turn of events

I wonder what the conversation was like. Robert James' mother and father (Agnes and Robert Allen) had already died. I don't know about James Shanks, but Isabella Dickson was still alive. Had the two families corresponded over the years? Did James and Isabella say one day, "Well, Jennie hasn't found anyone in Scotland to marry, and she's not getting any younger. She's already 30. Why doesn't she marry your cousin Robert, in America? He's not getting any younger either, and he's 49 if he's a day. Our Jennie will be a great catch for him"? So they wrote to Robert and he wrote back and he traveled to Scotland to meet his bride-to-be, aka his cousin's old-maid daughter. And they got married and he brought her back to William's bachelor pad. How romantic is that?

Another family connection (aka more about Jennie Shanks)

I've been trying to find William Dickson's information. His daughter, Agnes Dickson, immigrated to the US and married Robert Allen Love, so she is well-documented. But William, his wife, and other children have almost no information. So I went to the Family History Library in Salt Lake and did some research there. They are from Scotland, and since they weren't part of the national church, there aren't any records (either they aren't there or they aren't available). So I'm stymied. But I've been thinking about Agnes. Why did she immigrate by herself? Did she immigrate by herself?

So I got back on the computer this evening to look again at the family. Remember Jean (Jennie) Shanks? She is Agnes Dickson's daughter-in-law. Remember how Jennie Shanks named her daughter after Agnes without having met her? Remember how Agnes' son, Robert James Love, went to Scotland to marry Jennie? I wonder why he went to Scotland to find a wife. Anyway, so I was thinking of all these mysteries, and looking at the tree spreadsheet, and was digging into Jennie Shank's side of the family. Well, Jennie Shank's father was James Shanks, and her mother Isabella Dickson.

 I thought, Dickson must be a really common name in Scotland. Isabella's mother's name was also Isabella, and her father's name was John Dickson, born in 1806. Well, that sounded familiar. You see, at the Family History Library, I tried to find information on William Dickson's oldest son, John Dickson, who was born in 1806. Do you think the John Dicksons could be the same man? That would make Jennie Shank's grandfather and Robert James Love's mother siblings. So Jennie and Robert were first cousins once removed. Which might explain why Robert James would go back to Scotland and marry Jennie.

Later: When I went back into family search to see if there was more information on Jennie's grandpa John than on William's son John, I found out that they are the same person. Crazy! So there definitely is a family connection!