Can someone help...I'm stuck!.....

[rbarrett]

Hi!

I'm new on here and I could use some help.

I have hit a brick wall hard!

I am making a family tree of my family on my Dad's side of the family and I can't find someone's parents.

I got as far as Thomas Fingland who was born about 1752 in Dumphrieshire,Scotland and died October 22nd 1810 in Thornhill Bridge,Morton Parish,Scotland.He first married Mary Smith who died at age 27.He then married Agnes Menzies born 1759 in Scotland, daughter of James Menzies and Katharine Douglas which is where my family line comes from.

My problem is that I can't find any info on Thomas Fingland's parents who it says probley are William Fingland and Janet Hunter

Can anyone help or point me in the right direction?

Thank you

[JustJean]

Hello Rhonda

First off...welcome to TalkingScot!

I'm sure you realize that the wall you are pressed against very well could be impenetrable! The presence of good recordkeeping in the Old Parish Registers is spotty at best if they have survived at all. Based on your assumption of who Thomas's parents were I checked the British Isles Vital Records Index (BIVRI) disks to see if that could be confirmed. Yes there is a Thomas recorded as their son with this entry:

FINGLAND, Thomas Christening
Gender: Male
Christening Date: 12 Jul 1752 Recorded in: Penpont, Dumfries, Scotland
Father: William FINGLAND
Mother: Jannet HUNTER
Source: FHL Film 1067970 Dates: 1728 - 1854

and along with these other siblings:

FINGLAND, John Chr 1749 Scot Dumf Penpon
Fa: William FINGLAND
Mo: Janet HUNTER
FINGLAND, Janet Chr 1750 Scot Dumf Penpon
Fa: Willeam FINGLAND
Mo: Janet HUNTER
FINGLAND, Thomas Chr 1752 Scot Dumf Penpon
Fa: William FINGLAND
Mo: Jannet HUNTER
FINGLAND, Margaret Chr 1756 Scot Dumf Penpon
Fa: William FINGLAND
Mo: Janet HUNTER
FINGLAND, John Chr 1758 Scot Dumf Penpon
Fa: William FINGLAND
Mo: Janet HUNTER

Note that these are all recorded in the Parish of Penpont (Penpon being an abbreviation above). When checking on the condition of the surviving records in Penpont this is the report from Bloxham's Key to the Old Parochial Registers:

Births - 1728-1854, Marriages 1845-54, Deaths - no entries
Condition of the original registers:
Births- at May 1730 there are two pages of irregular entries (two families) 1771-1804 and the whole record after Mar 1797 is extremely irregular in respect of dates. After 1819 there are seven entries for 1740-48 on one page.
Marriages - after 1819 of births there is one page containing entries for 1739. Except the above mentioned entry for 1739 and one for 1845, no record begins until Oct 1851.

Knowing this and making an assumption that William and Janet may have married in the parish of Penpont then it's not looking promising that you will find a record of it. Assuming though that Janet may have been born in Penpont then a look for possible Janet Hunter births on the BIVRI gives a very interesting Hunter family who appears with all these siblings:

HUNTER, Anna Chr 1730 Scot Dumf Penpon
Fa: William HUNTER
Mo: Elizabeth CARSON
HUNTER, Andrew Chr 1733 Scot Dumf Penpon
Fa: William HUNTER
Mo: Elizabeth CARSAN
HUNTER, Janet Chr 1736 Scot Dumf Penpon
Fa: William HUNTER
Mo: Elizabeth CARSAN
HUNTER, Janet Chr 1740 Scot Dumf Penpon
Fa: William HUNTER
Mo: Elizabeth CARSON
HUNTER, Elizabeth Chr 1743 Scot Dumf Penpon
Fa: William HUNTER
Mo: Elizabeth CARSAN
HUNTER, Mary Chr 1745 Scot Dumf Penpon
Fa: William HUNTER
Mo: Elizabeth CARSAN
HUNTER, Elizabeth Chr 1748 Scot Dumf Penpon
Fa: William HUNTER
Mo: Elizabeth CARSAN

The ages are not right for this to ever be the parents to your Janet...but William just might be an older brother! Naming patterns are the best indicator of relationship when working in records of this age. It might be fun to keep this family in mind and see if you can find any further connections.

Not sure I've helped you but perhaps you see now that there is no easy answer to your situation.

Best wishes
Jean