Aberdeenshire Livingstons

John Livingston2 · Post by **John Livingston2** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 5:35 pm

I have been researching my branch of the Livingston family - most of whom originated from the parish of Culsalmond in Aberdeenshire. The churchyard of Culsalmond has 26 references to the Livingston name. I can trace my line to 1699, but there are no leads whatever beyond this, and I have no idea why or how the Livingstons came to the area in the first place. Does anyone in the forum have any connections with this parish ? John Livingston York, UK

Bachuil · Post by **Bachuil** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 11:36 pm

Hi John, Welcome to the forum. This is a long shot but I wonder if they are connected to the Maclays in Contin - see http://www.clanlivingstone.com/cadets.htm for more. Regards, Niall

John Livingston2 · Post by **John Livingston2** » Tue Jan 18, 2005 9:32 pm

Thank you for the pointer - the entry for Contin in the 1791-99 Statistical Account of Scotland has this reference - "The population is on the increase, but it is feared will soon decrease, as the gentlemen are encouraging shepherds to come and settle on their properties, which must necessarily remove the present inhabitants". In other words, the Clearances. Culsalmond is on a main route from Inverness to Aberdeen, and is a likely home for some of the displaced. I have also discovered that there was significant slate quarrying in Culsalmond until about 1850. I understand that Livingstons were employed at the Ballachulish and Easdale slate quarries, so this seems to be a possible reason for migration. This is where I will focus, I think. Regards John Livingston

Bachuil · Post by **Bachuil** » Tue Jan 18, 2005 10:08 pm

John, Fascinating. There were Livingstones of Ballachulish that I know little about, but I understand that at one time their lands were quite extensive. As to the quarrying that is interesting as there are Lime Quarries and Kilns on Lismore, as well as many whin quarries. In fact my father's maternal grandfather had the Lime workings on Sheep Island, just north of Lismore. Keep us posted. Regards, Niall

Janet Henderson · Post by **Janet Henderson** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 6:40 am

I have Livingston ancestors from Rayne and Chapel of Garioch and also have difficulty finding their sources before 1780.I have been investigating 2 families of Livingstons in Aberdeen/shire from the mid 1600's that seem to be the most likely possibilities . I suspect mine are linked to the Culsalmond lot so maybe we could exchange a few names and thoughts as I have far too much detail to enter on this first contact. My maiden surname was Livingston and I know NE scotland pretty well.

Andrew Lancaster4 · Post by **Andrew Lancaster4** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 10:43 am

Hi Janet Have you got any male Livingston relatives you are in contact with? One thing we could try to do is compare DNA to some of the other north Scottish clan members who have already been tested or are being tested. Just to remind everyone we also have a theory going the name Levack/Levach is a Contin Maclea surname. We already have one in our clan DNA project. What we need are as many Macleas, Livingstones etc as we can in order to make comparisons. I wonder if Niall could encourage a few more Lorn region Livingstones and Macleas to join also? Perhaps it is worth mentioning that the project has a general fund which people can contribute to and have contributed to in the past, in order to help people join who are worried about the cost. Of course the general fund should only be used for cases which are interesting for the project but in my opinion any Lorn Livingstone or Maclea who knows which region their family came from is interesting to all us new-world (and Scots Irish) clansmen! Regards Andrew

John Livingston2 · Post by **John Livingston2** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 10:36 pm

The solid data I have is from the marriage of James Livingston (b.1767)and Barbara Thompson. James's father was also James, as was his Grandfather (b. 1740 and 1699 respectively). James (of 1767) had 4 daughters (Elisabeth, Margaret, Barbra, and Mary) and two sons - James and George, who was my great grandfather. All lived in or near Culsalmond - so that includes Rayne. I also have a heap of further detail - I can send you a .GED file if it helps, and I am on Genesreunited. If you are also, I'll give you access to my data. If you would like to contact me off list, I'll fill in the details (john dot livingston at btinternet dot com).

Bryan Livingston · Post by **Bryan Livingston** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 9:54 pm

Hi Janet, I too have ancesters in old Rayne. I am Bryan Livingston, from New Zealand, and my Great Grandfather (Alexander Livingston (b 1821) left Old Rayne for New Zealand.