Although I now live south of Melbourne, here in Australia, I was born in Kirkcaldy, attended first school at Auchterderran in Fife, lived ouside Star of Markinch before moving to Easter Lathrisk Farm outside Freuchie, nr Falkland with my parents and elder brothers at the end of World War II. Celebrated my 73rd birthday just a few days ago. Quite a few of the family still live in Fife as well as up in Queensland and across the Tasman Sea at Dunedin in New Zealand.

Noted your Hodge/Melville connections and that took me back quite a bit to dear old Markinch, a place where so many Melville’s were laid to rest. I remember so many of the spouses of the Melville’s such as the Marshall’s as well as Elizabeth Melville, the wife of William Birrell, who was interred 2nd March, 1840 at Dysart, close to my birthplace — Kirkcaldy.

It’s a great pity that now that I’m elderly and disabled, I can never travel back to Scotland again. However, my relatives over there are very kind and keep in touch with me. The last of his generation my Uncle, William Livingstone, passed away at Auchterderran at the beginning of January at the grand old age of 96. He died leaving so many, many mysteries unsolved about my Livingstone ancestors, but, I still treasure some of the photographs that he gve me of my Great-Grandfather, Samuel Livingstone, the youngest son of James Livingstone and Janet Cooper who married at North Church, Dunfermline in May, 1854.

So many stories to tell, eh? My hobby of Family History gives me a great deal of pleasure and stops me from simply vegetating in an armchair!

My very best wishes to you and yours,

Tom Fearns.

Gill

100% my error. I was thinking _paternal_ not _maternal_

I am 100% sorry!

Do you have any other information about Florence’s children?

Nick

Gill

My research tells me that this is Angus Hodge’s Grandmother: http://www.nickhodge.com/blog/archives/2319

–Nick