Condie/Adams/Adie - where's the connection?.....

[Maisie]

As a newcomer to the site and a family history novice I’d welcome the views of all you experts out there on a little family mystery.

We found a Crimean War medal with 4 battle clasps in my gran’s house, awarded to Private George Condie of the Scots Fusilier Guards. She had no idea who he was, but since she had lived in the house for over 50 years with, at one time, both her father and father-in-law it could have come from either side of the family (Lothians/Fife/Angus and Lanark). We have established from the medal roll at Kew that George died of wounds on 8 November 1854, 3 days after the battle of Inkerman, but since he didn’t live to collect a pension his service records would have been destroyed.

I found a George Condie aged 15 on the 1841 census living in Duddingston with a Margaret Adams aged 40 and Margaret Garry aged 3. My gggrandmother was called Margaret Garry, she came from Duddingston, and was born c1838. So far so good. However, when she married in 1862 she gave her parents as Alexander Garry (deceased) and Margaret Garry ms Adie. But I take that with a pinch of salt as in the 1861 census Margaret Garry is living with her mother, Margaret Adie, head of household and an agricultural labourer. So I suspect Mr Garry didn’t figure much in the family. Ditto 1851, Margaret Adie and her daughter Margaret Garry. The only George Condies in the 1851 census can be traced to other entries in the 1841 census, so the one living with Margaret Adams was not around by 1851.

There are no births in the OPR for Margaret Garry or George Condie (or Adie). So, do you think Margaret Adams could be a misrecording of Margaret Adie and what might the connection be between Margaret Adie and George Condie? My guess is an earlier illegitimate child, and hence he’s my gggrandmother’s half brother. The medal would have gone to his mother, as next of kin, and Margaret Garry’s son, my ggrandfather, lived in the house where the medal would found. Is that reasonable? Are there any other avenues I could explore to verify it?

[CatrionaL]

Good morning, Maisie

I'll leave your questions to the experts!

However, I would like to wish you a warm welcome to Talking Scot. I hope you'll find lots of help with your research.

Best wishes

Catriona

[Andy]

Wow, these are a wee bit on the difficult side!

It seems Margaret Adie was born to Margaret Wood no father named so maybe Mr Adie, she later married Private Richard Belford no record of this. The 1851 census names her Margaret Adie or Bellford.

In 1861 Margaret Adie lived right next door to Joan Condie, a widow. Perhaps just a coincidence.

I tend to think that Margaret (Adie) Belford named Subsequent children after their fathers. By the way in 1841 right next door to Margaret Adams (fairly sure this IS meant to be Adie) in a 69 year old Margaret Wood There was a George Condie (Brickmaker) VERY close by

In 1861 Margaret had daughter, Margaret, young Margaret's Daughter, Margaret and a grandson William Matthew 3, can't see a link to him either. staying with her.

Think Robert Arnott adopted William and Margaret.

So it looks like George Condie was your gggranny's half brother.

[Maisie]

Andy

Thanks for this, especially for the pointer to Margaret Adie's DC which had eluded me up to now cos I'd searched from a birth date of 1790 based on the age range on the census, but she comes in at 1789.

Glad you have the same instinct as me - I'd like to think poor George has family to remember him now. The women in my family have certainly been very by and large when it comes to giving their children surnames which makes the going tough at times. Margaret Garry's two oldest children later adopted the name Arnott, but I'm descended from a subsequent child so I'm assuming Robert was the daddy in that case!

BTW, is that really someone with the Christian name "Grumble" living down the road in 1841?

Maisie
Researching Arnott/Strachan/Lugton/Seggie (Lothians, Fife and Lanark) and Massie/Lamb (Aberdeen and Banff)