Border Journeys - Adam's Ancestry Story

After initially researching the historical stories of Clan Douglas ahead of our clan of the month celebrations, I discovered that Rutherford was actually a sept of Clan Douglas. Family at home... Clan Douglas... an exciting project was on the horizon for me as I started my ancestral journey.

My surname, Rutherford, originates from territorial regions, taken from the lands of Rutherford in Maxton, Roxburghshire. The name was believed to have previously been either Rue-the-ford or Rue-their-ford, from the defeat of an English army, after crossing and re-crossing a neighbouring ford on the River Tweed.

Although I'm actually born and bred in Berwick, just on the English side of the border, I'm very familiar with the surrounding Scottish Borders but haven't actually taken a trip to my name-sake location (one for the bucket list!).

An Englishman on this side of the border? I know what you're thinking, but with the beauty of Scotland on my doorstep and the friendly faces that I see every day, it's hard not to fall in love with bonnie Scotland. Did you know that the historical town of Berwick has actually been back and forward between the two countries thirteen times?

I was also fascinated to learn that the Rutherford's, just like their cousins the Douglases, trace their ancestry back to West Flanders, Belgium, and to the powerful Erembald family. Political events during the 11th and 12th centuries within Flanders had a huge impact on the lives of these families, pushing them down the migratory path, which began in Belgium and ended up in Scotland, Ireland, America, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. My Grandma on Mum's side of the family was actually born in New Zealand, while she also has cousins that live in Australia and I know that a visit down under is certainly amongst her future travel plans. I'm sure she won't mind me tagging along on that trip and continuing my ancestral research, which I have certainly discovered a new passion for.

Ancestral research really is a intriguing concept and quite addictive I have to admit. Surprisingly enough, it's never something that I've set the time aside to look into but if this project has told me one thing, it's that I should have done it a lot sooner. I sat down with ScotlandShop MD, Anna, in the middle of February to explore my roots and we started the process on a Zoom call (sign of the times, I know), with Ian Walker from Borders Journeys, expert on all things ancestry and genealogy and a tour guide to boot. We had a great introductory conversation and Ian explained his unique approach to ancestry research and how things would work, giving us a roadmap for of each intriguing step to unravelling the Rutherford family history. Armed with Ian's many questions I went and completed my homework!

Although I was setting out to research my Dad's (Rutherford) side of the family, my Mum had previously researched her side of the family and was desperate to get know more about the work I was carrying out, so we are now well on our way to building a big old family tree! On my own I was able to find out a bit more about my Dad's (Rutherford) side of the family, but only to around the third or fourth generation. Just wait until you hear about Ian's findings and you'll understand why he specialises in all things ancestry.

The Rutherford Research

Many interesting points arose from my family research, including the various employment sectors which existed within the family, where members of the family were actually located and even a remarkable anecdote including manslaughter! Alongside this, there was one important question to be answered - are my family roots English or Scottish? Read on to find out.

Interestingly, the results of my research showed that the Rutherford's were (and still are for that matter!) a hard working family. Job roles within the family remained consistent, with occupations such as general/mason's labourer, rope makers and even coal miners. Fast forward to more recent times, my Grandad served in the army when he was younger and when he returned to Berwick, he actually became the owner of the Brewers Arms, one of the most popular pubs in Berwick. My Dad followed in my Grandad's footsteps by spending 19 years in the army, before becoming an HGV driver. My Dad used to tell me stories about living about the pub when he was younger and all of the free pints of beer he used to get!

Travelling back all the way to the 18th century and the seventh generation of my family, the earliest recorded Rutherford was born in Inveresk, just on the outskirts of Musselburgh. How fitting that Charles, born around 1782, was actually employed as a Dyer and almost 250 years later, here I am to tell the story as I work with some of the most incredible Tartan and Fabric experts.

Around 75 years after the birth of Charles, David Rutherford, my Great Great Great Grandfather, was born. Now you might be thinking that David is just another line of the Rutherford family with no real story behind him. Well, think again. Born in Musselburgh, David went on to marry Margaret McFarlane, who was born in Berwick and this is where the family migration from Scotland to England took place. Below is a snapshot from the Berwick Advertiser in 1874, almost unrecognisable compared to how you see newspapers published today. The below quote from Ian's findings explains why this story would have certainly been the talk of the town!

It would come as no surprise that this is the stand out story from my ancestral research. Although David, my Great Great Great Grandad, was eventually freed - it's quite the dramatic tale and certainly one to tell the future Rutherford generations.

Since David moved south of the border sometime between 1848 and 1851, my family have been born and raised in Berwick-upon-Tweed ever since. Today, there still remains an English/Scottish divide in the town and I find it fascinating to see where people's allegiances lie. In just a couple of months at the European Football Championships, England will play Scotland for the first time in a major tournament since 1990. The tale of two nations within the town will be quite something come the summer and it will definitely be an interesting day in the ScotlandShop office!

Ian has certainly been a tremendous help throughout my ancestral research and his access to all sorts of weird and wonderful sources of information has opened up avenues I would never have discovered on my own. From our initial call, it was evident what a passion Ian has for exploring families and their stories, and his emails updating me on the new pieces of information he uncovered have been the highlights of my week. Given the current restrictions, we have had to conduct the whole project via video call, so once things return to normal, I look forward to travelling to the capital to meet Ian in person and continue my journey.

Below is a picture of Ian on one of his guided tours at Cawdor Castle, not too far from Inverness. If you're anything like me, you will love Ian's look! His kilt is in the Shaw tartan, coming from his paternal grandmother's family, alongside traditional kilt socks knitted by his great aunt. You can certainly see why Ian loves all things family.

If you joined us during our Clan of the Month celebrations for Clan Fraser, you must have shared our love for The Frasers of Outlander. Borders Journeys offer a magnificent range of services and tours and one which I'd love to experience is their Outlander Tour. Standing on the steps of Lallybroch and visiting the stones at Craigh na Dun, whilst learning about one of my favourite TV shows definitely sounds like an opportunity to grasp with both hands.

You can learn more about Borders Journeys' tours and services here. Whether you're looking to delve deep into your family history like me, or you want to discover some of Scotland's most beautiful spots, I'm 100% sure Ian will take great care of you!