CH.6-CHITCHAT: The Gregg Family History Project

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THE GREGG FAMILY HISTORY PROJECT - CHAPTER 6

LIVING GENERATIONS

I have been asked by some of the younger family members why I have not included a story chapter about their generations. It is quite simple in that my intention was to write a family 'history'. History, meaning of the past, in this case being 'before me'. To compensate for the omission of detailed information of my generation and those following, all are listed in the Family Alphanumerical index, and where possible I will include pictures or photographs in this chapter soon.

My niece Lisa Pollard[P580][M/S Gregg] once remarked to me that she could remember being told as a child, by her Grandma[P528], that her ancestors were Scottish Kings. Well that may or may not be the case, but I hope the introduction describing the history of the MacGregors might throw some light on this question.

I would hope that this work may encourage some of the younger generations to follow on from here, and perhaps write your own stories of today's four living generations that are not included in this book. My research will continue in trying to trace the ancestors of those already recorded so far, but I would gladly offer assistance to those interested in pursuing this fascinating subject.

Included in this project is a diagram showing the Gregg family Ancestral Tree based upon James Joseph Paton Gregg[P1867] b.28 May 2005 at Ipswich Suffolk England. James is my grandson - son to my son Robert Gregg[P546] and Deborah Flint[P1625]. He is currently [2009] the youngest male in our direct line, and presently one of three males in his generation to bear the Gregg name. The tree traces his ancestors back through nine generations of males to one William Gregg[P439] (also spelled Greig).

James Greg[P437] is the most likely person to have been the father of William[P439 born 1766], but we have not verified that the existing birth record relates specifically to our William. However, I have included James Greg in the family tree as our oldest recorded Gregg ancestor to date.

James Greg was James Paton Joseph's great-great-great-great-great-great Grandfather Gregg, and the Grandparents of James Greg's wife Janet Henderson[P438], would add another two Grandfathers to the list for James Paton Joseph. Eleven generations are recorded here.

I have kept the patronymic lines down to only one generation for this particular tree structure to avoid the data becoming too complex. The known families of the wives in each generation are included and identified in the Family Alphanumeric Listing in the following pages. All blood relatives and their spouses so far identified, and proven to be related to the family are also listed here. The total persons amount to over 320, ranging back to John Henderson, who was born C.1683. This includes 173 males and 147 females.

A Family Tree layout in 'box' form is also included to give an overall structural view. Should any family member not be able to identify your name in the listing, either you were not yet born in 2005, or I was unaware of your existence - tell me quickly and I will update our records.

A listing of over 1,800 Gregg and related surnames mainly from Scotland can be viewed by clicking HERE

THE ILLUSIVE WILLIAM - MISSING LINKAlthough I have records going back into the 1500's , I have been unable to verify details relating to the birth of one William Gregg who married Agnes Currie at Ochiltree Ayrshire Scotland in 1788.
This is MY MISSING LINK. There is a record showing the birth of a William Greg in 1766 to James Greg & Janet Henderson at Ayr. This would be around the correct period, but a child of the same name is recorded as having died at Ayr in 1776, aged 10. A further record exists of a William Gregg born to John Gregg & Agnes Stewart in 1765 at Maybole Ayrshire, which is also around the correct location and period. Many of the parochial records for that period have been lost or destroyed, and I have been unable to find further clues to William's exact identity. Much evidence exists relating to our William, but it refers to his adult life. We know he was a stone mason, and a musician who played the fiddle at the Bachelors Club in Tarbolton. He is credited as having been the Dance Tutor to Robert Burns. Because William appears most likely to be related to James Gregg and Janet Henderson, I have added a couple of generations of Henderson's and Logan's to our family tree for good measure, but that link is not 100% confirmed.

(Click here for William & Agnes - chapter 5)

In the traditional Scottish naming pattern, used almost religiously until the 19th century, the pattern of naming a child was as follows:

The 1st son was usually named after the father's father
The 2nd son was usually named after the mother's father
The 3rd son was usually named after the father

The 1st daughter was usually named after the mother's mother
The 2nd daughter was usually named after the father's mother
The 3rd daughter was usually named after the mother

EDVARD GRIEG - NORWEGIAN COMPOSER I have encountered stories within the family suggesting there may be a family connection to Edvard Hagerup Grieg. I can find no evidence to substantiate this at present, but the following article may be of interest.

Extract from The Scots Magazine - December 1985
MOSSTOUN OF CAIRNBULG farm in the parish of Rathen was home to a certain 31-year-old Alexander Greig before he left for Norway in 1770. He was destined to be the Great-Grandfather of Edvard Grieg, the famous composer.

The Greig gravestone in the old kirkyard at Rathen has recently been cleaned and restored by Fraserburgh council workman Randolph Angus, and the inscription can now be read. It states. . . Here lyes the remains of John Grieg, late tenant in Mosstoun of Cairnbulg, who departed this life the 6th. of Janry. 1774, in the 71st. year of his age. Here also was laid the body of Anne Milne, spouse of the above named John Greig who departed this life Nov. 1784 in the 81st. year of her age. This stone erected in his memory by his surviving children.

"What is peculiar about this inscription is that John Greig's name is in the first instance spelled Grieg, and later in the traditional way, Greig, as on the other family stones nearby. Is it a mis-spelling, or, a glimpse into ...future?

Why Alexander Greig left this country is not now certain, but it is said to have been "during the Jacobite troubles". There are also conflicting reports as to his early days in Bergen.

Some speak of him becoming a prosperous fish merchant, while others say that he worked in the office of the British Consul. Possibly he did both. It is known that the Consul was a man called Wallace from Banffshire, a personal friend of the Greig family, and that Alexander Greig did in due course succeed him. He kept up his connection with Scotland and regularly crossed from Bergen to attend Communion in Rathen Church.

His first wife was Margaret Elizabeth Heitman, and in 1772 a son was born. It was he, John, who changed the spelling of the family name from Greig to Grieg. This John Grieg also became British Consul in Bergen. In 1798 he married Marene Regine Haslund and a son Alexander was born to them in 1806. He also served as Consul there. This Alexander Grieg married Juditte Hagerup, and it was their eldest son, born in 1843, who was to become the composer Edvard Hagerup Grieg.

Grieg's musical talents come from his mother's side of the family. She was a fine pianist and responsible for his early musical training. Nevertheless he had great admiration for Scottish melodies, and commented on the similarity between them and their Norwegian counterparts, especially when the sentiments expressed were of a serious nature. In some of his pieces, like "Solvieg's Song", with its plaintive haunting quality, it is not difficult to imagine that at least some of the composer's inspiration came from the bare Buchan land of his ancestors.

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