Families

Each member of the Annal family has been assigned to a particular group according to their earliest known ancestor.

There are two main areas where the name Annal is known to have originated; South Ronaldsay (Orkney) and Fife. I am quite sure that the two groups are completely unrelated. I am equally sure that all the South Ronaldsay Annals are related to each other, but I have not been able to establish the relationships of the various branches before the parish registers start in the mid-to-late eighteenth century. There are therefore a number of separate groups in South Ronaldsay.

Since first identifying them, I have discovered that certain groups are related to others. I soon found out that the Liverpool and Gravesend Annals came from South Ronaldsay and I have been able to prove that the Yorkshire Annals came from Fife. There are therefore a number of missing group letters. The only significant group which I have not (so far) been able to trace back to either Orkney or Fife is the Annals of Deal in Kent.

Group A	South Ronaldsay – East Side, Lythes, Mossetter, Stane, Myre etc. Edinburgh
Group B	South Ronaldsay – Linklater, Mossetter etc. USA; Argentina
Group C	South Ronaldsay – Mossetter Edinburgh; Canada
Group D	South Ronaldsay – Sandwick Wick – Keiss; Holm
Group E	South Ronaldsay – Papley, Grimness Gravesend; Greenwich
Group F	South Ronaldsay – Papley Aberdeen; Rossyth; Australia; USA
Group G	South Ronaldsay – Grimness Edinburgh; Goodwick (Pembrokeshire); Leicester; Melksham USA; Canada
Group H	South Ronaldsay – Holland Oswego, NY
Group M	St Andrews, Fife; Dundee; Dalry, Ayr; Kilwinning; Well, Yorkshire; Leeds; Bradford
Group P	Deal, Kent