NEED HELP.....

[LesleyB]

Ok - I see what they do, I think. If the person was born in county they give the name of the county. If the person was NOT born in county they just give Scotland as place of birth, but this has not happened with any of your examples 'cos they must all have been born "in county". ('Cos if it wasn't Scotland in 1841 it would say so - E or I or W etc for other parts of UK - which is where they've picked up your Ireland from)

[LesleyB]

Katie
The only thing I can suggest is that you go to:
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/ ... _form=true
Do a search for the birth of a Thomas Cockburn in Berwickshire as Tracey suggested around the expected date of 1798 (I did a + /- 10 years) and there should be just the three that Tracey found.

1. THOMAS COCKBURN - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Christening: 04 FEB 1793 Swinton, Berwick, Scotland

2. THOMAS COCKBURN - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Christening: 30 JUN 1794 Duns, Berwick, Scotland

3. Thomas COCKBURN - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Christening: About 23 JAN 1800 Chirnside, Berwick, Scotland

The above are all submissions, not extracts taken directly from the OPR, which is a bit of a nuisance - you would need to check each OPR record to ensure the info is correct.

What you will need to do is look at the parents of each one of these. I'd also do a check on Scotlands People to see if any other likely looking Thomas Cockburns appear on there which are not in the IGI - it often happens! And there is just this one in Buncle & Preston (01 January 1790; Date To: 31 December 1805) who does not show on the IGI:

30/05/1791 COCKBURN THOMAS ALEXANDER COCKBURN/HELEN PLATT FR113 M BUNCLE AND PRESTON 728/00 0001

- who seems to be born a little earlier that we were expecting, but thats the way it goes sometimes! He may or may not be your man.... certainly the place seems as was stated, if not the age.

Any who have parents' names which are the same as your Thomas's kids is a more likely candidate than one whose parents' names bear no resemblance to the names you are familiar with from his family - taking into account the Scottish naming system, if your Thomas went by that when naming his kids. If you are lucky, this may narrow it down to a couple of likely Thomases. From there, if it were me, I'd be trying to trace the remaining hopefuls (all the likely Thomas Cockburns) to either eliminate them or to prove that they are the right one. You need to keep an open mind and not be too hasty to discount any of them! I note that your Thomas's eldest son was Alexander, I think b.1821 Ratho - so there is a strong chance your Thomas's father was an Alexander which given the record from Buncle & Preston on SP (above) , I'd say that puts him in lead posistion so far.

It will involve a fair bit of digging about in the OPRs & possibly census data to build up pictures of any or possibly all the above Cockburn families to piece together who is who, what occupations they have, what they name thier children etc. You can order OPR films from your local LDS centre for a small fee.

These are the films availble for
728. BUNCLE AND PRESTON
728/1 B 1704-1819 M 1704-1819 D -
728/2 B 1819-54 M 1820-54 D -
728/3 Index to the two preceding volumes

and census films are also available to order - SP can be dear when you've a lot of "maybe" families to check up on! Better to see the film and get the broader picture of an area.

...er...also, I should have said - the above will only maybe lead to who his parents were IF the birth was registered!

Best wishes
Lesley

p.s. I'd have my money on the one from Buncle & Preston, with the father Alexander.... but you'd need to prove it!

[katie6515]

THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH, I AM GOING TO THE LIBARY NEXT WEEK SO I WILL SEE WHAT THAT TURNS UP, AND WILL CHECK ALL THE INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE GAVE ME, ONCE MORE THANKS AGAIN KATIE

[katie6515]

TRYING TO FIND PROOF THAT ALEXANDER COCKBURN WHO MARRIED HELEN PLATT IS MINE, I FOUND TWO KIDS FOR THEM JOHN COCKBURN BORN 1797 AND THOMAS COCKBURN BORN 1791, I CANT FIND ANY MORE KIDS FOR THEM OR A MARRIAGE. I HAVE TRIED SCOTLAND PEOPLE,THE .KIDS WERE BORN IN BUNCLE AND PRESTON. THANKS KATIE

[LesleyB]

Hi Katie
I think you need to spend some time with the OPRs, as outlined above. There are no quick answers once you are back to the early 1800s and earlier. Looking at the IGI and Scotlands People is good for pointers, and can help guide you so you know where to look but you need to do the "ground work" too, once you are back this far.

Best wishes
Lesley

[LesleyB]

Further areas to explore:

Check all Monumental Inscriptions for the area - it is amazing how much you can find out from these if you are lucky.

Also maybe try joining a FHS in that area - someone else may be researching the same family and you can exchange info, and the FHS may have many publicaitons concerning the parish and surrounding areas which may hold little bits of useful information, which they may be happy to provide to a member.

Also maybe try Genes Reunited (www.genesreunited.co.uk) - there certainly seems to be someone on there who has the 1791 Buncle and Preston Thomas in their tree - they may be happy to swop info with you.

[katie6515]

I HAVE SPENT TIME ON THE OPR THEIR NOT A LOT THEIR, AS I SAYED BEFORE I AM GOING TO THE LIBARY NEXT WEEK MAYBE FIND SOME THING THEIR, AND I AM GOING TO BERWICK AND GO ROUND THE CEMETERIES. THANKS KATIE

[maddy706]

Hi Katie
I have also searched the OPR'S with a fine tooth comb but can't seem too find anything for Alexander & Helen. Happy hunting at the library u may turn something up . Good Luck