Newsletter : Inaugural Issue
December 2025 · Inaugural Issue
Scattered Stones: The Robertson Family of Blairgowrie
A documentary biography series, complete at last
A version of this announcement was sent to Storyline Genealogy newsletter subscribers on December 1, 2025
I'm thrilled to share some exciting news: after years of research, the Scattered Stones documentary biography series is complete.
What began as a search through census records and parish registers became a journey across two centuries, two continents, and six generations of one family. From a weaver in Scotland still working his loom at age 81, to a grandmother in New Jersey surrounded by nineteen grandchildren—this is a story of resilience, loss, and the bonds that carry a family across time.
And now it's ready for you to read.
"His death certificate lists his occupation as Stone Cutter.
It's a fitting epitaph for a man whose legacy would be scattered like stones across two continents."
The series traces the Robertson ancestors from Duncan Robertson, a weaver in Bendochy, Scotland, through the great emigration of the 1870s, to the tragedies and triumphs that followed in America. Each episode combines original research with narrative storytelling, drawing on parish registers, census records, vital records, newspapers, and DNA evidence.
The Complete Series
Prologue: The Land They Left
Understanding Clan Robertson territory, the 900-year-old parish of Bendochy, and Scottish genealogy research.
Episode 1: Roots in Perthshire (1786–1838)
Duncan Robertson and Jean Angus, their children, and the remarkable 1841 census.
Episode 2: The Mason's Household (1839–1871)
Thirty years in Blairgowrie—ten children born, a family captured in four censuses.
Episode 3: The Great Emigration (1869–1872)
The crossing that changed everything—and the father who had only days to live.
Episode 4: The Brooklyn Robertsons (1872–1900)
Building lives in Brooklyn while mother Margaret finally joins them across the ocean.
Episode 5: Scattered Fates (1881–1921)
The ones who stayed in Scotland, the Liverpool branch, and the fates of all ten children.
Episode 6: The Stone Cutter's Journey (1842–1910)
David Robertson—pioneer, stone cutter, and the man who vanished into the Georgia swamps.
Episode 7: The Son Who Searched (1884–1924)
Joseph Robertson's search for his father, his marriage to Mary Agnes Kenny, and the tragedy that orphaned three children.
Episode 8: The Orphan's Journey [dates]
[Episode 8 description]
Previous newsletters are always available in the Newsletter Archive.
Warmly,
Mary Hamall Morales
Storyline Genealogy
From Research to Story
