A Request From Edinburgh, Scotland

Dear Mr Rethford,

I'm Donald Sutherland and I'm writing to you from Edinburgh in Scotland concerning your post on 15th June 2010 titled "List of Orkney and Shetland Islanders who once lived in Chicago". I'm presently working on details of my family, quite a number of whom emigrated from Orkney (mainly from the island of Flotta) to Chicago at the end of the 19th and into the early 20th centuries. In your post you indicate that you would be willing to respond to requests about family research, so I have a number of questions for you concerning possible entries on the list and other papers you mention.

(a) In the list of past presidents of the society, you mention John Sutherland. I think this is my great-uncle. If you have any details relating to him (e.g. age, address, occupation, period of presidency) I'd be very interested. In July 1994 there was a post in the Illinois St Andrew Society Newsletter titled "Captain John Sutherland - someone you should know". The article detailed his escape during the Nome gold rush. This was submitted by Margaret Baikie Johnson, a distant relative of mine. Do you know if this Captain John Sutherland was the same John Sutherland as had been the president of the society?

(b) On the membership list can you check for the following people and their addresses:
(i) David Sutherland (a brother of John above);
(ii) James Sutherland (I understand he became president in 1916 before being killed in WW1);
(iii) Donald Sutherland (my uncle);
(iv) William Sutherland;
(v) Sutherland Simpson Sutherland;
(vi) Alexander Ross;
(vii) John James Ross;
(viii) John (T) Simpson;
(ix) John Sandison;
(x) Peter (or Pierre) Barnett;
(xi) John Thompson;
(xii) William (George) Baikie; and
(xiii) Anyone with the name Garriock (these are relatives of Margaret Baikie Johnson mentioned above)

(c) In the list of past presidents you mention a Wm R Simpson. Any information about this person would be helpful. I'm interested because the James Sutherland above was supported in his application for United States Naturalization by his uncle John T Simpson (above) and a W R Simpson - a person I don't directly know about. One part of my family from Flotta are Sutherlands and another part are Simpsons and I'm wondering whether "W R" is a relative I've missed somewhere.

I'd be most grateful if you looked these people up - any information on any of them would be of interest to me.

Best wishes,

Donald G Sutherland