McDougall Family Shotts/Lanarkshire

[helena&david]

Hi, everyone. New to this and currently trying to find out some information on my family tree. Anything you can tell me would be great.

My family lived around the Shotts/Harthill/Kirkfieldbank/Lanarkshire area of Scotland. Got so far but hit a brick wall.

My grandparents were:
Peter McDougall: (1898 - 1949)
Rose Speedie: (1898 -- ????) She died some time after 1964.

My Great Grandfather was also called Peter but I have no information on his birth or death but I do have the entry in the marriage register.
They were married (29 Apr 1898).
Peter McDougall: (???? - ????) No dates at all here!
Mary Wason: (1878 - 1946)

Then there's my Great Great Grandparents; surprise, surprise another Peter who married Jane White.
Peter McDougall: (1819? - 27/AUG/1889) The birth date isn't confirmed!
Jane White: (27/AUG/1859 - 12/MAR/1919)

Next are my Great Great Great Grandparents David & Agnes, though I have no dates for either of them. I believe Agnes' maiden name is McKlevie. The writing is hard to make out but I believe that's what it says.

Any and all help with the missing dates (marriages, births and deaths) is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Helena McDougall

[SarahND]

Hello Helena and

Is this the family (minus father Peter) in 1901? Was Peter a coal miner?

4 Gartlick, Buchanan, Stirlingshire
Mary Macdougall, Wife, born Muirhead, Lanark, Coal Miner's Wife
Peter Macdougall, 2, Son, born West Benhar, Lanark

Just trying to get a handle on the family before I head off in the wrong direction!

Sarah

[AndrewP]

Hi Helena,

I reckon you have missed a generation out. The 1881 and 1891 censuses tell us that Peter was raised (with his brother) by his grandparents Peter McDougall and Jane McDougall (ms. White). Using the birthplace info on the 1881 and 1891 censuses, you find his birth as the illegitimate son of Jane McDougall (daughter of Peter McDougall and Jane McDougall (ms. White)).

As the McDougall family are misindexed on ScotlandsPeople due to the handwriting on the census form, I will give you the 1871 census for the family group.

• Peter McDougald, 54, Head; born Linlithgow, Boness (indexed as age 34)
  Jane White, 37, Wife; born Argyle, Auchlesh(?)
  Jane McDogald, 17, Daur; born Lanark, Glasgow
  Daniel McDogald, 13, Son; born Renfrew, Greenock
  Peter McDogald, 8, Son; born Lanark, Coatbridge
  Agnes McDogald, 4, Daur; born Lanark, Coatbridge
  Catherine White, 3, Orphan; born Lanark, Glasgow

The 1861 and 1871 censuses imply that Jane was born about 1853 to 1854 in Glasgow. She married in 1877. She died in 1919 (two days before one of her sons of the marriage; next entry in the birth register).

Peter McDougall: (???? - ????) No dates at all here!

Peter McDougall: (1876 - 1929)

That should give you something to work on.

All the best,

AndrewP

[helena&david]

Hello Helena and

Is this the family (minus father Peter) in 1901? Was Peter a coal miner?

4 Gartlick, Buchanan, Stirlingshire
Mary Macdougall, Wife, born Muirhead, Lanark, Coal Miner's Wife
Peter Macdougall, 2, Son, born West Benhar, Lanark

Just trying to get a handle on the family before I head off in the wrong direction!

Sarah

Hi Sarah,

Thanks for getting back to me. Those seem to be the ones.

Peter McDougall married Mary Wason on the 29th of April 1898. They had three children that I know of (2 sons and 1 daughter):
- Peter McDougall in 1898
- Elizabeth McDougall in 1905
- Robert McDougall in 1912

As you can probably tell from my original post, there are quite a few Peter's and now there's quite a few David's as well, which is simply frying our brains.

The Peter born in 1898 (above) went on to marry Rose Speedie, though I have no idea who Elizabeth and Robert went on to marry.

We've only recently started this search and are a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of McDougall's in one area.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Helena & David McDougall

[helena&david]

Hi Helena,

I reckon you have missed a generation out. The 1881 and 1891 censuses tell us that Peter was raised (with his brother) by his grandparents Peter McDougall and Jane McDougall (ms. White). Using the birthplace info on the 1881 and 1891 censuses, you find his birth as the illegitimate son of Jane McDougall (daughter of Peter McDougall and Jane McDougall (ms. White)).

As the McDougall family are misindexed on ScotlandsPeople due to the handwriting on the census form, I will give you the 1871 census for the family group.

• Peter McDougald, 54, Head; born Linlithgow, Boness (indexed as age 34)
  Jane White, 37, Wife; born Argyle, Auchlesh(?)
  Jane McDogald, 17, Daur; born Lanark, Glasgow
  Daniel McDogald, 13, Son; born Renfrew, Greenock
  Peter McDogald, 8, Son; born Lanark, Coatbridge
  Agnes McDogald, 4, Daur; born Lanark, Coatbridge
  Catherine White, 3, Orphan; born Lanark, Glasgow

The 1861 and 1871 censuses imply that Jane was born about 1853 to 1854 in Glasgow. She married in 1877. She died in 1919 (two days before one of her sons of the marriage; next entry in the birth register).

Peter McDougall: (???? - ????) No dates at all here!

Peter McDougall: (1876 - 1929)

That should give you something to work on.

All the best,

AndrewP

Hi Andrew,

We both thought that there may be someone missing.

In separate research we found Jane McDougall (we presume the mother, m.s. White) entered on the register as being married to a Thomas Murphy after the death of Peter McDougall. Their son, Peter McDougall (much later on), is entered in the deaths register as dying of Heart failure in 1929 and both Jane White and Thomas Murphy are written there, with Mary McDougall (M.S. Wason) as the widow.

