Reverend Alexander Silver of Dunnottar

Reverend Alexander Silver was for about 40 years the spiritual leader of Dunnottar church near Stonehaven in Scotland. He was described as “many-sided and sterling in character”. He was a larger-than-life, quick-witted individual with a keen, hands-on interest in...
Census with a Silver lining

Census with a Silver lining

Census records are a treasure trove of information for genealogists and can produce a number of ‘yes!’ moments of discovery. As census-taking improved and more information became available, the task of tracking a person or a family was also made much easier. Back in...

Piecing together this timepiece’s journey

This picture is of a pocket watch (or fob watch) manufactured sometime in the 1800s in Scotland with the name “Geo. Donald” inscribed on it. It is in the possession of descendants of James Silver who grew up in Scotland and moved to Australia in 1890 when...

Silver newspaper research

What follows is drawn from Aberdeenshire newspapers and relates to the Silver surname. Not necessarily in date order. Aberdeen Journal 23 March 1901, page 4: SILVER. – At 4 Ann Street, Stonehaven, on the 20th inst., John Silver, merchant, aged 72 years. Funeral...

Isobel Menzies Silver

Isobel Menzies Silver (1860-1934) lived with her brothers at Harvieston Farm before getting married later in life (aged 46) to a widower named John Duncan, who was the brother of Alex Duncan who’d married her eldest sister Helen and moved to England. There is a...

Alexander Silver (1858-1907)

Alexander (Sandy) Silver (1858-1907) with his wife Helen Jane Watt and the three children who survived to adulthood. Top right is Alexander (Sandy) junior, and below is John. Both these brothers died in World War 1 and only James was not called up. He moved to...