ross-Shire
It seems likely that James Ross carried the name Ferintosh to Australia with him because of a profound spiritual experience that he had at Ferintosh Burn in the 1840s when the Reverend Dr John McDonald was the minister at Urquhart, the parish which contained the … Continue reading Communion season in nineteenth century Ross-Shire
The “Preaching Dell” at Ferintosh
The note above, written by my grandmother, Winifred Ross (1901-1999), is attached to a photo of her father, William Ross (1861-1939). I have come to realise that it is not entirely accurate. For one thing I am fairly certain that William was only five when … Continue reading The “Preaching Dell” at Ferintosh
Six generations of Holfords
The backbone of this blog is my Holford ancestry, back to northern Germany (Denmark) in the late 1700s. The stories, however, are not just of the Holfords but the various individuals who have married into the line and the families from which they have originated. The … Continue reading Six generations of Holfords
Who was Gottfried Fischer (1821-1898)?
Caroline Fischer, who married my grandfather’s grandfather, John Holdorf, at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney in 1868, was the daughter of a German immigrant by the name of Gottfried and his wife Viktoria. Caroline was born in Germany, or more correctly, as far as I … Continue reading Who was Gottfried Fischer (1821-1898)?
Forgotten tales 