Ross: pushing back another generation...also, twins!

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A few years ago, I found a baptismal record showing that my great grandmother Annie Ross (1849-1922) had given birth to a baby girl that she brought with her into her 1878 marriage to my great grandfather, Frank Gillanders Matheson. That daughter, Annie Munro Ross, sadly died at the age of 8 in 1882, possibly from peritonitis.

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Later, I discovered that Annie had in fact borne twins when her daughter was born on 21 Feb 1874 after another baptismal record discovery led to her son, Henry Ross, who sadly died the same day he and his sister Annie were born. These were the only set of twins I'd ever found in all of my genealogy research. Until now.

Since finding the grave marker of Annie's grandparents (my 3rd great grandparents) Duncan Ross and Marjory McDonald online, I've been looking for their parents. And now, I'm fairly certain I've found Duncan's parents, while at the same time discovering that he was also a twin. Yes, it's one of those aha moments! Take a look:

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That's right. Duncan's mother's maiden name was Munro. The Munro name and the fact that he was also a twin is just far too coincidental. I've learned not to ignore genealogical coincidences.  While Annie hadn't named the father in her twins' baptismal records, I had assumed that Munro was a clue to his last name. But no. My newest set of 4th grandparents are George Ross and Margaret Munro.

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I have confirmed DNA matches with others pointing to Duncan and Marjory McDonald as common ancestors. I'm looking forward to finding new DNA matches with George and Margaret as common ancestors.

Oh, and in a further coincidence, my new-found 3rd great aunt Katherine Ross married a man named John Davidson, with whom she had at least eight children. I have a Scottish 3rd great grandmother, Margaret Davidson (1778-1863). I have to wonder if Katherine's husband is a close relation to this Margaret.

Aha moments in genealogy research really are the absolute best.

The never ending story continues.....




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