Buchanan, Stirlingshire birth.....

catherine · Post by **catherine** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 12:24 am

Can anyone give me some advice as to where I would find my gt.gt. grandfather Robert Fraser's birth records or even his parents marriage.
Robert Fraser was said to have been born in Buchanan, Stirlingshire (according to Census records 1841 - 1901 with the exception of the 1851 Cenus when he was living in Drymen and it said born Drymen. His age in each Census varies from age 11 in 1841, 19 in 1851, 30 in 1861, 43 in 1871, 55 in 1881, 65 in 1891 and 75 in 1901. I first found him in 1841 in Balfron as a scholar, age 11 living with Janet Galbraith age 46 and John Morison age 16 (unwell) I believe Janet Galbraith was his mother. His death in Glasgow in 1907 indicated this plus his father was said to be Robert Fraser. I have been unable to find any marriage details either. I know the Galbraiths in Balfron were members of one of the non-established churches. I have tried for over twenty years to trace Robert's birth and parents. I have everything from his marriage in 1855 onwards. The John Morison referred to in 1841 was also living with him in Drymen in 1851 and was said to be his cousin although I have never found John Morison again nor any relationship to Robert. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

sheilajim · Post by **sheilajim** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 10:28 pm

Hi Catherine

I assume that you have tried looking for him on SP. I tried on IGI and couldn't find him.
He might not have been baptized, and that is the reason that he can't be found. There is often no record of a birth before the Statuatory Records started in 1855. I know, because I have some problems with some of my ancestors too.

Sorry that I haven't been more helpful.

Sheila

catherine · Post by **catherine** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 11:33 pm

Thanks Sheila. I am embarrassed to have to ask but what is SP? I believe I have tried every avenue available but am going to try the non-conformist church records and kirk session records for Balfron and Buchanan, Stirlingshire.
I hate to give up and I must say it is driving me crazy not be be able to find out anything about him or his parents. According to the Statistical Account for Balfron for 1841 there were two fatherless boys maybe my Robert Fraser and John Morison were these two boys. Maybe I will never know. Thanks again - Catherine

sheilajim · Post by **sheilajim** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 1:18 am

Hi Catherine,

I was in the middle of a reply, when Talking Scot went down on me.

SP is Scotlands People, the online site for Scottish Records. You can buy 30 Credits for 6LBs, or approximately $12.00.

I live in California, and without Scotlands People, wouldn't have even started looking into Genealogy.

I think that searching the Kirk Session Records and the Non-Conformist Records is a good idea. If you can't find them there, I don't know where else you can look, but others on Talking Scot are more informed than I am.

Here is wishing you good luck in your research.

Sheila

P.S. I think that there is a link to Scotland's People under Sources, at the top of the page.

Post by **AndrewP** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 1:25 am

sheilajim wrote:I was in the middle of a reply, when Talking Scot went down on me.

Yes, TS went offline for 15 to 20 minutes about 11.30pm GMT. The reply I got from our web hosting company was that there had been a critical error and the server had to be re-booted.

All the best,

Andrew

catherine · Post by **catherine** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 1:28 am

Hi Sheila - I have been searching On Scotlands People for quite some time and am still trying everything I can think of. Thanks for your input, ifI do ever find anything I will post it in success stories. Catherine