Jun 9th, 2009

I’m back!

This site has been down for a while and I’m sorry if you’ve been trying to find it.  I’m very relieved to be back.

The Hamilton Advertiser did publish a follow up story on 4 June about the 4 Robert Bensons.  I’m still waiting for a ‘hard copy’ of the paper to arrive (it’s not available where I am) but here’s the online link to the story.

Sadly, the paper put a link to this blog in the article and by the time it appeared, the site was down so the link was dead.  I don’t know if that cost me any vital contacts.  But they also published my phone number and two people made contact that way, which was just marvellous.

I’ll write more about this later – just wanted to get the notification about the newspaper story up quickly.

May 26th, 2009

Newspaper clipping

By way of being an update to the story of the Robert Bensons, I received today a copy of the microfilmed record from the Hamilton Advertiser.  Even though I have a good copy of the photo already, there’s something exciting about seeing it in situ.  Those Bensons got a good chunk of the page, by the looks of it.

I love the edges of the copy which give a glimpse into 1933 Hamilton. Did the Hamilton Old Parish Church Girls’ Association enjoy their visit to the works? It sounds a wee bit dull, to be honest – inspecting a ruling machine in operation?

And look at those Entertainments. Green’s Playhouse, Renfield Street, Europe’s largest cinema, where none but the best talking pictures are shown.  That week’s films included If I Had a Million which tells what happens to eight otherwise unconnected people when they are picked out of the phone book by a dying multimillionaire and each endowed with a million dollars. I wonder if anyone in my photo went to the pictures to see it?

May 25th, 2009

Linlithgow burgesses

In 1840, two unlikely branches of my family met. The Bensons from Midlothian were powdermakers, miners and labourers. This group of families lived for many years in and around Glencorse. The local cemetery is stuffed with their remains, if you’ll pardon the expression. It’s easy to go sideways in the family (Robert, whose brother was Francis and who had young Francis and so on and so on) but not as simple to go backwards. The earliest person I have is the wife, Isabella, of a Benson who would have been born around 1770.

But it’s the very first Robert Benson who married a Spence. Or to be accurate, a Thom. And Margaret, the bride, was from a long line of burgesses in the Royal Burgh of Linlithgow.

When I began researching this family line, I discovered that I wasn’t alone – contacts flooded in with stacks of information.  Sadly, a lot of it turned out to be contradictory (more…)

May 19th, 2009

4 generations with 1 name

This photograph (professionally taken) is in the back garden of Retta Cottage at 2 Edward Street, Hamiton. Note the props: a rug has been flung over the fence to make a backdrop and there are potted aspidistras either side of the men. I think it was taken in or around 1933.  The photo’s purpose was to show four generations of a family all named Robert Benson. I’m currently researching where and when this picture appeared and if a story was written to accompany it.

Edit: Thanks to some fantastic help from Angela at the Reference Library in Hamilton, I now know that this picture, captioned ‘The Four Robert Bensons‘, appeared in the Hamilton Advertiser for 13 May 1933. There wasn’t a story as such, just details of who the men in the photo were. Someday I’ll go and look at the original page in the newspaper. 

The eldest Robert – he of the luxuriant mouser – was 82 here and had outlived two wives, Euphemia Baxter and Agnes Craig.  He and Euphemia had 7 children, all boys. This accounts for the masses (and I do mean masses!) of  Bensons who followed.  Had it not already been a common name in the west of Scotland, Robert’s contribution (more…)

May 12th, 2009

Who’s in the photo

This photograph sat atop this blog in its previous incarnation.  Now the blog has a new look, there’s no room for it in that position.  But it’s such a great photo I can’t not include it.

I picked it for two reasons – one, it’s got loads of relatives in it and two, I could easily make the image the right size (albeit at the expense of the poor folk at the back, who have had their heads chopped off!).

I’ll introduce you to all (more…)

May 7th, 2009

Smile for the camera

Through a Twitter contact, I saw this and immediately thought of an old photo I have of my great-great grandfather which I’m going to submit.

It’s a studio portrait from the 1930s and he’s wearing his best tweed bunnet and watch chain.  With him is his dog, whose name was Rover. I see that Rover is wearing not only a collar but what looks like an identity disc. I don’t know what occasioned the visit to the photographer in Hamilton and why he took the dog with him (more…)