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The Great Quest
It has been handed down through my husband's family that his Stevenson ancestors of West Haven, Connecticut originally came from Scotland, and that they were allied with the
Stewart and Wallace families. It was also asserted that the immigrant ancestor was cousin to the man who founded the famous King Ranch in Texas. Except for these and a few other bits of information, family members
knew very little about their ancestry, and could only trace their lineage back a few generations ... to my husband's great-grandfather John W. Stevenson, an immigrant stone-cutter.
In 1993 my husband, Frank Budlong Stevenson, and I travelled to England and Scotland with our two children and somehow managed to hit many interesting sites in the course of
our week-long vacation ... Stonehenge, the Roman ruins at Salisbury (Old Sarum), Sherwood Forest, St. Andrews, Loch Ness, etc. While at Edinburgh, we attended the Military Tattoo (which was taped and later broadcast
back home in America!) and also managed to try a little research at the Archives there. With two kids in tow and little time, we were unsuccessful in unearthing any clues about John W. Stevenson's ancestry.
In August of 1996 my husband and I embarked on a second journey to Scotland. This trip was a present to ourselves in celebration of our 25th wedding anniversary, but was
really a dedicated quest for Frank's ancestral roots. This time, I was prepared for the research at Edinburgh. I had contacted a researcher in West Haven, Connecticut who provided me with much information before we
left. Our trip was a great success! Research at the archives in Edinburgh added several generations to what had previously been known of Frank's lineage. We were able to go back to one William Stevenson of Dunlop,
Scotland , a village located between Glasgow and Ayr.
Loaded with lots of tantalizing clues, we headed west toward Glasgow and then south toward the little village of Dunlop. There we found the old cemetery that contained the
graves of many Stevensons and allied families. Although we searched in vain for William Stevenson's gravestone, hoping to find a reference to his parents, we were thrilled to have spent the day in the quiet and
charming village where this man lived and worked.
The genealogy presented herein includes every last tidbit of information that was gleaned from our trip to Scotland, as well as the research in West Haven, Connecticut. If
you recognize any names or places and have any material that might help us complete this work, please contact us!
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