We first read of Eddie Poe's Aunt Elizabeth, (John Allan's sister, married to a Galt) in Hervey Allen's, Israfel. She was said to have a beautiful estate on "the Cree Water," and called, "The Flowerbank Estate."  In fact, we learned from driving to her house that the identifying features are the Cree River, and the village of Newton Stewart, in Galloway, to the south of the country, not in Ayrshire, with all the other Galts.  Another John Allan sister, Mary, lived with her husband, Allan Foulds, at the Flowerbanksestate of Kilmarnock.  Nevertheless, it can be said that the "Flowerbank estate" is one of the most beautiful sights that we saw during our Scottish visits.      Kenmotsu saw the above sign of the Flowerbanks B & Bin the blackest, dark of night, after driving West, non-stop, from Kilmarnock, then South through Girvin, and after many stops in search between, as we drove in light rain to Newton Stewart, in search of accommodations for the night. At the time, the present owners were in process of renovating this house, once owned by John Allan's sister, Elizabeth Galt and her husband (whose name we never found), and the Bed and Breakfast was closed for the season! Rather than any grand property one imagines that an "estate" is, "Flowerbanks" is just another nice house on the Cree River.  Regardless of its modest existence, the owners told us that the Poe Museum in Richmond had called to ask if they were the "estate."  The Museum never called back, nor replied to the owners' inquires.  We document the precise location and other facts in our book, for those who cannot get such informtion from those who know, but do not share.       Much later, after our visit to Galloway, and Newton Stewart, and in our home in Pacifica, California, one Sunday morning, Brill received a telephone call from a woman calling from somewhere in England. She stated that she had learned of our research project, that included one of the Galts at Flowerbanks, located just north of the beautiful stone bridge, in what we learned is the villageof Newton Stewart. Her name was Lou Greaves, now on these pages as well.

Elizebeth Allan, mother of William Galt Johnson (aka: Johnston). Other Allan and Galt family, who have contacted the author, will be surprised with this wonderful submission from a visitor to our web site. The contributor, Mick Watt, stated in an e-mail that he has lost the genealogoical data of these subjects, but that Elizabeth Allan's second husband, Mr. Ferguson, Solicitor, was "keeper of the signet," and bequethed it to other family, who did not share the family records.   We trust that our link to the Ayrshire Roots pages, and reference to Ms. Cooperwright, will aid others in their interests in these connections?     We have not researched our Allan genealogical data to fit these members into the family trees that we have. The Johnson (Johnston) we have was married to Jean Allan, daughter of William Allan (1749) and Elizbeth Galt, daughter of John Galt, of Cracksland Farm. For the present, we leave the issue at that.

William Galt Johnson, son of Elizabeth Allan (married first to William Johnston). The resemblance of the John and William Galt family line is startling! Notice the gentleman's apparel of the later 18th Century.  The photo that we use in our book of Alexander Allan, founder of the Allan Line of Shipping, is identical.  This, and the portrait of Elizabeth Allan, were sent to the author by a descendant of the Allan family, Mick Watt, for use as and where necessary.  [One can find him on Facebook.] The portraits were possibly painted by Raeburn; the Mr. Watt is uncertain. I am grateful for the ongoing communications of Mike Watt, the owner of these portraits, and relative of Elizabeth Allan, who became a Galt at Flowerbanks.  Because Mr. Watt chose to remain in contact with me, we have since put him in touch with another of his relatives from the Flowerbank line of Allans, Lou Greaves.  She is shown elsewhere on these pages.  Both have contributed immeasurably to our collection of family and other data on John Allan, his kith and kin.  Because Mrs. Greave's own, independent family genealogy puts Edgar Poe with hers, parallel with Elizabeth Galt (of Flowerbank), that makes Mike Watt a member of not only the John Allan family, but of the Galts as well.  The reason members of the Poe Family of Americaare not in this configuration is because none of David and Elizabeth Poe's children had children, in turn.  But Edgar's line of Poes, as Greave's research shows, were in Ayrshire, Scotland.  In consequence, nothing of that line would show outside of Scotland, and Ayrshire in particular.  Who of the Poes were born in Ireland is not relevant to our project, nor our insights into Poe's personality and literary work.

Direct female descendants of the "Flowerbank Estate," of the Newton Stewart, Galloway Galts are the three generations of Galt-related females seen here with Brill: mother (and husband, opposite), daughter, and granddaughter, Holly.  Photo by Grace Kenmotsu.  The confusing issue had been, "which Flowerbank estate in Scotland is the one to which Allen mentions?"  The other Flowerbank estate that we found belonged to the Allan Fowlds, in Kilmarnock.  One Allan sister was indeed more wealthy than the other.  (Please see new contact information of the curator of the Flowerbank home of the Allan Foulds, Kilmarnok, under those pages, soon.)   In the center of the photograph, above, is Lou Greaves, now our good friend, correspondent, and Scottish "cousin." The portrait of Elizabeth Galt's daughter, Jane, that now hangs in Lou's home in Rodmill, Sussex, England, is owned by her mother.      An extraneous point of interest is that Mrs. Greaves lives four houses away from that of novelist Virginai Wolf's house. We were not afraid to make our visit.  Mrs. Greaves was in Scotland conducting her own research of the genealogical relationship to the Galts of Flowerbanks when she was directed to contact us in Pacifica, about 1999. As we compared our independent genealogical data of the Galt family, we learned that our combined research provided never-before-known links that the Allans, Burns, Galts, and Poes connected these ladies with three of the best known literary figures of Scottish letters. Brill's data had the John Allan-Robert Burns-John Galt-Edgar Poe connections, while Greave's data had the John Allan-John Galt-Edgar Poe connections. I pointed our "cousin" to the Burns' connection to her Galts.        As a consequence of our making the effort to find "Flowerbanks," at the "Cree Water," we found the Bed and Breakfast Inn of the current owners, on the Cree River, in Newton Stewart, Galloway.  It truly was a place to "holiday," as the Brits use the concept of "vacation."  As a consequence of Lou Greaves' own work on her family genealogy, that includes Elizabeth (born Allan) Galt, she has found the following extraordinary family tree information, sent in an E-mail, the week of 28 August 2011:  "Jane Galt [Elizabeth's daughter, in a family portrait]married James Black. His mother was Janet Douglas, her father was James Douglas, his father was William Douglas, his fahter was William Douglas, his father was James Douglas 3rd of Mouswald, his fathe was Sir James Douglas 2nd of Mouswald, his mother was Mary fleming of Wigtoun [the Scottish town of book sellers, south of Newton Stewart], her father was John Fleming, his mother was Princess Janet Stewart, her father was James IV Stewart King of Scotland [This is a crucial piece of Scots' nobility, as King James I, who united the crowns, and created Great Britain is from this line.] it seems we are direct descendants of that line of the Kings of Scotland and Christian I, King of Denmark.  It also contains the Drummond family which is where the Drummond name comes in.  I have checked all evening and its all correct.  I have a family coat of arms on a ring, I shall have to find it again.  And, strange of all, the family seat is actually Dundonald Castle! [Notice that Dundonald Castle was the first military reenforcement of the Stewats of Scotland, appointed by William, Duke of Normandy, after his conquest, as well as the village in which we found the center of the familys in our own study.]  Its also strange that I called Duncan (meaning Black Knight) James Stuart and he is a descendant of James (the Black Knight) Stuart.  [Grace and I have a friend, through the Murray Clan Society of N. A., John Drummond Murray, who is in the family tree as well.]  We are honored to have been her family's house guest on one of our frist research trips to Scotland.