Hi All,
I have been very busy here, trying to track down the ancestors of my 5th g.grandfather, William Finnie. And I have found a tiny chink in this brickwall of mine.
Having downloaded the Arms of Robert Finnie McEwen, I noticed that his Arms include, as Arms of Affection, the Finnie Arms (headless cranes on a red (gules) background). This has given me a clue to William's origins, in that as Arms are heritable property (there is no such thing as a "family coat of arms" in Scotland), Robert could only have included these Arms if his wife Isabella's father, William Finnie, was entitled to them. It stands to reason, therefore, that for William to have had this right, it must have passed down the line to him from my 5th g.grandfather.
I have found Arms for a William Finnie of Hilbrae (a farm in Aberdeenshire), which were granted in 1765, and Arms for James Phine of Whitehill, which were granted in 1572. Both of these contain the headless cranes (gules). Whilst I am not expecting the descriptions of these Arms to contain a great deal of genealogical information, I am buying them anyway. One never knows!!
Anyway, guys, my main point is this: if you are stuck behind a brickwall but know that a certain person in your tree was granted Arms, it may be worthwhile obtaining a copy of the grant, just in case...as has been the case with me...they hold even the tiniest clue to your ancestor's/relative's origins.
Cheers from a pretty happy Lynne. :))
Geni Pro
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