A cousin of a cousin

In the middle of a search for something completely unrelated, on page 97 of The Skeena: River of Destiny by Dr. R.G. Large I found this

…for two or three years, a Dr. Bluett-Duncan. a wealthy Englishman who was a cousin of Mr. Tomlinson’s, had lived with Mr. Duncan at Metlahkatla, giving his services freely.

…and

………down

……………the

…………………rabbit

………………………hole

……………………………I

…………………………………go

I remembered that Robert’s aunt had married a Bluett, so he had cousins of that name. Perhaps his cousin Maria Dorothea had married a Duncan.

It looked liked a possibility as Maria had visited Robert and his family at Meanskinisht. She arrived in New York on her way to the Skeena River on 05 July 1905.

However, Maria never married, and her brothers’ names were Richard Douglas and Sterling Henry. I searched for additional siblings, but none were found. However, on the same page as Maria’s probate information in England was a Duncan Campbell Bluett-Duncan, so perhaps another branch of the Bluett family.

Tracking down that other branch and working out the births and marriages, I found a James Duncan Bluett who also went by the last name Bluett-Duncan. He was a cousin to Maria.

So, I found him. He was born in Witton Lancashire about 1846 (his birth was registered in the first quarter of that year) and died on 03 January 1921. He received his license as a physician through the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh in 1883 and became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in England that same year. That puts him perfectly in the time frame to be assisting Duncan at Metlakatla for a few years, while Robert was also there. In fact, he arrived in New York on the SS Oregon 25 August 1884, likely on his way then.

So, James Duncan Bluett-Duncan was a cousin of a cousin of Robert Tomlinson.