George Bain
I am George Bain, a Canadian by birth, of Scottish and Ulster descent. I am delighted to welcome you to this website that traces the history of nine families in my ancestry: the Bains, Smarts, Wallaces, Bowies, Wilkies, and Stalkers from Scotland, and the Bamfords, Boals and Sayerses from Ulster.
The histories of these families have all been published in book form, some of which run to several hundred pages containing information setting each family in its economic and social context, biographical details of each family member, family trees, maps, DNA analyses, and, in most cases, photographs dating back to the 19th century. All these publications can be viewed on this website. There is also an option to contact the site administrator for those who have any comments, questions or observations on the site’s contents.
The published volumes are also available for consultation in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), the Linen Hall Library in Belfast, the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies at the Ulster-American Folk Park in Omagh, and in the libraries of the following institutions: the Ulster Historical Foundation in Belfast, the Scottish Genealogy Society in Edinburgh, and the Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh. Copies of the Bamford and Bain family volumes are also held in the Winnipeg Public Library in Canada. A small number of amendments and updates have been made since the volumes were published, however, and the editions on this site are the definitive versions.
This website represents the culmination of a fifty-year genealogical odyssey that began in 1972 when I started to research my father’s family, the Bains, and my mother’s family, the Bamfords. But family history research can be addictive. Over the years since then, my ancestral investigations led me to two more Ulster families: the Boals and Sayerses; and to five more Scottish families: the Bowies, Smarts, Stalkers, Wallaces, and Wilkies. Each family has been traced to the mid or late 18th century.
My Scottish ancestors originated primarily in central and eastern Scotland: the Bains from the Stirlingshire area, the Bowies and the Stalkers in Alloa and Sauchie in Clackmannanshire, and the Smarts and Wilkies in St Vigean’s and Kirriemuir in Angus. The Wallaces came from Fettercairn in Kincardineshire, now part of the Aberdeenshire council area, on the north-eastern coast. The Sayers, Bamford and Boal families came to what is now Northern Ireland during the Plantation of Ulster in the 17th century, the Sayerses and Bamfords from England, and the Boals from Scotland.
The intersection of my Scottish and Ulster ancestors through my parents’ marriage was the direct result of emigration. Although the Bains were by far the most migratory of the nine families, several of the Boals – notably the firebrand itinerant preacher Pastor Samuel Boal (1866-1922) – emigrated to Canada, as did some members of the Bamford family, and their descendants. Their descendants, as well as my relatives in the United States and Australia, have also been traced.
“…those who embark on family history research should be prepared – it can be an all-consuming interest. It can also throw up some surprises. I suspect there are few families who do not have skeletons in their cupboards. I have come across one or two myself!”
George Bain
Genealogy is now one of the most popular pursuits in the world. Television programmes such as “Who Do You Think You Are” and “Long Lost Family”, among others, have done much to inspire thousands of people to learn more about their forebears, and the explosion of online genealogical sites like Ancestry.com. and MyHeritage, coupled with the availability and affordability of DNA tests, has made it comparatively easy for them to do so.
Not so when I started my genealogical journey. When I began to trace my family history in 1972, and for many years thereafter, I had to rely on snail mail to gather information and to visit libraries and other sources in Northern Ireland, Canada, the United States and Scotland. And, along the way, I had to rely on the assistance and goodwill of a great many people. My greatest debt is to my relatives, in particular my late mother, but my deepest gratitude also goes to the range of professionals, from genealogical and DNA researchers to social and military historians, and from fellow family historians to printing and publishing specialists, all of whom provided invaluable help. I could not have completed this project without them. One person whom I would single out for special mention is my copy editor Anne Langford (annelangford@btinternet.com), who has worked with me on this project for the last nine years, and who is the administrator of this website.
There are many reasons why people choose to research their family history. It may be simply out of natural curiosity about their heritage, or a search for identity – a need to find out more about who they are, or because, for various reasons, their connections to previous generations of their family have been lost. In my case, the motivation was to find out more about where I came from. I was a first-generation Canadian, and I wanted to find out more about who my forebearers were and where they had come from in the “old country”, the term my mother used to refer to the United Kingdom.
But, whatever the reason, those who embark on family history research should be prepared – it can be an all-consuming interest. It can also throw up some surprises. I suspect there are few families who do not have skeletons in their cupboards. I have come across one or two myself!
But it is also an important activity. You are leaving a legacy for future generations. The distinguished Irish journalist Fintan O’Toole said: “Genealogy is history made personal”, and I believe that sums up its appeal and its significance.
My genealogical journey has been a fascinating and absorbing voyage of discovery, the results of which have led to the creation of this website. Once again, welcome, and I hope you find it of interest.
Bain Family Ancestry 