This is an archive of the Nisbet News newsletters. Click on the desired issue and you will be taken to a pdf file of that newsletter.
Nisbet News, Issue #1 published November 2021
The first issue describes the early lives of James Nisbet and Helen Nicol, who married in 1796. James worked as an estate gardener and in 1801 they moved to St. Mary’s Ilse near Kirkcudbright Scotland, where they raised 13 children to maturity. This issue takes the story to James’s death in 1834
Nisbet News, Issue #2, published December 2021
The second newsletter follows the life of the widowed Helen Nicol Nisbet as she deals with widowhood in the years following her husband’s death. Three of her seven sons perish and she is in a constant state of distress over her six unmarried adult daughters. This issue ends in 1844 with the marriage of one of her daughters.
Nisbet News, Issue #3, published December 2021
This issue follows Helen Nicol Nisbet from 1844 through 1853 — nine years full of challenges and setbacks. Her eldest son James dies in Edinburgh and several of her daughters suffer debilitating illnesses. Helen does take heart when two more of her six daughters are married, lessening the burden on her household.
Nisbet News, Issue #4, published January 2022
This edition describes Helen Nicol Nisbet’s final years which are filled with worry and hardship. Before her own death in 1856, she loses all three of her unmarried daughters within a five month span, preceded by the death of an infant granddaughter.
Nisbet News, Issue #5, published February 2022
Issue #5 shifts the focus to the children of Helen Nicol Nisbet, beginning with the ten children for whom no living descendants have been found. The family of Henry Nisbet is explored in detail.
Nisbet News, Issue #6, published April 2022
In this issue we take a look at the lives of two of the three Nisbet children who have descendants alive today — The eldest, James (1798-1849) and Mary Anna (1822-1862).
Nisbet News, Issue #7, published November 2022
This is a travelogue documenting our trip in Scotland, traveling along what I call “The Nisbet Trail.” We visited over 20 Nisbet-related sites.
Nisbet News, Issue #8, published January 2023
This issue wraps up the story of “The Nisbets of Kirkcudbright”
Nisbet News, Issue #9 , published Fall 2023
In this issue I provide information on the Nicol ancestry of Helen Nicol Nisbet, discuss the book about Douglas Nisbet’s 1851 journey to Scotland, tell some stories from my trip to Scotland this past summer, and give an update on the Nisbet DNA project.
Family Lore by Ian Nisbet Ross 