Today seems to be the day for announcements from Ancestry.com. Here's a second:
Forget Bagpipes and Kilts - Add Cars, Steel, Telephones, Magazines and 'The Apprentice' to the List of Scotland's Influence on the United States
PROVO, Utah, April 12 -- Ancestry.com, the world's largest online resource for family history, today revealed the Scottish ancestral roots of five of the biggest names in U.S. business. Trump, Carnegie, Bell, Forbes and Buick all hail from Scotland, as researchers discovered from the more than 24 million names in the newly completed Scotland Census Collection on Ancestry.com.
Donald Trump: The Donald's mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born in a small fishing village on Scotland's Isle of Lewis -- home to generations of the MacLeod family. The 1891 Scotland census captures Mary Anne's 24-year-old father, Malcolm, working as a fisherman on that island. In 1930, 18-year-old Mary Anne immigrated through Ellis Island to America, where she worked as a "domestic" -- likely a maid -- and married Frederick Trump in 1936.
Andrew Carnegie: The 19th-century's "King of Steel" was born in Fife, Scotland, in 1836. the 1841 Scotland census counted young Andrew living at his uncle's home; his parents lived a few streets away. Just seven years later, Andrew and his parents would immigrate to the United States, settling in Pittsburgh, where father and son worked at a cotton factory.
Alexander Graham Bell: Celebrated telephone inventor, Alexander Graham Bell, was born into a life of comparative luxury -- the 1851 Scotland census records reveal that the Bell household in Edinburgh kept two house servants. His father was a "Professor of Elocution & Vocal Physiology for the Cure of Stammering." In the early 1870s, Alexander immigrated to Canada with his parents and would later move to the United States.
Bertie Charles Forbes: The Forbes journalistic roots began in Scotland, before Bertie Forbes immigrated to America. According to the 1901 Scotland census, Bertie's father, Robert, was working as a tailor while his three older brothers worked for a grocer. However, 20-year-old Bertie had already begun a new family business -- declaring his occupation as "Journalist Sub Editor." Just 16 years later, in 1917, he founded "Forbes Magazine," today America's oldest major business magazine.
David Dunbar Buick: Buick Motor Company founder, David Dunbar Buick's, ancestors built houses, not cars. The 1851 Scotland census captures David's father and grandfather both working as "House Carpenters." Three years later David was born, and the family soon immigrated to the United States, settling in Detroit. In May 1903, the Buick Motor Company was incorporated.
"If you look closely at the lives of these men, there's one common and uniquely undeniable American thread -- the rags to riches story," said Megan Smolenyak, Chief Family Historian for Ancestry.com. "Each experience shows a rise to prominence within just one generation. Yet, the combined contributions of these and other Scottish-American entrepreneurs continue to change America, from cars to pop culture."
Almost 5 million Americans who claim Scottish ancestry can now discover their Scottish ancestors among the more than 24 million names in the complete Scotland Census Collection, 1841-1901, on Ancestry.com.
These censuses offer snapshots of history, from names and occupations to place of birth and residence, providing insight into the forces that shaped the lives of many Scottish ancestors. Interestingly, U.S. passenger list records indicate a spike in Scottish immigration during this period, making it easier for individuals to trace their ancestors from America's shores to Scotland's Highlands.
The complete Scotland Census Collection adds to Ancestry.com's growing international census collection, which already includes the only complete online collections of fully-indexed and digitized U.S. Federal Censuses from 1790 to 1930, England and Wales censuses from 1841 to 1901, and the 1851, 1901, 1906 and 1911 Canadian census.
About Ancestry.com
With 24,000 searchable databases and titles, Ancestry.com is the No. 1 online source for family history information. Since its launch in 1997, Ancestry.com has been the premier resource for family history, simplifying genealogical research for millions of people by providing them with many easy-to-use tools and resources to build their own unique family trees. Ancestry.com is part of The Generations Network, Inc., a leading network of family-focused interactive properties, including MyFamily.com, Rootsweb.com, Genealogy.com, and Family Tree Maker. In total, The Generations Network properties receive 9.6 million unique visitors worldwide and over 380 million page views a month (© comScore Media Metrix, February, 2007).
So nice of them. But all my Scottish ancestors, far as I know, had emigrated by the late '30s. :-(
Posted by: Beth | April 13, 2007 at 02:56 AM
ancestry.com continues to make wonderful additions to their collection and the census records of Scotland will probably be in great demand. I have been a subscriber to ancestry.com since at least 2000, but do not currently use their World Deluxe which is priced at $300 I believe.
If you have a few ancestors from Scotland to pursue, I encourage you to look at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk, which does not have a subscription fee, before you upgrade or subscribe at ancestry. I have had wonderful success at a reasonable cost in tracing the few families of interest to me. There is extensive free searching to narrow the records before you actually pay to look at the indexes and the actual records. The quality of the images is great, the content is amazing, and they can be downloaded and/or printed. I have traced the families of interest to me back to people born in the 1700s. The records available include not just the 1841-1901 census, BUT ALSO birth, marriage, death and wills. The site says some of the records go back to the 1500s, but I have not had a reason to examine those records.
As in the US, Scotland census records are private for a period of time. Their 1911 census will be available in January 2012 I believe.
Posted by: Dick | April 13, 2007 at 09:22 AM
Hi my name is Richard Wayne (Haydon) Fraser, and my parents were William Plumlee Fraser and Lillian Mary Hayden (Haydon). My father was a decedent of Lewis Hipkins Fraser, William Alexander Fraser (Frazier) Jr, William Alexander Frazier (Fraser) Sr. Daniel Fraser (ca b.1727 Scotland d. 1752 Westmoreland Virginia. Daniel married a Maria or Mary Bell or Beall, and they had a son named William Alexander Frazier Sr. (Fraser or Frashier. Daniel died two years after William was born, and Mary Beall Fraser remarried a Mr. Harrison, and they moved to Alexandria Virginia area. Later William Alexander Fraser (Frazier) moved to Fairfax County area of Virginia.
Daniel Fraser's public records where to have been lost in a fire. Daniel was to have been born in Scotland, and as a teenager came to Virginia around 1743 as a stowaway and worked for a Mr. John Beall. Daniel's parents were thought to have been Simon Fraser and Sibylla MacLoed of Scotland.
Richard W. (Haydon) Fraser
richard_fraser2005@yahoo.com
or
rjfraser2@juno.com
Mother's side of family came from Parish of Uphill in Somerset shire England. Ancestors were Thomas Haydon I & Francis Curson, and Thomas' parents were Thomas Haydon Sr. & Mary Pickering and lived in the early 1600s in England.
Web site of info is
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=robthaydon&id=I1691
Posted by: Richard Wayne Haydon Fraser | April 13, 2007 at 11:02 AM