help: mcnab family .....

natasha · Post by **natasha** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 3:42 am

hi i am new on this site, i havent done this before so please bear with me. i have hit a wall with my mcnab side of the family, Angus mcnab was born c. 1829 (in scotland i am assuming) he married a Mary Duff born c. 1832, they married 21 december 1854, ardchatten,argyll, scotland, i have been unable to find their birth details, they sailed to australia in 1855 with a mary mcnab who was two years old so i am unsure where this mary fits in, any help would be greatly appreciated.

JustJean · Post by **JustJean** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 4:58 am

Hi Natasha

Welcome! Don't worry about asking your questions....you've come to a very friendly spot!

I wish I had very good news to tell you but on a first read through your situation I can't help but feel a stab of pain that Angus and Mary couldn't have waited a mere 11 days to wed...putting the event on or after 1 Jan 1855. It would have made your search so much easier!!!! That is the first day of statutory registration in Scotland for all births marriages and deaths and the very first year of 1855 even gives a bonus amount of info on the certificates. But alas....they didn't. So now you're left with an OPR hopefully....not sure if you've visited www.ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk website to search for this yet? It may state parents names or some other hint of information but not guaranteed. I checked the indexes at Ancestry for the 1851 census and Mary Duff is certainly easily found.....there is little doubt this is the details on her:

Name: Mary Duff
Age: 19
Estimated birth year: abt 1832
Relationship: Servant
Gender: Female
Where born: Ardchattan, Argyle
Parish Number: 512
Civil parish: Glenorchy and Inishail
County: Argyll
Address: 30) Upper Kinchrasckin
Occupation: House Servt
ED: 5
Page: 12 (click to see others on page)
Household schedule number: 30
Line: 9
Roll: CSSCT1851_109
Household Members: Name Age
Betsy Campbell 6
Duncan Campbell 37
Euphenia Campbell 31
Isabella Campbell 9
Mary Campbell 1
Mary Bella Campbell 22
Donald Coll 19
Mary Duff 19

A digitized image of the original census page can be purchased from ScotlandsPeople also and downloaded into your own computer. No images are available through Ancestry...just the indexed info. So in 1851 it looks like Mary was living with a Campbell family and working as a servant girl.

So now for a look around for Angus. The only single fellow in all of Argyll on these indexes is found in Inverary...

Name: Angus McNab
Age: 33
Estimated birth year: abt 1818
Relationship: Head
Mother's name: Cathrine
Gender: Male
Where born: Inveraray, Argyll
Parish Number: 513
Civil parish: Inveraray
County: Argyll
Address: The Relief
Occupation: Coal Merchr
ED: 1
Page: 19
Household schedule number: 91
Line: 14
Roll: CSSCT1851_109
Household Members: Name Age
Angus McNab 33
Cathrine McNab 77

But the age is a little bit out accordingly to the info you've provided. So now it's time for a few more questions.....do you know what Angus had for a profession when arriving in Australia? Do you know the names of subsequent children born to them? The existance of Mary McNab is interesting. It's possible she was a child born to Angus and Mary before they married. Also possible that she's a relative of Angus's. I'd sooner guess the former explanation...but if her birth cannot be found in the OPR then there is no real way of proving this. Search for the birth first on the IGI indexes (free!) and if you find something worth viewing then you can move to Scotlands People and purchase an image. I'm not sure what might be extant for Kirk Session Records in Argyll but if Mary DUff was the mother of Mary McNab before marrying Angus then there is a chance there is some record of it.....if there were records kept for their parish....and if they still survive. Sooooo....a lot of if's....and some questions marks.

Now tell us how much more info you might have....or how many places you've already looked that I've just named for you

....and once again...welcome to TalkingScot!

Best wishes
Jean

nelmit · Post by **nelmit** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 10:14 am

Here is Mary and family in 1841.

Piece: SCT1841/504 Place: Ardchattan -Argyllshire Enumeration District: 10
Civil Parish: Ardchattan Ecclesiastical Parish, Village or Island: -
Folio: 10 Page: 2
Address: Altacoarin

Surname First name(s) Sex Age Occupation Where Born Remarks
DUFF Donald M 40 Ag Labourer Argyllshire
DUFF Catharine F 35 Unknown
DUFF Mary F 9 Unknown
DUFF John M 6 Unknown
DUFF Duncan M 4 Unknown
DUFF Margaret F 3 Unknown
DUFF Colin M 3m Unknown

Annette M

natasha · Post by **natasha** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 1:57 am

hi anette,
thankyou so much these duff names had come up on a shipping index to australia on the same ships an agnus and mary, i wasnt sure if it was coincidence, i had written a few letters to try and find out but got no reply. the only thing is some of the ages dont match, it it possible they fibbed on th4e ship? i had donald as 50, catherine as 46, john 21, duncan 19, colin 9. I didnt find a margaret on the ships index but found a james duff 25. thanks again

natasha · Post by **natasha** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 2:18 am

hi jean,
wow so much info, i hadnt seen the census info, so thank you very much, i had visited scotlands people but without any luck. I have no idea what the profession of angus was, i know they had 10 children in tasmania (australia) they were;
1. Archibald (M) b. 1856
2. Donald (M) b.1858 died 1858
3. catherine (F) b.1861
4. Donald (M) b.1864
5. Angus (M) b.1865
6. Mary (F) b. 1867 died 1867
7. Isabella cameron (F) b. 1868
8. Hugh colin (M) b. 1874
9. Mary (F) b. 1877
10. John duff (M) b. 1859.

I have looked on family search.org without much luck there are somany people born around the same time with the same name which gets more confusing (doesnt take much) . I have been unable to find anything on mary mcnab b.c. 1853, she was the only other mcnab on both ships so there must be some type of connection, i have looked in the opr's without a great deal of luck, angus seems to be an enigma.