'Homecoming Scotland 2009' will be a big year in Scotland, with a call out for Scots around the world.
In conjunction with these events, on August 8 & 9th 2009 we will be holding the first 'McBirnie / McBurnie Family Gathering' in Ayrshire - where our common ancestor James McBurnie and his wife Ann Thomson settled and raised their family there. We are searching for descendants who can trace their ancestry back to Glasgow, Crosshill, Maybole or Kirkmichael and heopefully to James of one of his children. Some of the know surnames connected are: Mcculloch, Fulton, McClure, Lafferty.We are not sure of his origons. The actual location of his birth is unconfirmed at this point however it is believed it could be Holywood, south of Belfast. Extensive research has located a Robert McBurnie and wife Isabella (Bella) Spence who registered the birth of a son James, in the same year as our James was believed to be born, 1784. In the 1851 Census - we found, James age 63, a cotton weaver, shown as born Ireland, and Ann (Thomson) his wife shown as a corn filler, age 60 born Girvan, Ayrshire. They were living at 87 Dalhowan Street, Kirkmichael. An extract from the Register of Deaths Scotland shows James McBurnie a weaver, marrried, died 29/04/1859 at Crosshill Village. His son Samuel provided the information for this registration. The record shows James died of 'old age' which he had suffered for six months! He was buried in the Kirkmichael Churchyard. Many of the birth, death and marraige records reveal our family ot be poor weavers or labourers, and many were illiterate until the late 1800s.In the late 1800s - early 1900s, many of James and Ann's great-grand children (children of Thomas McBirnie & Maggie Swan) emigrated to the colonies to make a new life - some to Australia, some to Canada, while others chose to remain in Scotland. This gatehring will be the first time that the family has come together since then. Descendants from Australia and Canada have already booked to 'come home to the old country' to attend these events. For more details go to our website: http://www.mcbirnie.myevent.com/I would love to hear from anyone who knows they are connected or think they might have connections as I have extensive research and a comprehensive family tree which I am trying to complete prior to the gathering.Email: mcbirnie@lycos.com
