As with any genealogy project, we have to be ready to change directions when new records are discovered. And as we know with all the sources online now, it is difficult to set the record straight once information is published on the internet.
My journey with the Lawson line began with two special Lawson family researchers, Patti Lawson and Barb DeCainy Lawson. I found evidence that our John Quillin was married to Rebecca Lawson, and I found a tremendous website managed by Patti Lawson. She was an extreme genealogist who took much pride in her research, as did Barb. Together they had created an extensive website including many lines of the Lawson families.
As usual, I was very timid and unsure about my skills (I never give myself enough credit), so I was reluctant to contact them. I finally got up the nerve and they investigated my claims, and I was definitely accepted into their database. They even included the information down to B.J. Quillin, my great grandfather.
However, in 2017, another dedicated researcher, Nancy J Lawson, made several trips to Scotland and spent many days in the archives there. She struggled with what she found. It definitely revealed that our ancestor was NOT the William Lawson... known as THE REBEL. That was a glorious story and we all were proud of that history. Derek and I had even travelled to Culloden and I felt a total connection with this history....Yet true research revealed that this man was JUST NOT our ancestor. There had even been a huge monument erected for him on his gravesite, to which our family had connected its roots.
There was much trouble in correcting this information, and it may never be totally turned around. Patti and Barb have dropped out of the scene. I stayed in close contact with Barb for several years, but we have dropped away from our work together. Patti was a little fierier...and more difficult to correspond with. I think when this happened, she threw in the towel, so to speak. Now these websites have been gobbled up by larger entities like Ancestry...which is wrong in my opinion. We may never be able to access the work that has been done. Many genealogists are just not willing to let go of what they feel is correct. But for me, Nancy Lawson's research cannot be refuted. We must make changes on our tree.
See her letter to the Lawson Association in the next blog.
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