The problem we have is identifying the correct Jane, their respective birth dates, Daniel's birth, and both grandson's appearance, i.e. births. If we were able to figure all of these out it would make things a lot easier. We've been looking into the aforementioned people for that last five hours and both of us are practically blind, and our brains have turned to mush.

Did you find the actual entries for the illegitimate children, and which (John or Peter) child is illegitimate? If so, where did you find it?

Sorry to throw so many questions at you but we're keen to find the information. It's just that the amount of people involved is mind-numbing and you seem to have a good handle on where and when to look.

Thanks,

Helena & David McDougall

[AndrewP]

Hi Helena and David,

On the death certificate of Peter McDougall (married to Mary Wason) no father is listed for Peter. His mother is given as Jane McDougall, who some time after the birth of Peter, married Thomas Murphy. So you have the implication that Peter's birth was illegitimate. He was aged 52, implying a birth year of 1876-1877.

The marriage certificate (1877 in Carluke) for Thomas Murphy and Jane McDougall tells us that they were bachelor and spinster respectively. The 1881 and 1891 census reports tell us that Peter was born in Carluke (again the ages in the census imply a birth year of 1876-1877. A search for the birth of Peter McDougall gives a result for 1876 in Carluke. A look at that certificate tells you that he was the illegitimate son of Jane McDougall (no father for Peter is named). The address in Carluke for the birth is the same address as she gave at the time of the marriage. On the 1877 marriage certificate, Jane's parents are named as Peter McDougall and Jane McDougall (ms. White).

All the references to Jane in the censuses imply that she born in Glasgow in 1853-1854. There is no sign of a birth or baptism records in the OPRs for Jane. However, it is known that the OPRs are far from a complete set of records. It was not compulsory to be listed in the OPRs. The record may have existed, but no longer survives. She could have been baptised in a church other than the Church of Scotland, so could be recorded in a non-conformist church register (which is not available online). My feeling is that you are unlikely to find a record for Jane's birth or baptism. The nearest you can do is follow her through the censuses to the births of her children and her subsequent marriage (from which there were children born).

The 1881 and 1891 censuses show Peter and his brother John (one year older, born in Coatbridge). John's birth certificate is indexed under both the mother's and the father's surname. He is named on the certificate as John Hillhouse (illegitimate), son of John Hillhouse and Jane McDougall (not married).

The online IGI lists the following children to Peter McDougall and Jane/Jean White.

• Marion Mcdougall
  birth: 11 April 1856 MIDDLE OR NEW PARISH,GREENOCK,RENFREW,SCOTLAND
  parents:Peter Mcdougall, Jane White
  
  Daniel Mcdougall
  birth: 14 May 1858 MIDDLE OR NEW PARISH,GREENOCK,RENFREW,SCOTLAND
  parents:Peter Mcdougall, Jane White
  
  Agnes Clements Mcdougall
  birth: 8 June 1860 OLD MONKLAND,LANARK,SCOTLAND
  parents:Peter Mcdougall, Jane White
  
  Peter Mcdougal
  birth: 20 April 1863 OLD MONKLAND,LANARK,SCOTLAND
  parents:Peter Mcdougal, Jean White
  
  Agnes Mcdougall
  birth: 30 November 1866 OLD MONKLAND,LANARK,SCOTLAND
  parents:Peter Mcdougall, Jane White

A look at the 1863 birth certificate of Peter, tells us that the parents were married on 31-Dec-1851 in Glasgow. The 1861 census lists Jane, Daniel and Agnes with their parents. Marion had died aged 10 months. The 1871 census listed Jane, Daniel, Peter and Agnes. There is no sign of a record of the 31-Dec-1851 marriage in the OPRs.

Peter McDougall (born about 1819, calculated from the age on his death certificate), on the census records gives a calculated birth year of 1816-1817 in Bo'ness. The OPRs for Bo'ness show the birth and baptism of a Peter McDougall in 1816; son of Daniel McDougall and Agnes Clements. This is almost certainly the right Peter McDougall, as you see their 1860 daughter is named Agnes Clements McDougall. Peter's 1889 death certificate names his parents as Daniel McDougall and Agnes McDougall (ms. McKenzie). My feeling is that son Peter, the informant to the registrar of his father's death, got his mother's maiden name wrong (that is not uncommon).

All the best,

AndrewP

[Taxiboy]

Hello,

I am Elizabeth , the maternal granddaughter of Mary Hannah ( nee MacDougall ), daughter of Peter MacDougall and Mary Wason. My grandparents migrated to Australia with their first born daughter Mary. My mother Elizabeth MacDougall Hannah was born here in Australia in 1931.
Robert MacDougall ( my great uncle) and his sister Elizabeth( always known as Bette ) emigrated to Canada , married and had happy lives. My great uncle Robert married Cecile and they were lovely people. My parents visited them in Canada, and Robert and Cecile visited us here .
I do believe we are related, and I would love to hear from you.
Elizabeth

[JanetandBob]

Dear Elizabeth,
My name is Janet Wason and my husband is Robert. His grandfather Andrew Wason was a brother to Mary Wason who married Peter MacDougall. We live in Camperdown Victoria. I have a lot of information on the Wason family and am always looking to update it.
Janet

[JanetandBob]

Hi Elizabeth,
I live in Victoria, Australia and am wondering where you live. I would love to catch up with you. My email is jwason7@bigpond.com
My husband's grandfather was Andrew Wason sister of Mary McDougall nee Wason
Janet

[Taxiboy]

Hi Janet,

Yes I would like to find out more about the Wason family history.
Thanks very much for contacting me. I know very little about my Scottish family and would love to learn more.
Kind regards
Elizabeth Marshall