Reid/Crookston .....

[pinkshoes]

Hi everyone - hope someone can help me solve this one. I'm looking for John Reid (Collier) who was born in Cranston Midlothian around 1827 - I have no birth cert, this is an IGI entry. He married Alison Crookston, b. 1820, in Tranent in 1845. In 1851 census they were still in Tranent at 1 Elphinstone with son James age 1. I know they had another son Robert about 1853. Both John and Alison were alive according to Robert's marriage cert in 1872 (Robert married Jessie Dunlop in Whitburn). Alison died in 1878 in Stobhill, Edinburgh and John her husband is the informant.

I can find no record of either John or Alison (or their sons) in 1871 census. The only John Reid born Cranston at about the right time in the 1881 census is living with wife Sarah in Ayr Road Dalserf Lanarkshire - his occupation is collier, which also fits. (He gives his age as two years younger than I'd expect, but Sarah is only 39 to his 52, so perhaps it was a deliberate error!!) Given that wife Alison died in 1878 it's not beyond the realms of possibility that he remarried, but I'm not convinced.

His son Robert married for a 2nd time in 1890, and the marriage cert states his father John is deceased. You've guessed it - I can't trace a death certificate between 1878 and 1890 either.

I've tried all conceivable spellings for Reid and Alison - not much you can do with John (as far as I know!) and got zilch. I'm sure SP rub their hands in glee when I log on - 6 quid here, 6 quid there - you know how it goes!

Sorry to rave for so long, but would really appreciate any help or suggestions.

Hope the sun's shining where you are.

Thanks
Pink Shoes

[JustJean]

Hi pinkshoes

When running a parent search on the IGI you get another child...born in 1855!
JANE REID - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Birth: 30 JUL 1855 Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland

Her birth record would be worth looking at just to confirm how many children Alison had up until then. It also gives you another location to track them down at. I haven't looked further to see if baby Jane survived but that too might be a wise thing to seek just to pinpoint the family again in case she died young.


Best wishes
Jean

[pinkshoes]

Hooray - thanks for the leg up J-Jean. As well as learning about Jane, I also learned something new about IGI - didn't realise you could search without child's name DOH!!

Something else to go at - thanks again.

[sporran]

Hello pinkshoes,


an interim report, since this may run and run.

The 1881 census entry is correct. John Reid married Sarah Newburgh (widow of Walter Young) in 1879 at Lasswade. She was 38 to his 51. Interestingly, one of the witnesses was Robert Crookston.

I can find no trace of her after 1881. There are only 2 Newburgh deaths anywhere, and they were not her. I tried wildcards, and all combinations of her surnames, but nothing suitable. Likewise, I can not find a death of John Reid in the 1881-1890 range, and I looked at most if not all of them. She was from Ireland, so there is a possibility that they moved away from Scotland.

It is odd that none of the family can be found in 1871, especially since Robert married only a year later, but I have found nothing.


Regards,

John

[pinkshoes]

Hi Sporran - interesting indeed! I know Alison's father was Robert Crookston, but can't think he would have been the witness? Perhaps there's a brother of Alison by the name of Robert - I'd be surprised if there's not - but I haven't stumbled on him yet. I did notice that Sarah was born in Ireland and had the same thoughts as you. The other thing that crossed my mind was an emigration to the States. I've been told by people looking into Alison's mother's line (Fairholm) that a bunch of Crookstons went to Utah. I believed Alison and John couldn't be among them, because of the sons births, her death etc. However, my creative mind is forming a wee tale here - could John & Alison have gone (with kids) came back when Alison was dying (1878) - missing the 1871 census, then she missed 1881 cos she was deid, John had married Sarah and they went back to the States? Vivid imagination

Thanks for the input - very interesting family, with lots of marriages between the Reids and Crookstons (and the Reids/Reids Crookstons/Crookstons for that matter).

Think I'll be up all night (again)!

[pinkshoes]

Sporran's reply above got me at it again- it's even more complicated than I thought The marriage cert of John & Sarah gives John's parents as James Reid and Marion Ferme, and the witnesses were Robert Crookston and Janet Hogg. It happens that the parents of John's first wife (Alison) were Robert Crookston and Marion Fairholm(e)/Ferme/Ferm. So John and Alison each had a mother called Marion/version of Fairholm. Another example of the inter-marrying among the Crookstons/Reids/Fairholms - there were many.

The other little pearl is witness Janet Hogg - I don't know what her relationship was to the wedding party, but I know for sure the name Hogg also features large in the Crookston/Reid/Fairholm ancestry. Alison Crookston's paternal grandmother was Agnes Hogg and I could bet my last 30 credits the inter-family marriages included the Hoggs. Sadly, I'm afraid ma heid's like purridge wi' it a', so the proof of that one will have to wait.

Enough evidence for me to be satisfied that the John Reid who married Sarah Newburgh was my g.g.grandfather. Now I need to find where they all were at census time

Any suggestions will be gratefully received.

Sporran - thanks for your help, it was invaluable in cracking this one. How do you know Sarah Newburgh was the widow of Walter Young b.t.w? No mention on the marriage cert?

Regards to all
Pink Shoes/Purridge Heid

[sporran]

Hello pinkshoes,


sorry for the delay in replying, but my graphics card started to fail, necessitating a quick trip to buy and install a new one.

I searched for the marriage of John Reid to a Sarah between 1878 and 1881, and the likeliest was 1879 in Lasswade to Sarah Newburgh. She was a widow, so I searched earlier marriages using only her name. There was only one, to Walter Young in Canongate during 1869. I have not checked that he died.


Regards,

John

[pinkshoes]

Hi Sporran - hope your techie problems are sorted out!

I took Jean's advice as well and had a look at Jane Reid's birth details. What an interesting little gem that is. I've not seen one of these certs with all that info. It does confirm that there were only 3 children of John & Alison up to that point and Jane was born at Bathvilla Row in Bathgate. There are two witnesses to John's mark - Peter Reid, who I discover is John's brother, and someone called Alex Gordon - I can't read whether he's a Miner or a Minister!

I'll be paying more attention to birth details around that time in future.

Seems the Reids moved around the Lothians till John finally ended up in Lanarkshire - given he was a miner, that's not surprising - I guess they moved about when pits closed? (He was an ironstone miner when Jane was born and there's also evidence somewhere of him as a labourer in the oil works, which I assume was something to do with the shale mining industry in W Lothian).

But where they were in 1871 remains unresolved - I shall keep searching, with an open mind.

I hope there is something among all this that helps someone else, either looking for Reids or coming against similar brickwalls.

Regards.
Pinkshoes

[Guest]

Hello Pinkshoes

I noticed the name Crookston in your posts. I have been following the Tranent Crookstons (Alexander and son David) for my wife's line. They married into the Armour line, and ended up in Fife.

If any of this is of interest, drop us a line.

Dave

[pinkshoes]

Hi Dave - I've pm'd you.

Regards
Pinkshoes