Dorothy Young of the Greenses, Berwick; Who Emigrated to Canada

From Margaret Dougherty, a descendant of the Youngs of the Greenses:

My grandmother, Dorothy Young (1889-1967), set out from Berwick-upon-Tweed on her own for Canada as an 18-year old girl looking for adventure in September 1908. Perhaps you see something familiar in her features in this photo of her when she was about 30.

Dorothy Young (1889-1967)

Dorothy was the second eldest daughter of Robert Alexander Young (1854-1915) and Isabella Knox (1862-1937) of the Greenses. She originally went to Canada for a nanny position in small-town Ontario, but quickly grew bored with that, and for a time worked as a cook in a Northern Ontario lumber camp where she was the only woman, before settling in Montreal by 1911, where she worked as a servant. There, she was part of a circle of other Berwick immigrants, as I’ve found in news items in old issues of the Berwick Advertiser.

I have documented my grandmother’s lineage, which in addition to Young and Knox, includes Patterson/Pattison, Wedderburn/Weatherburn, Cowe, Clark, Melvin/Milvin, Edminson, Brack, Johnson, How and Spiers ancestors.

Dorothy returned to England in August 1915 to marry my grandfather, John Matheson, in London, while he was on a short leave from the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

They had met in Montreal, where John had emigrated in 1909 from Aviemore, Scotland. She remained in Berwick throughout the First World War, seeing my grandfather when he had leave. My mother, Isobel Young Matheson, was born in Berwick in May 1919. In August of that year, my grandmother and mother sailed for Montreal. Dorothy never returned to Berwick, but exchanged many letters with her mother and sisters.

I am still looking for any descendants of Dorothy’s siblings who stayed in England: Margaret Knox Young who married a distant cousin, George Young; Henry, Robert, William and Peter. Dorothy’s sisters Lizzie, Aggie and Izzie came to Canada as well, but Aggie and Izzie ultimately returned to Berwick, I believe.

After my mother died in 1979, we lost touch with her Berwick roots.
If you have any information about these, please add a comment below.

Family Stories, Fishy Tales and Red Herrings Wanted

Yesterday's article, Bring Us Your Family Stories about Berwick's Fishing Families, Fri 17 to Sun 19 July in Berwick Guildhall said that we are particularly interested in these names: Burgon; Manuel; Borthwick; Jamieson; Crombie; Young and Hattle but we’re also looking for any other names in that area connected with fishing.

Recently, Newcastle University started a project to involve local people in recording their untold stories and knowledge of salmon fishing on the Tweed.

The project was launched at The Pilot Inn in Low Greens, Berwick and they had a follow up at the Jubilee Centre in Spittal.

They have displays and videos to watch and they’ll be looking to hear your salmon fishing stories too (and some free nibbles too). 

We hope to see you on Friday, Saturday or Sunday (17th to 19th July) at the Guildhall, Berwick.

Bring Us Your Family Stories about Berwick's Fishing Families, Fri 17 to Sun 19 July in Berwick Guildhall

As you’ll have already seen, with an exhibition in the Watchtower, Tweedmouth, and other events, this coming month is all about the area’s fishing and maritime history. 

Also from 11am to 4pm each day from Friday, 17 July to Sunday, 19 July, we’re mounting an exhibition in the Guildhall on Berwick's maritime connections (of course, it’s admission free).

This includes Berwick's connections with salmon and herring fishing, ships and shipbuilding; whaling and about Berwick captains. Year 4 of Holy Trinity School, Berwick, have done some artwork based on families and fishing in the Greenses which will be on display, too. 

As part of the weekend, we would like to gather information on the Greenses fishing community, the people who lived there and stories about their lives. 

We are particularly interested in these names: Burgon; Manuel; Borthwick; Jamieson; Crombie; Young and Hattle but we’re also looking for any other names in that area connected with fishing. 

We have a Burgon family tree to which we have added some information but if anyone else can help us add more, come along and help us, particularly where they link in with the other fishing families in that area. 

We’re still interested in hearing your family stories whether they’re connected with fishing or the sea or not. If you have any interesting information about characters from your family’s past in Berwick or would like to get involved in the project, come along and see us this coming weekend or contact Peter Munro on berwickfamilies@gmail.com or Linda Bankier on berwickarchives@woodhorn.org.uk .