Where's William?

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kathyc
Posts: 121
Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2007 1:25 am
Location: British Columba

Where's William?

Post by kathyc » Thu Nov 15, 2007 7:19 pm

Sometime between 1851 and 1861, my great great grandfather William Thomson took over the family farm, Croftindaker, in Knockando, Moray. He was about 23 on the 1861 census, living with siblings, a nephew, and a farm hand. (His actual birthdate was in 1837.) He's the third generation of his family on his dad's side to be born in/live in Knockando, that I know of, so they weren't exactly moving around.

On the 1841 and 1851 census records, William is nowhere to be found. He's not with his family, nor have I been able to find any William anywhere else in the country who fits the bill. Where the heck is he? (And while we're at it, his sister Margaret, b 1838, is also missing on the 1851 and I can't find her anywhere either.)

A cousin-in-law of mine has spent endless hours researching this branch, and neither he nor I have been able to find William in 1841/51 or Margaret in 1851. I'm hoping fresh eyes might see something we're missing. Here's what I have:

All census information below from transcriptions by my cousin. I've confirmed their contents on Ancestry as well and, for the 1841, on freecen.

1861 - CROFTINDAKER – KNOCKANDO, MORAY COUNTY
William Thomson - farmer / 10 acres - 23 – born in Knockando
Jane - sister - 19 - born in Knockando
Isabella - sister - 18 - born in Knockando
James - brother - 17 - born in Knockando
James Thomson - nephew - 7 – born in Aberlour
John Morrison - agricultural labourer - 55 – born in ? , Banff

1851 - CRAIGENTAGART – KNOCKANDO, ELGIN COUNTY
William Thomson - farmer / 10 acres - 49 - born in Knockando
Margaret - wife - 47 - born in Knockando
Jess Thomson - daur/house servant - 18 - born in Knockando
Ann - daughter - 16 - born in Knockando
Jane - daughter - 10 - born in Knockando
Isobel - daughter - 8 - born in Knockando
James - son - 6 - born in Knockando

1841 – KNOCKANDO, ELGIN COUNTY
William Thomson - farmer - 41 - born in Elgin County
Margaret nee MacPherson - wife - - 38 - born in Elgin County
Jannete - daughter - 8 - born in Elgin County
Ann - daughter - 6 - born in Elgin County
Margaret - daughter - 2 - born in Elgin County
Jane - daughter - 1 - born in Elgin County

Thanks!
Kathy
Researching MacLeans, MacRaes, and MacKenzies of Torridon and Shieldaig, MacKenzies and Frasers of Ballindalloch

Rach
Posts: 360
Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2005 6:25 pm
Location: Tweeddale

Post by Rach » Tue Nov 20, 2007 12:40 pm

Kathy,
I wonder if William may have been living with an uncle or close family member whose surname was Thomson. The 1841 census was so lacking in information about relationships that a young William may have been staying with another family of Thomsons where the head was young enough to be his father.
You may have discounted this theory already.
Rae
Names of interest: Perthshire- Taylor, McDonald, McRaw, Gould; Caithness- Cormack, Campbell, Sutherland; Berwickshire- Darling, Johnson, Whitlie, Forrest/Forrester/Foster, Barns/Barnes,Buglass/Bookless; Wilson, Thorburn, Cowe, Laing, Rae, Colven, Collin,

kathyc
Posts: 121
Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2007 1:25 am
Location: British Columba

Post by kathyc » Tue Nov 20, 2007 4:39 pm

Rae,

Thanks for the idea. I haven't discounted it at all. I'll have to have a closer look at the Thomsons in the area to see if there are any possibilities I've overlooked.

Kathy
Researching MacLeans, MacRaes, and MacKenzies of Torridon and Shieldaig, MacKenzies and Frasers of Ballindalloch

BakeryHill
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2020 6:21 pm

Re: Where's William?

Post by BakeryHill » Mon Nov 23, 2020 7:32 pm

Hi Kathy,

I know this post is quite old, but I'm hoping you still get a notification, or at least others can pass onto you that I am decended from William Thomson who lived at Croftindaker, just NW of the Hill of Delnapot. In fact, I'm finishing up the proofreading of a 160-page book on the Thomsons from Croftindaker which I hope to publish in December or January. My line of Thomsons are below which I think you'll see lines up well with yours.

JAMES THOMSON christened in Knockando on 8th September 1775; date of death not known
JANET CLARK, christened at Knockando Church 22nd December 1772
Married at Knockando Church on 24th September 1797
Lived somewhere in the Ballindalloch area
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WILLIAM THOMSON (farmer with 5 acres) born in Knockando in 1800,
Christened at Knockando Church on 4th May 1800, died at Croftindaker on 22nd December 1875
MARGARET MacPHERSON, chr. Knockando 26th June 1795, died Croftindaker 30th June 1872
Married at Knockando Church on 8th November 1831
Lived at Croftindaker in Glen Gheallaidh near Ballindalloch
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WILLIAM THOMSON (farmer with 15 acres) born at Croftindaker 15th March 1837
Christened at Knockando 22nd March 1837 and died at Croftindaker 4th May 1914
MARGARET CLARK, born at Daviot and christened in Inverness 5th April 1843, died 12th July 1928
Married at Knockando Church on 15th December 1861
Lived at Croftindaker in Glen Gheallaidh, and Margaret later lived at Longcrook near Rothes
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JOHN THOMSON (ploughman and farm manager)
Born at Croftindaker on 4th January 1881 and died in Aberlour 4th May 1959
MARY ANN HAY, born on 17th March 1888 and died at Longcrook 2nd February 1926
Married in Aberlour on 15th December 1905
Lived at Marypark near Ballindalloch, Speyview near Aberlour, and Longcrook near Rothes
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WILLIAMINA THOMSON
Born at Marypark on 24th June 1906 and died in Aberlour on 10th May 2005

Jason

kathyc1
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2015 4:41 pm

Re: Where's William?

Post by kathyc1 » Mon Nov 23, 2020 8:14 pm

Hi Jason,

Thank you for this! I'll follow up with you via email.

Kathy

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