Lorna's family forest

Ann Collan¹

(13 January 1793 - 23 November 1863)

Father

James Collan^1,2,3 (say 1770 - )

Mother

Ann Portes¹ (say 1770 - )

Relationship

3rd great-grandmother of Lorna Henderson

BMDB data

Ann Collan was born on 13 Jan 1793 Duns(e), BEW, SCT

.¹ She was baptized on 29 Jan 1793 Duns(e), BEW

; entry, written sideways in margin reads:
Ann Collan lafull (sic) Daughter to James Collan and Ann portes was boren (sic) january 13 and Babtized (sic) 29th 1793 Witness John ...enie & John Anderson.¹
Ann Collan and male Davidson? were assumed not be be married as no father's name was shown on son John's dth cert, and no marriage is noted in the OPR index, neither fact being conclusive however - any marriage would likely be cir. 1817 ?Chirnside, BEW, SCT.⁴
Ann Collan married Robert Chisholm on 6 Nov 1820 Duns(e), BEW

, Robert Chisholm tailor Dunse and Ann Colvin daughter of James Colvin weaver Dunse. Witnesses: James Colvin, Sr. (bride's father) & David White.^5,6,3
Ann Chisholm died on 23 Nov 1863 Gourlays Wynd, Duns(e), BEW, SCT

, at age 70; cert. shows Ann CHISHOLM as 72 widow of Robert CHISHOLM, tailor. D/o James COLVIN, weaver & Ann PORTEOUS, both dec'd. Died 6:30pm of paralysis, a few weeks duration. Inf. Grddtr Mary Ann DODS, present. Reg. 24th Nov
Mary Ann DODS, the informant, "granddaughter, present" is assumed to be the Ann Dods living with Ann in the 1861 census.³

Meet my newfound 3*great grandma.
How wrong could I have been:
" Ann Collins was assumed to have died bef. 1841 prob. in ?Chirnside, BEW, SCT, as she was not obvious (as Collins or Davidson) in the 1841 census"

Ann has been hiding in plain view all this time. I just needed to continue following the DNA when new cousins pop up, and think a bit more laterally.
Note to self: On FamilySearch, when presented with suggested parents for a common ancestor of a group of DNA matches - look more closely, and remember the mystery ancestor on the Davidson tree which line the matches do seem to connect to.

John Davidson's mother was supposedly an Ann Collins, whom I'd never found over many years of, admittedly very intermittent, searching.
A James Colvin born 1797 Duns, and his wife Ann Kerr, are the common ancestral couple for several DNA matches across the Davidson/ Fairbiarn descendent cousins.
There's a James Colvin and Ann Porteous with a son James born 1797 Duns, who might well be one and the same couple, shown as James Collan and Ann Portes, with a daughter Ann Collan born 1793 Duns.
As I continue to explore further there are several instances in the extended family where Colvin(e) / Collin / Collan appear to be variants.

So it looks like the DNA might becoming from the Colvin side.

Now to crack who was son John's father...⁷

Census/Where lived/Occupations

Ann Chisholm appeared on the census of 1841 Castle St, Duns(e), BEW, SCT

, as CHISHOLM (no birth county shown): Ann 45; Ann 15; Jannet 15; Also John FRENCH 55 Penr army b. BEW (NB enumerators were instructed to round ages down to the nearest multiple of 5.)⁸
Ann Chisholm appeared on the census of 1851 Gourlays Wynd (90), Duns(e), BEW, SCT

, enumerated as CHISHOLM: Ann 56 widow pauper b. Dunse. Dtr Janet 24 Pauper & Laborer b. Dunse; Grddtrs: Ann DODS 7 b. Dunse; Janet CHISHOLM 7 mos b. Dunse; Visitor: Alexander GILBERT 41 outpensioner b. Dunse.⁹
Ann Chisholm appeared on the census of 1861 Gourlays Wynd (10), Duns(e), BEW, SCT

, enumerated as CHISHOLM: Ann 66 widow b. Dunse. Dtr Janet 34 b. Dunse; Grddtrs: Ann DODS 16 Domestic Serv b. Dunse; Jessie CHISHOLM 10 b. Dunse.¹⁰

Names

In 1820 her surname was recorded as Ann Colvin when she married Robert Chisholm.² Her name was also spelt Collins in 1900; on son John's dth cert.⁴

External links

Click here to see Ann's page on WikiTree, a (free) collaborative on-line tree.¹¹

Family 1

male Davidson? (say 1790 - bef. 1900)

Child

John Davidson+⁴ (cir. 1817 - Nov 1900)

Family 2

Robert Chisholm ( - bef. 1841)

Children

Ann Chisholm⁸ (cir. 1825 - )
Janet Chisholm⁹ (cir. 1827 - Oct 1880)

Charts

My pedigree chart
Ancestors & siblings of Les Henderson
Paternal ancestors of Lorna
Paternal timeline
COLVIN

Adam DAVIDSON's ancestors

Last Edited

17 Nov 2022

Citations

Scottish BMDB entries (to 1854), http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/index.php, Birth 13th bap, 29th Jan 1793 Ann COLLAN d/o James COLLAN & Ann PORTES, Duns, BEW, 735/ 40 96 Page 96 of 386, copy d/loaded Oct 2022.
Ancestry.com - Family Trees online at http://search.ancestry.com, Marr. 6 Nov 1820 Robert (tailor) CHISHOLM & Ann d/o James (weaver) COLVIN, Duns, BEW, from transcript on sysgraham tree, https://www.ancestry.com.au/family-tree/person/tree/…, extracted Oct 2022.
Scottish BMDB entries (from 1855), http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/index.php, Dth 23 Nov 1863 Ann CHISHOLM d/o James COLVIN & Ann PORTEOUS wid. of Robert CHISHOLM, reg. Duns, BEW, #61, from Anc. uploaded by sylvia graham Aug 2015, copy d/loaded Oct 2022.
John DAVIDSON, DC DAVIDSON, John, 1900 Chirnside, certified p/copy held, dated/rcvd 29 Aug 1995 (no father's name given).
Scotland: OPR index, "Scotland, Marriages 1561-1910", Marr. 6 Nov 1820 Robert CHISHOLM & Ann COLVIN, Duns, BEW, extracted Oct 2022.
Ancestry.com - Family Trees online at http://search.ancestry.com, Marr. 6 Nov1820 Robert (tailor) CHISHOLM & Ann d/o James (weaver) COLVIN, Duns, BEW, from transcript on sysgraham tree, https://www.ancestry.com.au/family-tree/person/tree/…, extracted Oct 2022.
"Lorna's Family History Musings", Oct 2022.
1841 Census transcripts, Scotland, via Ancestry.com, Duns, BEW; Par. 735; ED 4; Pg 2; hsehold of Ann CHISHOLM, extracted Oct 2022.
1851 Census transcripts, Scotland, via Ancestry.com, Duns, BEW; Par. 735; ED 1; Pg 76; Sched. 173; hsehold of Ann CHISHOLM, extracted Oct 2022.
1861 Census transcripts, Scotland, via Ancestry.com, Duns, BEW; Reg. 735; ED 1; Pg 41; Sched. 294; hsehold of Ann CHISHOLM, extracted Oct 2022.
WikiTree online at http://WikiTree.com/, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Collan-3, (was Collins-2109 uploaded Oct 2011) updated Oct 2022.

E. & O. E. Some/most parish records are rather hard to read and names, places hard to interpret, particularly if you are unfamiliar with an area.

BMD data on all rellies

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