An Aberdeen man who has spent 21 years tracing his family tree has now tracked down over 32,000 of his ancestors.
Arthur Kean, now residing in Tottenham in Canada, has managed to research his side of the family back to the middle of the 17th Century.
His lineage includes links to several ancient Scottish clans, including the Gordons, Stewarts and Mackays, and features 32,424 names.
During the extensive research, he has also unearthed surprises, including discovering ancestors from Palestine, battle victories of his Irish relatives and links to the smuggling trade.
Mr Kean, 69, said: “When I went further back, I found that some of my Irish relatives had the surname Brandie.
“That side goes back to about 1712. At the time, they were smugglers, which is where they got the name from.
“It’s difficult when you look back because the names have changes, obviously down the line it has changed from Brandy to Brandie.”
Adorned on Mr Kean’s living room walls are two collages featuring hundreds of his and his German wife’s family members dating back centuries.
Whenever he is able to add a new name to the tree, another picture becomes part of the tribute.
Born in Granton Place in Aberdeen, Mr Kean moved to Canada with his family when he was 10 years old after his father lost his job selling televisions in Banchory.
Although he has lived on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean for all of his adult life, the bus driver still maintains a fondness for his roots.
He said: “I try to get back every couple of years, although I haven’t been able to do it as much as when I was younger.
“My parents and some of my grandparents are buried in Aboyne, my other grandmother is buried in Aberdeen. I go to see their graves whenever I am over.”
During the 21 years of unearthing his descendants, Mr Kean has met relatives scattered all over the world in Australia, Chile, Germany and Scotland.
They have usually been keen to swap tales and provide the next piece of the puzzle to complete the family tree.
But as Mr Kean said: “The family line goes back to Ireland and had lots of different names. I can’t go back any further, though. At one point, there was a fire and all the records have been burned. Hopefully, I can get to Ireland one day and look for it there.”
He has also helped other members of the family reunite after decades apart.
Mr Kean added: “I was looking into the family from the 1930s. There was a car accident and the wife died shortly afterwards and the children were taken away by the council.
“The son was okay, he was adopted by the grandmother. The two girls got sent to England and I lost track of them.
“In 1997 I found the male, and another family member found the two ladies living only a few miles apart in the Bristol area.”
