Category: Aberdeenshire

  • All the Johns and Anns: the case for the parents of George Cromar 1792-1871

    All the Johns and Anns: the case for the parents of George Cromar 1792-1871

    AUTHOR’S NOTE: New information and research has invalidated many of the conclusions detailed in the following post. You may read about this development at Ann Cromar redux — or reconsidered? and at Ron Cromar and me. Because this journal is about the real-time process of researching and developing a family history hypothesis, and not the hypothesis itself,…

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  • Kirkton of Aboyne burial ground: a Rosetta Stone for Cromar mysteries

    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

    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

    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

    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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  • Did the Cromars and Georges almost kill Tomnaverie Stone Circle?

    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…

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