Leckie Family - Paisley

[Chrissy]

Hi there,
I have my great great great grandfather Stewart Leckie 1814 - 1884 and his wife Agnes McQueen (McQuin) 1819 - 1895 who both emigrated to New Zealand in 1857. I have his parents as : Archibald Leckie c 1775 - 1845 and Helen Bowie 1780 - 1814 (both from Paisley) - married 1798 in High Church, Paisley, Renfrewshire.
I have Archibald 1775 parents as : Archibald Leckie c 1750 and his wife Elizabeth Wright c 1755.
Am struggling to find the next generation back from here.
There are so many Leckie names in and around Paisley, Gargunnock, Stirling etc and I cant properly confirm
Any further information would be most appreciated, thanks
Christine Strange (New Zealand)

[WilmaM]

Hi Chrissy and ,

Perhaps you could tell us where you gleaned the information you have?
Was it his records in New Zealand, a family bible or elsewhere? that'll help us look in other places.

At a first search, I can't actually find a birth [marriage or census] for a Stewart Leckie in the Renfrewshire area in that time period.
I have found a few children for Archibald Leckie and Helen Bowie [with various spelling] in the Old Parish Records , but no Stewart/Stuart among them.

Looking at census records for Archibald, I can't find any that match with the wives' names you have either, which is rather dissapointing.

You are at a period of time [pre 1855] where records are inclined to be scanty, as it depended on:
a. the records being kept in the first place - some events never took place or weren't properly written down
b. the records being preserved - many never survived: fire, flood, carelessness or indifference
c. the records making their way to digitalisation - we fondly dream of a cache hidden in a dusty cupboard.

Where do the Stirlingshire places come into the equation? they are rather far removed from Renfrewshire in that period of time.

Sorry I'm not coming up with answers straight away, but with more information we will do our best to track them down for you.

[Chrissy]

Hi WilmaM,
Thanks for your reply.
The details I do have are: My great great great grandfather Stewart Leckie b 15.7.1814 Paisley, Renfrewshire (d 11.3.1884 Dunedin, Otago, NZ and his wife Agnes McQueen (McQuinn) B 19.9.1819 Ayr, South Ayrshire and died Melbourne, Australia (after shifting there to be close to some of her children after her husband passed away). They married Jan 1840 Glasgow City, Glasgow, Lanarkshire.
They emigrated to NZ leaving London, England 23.8.1857 and arriving in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand 28 Nov 1857 along with their children - aboard the Ship "George Canning".
I have a photo of Stewart Leckie's Head Stone in Dunedin, NZ stating : Stewart Leckie 1814 died 11 Mar 1884 - youngest son of Archibald Leckie, Carrier of Paisley and Glasgow, Scotland.
Through various ancestry sites - MyHeritage and Ancestry - I have matches stating Archibald Leckie to be b 15 Mar 1774 (twin with James) Paisley, Renfrewshire and died 14.4.1845 in Paisley, married to Helen Bowie - married 10 May 1798 High Church, Paisley, Renfrewshire. And Archibald's parents to be Archibald Leckie b circa 1750 and his wife Elizabeth Wright c 1755.
Other than that I have found Archibald Leckie, Carrier, business depot - 1 Dyer's Wynd, Paisley, Renfrewshire in 1825 and in 1829 at 18 Dyer's Wynd.
Presume ? that he is connected to our Leckies
Many thanks,
Christine Strange

[WilmaM]

I am still having difficulty finding any documents for your Stewart LECKIE in Scotland. He seems to be your confirmed link to Scotland, so you'd need to establish exactly his parentage before you can be confident about claiming any further back.

However, I did find a merchant Seaman record on FMP for a :
Stewart ?ackie or Leckie born 21 July 1814 in Paisley Renfrewshire, who signed up in the Merchant Navy as a Steward in 21st ?March 1951 [ticket number 543180] only 1 voyage noted , in 1852 [possibly September] at ?Spool
The writing is difficult to decipher particularly the capital letters .

If he wasn't born LECKIE that could be why I can't locate a birth, and if he's been at sea then he'll be absent from the 1851 census too.

What are his children's names and when & where were they born? that may help finding them if they've been indexed in census records under something strange.
I haven't found any evidence on any Parish Records in Scotland for an 1840 marriage either - where did you glean that information?

Do you have any other proof that his father was an Archibald Leckie? [ other than the gravestone]
It's a curious one as Stewart is actually a rather uncommon forename in that era, I thought they'd be simple to find

[Chrissy]

Hi Wilma,
The children born to Stewart Leckie 1814 - 1884 and his wife Agnes (McQueen) (McQuinn) are:
Stewart born 5.10.1840 (my ggfather), Archibald 4.3.1843 - Glasgow and d 1914 Otago, NZ, John 10.5.1845 Scotland and d Mar 1922 Christchurch, NZ,
Helen 26.8.1847 B Scotland and d 30.4.1851 Scotland, Elizabeth 23.12.1849 Scotland and d 30.8.1874, Agnes 22.7.1852 Scotland, James William Watt Leckie b 29.12.1855 London, England d 30.8.1958 Otago, NZ, Helen (2) 23.11.1854 Paisley, Renfrewshire and d 13.5.1896 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Robert 6.3.1859 Otago, NZ d 8.11.1937 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The siblings of Stewart Leckie 1814 are:
Archibald 1799 Paisley, Renfrewshire and d 2.8.1842 Scotland, James Jul 1801 Paisley, Renfrewshire died at Sea (Seaman) in Firth of Clyde (and buried Rothesay, Isle of Bute) (married Jane Miller), William 25.8.1803 Renfrewshire (bapt. 11.9.1803 Housten and Killellan, Renfrewshire,
Helen 18.9.1805 Housten and Killellen, Renfrewshire d c 1856 Glasgow, John 14.9.1811 and d 22.7.1843 Scotland ande Stewart (the subject) in 1814 and d 1884.
I note that Stewart was born in Jul 1814 and his mother Helen Leckie (nee Bowie) died in the next month - Aug 1814 (perhaps she died from childbirth complications?? and maybe the father - Archibald (1774 - 1845), Carrier, of Paisley and Glasgow was too busy with her death, the other children and his work - to register the birth of his youngest child Stewart ??)
Thanks again for your time
Christine Strange