Friday, August 2, 2013

Where Do I Come From?

My mom recently did a little family digging and was rewarded when a cousin produced some stories about our Scottish ancestors.  And he was even able to produce pictures!

My Great Grandmother, Barbara Soundy was Scottish.
Charles Archibald Smith and Barbara Dawson Smith 1888
Her parents were Charles Archibald (C.A.) Smith and Barbara Dawson Smith. They came over from Scotland in the late 1800s.

C.A.'s parents were George Smith and Ann Archibald-Smith of Tarland near Aberdeen.  Smith and Archibald are both surnames that have been associated with Clan MacPherson.

Barbara's parents were George Dawson and Jane England-Dawson of Peterculter near Aberdeen.  Dawson is a surname associated with the Clan Davidson.  England does not have a known Clan affiliation.

C.A. and Barbara with Jim and George (two of my great grandmother's brothers)

The Smith Family around 1905 in the back row is Jim, George, and Paddy, the middle is Barbara, C.A., Jeannie, Frank, and Sydney.  On Barbara's lap is my great grandmother, Barbara Elizabeth Smith, and her twin brother Stanley
The Smith Family around 1925 (my great grandmother is with her beau, Frank third and second from the right in the picture.)

The Smith Family, all grown up.  Back row Sydney, Jim, Paddy, Frank, and Stanley.  Front row Jeannie, C.A., Barbara, Barbara Elizabeth, and George.
And here are C.A. and Barbara in the mid-1930s
The Smith Family lived in Goleta, CA after moving here from the "Old Country".  They rented and farmed land that sits on where UC Santa Barbara now stands.  Charles and Barbara raised 8 children and with the exception of George's early death, all the children lived long lives, and Jeannie Smith-Pitts even lived to be 105 years old!

Barbara Elizabeth married Frank William Edward Soundy in 1928.
He emigrated from London, England as a child.  Next, I hope to find some information about my British roots through the Soundy family.

Dig into your family history... what will YOU find?



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1 comment:

  1. GhostGirlOctober 17, 2020 at 6:36 PM

    I just ran into this while researching the history of the town where I grew up. I knew Jeannie Pitts (and her daughter Margaret Tinnin), Barbara Soundy and her husband Frank very well. I attended church with all of them at the Federated Church of Goleta. Jeannie ("Mrs Pitts") and I used to collect the communion cups together. I always felt like she looked like one of those dried apple dolls, very wizened and sweet. Barbara and her husband Frank had us over for dinner quite often and Barbara always kept a small box of books and toys that I would play with. Frank played the saxophone in church, and my favorite days were when he would play "The Old Rugged Cross." Margaret was the secretary at the church-run school so she was the one to deal with all the little booboos and to call my dad when I got in trouble. All of them were like dear family and grandparent-figures to me as a young girl and I loved them dearly. Thank you for posting these pictures, how amazing!

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