George Cranston of Edinburgh, Scotland writes to Josephine Park Cranston on December 17, 1872. He expresses his frustration with his relatives in Scotland for not responding quickly to Josephine’s requests. He points out that there was an Abbot Thomas Cranston at the Gedburg Abby in the year 1490. The letter makes George’s frustration clear.
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Waverly [Waverley] Temperance Hotel, 43 Princes Street, Edinburgh, 17th. Dec., 1872.
Miss Josephine P. Cranston,
My Dear Madam, When your very kind note of 8th Sept. came to hand, I little dreamt that three months would elapse ere it was acknowledge[d]: still less did I suppose that even then I would not be in a position to reply properly to it. Yet such is the somewhat discreditable truth.
My Uncle was just on the eve of going south to London when he received your two very interesting and highly valued letters, which he handed to me, with instructions that I should attend to them. Not unnaturally the first use I made of your lines was to show them to all of the Edinburgh Cranstons. Then I sent them west to my father, who in turn had them passed round in triumph to the delight and edification of our Glasgow namesakes. It was certainly selfish in us to gratify ourselves first, before making use of your letters to gather more information for you — but well, it was only human nature; and that is all I shall say by way of palliating our behaviour.
Dr. Landon Cranston visits Glasgow only periodically, and my father failed to see him the first two or three times he called. However, all of your letters were handed to the Dr. quite six weeks ago. The Doctor sent on the letters to his sister, who, he says, takes a lively interest in [p. 2] our genealogy and is comparatively well-versed in it. I hoped to have heard from the Doctor or his sister long ere this, but have been disappointed. When your letters are returned to me I shall not lose any time in submitting them to our Dumfries namesake. I have discovered a mutual friend of Mr. James Cranston and our family in a girl-companion of my mother, through whom I need have no hesitation in approaching the gentleman.
I fear you must have but a poor opinion of British business despatch, as exemplified in our folks in connection with your little matters. An American would have put the thing through, right away. However, from the very nature of my applications to friends (i.e. seeking favors at their hands) I am obliged to wait silently and patiently until they choose to comply with my request. At the same time I cannot but feel for you. I know how harassing it must be to you, an enthusiast, to be kept waiting in suspense, perhaps in doubt if your letter is being attended to.
Seemingly my Uncle was mistaken as to the date of Abbot Thomas Cranston’s connection with Jedburg [Jedburgh] Abbey. At all events I found this paragraph in a small pamphlet, “Small’s guide to Jedburg, 1872”, which says the Abbey was founded probably in 1118 — ++++ “Its restoration would, we have no doubt, take place about the year 1490, when one Thomas Cranston was Abbot. At the spring of the great arch, between the south-east pillar and the south-west pillar, may be seen the words ‘Abbas Thomas Cranston’.” [p. 3]
It may interest you to know what Cranstons emigrated to America; so I shall make all possible inquiry for you in this direction. At present I do not know of a single individual of the name who went either to the States or to Canada.
I know that my grand-father, William, went out to Jamaica about forty or fifty years ago. True to the family trait he was a mason; and was killed there while blasting at the quarry.
I am commissioned by my Uncle to thank you for the newspapers you have sent from time to time. He, along with each of us, takes much interest in American intelligence. I have a friend in the far west, (Minnesota) who sends me regularly “Harper’s Weekly” and the “Scottish American Journal”, and many occasional copies of western papers. So that were I to draw upon your kind offer, to any extent, I would simply be taking papers from you which I had not time to read. However I shall be glad to see a Boston or a New York paper, or pamphlet, or magazine now and again. I have a great liking for comic writing, poetry particularly.
With the compliments of the coming season, or, in the words of the enclosed card, wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I am, Yours faithfully, George Cranston.
Analysis — how Doc O fits the family
This is a significant document: the Scottish side of the correspondence whose American half you already have. It dovetails directly with Doc I.
It’s the partner to Doc I (1874). In Doc I, Josephine writes to George Cranston, references their ongoing “trans-Atlantic correspondence,” sends him “the Laws” monthly, mentions “Councillor Cranston,” and thanks him for tending to her genealogical inquiries. Doc O is George writing to Josephine two years earlier (Dec 1872), and it’s the same relationship at an earlier stage — he’s acknowledging her Sept. 8 note and her two earlier letters, and reporting on his efforts to chase down Scottish Cranston information on her behalf. This pushes the documented trans-Atlantic correspondence back to at least Sept 1872, and confirms Josephine initiated genealogical outreach to Scotland by then. The “newspapers you have sent” here become “the Laws … monthly” and American papers in Doc I — same exchange of reading matter across the Atlantic.
The blank form is itself an artifact. George wrote on a printed “CRANSTON FAMILY” genealogical record form (visible reversed/printed behind the script: fields for given name, date of birth, place of birth, place of marriage, etc.). This tells you the family’s genealogical project was organized enough to have printed forms — likely circulated to gather standardized data across the diaspora. Worth noting whether other documents in the collection sit on the same form stock.
New names and relationships (Scottish branch):
George Cranston — the writer; young, literary (likes comic writing and poetry), well-connected among Scottish Cranstons. Edinburgh-based but with family “west” in Glasgow. This is Josephine’s “Dear Friend George Cranston” of Doc I.
George’s uncle — the senior figure who first received Josephine’s letters and delegated them to George; travels to London. Possibly the “Councillor Cranston” of Doc I.
George’s father — in Glasgow; circulated the letters among the “Glasgow namesakes.”
Dr. Landon Cranston — visits Glasgow periodically; holds Josephine’s letters for ~6 weeks; has a sister “well-versed in our genealogy.” A key Scottish genealogical contact.
The “Dumfries namesake” and Mr. James Cranston — further Scottish Cranston branches (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dumfries all represented).
George’s grandfather William Cranston — a mason, went to Jamaica c.1822–1832 and was killed blasting at a quarry there. Note the recurring “family trait” of masonry (stonework) — and note this is yet another William in the picture (now three: William Rollin, William Wallace, and this Scottish grandfather William).
A friend in Minnesota who supplies George with American papers — an independent Scottish-Cranston American connection, separate from Josephine.
The Jedburgh Abbey / Abbot Thomas Cranston note. George corrects his uncle’s earlier claim and quotes Small’s Guide to Jedburgh (1872): the abbey’s restoration “about the year 1490, when one Thomas Cranston was Abbot,” with the inscription “Abbas Thomas Cranston” carved at the spring of the great arch. This is the family reaching for its deep Scottish/ecclesiastical antiquity — parallel to Josephine’s own chart (Doc M) reaching back to Gov. John Cranston and Roger Williams on the American side. It’s lore-gathering, not verified descent, but it shows what the 1870s correspondents were chasing.
On the Parks thread: no help — purely the Scottish line. No Parks reference.
Reading notes: “Waverly” is George’s spelling of Waverley; “Jedburg” his spelling of Jedburgh; one struck word (“the Dr.”), his own deletion, noted. The date is secure: 17 Dec 1872, header and internal references agree.
