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Kirkton of Aboyne burial ground: a Rosetta Stone for Cromar mysteries
Author’s Note: New research has clarified conclusions detailed in this post, in particular the location of Peter Cromar’s memorial on the map. Please visit the following related posts for the full story: Because this journal is about the real-time process of researching and developing a family history hypothesis, and not the hypothesis itself, I have decided to keep…
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George Cromar and Ann Meston: tragedies and mysteries
Aboyne Situated midway between Ballater and Banchory on the north bank of the River Dee, the village of Aboyne is large by west Aberdeenshire standards, boasting a population of about 3000. As a settlement founded in 1671, it was a bit of a latecomer compared to other villages in the region, but establishment of a…
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John Cromar and Ann George: rebels who broke free
In the shadow of history The Peel of Lumphanan rises out of the ground like a Robert Smithson land art project gone rogue. From an an earlier post, we know the Peel has a legendary link to Macbeth, and the town-folk of the village of Lumphanan probably won’t disabuse you of the notion: you can…
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A deeper Cromar dive: the path from John to Peter
The last few posts have been informed by a thoroughly researched exploration of the Scottish upbringing of my paternal paternal great-grandparents, Theodore James Cromar and Christiana Berry Robb, their lives together in the New World, and the ironic tragedy that awaited with the onset of the Great Depression. Were I to treat every generation as…
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More on Thuddie and Teenie: Insights from my Father
Official data is the life-blood of genealogy, and while a careful researcher can infer a lot about family dynamics from documentation, it can only get you so far. Genealogists are right not to place stock in anecdotal evidence, but data is sometimes a skeleton that lacks the flesh only family stories can supply. Perhaps official…
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Did the Cromars and Georges almost kill Tomnaverie Stone Circle?
Castles and circles I’ve mentioned the Tomnaverie Stone Circle a couple of time in prior posts. I never heard of this amazing site until a few years ago, when I was hosting a study-abroad program through the school where I teach digital media. We were taking a day trip away from Dundee (where we collaborate…
