52#Ancestors - Week 31 - Oldest

Many years ago (in the early 1960s) my father spent many hours on the verandah of the farmhouse on my grandparents' property transcribing documents that belonged to my grandmother relating to family history. Dad's handwriting was well known for not being easy to read however the transcriptions that he made have been an invaluable resource when researching stories about my grandmother's family.

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The main document that Dad transcribed was a series of notes written by my great grandfather, George Hutton, describing his first years in Australia in the early 1870s. Many years later my aunt sent me a copy of George's original notebook as she knew that I was interested in recording the family history.

Dad also transcribed a letter written in 1855 by Jean Mackillop in Bath to her daughter, Eleonora Hutton, who was living in India. A copy of this letter is in one of the posts in this blog. This letter provides fascinating information on life in Bath for a well-to-do- family during the 1850s.

The Mackillops and the Huttons had a long association with India as merchants, in the army as well as in the East India Company. There is an account of the death of John Mackillop at Cawnpore in 1857 as well as notes about Thomas Bruce Hutton who was also in the Indian army at this time.

There are a number of family stories as remembered by George Hutton including his father's encounter with an elephant in India plus his mother's adventure, also in India, when riding a horse and encountering a wild buffalo.  George also provided an account of the adventures of his grandfather, George Mackillop, when exploring part of Victoria. There is also an account of a near disaster when George's mother and sister, Margaret, travelled by boat from Victoria to Tasmania in the 1870s.

Part of the family tree of the Huttons going back to 1670 and a list of baptisms for the children of William Forbes Hutton is included in Dad's notes plus a description of the Hutton Coat of Arms.

As well as  providing valuable information, the insight into the lives of family members provided in the documents that Dad copied has helped me better understand this branch of the family. Needless to say I am very greatful to my father for spending the time to copy these documents.