Help needed with great grandfather!

Caroline · Post by **Caroline** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 2:05 pm

Just wondered if anyone can help me with my great grandfather WILLIAM ROSS. I've been trying for years to find out more about him but with no success I'm afraid!

All I have for him is his death certificate and his entry on the 1901 census.

He died in 1924 (aged 55) in Kirkcaldy, Fife and his parents were given as DONALD ROSS and MARGARET MCLEAN.

In 1901 he is aged 32 living in Dysart, Kirkcaldy. He is working as a forge labourer and his birthplace is down as GLASGOW. It says he is married, but I've found no trace of a wife, and my great gran is living with him as his servant. My grandad (age 8 months) is also living there and is listed as the servants son.

William Ross went on to have 3 more children with my great gran, all listed as illegitimate, but she was named as his wife on his DC.

Can anyone help me trace him back a bit further - it's very difficult with him having such a common name.

Caroline

JustJean · Post by **JustJean** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 2:17 pm

Hi Caroline

I wonder if you've searched for the death of his mother? That is often a good way to start working backward....it will tell you who her parents were and if her husband were living or dead when she died and where she died. WIth these clues you can usually get a good start. On his DC does it state if his parents are living or dead when he died? This will give you the window to search for her death in....knowing she was still alive when he was born..(abt 1870) and was she alive when he died? I realize there are quite a few Ma*g* M*cl*n Ross choices out there but we have to narrow up the choices as much as possible before blindly viewing records!

Best wishes
Jean

Caroline · Post by **Caroline** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 3:18 pm

Hi Jean,

Yes I did trying searching for his mothers death, but no success there either I'm afraid. Both his parents were noted as being dead on his DC by the way.

Caroline

JustJean · Post by **JustJean** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 3:38 pm

Hi Caroline

Ok...thanks for that......I'll give it a go and let you know

Best wishes
Jean

Caroline · Post by **Caroline** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 9:03 pm

Hi Jean,

Much appreciated - I'd be grateful for any info that would help me solve this mystery!

Caroline

momat · Post by **momat** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 2:15 am

Hi Caroline,

A Search on the IGI provides no WILLIAM ROSS to those parents ,but it does provide a Marriage for Donald Ross & Margaret McLean
Marriages:
DONALD ROSS
Spouse: MARGARET MC LEAN Family
Marriage:
07 FEB 1840 Fearn, Ross And Cromarty, Scotland

and a parent search brings up their children as follows. Birth/Christening, All Counties, Scotland, British Isles
Father: Donald Ross, Mother: Margaret Mclean
Exact Spelling: Off
[refine search]
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International Genealogical Index / British Isles - 6
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1. MALCOLM ROSS - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Birth: 03 JUL 1867 Fearn, Ross And Cromarty, Scotland
2. MALCOLM ROSS - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Birth: 22 SEP 1856 Tarbat By Fearn, Ross And Cromarty, Scotland
3. JAMIMA ROSS - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Birth: 09 JAN 1859 Tarbat By Fearn, Ross And Cromarty, Scotland
4. MARGARET ROSS - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Birth: 22 MAR 1841 Tarbat By Fearn, Ross And Cromarty, Scotland
5. CHRISTIAN ROSS - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Birth: 22 DEC 1842 Tarbat By Fearn, Ross And Cromarty, Scotland
6. JAMES ROSS - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Birth: 25 FEB 1865 Tarbat By Fearn, Ross And Cromarty, Scotland

Is it possible that he may have been a GRANDCHILD to
Donald and Margaret ??

Caroline · Post by **Caroline** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 12:59 pm

momat wrote: Is it possible that he may have been a GRANDCHILD to
Donald and Margaret ??

Hi Maureen,

I must admit that I'd never considered this possibility. I assumed that since my great gran gave the info on his DC she would be pretty accurate with the names of his parents - unless my great grandad lied to her of course!

Caroline

Post by **emanday** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 1:15 pm

Unfortunately Caroline, there a quite a few of the "Parents" entries on DC's that are anything from a wee bit wrong to downright wrong.

One of mine got his father correct on his MC, but gave his grandmother's surname instead of his mother's!

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 2:08 pm

A death is most often very stressful, leading to close family informants not always being on top form, leading to numerous instances of wrong info that I've come across. Of course, it could also be the case that they genuinely believed the info that they were providing in good faith to be correct, based on wrong info given at some time to them, or their misinterpretation of info correctly given to them.

Deaths had to be registered within 3 days, so still in the period when there were many other priorities apart from checking such information.

Try this little exercise. Without looking up any records, and not taking any great time to think about it, i.e. just react, - write down the maiden surnames of your two grannies.

If you manage that, then same situation, but now write down the maiden surnames of your 4 great-grannies.

And you did that exercise without being grief stricken.

David

Post by **Jean Jeanie** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 2:18 pm

Hi David

Good example

Got the 2 grannies alright.

Then got 3 of the g grannies. I had to think about the 4th one. Had an educated guess and got it wrong

I must confess that before I started on this caper I knew both my grannies maiden names, but only knew 1 g grannies maiden name

Best wishes
Jean