The easiest way to get some more information about the people at Greenknowe would be to look at the censuses – they’re available from 1841 through to 1921. Available on various websites, although 1911 and 1921 are only available on scotlandspeople.gov.uk. The above Robert Bell and family are in the 1861 and 1871 censuses. Robert was born in Middlebie parish, which is considered to be the original home of the Bells worldwide. I’d be happy to research it professionally if that’s the way you want to go.

Thanks for the swift reply! Yes I dare say he will have been an ancestor of mine…. what do I want to know you ask? Everything! I’m intrigued by local history particularly that of the Bell’s and my own at Greenknowe.

Hi Frazer – the historical inhabitants of Canonbie are my specialist subject so what do you want to know ? I know Robert Bell farmed there from the late 1850s to the 1870s. I guess he’s your ancestor ? As a farm, I think Greenknowe was created in the 19th century from parts of older farms including Nether Glenzier (aka Glenzierfoot)

Hi my mothers maiden name and paternal family were Crosers. Yes we survived.
Julie bowman. Carlisle.

Double Ts and double Ls are in NW England (see the most interesting maps online of the 1881 postal surname residences published from the National Tust). A few years ago I spent 3 weeks driving around Ireland. Driving south from Londonderry I stumbled along the Ulster-American Theme Park in the west of Co. Tyrone I think, and spent a few hours there. The park was endowed by the Mellon family of western Pennsylvania. They also endowed a lot of money to Syracuse University in NY. The football team there recently changed their name from the Orangemen to simply the Orange. I drove south to Fermanagh and checked into a B&B in Enniskillen .I didn’t know anything about the troubles there, but the first thing I noticed was a big yellow road-grader (which had Elliott inscribed on the side of the cab (as opposed to Caterpiller or Mitsubishi). The gentleman who owned the place showed me the county phonebook and the most frequent pages were of Elliotts, McGwyers, and Armstrongs. I couldn’t understand him as well as I should have, but I did have an interesting reply when I asked why tourists came to Enniskillen. He said “they come here for tha fashion.” I conjured up images of Bill Blass, or Givonchy. Then he explained further, saying “the tourists come here to go fashin for trout in Lough Erne.”

To get back to where Kinmont Willie, buried in Kirk Morton Cemetery west side of the White Sark Water, on the side which his tower is, named after Kinmont Tower at mouth of Esk and Liddel with Glenzierfoot, in Chapelknowe, it should noted to go back in time may use the older spellings for Carruthers of Karruthers, and at time search ‘de Carruthers’ or ‘de Karruthers’ to get back in time. Keep in mine there maybe other older variant spelling of the name which you may come upon in your search. Try those also.