Missing birth - Jessie Urquhart b c1845

[John Gourlay]

I keep going around in circles trying to trace the birth of one of my great grandmothers, Jessie Urquhart and consequently, her ancestry.

Jessie married my great grandfather, David Ferguson Gourlay in Angus in 1867 and on the marriage certificate in gives her father as James Urquhart, Railway Porter and her mother Jessie Henderson, who were both deceased at the time of the wedding. However, on her death certificate in 1909 her father is recorded as William Urquhart, Contractor and her mother as Ann Henderson.

Prior to their marriage and subsequent 9 children, Jessie had a son James in 1865 with an Alexander Smith.

She appears as Jessie, or in one case Janet in the Angus censuses, 1871 with Row, Dunbartonshire as her birthplace, 1881 with adjoining Helensburgh as her birthplace. In both cases her age age links her back to a birth year of 1845. I can find only one Jessie Urquhart, that 'fits', in the 1861 census, and that is a 16 year old domestic servant in her employer's house in Angus. Her occupation was given as domestic servant on her marriage certificate.

In the 1851 census at Helensburgh, Parish of Row, Dunbartonshire, there is a household that fits beautifully. There is 6 year old Helensbugh born, Janet with 8 year old and 4 year old brothers. However their parents are Robert Urquhart, Steam Boat porter and his wife, Elizabeth.

I tracked down the elder boy's marriage certificate [England] and it gave his father's name as Robert Urquhart, Shipping Agent. None of the births of these 3 Helensburgh children are shown on scotlandspeople. Therefore I'm seeking help if anyone has access to non-conformist records for this period.

It could be assumed that her original parents died before 1851 and that she and her brothers were 'adopted' by family members or others. Otherwise I have to assume that Jessie forgot who her parents were or that she has nothing to do with that 1851 Helensburgh census entry.

If you have read this far, thanks for your patience and hope you can sense my frustration with this lengthy search of mine.

John Gourlay
Melbourne, Australia

[LesleyB]

Hi John
You mention that Jessie married in 1867 - on the marriage entry, "according to the forms" of what church? If it is not Church of Scotland, this may explain the hard to find birth.

Therefore I'm seeking help if anyone has access to non-conformist records for this period.

"Non-conformist" covers a great many other churches, so you may need to narrow it down a bit to a specific church.

She appears as Jessie, or in one case Janet in the Angus censuses

As you are probably aware. in Scotland, Jessie/Jane/Janet/Jean were interchangeable. The same person may appear as all of these over their lifetime!

Jessie married my great grandfather, David Ferguson Gourlay in Angus in 1867 and on the marriage certificate in gives her father as James Urquhart, Railway Porter and her mother Jessie Henderson, who were both deceased at the time of the wedding. However, on her death certificate in 1909 her father is recorded as William Urquhart, Contractor and her mother as Ann Henderson.

I'd be inclined to believe what Jessie said at the time of her marriage, and not her death informant - depending on who they are, death informants can be pretty clueless sometimes! However, given that you state that both her parents are listed as deceased at the time of marriage, it may be worth tracking down the deaths to confirm (wife first as the two surnames make it easier if after 1855). It may be that one or both of Jessie's parents died when she was very young, which, if that is the case, may have the effect of her not giving accurate names when she married.

Best wishes
Lesley

[nelmit]

Not really much help but something to think about.

Robert Urquhart and Elizabeth Keddie were married in 1850 so chances are the children were born to one or the other or neither . I've tried to find Robert in 1841 but the closest I can come up with is this one (James was born at Greenock around 1843)from FREECEN.

Piece: SCT1841/564 Place: Greenock -Renfrewshire Enumeration District: 96
Civil Parish: Greenock Old Ecclesiastical Parish, Village or Island: -
Folio: 96 Page: 1
Address: Innerkip St

Surname First name(s) Sex Age Occupation Where Born Remarks
URQUHART Robert M 30 Flax Dresser Outside Census County (1841)
URQUHART - (Mrs) F 25 Outside Census County (1841)
URQUHART Willm M 9m Renfrewshire

A search at the IGI shows a William Urquhart born to a Robert Urquhart and Mary Henderson (coincidence??) but no other children born to this couple.

Biggest stumbling block is Jessie named her father as William when she married.

Have you looked at Robert's death entry?

Regards,
Annette

[John Gourlay]

Dear Lesley and Annette.

Thanks for your input to my quandary. To answer Lesley's first question, I have checked the certificate and it is the Established Church of Scotland. In fact the signing was conducted at The Manse, Forfar.

Ive also been through the Janes and Jeans etc. I've even tried randomly searching for the earlier spellings of Urquhart eg Orchart and there appears to be approximately 10 of them.

I also agree that the marriage certificate parents' name should take precedence over the death certificate name. The latter's information was given by son, John Urquhart Gourlay and because his grandparents were deceased before his birth, it is likely that he didn't know. But why would Jessie get it wrong? You're correct in stating that they may have died during her infancy, hence her knowledge may also be suspect.

Annette; William was the father on the death certificate, not the ,marriage certificate. Your correct that Robert Guthrie Urquhart and Elizabeth nee Keddie are the ones I think are with my Jessie in 1851. It was their eldest and Greenock born boy, James Guthrie Urquhart whose marriage certificate I checked out.

Great detective work on the 1841 census and the Henderson link in an earlier marriage. I have house guests for the rest of this week, so time is limited to get on to my beloved computer, but I'll certainly chase those leads through and revert as soon as possible. As you can see from my submission, Henderson has to play a vital role.

regards
John g