"Marriage" confirmed

Grendlsmother · Post by **Grendlsmother** » Mon Oct 29, 2007 7:39 pm

I suspected that my gggxgrandfather had been married twice, but the only authenticated record I could find was a marriage in 1821 when he 54 years old. Common sense dictated that he had probably been married before although OPR record did not state bachelor or widower. (At first I though this 1821 marriage was his son and this threw me for a while until I found gggxgd on the 1841 census - right age, right woman. I could find no first marriage, but children by someone with the same name in the same area, but all IGI submitted, so couldn't be sure it was the same man. OPRs also showed the (first) couple having children, so not hoping for much I decided to lash out and see if there was anything worthwhile. Bingo - the very last child's entry gave the exactly the same address as my gggxgrandfather was living at on the 1841 census with his new wife and family. (Although, the first family had all disappeared and I have subsequently only traced one).

Never give up!

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Mon Oct 29, 2007 9:32 pm

Hi Grendlsmother
That's great. Digging around usually pays off one way or another, but not always in the way you were expecting...sometimes other things turn up instead whcih are equally interesting. It is always very satisfying to feel you have found a decent sized jigsaw piece. =D>

Best wishes
Lesley

mallog · Post by **mallog** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 7:12 am

I find just when I think I've looked up all I can on the 1881 Census I get a link to another branch $\:D/$

sheilajim · Post by **sheilajim** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 7:42 pm

Congratulations on your find.

You are right never give up.

I had been trying to find my GGGrandmother( my maternal grandmother's grandmother) on the 1901 Census with no luck. I had found her on the 1891 census, but not the 1901 census.
She had a lot of children and just over a week ago, I was looking up one of her daughters on the 1901 census, and to my surprise, there she was, living with her daughter and her husband. Or maybe they were living with her. She was listed under her maiden name, which was, of course, spelled wrong. She was at the same address that was listed in the 1891 census.

I count this as a modest success, nothing like your success Grendlsmother, but it goes to prove that you should never give up.

Cheers

Grendlsmother · Post by **Grendlsmother** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 7:36 pm

I have a similar problem with my ggxgrandmother. She and her whole family disappear when it comes to the 1851 census. Even a married sister, not living at home, has disappeared. Some of them, including ggxgrandmother, turn up when records start in 1855 but goodness knows where they all were in between. It doesn't help that the name is M*cDonald and that I have six different spellings of her first name.

One day I'll find where she was is 1851.

sheilajim · Post by **sheilajim** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:45 am

I know all about how difficult it is to find the correct McDonald. There are so many of them. My grandfather was a McDonald. Tracing his ancestors has cost me a lot of credits of SP. Yet in someways I have had success with this line. The only certain, 18th Century birth cert. that I have is for a McDonald. I hope that I will be more successful when the Kirk Session Records come online.

Regards

Grendlsmother · Post by **Grendlsmother** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 7:33 pm

Do you know where your McDonald's were from - you never know we might just have a connection and I might be able to help out (I have lots of certs).

sheilajim · Post by **sheilajim** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 9:09 pm

My more recent McDonalds are in Renfrewshire and Glasgow. There have been some in Clackmanshire. Many of them lived in Sterlingshire.

The oldest McDonald relative that I have traced is Archibald McDonald married to Chirstan Dunn. They lived in Fintry and Balfron, in Stirlingshire. I do not know whether or not Archibald was born in Stirlingshire. I cannot find him on the 1841 Census. I assume that he and his wife were dead by this time. He only shows up as the father on the birth certs. of his children.
The oldest birth cert. is 1799, for my ancestor John Dunn McDonald. He and Chirstan Dunn were not married at the time, and I hoped that I might find something about them from the Kirk Session Records. Then I learned that the Kirk Session records for Fintry are missing for this period.

They are married by the time their next child was born. I know absolutely nothing else about Archibald McDonald. He is one of my many brick walls.

It will be hard finding out anything about him, but I live in hope that one day I will.

It would be nice to find out that we are related, but there are so many of these McDonalds.

Regards

Grendlsmother · Post by **Grendlsmother** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 11:36 pm

You are right - there are just too many. Mine are all from the Lanarkshire/Dumfries border and I can trace them there back to around 1750. (Can't get them on the '51 census though!). After about 1855 they all seem to be in Ayrshire.

Well, just a thought about a connection - stranger things have happened.