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The marriage certificate of Robert Annal in St. Andrews in 1824 states

'Annal Seaman on Board of the Y(?)......... Royal Cutter & Isabella Robertson, both of this parish married of(?) instant by Dr. Haldane.'

I presume they were not married on board this ship and that the phrase just indicates he was a regular crew member.

Using the Death Certificate of Andrew R. Annan I had been looking for Andrew's Birth Certificate (c.1825-1827) under that surname, however his (second) Marriage Certificate gives his parents as Robert Annan( Master Mariner) and Isabella Robertson. I am confident the above pair are his parents as dates and other family names match.

Brickwall?

Andrew's BC. I have searched under Annal, Annan, Annand and Robertson.

Andrew grew up in St. Andrews and was one of the first pupils at Madras College. In 1841 he is listed with his probable grandparents, William and Isabella (Bell) Robertson.

Surely wives did not join husbands on ships (Merchant Navy?) in those days.
Any ideas?
Mairi.

Hi Mairi

'Annal Seaman on Board of the Y(?)......... Royal Cutter

My interpretation of the above would be that he was of that ship. I think it is just a way of indentifying him, as you might with a tradesman such as; "tanner, of trades lane" or whatever...

both of this parish married of(?) instant by Dr. Haldane

"instant" or "inst." usually means of this month...is it perhaps preceded by a number indicating the date?

Best wishes
Lesley

Fife Death index has:

Isabella ANNAL, other name Robertson
St Andrews
date of death: 22 Dec 1832
date of burial: 24 Dec 1832
wife of Robert Annal (seaman)

from OPR 453-21

So perhaps both Andrews parents had died by 1841, or his father was at sea.
Just a thought...could his parents have been abroad at the time of his birth? It seems there are plenty Annals in the St Andrews area, judging from the Death index and a search on SP.

Best wishes
Lesley

Bit of a leap of faith and would need veryfiying, but I wonder if that is your Robert born St Andrews and St Leonards in 1801... father's name is Andrew, mother Anne Wallace. They also seem to have had children: Andrew, Agnes, Anne, Catherine, George, Helen, Isabel, Margaret and William.... !! (all between about 1801 - 1820)

Best wishes
Lesley

Bless you Lesley!

Have just noticed your last two posts as I was about to reply to your first.

Yes that Isabella who died in 1832 was Andrew's mother! Thank you so much for that information.

Andrew is with his grandparents in the 1841 census along with a Euphemia Robertson.

For a long while I assumed she was his mother and that he was illegitimate but could not verify it as have found no BC for Andrew. So his father was at sea, his mother died when he was about six or eight and he was brought up by his grandparents. He used the name Robertson for years it seems.

Have recently discovered the name Annal which may have been a precursor of Annan. Did this by re-examining the old map which gives the names of the residents of a town. Temporarily forget the cartographer as I type but his maps are really helpful!

Robert, the seaman father, did survive as I found out just before my post. He died in 1870, a pauper at the end of his seafaring life-----sad. Hope he had some contact over the years with his talented son.

Yes I had traced his family and he was the '1801 Robert', born to Andrew Annal and Ann (Agnes) Wallace. Have got back to 1770 with certainty and have a fair idea of the earlier ones.

Have worked hard trying to find the jigsaw bits of information but the gaps seemed almost impossible to fill.

Thank you again for finding and handing me a central missing bit.

Cheers,
Mairi.

Hi Mari

I've just stumbled on this thread from a Google search and I was fascinated to read it.

I've been carrying out a 'One Name Study' on the name ANNAL for nearly 30 years and I've got details of pretty much every ANNAL who's ever lived! I have a lot of information about Robert Annal (1801-1870) and had found his marriage to Isabella Robertson but had no idea that they had a child. I'd be delighted to know more about his Andrew Robertson ANNAL/ANNAN.

I hope this is still a current contact for you.

Best wishes,
Dave Annal

Hello Dave and
Mairi hasn't been on this site since June of 2009, but if she still has the same email address, she should receive a notification of your post. If you don't hear soon, you might try clicking on the PM button next to one of her posts to send her a private message.

Hope you two can connect and share information!

All the best,
Sarah