Interchangeable First Names ?.....

[Andy]

Don't worry about the lack of an "S" there are folk on here whose surnames have been spelled literally DOZENS of different ways.

What was your great granny's name and rough age?

[Jack]

Hi Katye,
Andy's so right on name spelling - some have very many variations.
Is this your family as LAING in 1851?
--
1851 cens 564-1 (434) Ed 13 p 3 (Greenock East)
5 St. Laurence St.
William LAING, head, marr, 29, smith, b Stranraer, Galloway
Marion LAING, wife, marr, 30, ----------- b Campbeltown, ARL
Agnes LAING, daur, 3, ----------- b Greenock, RFW
William LAING, son, 1, ---------- b Greenock, RFW
Marion LAING, daur, 2mos, --- b Greenock, RFW
--
Jack
--
ps; there's this Marion in 1881 with daurs born Greenock.
Maybe Janet's age of 29 is a transcription error, and shd be 22?
[i've looked at the original page; there's a very dark line over the age, but with a close look i'd say it was 22]

1881 Census Place: Govan, Lanark, Scotland
Dwelling: 288 Mathieson St
Source: FHL Film 0203671 GRO Ref Volume 644-11 EnumDist 54 Page 15
Marion LANG W 62 F Campbeltown, Argyll, Scotland Rel: Head
Janet LANG U 29 ? F Greenock, Renfrew, Scotland Rel: Daur Occ: Dressmaker
Margaret LANG U 19 F Greenock, Renfrew, Scotland Rel: Daur Occ: Domestic Servant
--

[katye]

Andy, Great Granny's name was Mary Lang . She married Andrew Brown in 1874 in Greenock.Andrew was born in Rothesey in 1853 but by 1871 he and his parents lived in Greenock. Because of the name confusion I haven't yet tracked down a record of her birth.

Katye.

[Andy]

It's looking very likely that you have the wrong marriage for William Lang and Ann Adams who married 16 NOV 1851 Glasgow, Lanark, Scotland.

Because of the names on Mary's marriage cert it's 99.9% positive that the actual marriage was William Lang and Marion Adam in Greenock, above.

I'll try to nip into the Watt this evening to see if I can find them in 1861 and 1871.

My census discs at work have gone walkabout (someone is in big trouble) perhaps someone could track down Andrew and Mary Brown in 1881 just to confirm Mary's age and birthplace.

[katye]

Thanks Andy,
You've been most helpful. My brother has the 1881 census on disc. I'll send him an email for the info.

Cheers, Katye.

[DavidWW]

1881:

Dwelling: 15 Lyle St
Census Place: West Greenock, Renfrew, Scotland
Source: FHL Film 0203570 GRO Ref Volume 564-1 EnumDist 30 Page 17
Marr Age Sex Birthplace
Andrew BROWN M 27 M Rothesay, Bute, Scotland
Rel: Head
Occ: Baker (Journeyman)
Mary BROWN M 26 F Greenock, Renfrew, Scotland
Rel: Wife
Mary BROWN 6 F Greenock, Renfrew, Scotland
Rel: Daur
Andrew BROWN 3 M Greenock, Renfrew, Scotland
Rel: Son
Christina BROWN 14 m F Greenock, Renfrew, Scotland
Rel: Daur

Given the match on age and place of birth of Andrew this is the likely entry, but a look at one of the birth register entries for the children is an advisable step!

David

[katye]

To DavidWW,

Hi, you do have the right family as I know my grandfather, William was born in Lyle Street. I also found them on the 1901 census, with 2 younger additional children. You have helped me answer a question which I had just asked myself. Looking at the 1901 census I realised that there was a 4 year gap between them getting married and having the 1st child. I was wondering if maybe there was an older child who had left home. Now I know.
Thank you very much.

[DavidWW]

To DavidWW,

Hi, you do have the right family as I know my grandfather, William was born in Lyle Street. I also found them on the 1901 census, with 2 younger additional children. You have helped me answer a question which I had just asked myself. Looking at the 1901 census I realised that there was a 4 year gap between them getting married and having the 1st child. I was wondering if maybe there was an older child who had left home. Now I know.
Thank you very much.

Nae prob, that's what TS exists for .

But even with that additional Lyle Street link, you still need to double-check this 1881 entry via a look at the birth register entry of wee Mary. Remember as well that she may not have survived to adulthood.

There's no obvious death of a Mary BROWN between 1881 and 1901; and there are 6 matching marriages of a plain Mary in Greenock in the period 1891 to 1901, and the same number of Mary Ann's and siclike.

There's only one 16yr old Mary in the 1891 census in Greenock, but altho' she's born in Greenock, there's no certainty that this is your Mary given that, wherever she is to be found, she might have reported her age as 15 or 17 or whatever. The problem of a surname such as this is nicely illustrated by the fact that there are another 60 (sixty) 16yr old Mary BROWNs in the whole of Scotland

The 1891 census entry for Andrew and family is straightforward to locate if you restrict the search to Renfrewshire and search on an age exactly matching that reported in 1881 for Andrew.

David

[Andy]

Take a guess at who owns 15 Lyle street (bottom flat)!!!!!!!!

[Jack]

Just to say -

Census details for William LAING & family now added to my previous post.

Jack