Week 19: Bearded #52Ancestorsin52Weeks

So last week I mentioned the 'Bald' men in my family and I only had to go back one generation to find some shining examples! This week's topic involved a lot more work. I have no photos of bearded ancestors. My recent lot appear to have been very clean shaven, though I do have a couple of photos of my maternal grandfather with a moustache. So I had to go very, very far back.

Of course, if I go pre photographs, I need to find portraits. Again, difficult. The miners, iron workers, agricultural labourers, shoemakers, tollkeepers may indeed have sported beards, but they didn't sit for portraits.

I needed to find someone 'important'!

I have about five ministers in my tree, but there are no pictures of them that I can find. I had to go further back. It used to be common practice for a landowner's youngest son to be married to a minister's daughter or his daughters to be married off to the minister, as these children were unlikely to inherit from their father, but still needed to marry 'well'.

I have a couple of these 'gateways' to the nobility in my tree. One of my 6 x great grandfathers was a Rev. James Bradfut, who was the Minister at Dunsyre in present day South Lanarkshire. In 1717 James married Jean Muir, the daughter of James Mure of Rhoddans, whose father was William Mure the 3rd of Glanderstone ...... and so it goes back. But still no luck in finding beards, though I'm sure they were about.

Other notable families appear in my tree when we get back to the 16th and 17th centuries, but those I could find a portrait of are beardless.

So..... finally, I had to turn to one of the most important people in my tree - my 20th great grandfather Robert. Robert was born in 1274. He had a beard!!! You may have heard of him - Robert de Brus, King of Scotland!

My bearded ancestor, King Robert I of Scotland.

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