Number 21

At last. I could participate timely in Randy Seaver’s “Saturday Night Fun” http://www.geneamusings.com/. That’s because this particular Saturday night I was not at the opera to see Fidelio or even at the local cinema, or favourite of all, dining out au celebrity chef du jour. Something askew with my social calendar. Not that the offerings at the local cinema---various Oscar nominations---are that appealing. It’s all personal, of course, and one must read all the reviews before committing oneself to popcorn with ersatz “topping” on it. Must say the opera house sadly lacks popcorn.

I digress. Not having anywhere even remotely handy a pedigree chart or ahnentafel, I had to scramble around without leaving my desk to find ancestor #21. There she is. The paternal grandmother of my father's mother. Flory McLean. McLean or Maclean or numerous howevers. Randy has vital stats for his #21. I don’t (whine).

My Flory came and went. Her few recorded moments in history were, sources available upon request:
a) mother of Laughlin McFadyen baptized 30 November 1798 at Toraston, Isle of Coll;
b) mother of Angus McFadyen baptized 16 May 1801 at Toraston, Isle of Coll;
c) mother of Anne McFadyen baptized 3 February 1811 at Toraston, Isle of Coll;
d) mother of John McFadyen baptized 2 June 1816 at Toraston, Isle of Coll;
e) mother of Angus McFadyen baptized 15 June 1819 at Claid, Isle of Coll;
d) on the passenger list of the ship St. Lawrence, age 50, sailing from Tobermory, Scotland, for Ship Harbour (Cape Breton), Nova Scotia, on 12 July 1828.

When you come right down to it, I can’t even write a blog about Flory, who was formally called Flora at the baptismal times. If you ever tried researching Highland Scots before the Presbyterians got serious about keeping track of vital events, you know what I’m dealing with. On the small island of Coll in Argyllshire, the name Flora McLean was what you could call a dime a dozen. Like every other name there. Family tradition ruled out imagination in naming children. But genealogists are a persistent bunch. Eventually the torch will pass to—yoo-hoo—next generation.