05/06/2019 - The Ballantyne Roadblock

My research into the family of Christina Ballantyne hit a roadblock some years ago. Her daughter (Margaret Scott Ballantyne) married Charles Fleming and migrated to Australia in 1883 but I had not been able to identify Christina’s parents. Now, however, I have managed to overcome this roadblock thanks to a DNA hint from Ancestry.com followed by good old-fashioned genealogical investigation.

Not only was I able to establish that Christina's parents were William Ballantyne and Christina Dow, but the floodgates opened. I was eventually able to identify all four of Christina's grandparents and three of her great-grandparents.

It is difficult, after researching one's family history for 36 years, to identify additional ancestors. So, to identify nine additional ones within the space of one month is quite exhilarating.

I have written an essay that outlines this research - The Ballantyne Roadblock.

Interestingly, Christina Ballantyne married Thomas Ballantyne on 21 July 1851 at Renfrew. Since they had the same surname, could they have been cousins? That will be the subject of my next essay, My Tangled Ballantynes.

Click here to read my article.