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Wednesday, 29 August 2007

Aug 29:2007 apples & eggs; Gretna marriage

Simeon WINES apparently stole some eggs, and had previously stolen apples. Ta Jenni for the fuller details of his record.
Still haven't seen proof of his parents however. Has anyone seen it to show which of the Simons of an age born Sth Petherton he is?

The details of the Gretna marriage of James THOMSON and Betty DALGISH didn't help with her identification, but did confirm the 1874 date, albeit 2 days later than they recorded on their children's birth certs.

The Margaret WIGHT mystery from a few days ago has deepened. Jan had also tackled this, but from a different angle. I haven't fully digested her version of events, but it looks like Margaret WIGHT married her shoemaker James WHITE and then took off. Neither of us can find her as WHITE 1851 thru 1881 but James is living in Jedburgh with his Mum and sister in 1851 and 1861, and alone in 1871 & 1881, his dth cert in 1887(?) apparently saying he was a widower (a lie).

Paul R has provided some details about PC Robert RICHARDSON of Blyth, which may get him onto my web pages in the near future, lack of sidetracks willing...

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Friday, 24 August 2007

Aug 23, 2007: Was Betsey an Elliot or Dalgleish?

The plot thickened even further. Found James THOMSON in 1871 as THOMPSON, widower, which cast severe doubts on the marriage date year of 1870 given in son John's birth cert. in 1876. Hsekeeper with the family was one sister-in-law Betsey, unmarried, 25, b Canonbie, all as expected apart from the age, AND the surname, ELLIOT. I still can't find her in earlier census data as DALGLIESH or ELLIOT unless she's Mary's sister Eliza aged 6mths in 1841.

Went for another of the children's birth certs, Jessie's 1878 cert. It showed her mother as Betsy m.s. DALGLEISH, and gave a marriage date for James and Betsy of 22 Feb 1874 Gretna, which fits better with the 1871 census showing James as a widower.

Mary & Eliza(beth) DALGLEISH's mother Mary was a CARRUTHERS. There's a WorldConnect tree for the family that has Mary's parents in Ontario by 1843. Given I found Walter and Mary with family in 1841 in Dumfries, but 1851 the children were all living with their uncle at Bigholms, Langholm, maybe Walter didn't die, perhaps he emigrated? Pure speculation. And nothing to do with solving the mystery of Eliza/Elizabeth. I wonder what details would be on a Gretna marriage?

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Wednesday, 22 August 2007

Aug 22nd, 2007: A Gretna marriage

Can't even remember how or why I started this trail today, but I found Cecilia THOMSON nee SINTON in 1841 where expected, in Castleton (as Celia). This added a Jessie into the family whom I am assuming is a dtr. Ancestry transcribed her age as 32 and James as 30, but FreeCen has 12 and 10.

Spurred on by this I tried to extend the rest of the family forward to 1901, with mixed success. Son James did indeed marry Elizabeth DALGLEISH, or so his 1899 dth cert says. The informant for his dth was a (new to me) son William THOMSON of Hawick. By naming pattern, he should be the 1st son, so pre 1874. Still to find the family, or James, in 1871.

The plot thickened. Found William's dth and then his birth, but his mother on both was a Mary DALGLIESH, not Elizabeth. Sure enough, James married Mary in 1861 and I couldn't find a marriage to Elizabeth, in either the Scottish or English indices. The two groups of children do indicate two families. Can't find Elizabeth in census data prior to 1881 with any certainty, but her 1898 dth cert indicates she's Mary's sister, & of extremely variable age in assorted records. She may well be the Eliza, 2 yrs younger than Mary, living with their uncle in 1851 at Bigholms, Langholm.

I eventually succumbed to the birth cert of a son from the 2nd "marriage" (can't stand a mystery that's easily solved). John Walter's birth cert shows his parents as having married at Gretna in Feb 1870. And yes, they appear on a list of Gretna Green marriages at Achievements and certainly do NOT appear in the English marriage indices for that quarter anyway.

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