Summer Vacation - Day 11

My final day in Scotland was spent exploring all of the villages surrounding Melrose in search of graves of my Hart and Vair ancestors. It remains inexplicable to me why we could not find any graves beyond those located on the grounds of Melrose Abbey. Were our ancestors too poor to buy headstones? Had the graves been lost to time or reused for more recent burials? We scarcely found any gravestones older than 19th century.
While we know that Betty Vair’s husband George Hart was a gardener in Melrose, we do not know if he was working at the Abbey or elsewhere. And while there are several Harts buried in the abbey grounds – we never found George Hart who we know died prior to 1841. Just how did Betty Vair Hart support herself prior to emigrating in 1848? Did she move to Selkirk where they met John Grieve or was she being supported by Vair or Hart relatives? It’s a mystery and likely will remain as one. It’s fun to speculate, however.I hope to return to Scotland in the near future to explore the lands further north. Keith’s ancestors lived on the island of Mull on the northwest coast of Scotland and are a noted highland clan. His clan has two divisions descending from two brothers and the clan was reputed to be filled with fierce warriors. The name is spelled either MacLean or MacLaine depending on which brother descent came from. By comparison, my Nisbets, Harts, Vairs and related families, Hatton/Hutton, Tait, and Hunter were all peoples of the lowlands.