Ronald Drysdale's Page

Thanks, Ron. What little sleuthing I've done has been hampered by my lack of familiarity with the records in Ireland and Scotland. Plus, I've heard that many records were destroyed over the years.

Thank you, Ron. The earliest ancestor about whom I am certain is James Francis Drysdale, b. ca. 1835 in New Albany, Ind. (I have documented his and his family's subsequent lives fairly extensively.) James' parents almost certainly were Thomas (~1786-1850) & Martha (~1795-1849) Drysdale, landing in New Albany ca. 1825. Both are buried there. They apparently had several children, likely including dau. Nancy E. whose obit states she was b. ~1814 in Co. Down, Ire. There were numerous other Drysdales living along the Ohio R., in the 1820s and beyond, but their relationships are not clear at this point. So, my assumption is that Thomas & Martha, along with their earlier children, emigrated from Ireland. Where and when they may have been before that is an open question. I have always assumed they and/or their ancestors originated somewhere in Scotland, Dryfs R. area per the historical legends, but that path is totally obscure. Thanks for your interest, I'll appreciate any info or suggestions you may have!

Re: William Drysdale 1748-1815 - we have that he was born in Belville so that's helpful to know that was a name of a farm as we couldn't find a town of that name! But we have that he died in Great Tosson.

About our version of the 1503 incident, I've transcribed it from the hand-written text - I'll send you a message about it soon, as I'm concerned about possible errors and don't want to post until I've better verified it.

Well I'm the fortunate beneficiary of all your hard work Ronald!! Deeply grateful, thank you.

I'm trying to squeeze a few minutes in here and there to keep up with all the info... just fascinating! 

Very grateful for your work! I just joined this group days ago and am stunned how helpful you have been! I have a lot more info to add to the familysearch.org site, I just put in the minimal. My uncle had done a fair amount of work on our family tree back 50 years ago that I can enter and these documents you keep finding are thrilling to see! One thing, however, is my family was fairly convinced of the Douglas connection via the 1503 incident. I've read the debate about it in the link you posted and realize that there could be errors that have crept into the account over the past 500 years. Our version has a few differences (the Johnstone residence was called "Ewe Hill" rather than "Greenston(e) Hill" for example). So I am hopeful to find that family connection to the brothers Thomas, William and James "Drysdale" (Douglas).

OK, getting confused!
1. For James Drysdale, on your chart, the marriage date 1745 is AFTER the death date 1727

2. Adding my info on familysearch.org is a bit of a challenge. For example, I can't edit once I've entered (or the editing is limited... I've entered two of me and can't delete one or I'm trying to correct a name (Margaret Drysdale not Beech until after she was married). Also, suggestions came up from other people's info which was connected but with your recent info that you've added, I can't seem to hook up to it.

OMG - this is incredible info!! How can I thank you? Very exciting... I'm just thrilled! I never expected that this info would be available... So eager to look at everything, thank you!

Thank you Ronald Drysdale for the warm welcome and the links to fascinating information!

Answer to your question of my earliest known Drysdale ancestor - My great x4 grandfather was William Drysdale (1748-1815). He had two brothers, John & Alexander. He married Barbara Walker. We know his (Drysdale) father lived in Dunbar & Innerwick, but don't have a first name or date of birth/death for him.

thank you so much, Ronald and William. That's definately our family line with all the information. best regards, Sue Douglas