Yesterday I was scanning some family photos and came across one showing three middle-aged women in strange poses. I turned it over, and found I had written on the back who they were — fortunately I had asked my mother before she died, and she said it was her grandmother, Ellen Hannan, and her cousins Bella and Flora Livingston.
Ellen Hannan (nee McFarlane) with her cousins Bella and Flora Livingston
Ellen Hannan’s maiden name was McFarlane, and her parents were David McFarlane and Emily (or Amelia) Livingston, who were married in the parish of Barony in the county of Lanark in Scotland in 1846. There is some confusion about whether it was spelt Livingston or Livingstone. So if these women were Livingston cousins, they must have been children of Ellen’s mother’s brother(s).
But we don’t know Emily (or Amelia) Livingston’s parents’ names, so how can we find the names of her siblings, and know that they were her siblings?
A bit of scratching around online led me to a family in the Scottish censuses, which I think is the right one — David McFarlane, a calico printer (that fits with what we already knew) and an Emelia McFarlane. Emelia could explain the confusion between Emily and Amelia on the marriage certificate. David McFarlane was born in Maryhill, Glasgow, in about 1816. His grandson Willie Hannan was MP for Maryhill for about 25 years until he retired in 1976. But David McFarlane’s wife Emelia seemed to have been born in Ireland about 1828, which complicates matters somewhat — how do we go about looking for her siblings in Ireland, if they were born of unknown parents?
But the census did reveal some brothers and sisters of Ellen McFarlane that we hadn’t known about before, so perhaps we can follow some of those up:
- Duncan McFarlane, b. 1847
- Maria McFarlane, b. 1849
- James McFarlane, b. 1853
- David McFarlane, b. 1855
- Ellen (or Helen) Mcfarlane b. 1858 (married William Hannan)
- Amelia McFarlane, b. 1862
They all appear to have been born in Maryhill.
If anyone knows anything more about these McFarlane or Livingston families, please get in touch by leaving a comment or something.
Filed under: family history, genealogical research, genealogy, Scotland | Tagged: Bella Livingston, Ellen McFarlane, Flora Livingston, Glasgow, Livingston family, Maryhill, McFarlane family, Scottish families |
Hayes & Greene family history 
Hi there. I just came across your post. I am part of the South African Hannan clan, and have a lot of info from the McFarlane and Livingstone family, which hopefully can help
Thanks Cade, I’ll try to respond by e-mail, as WordPress no longer works properly.