MILNE
A little background on this name
In Scotland this ancient name is found mainly in Aberdeenshire. It is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and in most instances a topographical surname for someone who lived near a mill, derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century "mylen(e)", Middle English "mille, milne", from the Latin "molina", a derivative of "molere", to grind. The mill was an important centre in every medieval settlement, normally operated by an agent of the local landowner, and in some cases the surname may be an occupational name for a worker at the mill or for the miller himself. A family of the name Miln(e) were farmers at the Mill of Boyndie for generations. One Gilbert Milne had a grant of the chaplainry of Golspe in 1575, and John Miln was servitor of John Scrimgeour of Glaswall in 1610. A Coat of Arms granted to a Milne family of Aberdeen in 1692 depicts, on a gold shield, a blue cross moline pierced ovalways of the field between three black mullets, all within a blue bordure wavy. The Crest is a galley with oars erect in saltire proper, and the Motto, "Dat cura commodum", translates as: "Vigilance ensures advantage". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Johannes de Molendino, which was dated 1382, in the "Episcopal Register of Aberdeen", Scotland, during the reign of King Robert 11 of Scotland, 1371 - 1390. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
© Copyright: Name Origin Research www.surnamedb.com 1980 - 2013
Milne is my mother's maiden name. Because of that, I have tried to learn as much as possible about our Milne family. My grandparents were Joseph Albert MILNE 1883-1957 and Florence Lee Nora or Lenora BOWDEN MILNE 1888-1986.
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| Joseph Albert Milne - my grandfather |
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| Florence L. Bowden Milne - my grandmother |
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Joseph & Florence were married on 11 Apr 1906 in Detroit, Michigan. In fact, they were both born in Detroit. They had four children, 3 daughters and a son. One daughter, Dorothy, died at the age of 13. Their son, Robert went on to serve in World War II. He married twice, but had no children who lived and is now deceased. Their daughter, Joan, married and had 2 sons, my cousins. Their daughter, Patricia is my mother.
When I began doing genealogy research over 10 years ago, I learned that my grandmother, Florence, had also loved family research. I had many family photos and some written notes. What I discovered, was that one of my cousins had a box of items that had belonged to our grandma, Florence. What I found in that box was a treasure. TIP: Always ask your cousins or other family members if they have any old boxes or envelopes or chests that might have belonged to other family members. What you find can be astounding.
When I asked my cousin what was in the box, he just said "a bunch of old stuff, papers and some old notebook." I said HOLD ON! Don't throw anything away, not even a scrap of paper. On my next visit to Detroit I was able to go through everything and my cousin gave it all to me. I won't bore you with everything that was in that box, but the hand written family tree and the "notebook" were worth their weight in gold.
The notebook is a spiral bound lined notebook, begun over 100 years ago by my grandmother. In it she has recipes (stay tuned, as I post a new recipe from her notebook each Friday, right here on my blog). Here are the two I have posted already:
Also in this notebook (or as I call it her journal), are the names & birth dates and some death dates of 183 family members. REALLY? Yes, there they are in her own writing. I have so far been able to identify and connect about 100 of those people.
She also kept a list of items she purchased for herself, her new husband, my grandpa, Joseph and her new baby, Dorothy.
Talk about a treasure!! "Just a bunch of old stuff." I think not.
Here is a page from that very notebook:
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| On this page she lists family wedding anniversaries/marriage dates. This is a copy of the original so I wrote on the top of it. |
Good stuff, wouldn't you agree?
I knew my grandfather, Joseph, only until I was 7 yrs. old, so I don't remember him very well. I remember the day he died and the days following that, as my Mom was really sad.
My grandmother, Florence, on the other hand, lived until I was 36 yrs. old. I got to know her very well. She liked to knit, grow African violets, and boy did she like to read. She never learned to drive so I would drive her to the library where she would check out 6-8 books at a time. We also used to play scrabble and darned if she didn't beat me all the time.
SPECIAL NOTE: My grandma loved to talk about family and told me many stories through the years. Unfortunately, I cannot remember all of them or even most of them. Do I completely regret that? OH YES! So, please, if you have grandparents or aunts & uncles still living, talk to them. Talk to them now. Take notes. Make an audio recording of your conversation. Ask LOTS of questions. Don't look back and say you wish you had, because that doesn't get those questions answered. I have brick walls that would tumble right down if I had 10 minutes with any of my four grandparents.
Here is the rest of my MILNE ancestry as I currently know it. My husband and I have a trip planned to Scotland for next spring. I hope to be able to find out a lot more about the MILNE family.
Joseph Milne - 8 Jan 1883 - Detroit Wayne, Michigan
died 27 Sep 1957 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan
Andrew Charles Milne - 8 Feb 1856 - Aboyne, Aberdeen
Scotland, died 8 Dec 1892 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan
married Susan Anne Gillespie
Charles Milne - about 1822 - Cruden, Aberdeen, Scotland
died 7 Feb 1877 in Aboyne, Aberdeen, Scotland
married Margaret Ritchie
Alexander Milne - no birth date known yet and death possibly before 1877
married Elspet Leslie on 11 Oct 1819 in Cruden, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
So, as you can see my Milne family does hail from Aberdeenshire, just as it states in the surname information at the top of my post. I don't know enough about them yet, but I'm still learning. I have gone to the website ScotlandsPeople.gov From that site I have learned about births, marriages and deaths. I have even ordered records, such as this one on my 2nd great grandfather, Charles Milne:
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| Death record for Charles Milne |
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If you don't leave with anything else, please remember.
Keep on looking.
Talk to your living relatives
Ask lots of questions.
Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl
Copyright © 2013 Diane Gould
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