McPhersons

[Wee Ann]

It is quite a while since I took any interest in my tree, but yesterday, I signed back on with 'Ancestry', and Lo and Behold - there is a huge pile of new information there for me. My Great, Great Grandfather was Alexander McPherson, married to my Great, Great Grandmother Mary McDonald. This I knew! On looking at my tree, I now see that some of my Great Grandfather's siblings are marked as 'half siblings'. This either means that their father 'played away from home', or that he was married previously to someone else. I have tried asking Ancestry about this, but it seems they want some more money to help. I was just wondering, if anyone here would be able to help?

[Wee Ann]

Perhaps I should give you a bit more information. My great, great grandfather was born c 1780 at Loch Treig, Kilmonivaig in Inverness-shire, and I believe he was a shepherd. I'm not sure when he and Mary were married, but the date I have for Mary's birth is 1801. My Great grandfather, Donald, was born in 1835 (or 37 in some records) also at Loch Treig, and he was the second Donald born to the family, and it seemed that both lived to manhood, which perhaps should have made me suspicious. The date of birth I have for the first Donald is 1831. I would be most grateful if someone could help me in this regard. It is a Puzzlement !

[SarahND]

Good morning, Wee Ann,

In my experience with Ancestry, they often assign "half siblings" when several people have slightly different information for one of the parents and it nearly always ends up that they were full siblings after all. So, more research is required before assuming that there were two marriages.

Best wishes,

Sarah

[Wee Ann]

Thank you for that Sarah, but I really think I have to give it a bit more thought, as it might explain the two Donalds. Usually when a name was used twice, it was because the first one hadn't survived, but according to the census, they both lived to manhood.
Regards Ann

[Elwyn 1]

I have seen a couple of Scottish cases where there were 2 children of the same name both alive at the same time. Born to the same parents. The family appeared to be using the Scottish (and Irish) naming pattern. In one case, in Stornoway, both father and grandfather were called Donald, so there were 2 living children named Donald.

Possibly one of the Donalds had an alternative family name to tell them apart. Here in Ireland they sometimes add “og” to the second name to tell them apart. (Og in Irish/Gaelic means wee or little.) So you get Sean and Seanog. Sean and wee Sean.

[Wee Ann]

Hi Elwyn,
Thank you for that. I can imagine my great grandfather going through life as Wee Donald, whether or not Big Donald was his full or half- brother, but it really doesn't help my case, as I still don't know, one way or the other. I am rather hoping I can find a previous wife for their father, or information that rules that out completely.
Regards Ann

[AndrewP]

Hi Ann,

As with any information submitted to Ancestry, you should back it up by seeing the primary information for yourself. As these births would be OPRs, that proof may be difficult. The next route to follow is the family in the censuses and then the marriage and death certificates, hoping that if these events took place in Scotland that they were from 1855 onwards.

All the best,

AndrewP

[Wee Ann]

Hi Andrew,
Most of my information was gleaned many years ago from the census, 9several of them) and I have the full list of my Great, Great Grandparent's offspring. Ten in number, but this does not tell me if all were borne by the same Mother. The difference in age between the boys the first on was born in 1831, and my great grandfather in 1835. I discovered recently, on viewing a church document, that "my" Donald was a twin. His sister, Margaret, 'Died in Infancy'. We do have twins in the family, but I never knew they came from my side of the family. (My mother always claimed to have been a twin, who's sibling died at birth, but I never found any mention of this anywhere, so disregarded it,) I will keep trying now that I have picked up my 'Looking Gear'. Thank you for your input.
Best regards
Ann