Glasgow area Militia - 1850-1873

[Dubbleu]

My g-g-g grandfather John Livingstone has been my brick wall. According to census records, he was born Pollokshaws 1833. He married Crawford Spencer in Glasgow 1851. They had 12 children and immigrated to the US in 1873 (Connecticut). Recently Ancestry added the Connecticut Miltiary Census in which John indicated that he had served in the Scottish military service, Militia, for a period of 9 months as a Private.

I have never pursued military related research for this ancestor so I don't really know where to go next. I am hoping that something might exist (enlistment record?) that would help point to his parents and origins. I've never been able to confirm him in either the 1851 or 1841 census but so find him in 1861 and 1871 in Glasgow. What militia might he have been with and are there online records available? Thoughts and suggestions are welcome...

[SarahND]

Hello Dubbieu,
Does the 1851 marriage record give any occupation or age?
I note that in 1861 John is 30 and a tape dresser and in 1871 his occupation is given as "Tape Dress Cotton Yarn" and he is 40 years old. He gets younger as soon as he crosses the Atlantic and only ages 6 years between 1871 and 1880.

The only military record I can come up with (on findmypast) is for a John Livingston who claimed to be 18 when he joined up in 1839. His occupation was "cloth lapper" and he was born in Glasgow. Not sure how related cloth lapper is to tape dresser, but maybe someone knows. This soldier was all over the world in the next 21 years before he left the service in 1860, so probably isn't your man, although it certainly wouldn't be the first time someone had lied about their age to enlist when they were too young nor the first time someone had underestimated their age to approximate the age of a younger spouse!

I assume the marriage record doesn't say anything helpful about his being a soldier?

All the best,
Sarah

[Dubbleu]

Thanks for looking. The marriage record says "John Livingston, Twister in Glasgow & Crawford Spencer residing there. Married 31st December by Mr. Robert Houston minister of the parish of Gorbals."

There is no other indication anywhere of his being a soldier. Although his age does fluctuate a bit between 1871 and 1880, in the 1900 US census he gives his date of birth as May 1833 and is listed as 84 years old when he filled out this Military Census in CT in 1917. The census says he served for 9 months.

He's been tough to research. I found that one of his sons was a member of Clan Fraser and his death record says parents names are John and Mary. I do find a John Livingstone and Mary Frazer married in Glasgow 1829 but no birth of a son John in 1833.

[SarahND]

Hmmm. I guess it really can't be the same man-- a pity!

I sympathize with your difficulty trying to go back before registration was compulsory and have any number of ancestral lines stalled there as well

There are a couple of Livingstone testamentary records on ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk Here are the ones that specifically mention Pollokshaws, for what it's worth...


5
LIVINGSTONE
AGNES
26/04/1855
MRS, OR COLQUHOUN, RELICT OF ROBERT LIVINGSTONE, WEAVER IN POLLOKSHAWS, D. 06/04/1855
GENERAL DISPOSITION AND SETTLEMENT; INVENTORY
PAISLEY SHERIFF COURT
SC58/42/21

83
LIVINGSTON
JANET
31/01/1868
ALIAS WALKER, GROCER IN POLLOKSHAWS
PAISLEY SHERIFF COURT
SC58/42/35

126
LIVINGSTONE
ROBERT
26/04/1855
WEAVER IN POLLOKSHAWS, SPOUSE OF AGNES COLQUHOUN, D. 08/04/1832
DISPOSITION AND SETTLEMENT; INVENTORY
PAISLEY SHERIFF COURT
SC58/42/21

[SarahND]

I expect you've seen this birth on FamilySearch in May 1833? At least it matches what he said in 1900. East Kilbride is right next to Pollokshaws and he could easily have been actually born in Pollokshaws, but christened in East Kilbride:

name: John Livingstone
gender: Male
baptism/christening date: 26 May 1833
baptism/christening place: EAST KILBRIDE, LANARK, SCOTLAND
birth date: 19 May 1833
father's name: Peter Livingstone
mother's name: Barbara Bright
indexing project (batch) number: C11643-4
system origin: Scotland-VR
source film number: 1066591
reference number: 2:16KD9L4

[Dubbleu]

Yes, thanks. I did look at the Peter & Barbra parents early on but dismissed them, partly because none of the names were used in John & Crawford's 12 children after looking at Peter & Barbra in the 1841, 1851 census. It's always possible that they had reasons for not using family names and mostof the children's names are easily found in Crawford's family. John's son-in-law was the informant on his death certificate in 1917 so it's possible that he was misinformed when he reported the parents as John & Mary. He also gave May 30 as John's DOB.
The children (in order) were

• John Spencer 1852
  Mary Reid 1854
  Janet - 1856
  Margaret - 1858
  Martha Spencer 1860
  Thomas Spencer - 1863
  Henry Spencer 1865
  Jessie 1867
  David - 1869
  Isabella Lauder -1872
  Alice May - 1875 (b. CT)
  Sarah Briggs - 1877 (b. CT)

Crawford's parents were John Spencer and Mary Reid. Two possibilities exist for the naming of the first two children. Was the middle name used because both John & Crawford's parents were John & Mary or was the middle name of way of indicating the children were named for Crawford's parents specifically? Does the use of Spencer as a middle name indicate anything for the others? I haven't found anything yet about the last three with their distinctively different middle names.