Knowing that Robert’s siblings, were all miners or miners wives it seemed likely that we would find Robert in one of the mining villages rather than somewhere in Glasgow.
We knew his father was born in Cambuslang but had died in Kilmaurs in Ayrshire and most of the family were born there.
We found Robert’s Marriage certificate in 1880 to Helen Baird in Cambusnethan. Courtesy of Sheena giving us the date.
We looked first for Helen Young’s Death but could not find it. Conclusion from this was that she was no longer a Young at her death.
We found her birth in Boswell in 1857 (from IGI) since we knew her mother’s name from the Marriage certificate.
Armed with his new wife’s forename and age, we could now look for them in the 1881 census. Enter Robert Young born in Kilmaurs. No result.
OK. Try Hel*en Young born in Bothwell. No result yet there were several other Helen Youngs to choose from. We narrowed down her age range hoping that it had been recorded accurately – Bingo! Only one emerged.
Right – sort through the Lanarkshire parishes one-by-one (five by five actually thanks to the SP search facility) Lo and behold it was Cambusnethan.
We found the newly weds with three children, Marion, James and David all with Helen’s surname Baird !!
Robert was recorded on the 1881 census as Robt which we hadn’t thought to enter. So wildcard searches are the order of the day. From now on Robert =Rob*t, Andrew = And*w.
His birthplace was recorded as Elderslay which we now know is part of the parish of Kilmaurs.
Helen’s birthplace was Holytown rather than Bothwell.
Head scratching time. Were the children Hers ? Did she have a brother and sister-in-law who had died ?
Time to look for Births for these three……….
Prior to marriage our Helen had been busy. 4 children by at least two, probably three fathers, only one of whom had acknowledged the twins he had fathered as his (One died soon after).
Thoroughly intrigued we tried to find Robert on the 1891 census. Not there, neither was Helen Young.
We did not know if he and Helen had had any family of their own between the 1881 and 1891 census times.
Lets try these children of hers. First – did they take on the surname Young? - No !
k OK lets try her maiden name Baird. Her oldest was Mar*ion aged around 15 so search all parishes in Lanarkshire then narrow down age to exclude unlikely ones. Only two results and the only one in a mining parish was in Hamilton. Up came her three children along with a Robert, John and Hel*en Young (all family names) This must be them ! but what are James and Andrew Lightfoot doing there? And where is the head of the house
Right.
Pay for previous page and there was Helen with her new husband John Lightfoot with his eldest Alexr.We know now that Robert must have died between 1881 and 1891.
We found Robert’s Death record since we knew they were now in Hamilton and we had his age.(+/- 2 years of course)
Question must be ‘What did this woman have that attracted the men to her ‘?
Moral of all this is
- Don’t judge by present day standards
- Don’t make assumptions
- Birthplace entries are only as accurate as your knowledge of the parish as it was 100 years ago
- Plan all searches by working out not just what you know but also what educated guesses you can make.
- Figure out the best use of wildcards before you start the search rather than half-way through it.
- Don’t assume that adult ages will be correct but presume that a child’s entry will probably be more accurate.
Finally. We didn’t need to go to these lengths since it was a side branch but it was a real challenge and so much fun to come up with all the answers.
Russell
![[pour-drink]](./images/smilies/pour-drink.gif "[pour-drink]"){kind=small}
![[cheers]](./images/smilies/cheers.gif "Cheers"){kind=small}
Nothing better soothes a sore head that's been banging on a brick wall, than to find someone else's less elusive ancestors 
